Project 10073 Record — Pueblo, Colorado, 15 April 1966

On 15 April 1966, at 2330Z, a civilian witness in downtown Pueblo, Colorado, reported observing an unidentified aerial object. The witness, identified as a student, was accompanied by four friends and utilized a forty-power telescope to view the object. The object was described as oval in shape, black in color, and approximately the size of a penny. It was observed directly overhead, circling for a duration of thirty minutes, with a cloud-like formation noted above it. The report was processed by the Department of the Air Force under Project 10073. Major Edward L. Stricker, Assistant Base Operations Officer at Peterson Field, Colorado, conducted a preliminary analysis of the sighting. He concluded that the object was a six-foot diameter atmospheric sounding balloon that had been released from Ft. Carson, Colorado, at 2230Z. The investigator determined that the release time and prevailing winds were consistent with the object's appearance and movement. The reliability of the primary witness was explicitly noted as questionable in the official report.