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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 |
| 01 April 1999 |
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1999-014A (25661) Sealaunch Demo 28 MAR 99
1999-013A (25657) AsiaSat 3S 21 MAR 99
1999-012D (25652) Globalstar M037 15 MAR 99
1999-012C (25651) Globalstar M046 15 MAR 99
1999-012B (25650) Globalstar M041 15 MAR 99
1999-012A (25649) Globalstar M022 15 MAR 99
1999-011A (25646) WIRE 05 MAR 99
| 1999-014A | Sealaunch Demo is a multinational, geosynchronous dummy "spacecraft" that was launched at 01:30 UT from a 4,000 tonne floating platform, Odyssey (which was an oil drilling platform in the North Sea) on true-equatorial Pacific Ocean at 01:30 UT. The spacecraft is just a 4.5 tonne assembly of pipes and plates simulating a HS 702 spacecraft. Odyssey and a 30,000 tonne command/control ship were parked at 154 deg-W longitude, almost due south of Hawaii, when the kerosene/liquid oxygen fueled three-stage rocket (two Ukrainian Zenits, and a Russian DM-SL booster) launched the dummy. The Sea Launch Company is jointly owned by private companies (Russian Energia 25%, American Boeing 40%, Norwegian Kvarner 20%, and Ukrainian Yuzhnoe/Yuzhmash 15%) with an investment of about US$800 million and expects about seven commercial launches/year, each billed $70 million. (The European Arianespace-owned site at Kourou, French Guiana, is the only other current equatorial site, but is located at 5 deg-N latitude.) |
|---|---|
| 1999-013A | AsiaSat 3S is a Chinease (Hong Kong) geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by a Proton K rocket from Baykonur at 00:09 UT. This replaces the flawed AsiaSat 3 which could not attain satisfactory geosynchronus status after launch a year ago. (That flawed-orbit craft is still of some use for communications.) The 2.5 tonne AsiaSat 3S will provide voice and video communications through its 28 C-band (each 55 W), and 16 Ku-band (each 150 W) transponders to East Asia and Australasia after parking at 105.5 deg-E longitude. Gallium-Arsenide solar cells generate a total power of 10 kW. |
| 1999-012A, 1999-012B, 1999-012C, 1999-012D |
Globalstars M022, M041, M046, and M037 are American low orbit communications spacecraft that were launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baykonur at 03:06 UT. These join the previously launched 12 member fleet to provide voice and data links to/from remote telephones. After further launches, the fleet will consist of 48 spacecraft. Initial orbital parameters of the four were similar: period 103.5 min, apogee 952 km, perigee 910 km, and inclination 52 deg. |
| 1999-011A | WIRE (Wide-field InfraRed Explorer) is an American astronomical research spacecraft that was launched by a Pegasus-XL rocket released from a L-1011 cargo plane off the coast of Vandenberg AFB at 03:00 UT. However, soon after the launch the telescope's cover opened prematurely and exposed the telescope to direct sunlight; the solid hydrogen surrounding the infrared detectors boiled away and the payload became inoperable. Initial orbital parameters were period 96 min, apogee 593 km, perigee 539 km, and inclination 97.5 deg. |
Note: There is now a new list. The lists in SPX 520 and SPX 542 have now been updated. The full list will reappear only after further major updates.
High precision (<20 cm) GPS constellation tracking data obtained from the network of about 80 dedicated global stations that are of interest to geodetic study may be obtained through the following services provided by the International Association of Geodesy (IGS)
FTP: igscb.jpl.nasa.gov [directory /igscb]
WWW: http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/
E-mail: igscb@cobra.jpl.nasa.gov
The standard format of the GPS situation appeared in SPX-518. It will not be repeated since an excellent source of trajectory- and science-related GPS information is at http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/gcraft/notes/gps/gps.html#DODSystem It provides many links to GPS related databases.
The latest member of the GPS fleet is NAVSTAR 38 (1997-067A), launched on 6 November 1997.
All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general COSMOS series. The COSMOS numbers (nnnn) invoked by USSPACECOM have often differed from the numbers (NNNN) associated in Russia; when different, the USSPACECOM COSMOS numbers are shown in parentheses. The corresponding GLONASS numbers are Russian numbers, followed by the numbers in parentheses that are sometimes attributed to them outside Russia.
