 |
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 |
| 01 January 1999 |
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1998-077C (25595) Cosmos 2364 30 DEC
1998-077B (25594) Cosmos 2363 30 DEC
1998-077A (25593) Cosmos 2362 30 DEC
1998-076A (25590) Cosmos 2361 24 DEC
1998-075A (25585) PAS 6B 22 DEC
1998-074B (25578) Iridium 20A 19 DEC
1998-074A (25577) Iridium 11A 19 DEC
1998-073A (25571) MCO 11 DEC
1998-072B (25568) Astrid 2 10 DEC
1998-072A (25567) Nadezhda 5 10 DEC
1998-071A (25560) SWAS 06 DEC
1998-070A (25558) SATMEX 5 06 DEC
1998-069F (25575) ISS-Unity 13 DEC (Released from STS 88)
1998-069C (25551) Mightysat 1 15 DEC "
1998-069B (25550) SAC-A 14 DEC "
1998-069A (25549) STS 88 04 DEC
| 1998-077A, 1998-077B, 1998-077C | Cosmos 2362, Cosmos 2363, and Cosmos 2364 are the latest members of the Russian navigational fleet of GLONASS satellites that were launched by a Proton-K rocket from Baykonur at 18:35 UT. The GLONASS fleet is planned to consist of 24 spacecraft in different planes, 18 of which are now operational. Recently, the GLONASS fleet has been declared as dual-use: military and civilian, similar to the American GPS fleet. Initial (circular) orbit parameters of the three were period 11 hr:14 min, altitude 19,122 km, and inclination 64.8 deg. |
|---|---|
| 1998-076A | Cosmos 2361 is a Russian military spacecraft that was launched by a Cosmos 3M rocket from Plesetsk at 20:02 UT. Initial orbital parameters were period 104.9 min, apogee 1,017 km, perigee 988 km, and inclination 82.9 deg. |
| 1998-075A | PAS 6B (PanAmSat 6B) is an American geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane rocket from Kourou. It carries 36 Ku-band transponders to provide voice and video communications after parking over 43 deg-W longitude. |
| 1998-074A, 1998-074B | Iridium 11A and Iridium 20A are two more of the (International) Iridium fleet of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft that enable voice and data links between phones in remote areas. They were launched by a Long March 2C rocket from Taiyuan center in Northern China's Shanxi province. Initial orbital parameters were period 97.6 min, apogee 647 km, perigee 630 km, and inclination 86.4 deg. |
| 1998-073A | MCO (Mars Climate Orbiter) is an American planetary exploration spacecraft that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 18:45 UT. The 643 kg spacecraft will travel 9.5 months to reach and orbit Mars. It underwent a trajectory correction maneuver on 21 December. Upon approaching Mars, hydrazine thrusters will enable aerobraking for about 65 days toward attaining the mapping phase by January 2000. The mapping phase, with a periapsis of 160 km, will utilize the two nadir cameras, PMIRR (Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer) and MARCI (Mars Color Imager). This mission will end after one full Martian year (687 Earth days) whereupon MCO will be maneuvered to a higher orbit to function for three years as just a relaying station for future Mars missions. |
| 1998-072B | Astrid 2 is a Swedish science spacecraft that was launched (along with Nadezhda 5) by a Cosmos (-3M?) rocket from Plesetsk at 11:57 UT. It carries an electron spectrometer, a magnetometer and an UV imager, all of interest to auroral research. Initial orbital parameters were period 105 min, apogee 1,013 km, perigee 978 km, and inclination 83 deg. |
| 1998-072A | Nadezhda 5 is a Russian navigational (search/rescue) spacecraft that was launched by a Cosmos (-3M?) rocket from Plesetsk at 11:57 UT. It is part of the Russian fleet of "Kospas-Sarsat System" to search for ships and aircraft in distress, and to enable rescue missions. Initial orbital parameters were period 105 min, apogee 1,016 km, perigee 981 km, and inclination 82.8 deg. |
| 1998-071A | SWAS (Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite) is a an American astrophysical spacecraft that was launched by a Pegasus-XL rocket released from a L-1011 cargo plane flying out of Vandenberg AFB. The 300 kg cryogenic satellite carries two submillimeter heterodyne detectors, an acousto-optical spectrometer, and a star tracker assembly to detect emissions from water vapor, molecular oxygen, isotopic carbon monoxide, and atomic carbon, all indicative of star-forming intersteller clouds. More information is available thru the URL, http://pluto.harvard.edu/cfa/oir/Research/swas.html. The initial orbital parameters were period 97.6 min, apogee 651 km, perigee 638 km, and inclination 69.9 deg. |
