Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card — 7 mi SE of Manchester, Tenn. — 6 Jul 61
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AI-Generated Summary
A rocket engineer and former pilot reported a high-velocity, white-glowing object with a trail over Tennessee in 1961. The military investigation concluded the event was likely a daylight meteor or an orbital object re-entering the atmosphere.
This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated military cable regarding an aerial sighting that occurred on July 6, 1961, near Manchester, Tennessee. The witness, a 32-year-old rocket test engineer at AEDC and a former USAF jet fighter pilot, observed a single object while traveling in an automobile at approximately 65 mph. The sighting lasted for two seconds during daylight hours under clear sky conditions. The witness described the object as having a white head-end, roughly the size of a pencil diameter, followed by a visible trail. The object followed a parabolic trajectory, descending from an initial elevation of approximately 35 degrees to about 20 degrees before disappearing. No sound was reported. The witness, noted as being highly reliable and familiar with aircraft contrails, explicitly stated that the object was not a contrail. The official evaluation, submitted by L/C Clement K. Miller of the Foreign Technology division at AEDC, concluded that the phenomenon was likely a daylight meteor or the termination phase of an orbital object entering the atmosphere. The report notes that the high velocity, the generation of a visible trail, and the increasing terminal light intensity helped eliminate the possibility of a weather balloon or aircraft.
Observer is reliable rocket engineer and experienced jet fighter pilot. Observer thoroughly familiar with contrails and states what he saw was not a contrail.
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Official Assessment
Deduction is phenomena caused by termination phase of a orbital object of atmospheric capture of celestial body.
The observer, a rocket test engineer and former jet pilot, reported a white object with a trail that appeared to be a falling track. The report concludes it was likely a daylight meteor or the atmospheric entry of an orbital object, noting that the observer was familiar with aircraft contrails and explicitly stated the object was not a contrail.
Witnesses
- [illegible]Rocket Test Engineer / Former USAF Jet Fighter PilotARO, Inc., AEDC