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Gemini 11 crew photographs a tumbling object in orbit

When
An Agena target vehicle tethered to the Gemini 11 spacecraft above Earth
The Agena target vehicle seen from Gemini 11 during the September 1966 mission NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gemini 11 astronauts Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon reported and photographed a large tumbling object on their 18th orbit. NORAD identified it as the Soviet Proton 3 satellite, and the Condon study's review of the photos suggested several pieces of that launch.

Sources

  1. OfficialScientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (Condon Report), Section III, Chapter 6: Visual Observations Made by U.S. Astronauts (Franklin E. Roach)University of Colorado / U.S. Air Force (text hosted by NCAS) / 1969
  2. OfficialGemini XINASA

How sources are chosen and tiered

How the story came out

Happened Sep 1966. First made public 2 years later (Jan 1969).

  1. Sep 1966It happened (this event)
  2. Jan 1969Condon report reviews astronaut UFO sightings - first made public

See it on the timeline: happened vs became public

Where it fits

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