At 10.55pm on 2 February 1961, the Torre Bert satellite was scanning Russian frequencies as usual when it picked up a transmission from an orbiting capsule. It recorded the wheezing, struggling breathing of what was thought to be a suffocating Soviet cosmonaut. Italy's leading cardiologist, Professor Achille Dogliotti, was contacted and he is reported to have said, "I could quite clearly distinguish the clear sounds of forced, panting human breath."