SPACEWARN Activities

2011-029A

ORS 1 was launched from Wallops Island on 30 June 2011 at 03:09 UT by a Minotaur rocket. ORS 1 is the first spacecraft to be launched as part of the Operationally Responsive Space program. ORS 1 is designed to provide tactical reconnaissance to forces in the field.

2011-028A

Cosmos 2472 was launched from Plesetsk on 27 June 2011 at 16:00 UT by a Soyuz rocket. Cosmos 2472 is a Russian military satellite.

2011-027A

Progress-M 11M, a Russian resupply satellite, was launched by a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur on 21 June 2011 at 14:38 UT. The satellite docked with the International Space Station's (ISS) Zvezda module on 23 June 2011 at 16:37 UT. The craft carried approximately 2.5 tonnes of cargo which consisted of approximately 1.9 tonnes of dry cargo in the form of food, spare parts, life support gear, and experiment hardware, 499 kg of propellant, and 50 kg of oxygen and air. Progress-M 11M will remain attached to the station through the end of August.

2011-026A

Chinasat 10, also known as Zhongxing 10, was launched from XiChang on 20 June 2011 at 16:13 UT. The satellite weighed 5.1 tonnes and was launched by a Long March 3B rocket. Chinasat 10 will provide communications, broadcasting, data transmission, digital broadband multimedia system and media streaming services across China and the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite's on-board engine system will lift the satellite to a geosynchronous orbit, where the satellite will enter service at 110.5° E longitude. Chinasat 10 carries a payload of C-band and Ku-band transponders. It has a 15-year service life and will replace the Chinasat 5B satellite launched in 1998.

2011-025A

Rasad 1, an Iranian satellite, was launched from Dasht-e-Kavir on 15 June 2011 at approximately 09:30 UT by a Safir launch vehicle. It is a 15 kg nanosatellite. Rasad 1, which means observation, is an experimental Earth observation satellite. It has an expected operational life of two months.

2011-024A

SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas), an Argentinian Earth observation satellite, was launched from Vandenberg AFB on 10 June 2011 at 14:20 UT by a Delta 2 rocket. The craft weighed 1350 kg. SAC-D is equipped with multiple scientific instruments from several countries including its primary instrument NASA's Aquarius sensor package. Aquarius is designed to study the salinity of the Earth's oceans by means of three radiometers and a radar scatterometer. It has a mass of 320 kg and is designed to operate for three years. The satellite will orbit the planet every 98 minutes, covering a swath 242 miles wide allowing Aquarius to accumulate entire global maps of the planet each week, unveiling how salinity changes across the entire globe month-to-month, season-to-season and year-to-year. SAC-D is expected to operate for five years. Besides Aquarius, SAC-D carries several other instruments.

The Microwave Radiometer (MWR) will provide measurements of the wind, precipitation, sea ice conditions, and the amount of water vapor in the air. These data will be used to supplement that which is collected by Aquarius.

The New Infrared Scanner Technology experiment (NIRST) is an instrument that will measure temperatures on the surface of the Earth. It will be operated jointly by the Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE) and the Canadian Space Agency, and will primarily be used to detect fires, and to record sea temperatures in support of Aquarius.

The High Sensitivity Camera (HSC) will be used to image aurorae, fires, and the light emitted from cities.

A Data Collection System (DCS) payload on-board the satellite will be used to collect and relay data from ground-based weather stations.

The Technology Demonstration Package (TDP) will be used to demonstrate whether a GPS receiver can be used to determine the location, velocity and rotation rate of the spacecraft.

The Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmosphere (ROSA) instrument will be operated by the Italian space agency (ASI). It will use GPS occultation to measure the pressure, temperature and humidity of the atmosphere.

ICARE-NG is a 2.38 kg instrument used to study electron and proton flux in space, and their effects upon instruments.

SODAD consists of three detectors that will be used to study orbital debris and micrometeorites. The French Space Agency (CNES) will operate ICARE and SODAD.

2011-023A

Soyuz-TMA 2M, a Russian spacecraft, was launched from Baikonur on 07 June 2011 at 20:12 UT by a Soyuz rocket. The satellite weighed 7.2 tonnes and docked to the International Space Station's (ISS) Mini Research Module 1 (MRM-1) Nadir port on 09 June 2011 at 21:18 UT. The craft carried a crew of three that consisted of a Russian cosmonaut, an American astronaut, and a Japanese astronaut. The crew will join their colleagues on-board the ISS in preparing for the arrival of shuttle Atlantis that is expected to launch in July 2011.

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.

The latest addition to the fleet is GPS 2F-1 (2010-022A).

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.

According to IAC the latest addition to the fleet is Cosmos 2472 (2011-028A).

Visually bright objects.

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

Actual decays/landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. No further information is available.

Designations         Common Name                  Decay Date (2011)

2011-027B(37680)     SL-4 R/B                          23 June
2000-025C(26362)     NAVSTAR 47 R/B(PAM-D)             22 June
2011-007A(37368)     ATV 2                             21 June
2006-052B(29602)     DELTA 2 R/B(2)                    21 June
2011-023B(37634)     SL-4 R/B                          11 June
2011-020A(37577)     STS 134                           01 June

60-day Decay Predictions.

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

Miscellaneous Items.

This section contains information or data that are entered on occasion and may not be repeated in each issue of the SPACEWARN Bulletin.

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/