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Sighting in La Ville-ès-Nonais, September 25, 2008

Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France

Sighting on September 25, 2008 in La Ville-ès-Nonais (Ille-et-Vilaine, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was the International Space Station (ISS) (class A).

What happened

At around 9 p.m., early in the night, the witness saw a large bright point of light cross the sky from west to east over a few minutes. It moved silently and at a constant speed. The witness added that they had already seen the same phenomenon several times in the preceding months and years.

The description is typical of a large satellite passing overhead. A check on the Calsky website showed that the International Space Station (ISS) had passed within a few minutes of the time the witness gave. The witness's earlier sightings fit this explanation. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A: the object was the ISS.

The same evening, at around 11 p.m., a far more spectacular phenomenon was visible in the same region: the re-entry into the atmosphere of the third stage of a Russian Proton launcher.

Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.

Date
September 25, 2008
Location
La Ville-ès-Nonais · town centre
Type of sighting
From the ground
Source classification
A
Explanation
Space station (ISS)

Sources

Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.