Project 10073 Record Card and Naval Messages Regarding 8 March 1961 Sighting

This document collection details a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on March 8, 1961, in the Pacific region. The sighting involved two separate aircraft, identified as Ethan 25 and Ethan 42, which were separated by approximately 100 miles. The crews of both aircraft reported observing a thin, pencil-like object, colored red and white with a red tail. The object was observed for approximately five to eight seconds. According to the reports, the object appeared to be in level flight before it broke into four pieces and disintegrated. The object's tail was described as being 50 times longer than its diameter. The altitude was estimated at 20,000 feet. The reports were submitted in the AFR 200-2 format under the MOON DUST programme. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card states that the description and duration are characteristic of a bolide, which is seen to explode. However, internal intelligence division comments included in the incoming messages suggest that the phenomenon appeared to be the reentry of a space vehicle, noting that the report from Ethan 42 tended to confirm the earlier report from Ethan 25, and that a space vehicle likely burned out within the area between the two positions. The witnesses, including Captain John D. Thompson, 1/LT Jack S. Purezo, and TSGT Donald R. Palette, were experienced flight crew members. The weather conditions at the time were reported as a cumulous and stratus broken deck with a base at 12,000 feet and tops at 18,000 feet.