Project 10073 Record Card and Associated Military Messages — Sighting of 3 Feb 62

This document collection details a sighting report from February 3, 1962, involving a crew of a WV-2 aircraft (BUNO 141329) operating west of Iceland. The crew reported observing an unidentified aerial object that appeared white, similar in size and brightness to a star. The object was first detected at an elevation of 45 degrees and an azimuth of 225 degrees. It remained in sight for approximately seven minutes, appearing to follow an orbital path in an easterly direction at a constant speed, before disappearing at an elevation of 38 degrees and an azimuth of 165 degrees. The sighting occurred while the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 12,000 feet, heading 215 degrees, in clear conditions above a broken cloud layer. The report was transmitted via military message channels to various commands, including CINCLANTFLT, CINCONAD, and HQ USAF. The official evaluation of the incident, recorded on a Project 10073 record card, concluded that the object was the Echo I satellite. The documentation includes the original military incoming messages and the subsequent analysis card, which confirms the identification of the object as a satellite based on its observed trajectory and characteristics.