Project 10073 Record — Rolla, Missouri, 4 October 1965

This document contains a Project 10073 record regarding a UFO sighting in Rolla, Missouri, on 4 October 1965. A civilian witness reported observing a single object that appeared as a steady, non-blinking white light crossing the Northeast sky. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the object was consistent with a satellite observation. Accompanying the record is a memorandum from Colonel Eric T. de Jonckheere of the TDEW/UFO office, addressed to Hq USAF SAFOICC (Mrs. Hunt), responding to a request for information regarding the witness's observations. The memorandum explains that while the satellite Pegasus I was in the area at the time, its trajectory was Southeast rather than Northeast. However, the Air Force suggested that given the presence of over thirty satellites of third magnitude or brighter orbiting the Earth, it was highly probable that the witness observed one of these satellites or space debris. The document also addresses a separate sighting from 15 or 16 September, where a red object was observed moving Northwest; the Air Force concluded this could not be associated with a satellite and might have been a high-flying aircraft. The correspondence concludes by noting that all known satellites exhibit visual characteristics similar to a moving star and provides a list of visible satellites as an enclosure.