As Peter Birtwhistle first noticed (almost immediately after getting
the first follow-up on this object), and as the Sky & Tel article
mentions, this is in an earth-like orbit. So there is a good chance
it will turn out to be space junk. If so, astrometry ought to show
some signs of solar radiation pressure sometime soon.

It was last in our neighborhood sometime around 1986 (plus or minus
a lot, with no real knowledge of its history before then).

-- Bill