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 Approved f r Release
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 History and methodology o f
 "flying sauce" intelligence.
 Unidentified flying objects are not a new phenomenon.  In 593 B.C.
 Ezekiel recorded a whirlwind to the north which appeazed as a fiery
 sphere.  In 1254 at Saint Albans Abbey, when the moon was eight
 days old, there appeared in the sky a ship elegantly shaped, well
 equipped and of marvelous color.  In 1520 in France there were
 sighted around-shaped object with rotating lights and two fiery suns.
 In 1874 in Texas a farmer reported seeing a dark flying object in
 the shape of a disc cruising in the sky at a wonderful speed.  These
 are a mere sampling of the many such events recorded by historians.
 The modern era of UFOs, however, can be dated from 24 June 1947,
 when a flyer made some strange observations which national news
 coverage and authors with a poetic license so played up as to excite
 public entertainment of a notion that our planet had been visited
 by unlmown vehicles from outer space.
 THE INVESTIGATION OF UFO'S
 .~
 Hector Qwntanilla, jr.
 Supersonic Saucers
 On that 24 June, Kenneth Arnold was out flying in his private
 plane.  He was looking for a Marine transport that was supposed
 to have crash-landed somewhere on the southwest side of Mt. Ranier.
 First he flew directly toward the mountain from the west at an altitude
 of approxunately 9,500 feet, seazching all of the various ridges for
 the downed plane.  Then he made a sweep back to the west, found
 nothing, and headed again toward Mt. Ranier. ~ The air was so smooth
 that it was a real pleasure flying; he trimmed out the aircraft anal
 relaxed, admiring the crystal-clear sky and the terrain. ~ There was
 a DC-4 to his left and rear at approximately 14,000 feet.
 He hadn't flown more than two or three minutes on this course
 when a bright flash reflected on his airplane.  He couldn't find where
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 the reflection came from, but to the left, north of Mt. Ranier, he did
 observe a chain of nine peculiaz-looking objects flying from north to
 south  at  approximately' 9,500 feet.  They were approaching Mt.
 Ranier very rapidly, and he at first assumed them to be jet aircxaft.
 Every few seconds two or three of them would dip or change course
 slightly, so as to catch the sun at an angle and reflect brightly.  They
 were too far away for him to determine their shape or formation.
 As they approached Mt. Ranier, however, he observed their outline
 quite clearly--except that, oddly, he could not find their tails.  He
 watched them pass the southern edge of Mt. Ranier flying directly
 south-southeast down the hog's-back of a range.  Their elevation
 seemed to vary by as much as one thousand feet, but they remained
 very near the horizon, therefore around his own elevation.  They
 flew rather like geese, in a diagonal chain as though they were linked
 together.  They seemed to maintain their orientation while swerving
 in and out of the high mountain peaks.   .
 Arnold estimated the distance from him to the objects at approxi-
 mately 25 miles.  Using a Zeus fastener and a cowling tool, he esti-
 mated their size to be about two-thirds that of the DC-4.  Watching
 them pass a high snow-covered ridge between Mt. Ranier and Mt.
 Adams, he saw that as the first object was leaving its south crest the
 last one was entering its northern crest.  Later the length of this
 ridge, and therefore that of the chain of objects, was determined ~to
 be about five miles.  Arnold timed their flight from Mt. Ranier to Mt:
 Adams, 47 miles, at I min. 42 sec., a speed of 1,659 miles per hour.
 In a subsequent interview with newsmen, Arnold described the ob-
 jects as appearing like saucers skipping on water.  This description,
 shortened to "flying saucers" by newsmen, gave rise to the popular
 term for UFOs.  The sighting, like most, was not reproducible for
 purposes of investigation; it involved uncontrollable atmospheric con-
 ditions.  The Air Force was left with one man's subjective interpreta-
 tion of what he had experienced.  Scientists who reviewed Arnold's
 sighting concluded that the objects were a mirage.  The smooth,
 crystal-clear air that he noted indicated the very stable conditions
 which are associated with inversions and a high index of refraction of
 the atmosphere.
