Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting Report 21 May 1961
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AI-Generated Summary
A 1961 CIRVIS report of an unidentified object in the Pacific was investigated by the Air Force. The object was officially identified as the ECHO I satellite.
This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated Department of the Air Force staff message regarding a CIRVIS (Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings) report. On May 21, 1961, at 0922Z, an airborne observer reported sighting an object at coordinates 03.00N 117W in the Pacific region. The object was observed for 12 minutes, traveling from the northwest to the southeast at an altitude of 7,000 feet above the weather. The observer described the object as having the brightness of a first-magnitude star. The report was transmitted through military channels, including the Hawaii Air Defense Division, CINCPAC, and other regional commands. The official evaluation concluded that the sighting was likely the ECHO I satellite. The record card notes that a delay in the receipt of the report prevented an immediate satellite track check, but the characteristics of the observation were consistent with a satellite, leading to the final determination that the object was ECHO I.
since all characteristics of satellite observation are present and there is no conflicting info it is assumed that this was ECHO I.
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Official Assessment
since all characteristics of satellite observation are present and there is no conflicting info it is assumed that this was ECHO I.
The object was identified as the ECHO I satellite based on its orbital characteristics and appearance.