SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 562

01 September 2000
A publication of NASA's National Space Science Data Center/World Data Center for Satellite Information as the WWAS for ISES/COSPAR

SPACEWARN Activities

All information in this publication was received between 1 August 2000 and 31 August 2000.

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UTC).

USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.
  COSPAR/WWAS USSPACECOM  SPACECRAFT              LAUNCH
    INT.ID    CAT. #      NAME                 DATE (2000)
  -------------------------------------------------------
   2000-049A   (26477)   Raduga-1 5                28 Aug
   2000-048A   (26475)   DM-F3                     23 Aug
   2000-047A   (26473)   USA 152                   17 Aug
   2000-046B   (26470)   Nilesat 102               17 Aug
   2000-046A   (26469)   Brazilsat B4              17 Aug
   2000-045B   (26464)   Cluster 2/FM8 (Tango)     09 Aug
   2000-045A   (26463)   Cluster 2/FM5 (Rumba)     09 Aug
   2000-044A   (26461)   Progress M1-3             06 Aug

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

2000-049A Raduga-1 5 is a Russian military communications geosynchronous spacecraft that was launched by a Proton-K rocket from Baikonur at 20:27 UT. The spacecraft also has the alternative names Cosmos 2372 and Globus-1. There are many Radugas still in orbit, but only about five of them are operational.
2000-048A DM-F3 is an American dummy satellite that was used to test the launch capability of the new model Delta 3 rocket. It was launched from Cape Canaveral at 11:05 UT. The 4,300 kg dummy is a two-meter diameter steel spool on which the US Air Force had marked black stripes to enable a novel tracking technique. Initial orbital parameters were period 361 min, apogee 20,634 km, perigee 192 km, and inclination 27.6 deg.
2000-047A USA 152 is an American radar-imaging military/NRO satellite that was launched by a Titan 4B rocket from Vandenberg AFB at 23:45 UT. It is the fourth in the Lacrosse series, and is probably a replacement for the aging Lacrosse 2.
2000-046B Nilesat 102 is an Egyptian geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 44LP rocket from Kourou at 23:16 UT. The 1,827 kg (with fuel) spacecraft carries 12 Ku-band 100 W transponders to provide digital communications for countries in North Africa and Middle East, after parking over 7 deg-E.
2000-046A Brazilsat B4 is a Brazilian geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 44LP rocket from Kourou at 23:16 UT. The 1,757 kg (with fuel) spacecraft carries 28 C-band transponders to provide voice and video communications to the entire South American continent after parking over 92 deg-W.
2000-045A, 2000-045B Cluster 2/FM5 (Rumba) and Cluster 2/FM8 (Tango) are the second pair of the Cluster quadruplet that were launched by a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Baikonur at 11:13 UT. The spacecraft and their payloads are identical to those of the earlier Cluster pair (2000-041A, 2000-041B) reported in SPX 561, and will not be repeated here. The orbits of all these four will be frequently maneuvered so as to achieve the targeted investigations. For ongoing updates of orbital information and other status, see http://jsoc1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk/pub/. Initial orbital parameters of both were similar: period 3,426 min, apogee 120,500 km, perigee 17,200 km, and inclination 90.7 deg.

Note: This is to summarize the nomenclature for the recently launched Cluster spacecraft.

   ESA     ESA     ESA flight International  NORAD  NSSDC/    Launch
   number  name    model         ID          Number WDC-SI     date
                   number                           Name

     1     Rumba     FM5      2000-045A      26463  Cluster 1  09AUG00
     2     Salsa     FM6      2000-041B      26411  Cluster 2  16JUL00
     3     Samba     FM7      2000-041A      26410  Cluster 3  16JUL00
     4     Tango     FM8      2000-045B      26464  Cluster 4  09AUG00

Note that NSSDC will carry the name "Cluster96" in its information files to designate the unsuccessful 1996 four-spacecraft launch.

Joseph H. King
Director, World Data Center for Satellite Information
30 August 2000

2000-044A Progress M1-3 is a Russian automatic cargo carrier that was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur at 18:26 UT. It carried 1.5 tonnes of fuel, and 615 kg of various equipment, water, and food to deliver to the Zvezda module of the ISS. It docked with Zvezda at 08:56 UT on 8 August. The cargo will be unloaded into Zvezda when an American shuttle arrives with a Russian-American crew in September 2000. Initial orbital parameters were period 91.8 min, apogee 369 km, perigee 357 km, and inclination 51.6 deg.

C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation

  1. Spacecraft with essentially continuous radio beacons on frequencies less than 150 MHz, or higher frequencies if especially suited for ionospheric or geodetic studies. (NNSS denotes U.S. Navy Navigational Satellite System. Updates or corrections to the list are possible only with information from the user community.)

    Note: The full list appeared in SPX 545. The list will not be repeated in future issues until significantly revised again.

  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 addition to the GPS fleet is Navstar 48 (USA 151).

  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-545. It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source at: http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/english.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. No further information is available.
    Designations         Common Name              Decay Date (2000)
    
    1991-046E (21538) R/B(Aux) Proton                    22 Aug
    1983-025D (13967) R/B that launched MOLNIYA 1-57     16 Aug
    1996-056C (24321) R/B Delta 2                        15 Aug
    2000-045C (26465) R/B Soyuz-U                        09 Aug
    2000-044B (26462) R/B Soyuz-U                        08 Aug
    2000-024B (26357) R/B Titan 4                        28 Jul
    1997-085A (25123) EARLY BIRD                         27 Jul
    1994-021H (23050) R/B Proton-K                       25 Jul
    

  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.)

    USSPACECOM has now the final, matching names and numbers for the following spacecraft:

    These correspond to what were reported in SPX 561, but not to the late-July revision by USSPACECOM.

  6. Related NSSDC resources.

    NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information is an archival center for science data from many spacecraft. Many space physics datasets are on-line for electronic access through:
    http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/

    For off-line data, please contact the Request Office, NSSDC, 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 accessed via anonymous FTP from NSSDC. (See About the SPACEWARN Bulletin for access method; a file in the active directory named AAREADME.TXT, outlines the contents.)

    Other files interest for Earth-centered spacecraft can be generated through the URL,
    http://sscweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/

    Programs related to the heliospheric spacecraft trajectories can be executed through the URL,
    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/sc-query.html


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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, 01 September 2000
Last updated: 05 September 2000, EVB II