Project 10073 Record — Vero Beach, Florida, October 19, 1965

On October 19, 1965, an 18-year-old student in Vero Beach, Florida, observed a large, silver, lightbulb-shaped object in the sky for approximately four minutes. The witness reported that the object moved in an easterly direction before exploding. Following the explosion, fragments of the object and a valve were recovered by local power company employees, who were concerned because the incident coincided with a power shortage in the area. The witness submitted a formal U.S. Air Force sighting report, which was processed under Project 10073. The investigation concluded that the object was a meteorological balloon manufactured by the G.T. Schjeldahl Company of Northfield, Minnesota. Correspondence between the Air Force and the witness, as well as internal memos, clarified that these balloons were frequently launched from Cape Kennedy in support of the Gemini 6 mission. The G.T. Schjeldahl Company had supplied approximately 1,500 of these metalized mylar balloons to the Marshall Space Center for atmospheric data collection. The Air Force UFO Information Office at the Pentagon confirmed that the object was likely one of these balloons, noting that they were designed to collect data on temperature, pressure, and density prior to launches. The document includes the original sighting questionnaire, internal Air Force correspondence, and a letter from the local newspaper, The News Tribune, requesting an explanation for the object after it had been sent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for analysis.