SPACEWARN Bulletin, SPX-591 A publication of NASA NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information, and the World Warning Agency for Satellites, for COSPAR/ISES. (All information in this publication was received between 1 January 2003 and 31 January 2003.) A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UT). (USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.) COSPAR/WWAS USSPACECOM SPACECRAFT INT.ID CAT. # NAME LAUNCH DATE, UT _____________________________________________________ 2003-005B (27664) XSS 10 29 January 2003 2003-005A (27663) NAVSTAR 51 (USA 166) 29 January 2003 2003-004A (27651) SORCE 25 January 2003 2003-003A (27647) STS 107 16 January 2003 2003-002B (27643) CHIPS 13 January 2003 2003-002A (27642) ICESAT 13 January 2003 2003-001A (27640) CORIOLIS 06 January 2003 B. Text of Launch Information 2003-005B XSS 10 is an American (AFRL/DoD) technology demonstration microsatellite (28 kg) that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 18:06 UT on 29 January 2003. It will also monitor the second stage of Delta 2. Its battery-powered operational life was 24 hours. The initial orbital parameters were period 98 min, apogee 805 km, perigee 518 km, and inclination 39.75 deg. 2003-005A NAVSTAR 51 (also known as USA 166, and as GPS 2R-8) is the latest to join the American (DoD) fleet of Global Positioning Satellites. It was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 18:06 UT on 29 January 2003. The fleet is operating in full capacity with 24 spacecraft (in six planes, with four satellites in each). GPS 2R-8 will replace the aging GPS 2A-18, which will be shifted away in its Plane-B and then retired. More details of the GPS spacecraft can be seen in Section C-2 below. The initial orbital parameters were period 356 min, apogee 20,351 km, perigee 173 km, and inclination 39.1 deg. 2003-004A SORCE (SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment) is an American (NASA) Sun-Earth Connection satellite that was launched at 20:13 UT by a Pegasus XL rocket released from a L-1011 cargo aircraft flying out of Cape Canaveral. It is to measure solar irradiance in a number of wavelength-bands through three spectrometers and a photometer. TIM (Total Irradiation Monitor) is a 7.9 kg, 14 W instrument that covers all visual and infrared wavelengths at an irradiance accuracy of one part in 10,000. It uses differential, heat sensitive resisters as detectors. SIM (Spectral Irradiance Monitor) is a 22 kg, 25 W rotating Fery prism spectrometer with a bolometer output that covers the 200-2,000 nm band at a resolution of a few nm, and at an irradiance accuracy of three parts in 10,000. SOLSTICE (SOLar STellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment) A and B are 36 kg, 33 W, UV grating spectrometers with photomultiplier detectors that cover the 115-320 nm band at a resolution of 0.1 nm, and at an irradiance accuracy of about 4%. It uses an ensemble of bright stars (selected for their stable luminosities) as calibrators for the instrument variability. XPS (Xuv Photometer System) is a 3.6 kg, 9 W photometer which invokes filters to monitor the x-ray and UV band at 1-34 nm, at a resolution of about seven nm, and at an irradiance accuracy of about 15%. The URL, http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/ provides much detailed descriptions of the experiments and data availability. The PI is Gary J. Rottman of LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder, with many co-investigators. The Program Manager is Tom Sparn of LASP. The initial orbital parameters were period 93.4 min, apogee 652.5 km, perigee 612.8 km, and inclination 40.0 deg. 2003-003A STS 107 is an American shuttle spacecraft that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 15:39 UT on 16 January 2003. It was the first flight in recent years that was not related to the International Space Station (ISS) activities. It carried seven astronauts who helped oversee 80 microgravity experiments on board. These ranged from K-12 interest to significant commercial and scientific potential. After a 16-day mission, the shuttle began its reentry on 1 February 2003, but communications failed at 14:00 UT when the shuttle was at an altitude of 60 km with a speed of 20,100 km/hr. It soon disintegrated over western Texas on its path towards Cape Canaveral. It was the 28th mission for the shuttle, Columbia. There were no survivors. The initial orbital parameters of STS 107 was period 90.1 min, apogee 285 km, perigee 270 km, and inclination 39 deg. 2003-002B CHIPS (Cosmic Hot Interstellar Spectrometer) is an American (NASA) astrophysics spacecraft that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg AFB at 00:45 UT on 13 January 2003. The 60 kg, triaxially-stabilized spacecraft has a spectrograph covering the 9-26 nm wavelength band at a resolution of 0.1 nm, scanning the entire sky in chunks of 5 deg x 27 deg segments during each orbit. The targets are the hot and diffuse nebulae at about a million degrees temperature. The band covers several strong emission lines. The URL, http://chips.ssl.berkeley/mission.html provides additional information. The