SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 482

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1993-079A (22949) MOLNIYA 1-87  Dec 22
     078B (22931) THAICOM-1     Dec 18
     078A (22930) DBS-1         Dec 18
     077A (22927) TELSTAR 401   Dec 16
     076A (22921) USA 98        Dec 08
     075A (22917) STS 61        Dec 02
     074A (22915) USA 97        Nov 28

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1993-079A

Molniya 1-87, a Russian communications spacecraft, was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 23:37 UT by a Molniya carrier. Initial orbital parameters are period 11 hr, 43 min; apogee 39,206 km; perigee 446 km; and inclination 62.8 deg.

1993-078B

THAICOM-1, a Thailand geostationary, communications spacecraft, was launched by an Ariane 44-L booster from Kourou, French Guiana, at 01:27 UT and parked a little eastward of that country. It carries ten C-band and two KU-band transponders.

1993-078A

DBS-1, a U.S.A. geostationary, communications spacecraft for high resolution TV broadcast, was launched by an Ariane 44-L booster from Kourou, French Guiana, at 01:27 UT. It will cover the U.S.A. and many American countries.

1993-077A

TELSTAR 401, a U.S.A. geostationary, communications spacecraft, was launched by an Atlas 2AS rocket from Cape Canaveral.

1993-076A

USA 98, a second of the NATO's NATO 4 series of encrypted communication satellites, was launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket. Initial orbital parameters are period 645 min, apogee 33,913 km, perigee 737 km, and inclination 23.2 deg.

1993-075A

STS 61, a U.S.A. shuttle spacecraft, was launched from Cape Canaveral. It was a mission to repair or update the instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. During several days of EVA, the crew installed corrective optics (COSTAR) in the light path after vacating the High Speed Photometer instrument; replaced the older Wide Field Planetary Camera (WF/PC) with a newer version, WF/PC 2; and replaced malfunctioning solar arrays. Initial orbital parameters are period 96.5 min, apogee 594 km, perigee 588 km, and inclination 28.4 deg.

1993-074A

USA 97, a military communications spacecraft, was launched from Cape Canaveral by an Atlas-Centaur rocket. Initial orbital parameters are period 623.3 min, apogee 35,533 km, perigee 160 km, and inclination 26.5 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. To see a list select here.

2. Global Positioning System satellites useful for navigational purposes and geodetic studies. To see a list select here.

   The GPS 2-NN series orbit in six distinct planes that are 60 deg apart. Each plane has four "slots." Following are the members of the planes/slots:

   PLANE      RAAN OF PLANE       SLOT-1     SLOT-2      SLOT-3      SLOT-4
   
     A           269               2-21       2-12        2-15        2-04
     B           329               2-18       2-07        2-02        2-22
     C            29               2-23       2-13        2-19        2-20
     D            89               2-11       2-09        2-05        ----
     E           149               2-01       2-08        2-03        2-10
     F           209               2-16       2-14        2-06        2-17
   
   

3. Actual decays/landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. Additional information is not available.

   Designations         Common Name                      1993
   
   1992-057A (22789)    COSMOS 2262                      18 Dec
   1992-087A (22260)    COSMOS 2223                      16 Dec
   1993-075A (22917)    STS 61                 Landed on 13 Dec
   
   

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

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

NASA Official: J. H. King, joe.king@gsfc.nasa.gov
Last updated: 23 May 1995, EVB II