Sighting in Rentree Atmospherique — National, January 17, 2009
France
Sighting on January 17, 2009 in Rentree Atmospherique — National (France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was the atmospheric re-entry of a space object (rocket stage, debris) (class A).
What happened
The GEIPAN and several websites received a large number of reports about a luminous phenomenon seen in the evening, at around 17:49 Universal Time, or 18:49 local time. The case file relies on these many accounts, including a document from the REFORME network devoted to the event. The source does not give any detail of what the witnesses saw, such as shape, colour, duration or trajectory.
After review, the GEIPAN identified the phenomenon as an atmospheric re-entry. The case is classified A, meaning fully 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 17, 2009
- Location
- Rentree Atmospherique — National · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Re-entries
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2009-01-01961
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.