Project 10073 Record Card and Incoming Message — Fayetteville, North Carolina, July 1964

On July 21, 1964, at 0225Z, a civilian observer in Fayetteville, North Carolina, reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The witness, a 32-year-old homebuilder whose reliability was assessed as good, observed a bright white light, described as the size of a pinhead, moving across the sky. The object was visible for approximately six minutes. The observer initially believed the object was a satellite, noting its position at 75-80 degrees elevation and 130 degrees azimuth. The object exhibited a flight path that was generally normal, except for a moment when it was overhead, where it dipped slowly and then appeared to speed up. The witness reported no sound and no trail associated with the object. The sighting was made using 30x50 binoculars. Military authorities at Pope Air Force Base investigated the report, noting that Raleigh radar reported negative paint for the area. The official conclusion from the Chief of the Intelligence Division was that the object was a satellite, though they acknowledged an inability to account for the erratic movements reported by the witness. The document also references a series of observations in Winston Salem, N.C., between July 14 and July 20, 1964, involving objects moving northeast at various degrees above the horizon.