2000-06-07 - Deltona, FL - Unknown

Space craft in earth orbit

My wife and I had just purchased our home in Central Florida, and were out on the back deck laying down looking at the stars when I noticed an object which appeared to be a satellite passing across the sky from approximately due north to south. Satellites in low earth orbit are visible from the surface on clear nights with the right lighting conditions.

I pointed the object out to my wife fully under the assumption that the object was a satellite, and moments later it made a 90 degree turn heading almost due west. The turn was not a sharp right angle turn, but a tight arc with a radius of approximately 8 - 10 inches, at arms length.

I have a degree in electronics, have worked for defense contractors and have studied air craft and space craft extensively, and to my knowledge, this type of a maneuver in orbit is currently beyond our capability. The craft did not slow down while making the turn, and the amount of rocket fuel required to make such a turn at 17,500 mph and maintain a stable orbit, would be beyond the ammount carried by current satellites.

Currently, we move satellites over the course of several orbits. The space shuttle is not even capable of such a maneuver.


((NUFORC Note: Witness indicates that the date of the incident is approximate. We have attempted to correspond with the witness, in order to confirm the date of the sighting, but we have not heard back, yet. We assume the witness means a date in the year 2000, and we have amended the date above, to indicate that fact. PD))