Project 10073 Record — UFO Sighting, Overton, Nevada, 30 October 1965

This document contains a Project 10073 record regarding a UFO sighting reported by a civilian in Overton, Nevada, on 30 October 1965. The witness, using 7x50 binoculars, observed a brilliant silver sphere that appeared to be at a very high altitude. The witness described the object as having the apparent size of a lunar crater and noted that it emitted a plume of white gaseous matter before the sphere vanished, leaving behind a dark object at the base of a long silvery plume. The witness provided a detailed drawing of the event, which included perspectives of the object, a jet, and the surrounding landscape. The Foreign Technology Division (FTD) of the Air Force evaluated the report and concluded that the sighting was an upper air research balloon launched by the U.S. Navy from Chico, California. The FTD explained that these balloons are programmed to fly between 80,000 and 125,000 feet and are destroyed by detonators at a predetermined time, with the instrument package returning to Earth via parachute. The 4520th Combat Support Group at Nellis Air Force Base confirmed that no military aircraft were in the vicinity of Overton at the time of the incident. The document includes the official correspondence from the FTD to the witness, thanking her for her report and providing the explanation.