Chicago, IllinoisApril 1962

On the night of April 25, 1962, a civilian observer in Chicago used a telescope to spot a bright, glowing object moving across the sky. The observer described the object as white and luminous, similar to a bright star. It appeared north of the city and moved toward the right before fading as it descended toward the horizon in the northeast direction. The observation lasted about five minutes. The observer estimated the object was traveling at extremely high speed, roughly Mach 7 (five times the speed of sound), and calculated its altitude at around 70,000 feet.

The Air Force investigator noted that the object was not visible to the naked eye but only through the telescope. No sound accompanied the sighting. The case file includes extensive observation logs from Chicago, Cleveland, and Des Moines dating across multiple nights in late April. These logs record numerous sightings at various times and locations, with the objects consistently moving in a southeast or northeast direction and appearing at different angles above the horizon.

The Air Force classified this sighting as "Satellite Echo I" in the comments section, suggesting they believed the object might have been related to satellite activity. However, the official evaluation box on the case record card was marked "unidentified," meaning the Air Force could not confirm a definite explanation. The full case file, comprising ten pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.