Witness Observes Object in the Sky

Summary

On December 6, 1956, between 16:35 and 18:40 local time, an observer reported seeing an artificial object in the sky. The object had a continuous brightness of magnitude 3, similar to the stars in Orion's Belt, and moved from north to south. No signs of propulsion, smoke, flames, or noise were observed. The witness attempted to photograph the object, believing it could be Sputnik III, but further observations failed to confirm its presence.

From CIA headquarters, a preliminary check showed that Sputnik III was not within the observer's visibility area at the time mentioned, nor did the direction match computed orbits. According to a Soviet announcement, the carrier rocket for Sputnik III had reentered Earth's atmosphere on December 3, 1956. The CIA requested further evaluation from the Air Force and OSI, but no additional field comments were recorded.