object in orbit, drops smaller objects, late 1979, SE Michigan

Object appeared in orbit, visible from approx. sundown to midnight (or whenever sunlight stopped illuminating it). Appeared long, tube shaped, like a paper towel tube. Brightness changed every 30 seconds or so. Appeared to be rotating slowly, possibly tumbling. NOTE: This object was DIRECTLY overhead. I observed it for two nights through a small telescope. My neighbor inquired about what I was doing. I pointed out the object. We then used his more powerful binoculars. The object was a single color (as like just plain metal, no lights, etc.). The third night we were again observing it when several small flashes appeared underneath it. About 5 minutes later, a silver ball shaped object dropped straight down through the broken clouds, executed a right angle turn and moved off to the east. The second ball moved to the north-east, the third and fourth to the south.
It is interesting to note that I was able to train the binoculars on one of the balls. It looked like a ball bearing or a pinball machine ball, chrome-like, no lights, window or other variations on the surface. I observed it going through clouds, leaving a trail of water vapor. The ground was covered with snow and the night was clear, so observation was about as perfect as it could be. My guess is around mach 1 with no sound or sonic boom.
My neighbor said he would contact the Air Force. He was in his 40s, I in my late teens, so that seemed logical. I didn't see him for a few days. When I did, I inquired about whether or not he called anyone. He stated firmly that he never saw anything and neither did I. The interesting thing to note is that my neighbor was a "'60s liberal", i.e. antiestablishment, VW bus, peace protester, demand answers from the government kind of guy.
Date is approximate.  PD