 Although Arnold's experience could not be reproduced, another
 phenomenon in some respects similar and observed in the same area
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 found a satisfactory explanation.  Navy Commander W. J. Young
 reported in November I94$ that on several occasions he had seen over
 the Willamette valley and the plains of eastern Washington and
 Oregon what could easily have been mistaken for flying discs.  One
 striking example occurred over the Willamette valley on a clear sunny
 day when the ever-present blue haze seemed somewhat thicker than
 usual.  His aircraft was flying at altitudes between 1,000 and 5,000
 feet when bright flying objects appeared, some on his beam and others
 on the bows or dead ahead.  From time to time they would dis-
 appear and new ones appear.
 Young finally determined that what looked to be aircraft at various
 altitudes were reflections of the sun from the aluminum roofs of farm
 buildings at great distance from his plane.  The perspective of the
 land converging with the sky on the horizon, with limited ground
 visibility, made it appear as though the roof reflections were actually
 airborne at various altitudes in the haze.  Thus one UFO sighting was
 solved by the observer himself. ' Although there is no uniform pattern
 among reported UFO phenomena, some characteristics of one may be
 found in others, as in Young's and Arnold's.
 Sign and Grudge
 Newspaper publicity for Arnold's flying saucers started an avalanche
 of other sightings.  The Air Force began receiving reports from people
 in all walks of life.  Before December 1947 no specific organization
 was responsible for investigating and evaluating these.  Without any
 basis in measurable data or controlled experiment, the reported phe-
 nomena were variously assessed, even within the military structure,
 as due to a new aerodynamic configuration, to natural occurrences, to
 misinterpretation of conventional objects, or to space ships under in-
 telligent control.  The military interest touched the fields of air de-
 fense, R&D, and intelligence, responsibilities vested in many different
 organizations.
 To end this confusion, the Chief of Staff directed on 30 December
 1947 that a project be established to collect, collate, evaluate, and
 distribute within the government all information concerning sightings
 which could be construed as of concern to the national security.  Re-
 sponsibility for the project, assigned the code name "Sign," was given
 to the Air Technical Intelligence Center.  In February 1949 Project
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 uFOs
 Sign, having completed its evaluation of the 243 UFO cases submitted
 to it, issued a report:
 No definite and conclusive evidence is yet available that would prove or
 disprove the existence of these unidentified objects as real aircraft of unknown
 and unconventional configuration.  It is unlikely that positive proof of their
 existence will be obtained without examination of the remains of crashed
 objects.  Proof of non-existence is equally impossible to obtain unless a
 reasonable and convincing explanation is determined for each incident.  .. .
 Explanations of some of the incidents revealed the existence of simple and
 easily understandable causes, so that there is the possibility that enough
 incidents can be solved to eliminate or greatly reduce the ~ mystery associated
 with these occuaences.  Under wartime conditions, rapid and con-
 vincing solutions of such occurrences are necessary to maintain morale of
 military and civilian personnel.
 With the backlog of cases disposed of, the project was continued
 on a reduced scale and under a new code name, "Grudge."  Project
 Grudge completed its~evaluation of 244 reports in August 1949, relying
 heavily on the work of ~ university scientists and other outside con-
 sultants, as well as the USAF Air Weather Service and the U.S.
 Weather Bureau.  The Grudge Report concluded that the UFO sight-
 ings signified nothing that would constitute a threat to the national
 security of the United States, that they were chargeable to misinter-
 pretations of conventional objects, a mild form of mass hysteria or
 war nerves, and fabrications for the sake of hoax or publicity.
 Special Report No. 14
 The soothing conclusions of Project Grudge caused very little
 comment, and the project was continued on a reduced scale.  Never-
 theless, the fringe of people that still believed in extraterrestrial
 visitation was growing with the populazity of science fiction articles
 and magazines.  In December 1951 a contract was let to an industrial
 firm for a detailed study, unclassified, of the UFO cases on file.
 It took three years to complete this study.
 Meanwhile, in March 1952, the project was given its present name,
 `Blue Book."  During' this period numerous books were written about
 the UFOs.  Some representative titles aze The Coming of the Saucers,
 Space, Gravity, and the Flying Saucer, Is Another World Watching,
 The Flying Saucers Are Real, Flying Saucers from Outer Space, and
 Flying Saucers Come from a Distant World.  UFO hobby clubs were
 formed throughout the country.  Most professed to be studying the
 phenomena scientifically, but few, if any, had physical or behavioral
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 scientists on their sacalled evaluation .committees.  During the early
 fifties it became fashionable to accuse the Air Farce of censorship
 or of withholding UFO information from the public.
