SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 497

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1995-014A (23530) Cosmos 2311   Mar 22
1995-013A (23528) INTELSAT 705  Mar 21
1995-012A (23526) Cosmos 2310   Mar 22
1995-011B (23522) GMS 5         Mar 18
1995-011A (23521) SFU           Mar 18
1995-010A (23519) SOYUZ TM-21   Mar 14
1995-009C (23513) Cosmos 2307   Mar 07
1995-009B (23512) Cosmos 2309   Mar 07
1995-009A (23511) Cosmos 2308   Mar 07
1995-008A (23501) Cosmos 2306   Mar 02
1995-007A (23500) STS 67        Mar 02

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1995-014A

Cosmos 2311 is a Russian military spacecraft that was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome by a Soyuz-U rocket at 16:43 UT. Initial orbital parameters were period 89.6 min, apogee 359.4 km, perigee 179.7 km, and inclination 67.2 deg.

1995-013A

INTELSAT 705 is a geostationary communications spacecraft of the Intelsat consortium. Additional information is not available at this time.

1995-012A

Cosmos 2310 is a Russian military spacecraft that was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome by a Kosmos-3M rocket at 04:09 UT. Initial orbital parameters were period 105.1 min, apogee 1,024.1 km, perigee 996.4 km, and inclination 82.9 deg.

1995-011B

GMS 5 is a Japanese geostationary meteorological spacecraft that was launched from Tanegashima island (1,000 km SW of Tokyo) by a H-2 rocket at 08:01 UT. It replaces the GMS-4 (also known as Himawari) and will be parked at 140 E longitude. It carries visible and infrared spin-scan radiometers that will provide gobal pictures every 25 min, at a resolution of 1.25 km (visible) and 5.0 km (infrared). It has also an infrared channel to monitor water vapor content in the atmosphere. The other instruments on board are for search-and-rescue relays, and for relaying weather data from ground/sea-based monitoring platforms. The spacecraft has a stabilized earth pointing platform and a 100 RPM spinning section. Other parameters are mass 345 kg, diameter 215 cm, height 354 cm, and power 291 W.

1995-011A

SFU is a Japanese space laboratory that was launched by the same rocket that launchd GMS 5. It carries an infrared telescope and instruments and supplies for microgravity experiments and will be retrieved by a U.S.A. shuttle later this year. Initial orbital parameters are period 92.2 min, apogee 415 km, perigee 344 km, and inclination 28.4 km.

1995-010A

SOYUX TM-21 is a cosmonaut transporting spacecraft that was launched from Baykonur cosmodrome at 06:11 UT to dock with MIR station. It docked with MIR at 07:45 UT on the 16 March. The American astronaut on board will be brought back from MIR after a U.S.A. shuttle docks with the station in late June 1995. Initial orbital parameters were period 89.8 min, apogee 322 km, perigee 231 km, and inclination 51.7 deg.

1995-009C, -009B, -009A

Cosmos 2307, Cosmos 2309, and Cosmos 2308 are the latest three to join the Russian constellation of GLONASS series. They were launched from Baykonur cosmodrome. Initial parameters of the circular orbits are period 11 hr, 15 min, altitude 19,132 km, and inclination 64.8 deg. (See sec. C-3 for data on GLONASS series.)

1995-008A

Cosmos 2306 is a Russian military spacecraft that was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 13:00 UT by a Kosmos-3M booster. Initial orbital parameters were period 99.3 min, apogee 519 km, perigee 472 km, and inclination 65.5 deg.

1995-007A

STS 67 is a U.S.A. shuttle spacecraft that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 06:37 UT. The main cargo on board was the Astro 2 Spacelab that carried three UV telescopes: Ultraviolet Telescope of the Johns Hopkins University (HUT) with a 92 cm diameter mirror and a spectrograph; Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) of NASA-GSFC with a 38 cm mirror for photographing galaxies on sensitive films; and Photo-Polarimeter of the University of Wisconsin (WUPPE) for monitoring interstellar/intergalactic dust and gas. Initial orbital parameters were period 91.7 min, apogee 363 km, perigee 349 km, and inclination 28.5 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 about 60 deg apart. Each plane has four "slots." Following are the 2-NN members in the planes/slots. The RAAN decreases by about 1.0 deg each month; below are their 30 March longitudes.

   PLANE    RAAN OF PLANE     SLOT-1     SLOT-2      SLOT-3      SLOT-4
   
     A           245           2-21       2-12        2-15        2-04
     B           305           2-18       2-07        2-02        2-22
     C             6           2-24       2-13        2-19        2-20
     D            69           2-11       2-09        2-05        2-23
     E           129           2-01       2-08        2-03        2-10
     F           186           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                    1995
   
   1994-063A (23288)  SOYUZ TM-20                      22 Mar
   1994-028B (23102)  R/B MSTI 2                       20 Mar
   1995-007A (23500)  STS 67             Landed on     18 Mar
   1993-029A (22643)  COSMOS 2244                      18 Mar
   1995-005A (23477)  PROGRESS M-26                    15 Mar
   1995-006B (23498)  R/B FOTON 10                     12 Mar
   1994-025A (23095)  COSMOS 2280                      10 Mar
   1994-006F (22994)  ODERACS E                        03 Mar
   1995-006A (23497)  FOTON 10                         03 Mar
   1995-004F (23474)  ODERACS 2D                       02 Mar
   1992-007B (21868)  R/B JERS                         28 Feb
   1995-004G (23473)  ODERACS 2E                       27 Feb
   1994-006G (22995)  ODERACS F                        24 Feb
   1983-073A (14199)  MOLNIYA 1-58                     23 Feb
   
   

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 NSSDC Request Coordination Office, Code 633, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, 20771, U.S.A., for specific information (REQUEST@NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV). Precomputed trajectory files and orbital parameters of many magnetospheric and heliospheric science-payload spacecraft may be FTP'ed from NSSDC's ANON_DIR:[000000.ACTIVE] and its several subdirectories. (See About the SPACEWARN Bulletin for access method; a file in the ACTIVE directory, named AAREADME.DOC, outlines the contents.)

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