SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 493

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1994-076C (22398) Cosmos 2296   Nov 20
    -076B (23397) Cosmos 2295   Nov 20
    -076A (23396) Cosmos 2294   Nov 20
    -075A (23348) PROGRESS M-25 Nov 11
    -074A (23342) RESURS-01     Nov 04
    -073B (23341) CRISTA-SPAS   Nov 04
    -073A (23340) STS 66        Nov 03
    -072A (23336) Cosmos 2293   Nov 02
    -071A (23333) Wind          Nov 01
    -070A (23331) ASTRA 1-D     Nov 01
    -069A (23327) ELECTRO       Oct 31

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1994-076C, 1994-076B, 1994-076A

Cosmos 2296, Cosmos 2295, and Cosmos 2294 are the three latest additions to the Russian fleet of global positioning spacecraft (GLONASS), and were launched by a Proton-K rocket from Baykonur cosmodrome at 00:09 UT. The fleet now totals 21 spacecraft plus a reserve; three more spacecraft that are to be launched in 1995 will complete the constellation of 24 spacecraft. The GLONASS series enables position measurement at land or sea within an error of 100 meters. Initial orbital parameters were period 2 hr, apogee/perigee 19,000 km, and inclination 71 deg. (The three spacecraft will be listed in section C-3 of a later issue, after additional data could be procured.)

1994-075A

PROGRESS M-25, a Russian automatic cargo ship, was launched from Baykonur cosmodrome by a Soyuz-U rocket, and headed to dock with the MIR space station to provide supplies to the station. The cargo ship carried more than two tons of supplies, and a returnable RADUGA capsule to bring back about 150 kg of experimental results from MIR. Initial orbital parameters were period 92.4 min, apogee 394 km, perigee 342 km, and inclination 51.6 deg.

1994-074A

RESURS-01, a Russian natural resources spacecraft, was launched from Baykonur cosmodrome by a Zenit-2 rocket at 05:46 UT in a Sun-synchronous orbit. This is the third of the RESURS-01 series , and a likely alternative name may be RESURS 1-3. Initial orbital parameters were period 98 min, apogee 691.4 km, perigee 663.8 km, and inclination 98 deg.

1994-073B

CRISTA-SPAS, a German spacecraft, was released from STS 66 on 4 November and captured back on 12 November. It carried spectraphotometers to monitor gases in the middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere. Orbital parameters were close to those of STS 66.

1994-073A

STS 66, a U.S.A. shuttle spacecraft, was launched from Cape Canaveral at 06:59 UT. The primary payload was the ATLAS-3 laboratory containing two instruments (SOLCON, and SOLSPEC) to measure solar emissions in the visible and UV bands, and a UV backscatter monitor to measure ozone concentrations. The shuttle also carried many pregnant and nonpregnant rats for biological studies. Initial orbital parameters were period 90.6 min, apogee 310 km, perigee 296 km, and inclination 57 deg.

1994-072A

Cosmos 2293, a Russian military spacecraft, was launched by a Tsiklon-2 rocket. The initial orbital parameters were period 92.7 min, apogee 436 km, perigee 412 km, and inclination 65 deg.

1994-071A

Wind is a U.S.A. spacecraft in the International Solar Terrestrial Program (ISTP), and was launched by a Delta-2 rocket from Cape Canaverl at 23:31 UT. It carried instruments to measure the solar wind plasma and magnetic field, besides several instruments to measure very energetic particles and gamma rays. After several orbits extending to close proximity of the Moon (at about 60 Earth-radii), and involving several thrust-firings during that phase, the spacecraft will eventually reach the first Lagrangian point (L-1) located at about 275 Earth-radii in the Sun-ward direction, and orbit around that point. Orbital parameters are very variable even during the first two years.

1994-070A

ASTRA 1-D is a geostationary spacecraft of the European Space Society that was launched by an Ariane 42P rocket from Kourou in French Guiana at 00:37 UT, to provide direct TV and radio broadcast to most of Europe, after reaching the parking longitude of 19.2 E. It carried 18 transponders.

1994-069A

ELECTRO is a Russian geostationary weather spacecraft that was launched from Baykonur cosmodrome by a Proton rocket. It will provide cloud cover, and sea temperature maps, along with the data on the upper boundaries of clouds and wind speeds, to enable hurricane, floods, and typhoon warnings. It will be parked at 76-E longitude over the Indian ocean just south of India.

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           256           2-21       2-12        2-15        2-04
     B           316           2-18       2-07        2-02        2-22
     C            16           2-24       2-13        2-19        2-20
     D            76           2-11       2-09        2-05        2-23
     E           136           2-01       2-08        2-03        2-10
     F           196           2-16       2-14        2-06        2-17
   
   

3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS constellation. To see a list select here.

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

   Designations         Common Name                    1994
   
   1994-076D (23399)    R/B COSMOS 2294,2295,2296         20 Nov
   1994-073A (23340)    STS 66          Landed on         14 Nov
   1994-075B (23349)    R/B PROGRESS M-25                 13 Nov
   1994-073B (23341)    CRISTA SPAS Recaptured by STS-66  12 Nov
   1994-036A (23139)    SOYUZ TM-19                       04 Nov
   1984-029A (14825)    MOLNIYA 1-60                      04 Nov
   1994-069B (23328)    R/B ELECTRO                       03 Nov
   1994-072B (23337)    R/B COSMOS 2293                   02 Nov
   
   

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.)

   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 Request Office, NSSDC, Code 633, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, 20771, U.S.A., for specific information.

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