ALSACAT-1978-12-02-AEROPORTMULHOUSE-1
The regional newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace for December 4, 1978, had reported that on Saturday, December 2, 1978 around 05:15 p.m., the weather service at the Basel-Mulhouse airport had observed a UFO at a distance of 25 kilometers; which was confirmed in the newspaper by the air transport gendarmerie squad:
"The apparatus, a cylindrical ball [sic] a hundred meters in diameter and bright white, advanced at a very high speed, the trajectory coming from Belfort to Basel with red streaks. Belfort saw the same phenomenon but even more precisely."
The newspaper commented that it was clear that this was the first time it seems that a UFO was reported in the approach areas of this airport.
On December 6, 1978, the newspaper L'Alsace reported that on December 2, 1978 at 05:16 p.m., a meteorological technician on duty at the observation station at Basel-Mulhouse airport had "noticed a quite troubling phenomenon: about 25 kilometers away, a white ball, very luminous, and a hundred meters in diameter "moved in the sky at a very high speed in the direction Belfort-Basel. The phenomenon had been observed for a few minutes. The UFO disappeared by rising very quickly and leaving a red trail behind.
Other airport staff, a mechanic and a porter, as well as people outside the airport confirmed this testimony. The local air transport gendarmerie, involved here for the first time on such a case, had collected all these observations to transmit them to the central management.
The airport's meteorological service said the phenomenon "is not the subject of any official investigation."
The newspaper reported two attempts to explain this event: the central service of the weather in Paris, which had also recorded the observations made at the stations of Belfort, Langres and Luxeuil where the phenomenon had also been observed, this great clarity would be due to a pearly cloud at a very high altitude, lit by the sun.
The newspaper reported that this was not the opinion of all the observers, including a Swissair pilot who was passing nearby, because it did not explain the very high speed of movement of the phenomenon and the drag left behind.
Another explanation was based on a film shot by an amateur and broadcast on December 5, 1978 on TV, and believed it could be a sodium rocket. (This "film", a video taken in Roanne, was broadcast in the TF1 news on December 3, 1978).
In fact, it was known quite soon that it was the result of a rocket fired from the test center of Biscarosse, reported in the press. The rocket had gone into a "spin" at launch, it was intercepted, and exploded in flight at 10,000 meters altitude, which caused testimony on a large part of France, including this one in Alsace.
This does not prevent some "ufologists" even in 2018 to continue to want to believe that this was a "wave of UFOs" on France.
To complicate matters, "zeteticians" (UFO skeptics) evoke a reentry of debris of the Russian satellite Cosmos 1047 on December 2, 1978 - without providing an hour, a place, or testimonies that describe such a thing .
The fact is there, I found the documented traces: that December 2, 1978, an S3 missile - those used to carry an atomic bomb - had been launched, probably for test, from Biscarosse.
| Date: | December 2, 1978 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 07:16 p.m. |
| Duration: | Several minutes. |
| First known report date: | December 2, 1978 |
| Reporting delay: | Hour, 2 days. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Blotzheim |
| Place: | From the Basel-Mulhouse airport, UFO in the sky. |
| Latitude: | 47.598 |
| Longitude: | 7.529 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 100 m |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | Several. |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adults. |
| Witness(es) types: | Airport weatherman, others. |
| Reporting channel: | Gendarmerie, the regional Press. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | From airport weather station and elsewhere, UFO in the sky. |
| Visibility conditions: | Evening. |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Out of control military rocket. |
[Ref. gen1:] GENDARMERIE NATIONALE:
The Gendarmerie Nationale, at the Brigade des Transports Aériens of the Basel-Mulhouse, did write an official report about the event, this part leaked to the media and remains on the web nowadays:
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[Ref. dna1:] NEWSPAPER "DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE":
Saturday at 05:15 p.m. the weather service of the Basel-Mulhouse airport in St. Louis observed at a distance of 25 km an unidentified flying object (UFO), confirmed to us by the brigade of gendarmerie of the aerial transport. The craft, a cylindrical ball [sic] a hundred meters in diameter of a luminous white color, moved at a very high speed, the trajectory coming from Belfort towards Basel with red streaks. The meteorological observatory of Belfort saw the same thing but even more accurately. This is the first time it seems that a UFO was reported in the landing approach zone if the Basel-Mulhouse airport.
