1973-06-01 / Skylab space station, low Earth orbit / unresolved
Excerpts from three NASA Skylab technical crew debriefings, dated June 30, 1973, October 4, 1973, and February 22, 1974, record crew observations of light flashes, a bright reddish rotating object, and flashing lights outside the station. Science Pilot Joseph Kerwin reported that all three Skylab 2 crew members saw light flashes, possibly linked to the South Atlantic anomaly. Science Pilot Owen Garriott reported that the Skylab 3 crew tracked a bright reddish rotating satellite in a very similar orbit for 5 to 10 minutes; Garriott stated no one ever explained its identity.
Light flashes seen with eyes closed in darkness, waxing and waning in frequency, two or three per minute at times; some appeared as spots or sunbursts, some as streaks; primarily in peripheral visual field (Skylab 2)