PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD: Sighting of 22 Feb 1962

On February 22, 1962, at 1023Z, personnel aboard the USS Noble observed an unidentified object while the navigator was performing a celestial fix. The object was described as having the brightness of a first-magnitude star and was visible for approximately 15 minutes. It was observed by the ship's Commanding Officer, the Officer of the Deck, the Junior Officer of the Watch, and approximately 1,000 enlisted personnel. The object was sighted at an elevation of 35 degrees and a bearing of 340 degrees, traveling in a southeasterly direction before disappearing at a bearing of 123 degrees and an altitude of 20 degrees. Air and surface radar systems on the ship failed to detect the object. The incident was reported via naval message to various commands, including the 5th Air Force and CINCPACFLT. Subsequent evaluation by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) under Project 10073 concluded that the object was the Echo I satellite. The evaluation noted that at 1023Z, the Echo I satellite was at 35 degrees North and 113.52 degrees East, and by 1038Z, it would have been at approximately 6 degrees North and 144 degrees East, heading southeast, making it visible to the witnesses during the reported period.