The Satellite That Spoke After 45 Years
A forgotten military satellite went silent in 1967. In 2013, a radio amateur in England heard it transmitting again.
What was reported
LES-1, the US Air Force's Lincoln Experimental Satellite 1, was launched in 1965 to test radio communications, but a wiring problem left it stuck in the wrong orbit. It was abandoned in 1967 and nobody listened for it again.
In 2013 an amateur radio operator in Cornwall picked up a signal on its old frequency, warbling every few seconds. He tracked it, and the signal matched the lost satellite.
Explanations offered
Its batteries had probably failed in a way that connected the solar panels straight to the transmitter, so it switches on whenever sunlight falls on it. It tumbles end over end every few seconds, which makes its tone rise and fall. Radio amateurs call satellites like this 'zombies'.
- When
- Silent from 1967, heard in 2013
- Where
- In orbit, heard from Cornwall, England
- Witnesses
- An amateur radio operator in Cornwall, and others who listened for it afterwards
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.