HASSAN II ET L'AFFAIRE DE L'OBSERVATION DE SEPTEMBRE 1976 REVELEE CES DERNIERS JOURS PAR WIKILEAKS. ( Mais que nous connaissions déjà)
.Publié dans l'Histoire des Ovnis au Maroc, ( voir dans la rubrique des Pages) nous vous rappelons ce que nous avons déjà retenu sur cette observation.
19 SEPTEMBRE 1976 – COTE OUEST MAROC. INCIDENT DE TEHERAN
Observation le long de la côté ouest du Maroc, ce à quoi Henry Kissinger répondit
« Un autre document fit surface révélant qu’entre 1h et 2h de la nuit heure locale, le 19 septembre 1976 un OVNI très similaire avait été vu dans diverses localités du Maroc, soit environ 3 à 4 heures plus tard.
Le document était adressé par l’ambassade américaine à Rabat, Maroc vers le Département d’Etat des USA et était daté du 25 septembre 1976. – « Objet : Demande d’information. Objets volants non identifiés” La lettre mentionnait que la police marocaine avait enregistré de très nombreux rapports concernant un objet volant de manière générale parallèlement à la côte Atlantique à basse altitude. L’objet argenté et lumineux avait une forme circulaire ou tubulaire et émettait par intervalles des trâinées d ‘étincelles brillantes et de fragments. Il ne faisait aucun bruit. Un des correspondants non nommés dit qu’il l’avait vu lui-même, et qu’il volait lentement comme un avion qui s’apprête à atterrir. Au début il semblait en forme de disque mais en se rapprochant il avait une apparence tubulaire. »
Le Secrétaire d’Etat
Le document était adressé par l’ambassade américaine à Rabat, Maroc vers le Département d’Etat des USA et était daté du 25 septembre 1976. – « Objet : Demande d’information. Objets volants non identifiés” La lettre mentionnait que la police marocaine avait enregistré de très nombreux rapports concernant un objet volant de manière générale parallèlement à la côte Atlantique à basse altitude. L’objet argenté et lumineux avait une forme circulaire ou tubulaire et émettait par intervalles des trâinées d ‘étincelles brillantes et de fragments. Il ne faisait aucun bruit. Un des correspondants non nommés dit qu’il l’avait vu lui-même, et qu’il volait lentement comme un avion qui s’apprête à atterrir. Au début il semblait en forme de disque mais en se rapprochant il avait une apparence tubulaire. »
Le Secrétaire d’Etat
Henry Kissinger répondit dix jours plus tard dans le style de la politique des USA concernant les Ovni. Kissinger fit remarquer que le rapport du Comité Condon avait démontré que tous les Ovni pouvaient être attribués à des causes naturelles et qu’aucune enquête ne devait suivre. Kissinger dit que les gens avaient probablement vu un météore ou une retombée d’une partie de lancement de satellite, choses pour lesquelles il n’y a pas de rapport. » (Fawcett & Greenwood, 86-87)”
Source, Wikipedia, in an article about the 1976 UFO Tehran Incident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Tehran_UFO_incidentSource.
18-19 SEPTEMBRE 1976 MARRAKECH –CASABLANCA – RABAT - KENITRA.
Autre source.
Bien que rien ne permette de lier formellement les deux événements, on se doit de constater que cette nuit du 18 au 19 septembre 1976 fut aussi agitée au Maroc qu'en Iran
C'est ainsi que l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Rabat allait questionner le Département d'Etat dans un message officiel, également produit par les ufologues américains du CAUS. On y lit que la gendarmerie avait reçu des appels d'Agadir, de la région de Marrakech, de Casablanca, Rabat et Kenitra entre autres, signalant entre 01h00 et OIh30 du matin le passage d'un phénomène lumineux. Celui-ci volait du sud-ouest vers le nord-est, sans bruit, et à une vitesse relativement faible selon certains témoins. Décrit de forme circulaire ou tubulaire et de couleur argentée, il laissait échapper des étincelles par intermittence. Le fonctionnaire américain concluait son rapport en avouant sa perplexité et en demandant que lui soit fournies toutes informations susceptibles de concerner ce phénomène, informations qu'il entendait transmettre à ceux - dont les noms furent censurés avant divulgation du rapport - qui, sur place, lui avaient signalé ces observations.
