Project 10073 Record Card and Incoming Message — Grand Rapids, Minnesota, October 1961

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and an associated Air Force incoming staff message regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on October 28, 1961, near the Grand Rapids Air Force Station in Minnesota. Two staff sergeants from the 707th Radar Squadron observed two to three large, flashing white lights in the sky for approximately twenty minutes. The witnesses reported that the objects were initially hovering to the south before moving slowly to the east and eventually descending behind trees. The objects were described as appearing to rotate or blink, with one witness noting they looked like two huge, bright headlights. The sighting occurred at night, with the objects positioned 25 to 30 degrees above the horizon. The report includes detailed meteorological data, noting broken cloud cover and winds from the west at 25 to 30 knots. Captain D.S. Nisbett, a Senior Director at DUADS, provided no comment on the report. The official evaluation by ATIC concluded that the incident was likely a balloon sighting, noting that the winds conformed to the direction of the object's movement and that there was no information in the report to contradict this assessment.