BERNAC-DEBAT (65) 19.07.2020

During the night of 18–19 July 2020, 3 people watching a completely clear sky saw an intermittently visible object with particularly bright flashes. The submitted account describes 3 or 4 flashes during its passage across the horizon, with the object invisible to the naked eye between them and an apparently straight path without deviations. The witness suspected a satellite but found no answer in online searches. Only 1 account was collected. The description strongly suggests a rapidly rotating satellite flashing at a roughly regular rate, an explanation the witness also considered. The trajectory, orientation, angular elevation and timing closely match Telkom 3. The powerful flashes resemble those reported from this rapidly rotating satellite in July 2020 (see the investigation report). Strangeness is low and evidential support very good, with 1 complete and precise account. The case is classified A: flashes from Telkom 3.