NASA FOIA 21-HQ-F-00500

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tDiCtABSDIBD Tech. Note 'IlUi; )6
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InlLlnen of tbe 5ucce9lfuJ ~n'O:'1 of fragmcnUi of SplCCO bonltcrs( 1). and at
lei II 001I:I example of the lucceuful rc _ entry of b ..nb from • dec.yin, satellite
... ehicle (2) bye been reported, Oill&ber ami Bibu.l.t1a.(1) havc aIloc tblt .tcel
dilCI!mY generally be e"peclcd to al;lrrive fe-entry . So far I. il knJwn, .11
fraamegls reported have ~ iTrelul_r ly shaped and subject to cOlllider-ble
mtltinl and crosion dnrin& re-entry.
GI April SU t 1963 ... l ight 'pIU;rc. 14.15in. di.melcr lind weighing liS 1'0,
.,... d1Ioor'~e4 in I remote part of J.utral1' 1 the locl.lion was approximately
Latitude 30 0)' 9, Longitude 1410 50' E. The Iphere _ ~ on the lurhce
of landy COUDtry whieb is brokel:! '" by acme :rooq IrCI1, It is not lID;Jwu lD¥
lon, the sp here had been t here tinct it wu found In an infnqutntly vilit"d
portion of Il J,OOOaare erali.D,5 arca, IIDd lnveltiguion. of the ~ reported
'lablings of raIling object. which were received followina pb,equenl publi city
reOfuled lID releva n t infOfUlation. Ch June 29th, 1963) a secood .phere WlIS 0
found ~h9' 4Q StatUte miles IJY of the first sphere, at Lalitude 29 )2' S,
Lonaitude 141 .34 E.
Tbe fiu t liphere - wwcll ha~ am:l to be kwwn a. the Boullia Ball, zince it was
found on Boullb Stalion proporl)' - has been 0II;su:nined by .uff of Weap;q Resel.rcb
E.tabllshment. 1he secoad sphere hu received only I cursory examinatil.ln by
t.R.E., it is apprl.lximately 16.61z1. diameter and wciiht 21.61b.
The Boullia Ban is Jtnwn in fiaute I and a d.iroensioned Ib'kll is aiven in
fi,uro 2. The b .. 11 is spherical wilhia 0.006 in. except for the .mall, dighlly
flattened are. aham IIId consists of two hemispheru welded toeelber, Conlidering
the ...... e1d .. the IqIlItOr-, the twa bonCi are at tho polu, (D:I of tho heuce is a
mounting er locating LIIC Integral with the 'phere, while the otber Caho 1n:'-I2'a1)
providu .ccnt to the interior ed CU'Z'ba I tbrelded portioa with a aul. Both
botsu ciZ'r7 ,mall .aQIlDW of Med metal; the fused meul in the bole throuah the
lIWfaoa effectively seal, the sphere. 'The 'tbra.a. on the bo.. mel nut (IQ~_ t o
l1n.14 TPI American National fine; in Ihe condition la found the nllt turn. qnite
rreelyon the bo.. but is prevented ftom tmoh1Bc dgbt off by the fUled metal 11
the end. 10 t be coune I.If u..iMtloa, the 'pbero was leetioned tbroup Ibe poles
i n a plane at riaht aagln to Ute equatorial weld.. 'The plenure inlid.e ...... below
atrao.pbone; teltl for halogen gases were negative.
Analysis rJf the .phere tnlterial carried out by the DefCflce Standard! Laboratorin
revealed thlt it is ~ or tiu.ninm ~, vanadium ~ ..00 aluminium~; tbi,
eOlTClponda tl.l IQd B26515&r Gtade v. The fUlld metal OIl tbe bone, at the pain
of tbe Iphcre is the same alloy with %ncelof ltllgoesiurn. Ilumlnium, iron, copper
and ni~kel . lbe aphere is covered with. I:IOD-UIl1:t_ 'lelaa naldue, mainly bltek
i n colour, thil is visible in t11\U'8 1, and it givCl the appelnn~e of blvinll been
.ub~.oW- 10 high ta.pal'atlll'... Microseopic oxaminat>on of the atrue!\'re of the
materill beln out the belief *at the sphere ba, been exposed to hiab temperalUres.
4STII. B265/S8r Crack V h all. alpha_btu titanium alloy with bota u-atOl'lU,Hc.n
tlllll~'ture ar 1S25 + 200;:. (reference 3). The dhtinct CUnie in structure of
the alloy when beated 10 or beyond the beta \rinllfonllatlon' ht:apfll'ature IIlIIkes it
p,0Ulble to detl%'lll1.M whether this temperature 11.. been rllched. Examination b7
eferu:o Stand.. rds laboratories of sections of two diametricl!.lly oppoailo specimens
r.ot. Crum tho wold) oontimod that the bela tt_lol'lllaUolI. temperature has been
Ro"d" .t the Iphere IIlrfe.oe. 1be transformed structure penelrates to a deolh of
an1, 0.0005 in . approximlltely, indicllliJlI 1411'" tbe rnajl.lrity or the sphere wall lill
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