Project 10073 Record Card — 4 March 1962

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated naval message regarding an unidentified celestial observation reported by the USS ARNEB on 4 March 1962. The sighting occurred at 0825Z at coordinates 58-28 S, 174-04 E. The witness described the object as a moving celestial body, visible twenty degrees above the horizon, moving East, with a brightness comparable to a first-magnitude star. The report explicitly notes that no photographs were taken and no radar contact was made. The naval message, addressed to COMNAVSUPPFOR ANTARCTICA with information copies to CINCPACFLT and CNO, classifies the event as an 'UNIDENTIFIED CELESTIAL OBSERVATION' and states the witness's belief that the object was a satellite. The subsequent evaluation recorded on the Project 10073 card concludes that the object was likely the Echo I satellite. This conclusion was reached by cross-referencing the reported time and location with the known orbital path of Echo I, which was noted to be at 40 degrees S, heading toward the pole at the time of the observation. The case was subsequently closed as a probable sighting of the Echo I satellite.