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US Air Force Intelligence Guidance Collection Letter No. 4 25 April 1961 16-December-2003 This USAF Intelligence Collection Guidance Letter, originally classified Confidential, describes and provides guidance for project Moon Dust reporting. Several items of interest appear in the document: classification level of Moon Dust Alerts and reports, focus of Moon Dust on "foreign earth satellite vehicles," and destination agencies for Moon Dust reports among them. While this document certainly does not eliminate the possibility that Moon Dust reports may contain UFO related information, we think it does eliminate Moon Dust as a primary ("the real secret") UFO project as some have theorized. Certainly, Moon Dust reports should be sought, located and made available. The road to obtaining this document was a long one. Thanks go to Michael Ravnitzky, SSgt Gery Huelseman (USAF NAIC FOIA Office, Wright Patterson AFB OH), Wilbert Mahoney and Herbert Rawlings-Milton (Archivists, NARA College Park, MD) all of whom played a role in getting this document to CUFON. - Jim Klotz - CUFON SYSOP |
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AFCIN-1A 25 Apri1 1961 INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION SUBJECT: (U) MOON DUST Reporting TO: All Air Force Collection Activities 1. PURPOSE This letter provides instructions and guidance for reporting information in response to MOON DUST Alerts. 2. APPLICABILITY This letter is applicable world-wide for initiative reporting. 3. REFERENCE Priority Air Intelligence Requirement (PAIR-1F). 4. BACKGROUND Based on estimates of the time and place of foreign earth satellite vehicle (ESV) atmospheric re-entries, Headquarters USAF (AFCIN) initiates MOON DUST Alerts. They are issued as far in advance as practicable (normally 10 days) and are automatically cancelled three (3) days after the re-entry prediction date stated in the alert message. It is necessary that the alerts be issued on a world-wide basis until such time as techniques are developed that will make possible the prediction of the precise time and place of impact. 5. INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDANCE During the periods when MOON DUST Alert is in effect, it is important that interested personnel receive, as rapidly as possible, accurate sighting data on the final (estimated) orbits from as many different sources as possible. The following guidance may assist in reporting observations of space vehicle re-entry. The re-entry of a space vehicle can be seen over great distances, and even the qualified observer cannot estimate the distance from point of observation to the sighted object with any great degree of certainty. At these distances, the re-entry would appear to resemble a meteor travelling in a near horizontal or descending path and, as the distance decreased, would appear as a brilliant object or cluster of objects visible during daylight conditions. In addition, an audible rumbling sound like thunder, arid possibly sharp explosion-like sounds might be correlated with the sighting.
(6) Apparent size of object as compared to the size of a coin or other familiar item held at arm's length.
In the event a decayed space object is suspected as having descended, the following actions are required:
Reports in response to paragraph 5a. or b. above should cite the unclassified nickname MOON DUST and be addressed to the following:
6. CLASSIFICATION ASPECTS Because of the intelligence connotations of MOON DUST regarding retrieval and examination by ATIC of a descended Soviet space vehicle, the overall project is classified Confidential, and MOON DUST Alerts are normally on a Confidential basis because of the intelligence association with decay estimates. The basic decay estimates (identification of the- object and estimated date and hour of decay) are in themselves normally unclassified. Thus, decay estimates, as such, can be released to observers or observatories cooperating with U.S. collectors purely on the basis of international cooperation in the scientific aspects of space knowledge. Reports of sightings transmitted by U.S. personnel should be classified according to source or content in accordance with normal reporting and transmitting procedures, and in the case of reports on visual sightings, will normally be unclassified. FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF: /s/ Lowell E May
National Archives and Records Administration College Park, Maryland 20740-6001 December 2, 2003 Dear Mr. Klotz: I am forwarding to you one copy of "Intelligence Collection Guidance Letter No.4" from folder "Detachment #5" located in Box 1 of 1 for accession 65A3236. As stated in my email to you of this date, we will continue to search for the other accession you requested, 61A1357. Sincerely, /s/ Herbert Rawlings-Milton Enclosure
NARA’S web site is http://ww.archives.gov
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