 In January 1953, while the three-year contract study was still in
 process, a Scientific Advisory Panel was formed to make an authori-
 tative quick evaluation.  It was composed of civilian scientists outside-
 the government with well-known and respected names-H. P. Robert-
 son, Luis W. Alvarez, Floyd V. Berkner, S. A. Goudsmit, Thornton
 Page.  Following is an extract from their report:
 The panel ...has reviewed a selection of the best documented incidents.
 ..  We firmly believe that there is no residuum of cases which indicates
 phenomena which are attributable to foreign artifacts capable of hostile acts,
 and that theie is no evidence that the phenomena indicate a need for the
 revision of current scientific concepts.  The panel further concludes that
 the continued emphasis on the reporting of these phenomena does, in these
 perilous times, result in a threat to the orderly functioning of the protective
 organs of the body politic.  We cite as examples the clogging of channels
 of communication by irrelevant reports, the danger of being led by con-
 tinued false alarms to ignore real indications of hostile action, and the
 cultivation of a morbid national psychology in which skillful hostile propa-
 ganda could induce hysterical behavior and harmful distmst of duly con-
 stituted authority.
 The panel recommended:
 ?   That the national security agencies take immediate steps to strip the un-
 identified flying objects of the special status they have been given and the
 aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired.
 One action taken on this recommendation was to establish, within
 the Office of Information at the Air Force Secretary's level, an office
 to answer public questions and release information regarding UFOs.
 Throughout the years, the responsibility for releasing UFO informa-
 tion to the public has remained with the Office of Information, Secre-
 tary of the Air Force.
 When the unclassified contract study was ready at the end of
 1954, it was immediately released to the news media.  It was released
 under ATIC cover, because the competent company which produced
 it wished to remain anonymous in this field of research.  It is com-
 monly referred to as Special Report No. ' 14, the first 13 having been
 administrative progress reports.
 Special Report No. 14 reduced and evaluated all .the UFO data
 held in the Air Force files.  It contains graphs showing the frequency
 distribution of sightings by time, date, location, shape, color, duration,
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 azimuth, and elevation.  It records an attempt to build a model of
 the typical UFO and an ultimate finding that UFOs come in all sizes,
 shapes, and colors.  It concludes as follows:
 It can never be absolutely proven that "Flying Saucers" do not exist.  .
 Scientifically evaluated and arranged, the data as a whole did not show
 any marked patterns or trends.  ...  A critical examination of the distribu=
 bons of ?the important characteristics of sightings, plus an intensive study
 of the sightings evaluated as unknown, led to the conclusion that a com-
 bination of factors ...resulted in the failure to identify as Knowns most of
 the objects classified as Unknowns.  An intensive study aimed at finding a
 verified example ~ of a "Flying Saucer" or at deriving a verified model or
 models of "Flying Saucers" led to the conclusion that neither goal could
 be attained using the present data.
 It is emphasized that there was a complete lack of any valid evidence
 consisting of physical matter in any case of a reported unidentified aerial
 object.  Thus, the probability that any of the unknowns considered in this
 study are "Flying Saucers" is concluded to be extremely smaA, since the most
 complete and reliable reports from the present data, when isolated and
 studied, conclusively failed to reveal even a rough model, and since the data
 as a whole failed ~ to reveal any marked patterns or trends.
 Therefore, on the basis of this evaluation of the information, it is con-
 sidered to be highly improbable that any of the reports of unidentified aerial
 objects examined in this study represent observations of technological de-
 velopments outside the range of present-day scientific knowledge.
 Investigation Procedures
 The objectives of the UFO program, outlined in 1953 by Air Force
 Regulation 200-2, remain unchanged:          .
 (1) To determine if UFO phenomena present a threat to the secu-
 rity of the United States.
 (2) To determine if UFO phenomena exhibit any technological
 advances. which could be channeled into U.S. R&D.
 (3) . To explain or identify the stimuli which caused the observer
 to report a UFO.
 Our Project Blue Book office at Wright-Patterson has a complement
 of only one officer, two sergeants, and one civilian stenographer.
