Sighting in Durbans, August 30, 2019

While on holiday, the witness spent several nights stargazing with five other amateur astronomers. On several evenings in a row, the group noticed a bright object passing overhead whose brightness kept changing. It crossed the same constellations each time, which intrigued the observers. Only one account was collected by GEIPAN.

The investigation showed that the observers had indeed seen what they described: a drifting satellite, Telkom 3. This Indonesian telecommunications satellite was launched in 2012 into the wrong orbit after a failure of the Proton launcher. Instead of the intended geostationary orbit, it follows an elliptical orbit inclined at 50° with a low perigee of about 250 km. With no stabilisation, it is probably tumbling, which would explain the variable glow the witnesses reported.

The witness's information was checked. The satellite moved from the west-southwest, in the constellation Boötes, toward the south-southeast, in the constellation Aquila, at an elevation close to 50°. On 31 August, its pass occurred about five minutes earlier and about five degrees lower. GEIPAN classified the case as A: satellite observation.