40075N 17305W (PACIFIC), December 1961December 1961

Insufficient Data

Summary

On December 20, 1961, the crew of the USS Durant reported an object in the Pacific Ocean. The sighting was made at dawn at about 1825 GMT and lasted about 7 minutes. It was seen by the commanding officer and the navigator using the naked eye, 7x50 binoculars, and a sextant.

The object was round. Its color, size, and brightness were like the planet Venus, with no other unusual features. It was first seen at a bearing of 295 degrees and an elevation of 62 degrees. It disappeared at a bearing of about 050 degrees and an elevation of 32 degrees, lost in sunlight. Its course was about 070 degrees and its speed was unknown. The sky was clear with unlimited ceiling and 10 mile visibility.

The Air Force record card lists this case as the Echo satellite. The card notes the object's appearance also matched Venus, but the northeast heading and apparent orbital path suggested it was Echo.

Reported location

40075N 17305W (PACIFIC), December 1961

Date of incident

December 1961

State / country

? / XX

Page count

5 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 44

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 5

View transcribed text

4 |
i A PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD =
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS |
& LAOTEN 206" - } 0 Wos Balloon
20 Dec 61 ROT5N  17300W (Fae (FIC) |D Probably Balleon
4 Tg 3 Pm ET TTT TE Be El 35. 8 cy Ee (TEE NE) ee Eo H
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION : i. Fansiiny Rumen
ET] DRA Se Be PE “B"Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar = Probably Atverelt
i CEE le LL ER [8] AirVisual D Air-Intercept Rodar 3 DO Possibly Aircroft ;
: 5. PHOTOS é. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical
4 O Yes 0 Probably Astronomical
: XO Ne Civilian DO Possibly Astronomical
§ pT ET A RE AAT A OE Eee [EO J i POG
; 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE {ex Other Prob Zoho I
0 Insufficient Data for Evaluation
py - oats E Unknown
) { nin 1 HE
: 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTINGRound ob jt. Color, size, |11. COMMENTS Observation suggests satellite
: etc, conform to Venus. Sighted at 62° elev, due to NE heading and apparant orbital
295° zz. Disappeared at 30° elev, 50° ez. Lost | path. Description elso conforms to Echo I
; in sun efter 7 min. Kot verified with space track however ob-| -
ject assumed to be Echo I.
3 ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
: a
3 \
4
3
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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28995835