Huntington, Ind., September 1961September 1961

In September 1961, a woman in Huntington, Indiana, wrote to the U.S. Air Force describing a bright light she had observed multiple times in the western sky. The object appeared around 9:05 p.m. and disappeared around 9:15 p.m., following a pattern that repeated roughly every other night. The witness initially thought she was seeing Echo, a satellite that was visible from Earth at that time. But the object's path troubled her. While Echo typically traveled from west to east, this light moved from west to south instead. The difference in timing and direction convinced her it could not be the same satellite.

The Air Force responded by mailing the witness a detailed questionnaire about her observations. The response letter, dated October 23, 1961, acknowledged her interest and suggested she contact local newspapers for Echo satellite viewing schedules, since those schedules were published regularly in the media.

The case file shows that the Air Force concluded the object was Echo. The record card notes that Echo's schedule was checked and confirmed to be visible on the date and time of the sighting, passing west-southwest of Huntington around the hour the witness reported seeing the light. Despite the witness's concerns about the object's direction of travel, the Air Force determined that what she observed was indeed the Echo satellite.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 14 pages.