SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 511

SPACEWARN Activities

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates.

1996-033A (23877) Galaxy 9             24 May
1996-032D (23876) PAMS-STU             22 May
1996-032C (23872) IAE                  20 May
1996-032B (23871) Spartan 207          20 May
1996-032A (23870) STS 77               19 May
1996-031A (23868) MSTI 3               17 May
1996-030B (23865) AMOS 1               16 May
1996-030A (23864) PALAPA C-2           16 May
1996-029D (23862) USA 122              12 May
1996-028A (23860) PROGRESS M-31        05 May
1996-027A (23857) SAX                  30 Apr
1996-026A (23855) USA 118              24 Apr
1996-025A (23853) Cosmos 2332          24 Apr
1996-024A (23851) MSX                  24 Apr

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

1996-033A

Galaxy 9 is an American geosynchronous spacecraft to provide voice and vision communications to North America. It was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

1996-032D

PAMS-STU is an American experimental spacecraft that was released from the shuttle STS 77 to test an attitude stabilization design. The 35 kg spacecraft has an unbalanced mass distribition and two magnetic rods; the interaction of the rods with Earth's magnetic field is expected to damp any wobble or spin. There were some problems in ascertaining the success fully because of the malfunction of the laser ranger. It is expected to re-enter the atmosphere soon. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of STS 77.

1996-032C

IAE (Inflatable Antenna Experiment) is an American inflatable mylar antenna that was released from STS 77. It expanded to a diameter of 16 meters and retained its shape with the help of three inflated 30-meter struts. It re-entered the atmosphere after several orbits. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of STS 77.

1996-032B

Spartan 207 is an 850 kg module that was released from the shuttle STS 77 as a platform from which to launch an inflatable antenna. It was captured back into the shuttle soon after the antenna release. Initial orbital parameters were close to those of STS 77.

1996-032A

STS 77 is an American Shuttle that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 10:30 UT. The main mission was to release an inflatable antenna, IAE. The release occurred from a platform called Spartan 207 which in turn was released from the shuttle a few hours earlier. The third object that was released was an experimental 35 kg minispacecraft, PAMS-STU. Besides, STS 77 carried the usual complement of crystal, metal, and biomedical experimental gear along with 32,000 sea urchin eggs and a supply of sperm to squirt on them, all in the Spacehab module. A new fizzy Coca-Cola delivering experimental device failed to perform satisfactorily. Initial orbital parameters were period 90.1 deg, apogee 287 km, perigee 278 km, and inclination 39.0 deg.

1996-031A

MSTI 3 is an American military spacecraft that was launched by a Pegasus rocket from an airplane over California. It has the ability to monitor baseline data on Earth's atmosphere and environment. Initial orbital parameters were period 91.3 min, apogee 384 km, perigee 297 km, and inclination 97.0 deg.

1996-030B

AMOS 1 is an Israeli geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 44L rocket along with PALAPA C-2. The 996 kg spacecraft (with a dry mass of 471 kg) carries seven active transponders in the Ku-band to enable voice and vision communications to a large area centered on Israel.

1996-030A

PALAPA C-2 is an Indonesian geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched from Kourou, French Guiana, by an Ariane 44L rocket at 01:56 UT. With its 34 transponders and parked at 113E longitude, it is expected to provide voice and vision communications to a large area bounded by Iran, Vlodivostok, Autralia, and New Zealand.

1996-029D

USA 122 is an American military spacecraft that was launched (plausibly) from Cape Canaveral by a Titan rocket. It may have been accompanied by three other spacecraft (presumably USA 119/29A, USA 120/29B, and USA 121/29C), but the USSPACECOM has been unable (as of 24 May 96) to confirm.

1996-028A

PROGRESS M-31 is a Russian automatic cargo carrying spacecraft to provide equipments and supplies to the MIR station. It was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baykonur cosmodrome. It docked with MIR and delivered 3,000 kg of food, fuel and water. Initial orbital parameters were period 92.4 min, apogee 190 km, perigee 163 km, and inclination 51.6 deg.

1996-027A

SAX (Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X) is an Italian/Dutch celestial X-ray monitoring telescope that was launched from Cape Canaveral by an Atlas 1 rocket. It carries a 64 MB tape recorder to unload data from each orbit to Malindi, Kenya, via a geostationary Intelsat spacecraft. Initial orbital parameters were period 96.5 min, apogee 603 km, perigee 583 km, and inclination 96.5 deg.

1996-026A

USA 118 is an American military spacecraft.

1996-025A

Cosmos 2332 is a Russian military spacecraft that was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome. Initial orbital parameters were period 103.6 min, apogee 1,564 km, perigee 294 km, and inclination 82.9 deg.

1996-024A

MSX (Midcourse Space eXperiment) spacecraft is an American military spacecraft to detect missile launches during the "midcourse" phase. It was launched by a Delta 2 booster from Vandenberg AFB at about 16:15 UT. Its multispectral instruments are capable of obtaining wide band and spectral images in the range of infrared to ultraviolet wavelengths; the emissions also enable civilian aeronomic and auroral studies. The 2,700 kg, 5.1 meter spacecraft carries three sections each of 150 cm x 150 cm cross-section to house three payload components: electronics section, 8.5 K frozen hydrogen section, and instruments section. The four instruments are wide-field visible light imager, wide-field UV imager, narrow-field UV and visible light imager, and spectroscopic imager. Initial orbital parameters were period 103.5 min, apogee 905 km, perigee 897 km, and inclination 99.3 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 or increases 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
   
   1996-032C (23872)  IAE                          22 May
   1996-023B (23849)  R/B PRIRODA                  19 May
   1996-023C (23850)  R/B PRIRODA                  13 May
   1994-072A (23336)  COSMOS 2293                  13 May
   1996-028B (23861)  R/B PROGRESS M-31            08 May
   

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: 29 May 1996
Last Updated: 06 June 1996, EVB II