Le mois suivant, le Secrétaire d'Etat Henry Kissinger répondait à l'ambassade, rappelant les conclusions de la commission Condon sur les ovnis en général, et suggérant que les témoignages marocains puissent être attribués à la désintégration dans l'atmosphère d'un météore ou d'un satellite. Les descriptions semblent effectivement proches de celles enregistrées dans les cas de rentrées atmosphériques. Cette concordance de date ne serait-elle donc qu'une coïncidence ?
RM
Source : Extrait de la revue « Phénomèna » n° 23 de sepembre-octobre 1994 page 14
19 SEPTEMBRE 1976 TELEX ORIGINAL AMABASSADE US RABAT CAS DE CASABLANCA-AGADIR-RABAT…. BIBLIOTHEQUE PUBLIQUE DE LA DIPLOMATIE AMERICAINE
Présentation du document sur internet et origines:
MOROCCAN REQUEST FOR INFO -- UFOS
Date:
1976 October 5, 20:41 (Tuesday)
Canonical ID:
1976STATE247538_b
Original Classification:
UNCLASSIFIED
Current Classification:
UNCLASSIFIED
Handling Restrictions:
-- N/A or Blank --
Character Count:
3625
Executive Order:
-- N/A or Blank --
Locator:
TEXT ON MICROFILM,TEXT ONLINE
TAGS:
EAIR - Economic Affairs--Aeronautics and Aviation; Civil Aviation | MILI - Military and Defense Affairs--General | MO - Morocco | TSPA - Technology and Science--Space Activities
Concepts:UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS DETECTION
Enclosure:
-- N/A or Blank --
Type:
TE
Office Origin:
ORIGIN OES
Office Action:
-- N/A or Blank --
Archive Status:
Electronic Telegrams
From:
Department of State
Markings:
Margaret P. Grafeld Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 04 MAY 2006
To:
Morocco Rabat
UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 01 STATE 247538 71 ORIGIN OES-06 INFO OCT-01 NEA-10 ISO-00 PM-04 DODE-00 CIAE-00 INR-07 NSAE-00 EB-07 FAA-00 DOTE-00 PRS-01 SMI-01 /037 R DRAFTED BY OES/APT/SA:JGDARDIS:VML APPROVED BY OES/APT/SA:JGDARDIS OES/AMB. IRVING DOD/ISA:JWOOTEN PM/ISO:JBURGESS NEA/AFN:STESCUDERO IASA/I:BGGARNER --------------------- 074110 P 052041Z OCT 76 FM SECSTATE WASHDC TO AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY UNCLAS STATE 247538 E.O. 11652: N/A TAGS: TSPA:EAIR MILI:MO SUBJECT:MOROCCAN REQUEST FOR INFO –
UFOS REF: RABAT 5209; STATE 244918
1. IT IS DIFFICULT TO OFFER ANY DEFINITIVE EXPLANATION AS TO THE CAUSE OR ORIGIN OF THE UFOS SIGHTED IN THE MOROCCAN AREA BETWEEN 0100 AND 0130 LOCAL TIME 19 SEPTEMBER 1976.
2. AN EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF THIS SUBJECT WAS MADE IN THE US IN 1969; SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS, E.U. CONDON, PUBLISHED BY BANTAM BOOKS, NEW YORK. THIS STUDY INDICATES THAT DETAILED SIGHTINGS OF UFOS BY RELIABLE WITNESSES CAN BE EXPLAINED IN MANY WAYS, E.G.: IN TERMS OF LOCAL BALLOON, AIRCRAFT, OR SATELLITE ACTIVITY; BY METEOROLOGICAL AND ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS, INCLUDING METEOR EVENTS; AND BY ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS.
UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 02 STATE 247538
3. THE USG IS UNAWARE OF ANY US AIRCRAFT OR SATELLITE ACTIVITY, EITHER MILITARY OR CIVILIAN, IN THE MOROCCAN AREA WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN FOR SUCH SIGHTINGS ON THE 19 SEPTEMBER 1976. THIS DOES NOT PRECLUDE AIRCRAFT FLIGHTS OR OTHER COUNTRIES OR UNUSUAL ATMOSPHERIC CONDI- TIONS OR EVENTS AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE.
4. THE WHOLE SUBJECT OF UFOS HAS BEEN ONE OF MUCH CONTRO- VERSY. AT PRESENT, THERE IS NO USG AGENCY STUDYING THIS MATTER, THE VIEW BEING THAT SUCH SIGHTINGS, WHERE SUFFI- CIENTLY DETAILED AND RELIABLE DATA ARE AVAILABLE, CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO NATURAL CAUSES AND THAT FURTHER STUDY IS NOT WARRANTED.
5. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO MAJOR METEOR SHOWER IN SEPTEMBER, THE SPORADIC METEOR RATE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IS AT A MAXIMUM IN THE EARLY MORNING AND IN THE AUTUMN MONTHS. BUT, METEORS ARE USUALLY VISIBLE AT AN ALTITUDE AROUND 100 KM, NOT 1 KM. HOWEVER, SUBJECTIVE ESTIMATES OF THE HEIGHT OF SUCH SIGHTINGS ARE USUALLY TOO LOW. THE FLAT TRAJECTORY SW TO NE COULD CONCEIVABLY BE COMPATIBLE WITH A METEOR, OR DECAYING SATELLITE. TANGENTIAL TRAJECTORIES ARE NOT THE MOST LIKELY FOR METEORS, BUT ARE NOT IMPOS- SIBLE. IT IS UNLIKELY FROM THE DESCRIPTION THAT THE EVENT COULD HAVE BEEN A REFLECTION FROM A POLAR ORBITING SATELLITE.
6. WE ARE CHECKING FURTHER WHETHER OR NOT THIS PHENOMENON WAS SIGHTED BY THE SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY'S GROUND STATION IN SOUTHERN SPAIN. THE CONTACT AT THE SAO, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., IS JAMES CORNELL, PHONE 617-495-7461.
7. IF THIS EVENT WERE A METEOR, A COMPARABLE SIGHTING IN THE US WOULD BE THE ALBERTA FIREBALL OF AUGUST 1972 WHICH TRAVELED S TO N FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA TO EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA AND WAS ROUGHLY TANGENTIAL TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE, ITS LOWEST POINT IN ALTITUDE BEING ABOUT 40 KM. THIS WAS A VERY STRIKING OCCURRENCE AND ONE IN WHICH THE METEOR SEEMS TO HAVE ENTERED AND THEN LEFT THE ATMO- SPHERE. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 03 STATE 247538
8. IN ORDER TO ANALYZE THE MOROCCAN EVENT THOROUGHLY, FUR- THER DESCRIPTIONS OR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE LOCAL AREA WOULD BE NEEDED. IN THE MEANTIME, ONE WOULD TEND TO BELIEVE THAT THE EVENT WAS A METEOR, AND PROBABLY A SPECTACTULAR ONE OR ON ACCOUNT OF THE DESCRIPTION OF SLOW VELOCITY, NO NOISE, AND BURNING FRAGMENTS, A DECAYING SATELLITE PART,OF WHICH THERE IS NO PRECISE RE-ENTRY RECORD. KISSINGER UNCLASSIFIED NNN
Source : https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976STATE247538_b.html
Source, Wikipedia, in an article about the 1976 UFO Tehran Incident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Tehran_UFO_incidentSource.
18-19 SEPTEMBRE 1976 MARRAKECH –CASABLANCA – RABAT - KENITRA.
Autre source.
