SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 537

01 August 1998
A publication of NASA's National Space Science Data Center/World Data Center-A for Rockets and Satellites as the WWAS for ISES/COSPAR

SPACEWARN Activities

All information in this publication was received between 01 July 1998 and 31 July 1998.

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.
  1998-045A (25406) Cosmos 2360    28 Jul         1998-043B (25395) FASAT-B        10 Jul
  1998-044A (25404) SINOSAT 1      18 Jul         1998-043A (25394) RESURS-O 1N4   10 Jul
  1998-043F (25399) SAFIR 2        10 Jul         1998-042B (25390) TUBSAT-N1      07 Jul
  1998-043E (25398) WESTPAC        10 Jul         1998-042A (25389) TUBSAT-N       07 Jul
  1998-043D (25397) TECHSAT        10 Jul         1998-041A (25383) Planet-B       03 Jul
  1998-043C (25396) TMSAT          10 Jul         1998-040A (25379) Molniya 3-49   01 Jul

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1998-045A Cosmos 2360 is a Russian military spacecraft that was launched by a Zenit 2 rocket from Baykonur. It is a member of the Tselina series that carries "signals intelligence" instruments. Initial orbital parameters were period 101.9 min, apogee 878 km, perigee 850 km, and inclination 71 deg.
1998-044A SINOSAT 1 (also known as Zhongwei 1) that was launched by a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang at 09:20 UT is a PRC geosynchronous communications spacecraft. It carries 24 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders to provide voice and video communications to the Asia- Pacific region after parking at 110.5 deg-E.
1998-043F SAFIR 2 is a German microsatellite that was launched along with RESURS-O 1N4; see 1998-043A. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of RESURS-O.
1998-043E WESTPAC is an Australian microsatellite that was launched along with RESURS-O 1N4; see 1998-043A. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of RESURS-O.
1998-043D TECHSAT 1B is an Israeli microsatellite that was launched along with RESURS-O 1N4; see 1998-043A. It carries a ozone-sensing UV-spectral radiometer. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of RESURS-O.
1998-043C TMSAT is a Thailand microsatellite that was launched along with RESURS-O 1N4; see 1998-043A. It will do remote-sensing of natural resources and vegetation. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of RESURS-O.
1998-043B FASAT-B (B for Bravo) is a Chilean microsatellite that was launched along with RESURS-O 1N4; see 1998-043A. It will do remote-sensing of ozone and vegetation. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of RESURS-O.
1998-043A RESURS-O 1N4 is a Russian natural resources sensing satellite that was launched by a Zenit 2 rocket from Baykonur at 05:45 UT. It will also do ecological and meteorological monitoring. Initial orbital parameters were period 101.3 min, apogee 845 km, perigee 817 km, and inclination 98.8 deg.
1998-042B,
1998-042A
TUBSAT-N1 and TUBSAT-N are German remote sensing microsatellites that were launched by a modified combat ICBM, RSM-54 (U.S. name: SS-N-23) from a Russian submarine in the Barents sea at 03:15 UT. Initial orbital parameters of both were approximately period 96.4 min, apogee 770 km, perigee 400 km, and inclination 80 deg.
1998-041A Planet-B (post-launch name: Nozomi, meaning "hope") is a Japanese Mars orbiter that was launched by a M-V-3 rocket from Kagoshima launch center at 18:12 UT. The 258 kg spacecraft's planned Earth transfer orbit had the perigee at 340 km, apogee at 590,000 km and an inclination of 28.4 deg; it will make two Lunar swingbys on 24 September and 18 December 1998, and an Earth swingby on 20 December 1998, after which it will enter a highly eccentric Martian orbit on 11 October 1999, with period 19 hrs, (Martian) perigee at about 200 km, apogee at 27,000 km, and inclination 138 deg. The orbit is capable of providing data on the solar wind interaction with Mars as well as data on its thermosphere and ionosphere. Nozomi carries 14 instruments, including a magnetometer, UV spectrometers, plasma/wave analyzers, and energetic particles detectors.
1998-040A Molniya 3-49 is a Russian communications spacecraft that was launched by a Molniya-M rocket from Plesetsk at 00:48 UT. Initial orbital parameters were period 12 hr and 15 min, apogee 40,770 km (in the Northern Hemisphere), perigee 466 km, and inclination 62.8 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.

    The last full list appeared as a part of SPX 520. The list will reappear only after major updates to the list are available.

  2. Global Positioning System satellites useful for navigational purposes and geodetic studies. ("NNN" denotes no national name. SPACEWARN would appreciate suggestions to update this list. An asterisk [*] denotes changes in this issue.)

    High precision (<20 cm) GPS constellation tracking data obtained from the network of about 80 dedicated global stations that are of interest to geodetic study may be obtained through the following services provided by the International Association of Geodesy (IGS)

         FTP:    igscb.jpl.nasa.gov  [directory /igscb]
         WWW:    http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/
         E-mail: igscb@cobra.jpl.nasa.gov
    

    The standard format of the GPS situation appeared in SPX-518. It will not be repeated since an excellent source of trajectory- and science-related GPS information is at http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/gcraft/notes/gps/gps.html#DODSystem It provides many links to GPS related databases.

    The latest member of the GPS fleet is NAVSTAR 38 (1997-067A), launched on 6 November 1997.

  3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS constellation. (SPACEWARN requests updates/additions from readers to this list. Entries marked "*" are updates or additions to the list.)

    All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general COSMOS series. The COSMOS numbers (nnnn) invoked by USSPACECOM have often differed from the numbers (NNNN) associated in Russia; when different, the USSPACECOM COSMOS numbers are shown in parentheses. The corresponding GLONASS numbers are Russian numbers, followed by the numbers in parentheses that are sometimes attributed to them outside Russia.

    The operating frequencies in MHz are computed from the channel number K. Frequencies (MHz) = 1602.0 + 0.5625K and L2 = 1246.0 + 0.4375K.

    The standard format of the GLONASS situation appeared in SPX-515. It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source at: http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/glonass.html maintained by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC),Russian Space Forces.

  4. Actual decays/landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. Additional information is not available.
    Designations         Common Name                       1998
    
    1988-115A   (19730)  MOLNIYA 1-74                      31 Jul
    1996-050D   (24294)  R/B SL-6                          26 Jul
    1998-040b   (25380)  R/B Molniya-M                     18 Jul
    1998-041B   (25384)  R/B M-V-3                         08 Jul
    1992-010C   (21895)  R/B Ariane 44L                    14 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.)

    Contact with the SOHO spacecraft (1995-065A) was lost soon after a planned maneuver on 24 June 1998. It has not been reestablished after five weeks of effort.

    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 trajectories 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/


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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

Page Curator:
Dr. Edwin V. Bell, II, ed.bell@gsfc.nasa.gov, +1-301-286-1187
NSSDC, Mail Code 633, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

NASA Official: J. H. King, joe.king@gsfc.nasa.gov
V1.0, 03 August 1998
Last updated: 05 March 2003, EVB II