Project 10073 Record Card - Sighting of 30 October 1961

On October 30, 1961, at 0359 local time, personnel aboard the USS Noble observed an unidentified object in the Pacific region at coordinates 30-00N 158-35E. The object was described as having the brightness of a second-magnitude star. It was first spotted by lookouts, after which the Captain was called to verify the sighting using a sextant. The object was observed for a total of eleven minutes, during which it moved in a southeasterly direction and appeared to make a slight course change to the right. It was last seen at 0410 local time on the horizon at a bearing of 130 degrees. Despite the alert, both air and surface radar systems were unable to detect the object. The incident was documented on a Project 10073 record card and reported via a naval message. The official evaluation concluded that the duration, direction, and motion of the object were consistent with the patterns of a satellite. While the observation was not verified against space tracking data, the report noted there was no evidence to suggest the object was anything other than a satellite.