Temple, TexasJune 1961

Unidentified

Summary

# Temple, Texas - June 1961

A witness in Temple reported seeing a bright object in the night sky in early June 1961. The observer described the object as similar in appearance to a star, though noticeably brighter and larger. The sighting lasted about three minutes.

The Air Force investigators noted uncertainty about the exact date of the sighting. They considered whether the object might have been ECHO I, a large satellite launched by NASA, but concluded they could not verify this without a confirmed date. The investigators also suggested the duration of the sighting could indicate an aircraft, though the limited information made a definitive conclusion difficult.

The case evaluation form indicates the investigators could not reach a firm conclusion. The file notes list the case as marked for "insufficient data for evaluation." On the cover sheet, the Air Force ultimately classified this sighting as unidentified.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 10 pages.

Reported location

Temple, Texas

Date of incident

June 1961

State / country

TX / US

Page count

10 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 42

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 10

View transcribed text

! ; PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
} | 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
; Jun 61 P Le, Texas OD Was Balloon
i Rae . 0D Probably Balloon
ge 5 Ey A TA A a Lh A REATTN ro ER ta CR SEE A RR A y RE A RE B v ‘03 bl E }
{ 3. DATE-TIME GROUP | 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION 18 ciel Salionn
* } S/S u ¢ Ai
£5 ERE REE a [-Ground-Yisuval 0 Cround-Radar u wos ireraft 2
g 2 i 0 Probably Aircraft
# 10087 Jun 51 i P y | O Ai ” 0 Possibly Aircraft
£ MT | DAirVisal =O Airintercept Radar
I 3. PHOTOS [9 SOURCE 1 Was Astronomical
h a Yas | O Probably Astronomical
§ YX | Civiliar J ’0 335i str ical
{ 8 Ne val 3 Possibly Astronomica
1 7. LENGTH OF CBSERYATION | 3. MUMBER OF OBIECTS | 9. COURSE TH REA SR CRD A
: | > ory “‘€1* Insufficient Dota for Evaluation
3 min | ne | —_ 0 Unknown
CE RLRIE CEEAY TW RE SEE I RRC SRE SOCIETIES ARE i SEER
3 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 111, COMMENTS
x . M dis ad ld ha a bass asd | : 2 A Fp . wv 2 : he abicct was
Brizht colored object similiar Lo a star uv [he witness ports that the o :
“9 A La a ~rdsen bk wnewrall ad amo od ir arly June at Ww s nos sur
E LarsZer, ared as a Circl Nn crav led skzaled in cardy ine, but war 1
Eat of the exact date, It is nos ble that,
| the object was ECHO I, however without
the date this cannot be checked out,
The duration of the sighting suggests
: the possibility of an a/c sighting. No
conclusion can be reached in view of ©
tl 1851 information and the case i:
; | listed as insufficient data.
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 32P 352)
’
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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28992889