 The initial investigation of all UFO sightings is therefore undertaken
 by the commander of the nearest Air Force base.  In its subsequent
 analysis of UFQ cases, also, the project office is assisted by many
 organizations and ~ professional individuals.  Project Consultant for
 the past eighteen years has been Dr. J. Allen Hynek, astrophysicist
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 and Chairman of the Dearborn Observatory, Northwestern University.
 It is Dr. Hynek, obviously, who has maintained continuity on the
 project, in addition to evaluating all suspected astronomical cases.
 We have used the services of Dr. Charles P. Olivier, head of the
 American Meteor Society, in evaluating some suspected meteor cases.
 For help on suspected aircraft sightings we have gone to Federal
 Aviation Agency offices, local airports, the Strategic Air Command,
 and the Air Defense Command.  In suspected balloon sightings we
 have called upon local airports, local weather stations, the U.S.
 Weather Bureau, Holloman AFB Balloon Control Center, the National
 Center for Atmospheric Research, General MiIls, Raven Industries,
 Sea Space Systems, and colleges and universities conducting balloon
 research. ~ For suspected satellite sightings we use the printed Echo
 schedules, NASA satellite reports, the Smithsonian North and South
 Equatorial Crossings, and the professional services of the Space De-
 tection and Tracking System.  For suspected missile observations we
 go directly to Cape Kennedy, Vandenberg AFB, Point Magu, Wallops
 Island, Eglin AFB, Holloman AFB, and Green River.
 For radar analysis we contact one of our internal organizations.
 For photo analysis ~ we use an internal organization but also Kodak
 in Rochester, N.Y.  On physical specimens we have used the services
 of the Air Force Materials Laboratory, .Battelle Memorial, the Food
 and Drug Administration, Libby Owens, Corning Glass, Institute of
 Paper Chemistry, and the Northwestern Geology Department.  Nu-
 merous other organizations and individuals have helped the project
 in the past.  No individual, government agency, or industrial group
 has ever refused assistance.
 As indicated above, UFO sightings are classified according to the
 suspected real event that gave rise to each report.  The characteris-
 tics of these different categories are sketched below.
 Propeller Aircraft
 Regular scheduled airliners fly in air corridors, are usually controlled
 by FAA.  Lighting will probably be typical red and green wing
 lights with rotating beacon.  They use landing lights on takeoff as
 well as in landing pattern.  Sighting report may include hovering or
 stationary period if the aircraft is in a turn or approaching the
 observer.  Total duration should be consistent with flight maneuvers,
 not likely to exceed five minutes unless some series of maneuvers is
 being performed.  Landing light, blotting out the red and green
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 flashing lights, is often reported as a single light at night.  Experi-
 mental and unusual lighting effects can vary with the lighting con-
 figuration of each aircraft.  Color most often reported as white, can
 be red.  Objects reported in straight flight at certain altitude can be
 checked against local flight corridors; then FAA can be checked if
 there remains doubt that an object is an aircraft or if positive identi-
 fication of a specific flight is required.  There may or may not be
 sound associated with the visual effect reported.  If near an airport,
 this type of object is not classed as a .UFO; moving lights in and
 around airports which could be caused by aircraft are assumed to
 6e aircraft.
 '   Private or non-scheduled flights have the same characteristics in
 general.  Speeds may be slower and duration longer.  Altitude usually
 lower.  N.o sound if the. wind is blowing away from the observer.
 Duration should not exceed seven or eight minutes unless maneuvers
 can account for'additional time.  Normally flight is cleared from some
 local airport and not carried on radar plots through FAA; hardest
 type to make positive identification of.  Evaluation made on reported
 flight' characteristics consistent .with aircraft.
 Jet Airera f t
 Airliner and high-altitude missions are similar to conventional flights
 in visual characteristics with the following exceptions: (1) The color
 is most often reported as red.  (2) No sound is associated with the
 object.  (3) Flight is usually straight or with one turn.  Duration is
 about three to five minutes, depending upon the length of arc visible.
 FAA has designated airways for these flights.
 Special low-level military missions are flown at 2,000 feet in known
 air corridors.  Sighting is usually brief, one minute or less.  May be
 reported hovering if flight is directly toward the observer.  May in-
 clude asudden burst of speed.  No sound if wind is away from
 observer.  Usually reported as a single light, but may be more than
 one. -Sightings are at night; during the day these aircraft can be
 seen too well to be misinterpreted.
