Terre Haute, IndianaAugust 1960

On the night of August 13, 1960, a man watching for the Echo I satellite above Terre Haute, Indiana, spotted two white objects with a slight yellowish tint moving across the sky instead. The objects traveled from northeast to southwest in 1 minute and 48 seconds, crossing about 40 to 45 degrees of arc at a high altitude. They made no sound. The observer, who was part of a local astronomy club and moonwatch team, watched them through 10-power binoculars and compared their size to objects between a pin and a pea held at arm's length. The brightness was comparable to second-magnitude stars, roughly the same as the satellite he was trying to observe.

The witness noticed something puzzling: while Echo I was known to move in a certain direction through the sky, these two objects seemed to travel in the opposite direction. He contacted nearby Hulman Airport and was told no aircraft were in the area at the time. This prompted him to write to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base seeking an explanation.

The Air Force's Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center concluded the objects were probably high-flying jet aircraft. The analysis noted that on a dark night, even with binoculars, it is difficult to see the outline of distant aircraft, though their bright running lights remain visible. The observer was likely excited by his search for the Echo I satellite and may have misidentified the aircraft as something unusual. Due to the heavy air traffic over the region, investigators could not identify which specific aircraft were responsible. The file contains the witness's detailed questionnaire responses and sketches of the sighting. This case file consists of 19 pages as held by the National Archives.