| 1998-070A | SATMEX 5 is a Mexican geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 44L rocket from Kourou at 00:42 UT. The 4.2 tonne spacecraft will provide Spanish language voice and video communications to a large area between Canada and Patagonia. |
| 1998-069F | ISS-Unity is an American module of the International Space Station (ISS). (The ID, 1998-067A is and will remain the ID for ISS as well as for its first module,ISS-Zarya; subsequent modules also will likely carry their own IDs and USSPACECOM numbers, though the two-line orbital elements for the composite will remain listed only under Zarya, 25544.) The module is an aluminum hexagon of about 5 m (diameter) x 6 m (length). Including the docking ports, the length of the 11.6 tonne module is about 12 m. It carries its own communications equipments and has room to house science-interest instruments and astronauts in the future. It was joined to ISS-Zarya after many hours of extravehicular activities and they were together released for free flight on 13 December 1998. (See more details under STS 88.) The initial orbital parameters of the ISS (Zarya + Unity) were approximately period 93 min, apogee 410 km, perigee 390 km, and inclination 51.6 deg. |
| 1998-069C | Mightysat 1 is a American minisatellite that was ejected from STS 88 on 15 December 1998. The 320 kg satellite carried equipments for five advanced technology demonstrations/tests: a new/improved Advanced Composition (spacecraft) Structure, a new solar cell with Gallium Indium Phosphide layer on a Gallium Arsenide layer, a "MAPLE" experiment to test advanced microelectronic packaging, a "SMARD" payload to enable/test low-shock ejection devices, and a "MPID" package to provide "indications" of natural and man-made space debris. For further details see, http://sspp.gsfc.nasa.gov/hh/hh.html. The initial orbital parameters were period 92.4 min, apogee 401 km, perigee 388 km, and inclination 51.6 deg. |
| 1998-069B | SAC-A is an Argentine minisatellite that was ejected from STS 88 on 14 December '98. The 268 kg satellite carried a GPS receiver, a magnetometer, and a CCD camera for whale tracking and other photographic observations. Additional descriptions/status are available through the URL, http://sspp.gsfc.nasa.gov/hh/hh.html. Initial orbital parameters of the spacecraft were period 92.4 min, apogee 401 km, perigee 388 km, and inclination 51.6 deg. |
| 1998-069A | STS 88 is an American shuttle spacecraft that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 08:36 UT. It carried the ISS-Unity (also known as Node 1) module, two minisatellites (SAC-A and Mightysat 1) for a later day ejection, and some other experimental items of interest to K-14 level students. The shuttle crew (of six) hoisted the Unity module over the open cargo bay on 5 December and positioned it perpendicular to the shuttle; thrusters were then fired to black flip the shuttle and reach ISS-Zarya within 3 meters when the robotic arm of the shuttle captured Zarya (that was below STS) on 6 December. Zarya's and Unity's ports were then aligned with a separation of only a few centimeters when the shuttle's thrusters fired again to dovetail them tight. After several days of extravehicular activities (EVAs) to secure the joints, and interconnect the power lines and computer links and, after raising the shuttle's altitude by about 10 km, the joined modules were released from the shuttle for free flight on 13 December '98. It landed back at Cape Canaveral at 03:53 UT on 16 December 1998. Greater details of the mission may be seen in http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/, and http://station.nasa.gov/. Initial orbital parameters of STS 88 were period 92.4 min, apogee 401 km, perigee 388 km, and inclination 51.6 deg. |
The last full list appeared as a part of SPX 520.
Mr. Geof Perry MBE has kindly submitted the following message including his updated list of Russian spacecraft of interest to this section:
It is some time since I informed you of the current status of the Russian military (Parus) and civil (Tsikada/Nadezhda) LEO navsat constellations -- the reason being the numerous changes that have occurred with satellites being 'off' and then coming back 'on' again, very old satellites being revived to replace failing newer ones, etc.