 Special test or training missions, varying from a single plane to
 multiple flights or major air operations, may give rise to reports.
 These :flights can be determined by contact with Iocal, regional, or
 major air commands.
 A jet with afterburner, in operation, viewed from the side, may give
 the appearance of a short flame.. It is usually reported as blue and
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 tapering.  When the afterburner is cut off, the object may be thought
 to have either just vanished or zoomed off into space.  Duration is
 usually brief.  The sighting is frequently during climb.  As viewed
 from the rear, the jet may be reported red or orange with some
 yellow and of no distinct shape.  Here again the disappearance may
 be sudden.  If at high altitude, only a nondescript light may be
 reported.
 Refueling Missions   '.
 Here lights on the tanker and the multiple aircraft engaged add
 new visual characteristics.  Sightings are at night only; daylight
 operations would be recognized for what they are.  They may be at
 low or high altitude.  Multiple lights will be moving around, in
 formation, going on and off.  The basic light formation will fly
 straight for a set distance, then may make a 180-degree turn.  Dura-
 tion in an area may run as high as 15 minutes, but any single pass
 should not last more than four or five.  Lights may be seen going
 one way and then appear on their return path later.  The 922 Air
 Refueling Squadron at Wright-Patterson furnishes information on
 the visual characteristics of night refueling operations, and SAC
 recently photographed a refueling mission for the benefit of UFO
 analysts.
 Refueling operations are controlled and conducted in specific areas.
 A "Flight Planning Guide" issued by the Aeronautic Chart and In-
 formation Center gives the location of these azeas and the agency
 controlling each.  A phone call to the controller will determine
 whether an area was in use at a particulaz time and what squadron
 flew the mission.  Then communication with the squadron will give
 the number and type of aircraft flown and their entry and exit times.
 Photo Aircra f t
 Aircraft using flare drops for photo work are most often reported
 simply as Hazes.  Similarly, aircraft using strobes to illuminate their
 target, which may work at either low or high altitudes, are reported
 as a series of evenly spaced flashes.  Duration of these sightings is
 usually less than two minutes, more frequently 30 seconds.
 Infra-red photo planes have turbine generators to drive their equip-
 ment.  These make a whining noise which can be heard above the
 noise of the engines.  Not many agencies do this work, which is often
 classified.  The planes used are rather slow, less than 125 mph.
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 Much of the work is done early in the morxung, with landing lights
 on because of the low altitudes flown.
 Advert4sing Aircraft
 Planes towing targets or banners during daylight hours are not
 usually misinterpreted unless they remain at such a distance that
 the observer cannot distinguish the tow vehicle and sign.  Frequently
 in such cases the reports are accompanied by drawings picturing the
 towed banner as part of the UFO.  Duration is longer than for
 other aircraft sightings, and the flight generally includes maneuvers.
 The frequently used loud speaker would presumably not be heard
 unless the flight were close enough for correct identification.  Local
 investigators can check for these aircraft, since FAA regulations re-
 quire apermit for such flights.
 Aircraft with electrically lighted signs have the same essential char-
 ' acteristics except that they are normally sighted at night.  On occa-
 sion the sign lights have been mistaken for windows of a much larger
 craft.  Flights are relatively slow, characteristically maneuvering back
 and forth in one area.  One usually operates over the same area for
 more than one day and can be viewed on successive nights, weather
 permitting.
 Helaeopters                        .
 Motion slow, may or may not hover.  It needs to be far enough
 away from the observer to escape daylight identification.  It may be
 reported as a black speck moving back and forth, up and down.
 During the night weird effects can be caused by the red rotating.
 beacon $ashing through the canopy.  Motion will be erratic if the
 flight includes hovering.  Positive identification is usually simple to
 obtain by checking the flight schedules of military and civilian heli-
 copters in the area.
 Balloons
 Flight characteristics here are affected by meteorological factors.
 Wind data is obtained from the Weather Bureau.  An Air Weather
 Service Iiaison officer assists in evaluating the meteorological data.