[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":
Saturday at 5:16 p.m. a meteorologist technician on duty at the observation station at the Basel-Mulhouse airport noted a rather disturbing phenomenon: at 25 kilometers away approximately a ball of white color, very bright, and a hundred meters in diameter that moved in the sky at a very high speed in the direction Belfort-Basel. The phenomenon was observed for a few minutes. Then the unidentified object disappeared by going up very quickly and leaving a red trail behind it. Other employees at "Basel-Mulhouse " (a mechanic and a porter) and people outside the airport confirmed this testimony. The aviation police (involved for the first time such a case) collected all these comments to be forwarded to the central management and will swell the already voluminous record of UFO spotted in French airspace. The weather service from the airport is adamant that this phenomenon is the subject of no official investigation.
Let's note however two versions that have been advanced to try to explain this event. For the Central Weather Service in Paris, which also collected the observations at the stations of Belfort, Langres and Luxeuil (from where the phenomenon was also observed) - this clarity is due to a pearly cloud (at very high altitude and illuminated by the sun); this is not the opinion of all observers, however, including a Swissair pilot passing nearby. How to explain the effect of very high speed movement of the phenomenon and the trail it left?
The other version, which is based on a film shot by an amateur (which was reportedly shown yesterday on TV) said that it could bes sodium rocket. But then again we would like to know... who the fireworks operators were.
So, UFO?
[Ref. nos1:] "NOSTRADAMUS" MAGAZINE:
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We were finishing the closing of our last issue when two telephone calls from our correspondents in Mulhouse and Roanne indicated the observation of O.V.N.I in the skies of these two cities. It was Saturday, December 2, at 5:30 p.m.
Faithful to the policy adopted by our editorial staff since we devoted our columns to the U.F.O. phenomenon, we did not want to deliver "hot" the details of these observations. Above all, it was necessary not to yield to the sensational; to check the facts and to contact the authorities authorized to record and investigate this type of observation.
And, once again, we were right.
The precisions given by the witnesses, the recording of a video film in Roanne, the taking of photos in Clermont-Ferrand and Montluçon, the very identity of certain witnesses deserved that we give in to the fever of this information.
From Mulhouse we were told that the U.F.O. came from the direction of Belfort in the shape of a sphere of 100 meters in diameter (!?!), extremely bright white, leaving behind red streaks, moving at high speed towards Basel.
Observed alternately by the meteorological service of the Basel-Mulhouse airport, by the weather observatory of Belfort and by ten other witnesses including Mrs. Odette Lapagne of Chèvremeont, it disappeared soon, leaving behind red and blue luminescences; which took a long time to dissipate.
At Roanne, St-Etienne, Clermont-Ferrand, Montluçon, at the same hour just a few minutes apart, the mysterious object is seen by several witnesses. Some in Clermont and Montluçon were able to take photos, another in Roanne, Mr. Jean-Luc Michault, alerted by a neighbor, recorded from his balcony on the 12th floor of the Burgundy Tower a video film of exceptional quality.
This film, moreover, some of our readers were able to view it, Tuesday, December 5, during the news of TF 1 [National TV channel] at 1 p.m..
Appeared in the west vertical of the Chérier hamlet, beyond the mountains of the Madeleine, the object was singularized by a zigzag climb and a graphic reminiscent of the hat of a gigantic mushroom.
At 6 p.m. the object disappeared leaving a kind of iridescent light in its passage through the sky of the Massif Central.
For the first time, all the testimonies agreed. We were in possession of unique documents. It was too good to be true.
Great was our disappointment, like that of Jean-Luc Michault, when the results of the investigation opened by the gendarmerie of Roanne under the direction of Captain Barnis fell.
The contacted military authorities were unanimous:
"It's a sodium rocket coming in and breaking up in the atmosphere."
The best and the most sincere of the witnesses alike can be misled because of the difficulty to analyze, to synthesize an original and rare event like the appearance in the sky of a flying object.
The U.F.O. in question had lost its identity. It had simply become an I.F.O., that is to say, for specialists, an "identified flying object".
J.-M. MEILLAC
[Ref. aes1:] A.E.S.V. UFOLOGY BULLETIN:
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DECEMBER 2 BALE MULHOUSE FRANCE
An object shooting at high speed from Belfort to Basel was seen by the weather service at the Basel-Mulhouse airport. The craft corresponded to a luminous white ball located about 25 km from the station.