The attached file is based on monitoring of signals on 1 January and in Chris Wood's downloading and deciphering of the telemetry on 30 December. The file was written in WordPerfect 5.1.
I would suggest that the file is reproduced in its entirety and that all previous entries for the Russian systems are deleted from the SPX reports.
With best wishes for 1999,
Sincerely,
Geoff Perry MBE Chris Wood The Kettering Group
Designations Epoch, Frequency, Remarks
and Inclination
1991019A (21152) 18 December 1998 [Plane #12]
NADEZHDA 3 150 MHz
400 MHz
Inclination: 82.924 deg
1991029A (21230) 20 December 1998 [INACTIVE since 8 July 1998?
COSMOS 2142 150.03 MHz Replaced by COSMOS 2233
COSMOS 400.08 MHz in plane #5 on 30-12-'98]
Inclination: 82.958 deg
1991059A (21666) 19 December 1998 [Reactivated to replace 1992-073A,
COSMOS 2154 149.94 MHz COSMOS 2218 in plane #3 on 18
399.84 MHz February 1998.]
Inclination: 82.906 deg
1994024A (23092) 18 December 1998 [Plane #6. Not transmitting although
COSMOS 2279 149.94 MHz still included in data from other
399.84 MHz members of the constellation.]
Inclination: 82.950 deg
1994041A (23179) 19 December 1998 [INACTIVE. Replaced by NADEZHDA 5
NADEZHDA 4 150.00 MHz in plane #14 on 23 December '98.]
400.00 MHz
Inclination: 82.947 deg
1995002A (23463) 18 December 1998 [Plane #13]
TSIKADA 150 MHz
400 MHz
Inclination: 82.928 deg
1995012A (23526) 18 December 1998 [INACTIVE. Replaced by COSMOS 2341
COSMOS 2310 149.91 MHz in plane #2 on 23 April 1997.]
399.76 MHz
Inclination: 82.939 deg
1995032A (23603) 19 December 1998 [Plane #11]
COSMOS 2315 150.00 MHz
400.00 MHz
Inclination: 82.903 deg
1996052A (24304) 19 December 1998 [INACTIVE. Replaced by COSMOS 2346
COSMOS 2334 150.03 MHz in plane #1 on 1 October 1997.]
400.08 MHz
Inclination 82.925 deg
1996071A (24677) 18 December 1998 [Plane #4]
COSMOS 2336 149.97 MHz
399.92 MHz
Inclination: 82.942 deg
1997017A (24772) 18 December 1998 [Plane #2]
COSMOS 2344 149.91 MHz
399.76 MHz
Inclination: 82.920 deg
1997052A (24953) 17 December 1998 [Plane #1]
COSMOS 2346 150.03 MHz
400.08 MHz
Inclination 82.919 deg
1998072A (25567) 10 December 1998 [Plane #14]
NADEZHDA 5 150.00 MHz
400.00 MHz
Inclination: 82.949 deg
1998076A (25590) 24 December 1998 [Plane #5]
COSMOS 2361 150.03 MHz
400.08 MHz
Inclination: 82.934 deg
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.
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.
The latest addition to the GLONASS fleet are,
1998-077A (25593) COSMOS 2362 Launched on 30 December 1998
1998-077B (25594) COSMOS 2363 " "
1998-077C (25595) COSMOS 2364 " "
Designations Common Name 1998 1996-069A (24670) COSMOS 2335 01 Jan (1999) 1998-077D (25596) R/B Proton-K 31 Dec 1998-073B (25572) R/B Delta 2 30 Dec 1997-084J (25120) R/B Pegasus 28 Dec 1998-025E (25499) R/B Proton-K 19 Dec 1993-077B (22928) Atlas 2AS 17 Dec 1998-069A (25549) STS 88 Landed on 16 Dec 1975-100C (08368) R/B Delta 1 06 Dec
The X-ray satellite, AXAF has been named Chandra X-ray Observatory. It will be launched in April 1999 from STS 93.
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/
|
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 |