 Low-level weather balloons are described' in sightings as round or
 oval, occasionally oblong.  The flight may be reported as hovering,
 rising, zig-zag, or erratic, but the object must be moving with the
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 wind.  It will be picked up by radar only if a radar reflector is
 attached.     A frequent tone for sightings is at dusk, before the balloon
 disappears into earth's shadow.  It is rarely sighted at night: its small
 white lights are not visible to ground observers from above _10,000
 feet without. optical aids.  The sighting from planes is usually very
 brief, and on occasion even experienced pilots have attributed unusual
 motion to balloons.
 An upper-air balloon may be described as round or oval, usually
 silver during the day and orange at dusk.  It will appear stationary
 or in slow motion.  Actually, it moves with prevailing winds at .the
 altitude-six months to the east and~six to the west.  It will probably
 be picked up on radar and remain in the area long enough to be
 identified by aircraft scrambled or diverted for this purpose.  Sudden
 disappearance is to be expected at dusk, and may be reported as a
 zooming off into space.  The sun's reflection through folded panels
 can give unusual flashing effects.  Every effort is made to pin to a
 specific launch any reports attributable to upper-air balloons; this
 practice has assisted the scientific community in recovering. some of
 them.
 Upper air research balloons are launched by military and civilian
 agencies for cosmic ray and other studies.  These are about 100 feet
 in diameter, usually of polyethylene.  They can be programmed to
 fly at various altitudes between 80,000 and 125,000 feet or higher.
 Their appearance may vary with the equipment suspended below and
 other attachments, but what is visible from the ground without optical
 aids is generally the same for all.  The speed will vary with the wind,
 from hovering in the ~ same area for some days up to 200 mph in jet
 streams.  At night the balloon will descend as the gas cools and the
 next day go back up to the programmed altitude.  It usuaIIy carries
 a radio beacon which is followed by tracking stations, as well as
 running lights and radar reflectors. _ Occasionally, multiple balloons
 are used to carry heavy equipment.  Pilots scrambled to cheek on
 this kind of balloon cannot reach its altitude but can ~ get close enough
 to identify it.  At dawn the balloon may appear suddenly, as it
 moves into sunlight, and similarly disappear at dusk.
 Earth Satejlites
 In order for a report to be evaluated as deriving from an artificial
 satellite, the following criteria must be met: (1) Time of sighting
 must be at night and at such an hour that the vehicle can reflect the
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 sun's rays.  (2) Object should resemble a star in visual characteristics.
 (3) Direction of flight can have a westerly component only in the
 case of retrograde satellites.  (4) Duration (considering the degrees
 of arc through which the object is observed) must be consistent with
 satellite orbital velocities.
 SateIlites are normally reported as star-like moving lights, most
 frequently white but occasionally yellow, green, blue, orange, and
 even red.  Motion may be steady, hesitating, or zig-zag; portions of
 the flight may be seen as hovering or stationary.  The path may be
 reported straight or arching, and a turn may be ascribed to it at
 the beginning or end of the flight.  The object may appear or dis-
 appear suddenly,  The speed should be about 15? of arc per minute,
 the average duration three to six minutes.
 When a known satellite has a flight path over the observer's area
 at the time of the report (only Echo and Pegasus schedules are
 screened ), and the above considerations are fulfilled, the sighting is
 evaluated as of that specific vehicle.  There are more than 30 satel-
 lites in orbit visible to the naked eye.  When a reported object
 does not correspond with Echo or Pegasus passages but displays the
 required characteristics, it is then evaluated as a probable or possible
 satellite.
 Astronom~eal Events
 The most common UFO reports are of astronomical sightings-
 bright stars, planets, comets, fireballs, meteors, auroral streamers,
 and other celestial bodies.  When observed through haze, light fog,
 moving clouds,  or other obscurations or unusual. conditions, the
 planets, especially Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, have been reported as
 UFOs.  Stellar mirages are also a source of astronomical reports.
 Other Categories
 There are three other classifications used for UFO reports.  An
 Insufficient Data category takes care of those in which one or more
 elements of information essential for the evaluation are missing-
 for example the duration of the sighting, the date, time, location, ar
 position in the sky, weather conditions, and the manner of appear-
 ance or disappearance.  If there is any indication that such a sight-
 ing may be important from the viewpoint of security, scientific or
 technical value, or public interest, every attempt is made to obtain
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 UFOs
 the additional information necessary before placing the report in
 this category.
 Another category is a catch-all labeled Other.  It includes missiles,
 reflections, mirages, searchlights, birds, kites, spurious radar indica-
 tions, hoaxes, fireworks, and flares.
