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[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for back isues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.] Shuttle and MirColumbia is now on pad 39B awaiting the STS-80 launch, still scheduled for Nov 8 pending resolution of worries about the SRBs. Korzun, Kaleri and Blaha remain on Mir awaiting the Progress M cargo launch which has been delayed. Recent LaunchesA meteoroid travelling in solar orbit bounced off the Earth's atmosphere above New Mexico at 0200 UTC on Oct 4. It apparently entered a marginal Earth orbit and reentered over the Pacific and impacted in California almost one orbit later. NORAD numbers and international designations only get given to *artificial* satellites, and even then usually only to ones which make a complete orbit, so this natural object won't get in the satellite catalogs. China has launched an FSW-2 class recoverable satellite using a Chang Zheng 2D rocket from the Jiuquan space center. The satellite is in a 170 x 323 km orbit at 63.0 deg inclination with an orbital period of 89.45 minutes. The CZ-2D second stage is in a similar orbit. The FSW carries cameras for Earth photography, and will return a capsule to Earth. A Molniya-3 comsat, built by NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki for the Russian government, was launched into elliptical orbit on Oct 24 from Plesetsk. Launch time of Kosmos-2334 was 1247 UTC not 1347 UTC as I said earlier; there was a confusion about summer time. Launch of a Pegasus XL with the Argentine satellite SAC-B and the US HETE satellite is currently scheduled for Oct 30.. Transit SymposiumOn Oct 18, the Applied Physics Lab (APL) hosted a symposium on the Transit or Navy Navigation Satellite (NNS) system. Transit was one of the first operational satellite systems, and has provided 24-hour service since 1964, initially for Polaris submarines and more recently for civilian users. It is being superseded by the Navstar global positioning system. Individual satellites were remarkable for their longevity, many operating for over 10 years. Users measure the changing Doppler shift of the satellite's radio signal as it rises and sets, combined with knowledge of its orbit, to derive their position. The symposium participants recalled Transit's technical achievements including early work on orbiting frequency standards, gravity gradient stabilization, the use of radio-isotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), and on-board electronics to store the orbital ephemeris. The TRIAD satellite launched in 1972 to test improvements, used a remarkable device with a proof mass floating inside a cavity in the spacecraft to enable automatic correction for atmospheric drag. Small rocket motors fired to adjust the satellite's orbit to keep the floating mass in the middle of the cavity. Designers had to take into account the self-gravity of the TRIAD satellite itself! Although the navigation data stops being updated at the end of this year, the satellites will continue transmitting with NNS becoming NIMS, the Navy Ionospheric Monitoring System. Researchers monitor the distortion of the Transit radio signals by the ionosphere to derive maps of electron density versus height and position. The O-16 and O-17 satellites were modified for auroral and ionospheric research and were not part of the navigation system. Here is a summary of the Transit launches: Early Transit R&D sats: I-A 1959 Sep 17 Launch failure I-B 1960 Apr 13 II-A 1960 Jun 22 III-A 1960 Nov 30 Launch failure III-B 1961 Feb 22 Launch failure IV-A 1961 Jun 29 IV-B 1961 Nov 15 RTG power supply TRAAC 1961 Nov 15 Gravity gradient test Prototype Transit satellites: Transit-based research sats: VA-1 1962 Dec 19 VA-2 1963 Apr 6 Launch failure VA-3 1963 Jun 16 VBN-1 1963 Sep 28 RTG VE-1 1963 Sep 28 VBN-2 1963 Dec 5 RTG VE-3 1963 Dec 5 VBN-3 1964 Apr 21 RTG; Launch failure VE-2 1964 Apr 21 VC 1964 Jun 4 VE-4 1964 Oct 6 Operational Transits (`Oscars')
O-1 1964 Oct 6 O-11 1977 Oct 28
O-2 1964 Dec 13 O-16 1983 Jun 27 Hilat experiment
O-3 1965 Mar 11 O-24 1985 Aug 3
O-4 1965 Jun 24 O-30 1985 Aug 3
O-5 1965 Aug 13 O-17 1986 Nov 14 Polar Bear expt.
O-6 1965 Dec 22 O-27 1987 Sep 16
O-7 1966 Jan 28 O-29 1987 Sep 16
O-8 1966 Mar 26 O-23 1988 Apr 26
O-9 1966 May 19 O-32 1988 Apr 26
O-10 1966 Aug 18 O-25 1988 Aug 25
O-12 1967 Apr 14 O-31 1988 Aug 25
O-13 1967 May 18
O-14 1967 Sep 25 Improved Transits and Nova
O-18 1968 Mar 2
O-19 1970 Aug 27 TRIAD 1972 Sep 2 Nova 1 1981 May 15
O-20 1973 Oct 30 TIP 2 1975 Oct 12 Nova 3 1984 Oct 12
TIP 3 1976 Sep 1 Nova 2 1988 Jun 16
Table of Recent Launches
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL.
