3 lights appear in the sky, rotating and seperate.

This is a sighting I had many years ago with a friend.  We were hanging out on the roof of my parents house, just talking a looking at stars. It was a clear night and we would see an occasional plane pass by.
Then from the SE we saw a dim white light moving NW with another light rotating around it, on a horizontal plane.  The altitude appeared to be very high (I can’t estimate an altitude, it was just a light about the brightness of a star) moving very fast.  No sound.  Once it crossed the sky (approx 10-15 seconds), suddenly the rotating light separated and a third light crossed their path on a northern trajectory.  The light which broke off, I can’t remember it’s final trajectory.
I have since become a private pilot and have studied various aircraft at different altitudes.  I can say that it was definitely not an aircraft or any type of meteor.