Bien que rien ne permette de lier formellement les deux événements, on se doit de constater que cette nuit du 18 au 19 septembre 1976 fut aussi agitée au Maroc qu'en Iran
C'est ainsi que l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Rabat allait questionner le Département d'Etat dans un message officiel, également produit par les ufologues américains du CAUS. On y lit que la gendarmerie avait reçu des appels d'Agadir, de la région de Marrakech, de Casablanca, Rabat et Kenitra entre autres, signalant entre 01h00 et OIh30 du matin le passage d'un phénomène lumineux. Celui-ci volait du sud-ouest vers le nord-est, sans bruit, et à une vitesse relativement faible selon certains témoins. Décrit de forme circulaire ou tubulaire et de couleur argentée, il laissait échapper des étincelles par intermittence. Le fonctionnaire américain concluait son rapport en avouant sa perplexité et en demandant que lui soit fournies toutes informations susceptibles de concerner ce phénomène, informations qu'il entendait transmettre à ceux - dont les noms furent censurés avant divulgation du rapport - qui, sur place, lui avaient signalé ces observations.
Le mois suivant, le Secrétaire d'Etat Henry Kissinger répondait à l'ambassade, rappelant les conclusions de la commission Condon sur les ovnis en général, et suggérant que les témoignages marocains puissent être attribués à la désintégration dans l'atmosphère d'un météore ou d'un satellite. Les descriptions semblent effectivement proches de celles enregistrées dans les cas de rentrées atmosphériques. Cette concordance de date ne serait-elle donc qu'une coïncidence ?
RM
Source : Extrait de la revue « Phénomèna » n° 23 de sepembre-octobre 1994 page 14
19 SEPTEMBRE 1976 TELEX ORIGINAL AMABASSADE US RABAT CAS DE CASABLANCA-AGADIR-RABAT…. BIBLIOTHEQUE PUBLIQUE DE LA DIPLOMATIE AMERICAINE
Présentation du document sur internet et origines:
MOROCCAN REQUEST FOR INFO -- UFOS
Date:
1976 October 5, 20:41 (Tuesday)
Canonical ID:
1976STATE247538_b
Original Classification:
UNCLASSIFIED
Current Classification:
UNCLASSIFIED
Handling Restrictions:
-- N/A or Blank --
Character Count:
3625
Executive Order:
-- N/A or Blank --
Locator:
TEXT ON MICROFILM,TEXT ONLINE
TAGS:
EAIR - Economic Affairs--Aeronautics and Aviation; Civil Aviation | MILI - Military and Defense Affairs--General | MO - Morocco | TSPA - Technology and Science--Space Activities
Concepts:UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS DETECTION
Enclosure:
-- N/A or Blank --
Type:
TE
Office Origin:
ORIGIN OES
Office Action:
-- N/A or Blank --
Archive Status:
Electronic Telegrams
From:
Department of State
Markings:
Margaret P. Grafeld Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 04 MAY 2006
To:
Morocco Rabat
UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 01 STATE 247538 71 ORIGIN OES-06 INFO OCT-01 NEA-10 ISO-00 PM-04 DODE-00 CIAE-00 INR-07 NSAE-00 EB-07 FAA-00 DOTE-00 PRS-01 SMI-01 /037 R DRAFTED BY OES/APT/SA:JGDARDIS:VML APPROVED BY OES/APT/SA:JGDARDIS OES/AMB. IRVING DOD/ISA:JWOOTEN PM/ISO:JBURGESS NEA/AFN:STESCUDERO IASA/I:BGGARNER --------------------- 074110 P 052041Z OCT 76 FM SECSTATE WASHDC TO AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY UNCLAS STATE 247538 E.O. 11652: N/A TAGS: TSPA:EAIR MILI:MO SUBJECT:MOROCCAN REQUEST FOR INFO –
UFOS REF: RABAT 5209; STATE 244918
1. IT IS DIFFICULT TO OFFER ANY DEFINITIVE EXPLANATION AS TO THE CAUSE OR ORIGIN OF THE UFOS SIGHTED IN THE MOROCCAN AREA BETWEEN 0100 AND 0130 LOCAL TIME 19 SEPTEMBER 1976.
2. AN EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF THIS SUBJECT WAS MADE IN THE US IN 1969; SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS, E.U. CONDON, PUBLISHED BY BANTAM BOOKS, NEW YORK. THIS STUDY INDICATES THAT DETAILED SIGHTINGS OF UFOS BY RELIABLE WITNESSES CAN BE EXPLAINED IN MANY WAYS, E.G.: IN TERMS OF LOCAL BALLOON, AIRCRAFT, OR SATELLITE ACTIVITY; BY METEOROLOGICAL AND ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS, INCLUDING METEOR EVENTS; AND BY ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS.
UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 02 STATE 247538
3. THE USG IS UNAWARE OF ANY US AIRCRAFT OR SATELLITE ACTIVITY, EITHER MILITARY OR CIVILIAN, IN THE MOROCCAN AREA WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN FOR SUCH SIGHTINGS ON THE 19 SEPTEMBER 1976. THIS DOES NOT PRECLUDE AIRCRAFT FLIGHTS OR OTHER COUNTRIES OR UNUSUAL ATMOSPHERIC CONDI- TIONS OR EVENTS AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE.
4. THE WHOLE SUBJECT OF UFOS HAS BEEN ONE OF MUCH CONTRO- VERSY. AT PRESENT, THERE IS NO USG AGENCY STUDYING THIS MATTER, THE VIEW BEING THAT SUCH SIGHTINGS, WHERE SUFFI- CIENTLY DETAILED AND RELIABLE DATA ARE AVAILABLE, CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO NATURAL CAUSES AND THAT FURTHER STUDY IS NOT WARRANTED.
5. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO MAJOR METEOR SHOWER IN SEPTEMBER, THE SPORADIC METEOR RATE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IS AT A MAXIMUM IN THE EARLY MORNING AND IN THE AUTUMN MONTHS. BUT, METEORS ARE USUALLY VISIBLE AT AN ALTITUDE AROUND 100 KM, NOT 1 KM. HOWEVER, SUBJECTIVE ESTIMATES OF THE HEIGHT OF SUCH SIGHTINGS ARE USUALLY TOO LOW. THE FLAT TRAJECTORY SW TO NE COULD CONCEIVABLY BE COMPATIBLE WITH A METEOR, OR DECAYING SATELLITE. TANGENTIAL TRAJECTORIES ARE NOT THE MOST LIKELY FOR METEORS, BUT ARE NOT IMPOS- SIBLE. IT IS UNLIKELY FROM THE DESCRIPTION THAT THE EVENT COULD HAVE BEEN A REFLECTION FROM A POLAR ORBITING SATELLITE.
6. WE ARE CHECKING FURTHER WHETHER OR NOT THIS PHENOMENON WAS SIGHTED BY THE SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY'S GROUND STATION IN SOUTHERN SPAIN. THE CONTACT AT THE SAO, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., IS JAMES CORNELL, PHONE 617-495-7461.
7. IF THIS EVENT WERE A METEOR, A COMPARABLE SIGHTING IN THE US WOULD BE THE ALBERTA FIREBALL OF AUGUST 1972 WHICH TRAVELED S TO N FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA TO EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA AND WAS ROUGHLY TANGENTIAL TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE, ITS LOWEST POINT IN ALTITUDE BEING ABOUT 40 KM. THIS WAS A VERY STRIKING OCCURRENCE AND ONE IN WHICH THE METEOR SEEMS TO HAVE ENTERED AND THEN LEFT THE ATMO- SPHERE. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 03 STATE 247538
8. IN ORDER TO ANALYZE THE MOROCCAN EVENT THOROUGHLY, FUR- THER DESCRIPTIONS OR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE LOCAL AREA WOULD BE NEEDED. IN THE MEANTIME, ONE WOULD TEND TO BELIEVE THAT THE EVENT WAS A METEOR, AND PROBABLY A SPECTACTULAR ONE OR ON ACCOUNT OF THE DESCRIPTION OF SLOW VELOCITY, NO NOISE, AND BURNING FRAGMENTS, A DECAYING SATELLITE PART,OF WHICH THERE IS NO PRECISE RE-ENTRY RECORD. KISSINGER UNCLASSIFIED NNN
Source : https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976STATE247538_b.html
SECOND MESSAGE :
1. YESTERDAY, THE 23RD OF SEPTEMBER, COL HOUSNI BENSLIMANE, COMMANDER OF THE ROYAL GENDARMERIE, REQUESTED TO SEE ME AT 1000 HOURS THE SAME DAY.
