Project 10073 Record — Pickstown, South Dakota, 26 July 1964

On 26 July 1964, a sighting occurred in Pickstown, South Dakota, involving a single object observed by Major De Morse, the commander of the 695 Radar Squadron. The witness, whose reliability was noted as good to excellent, observed the object for approximately 15 minutes between 0345Z and 0400Z. The object appeared as a white to blue-white star, similar in size to the stars in the Big Dipper. It moved in a straight line towards the North at an altitude of 77 degrees above the horizon before disappearing behind a hedge row of trees. The witness reported no sound and no physical evidence. Following the report, the Senior Director of Sioux City, Captain Wolfe, was contacted and confirmed that there was no known jet or light aircraft traffic in the vicinity at the time. Major De Morse concluded that the object was likely a satellite in a polar orbit, specifically noting it was moving too fast to be a balloon. The official conclusion recorded in the project file identified the object as the ECHO II satellite.