MYSTERY OBJECT SHINING IN SOUTH AFRICAN SKIES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED

Internet UFO Group Media Archive

From:NewsProfiles@aol.net
Title:MYSTERY OBJECT SHINING IN SOUTH AFRICAN SKIES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED
Source:Reuter
Date:March 14, 1996


CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuter) - A mystery object shining

in South African skies has been identified as a high-technology

cable lost in space on a failed U.S. space shuttle experiment.

Astronomer John Caldwell of the South African Astronomical

Observatory said Tuesday a bright straight line seen in the sky

last week was sunlight glinting off the copper, nylon and teflon

cable that broke during a U.S.-Italian mission on space shuttle

Columbia.

An Italian satellite is on the other end of the wire which

snapped off from Columbia on Feb. 25 after unreeling about 12

miles, nearly its full length.

NASA said earlier this month the satellite was expected to

orbit Earth for about 20 days until it fell and was burned up in

the atmosphere. The space agency said at the time that it may be

visible from various parts of the world, including South Africa.

Caldwell told Reuters the tether had been seen shining as a

striking bright line just before dawn and after sunset for about

a week.

``Visibility is no longer likely, as it is sinking into the

atmosphere's thicker layers,'' he said.

The experiment was to have investigated how electricity

could be generated by dragging an electrical conductor through

Earth's magnetic fields.