"Feuille d'Avis de Neuchatel" 12/05/78
[Ref. gep1:] BULLETIN D'UFOLOGIE "GEPO INFORMATIONS":
Ce groupe d'ufologie a recensé les observations du samedi 2 décembre 1978 entre 17h10 et 18h10 sur la France, et notait:
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[... other cases...]
F) Bale/Mulhouse airport (haut-Rhin} 05:16 p.m. A watch official at the weather station observes coming from the direction of Belfort "a cylindrical ball about 100 meters in diameter, of a very luminous white, moving towards Bale at a very high speed". Confirmation by a technician from Air Inter and numerous phone calls from Alsace and Switzerland.
[... other cases...]
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5:16 p.m. Basel-Mulhouse Airport (a few kilometers NN-W of Basel) These two observations we agree, agree (see E) and F.) But where things go wrong is when the phenomenon is seen S-SW of Belfort at... 5:40 p.m. (cf. G). This would mean that the object after having passed over Basel, had made a U-turn over Switzerland to return to its initial passage. There is therefore, already, for the object seen around Mulhouse, a small mystery which remains to be clarified. And yet, the fireball observed in the Vosges sky is in many ways the "twin sister" of the phenomenon observed in the massif central. But there is still something wrong: hours that do not match at all. At 5:15 p.m., the object (the phenomenon) is seen a few kilometers from Belfort; at 5:10 p.m. - 5:15 p.m., it is a few kilometers from Clermont-Ferrand; How could the same object be found at the same time in two more different places, these said places are separated by more than 300 kilometers).
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Mulhouse. The gendarme on duty was personally unaware; he gave us the Deputy Commander of the National Gendarmerie of Mulhouse who himself had also not heard of it and still according to him, no report had been drawn up (a shame! See F) This last advised us to phone Baldersheim, but unfortunately nothing on that side either.
[Ref. ine1:] BULLETIN "L'INSOLITE":
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A UFO NEAR BASEL
A unidentified flying object was seen on Saturday evening by the weather service at BALE-MULHOUSE airport, announced the air transport gendarmerie brigade. The craft, a ball about a hundred meters in diameter and bright white, was about 25 kilometers away. It was coming from the direction of BELFORT, at very high speed, and heading towards BALE, leaving behind red streaks. The same phenomenon was observed by the meteorological observatory of BELFORT.
LA GRUYERE for 12/7/1978
[Ref. pdl1:] PIERRE DELVAL:
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- On December 3 and 4, 1978, three U. F. O. were seen by several people in the department of Haut-Rhin. First in Contrexeville (Vosges) where a long trail of light, with a powerful headlight surrounded by rays is observed by people. Then it is the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse which indicates a cylindrical object of a hundred meters.
[Ref. clu1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LES CHRONIQUES DE LA C.L.E.U.":
Ce groupe d'ufologie a recensé les observations du samedi 2 décembre 1978 entre 17h10 et 18h10 sur la France, et notait:
This ufology group listed the sightings of Saturday, December 2, 1978 between 5:10 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. over France, and noted:
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F) Basel/Mulhouse Airport (Haut-Rhin) 5:16 p.m. An official on duty at the weather station observes coming from the direction of Belfort "a cylindrical ball about 100 meters in diameter of a very bright white moving towards Basel at a very high speed." Confirmation by an Air Inter mechanic and numerous phone calls from Alsace and Switzerland.
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Seen from Mulhouse
5:15 p.m. Chèvremont (a few kilometers from Belfort)
5:16 pm Basel Mulhouse Airport (a few kilometers N-NW of Basel) These two observations, we agree, are consistent (cf. E and F.). But where things go wrong is when the phenomenon is seen S-SW of Belfort at... 5:40 p.m. (cf. G.) This would mean that the object after having passed over Basel, made a U-turn over Switzerland to return to its initial passage. So there is already, for the object seen around Mulhouse, a little mystery that remains to be clarified.