initial orbital parameters were period 96.4 min, apogee 594 km, perigee 578 km, and inclination 94 deg. 2003-002A ICESAT is an American (NASA) Earth Observing System spacecraft that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg AFB at 00:45 UT on 13 January 2003. It carries a single instrument, GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) which enables accurate surface level measurements of ice sheets. GLAS transmits four-nanosecond- wide pulses, one at 1,064 nm and another at 532 nm wavelengths, at a rate of 40 pulses/s. The infrared pulses are reflected from the ice surfaces, and the green line pulses from the atmosphere. The reflected pulses are collected by an 80 cm diameter telescope. The precise altitude of the spacecraft is determined with the help of the GPS constellation of satellites. Ice surface variations in Greenland and Antarctica are important predictors of global warming. The URL, http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ provides further information. The raw and analyzed data will be archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, affiliated with the University of Colorado and the NOAA, Boulder, CO. The initial orbital parameters were period 96.4 min, apogee 595 km, and perigee 579 km, and inclination 94 deg. 2003-001A CORIOLIS is an American (DoD) spacecraft that was launched by a Titan 2 rocket from Vandenberg AFB at 14:19 UT on 6 January 2003. The 395 kg, 1,174 W, 3.0 m diameter, 6.9 m high, triaxially- stabilized spacecraft carried 82 kg of fuel and 340 kg of instruments. The two instruments are WindSat to monitor ocean surface winds, and SMEI to image Solar Mass Ejections (SME). Data will be stored onboard and downlinked to dedicated ground stations in x-band. WindSat is a US Navy (NRL) multifrequency, 305 kg polarimetric radiometer that will monitor the surface winds over the oceans. The radiometer operates on a number of frequencies in the range 6.8-37.0 GHz. Its antenna will spin about the yaw axis at 30 rpm. SMEI is a major payload and carries three optical cameras to photograph the Thompson-scattered light from ejected coronal masses (CMEs). The total coverage during each orbit is the hemispherical sky around the Sun. Each camera has a well-baffled field of view of 3 deg x 60 deg, with the baffle cutting out the stray light by 10 orders of magnitude. The CCD imager provides a resolution of 0.2 deg. The major but stable and smooth component of the image is the Zodiacal light which is about a thousand times stronger than the superposed, structured and variable light from the CMEs. Differential photometry is invoked to extract the CME component. More details of this photometry is available in "The solar mass ejection imager", Advances in Space Research, Vol. 11, pp 377-381, 1991. SMEI can provide warnings of the Earth-directed CMEs three days in advance. The data may be archived at the NSSDC, eventually. The program manager is Janet Johnson at AFRL. Email: Janet.johnson@hanscom.af. mil. For more details see the URL, http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/ instrument/smei.html. The initial orbital parameters were period 101.6 min, apogee 842 km, perigee 822 km, and inclination 98.7 deg. C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation 1. Spacecraft with essentially continuous radio beacons on frequencies less than 150 MHz, or higher frequencies if especially suited for ionospheric or geodetic studies. (NNSS denotes U.S. Navy Navigational Satellite System. Updates or corrections to the list are possible only with information from the user community.) THE FULL LIST APPEARED IN SPX 545. (See http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ spacewarn/) THE LIST WILL NOT BE REPEATED IN FUTURE ISSUES, UNTIL SIGNIFICANTLY REVISED AGAIN. 2. Global Positioning System satellites useful for navigational purposes and geodetic studies. 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 URL http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html. It provides many links to GPS-related data bases. The latest addition to the fleet is NAVSTAR 51 (GPS 2R-8), 2003-005A. 3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS constellation. SPACEWARN requests updates or additions from readers to the list. All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general COSMOS series. The COSMOS numbers invoked by USSPACECOM have sometimes differed from the numbers (NNNN) associated in Russia. The operating frequencies in MHz are computed from the channel number K. Frequencies (MHz) are L1 = 1602.0 + 0.5625K and L2 = 1246.0 + 0.4375K. The standard format of the GLONASS situation appeared in SPX-545. It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source, with the URL http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/, or http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/english.html, maintained by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC), Russian Space Forces. The latest addition to the GLONASS fleet are COSMOS 2394, COSMOS 2395, and COSMOS 2396. 