WHEN HE ARRIVED, COL BENSLIMANE SAID THAT THE KING HAD SENT HIM TO DISUCSS THE SIGHTINGS OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS (UFO'S) OVER MOROCCO ON THE NIGHT OF 18-19 SEPTEMBER. ACCORDING TO COL BENSLIMANE, THE GENDARMERIE HAD RECEIVED CALLS FROG AGADIR, THE MARRAKECH AREA, CASABLANCA, RABAT, KENITRA AND OTHER AREAS REPORTING THE SIGHTING OF UFO'S BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 0100 AND 0130, THE NIGHT OF 18-19 SEPTEMBER. REPORTS FROM THESE WIDELY SEPARATE LOCATIONS WERE REMARKABLY SIMILAR, I.E., THAT THE OBJECT WAS ON A GENERALLY SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST COURSE, IT WAS A SILVERY LUMINOUS CIRCULAR SHAPE AND GAVE OFF INTERMITTENT TRAILS OF BRIGHT SPARKS AND FRAGMENTS, AND MADE NO NOISE. HE PROMISED TO PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS TODAY, THE 24TH OF SEPTEMBER AND ASKED THAT WE FURNISH ANY INFORMATION THAT WE MIGHT HAVE ON THESE SIGHTINGS. COL BENSLIMANE SAID THE KING WAS PERSONALLY INTERESTED. I PROMISED THAT WE WOULD DO WHAT WE COULD.
2. TODAY, THE 24TH, A MAJOR MOHAMED LISSAOUI OF THE ROYAL GENDARMERIE MET WITH DATT AND GAVE HIM A SUMMARY OF THE SIGHTINGS. LISSAOUI ALSO PERMITTED DATT TO LOOK AT DRAWINGS
CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL.
PAGE 02
RABAT 05209 250817Z OF THE UFO PREPARED BY VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING HIMSELF, WHO HAD SIGHTED THE UFO.
3. THE TIMES OF THE SIGHTINGS VARIED FROM 0100 TO 0200 HOURS ON THE MORNING OF 19 SEPTEMBER, WITH THE MAJORITY OF THEM OCCURRING BETWEEN 0100 AND 0130 HOURS. SIGHTINGS WERE REPORTED FROM AGADIR, KALAA-SRAGHNA, ESSAOUIRA, CASABLANCA, RABAT, KENITRA, MEKNES AND THE FEZ REGION. THERE WAS GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT THE UFO WAS PROCEEDING ON AN APPROXIMATELY SOUTH TO NORTH COURSE, GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE MOROCCAN ATLANTIC COAST, AT AT ESTIMATED ALTITUDE OF 1,000 METERS, AND THAT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO SOUND FROM THE UFO.
4. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE UFO FELL INTO TWO GENERAL CATEGORIES, I.E., A TYPE OF SILVER COLORED LUMINOUS FLATTENED BALL (DISC- SHAPED), OR A LARGE LUMINOUS TUBE-SHAPED OBJECT. OBSERVERS REPORTED THAT THE OBJECT INTERMITTENTLY EMITTED BRIGHT SPARKS FROM THE REAR.
5. MAJOR LISSAOUI SAID HE WAS SENT TO BRIEF DATT ON THE SUBJECT BECAUSE HE HAD HIMSELF SIGHTED THE UFO WHILE RETURNING FROM THE CITY OF KENITRA AT ABOUT 0115 IN THE MORNING. HE DESCRIBED THE UFO AS FLYING PARALLEL TO THE COAST AT A RELATIVELY SLOW SPEED, AS IF IT WERE AN AIRCRAFT PREPARING TO LAND. IT FIRST APPEARED TO HIM AS A DISC-SHAPED OBJECT, BUT AS IT CAME CLOSER HE SAW IT AS A LUMINOUS TUBULAR-SHAPED OBJECT.