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
1978, December 4
FRANCE, Bâle-Mulhouse
At the airport is reported a cylindrical object of a hundred meters. But in Mulhouse and over an entire perimeter encompassing the Loire, Haute-Loire and Puy de Dôme, the witnesses saw a luminous ball which crisscrossed the sky in zigzag, leaving luminous streaks which drew a huge mushroom in the sky. A film of the phenomenon was made by an amateur. (Pierre DELVAL: "Contacts du 4e type" - De Vecchi 1979, p. 25)
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[Ref. mdr1:] ERIC MAILLOT, ERIC DEGUILLAUME, DAVID ROSSONI:
In Chapter 8 titled "SEPRA and Atmospheric Rentries: Inventory after Closure", it was suggested that GEPAN, and then SEPRA, CNES services in charge of explaining unidentified aerial phenomena, erred in explanations of UFO reports as Debris of rockets, satellites, etc., these authors write in the "Notes of Chapter 8", within a list of phenomenon of atmospheric reentry of artificial origin:
December 2, 1978: probably the engine of Cosmos 1047 (email by Pierre Neirinck [sic, Neyrinck] to the author, March 2, 2007);
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[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
2 December 1978 Night
Mulhouse, Alsace, France
Meteorological Office incident.
White luminous ball, 100m diameter, crossed near airport at 25km distance at high speed. Came from Belfort, went moving rapidly to the Basel (SUI). Left reddish trail.
An unidentified object was sighted, but with appearance and behavior that most likely would have a conventional explanation.
One white ball, about 300 feet across, was observed by numerous witnesses at an airport.
Hynek rating: NL
Vallee rating: FB1
The sources are indicated as: "Farish, Lucius, UFO Newsclipping Service, UFO Newspaper Clipping Service, Plumerville."
[Ref. cvn2:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:
Former journalist Christian Valentin published in 2012 a very interesting book retracing the history of sightings of UFOs and other flying saucers in Alsace, from the origins until 1980.
In this book, he tells that the newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace for Monday, December 4, 7978 reported on the observation of Saturday, December 2, 1979, in Saint-Louis:
Saturday at 05:15 p.m. the weather service of the Basel-Mulhouse airport in St. Louis observed at a distance of 25 km an unidentified flying object (UFO), confirmed to us by the brigade of gendarmerie of the aerial transport. The craft, a cylindrical ball [sic] a hundred meters in diameter of a luminous white color, moved at a very high speed, the trajectory coming from Belfort towards Basel with red streaks. The meteorological observatory of Belfort saw the same thing but even more accurately. This is the first time it seems that a UFO was reported in the landing approach zone if the Basel-Mulhouse airport.
He adds that the newspaper L'Alsace for Wednesday, December 6, 1978, published this:
Saturday at 5:16 p.m. a meteorologist technician on duty at the observation station at the Basel-Mulhouse airport noted a rather disturbing phenomenon: at 25 kilometers away approximately a ball of white color, very bright, and a hundred meters in diameter that moved in the sky at a very high speed in the direction Belfort-Basel. The phenomenon was observed for a few minutes. Then the unidentified object disappeared by going up very quickly and leaving a red trail behind it. Other employees at "Basel-Mulhouse " (a mechanic and a porter) and people outside the airport confirmed this testimony. The aviation police (involved for the first time such a case) collected all these comments to be forwarded to the central management and will swell the already voluminous record of UFO spotted in French airspace. The weather service from the airport is adamant that this phenomenon is the subject of no official investigation.
Let's note however two versions that have been advanced to try to explain this event. For the Central Weather Service in Paris, which also collected the observations at the stations of Belfort, Langres and Luxeuil (from where the phenomenon was also observed) - this clarity is due to a pearly cloud (at very high altitude and illuminated by the sun); this is not the opinion of all observers, however, including a Swissair pilot passing nearby. How to explain the effect of very high speed movement of the phenomenon and the trail it left?
The other version, which is based on a film shot by an amateur (which was reportedly shown yesterday on TV) said that it could bes sodium rocket. But then again we would like to know... who the fireworks operators were.
So, UFO?
[Ref. psa1:] PATRICE SERAY AMD ROBERT ALESSANDRI:
Closer to us yet, Saturday, December 2, 1978 at precisely 05:30 p.m. in Mulhouse arrives to us a weird report and once again so similar to tour topic developed here.
The object came from, it seems, Belfort, and had a spherical shape a hundred meters in diameter. From a very bright white and leaving behind reddish traces, the UFO moved towards Basel.
Tens of witnesses and not least saw the phenomenon. It was to fade, leaving behind luminescent reddish and bluish "clouds". They used some time to disappear from the heavens.
