65.20N 28.50W (Atlantic), October 1962October 1962

An aircraft crew flying over the Atlantic in October 1962 watched a bright, star-like object move across the night sky for seven minutes before it disappeared behind clouds. The object was about as bright as a second-magnitude star (moderately bright to the naked eye). The crew first spotted it at roughly 30 degrees above the horizon, moving southeast, and tracked it until it vanished at about 60 degrees elevation. They observed it both with their naked eyes and through binoculars. The aircraft was flying at 6,000 feet near coordinates 65.20 North, 28.50 West in the Atlantic Ocean. Radar operators aboard the aircraft made no contact with the object.

The Air Force received reports of the sighting through Navy channels on October 23, 1962. Military messages describe consistent details across multiple reports: a single, round, bright object the size of a second-magnitude star, observed moving relative to the background stars over a seven-minute period in broken cloud conditions. The crew noted night light conditions with clouds below the aircraft at 5,500 feet and a broken stratus layer at 7,000 feet. Wind conditions at flight level were 180 degrees true at 20 knots. Despite the clear visual observation through binoculars, no radar contact was established.

The Air Force evaluated this case as a satellite observation. The record card notes that all characteristics of a satellite sighting were present, even though satellite tracking data (known as ECHO data) was not available for the case file. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 7 pages.