"UFO" spotted in Eastern Cape skies: Possible explanation

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

A listener has drawn our attention to a possible, and plausible, explanation for the object which was observed streaking across the Eastern Cape sky on Thursday.

Algoa FM was contacted by listeners from across the region, with similarities in the descriptions of what they saw.

According to the Aerospace website, it could very well have been the remnants of a Russian rocket, launched in 1980, meeting its fiery end in a visually spectacular way, as is often the case when objects from space come in contact with the Earth's atmosphere.

The spacecraft in question was the SL-3, and its predicted re-entry date was today, with the predicted area of visibility covering much of Southern Africa.

The expected re-entry time was this morning - in line with the numerous sightings.

The SL-3 was launched on 15 August 1980 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.

According to NASA, the Cosmos 1205-mission was a Soviet photo surveillance satellite carried into space aboard a Soyuz rocket. The spacecraft was maneuverable.

More technical details here: http://www.aerospace.org/cords/reentry-predictions/upcoming-reentries-2-2/1980-069b/