These authors mention this sighting in the context of an article about rocket and missiles launches mitaken for UFOs.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK.DE":
| Case number: | 19781205 |
| New case number: | |
| Observation date: | 05.12.1978 |
| Observation hour: | |
| Zip code: | |
| Place of observation | Balemulhouse |
| Geocoordinates: | Length: Width: |
| Federal state: | |
| Country of observation: | France |
| Witnesses: | |
| Classification: (Explanation) | LN |
| Investigation: (Explanation) | |
| Identification: | |
| Investigation status: (Explanation) | |
| Investigator: | |
| Source: | DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002 |
[Ref. ubk2:] "UFODATENBANK":
| Case ID | 19781205 |
| Global case number: | 19781205-0002-UDB |
| Date of observation (Day) | 5 |
| Date of observation (Month) | 12 |
| Date of observation(Year) | 1978 |
| Hour of observation | |
| Zip Code | |
| Place of observation | Balemulhouse |
| County | |
| Federal state | |
| Country | France |
| Witnesses | |
| Hynek Classification | NL |
| Vallee Classification | |
| Ruthledge Classification | |
| Henke Classification | |
| Evaluation | |
| Identification | |
| Investigations | |
| Status of the investigation | |
| Domain | UFO-Datenbank |
| Case added by | |
| Latest change by: | |
| Investigator in charge of the case | |
| Source | DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002 |
| State of the information | 25.04.2015 22:16 |
| Accesses to this record | 2 |
| Link to Openmap | http://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=Balemulhouse,France |
| Link to theobservation | http://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=b00be862-e45b-4b0d-b2fd-d5e5386a8e98 |
| Summary for guests | Les faits et éventuellement d'autres documents seront publiés progressivement. Nous vous remercions de votre patience. |
| Preview image |
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Above: An image of the phenomenon as it was filmed in black and white video above Roanne by Jean-Luc Michault. It is his film that was mentioned in the newspaper L'Alsace. It was indeed shown on the news report of the TF1 TV channel on December 3, 1978.
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Above: This picture of the phenomenon was taken by a Mrs Deschamp from Bourg-en Bresse in the department of Ain.
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Above: The phenomenon was photohraphed also from Clermont-Ferrand, this photo was published on the cover of "OVNI - Un Dossier Brûlant", by Jacques Hervy, Atlas publisher, 1984.
Because there had been independent observations from various departments in France, and nearly a dozen photographs of the "streaks" remaining in the sky, some had spoken of a "wave of UFO" although all this was a single phenomenon.
Normally it would have been enough to see the pictures and read the testimonies to understand that it was a rocket launch that went wrong.
A precise explanation was found, it can be found on the GEIPAN website in the file of this national case:
"At this date, an incident about a military rocket launched from the Biscarosse test center was reported in the press. This rocket started to "spin" at launch, was intercepted and exploded in flight at 10,000 meters altitude; which explains the perfect vision of this event on a part of France."
Source: http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/index.php?id=202&cas=1978-12-00572
But, to complicate a little the case, we also have the notion of the re-entry of a debris of the Russian satellite Cosmos 1047 (see [mdr1] above). We find:
COSMOS 1047
COSMOS 1047 is no longer on orbit
NORAD ID: 11108
Int'l Code: 1978-104A
Launch date: November 15, 1978
Source: Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR) (CIS)
Launch site: PLESETSK MISSILE AND SPACE COMPLEX (PKMTR)
Decay date: 1978-11-28
See: http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=11108
This would mean Cosmos 1047 fell down on November 28, 1978. But we also have:
COSMOS 1047 DEB
COSMOS 1047 DEB is no longer on orbit
NORAD ID: 11120
Int'l Code: 1978-104C
Launch date: November 15, 1978
Source: Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR) (CIS)
Launch site: PLESETSK MISSILE AND SPACE COMPLEX (PKMTR)
Decay date: 1978-12-02
Note: This is SATELLITE DEBRIS
Source: https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=11120
So, a debris of Cosmos 1847 fell back on December 2, 1978; it could be the engine, as suggested by Pierre Neyrinck.
I unfortunately could not find the place of this fall. It would probably be France, otherwise the information given by Pierre Neyrick is irrelevant.
I could not find either the time of the fall. The observation in Basel Mulhouse appears in the regional press at an hour that seems accurate to the minute, 05:16 p.m.
The trajectory data of Cosmos 1047 does not help much. This satellite was maneuverable, its fall could be "directed" in advance to a desired point other than that of a point of fall imposed by the physical laws of its initial orbital trajectory. Its operational tilt of 72.9 ° makes it able to fly over any point of the globe including France.
