SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 510

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1996-023A (23848) Priroda              23 Apr
1996-022A (23846) MSAT 1               20 Apr
1996-021A (23842) ASTRA 1F             08 Apr
1996-020A (23839) INMARSAT 3-F1        03 Apr
1996-019A (23833) USA 117              28 Mar

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1996-023A

Priroda is the last of the scheduled five Russian modules of Mir and was launched from Baykonur by a Proton-K rocket at 11:48 UT to dock after three days rather than the usual nine days. The launch itself was three days earlier than the planned data in order to facilitate an American microgravity program; the 19,000 kg module carried 900 kg of American equipment to be delivered to the American astronaut on Mir. Other cargo on board included several remote-sensing Russian instruments. It is likely Priroda may later be attached to the planned international space station, Alpha, when Mir mission would in 1998. Initial orbital parameters were period 89.9 min, apogee 454 km, perigee 338 km, and inclination 51.65 deg.

1996-022A

MSAT 1 is a Canadian geostationary mobile telephone communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 42P rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, to serve the North American continent. The spacecraft and its transponders are very similar to those of the American AMSC 1.

1996-021A

ASTRA 1F is a European (SES, Luxembourg) geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by a Proton-K rocket from Baykonur cosmodrome at 23:09 UT. The 3,010 kg spacecraft is to be parked over 19.2 deg E-longitude to provide direct broadcast TV to Europe through its 16 Ku-band transponders.

1996-020A

INMARSAT 3-F1 is a geosynchronous communications spacecraft of the 79 nation consortium and was launched by an Atlas 2A rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Station. The 2,068 kg spacecraft will provide telephone links to airlines and passengers through its five L-band beams after parking at 64 deg E-longitude.

1996-019A

USA 117 is the latest addition to the Navstar/GPS series of navigational spacecraft. The GPS series is listed in section C-2. Initial orbital parameters were period 718 min, apogee 20,282 km, perigee 20,078 km, and inclination 54.7 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 orbits in six distinct planes that are about 60 deg apart. Each plane has five "slots." Following are the 2-NN members in the planes/slots. The RAAN decreases by about 1.0 deg each month; below are their approximate RAAN longitudes in November 1995.

   PLANE    RAAN OF PLANE SLOT-1     SLOT-2      SLOT-3      SLOT-4  SLOT-5
   
     A           235       2-21       2-12        2-15        2-04
     B           296       2-18       2-07        2-02        2-22
     C           357       2-24       2-25        2-19        2-20   2-13
     D            62       2-11       2-09        2-05        2-23
     E           119       2-01       2-08        2-03        2-10
     F           177       2-16       2-14        2-06        2-17
   

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

   The GLONASS NNN series orbit in three distinct planes that are 120 deg apart. Each plane has eight "slots". Following are the members of the planes/slots.

      Plane 1              Plane 2              Plane 3
   slot-1   771         slot-9    776/778    slot-17   760
   slot-2   757         slot-10   781        slot-18   758
   slot-3   763         slot-11   785        slot-19   777
   slot-4   762         slot-12   767        slot-20   765
   slot-5   249         slot-13   782        slot-21   756
   slot-6   764         slot-14   770        slot-22   766
   slot-7   759         slot-15   780        slot-23   761
   slot-8   769         slot-16   775        slot-24   774
   

   Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC) Russian Space Forces
   E-mail: sfcsic@iki3.bitnet; sfcsic@iki3.iki.rssi.ru; sfcsic@mx.iki.rssi.ru
   Home page WWW.IKI: http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/SFCSIC_main.html

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

   Designations       Common Name                     1996
   
   1985-007F (15489)  R/B SL-12                    20 Apr
   1996-021C (23844)  R/B ASTRA 1-F                14 Apr
   1995-039B (23633)  R/B INTERBALL TAIL           14 Apr
   1996-021B (23843)  R/B ASTRA 1-F                11 Apr
   1996-018A (23831)  STS 76          Landed on    30 Mar
   

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). 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 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.) It can also be accessed via the WWW at:
   http://sscop1.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc.html

   This URL also enables executing several codes related to the orbits of many geocentric science payload spacecraft. The codes related to the heliospheric spacecraft trjectories can be executed through:
   http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/helios/heli.html

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
V1.0: 26 April 1996
Last Updated: 02 May 1996, EVB II