Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting of 3 August 1961

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated military cable regarding a sighting that occurred on August 3, 1961, near Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The sighting involved a single silver-white object observed by multiple witnesses for a duration of 17 minutes. The object was reported at an elevation of 40 degrees and an azimuth of 280 degrees, eventually disappearing over the horizon at 050 degrees after maintaining a straight flight path. The report notes that the weather conditions included a broken stratus cloud layer at 2,500 feet. The military personnel involved in the report included several pilots, specifically identified as Captain Romeo P. Dalton, Captain Whiskey P. Metro, First Lieutenant Foxtrot P. Foxtrot, and Bravo P. Larsen. The documentation was processed by the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing at Kadena Air Base and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and other Air Force commands. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency is that the object observed was likely the Echo I satellite, as the flight path and duration were consistent with the characteristics of that satellite. The document includes standard classification and declassification markings, noting it was to be downgraded at three-year intervals and declassified after 12 years under DOD Directive 5200.10.