4. Visually bright objects. A comprehensive list of visually bright objects with their 2-line orbital elements is available from USSPACECOM, via a NASA URL. Go to Sec C-6 below and, after steps (1) through (6), click on "Special Interest Group Report". Then click on "Visible Interest Satellites", along with "Header and TLE". The list does not provide visual magnitude, but are expected to be brighter than magnitude 5. 5. Actual decays or landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. No further information is available. Designations Common Name Decay Date (UT), 2003 ------------ ----------- ---------- 2002-052B (27562) MEPSI 31 January 1987-073E (18332) R/B(Aux.Mot) that launched EKRAN 16 26 January 1994-038F (23174) R/B Aux.Mot) Proton-K 24 January 2001-043A (26929) STARSHINE 3 21 January 1988-044B (19190) R/B(2) that launched MOLNIYA 3-32 19 January 2001-015B (26746) R/B GSLV 18 January 1996-033B (23878) R/B(1) Delta 2 17 January 1985-103D (16223) R/B(2) that launched MOLNIYA 1-66 13 January 2002-061B (27631) R/B Long March 09 January 2002-061A (27630) SHENZHOU 4 05 January 6. 60-day Decay Predictions. The USSPACECOM forecasts and maintains a list of decays of orbiting objects expected in the next 60 days, with fair accuracy. The list may be accessed through a NASA site, http://oig1.gsfc. nasa.gov/scripts/foxweb.exe/app01?, as follows. (1) Click on "OIG Main Page". (2) Click on "Send Message to System administrator", who will provide a login account. (3) After getting an ID and a Password, click on "Registered User Login". (Step (2) is not needed after obtaining an account.) (4) Click on "Continue". (5) Click on "General information". (6) Click on "Reports". (7) Click on "Sixty Day Decay......". The login need is enforced after the 11 September 2001 events. 7. Miscellaneous Items. (This section contains information or data that are entered on occasion and may not be repeated in each issue of the SPACEWARN Bulletin.) Donald M. Sawyer is the (Acting) Director of WDC-SI, and Head of NSSDC and WWAS, since 03 January 2003. Trailblazer Corporation (Charles F. Radley) has emailed WWAS that the correct mass of the TRAILBLAZER (2002-058E) reported in SPX.590 is 420 kg. 8. Related NSSDC resources. NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information is an archival center for science data from many spacecraft. Many datasets are on-line for electronic access, through the URL, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ For off-line data, please contact the Request Office, NSSDC, 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 elements of many magnetospheric and heliospheric science- payload spacecraft may be obtained from: ftp://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/miscellaneous/orbits Other files of interest for Earth-centered s/c can be generated through the URL, http://sscweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Codes related to the heliospheric spacecraft trajectories can be executed through the URL, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/helios/heli.html Descriptions of many spacecraft, experiments and datasets are available through links from http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/sc-query.html =========================================================================== SPACEWARN Bulletin The bulletin is intended to serve as an international communication medium for the rapid distribution of information on satellites and space probes. The material it contains is based on guidelines in the COSPAR Guide to Rocket and Satellite Information and Data Exchange, COSPAR Transactions #8, December 1972, and various Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) resolutions. All bulletins beginning with January 1991 (SPX-447) are now available on line; the SPX number increases by one for each succeeding month (for example, the January 1993 bulletin is SPX-471). The bulletin may be accessed through the World Wide Web (WWW). The URL is http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/ Users are encouraged to submit their comments and suggestions for the improvement of this bulletin to SPACEWARN Bulletin: WWAS@NDADSB.GSFC.NASA.GOV. Categories of Spacecraft To improve the effectiveness of international distribution of satellite and space probe information via the SPACEWARN system, spacecraft are identified in categories according to the urgency and detail of information needed by the scientific community as follows: CATEGORY 1: Spacecraft that carry essentially continuous telemetry or radio beacons, usually on frequencies less than 150 MHz. CATEGORY 2: GPS constellation of positioning/navigational spacecraft. CATEGORY 3: GLONASS constellation of positioning/navigational spacecraft. CATEGORY 4: Occasionally, a list of bright, orbiting objects of visual magnitude 4 or brighter. The bulletin also carries launch dates, international IDs, and USSPACECOM catalog numbers, followed by a brief outline of the payload and orbital parameters, re-entry of major objects, and miscellaneous sections. These data are based on launch announcements or on information received from individuals, launching authorities, FBIS and USSPACECOM emails, news papers, and some Web sites.