The Roswell Report: Case Closed

Finally, on August 11.1960, DISCOVERERXIII successfully
ejected a capsule and, amid much fanfare. the first recovery of a
manmade object that had orbited the earth was accompIished.y2
This first successful mission of an American satellite, made
possible in part by Holloman AFB high altitude balloons, enabled
the U.S. to beat the Soviets and claim the honor of the first space
recovery by only nine days.q3
The SURVEYOR(Moon), VOYAGER-MARS(Mars), VKINC (Mars),
PIONEER(Venus), and GALILEO(Jupiter) spacecraft were tested by Air
Force high altitude balloons before they were launched into space.
VIKING and VOYAGER-MARSSpace Probes. Examples of
unusual payloads, not likely to be associated with balloons, were
qualification trials of NASA’s VOYAGER-MARSand VIKING space probes.
Both of these spacecraft looked remarkably similar to the classic dome-
shaped ‘flying saucer.”
In 1966-67 and 1972, eight of the UFO lookalikes were
launched by the Balloon Branch from the former Roswell Army Air
Field (now Roswell Industrial Air Center), N.M.‘4 The spacecraft were
transported by Air Force balloons to altitudes above 100,000 feet and
released for a period of self-propelled, supersonic, free-flight prior to
landing on the White Sands Missile Range.9’ While the origins of the
“Roswell” scenarios cannot be specifically traced to these vehicles,
their flying saucer-like appearance, and the fact that they were launched
exclusively from the original “Roswell Incident” location, leaves an
impression that perhaps these odd balloon payloads may have played
some role in the unclear and distorted stories of at least some of the
“Roswell” witnesses.
Fig.52. A NASAVKING
space probe is rolled out of its
assembly building at Martin
Marietta Corporalion in
Denver,Cola.(NASA)