 And finally, a sighting is considered unidentified when a report
 apparently contains all thg data necessary to suggest a valid hypothesis
 but its description cannot be correlated with any known object or
 phenomenon.
 Through 1985, 10,147 UFO reports had been disposed of and
 classified in one or another of the seven categories.  In 1964, a
 fairly average year, the figures were as follows:
 Astronomical ............................'.. 123
 Aircraft ..................................  71
 Balloon ..................................  20
 Insufficient Data ...........................  99
 Other ....................................  88
 Satellite .................................. 142
 Unidentified ..............................  19
 Total .................................. 562
 Policeman's Report
 One intriguing, classic case of the 19 listed above as unidentified
 will also illustrate how widely government agencies, industrial firms,
 and individuals cooperate in the UFO project.
 On 24 April 1984 at approximately 1745 hours, a Socorro, New
 Mexico, police officer, Lonnie Zamora, was headed south chasing a
 speeding automobile when he suddenly heard a roar and saw a
 flame in the sky to the southwest.  He decided to let the speeder
 go in favor of investigating the flame, because there was a dynamite
 shack in that area and it might have blown up.  He turned right
 onto a gravel road that ran by the shack.
 As he was driving slowly along the road, Zamora saw above a steep
 hill just ahead afunnel-shaped flame, bluish and sort of orange.
 The base of the flame was hidden behind the hiU; there was no smoke
 connected with it.  He had trouble getting the car to the top of the
 hill because of Loose gravel; he had to try three times before lie made
 it.  As he reached the top of the hill he saw a shiny object to the
 south, this side of the dynamite shack, about 150-200 yards away.
 .It was off the road to the left in an arroyo, and at first glance it
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 looked like a car turned over; but when he drove closer, it appeared
 to be aluminum color, not chrome, and oval-shaped like a football.
 Zamora drove about 50 feet along the hill crest, radioing back to
 the sheriff's office, "10-44 [accident], I'll be YO-6 [busy out of the
 cazj checking a wreck down in the arroyo."  From this point, seated
 in the car, he could not see the object over the edge of the hill.
 As he stopped the car, he was still talking on the radio, and while
 he was getting out he dropped the mike.  He picked it up and
 put it back end stazted down toward the object.
 Just then he heard a very loud roar, not exactly like a blast but
 not steady like a jet engine.  It was of low frequency at first and
 then became higher.  At the same time he saw a light blue flame,
 sort of orange at the bottom.  Zamora believes this flame came from
 the .underside of the. object; he could see no smoke but some dust
 in the vicinity.  He panicked; he thought the object was going to
 blow up.  In his own words (with slight rearrangements for the sake
 of clarity)
 As soon as saw flame and heard roar, ...ran away from object but did turn
 head towards, object.  Object was ~ in shape.  It was smooth-no windows
 or doors.  As roar started, it was still on or near ground.  Noted red lettering
 of some type like  n? .  Insignia was about 2r/a inches high and about 2 inches
 wide, guess.  Was in middle of object, like ~.  Object still like aluminum
 white.
 [Ruhning], bumped leg on car-back fender area.  Car facing southwest.  .. .
 Fell by car and [surd glasses #ell off, kept running to north, with car between
 me and object.  ...  I guess I?had run about 25 feet when I glanced back and
 saw the ? object ...rise to about level of car, about 20 to 25 feet, guess.  Took,
 I guess, about sis seconds when object started to rise and I glanced back.  .. .
 It appeared about directly over the place where it rose from.
 I was still running, . ' .. [then] about 50 feet from car I ducked down, just
 over edge of hill.  ..  I stopped because I did not hear the ?roar.  I was
 scared of the roar, and I had planned to continue running down the hill.  T turned
 around toward the object and at the same time put my head toward ground,
 covering my face with my arms.  ...  When the roar stopped, heard a sharp
 tone whine and the whine lasted maybe a second.  Then there was complete
 silence about the object.
 That's when I lifted up my head and saw the object going away from me .. .
 in a southwest direction ...  It did not come any closer to me.  It appeared to
 go in straight line and at same height  possibly 10 to 15 feet from ground,
 and it cleared.the dynamite shack by about three feet.  Shack about eight feet
 high.  Object was traveling very fast.  It seemed to rise up, and take off im-
 mediately across country.
