47.20N 169.50W (PACIFIC), March 1963March 1963

A military aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean spotted a bright, star-like object moving at high speed on March 18, 1963. The sighting occurred near coordinates 47.20 North latitude and 169.50 West longitude, in international waters. The object was observed traveling toward the southeast at a 50-degree angle of elevation above the horizon, in a perfectly straight line. The weather above the aircraft was clear. The object's bearing from the aircraft's position was recorded as 188 degrees.

The sighting was reported through CIRVIS, a classified military system for reporting unusual aerial activity. The initial report noted only that the object's direction of travel and speed were unknown. The observation appears to have been relatively brief, though the exact duration is missing from the available records.

Air Force analysts reviewing the case noted that the object's motion resembled that of a satellite. However, despite the existence of SPADATS, a comprehensive satellite tracking system that monitored thousands of known orbital objects with considerable expense, the Air Force could not identify this particular sighting with any known satellite. The analysts expressed concern that many similar cases existed and wondered why the elaborate satellite tracking program could not account for them. The file lists the conclusion as "probably balloon," though the reasoning for this classification does not appear in the available pages.

The full case file, consisting of 8 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.