Sighting in Bernac-Debat, July 19, 2020

During the night of 18 to 19 July 2020, three people were looking at a perfectly clear sky when an object caught their attention. It seemed to blink and gave off particularly bright flashes. According to the witness, there were three or four flashes during the whole crossing toward the horizon, and between them the object could not be seen with the naked eye. Its path looked straight, with no deviation. The witness thought of a satellite, but searches on the Internet turned up nothing. Only one account was collected.

GEIPAN found that the description strongly suggested a rapidly rotating satellite flashing at a more or less regular rhythm, an explanation the witness had also considered. The trajectory, orientation, angular height and time of passage all matched the pass of the Telkom 3 satellite very closely. Powerful flashes from Telkom 3 had been reported in July 2020, and the satellite spins quickly. The case showed low strangeness and very good consistency, since the single testimony was complete and precise. It was classified A: the flashes came from the Telkom 3 satellite.