 I ran back to my car and as I ran back, I kept an eye on the object.  I picked
 up my ...sun glasses, got into the car, and radioed to Nep Lopes, radio operator,
 to look out the window, to see ff you could see an object.  He asked, what is it?
 1AR    RELEASED IN FUL                    ncc~r~ei  ~~ce  nwuv
 C00
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 UFOs
 I answered, it looks like a balloon.  I don't know if he saw it.  If Nep looked
 out his window, which faces north, he couldn't have seen it.  I did not tell him
 at the moment which window to look out of.
 As I was calling Nep, I could still see object.  The object seemed to lift up
 slowly, and to get small in the distance very fast.  It seemed to just clear the
 Box Canyon or Mile Canyon Mountain.  It disappeared as it went over the
 mountain.  It had no fume whatsoever as it was traveling over the ground, and
 no smoke or noise.
 Feeling in good health.  Last drink-two or three beers-was over a month
 ago..  Noted no odors.  Noted no sounds other than described.  Gave direction
 to Nep Lopes at radio and to Sergeant MS Chaves [of New Mexico state police
 at Soconro] to get there.  .Went down to where the object had been, and I noted
 the brush was burning in several places.  ...  I got my pen and drew a picture
 of the insignia on the object.  .. .
 Then Sgt.,Chaves .came up, asked me what the trouble was because I was
 sweating and he told me that I was white, very pale.  I asked the Sgt. to see
 what I saw and that was the burning brush.. Then Sgt. Chaves and I went to
 the spot and Sgt. Chaves pointed out the tracks.
 When I first saw the object (when I thought it might be a car) I saw what
 appeared to be two legs of some type from the object to the ground.  At the
 time, I didri t pay much attention to ...the two lags.  The two legs were at
 the bottom of the object, slanted outwards to the ground.  The object might
 have been about three and a half feet from the ground at that time.
 Diagnosis: Unsolved
 There is no doubt that Lonnie Zamora saw an object which left
 quite an impression on him.  There is also no question about Zamora's
 reliability.  He is a serious police officer, a pillar of his church, and
 a man well versed in recognizing airborne vehicles in his area.  He
 is puzzled by what he saw, and frankly, so are we. ? This is the
 best-documented case on record, and still we have been unable, in
 spite of thorough investigation, to find the vehicle or other stimulus
 that scared Zamora to the point of panic.
 During the course of the investigation and immediately thereafter,
 everything that was humanly possible to verify was checked.  Radia-
 tion in the landing area was checked with Geiger counters from
 Kirtland AFB.  The Holloman AFB  Balloon  Control. Center was
 checked for balloon activity.  All local stations and Air Force bases
 were checked for release of weather balloons.  Helicopter activity
 was checked throughout the state of New Mexico.  Government and
 private aircraft were checked.  The reconnaissance division in the
 Pentagon was checked.  The  White House Command Post was
 checked.  The Commander at Holloman AFB was interviewed at
 length about special activities from his base.  Down-range controllers
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 at the White Sands Missile Range were interviewed.  Letters were
 written to industrial companies engaged in lunar vehicle research
 activity.  The companies were extremely cooperative, but to no avail.
 The Air Force Materials Laboratory analyzed soil samples from the
 landing area.
 The findings were altogether negative.  No other witnesses could
 be located.  There were no unidentified helicopters or aircraft in the
 area.  Radar installations at Holloman AFB  and at Albuquerque
 observed no unusual blips; but the down-range Holloman MTI radar,
 closest to Socorro, had been closed down for the day at 1600 hours.
 There was no unusual meteorological activity, no thunderstorms;
 the weather was windy but .clear.  There were no markings of any
 sort in the area except the shallow "tracks" Chaves and Zamora found.
 The soil analysis disclosed no foreign material.  Radiation was normal
 for the "tracks" and surrounding area.  Laboratory analysis of the
 burned brush showed no chemicals that could have been propellant
 residue.
 The abject was traveling at approximately 120 miles per hour
 when it disappeared over the mountain, according to Zamora's best
 guess of the time it took.  Not an interplanetary speed, at any rate;
 and the findings aze also negative for any indication that the Socorro
 UFO was of extraterrestrial origin or that it presented a threat to
 the security of the United States.
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