6. I FRANKLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF THESE SIGHTINGS, ALTHOUGH I FIND INTRIGUING THE SIMILARITY OF DESCRIPTIONS REPORTED FROM WIDELY DISPERSED LOCATIONS. IN ANY EVENT, I WISH TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND PROMPTLY TO KING HASSAN'S REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO ASSIST ME IN THIS. ANDERSON CONFIDENTIAL
Source : https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976RABAT05209_b.html
19 SEPTEMBRE 1976 - LA SOLUTION A CES OBSERVATIONS COMMUNIQUEE PAR TED MOLCZAN UN SPECIALISTE DE LA TRAQUE DES SATELLITES.
From: Ted Molczan
Date: Fri Oct 05 2012 - 02:45:20 UTC
Recently, I came across an old UFO story with descriptions that strongly suggested a misidentified re-entry from Earth orbit, which I believe correlates with the known re-entry of a piece of hardware from a Russian rocket stage.
1. Sightings
The sightings occurred in Morocco on the night of 1976 Sep 18-19 UTC, over an area spanning about 600 km. King Hassan requested the assistance of the U.S. Government to explain them, which resulted in the following message from the U.S. embassy in Morocco to the State Department:
http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=234239&dt=2082
I found the following excerpts most useful analytically:
"1. ... the object was on a generally southwest to northeast course, it was a silvery luminous circular shape and gave off intermittent trails of bright sparks and fragments, and made no noise ..."
"3. The times of the sightings varied from 0100 to 0200 hours on the morning of 19 September, with the majority of them occurring between 0100 and 0130 hours. Sightings were reported from Agadir, Kalaa-Sraghna, Essaouira, Casablanca, Rabat, Kenitra, Meknes and the Fez region. There was general agreement that the UFO was proceeding on an approximately south to north course, generally parallel to the Moroccan Atlantic coast, at an estimated altitude of 1,000 meters, and that there was absolutely no sound from the UFO."
"4. Descriptions of the UFO fell into two general categories, i.e., a type of silver colored luminous flattened ball (disc-shaped), or a large luminous tube-shaped object. Observers reported that the object intermittently emitted bright sparks from the rear."
"5. Major Lissaoui said he was sent to brief Datt [U.S. defense attache] on the subject because he had himself sighted the UFO while returning from the city of Kenitra at about 0115 in the morning. He described the UFO as flying parallel to the coast at a relatively slow speed, as if it were an aircraft preparing to land. It first appeared to him as a disc-shaped object, but as it came closer he saw it as a luminous tubular-shaped object."
This appears to be a fine example of a re-entry that was perceived as a saucer or cylindrical/cigar-shaped craft, at much closer range than reality.
From the context, I took the reported times as local standard, which happened to be the same as UTC. Therefore, I looked for decays that could have occurred on 1976 Sep 19 between 01 h and 02 h UTC.
2. Correlation with 1976-074C / 09051
My query of USSTRATCOM's Space Track database revealed decays listed on each of 1976 Sep 18, 19 and 20 UTC. The decays for the latter two dates do not correlate with the UFO sightings, but the one on Sep 18 did. The object in question is 1976-074C / 09051. Apparently it remained in orbit a bit longer than reported. It was the BOZ ullage motor assembly ejected from the third stage of the Molniya rocket that orbited Molniya 1-35 in July 1976. Mark Wade reports mass of 700 kg, but it is unclear how much of this is fuel. Empty mass as little as 50 to 100 kg would be sufficient to produce a visually impressive re-entry. (It was the re-entry of an ullage motor of the Zond IV launch in 1968 (1968-013C / 03136), that resulted in what became the prototypical saucer/cigar UFO sightings.)
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/blo8k78m.htm
USSTRATCOM recorded the date of decay as 1976 Sep 18, but my analysis placed it early on Sep 19, within a few minutes of 01:30 UTC, consistent with the time of the sightings.
