SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 512

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1996-036A (23931) STS 78               20 Jun
1996-035A (23915) INTELSAT 709         15 Jun
1996-034A (23880) Gorizont 32          25 May
1996-029C (23908) USA 121              12 May
1996-029B (23907) USA 120              12 May
1996-029A (23893) USA 119              12 May

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1996-036A

STS 78 is an American Shuttle spacecraft that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 14:49 UT for a 17 day mission. It carried a Spacelab (LMS-1) with many supplies and instruments for 41 microgravity experiments involving fish embryos, rats, Bonzai plants, fluid dynamics, metallurgy, protein crystal growth, etc. Initial orbital parameters were period 90 min, apogee/perigee 267 km, and inclination 39 deg.

1996-035A

INTELSAT 709 is a geosynchronous communications spacecraft of the INTELSAT consortium. It was launched by an Ariane 44P rocket from Kourou in French Guiana and carries 36 Ku- and C-band transponders to serve the Atlantic ocean region.

1996-034A

Gorizont 32 is a Russian geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched from Baykonur by a Proton-K rocket at 02:05 UT. It would augment television channels available to the people in Siberia. It is only approximately geosynchronous because the period is 24.54 hours, apogee/perigee altitudes 36,496 km, and inclination 1.27 deg.

1996-029C, 1996-029B, 1996-029A

USA 121, USA 120, and USA 119 are American military spacecraft that were launched, probably by a Titan rocket from Cape Canaveral. The companion USA 122 was announced in SPX-511, but these three were reported by the USSPACECOM with some delay.

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 orbits in six distinct planes that are about 60 deg apart. Each plane has five "slots." Following are the 2-NN members in the planes/slots. The RAAN decreases or increases by about 1.0 deg each month; below are their approximate RAAN longitudes in November 1995.

   PLANE    RAAN OF PLANE SLOT-1     SLOT-2      SLOT-3      SLOT-4  SLOT-5
   
     A           235       2-21       2-12        2-15        2-04
     B           296       2-18       2-07        2-02        2-22
     C           357       2-24       2-25        2-19        2-20   2-13
     D            62       2-11       2-09        2-05        2-23
     E           119       2-01       2-08        2-03        2-10
     F           177       2-16       2-14        2-06        2-17
   

3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS constellation. To see a list select here.

   The GLONASS NNN series orbit in three distinct planes that are 120 deg apart. Each plane has eight "slots". Following are the members of the planes/slots.

      Plane 1              Plane 2              Plane 3
   slot-1   771         slot-9    776/778    slot-17   760
   slot-2   757         slot-10   781        slot-18   758
   slot-3   763         slot-11   785        slot-19   777
   slot-4   762         slot-12   767        slot-20   765
   slot-5   249         slot-13   782        slot-21   756
   slot-6   764         slot-14   770        slot-22   766
   slot-7   759         slot-15   780        slot-23   761
   slot-8   769         slot-16   775        slot-24   774
   

   Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC) Russian Space Forces
   E-mail: sfcsic@iki3.bitnet; sfcsic@iki3.iki.rssi.ru; sfcsic@mx.iki.rssi.ru
   Home page WWW.IKI: http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/SFCSIC_main.html

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

   Designations       Common Name                     1996
   
   1995-063E (23721)  SL-12 R/B                     13 Jun
   1989-041C (20042)  ARIANE R/B                    13 Jun
   1996-016A (23818)  COSMOS 2331                   11 Jun
   1996-032A (23870)  STS 77     Landed on          29 May
   1994-087E (23459)  SL-12 R/B                     27 May
   1996-034D (23883)  SL-12 R/B                     25 May
   1996-034B (23881)  SL-12 R/B                     25 May
   1996-032B (23871)  SPARTAN Recaptured by STS 77  20 May
   

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

   NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S is an archival center for science data from many spacecraft. Some data are on line for electronic access. Please contact the NSSDC Request Coordination Office, Code 633, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A., for specific information (request@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov). Information on the current status of the instruments on board from the investigators will be most welcomed. Precomputed trajectory files and orbital parameters of many magnetospheric and heliospheric science-payload spacecraft may be FTP'ed from NSSDC's ANON_DIR:[000000.ACTIVE] and its several subdirectories. (See About the SPACEWARN Bulletin for access method; a file in the ACTIVE directory named AAREADME.DOC, outlines the contents.) It can also be accessed via the WWW at:
   http://sscop1.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc.html

   This URL also enables executing several codes related to the orbits of many geocentric science payload spacecraft. The codes related to the heliospheric spacecraft trjectories can be executed through:
   http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/helios/heli.html

   Magnetospheric, Planetary, and Astronomical science data from many spacecraft may be accessed through links from the URL:
   http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/

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
V1.0: 10 July 1996
Last Updated: 31 July 1996, EVB II