Project 10073 Record Card - Sighting of ECHO I

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated naval messages detailing an aerial sighting reported on June 1, 1961, at Ocean Station Victor (coordinates 3402N 16417E). The witness reported observing a star-like object that appeared brighter than a star, moving on a course of 120 degrees true at a high altitude. The naval message, transmitted as an unclassified communication, provides additional context, noting that the object was sighted by Dubhe, Alioth, and Alkaid, with a bearing of 340 degrees at an altitude of 70 degrees at 0345Z. The object continued to track across the sky until it was last observed at a bearing of 110 degrees true and an altitude of 19 degrees at 0533Z. The weather conditions at the time were reported as having high winds from the southwest at 13 knots with a slight sea. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) is that the object was the satellite ECHO I. The report notes that the object exhibited the characteristics of a satellite and that ECHO I was in a position to be observed at that time. Consequently, the case was closed and categorized as an identification of the ECHO I satellite.