Project 10073 Record Card and Associated Correspondence: Altus, Oklahoma Sighting, 21 May 1964

On 21 May 1964, at approximately 1030Z, a security guard at Missile Site 7, Altus AFB, Oklahoma, reported an unidentified light hovering over the site. The witness, A3C Willie L. Davis, described the object as a round, white light, approximately the size of a basketball held at arm's length, which appeared due south of the silo cap at a 45-degree elevation. The object made no sound and hovered for 8-10 minutes before drifting upward and increasing in intensity to twice that of the North Star. A second witness, AlC Paavo Sumera, was summoned to the site and observed the object hovering before it wobbled and moved rapidly in a northwest direction, eventually fading from sight. The total duration of the observation was approximately 12 minutes. The weather was clear with high, thin clouds. Wing Command Post checked radar sites in the area, but no corroborating radar contacts were made. The incident was formally reported by 1Lt Stanley D. Stephenson of the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron. Subsequent correspondence from J. Allen Hynek of the Dearborn Observatory at Northwestern University to Major Hector Quintanilla of the Foreign Technology Division identified the object as the Echo II satellite, stating that the identification was positive based on equatorial crossing sheets.