Military1960

Navy radar tracks an unknown 'dark' satellite, later identified as Discoverer debris

When: Feb 1960
Sources: 2 public sources

Discoverer 1; the 'dark satellite' was later identified as Discoverer debris Unknown US Air Force member, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Navy's new Dark Fence space-surveillance radar detected an unidentified object in orbit, prompting speculation about a Soviet spy satellite. The Defense Department said it was part of a stray U.S. Discoverer satellite. The episode was later folded into the 'Black Knight' satellite legend.

Sources

PressScience: Space Watch's First Catch (opens in a new tab)TIME / 1960-03-07
OtherSkeptoid #365: The Black Knight Satellite (Brian Dunning) (opens in a new tab)Skeptoid / 2013-06-04

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Where it fits

Earlier in MilitaryArgentine Navy hunts unidentified submarine contacts in Golfo NuevoFeb 1960 Later in MilitaryFormer Blue Book chief Edward Ruppelt dies15 Sep 1960

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