SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 485

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1994-019A (23035) Progress M-22 Mar 22
    -018A (23033) Cosmos 2274   Mar 17
    -017B (23031) USA 102       Mar 13
    -017A (23030) USA 101       Mar 13
    -016A (23027) USA 100       Mar 10
    -015A (23025) STS 62        Mar 09
    -014A (23019) KORONAS-I     Mar 02

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1994-019A

Progress M-22, a Russian automatic cargo ship was launched from Baykonur cosmodrome at 4:54 UT to dock with Mir station and deliver supplies. Initial orbital parameters were period 90.2 min, apogee 335 km, perigee 260 km, and inclination 51.7 deg. It docked with Mir at 06:40 on 24 March.

1994-018A

Cosmos 2274, a Russian spacecraft was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 16:30 UT. Initial orbital parameters are period 89.65 min, apogee 371.7 km, perigee 176.1 km, and inclination 67.15 deg.

1994-017B

USA 102 was launched.

1994-017A

USA 101 was launched.

1994-016A

USA 100 was launched.

1994-015A

STS 62, a U.S.A. shuttle spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral. It carried a U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-2) and an Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology Second payload (OAST-2). Among the experiments were the Solar Array Module Plasma Interaction Experiment (SAMPIE), the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) experiment, the Experimental Investigation of Spacecraft Glow (EISG) experiment, the Spacecraft Kinetic InfraRed Test (SKIRT) experiment, the Emulsion Chamber Technology (ECT) experiment, and the CRYOgenic Two Phase (CRYOTP) experiment. A new high-speed, KU-band communication link between mission control and the shuttle enabled transmission of 162 megabytes of data. The two-week mission ended on 18 March. Initial orbital parameters of the shuttle were period 90.4 min, apogee 309 km, perigee 296 km, and inclination 39.0 deg.

1994-014A

KORONAS-I, a Russian-Ukrainian spacecraft was launched by a Tsyklon 3 booster from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 03:25 UT. It carried UV and X-ray instruments to map the Sun, and plasma monitors to study the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Initial orbital parameters were period 94.7 min, apogee 541 km, perigee 501 km, and inclination 82.5 deg.

C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation

Category I

1. Spacecraft with essentially continuous radio beacons on frequencies less than 150 MHz, or higher frequencies if especially suited for ionospheric or geodetic studies. To see a list select here.

2. Global Positioning System satellites useful for navigational purposes and geodetic studies. To see a list select here.

   The GPS 2-NN series orbit in six distinct planes that are 60 deg apart. Each plane has four "slots." Following are the members of the planes/slots:

   PLANE      RAAN OF PLANE       SLOT-1     SLOT-2      SLOT-3      SLOT-4
   
     A           269               2-21       2-12        2-15        2-04
     B           329               2-18       2-07        2-02        2-22
     C            29               2-23       2-13        2-19        2-20
     D            89               2-11       2-09        2-05        ----
     E           149               2-01       2-08        2-03        2-10
     F           209               2-16       2-14        2-06        2-17
   
   

3. Actual decays/landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. Additional information is not available.

   Designations         Common Name                      1994
   
   1994-019B (23036)   R/B PROGRESS M-22                24 Mar
   1994-018B (23034)   R/B COSMOS 2274                  21 Mar
   1994-015A (23025)   STS 62                Landed on  18 Mar
   1993-019A (22588)   PROGRESS M-17                    03 Mar
   1979-091A (11589)   MOLNIYA 1-45                     18 Feb
   1994-007A (22978)   OREX       (corrected date)      05 Feb
   
   

4. Miscellaneous Items. (This section contains information/data that are entered on occasion and may not be repeated in each issue of the SPACEWARN Bulletin.)

Questions/comments about the content of these pages should be directed to: The World Warning Agency for Satellites, wwas@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov National Space Science Data Center, Mail Code 633 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

NASA Official: J. H. King, joe.king@gsfc.nasa.gov
Last updated: 23 May 1995, EVB II