The operating frequencies in MHz are computed from the channel number K. Frequencies (MHz) = 1602.0 + 0.5625K and L2 = 1246.0 + 0.4375K.
The standard format of the GLONASS situation appeared in SPX-515. It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source at: http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/glonass.html maintained by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC),Russian Space Forces.
Dr. Richard Langley of the University of New Brunswick, Canada has provided the following GLONASS status on 6 March 1999:
GLONASS Constellation Status
(99-03-06)
GLONASS Kosmos Internat. NORAD Plane Channel Almanac Launch Status
Numbers Numbers ID Catalog Number Date (Date
Number (Slot) (UTC) withdrawn)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
49 249 2111 1990-110C 21008 8-Dec-90 15-Aug-96
50 750 2139 1991-025A 21216 4-Apr-91 14-Nov-94
51 753 2140 1991-025B 21217 4-Apr-91 4-Jun-93
52 754 2141 1991-025C 21218 4-Apr-91 16-Jun-92
53 768 2177 1992-005A 21853 29-Jan-92 29-Jun-92
54 769 2178 1992-005B 21854 29-Jan-92 25-Jun-97
55 771 2179 1992-005C 21855 29-Jan-92 21-Dec-96
56 774 2206 (2204) 1992-047A 22056 30-Jul-92 26-Aug-96
57 756 2204 (2205) 1992-047B 22057 30-Jul-92 4-Aug-97
58 772 2205 (2206) 1992-047C 22058 30-Jul-92 27-Aug-94
59 773 2234 1993-010A 22512 17-Feb-93 17-Aug-94
60 757 2236 (2235) 1993-010B 22513 17-Feb-93 23-Aug-97
61 759 2235 (2236) 1993-010C 22514 17-Feb-93 4-Aug-97
62 760 2276 (2275) 1994-021A 23043 3 24 17 11-Apr-94 OK
63 761 2277 (2276) 1994-021B 23044 11-Apr-94 29-Aug-97
64 758 2275 (2277) 1994-021C 23045 3 10 18 11-Apr-94 OK
65 767 2287 1994-050A 23203 2 22 12 11-Aug-94 3-Feb-99
66 775 2289 (2288) 1994-050B 23204 2 22 16 11-Aug-94 OK
67 770 2288 (2289) 1994-050C 23205 2 9 14 11-Aug-94 UNH
68 763 2295 (2294) 1994-076A 23396 1 21 3 20-Nov-94 OK
69 764 2296 (2295) 1994-076B 23397 1 13 6 20-Nov-94 OK
70 762 2294 (2296) 1994-076C 23398 1 12 4 20-Nov-94 OK
71 765 2307 1995-009A 23511 3 1 20 7-Mar-95 OK
72 766 2308 1995-009B 23512 3 10 22 7-Mar-95 OK
73 777 2309 1995-009C 23513 7-Mar-95 26-Dec-97
74 780 2316 1995-037A 23620 2 4 15 24-Jul-95 UNH
75 781 2317 1995-037B 23621 2 9 10 24-Jul-95 OK
76 785 2318 1995-037C 23622 2 4 11 24-Jul-95 OK
77 776 2323 1995-068C 23736 2 6 9 14-Dec-95 OK
78 778 2324 1995-068B 23735 2 11 9 14-Dec-95 Res
79 782 2325 1995-068A 23734 2 6 13 14-Dec-95 OK
80 786 2362 1998-077A 25594 1 7 7 30-Dec-98 OK
81 784 2363 1998-077B 25595 1 8 8 30-Dec-98 OK
82 779 2364 1998-077C 25593 1 2 1 30-Dec-98 OK
Notes
-----
1. NORAD Catalog Number is also known as U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM)
object number.
2. The numbers listed first in the "Kosmos Numbers" column are the designators
assigned by the Russian Federation. Where these differ from the
designators assigned by the United States, the latter are given in
parentheses.
3. Channel number, k, indicates L1 and L2 carrier frequencies:
L1 = 1602. + 0.5625 k (MHz)
k
L2 = 1246. + 0.4375 k (MHz)
k
4. Status codes:
Res = satellite not in service but held in reserve
OK = satellite fully operational.
UNH = satellite currently flagged unhealthy.
CHK = satellite undergoing checkout and commissioning.
The date listed is the date the satellite was removed from service (Moscow
Time) as reported by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center,
Moscow.