DES.
Sep 4 0901 Kosmos-2333 Zenit-2 Baykonur LC45L Sigint 51A
Sep 5 1247 Kosmos-2334 ) Kosmos-3M Plesetsk LC132/1 Navsat 52A
UNAMSat ) 52B
Sep 6 1737 Inmarsat III F2 Proton Baykonur LC81 Comsat 53A
Sep 8 2149 GE-1 Atlas IIA Canaveral LC36B Comsat 54A
Sep 11 0000 Echostar II Ariane 42P Kourou ELA2 Comsat 55A
Sep 12 0849 Navstar 30 Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17A Navsat 56A
Sep 16 0855 Atlantis Shuttle Kennedy LC39A Spaceship 57A
Sep 26 1751 Ekspress Proton-K Baykonur Comsat 58A
Oct 20 0730? FSW-2 Chang Zheng 2D Jiuquan Remote sen. 59A
Oct 24 1137 Molniya-3 Molniya-M Plesetsk Comsat 60A
Current Shuttle Processing Status
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due
OV-102 Columbia LC39B STS-80 Nov 8
OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 2 STS-82 Feb 13
OV-104 Atlantis OPF Bay 3 STS-81 Jan 12
OV-105 Endeavour Palmdale OMDP
ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks
ML1/
ML2/RSRM-54 VAB Bay 1 STS-81
ML3/RSRM-49/ET-80/OV-102 LC39B STS-80
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* indicates changes from last month's calendar November 1996* Nov ?? - Bion-11 Cosmos Launch (Russia) Nov 01 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #13 (OTM-13) Nov 02 - Venus at Perihelion Nov 02 - Asteroid 584 Semiramis Occults PPM 067814 (11.2 Magnitude Star) Nov 03 - Comet 1996 Q1 (Tabur) Perihelion (0.84202 AU) Nov 04 - Galileo, 1st Callisto Flyby (Orbit 3) Nov 04 - Taurids Meteor Shower Nov 04 - 15th Anniversary (1981), Venera 14 Launch (Venus Flyby/Lander) * Nov 05 - Galileo, Io Observations (Orbit 3) Nov 05 - Asteroid 52 Europa Occults 12.0 Magnitude Star Nov 05 - Comet Tritton Perihelion (1.436 AU) Nov 05 - Fred Whipple's 90th Birthday Nov 06 - Mars Global Surveyor Launch (Mars Orbiter) * Nov 06 - Galileo, Europa and Ganymede Observations (Orbit 3) Nov 06 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Lunar Orbiter 2 Launch Nov 08 - Jupiter Occults Galileo Nov 08 - STS-80 Launch, Columbia, Wake Shield Facility (WSF-03) Nov 08 - Edmund Halley's 340th Birthday (1656) Nov 09 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #14 (OTM-14) Nov 09 - Comet Mrkos Perihelion (1.413 AU) Nov 09 - Asteroid 74 Galatea Occults PPM 236882 (9.1 Magnitude Star) Nov 10 - Asteroid 3596 Meriones Occults PPM 207237 (9.7 Magnitude Star) * Nov 10 - Asteroid 2908 Shimoyama Occults PPM 173216 (8.0 Magnitude Star) * Nov 10 - Asteroid 112 Iphigenia Occults PPM 098075 (8.6 Magnitude Star) Nov 11 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 12 Launch * Nov 12 - Minuteman II Launch Nov 12 - Jupiter Occults SAO 187632 (6.9 Magnitude Star) * Nov 12 - 15th Anniversary (1981), STS-2 Launch (Columbia) Nov 13 - Hot Bird 2 Atlas Launch Nov 13 - Arabsat 2B/Measat-2 Ariane 4 Launch Nov 13 - Asteroid 1074 Beljawskya Occults PPM 144149 (8.8 Magnitude Star) Nov 14 - Iridium-1 Launch Nov 14 - Jupiter Occults SAO 187669 (9.1 Magnitude Star) Nov 14 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mariner 9 Mars Orbit Insertion Nov 14 - Andromedids Meteor Shower * Nov 15 - Progress M-33 Launch (Russia) Nov 15 - Asteroid 752 Sulamitis Occults PPM 120231 (6.0 Magnitude Star) Nov 15 - Asteroid 838 Seraphina Occults PPM 154591 (10.1 Magnitude Star) Nov 16 - Mars '96 Launch (Russia) Nov 16 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Leonids Meteor Storm Nov 17 - Leonids Meteor Shower Nov 20 - Asteroid Interamnia at Opposition Nov 21 - Mars Global Surveyor, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #1 (TCM-1) Nov 23 - Asteroid 1993WD Near-Earth Flyby (0.2466 AU) Nov 23 - Asteroid Davida at Opposition * Nov 24 - 5th Anniversary (1991), STS-44 Launch (Atlantis, DOD Mission) Nov 25 - Asteroid 1177 Gonnessia Occults PPM 181208 (7.5 Magnitude Star) Nov 27 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #15 (OTM-15) Nov 27 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mars 2 Mars Orbit Insertion/Lander Crash (Soviet Union) * Nov 28 - Asteroid 2307 Garuda Occults PPM 173829 (10.4 Magnitude Star) Nov 29 - Asteroid 4179 Toutatis Near-Earth Flyby (0.0354 AU) Nov 29 - 35th Anniversary (1961), Mercury Atlas 5 Launch (Enos the Chimp) * Nov 30 - Asteroid 1099 Figneria Occults PPM 069179 (10.3 Magnitude Star) December 1996Dec ?? - New Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center Opens, Florida * Dec ?? - Early Bird Cosmos Launch (USA/Russia) * Dec ?? - Zeya Start-1 Launch Dec 02 - Mars Pathfinder Delta 2 launch (Mars Lander/Rover) * Dec 02 - Asteroid 2563 Boyarchuk Occults PPM 239880 (9.9 Magnitude Star) * Dec 02 - Asteroid 628 Christine Occults PPM 208874 (8.9 Magnitude Star) Dec 02 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mars 2 Mars Orbit Insertion/Mars Landing * Dec 03 - Asteroid 471 Papagena Occults PPM 98650 (10.7 Magnitude Star) * Dec 03 - Asteroid 1512 Oulu Occults PPM 207747 (8.3 Magnitude Star) * Dec 05 - LMV Launch * Dec 05 - Asteroid 324 Bamberga Occults PPM 099084 (10.6 Magnitude Star) Dec 06 - Comet Wilson-Harrington Perihelion (1.000 AU) Dec 07 - Possible Mars Occultation of PPM 118840 (8.8 Magnitude Star) * Dec 08 - Asteroid 4068 Menestheus Occults PPM 206100 (9.7 Magnitude Star) Dec 09 - Asteroid Kalliope at Opposition * Dec 12 - Minisat-01 Pegasus XL Launch Dec 13 - Geminids Meteor Shower * Dec 14 - Asteroid 134 Sophrosyne Occults PPM 206897 (8.7 Magnitude Star) Dec 14 - Tycho Brahe's 450th Birthday (1546) Dec 15 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #16 (OTM-16) Dec 15 - Mercury At Its Greatest Eastern Elongation (20 Degrees) * Dec 15 - Asteroid 279 Thule Occults PPM 097044 (9.5 Magnitude Star) Dec 15 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Dollfus' Discovery of Saturn Moon Janus Dec 16 - Tempo-1 Proton Launch Dec 16 - Griffith Park's 100th Birthday Dec 17 - Panamsat-6 Ariane 4 Launch Dec 17 - Possible Mars Occultation of 86130 (9.0 Magnitude Star) Dec 18 - USAF Titan 4 Launch Dec 19 - Galileo, 1st Europa Flyby (Orbit 4) Dec 20 - Progress M-34 Launch (Russia) Dec 20 - Comet Kojima Near-Jupiter Flyby (0.1440 AU) Dec 21 - Inmarsat-3 F-3 Atlas 2 Launch Dec 21 - Winter Solstice Dec 21 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 13 Launch (Soviet Moon Lander) Dec 22 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #17 (OTM-17) Dec 22 - Ursids Meteor Shower * Dec 22 - Asteroid 36 Atalante Occults PPM 206311 (8.9 Magnitude Star) Dec 25 - Asteroid 1994 WR12 Near-Earth Flyby (0.0978 AU) Dec 27 - Johannes Kepler's 425th Birthday (1571) Dec 28 - Asteroid 972 Cohnia Occults PPM 96490 (7.7 Magnitude Star) Dec 29 - Jupiter Occults 188551 (7.5 Magnitude Star) * Dec 29 - Asteroid 2835 Ryoma Occults PPM 095656 (9.1 Magnitude Star) * Dec 30 - Comet 1996 J1 (Evans-Drinkwater) Perihelion (1.3 AU) |
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