Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Sighting of 5 September 1962

On 5 September 1962, multiple Strategic Air Command (SAC) aircrews and ground observers across the North Central United States reported a significant aerial event. Witnesses in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa observed a bright, white, circular object re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. The object was described as burning and exploding, with a trail of red sparks. The sighting lasted approximately two minutes. One B-52 aircraft, flying at 37,000 feet, reported that the object appeared to separate into approximately 12 white dots, each with a red, spark-like tail. The object moved from west to east before disappearing.

Official military and intelligence assessments, coordinated through the 4043rd Strategic Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, quickly identified the phenomenon as the re-entry and disintegration of the Soviet satellite Sputnik IV (designated as Object 34 by SPADATS). The BNEWS II site at Clear, Alaska, had detected the object on orbit 13,169 at approximately 0938Z, though it was not detected by the SPASUR system.

Following the event, debris was recovered from multiple locations. A piece weighing approximately 24 pounds was found in a street in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and was subsequently forwarded to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratories. Another piece was reported at the Civil Defense Office in Everitt, Washington, and was slated for recovery by the 25th NORAD Region for transfer to the Foreign Technology Division. Radar signature analysis of Object 34 indicated it was a truncated cone, 13 feet long with a base diameter of ten feet, and was stabilized during its flight. The event was officially closed as a satellite decay.