In his March 1952 briefing (DOW-UAP-D154), Captain Edward J. Ruppelt set the green fireballs apart from other reports. They "appear to be, uh, similar to a meteor except that they have a definite flat trajectory," are "a brilliant, uh, greenish-blue color," and "they don't explode." He was unequivocal that they were real: "they actually exist. There's no doubt about it."
Investigation got nowhere. "Cambridge, uh, labs have been working on that for two years and they came up with no conclusions whatsoever." Despite triangulating sightings, investigators "never been able to find any parts," and a B-29 fitted with a dust collector found nothing "that would indicate that anything unusual was going on." Dr. Lincoln LaPaz of the University of New Mexico suggested Soviet self-destructing missiles "zeroing in on" Los Alamos; Ruppelt called that "a good story" that could not be ruled out. Dr. Joseph Kaplan instead suspected a new kind of meteor or an aurora-related effect.
The proposed fix was physics: inexpensive, rugged cameras fitted with diffraction gratings, issued to guards at Sandia, White Sands and similar sites, so the spectrum of any light could reveal its composition. Ruppelt described this as "strictly in the planning stage." The complete transcript is on our main D-154 page: https://ufodata.org/library/i-forgot-to-mention-the-contractor-inside-the-air-force-s-ufo-project-
Pages From the File
Page 10. "A definite flat trajectory... brilliant greenish-blue color... they don't explode." Highlight added by UFO Data.Page 11. No fragments ever found; a B-29 dust-collector flight found nothing unusual. Highlight added by UFO Data.
New Mexico, from 1949. Near Los Alamos and the Sandia base, people keep reporting the same thing: green fireballs.
The Air Force's project chief described them in 1952. Like a meteor, except a definite flat trajectory. A brilliant greenish blue. And they don't explode.
Nobody ever found a fragment. They even flew a B-29 with a dust collector through the area afterwards. Nothing unusual at all.
Doctor Lincoln LaPaz suspected Soviet missiles, zeroing in on Los Alamos. Ruppelt's comment: that's a good story, and there's a possibility, because we don't know what it is.
The plan was cheap cameras with diffraction gratings, handed to guards at Sandia and White Sands, to split the light and read what it was made of.
Cambridge labs worked on it for two years, with no conclusions whatsoever. Search Case D-154 at ufodata.org. Subscribe to UFO Data.
