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SPACEWARN
Bulletin
A monthly publication of the National Space Science Data Center/World Data Center for Satellite Information
No. 587                                                                                                                               01 Oct. 2002

SPACEWARN Activities

All information in this publication was received between 1 September 2002 and 30 September 2002.

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 (UT)
  ---------------------------------------------------------
   2002-046A    (27534)  Nadezhda 7       26 September 2002
   2002-045A    (27531)  Progress M1-9    25 September 2002
   2002-044A    (27528)  Hispasat 1D      18 September 2002
   2002-043A    (27525)  Metsat 1         12 September 2002
   2002-042B    (27516)  DRTS             10 September 2002
   2002-042A    (27515)  USERS            10 September 2002
   2002-041A    (27513)  Intelsat 906     06 September 2002

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

2002-046A Nadezhda 7, also called Nadezhda-M, is a Russian navigational satellite that was launched by a Cosmos-3M rocket from Plesetsk at 15:30 UT on 26 September 2002. It will participate in the international search-and-rescue network known as COSPAS-SARSAT, for ships at sea. Initial orbital parameters were period 102 min, apogee 1,022 km, perigee 987 km, and inclination 83°.
2002-045A Progress M1-9, also known as Progress 9P, is a Russian automatic cargo transportation craft that was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur at 16:58 UT on 25 September 2002, to deliver food, fuel, and supplies to the International Space Station, ISS. It docked with the Zvezda module of the ISS on 29 September and delivered the material. Prior to the docking, the port was vacated by the earlier Progress-M46, carrying with it trash from the ISS, to deorbit and burn away during re-entry. Initial orbital parameters of Progress M1-9 were period 90.6 min, apogee 323.5 km, perigee 281.5 km, and inclination 51.64°.
2002-044A Hispasat 1D is a Spanish geostationary communications spacecraft that was launched by an Atlas 2AS/Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral at 22:04 UT on 18 September 2002. The 3.3 tonne, 7.0 kW satellite carries three antennas looking in different directions to provide video, data and internet services to Europe, North America, and North Africa through its 28 Ku-band transponders after parking over 30°W longitude alongside of Hispasats 1A, 1B, and 1C.
2002-043A Metsat 1 is an Indian (ISRO) meteorological, geostationary satellite that was launched by an upgraded, four-stage PSLV-C4 rocket from Sriharikota in the southeast coast of India at 10:24 UT on 12 September 2002. The triaxially-stabilized, 1,050 kg (including 560 kg of propellant), 550 W satellite carries a VHRR (Very High Resolution Radiometer) scanning radiometer for three-band images: one in the visible, the second in the thermal infrared and the third in the water vapor infrared bands, each at a spatial resolution of 2-km x 2-km resolution, to obtain atmospheric cloud cover, water vapor and temperature. It carries also a Data Relay Transponder (DRT) to provide data from fixed/mobile ground level weather platforms. It was maneuvered from the transfer orbit to a geostationary at 37°E longitude on 16 September, and then to the final parking at 74°E longitude on 24 September. More details may be seen in http://www.isro.org/.
2002-042B DRTS is Japanese (Data Relay Transponder Satellite) geostationary communications spacecraft that was launched by an H 2A rocket from Tanegashima Island in Japan at 08:20 UT on 10 September 2002. The nearly cubical (2.2 m x 2.4 m x 2.2 m) 2.8 tonne (with fuel), 2.1 kW (from a 17 square-meter array) spacecraft will relay images and data procured by the to-be-launched ADEOS 2 and ALOS satellites, and the KIBO module on ISS, through its S- and Ka-band transponders, after parking over 90°E.
2002-042A USERS (Unmanned Space Experiment Recovery System) is a Japanese microgravity experimental satellite that was launched by an H 2A rocket from Tanegashima Island in Japan at 08:20 UT on 10 September 2002. The 1.7 tonne (with fuel), 700 W satellite consists of a Re-Entry Module (REM) and a Service Module (SEM) that will provide power and a communications link to the REM. In turn, REM consists of a Re-Entry Vehicle (REV) and a Propulsion Module (PM). After 8.5 months in orbit, REM will be separated to deorbit and the REV will soft-land with its contents. The SEM will be elevated to a higher orbit. Initial orbital parameters of the USERS were period 94.9 min, apogee 519 km, perigee 504 km, and inclination 30.9°.
2002-041A Intelsat 906 is a geostationary communications spacecraft of the international Intelsat consortium (recently privatized as Intelsat Ltd.) that was launched by an Ariane 44L rocket from Kourou at 06:44 UT on 6 September 2002. It will provide internet, telephony and television broadcasts to Europe, Asia, and Australia through its 72 C- and 22 Ku-band transponders after parking over 64 deg-E longitude. It displaces Intelsat 804 which will then be moved to 176°E to handle the increased cross-Atlantic demand.

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.

    High precision (<20 cm) GPS constellation tracking data obtained from the network of about 400 dedicated global stations that are of interest to geodetic study may be obtained through the following services provided by the International GNSS Service (IGS). The IGS is a service of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG).

         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 SPACEWARN Bulletin No. 518. It will not be repeated since an excellent source of trajectory- and science-related GPS information is at:

    http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html

    It provides many links to GPS related databases.

  3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS constellation. (SPACEWARN requests updates/additions from readers to this list.)

    All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general Cosmos series. The Cosmos numbers 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 last appeared in SPACEWARN Bulletin No. 545. It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source at: http://www.glonass-ianc.rsa.ru/ maintained by the Information-Analytical Center (IAC), Russian Space Agency.

    The latest addition to the GLONASS fleet are Cosmos 2380, Cosmos 2381, and Cosmos 2382.

  4. Visually bright objects.

    See http://www.space-track.org/perl/bulk_files.pl. Users must register. Conditions apply.

  5. Actual decays/landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. No further information is available.
    Designations         Common Name                  Decay Date (2002)
    
    2002-045B (27532)  R/B Soyuz-U                         27 September
    2002-006B (27379)  R/B Atlas 3B/Centaur                24 September
    1979-020A (11285)  INTERCOSMOS 19                      23 September
    1999-043E (25887)  R/B(1) Delta 2                      21 September
    1985-061A (15909)  MOLNIYA 3-25                        21 September
    1987-048D (18086)  R/B(2) that launched COSMOS 1849    19 September
    2002-005F (27377)  R/B Delta 2                         16 September
    1993-007C (22448)  R/B NAVSTAR 30 (PAM-D)              11 September
    
  6. 60-day Decay Predictions.

    See http://www.space-track.org/perl/60day_decay_predict.pl. Users must register for access. Conditions apply

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

  8. 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 690.1, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A., for specific information (nssdc-request@listserv.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 obtained from:
    http://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/miscellaneous/orbits/

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

    Programs related to the heliospheric spacecraft trajectories can be executed through the URL:
    http://cohoweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/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/nmc/

SPACEWARN Bulletin index About the SPACEWARN Bulletin About Spacecraft Categories NSSDC home page

Questions/comments about the content of these pages should be directed to:
The World Warning Agency for Satellites, wwas@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov
National Space Science Data Center, Mail Code 633
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Dr. Edwin Bell, II
NASA Official: Dr. David R. Williams
V1.0, 01 October 2002
Last updated: 05 March 2003, EVB II