Sighting in Villeferry, August 12, 2015

Between 10 and 11 pm, a witness was out walking with their grandchild when the two noticed an unusually bright point of light in the sky. After a few minutes it began to move, crossed the sky in a straight line and vanished behind a forest. Only one witness account was collected.

The investigation considered several possible sources. If it was a satellite, the initial impression of stillness may have been an illusion caused by the witnesses walking. That evening, around 9:50 pm, the International Space Station passed very brightly from the north-east toward the east, slightly before the time window given by the witness. Several other satellites followed the same path within the window (Cosmos 2082, Cosmos 1833 and their rockets, USA 29/DMSP 5D-2/F9), but they are normally too faint, magnitude 3 at best. It cannot be ruled out that one of them was positioned in such a way that it became very bright. An aircraft seen head-on was judged possible but unlikely: it would have had to be low on the horizon, and its flashing lights would have been visible when it changed course. A helicopter fitted poorly, given the silence the witness noted and the absence of flashing lights. No check was possible, as the investigation came too late.

GEIPAN classified the case as B: the strong resemblance to the appearance of the International Space Station outweighed the slight gap with the time given by the witness.