PORT-LA-NOUVELLE (11) 16.08.2019

On the evening of 16 August 2019, a resident of Port-la-Nouvelle (11) used binoculars to observe the newly risen Moon and then Jupiter. He saw a flash just above Jupiter, another in the same place 1–2 seconds later, and a third slightly higher after a further 4–5 seconds. He continued looking but saw nothing more. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN favoured an orbiting-object explanation (see the investigation report). Brief powerful flashes at irregular intervals are characteristic of a defunct satellite or abandoned rocket stage rotating rapidly. It ruled out an aircraft because none followed the reported path, further flashes would very probably have appeared, and the binocular view should have revealed red and green navigation lights. An orbiting object would need to pass close to Jupiter on a south-to-north path around 22:38–22:40, the interval in the witness's first letter. A Calsky reconstruction found 2 candidates (Figure 9 of the report): Resurs 1-3 rocket, a Russian Zenit-2 stage launched in 1994, which passed directly in front of Jupiter at 22:44:35; and NOAA 18, a US weather satellite launched in 2005, which passed within a few degrees at 22:43. These candidate times are later than the stated interval; the source nevertheless treats the approximate witness time as consistent. Although deactivated NOAA satellites are known to produce powerful irregular flashes, the OSCAR website showed NOAA 18 still active at the time, so GEIPAN rejected it. The remaining explanation was Resurs 1-3 rocket. Its slow apparent motion, 0.46°/s, fitted the flashes' close spacing (Figure 10). The stage is cylindrical, 10.4 m long and 3.9 m in diameter. GEIPAN considered this disproportion capable of producing large brightness changes during rapid rotation. Although there was only 1 witness and no photograph or video, GEIPAN judged the account fairly precise and its evidential support good. The description, brightness and viewing direction confirmed Jupiter as the reference planet. It found the first letter's approximate time consistent with the Moon's position and ground landmarks. Only Jupiter's angular elevation, and therefore the UAP's, was overestimated; GEIPAN considered this common in UAP accounts and inconsequential here. With relatively little strangeness and good evidential support, GEIPAN identified an orbiting space object. The rapidly rotating-satellite or rocket-stage description, south-to-north path near Jupiter and slow apparent motion all pointed to the Resurs 1-3 rocket stage launched in 1994, explaining why the 3 flashes appeared in the same small region. It classified the case A: misidentification of the Resurs 1-3 rocket-stage debris.