I obtained the TLEs (2-line orbital element sets) for my analysis from Space Track, but they are also available on Jonathan McDowell's site:
http://www.planet4589.org/space/elements/09000/S09051
I estimated the date and time of decay using the combination of Alan Pickup's Satevo and Satana decay propagators, which are based on the published research of Dr. Desmond King-Hele, who was among the leading investigators into the mathematics and physics of Earth satellite orbits during the first three decades of the space age. Satevo quickly and reliably propagates a TLE to decay, reports the estimated date and time, and generates propagated TLEs for each revolution up to decay. Satana is a pre-processor for Satevo, that uses the same decay algorithms to fit more accurate decay rates to USSTRATCOM's TLEs, which I have found helps to improve the accuracy of decay estimates. The user specifies three TLEs, ideally spanning several revolutions, and the program generates improved versions. Alan recommends
feeding the Satana result to Satevo to make the final decay estimate.
I fed USSTRATCOM's final three TLEs to Satana, which yielded this improved estimate of the final TLE:
76074C 173 x 152 km
1 09051U 76074 C 76262.69174196 .11501936 94379-1 44144-3 0 90590
2 09051 62.8815 351.7629 0016273 58.0891 302.0689 16.41174274 9060
Feeding it into Satevo yielded estimated time of decay on Sep 18 at 23:08 UTC, and a TLE propagated to the start of the final revolution:
76074C 137 x 129 km
1 09051U 76074 C 76262.93484476 .71707607 81111+1 54560-3 0 90593
2 09051 62.8782 350.7463 0006829 58.1326 301.9338 16.52439450 9104
Further propagating this TLE using SGP4, revealed that the object would likely have survived well into Sep 19, with the final descent beginning around 01:10 UTC. The re-entry debris train passed the Moroccan coast, moving toward the north-northeast, consistent with items 1 and 3, and it would have been visible from all eight UFO sighting locations.
Below is a plot of the ground track:
http://satobs.org/seesat_ref/76074C/76074C_track.jpg
It should be noted that the altitude profile and point of terminal descent (where the trajectory ends and any surviving fragments descend nearly vertically) is quite uncertain, so although the track is plotted through western Europe, it may not have actually extended that far. If it did, and if the weather was favourable, then sighting reports may exist.
The following spreadsheet enables estimating the ephemeris (sky track) of the re-entry train from any location within range. Simply enter the site coordinates on the first sheet. Any portion that rises at least 3 deg above the horizon will be highlighted in red.
http://satobs.org/seesat_ref/76074C/76074C_decay_ephemeris.xlsm
The second sheet provides the ephemerides for the eight locations in Morocco from which sightings were reported. Below is a summary, listing the coordinates of each location, and the estimated elevation of the re-entry debris train at culmination:
N W HASL Culm
deg deg m deg
Agadir 30.42 9.59 40 18
Essaouira 31.51 9.76 5 27
Kalaa-Sraghna 32.06 7.40 401 13
Casablanca 33.57 7.58 5 20
Rabat 34.01 6.83 10 18
Kenitra 34.26 6.58 10 17
Meknes 33.89 5.55 480 12
Fez Region 34.04 5.00 298 10
The re-entry would have culminated well above the horizon and been easily seen from all of these locations, which span a range of about 600 km across Morocco. It should be noted that the estimated altitude during this period - about 85 km - is somewhat uncertain, but even reducing it to 50 km by the time of closest approach to the Fez region would not invalidate the findings.
3. U.S. Government Response
The U.S. government failed to identify the exact cause of the UFO sightings, but it did narrow down the possibilities very well, per this report attributed to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger:
http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=250871&dt=2082
His concluding comment:
"8. In order to analyze the Moroccan event thoroughly, further descriptions or photographs from the local area would be needed. In the meantime, one would tend to believe that the event was a meteor, and probably a spectacular one or on account of the description of slow velocity, no noise, and burning fragments, a decaying satellite part, of which there is no precise re-entry record."
I do not know whether consideration was given to the possibility that 1976-074C / 09051, which reportedly decayed on Sep 18, could have survived long enough to cause the UFO reports early on Sep 19. I am reasonably confident in my estimate that it did, but make no claim to infallibility; therefore, I welcome and encourage alternative analyses. I would be especially interested to know the results of semi-analytic or numerically integrated re-entry propagations, which may yield a more confident estimate of the time of descent and the altitude profile.
Ted Molczan
Source : http://satobs.org/seesat/Oct-2012/0047.html
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