Kettering, OhioApril 1963

Unidentified

Summary

On an April evening in 1963, someone in Kettering, Ohio observed an extremely bright object in the night sky moving from northwest to southeast. The witness watched it for three to five minutes as it passed overhead at an elevation of about 68 degrees above the horizon.

The Air Force received the report and investigated it as part of Project Blue Book, the military's official UFO study program. Investigators noted a time discrepancy in the witness account, but they considered this a normal variation in reports of this type.

The Air Force concluded that the object was Echo 1, an early communications satellite launched by the United States in 1960. Echo 1 was a large, reflective balloon that orbited Earth and could be very bright when sunlight struck it at the right angle, especially when viewed from the ground at night. The investigators noted that a satellite pass over Dayton, Ohio had occurred about 12 minutes before the reported sighting, and the characteristics of the observation were consistent with viewing a satellite. The case was officially evaluated as identified.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 9 pages.

Reported location

Kettering, Ohio

Date of incident

April 1963

State / country

OH / US

Page count

9 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 47

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 9

View transcribed text

% d f
E.
E : PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
4 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS |
i [
ie : 0 Was Balloon |
i i i § § (w] Probably Balloon i
3 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION SASL Ll
. Local Sle gOUe oC X& Ground- Visual O Ground-Radar a Riabay Alreraly |
; GMT 15/02002Z 0 Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar DO Possibly Aircraft |
: A830 PRONOSNe mam tegn sire ce ol LR BOUNCE © 0 a ed en O Was Astronomical
5 O Yes O Probably Astronomical |
| XTX No Civilian 1 0 Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS 9. COURSE ¥ome ECHO I ~~ | |
O Insufficient Dato for Evaluation !
RAS : 0 Unknown i
. _3=5 minutes GRA El a
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
1" Object appearing as an extremely Satellite ECHO I over Dayton |
bright star observed in NW on flight | at 2048 (12 minutes prior to
to SE, In sight for 3-5 minutes, rptd sighting). South of city
bo at 68 dgr elevation moving SE.
: Time discrepancy within the
normal possibility associated
with reports of this nature.
: Case evaluated as ECHO I.
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 29000618