5. All GLONASS satellites employ cesium atomic clocks.
6. The first GLONASS satellite was launched on 12-Oct-82. GLONASS 1 through
61 are no longer in service.
7. GLONASS 40 and 41 were launched with the Etalon 1 laser ranging satellite.
GLONASS 42 and 43 were launched with Etalon 2.
8. The GLONASS numbering scheme used in this table includes the 8 "dummy"
satellites orbited as ballast along with "real" satellites on the first 7
GLONASS launches. The second number in the "GLONASS Numbers" column is
that assigned by the Russian Space Forces.
9. New GLONASS channel allocations were introduced in September 1993 aimed at
reducing interference to radio astronomy. Note the use of the same channel
on pairs of antipodal satellites.
10. The most recent triple GLONASS launch took place on 30-Dec-98 at
18:35:46.23 UTC. The satellites have been placed in different slots than
previously announced. Furthermore, the previously-reported pairings of
GLONASS/Kosmos and NORAD catalog numbers for the satellites from this
launch were not correct. USSPACECOM has mixed up the identifications of
the satellites as represented in their 2-line orbital element (TLE) sets.
Catalog number 25593 and the associated TLE refers to GLONASS 779/Kosmos
2364/1998-077C; 25594 to GLONASS 786/Kosmos 2362/1998-077A; and 25595 to
GLONASS 784/Kosmos 2363/1998-077B. USSPACECOM has been informed of the
problem.
11. GLONASS 758 (in slot 18) returned to service on 5-February-99 (ref. NAGUs
083-981215, 010-990205).
GLONASS 767 (in slot 12) was set unhealthy in the almanac on 5-Nov-98 (ref.
NAGU 076-981106). The GLONASS Control Centre lost communications with this
satellite at 4:54 UTC on 5-Nov-98. It was withdrawn from service on
3-Feb-99 (ref. NAGU 009-990204).
GLONASS 770 (in slot 14) was set unhealthy on 20-Nov-97 (ref. NAGU
105-971121).
GLONASS 780 (in slot 15) was set unhealthy on 3-Dec-98 (ref. NAGU
079-981203).
GLONASS 779 (in slot 1) was put into operation on 18-Feb-99 (ref. NAGU
015-990219).
GLONASS 784 (in slot 8) was put into operation on 29-Jan-99 (ref. NAGU
005-990201).
GLONASS 786 (in slot 7) was put into operation on 29-Jan-99 (ref. NAGU
006-990201).
12. Number of GLONASS satellites currently in service: 17 (plus 1 spare).
13. Number of GLONASS satellites currently usable: 15.
14. Status of satellites obtained from Michael G. Lebedev, Coordinational
Scientific Information Center, Russian Space Forces
(sfcsic@iki3.iki.rssi.ru); from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lincoln Laboratory GLONASS Group; and Peter Daly, CAA Institute of
Satellite Navigation, Dept. of Electronic and Electrical Engineering,
University of Leeds (pd@elec-eng.leeds.ac.uk). Compiled by Richard B.
Langley, Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, University of New
Brunswick.
Richard B. Langley E-mail: lang@unb.ca
Geodetic Research Laboratory Web: http://www.unb.ca/GGE/
Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering Phone: +1 506 453-5142
University of New Brunswick Fax: +1 506 453-4943
Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3
Fredericton? Where's that? See: http://www.city.fredericton.nb.ca/
Designations Common Name 1999 1999-001C (25607) R/B Delta 2 23 Mar 1999-013B (25658) R/B Proton K 22 Mar 1999-012F (25654) R/B Soyuz-U 16 Mar 1998-008E (25166) R/B Delta 2 16 Mar 1998-051F (25472) R/B Delta 2 15 Mar
There is occasionally an error in matching the name of a satellite with its International ID during multiple spacecraft launches. The USSPACECOM has now corrected the names of the Globalstars as follows:
Spacecraft Name International ID USSPACECOM Catalog Number --------------- ---------------- ------------------------ Globalstar M40 1999-004B 25622 Globalstar M23 1999-004C 25623 Globalstar M38 1999-004D 25624
It also appears that there may also be such a discrepancy in the launch of some recent Cosmos spacecraft. Dr. Joseph H. King, Director WDC-A-R&S/WWAS has alerted the USSPACECOM for clarification: