Near Kleinostheim, Germany, October 1958October 1958

On October 13, 1958, at about 6:40 p.m., a man in Germany watched a bright object move across the sky near Kleinostheim, southeast of Aschaffenburg. He did not see it himself, but his cousin reported the sighting to the U.S. Air Force. The witness described an object whiter and brighter than a shooting star, somewhat smaller than a soccer ball, that disappeared suddenly.

The witness filled out a detailed Air Force questionnaire in German. He said he was pulling a farm wagon when his cousin noticed the object moving from east to west, descending toward the horizon. The object was white, glowing, and steady in brightness. It moved at a regular pace without acceleration. The witness compared its appearance to a white glowing electric light bulb inside a spherical dome made of frosted glass. He could not estimate how far away it was, but said it would have been heard if it were an aircraft because it made no sound yet appeared very bright and high. The observation lasted about three to five seconds.

The Air Force received a follow-up report describing multiple sightings across a wide area, including sightings in Uruguay, with reports of blinking objects, white luminous phenomena, and constant brightness. These additional observations noted characteristics consistent with satellites, though the object was reported below the clouds, which raised questions about altitude and behavior.

On January 9, 1959, Major Lawrence J. Tacker of the Air Force's Public Information Division wrote to say the object was probably a meteor or bolide (a type of bright meteorite) of short duration. He also ruled out that it was the Pioneer moon rocket, which had returned to Earth six hours after the sighting.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 28 pages.