Project 10073 Record Card — Eatonton, Georgia, 29 July 1961

On July 29, 1961, at approximately 2100 hours local time, three witnesses—a funeral director, his wife, and their child—observed an unidentified object from their home on Madison Avenue in Eatonton, Georgia. The witnesses described the object as appearing like the star Venus, bright and without any tail, exhaust, or discernable features. The object was observed for approximately seven to ten minutes using a 20-inch, three-section toy telescope. According to the witnesses, the object exhibited unusual behavior, including zig-zagging, stopping, and circling. While it occasionally moved in a North-South direction, its general path was toward the East-North-East. The witnesses reported that the object eventually disappeared behind trees. The sighting was reported to the Duty Officer at Robins Air Force Base, Lieutenant Click, who subsequently initiated an investigation. Investigator William D. Barker of the 2853D Air Base Wing conducted interviews with the witnesses on August 4, 1961. The investigation included a review of weather conditions, which were reported as clear, and a check of flight records, which confirmed no known aircraft were in the area at the time of the sighting. The final assessment by the Foreign Technology Division concluded that the object was likely the Echo I satellite. The report suggests that the reported motion and behavior of the object were likely distortions caused by atmospheric phenomena, noting that the reported elevation and azimuth were consistent with the position of Echo I at that time. The documentation includes the original Project 10073 record card, a joint message form, and the formal Air Intelligence Information Report, which includes a supplement detailing the observers' accounts and the investigation findings.