Atmospheric Reentry of 1990

Summary

On November 5, 1990, at 20:00, the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES) was flooded with calls from gendarmeries across the country reporting a strange luminous phenomenon that had crossed a large part of France around 19:00. Astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré, affiliated with CNES, confirmed the unusual nature of the event. In Aire-sur-Adour, a balloon launch was even postponed to observe the phenomenon. After a week of investigations, NASA confirmed it was the atmospheric reentry of a Soviet object, the GORIZONT 21 platform. Orbital data from CNES matched the testimonies, describing a trajectory from the Gulf of Gascony to Alsace.

Witnesses described a dark object with multiple lights, moving at low altitude from southwest to northeast. However, this was explained as an optical illusion caused by the intense luminosity of the melting fragments. The brain unconsciously interprets proximity based on light intensity, making distant objects appear closer. Despite the scientific explanation, some witnesses were not convinced by the official version, deeply affected by the experience. The GEIPAN classified the case as "A," attributing it to the atmospheric reentry of a third stage of a PROTON rocket.