One of them was not a ballistic missile, as the CSIC initially pointed out

What we know about the two objects that flew over eastern Spain on March 29

ES 3·30·2024 · 23:03 0

This Saturday, many Spanish media reported the news of the flight of a possible ballistic missile over the eastern part of Spain.

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As reported this morning by the Bolide and Meteorite Research Network (SPMN) of the Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC), the object, which it described as an "artificial bolite", flew over the Mediterranean area of Spain at 11:59 p.m. CET on Friday. The most alarming thing was what the SPMN said: "we opted for a ballistic missile." The SPMN published this mobile GIF with images of the object captured by Cèsar Guasch from San Mateo (Castellón):

The object is better seen in this other video captured over Barcelona by Pep Pujols and Josep M. Trigo:

By publishing this second video at 13:56 CET, the SPMN stated: "We are currently considering two hypotheses: a ballistic missile or re-entry. As soon as we complete the study and obtain additional confirmation we will include it in the thread."

At 18:32 CET, the official Twitter account of the German Air Force ruled out the missile and solved the mystery, in a message published in German and Spanish: "According to our Space Situation Knowledge Center, it is the re-entry of a StarLink satellite." That is, it is one of SpaceX's minisatellites, which form a constellation of communications satellites for the Internet. SpaceX has already deployed more than 12,000 minisatellites of this type.

Trayectoria del objeto que sobrevoló el este de España un minuto antes de la medianoche (Imagen: CSIC).

At 20:50 CET, more than two hours after the communication from the Luftwaffe, the CSIC clarified that its Research Network for Fireballs and Meteorites "aims that the fireball detected over the eastern peninsula was produced by the re-entry of an artificial object in Earth orbit."

The communication published in the CSIC website adds that "rules out the possibility that it is a ballistic missile as was initially considered." Josep María Trigo, coordinator of the SPMN, has indicated : "Re-entries are becoming more frequent." The object fell into the Mediterranean Sea.

It is not the only flashing object that has been seen over Spain in recent hours, although the second case has had much less media impact as it was not identified as a missile by the CSIC. Last night, at 22:30 CET, a sporadic car was captured from Bárig, Valencia. We can see it in this impressive video by Jordi Donet:

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Main photo: CSIC.

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