Project 10073 Record — UFO Sighting, Aiken, South Carolina, 7 September 1968

On the night of 7 September 1968, the 861st Radar Squadron at Aiken Air Force Station, South Carolina, received over thirty telephone calls from civilians reporting an unidentified aerial object. Six of these individuals identified themselves and were subsequently interviewed by the UFO officer, MSGT James V. Snowden. The witnesses, described as reliable and competent, included a housewife, a high school student, a university professor, and military personnel. They reported seeing a round or oblong object, approximately the size of a grapefruit held at arm's length, which featured a red center surrounded by twenty-four smaller lights. The object exhibited erratic behavior, including joining and separating, hovering, and moving rapidly toward the horizon. The witnesses observed the phenomenon for four to ten minutes. Despite a thorough investigation, which included checking with the Savannah River Plant, Shaw Air Force Base, and local airports for balloon launches or commercial flights, no conventional explanation was found. No radar contact was recorded. The official conclusion reached by the Aerial Phenomena Office was that there was insufficient data for evaluation, though the investigating officer noted that the witnesses were reliable and the object remained unidentified.