Sighting in Portiragnes, January 25, 2009
Hérault, Occitanie, France
Sighting on January 25, 2009 in Portiragnes (Hérault, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably the atmospheric re-entry of a space object (rocket stage, debris) (class B).
What happened
A motorist saw a red phenomenon with a long trail crossing the sky at around 6:30 pm, lighting it up. The witness heard no noise. They then headed to the beach, where other people seemed, like them, to have seen the object fall into the sea. No other testimony could be collected.
The GEIPAN investigation concluded that these people had most likely witnessed an atmospheric re-entry. The case was classified B, meaning probably identified.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- January 25, 2009
- Location
- Portiragnes · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Re-entries
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2009-01-02739
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.