Project 10073 Record Card — 2 November 1962

On 2 November 1962, at 03/0847Z, a sighting of an unidentified object was reported in the Pacific region at coordinates 34.00N 176.25W. The observation was made by an aircraft and lasted for 13 minutes. The object was described as having the brightness of a second-magnitude star. It was observed rising from 5 degrees above the western horizon to 30 degrees above the horizon, maintaining a course to the southeast. The military report, originating from the 326 Air Division at the Kunia Facility in Hawaii, explicitly states that there was no radar contact and no photographs were taken. The official evaluation concluded that the object was a satellite. The report notes that ECHO data was not available at the time of the evaluation, but the case was nonetheless closed with the assessment that the object was a satellite. Multiple incoming staff messages were generated regarding this incident, distributed to various military commands including PACAF, CINCNORAD, and the DIA, confirming the details of the sighting and the request for additional information from the sighting aircraft.