I was near 30.231781,-97.864838 at about 1pm cst 2/13/2008. it was a nice day.
I was driving with my top down and hit a red light. I looked up. I saw a couple of vultures, way up there.
It was a long light. I sat through it twice. I kept looking around.
I was facing pretty much northward. I saw a jet leaving a contrail.
Over my right shoulder, to the southeast I guess, I saw a half moon.
The sun was on my left, pretty high in the sky.
I looked almost straight up, and saw a bright object tracking slowly northward.
It was perhaps as bright as venus in the morning.
But it was near midday. The object, whatever it was, was very high, and tracking so slowly I thought at first that it was stationary.
But then I began to discern movement.
I had seen the space shuttle and the space station with the naked eye before, and this object brought them to mind. I thought it must be in a low orbit. What the hell could it be.
Then today, I read about object USA 193, otherwise known as NRO L-21
It looked very much like this image: UAS 161, or maybe USA 129 although I can’t find a single image of 193 anywhere for some reason even the satellite trackers who have shots haven’t posted them.
Maybe because, evidently its some kind of failed spy satellite.
There’s a lot of speculation about the particulars, but what got me was the question was it possible that I could have seen it with the naked eye in broad daylight?
Still no answer for sure, but from looking at the orbit in this image or here we learn the orbital inclination of the satellite is 58.5