I searched whether Cosmos 1047 or its debris was given as an explanation for one or more UFO sightings of December 2, 1978. For this I listed the observations:
| Lieu: | Pays: | Heure: | Description: | Source: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abingdon | R-U | 07:10 | Silver triangle flew south to the northwest. | UFOcat | |
| Clermont-Ferrand | France | ? | Photo, missile. | Fotocat | |
| Arc-et-Senan | France | ? | Photo Serge Antoine Denis Grandjean, missile. | Fotocat | |
| ? | France | 17:00 | Faisceau lumineux blanc, plus loin derrière traînée dissolue. | Gendarmerie | |
| ? | France | 17:00 | Sphère montante avec traînée rouge, passe à l'horizontale, plusieurs faisceaux. | Gendarmerie | |
| Roanne | France | 17:15 | Vidéo, Jean-Luc Michault, 9 minutes, missile. | Fotocat | |
| Propière | France | 17:15 | Michelot, photo, missile. | Fotocat | |
| ? | France | 17:15 | Traînée ascendente part en vrille. | Gendarmerie | |
| ? | France | 17:15 | Engin montant avec traînée rouge, explosion avec retombées. | Gendarmerie | |
| ? | France | 17:15 | Boule lumineuse rapide s'immobilise, six traînée blanches, puis nuage, arrivée autre traînée blanche. | Gendarmerie | |
| Roanne | France | 17:30 | Eric Beaudonnet, photo, missile. | Fotocat | |
| Montluçon | France | 17:30 | photo, missile. | Fotocat | |
| Bourg-en-Bresse | France | 17:30 | Mme Deschamp, photo, missile. | Fotocat | |
| ? | France | 17:40 | Forme filamenteuse. | Gendarmerie | |
| Charlieu France | 18:00 | J. Séchaud, photo, missile. | Fotocat | ||
| Lyon | France | ? | ? | UFO-Datenbank | |
| Berne | Suisse | ? | UFO-Datenbank | ||
| Bâle | Suisse | ? | UFO-Datenbank | ||
| Babinda | Australie | 20:00 | ? | UFOcat | |
| Chiva | Espagne | 23:00 | Lumière blanche atterri à 200m, décroit, et 2 boules orange vers l'horizon. | UFOcat |
I see that in general, there is a widely seen event in France and in bordering Switzerland seemingly to be the fired missile spinning with sometimes what would be the arrival of the other missile to destroy it. I do not see anything that would fit a re-entry of Cosmos 1047 debris in France or elsewhere, no UFO so widely seen as it should have been if it were Cosmos 1047. Cosmos 1047 seems to have caused no "UFO" sightings over France.
In the end, just consider the photographs: what they show is not a reentry of satellite debris (compare with the reentry of November 5, 1990, for example) but the many "zigzagging" streaks left by a rocket gone out of control.
Alain Esterlé of the "GEPAN" of the time, had replied on January 16th, 1979, by a letter to Jean-Luc Michault, witness of Roanne, that the phenomenon was indeed connected with tests of military rockets. It is quite obvious that these tests were to be discreet, that is to say that the military did not insist, at the time, in giving details on the craft launched or on their launch dates, even less tell of successes or failures.
The fact is there: on December 2, 1978, a missile was fired from the Landes Test Center (CEL) near Biscarosse, where launching missiles used for nuclear deterrence at the Albion plateau were tested. There was more than 9000 launches there in 40 years...
That of 2 December 1978 was of an "SSBS S3 V7" missile.
(See for example https://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_europeen/albion/centre_dessai_landes.htm or http://fuseurop.univ-perp.fr/1sbs_e.htm).
The S3 is a mid-range, solid-propelled two-stage missile, 13.8 m long, 25.8 tons, and it has a maximum range of 3500 km. One of them is on display at the Bourget Air and Space Museum.
Now, it would take really good arguments to convince me that what was described and what one cas see in the images would not be a rocket in distress but Russian satellite debris or an extraterrestrial spaceship...
Out of control military rocket.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editeur: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | February 8, 2018 | Creation, [gen1], [dna1], [lae1], [nos1], [pdl1], [mdr1], [uda1], [cvn2], [psa1], [ubk1], [ubk2]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 8, 2018 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | May 23, 2021 | Addition [aes1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 16, 2021 | Addition [ine1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 18, 2023 | Additions [clu1], [gep1], [goe1]. |
