Project 10073 Record: Analysis of Rock-like Material, Hawthorne, California

In September 1967, a resident in Hawthorne, California, reported hearing a loud noise and discovering a rock-like object on her doorstep. The Los Angeles Police Department forwarded the object, along with a small metal slug, to the 6592nd Support Group at the Los Angeles Air Force Station. The Air Force initiated an investigation to determine if the material was related to a recent missile shot or space vehicle reentry. The objects were subsequently sent to the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for analysis. The Air Force Materials Laboratory conducted a spectrographic analysis and X-ray diffraction on the samples. The analysis concluded that the large rock-like object was ordinary slag, and the metal slug was unalloyed iron, specifically Type 1020 steel. Experts, including Mr. Huston of the Materials Lab and Lt. Marley, a metallurgist, determined that the samples were not part of a rocket body or space vehicle and were unlikely to be meteorites due to insufficient nickel content. The findings were communicated to the 6592nd Support Group, and the specimens were slated for return to the owner.