China Lake NAS, CaliforniaJuly 1955

An orangish-red object approximately the size of a dime held at arm's length was observed from the control tower at China Lake Naval Air Station on the evening of July 11, 1955. Three experienced tower operators watched the object move in the northwestern sky for between 23 and 25 minutes using binoculars and a telescope. The men reported that the object appeared round with fuzzy edges, moved in an easterly direction at high speed, suddenly reversed course, moved westerly at slower speed, and gradually faded away. When viewed through optical equipment, the object seemed to have a conical tail four to five times its own length.

The sighting was brought to official attention when a radar station at Boron, California detected an object on their scopes at 120510Z (2205 Pacific Daylight Time) on July 11, 1955. That station immediately notified Edwards Air Force Base, which in turn alerted the tower operators at China Lake. Two F-86D jet fighters were scrambled from George Air Force Base but made no contact with the object either visually or by radar. The tower operators heard no sound from the object despite being outdoors during the observation. Weather conditions were clear, cool, with fifteen miles visibility and no moonlight.

The investigating officer systematically ruled out several possible explanations. A balloon would not account for the sudden reversals in direction and rapid acceleration. An aircraft was unlikely given the low speed, extended duration, and the fact that the object was moving within restricted airspace that saw very few violations. A meteor seemed ruled out by the long observation period. The conical tail was considered but determined to be only visible through binoculars, suggesting it might have been an optical illusion. Astronomers consulted including the director at Mount Wilson Observatory offered no explanation.

However, the approving officer disagreed with the investigator's conclusions and stated that the early radar detection by the Boron site, the corroboration by three independent witnesses, the extended duration of sighting, and the failure of interceptor aircraft to make contact all pointed away from conventional explanations including balloons, aircraft, astronomical phenomena, and optical effects. The officer in charge submitted the case to Air Technical Intelligence Center as "unknown." The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 25 pages.