SPX-534 1 May 1998 SPACEWARN Activities A publication of NASA NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S and the WWAS for ISES/COSPAR (All information in this publication was received between 1 April 1998 and 30 April 1998.) A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UT). (USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.) 1998-025A (25315) COSMOS 2350 29 Apr 1998-021G (25291) IRIDIUM 68 07 Apr 1998-024B (25312) BSAT 1-B 28 Apr 1998-021F (25290) IRIDIUM 67 07 Apr 1998-024A (25311) NILESAT 101 28 Apr 1998-021E (25289) IRIDIUM 66 07 Apr 1998-023D (25309) GLOBALSTAR 8 24 Apr 1998-021D (25288) IRIDIUM 65 07 Apr 1998-023C (25308) GLOBALSTAR 7 24 Apr 1998-021C (25287) IRIDIUM 64 07 Apr 1998-023B (25307) GLOBALSTAR 6 24 Apr 1998-021B (25286) IRIDIUM 63 07 Apr 1998-023A (25306) GLOBALSTAR 5 24 Apr 1998-021A (25285) IRIDIUM 62 07 Apr 1998-022A (25297) STS 90 17 Apr 1998-020A (25280) TRACE 02 Apr B. Text of Launch Announcements. 1998-025A COSMOS 2350 is a Russian geosynchronous military spacecraft that was launched by a Proton-K rocket from Baykonur at 04:37 UT. Initial orbital parameters of the transfer orbit were period 635 min, apogee 35,981, perigee 215 km, and inclination 49 deg. 1998-024B BSAT 1-B is a Japanese geostationary communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 4 rocket from Kourou at 22:53 UT. The 1,200 kg spacecraft will enable direct-to-home voice and video communications to Japan and its vicinity. 1998-024A NILESAT 101 is an Egyptian geostationary communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 4 rocket from Kourou at 22:53 UT. The 1,800 kg spacecraft will provide Ku-band direct-to-home television at 84 channels and radio and data broadcasting at 400 channels throughout the Middle East, Mediterranean region, and North Africa after parking over about E-47 deg longitude. 1998-023A, GLOBALSTAR 5 through 8 are low altitude communications satellites 023B,023C, of that international consortium that was launched by a Delta 2 023D rocket from Cape Canaveral at 22:38 UT. The eventual fleet of 48 satellites (plus eight spares) will enable telephone and FAX communications from/to areas far away from ground-based cellular networks. Future launches will use Ukrainian and Russian rockets. Initial orbital parameters of the four satellites were approximately period 111 min, apogee 1,253 km, perigee 1,236 km, and inclination 52.0 deg. 1998-022A STS 90 is an American Shuttle spacecraft that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 18:19 UT. Its primary mission is to conduct the most comprehensive list of neurobiological experiments and observations on a number of species: seven humans, 18 pregnant mice, 152 rats (including 12 females with prenatal litters of eight each, and two with litters of seven each), 229 swordtail fish, 60 snails, 75 snail spawn packs, 824 crickets, and 680 cricket eggs. According to a principal investigator (of rat research), "the findings from the microgravity experiments may help gain some more insight into the best way to treat neurologic patients with Parkinson's disease, and balance disorders." According to the project scientist of the mission, "it is important to note that the sensory and motor development events and processes under study in the various species on Neurolab are essentially the same as those that occur in humans, although with a different time frame." Initial orbital parameters were period 89.9 min, apogee 286 km, perigee 257 km, and inclination 39 deg. 1998-021G, IRIDIUM 68, IRIDIUM 67, IRIDIUM 66, IRIDIUM 65, IRIDIUM 64, 21F,21E, IRIDIUM 63, and IRIDIUM 62 are the latest to join the American 21D,21C, fleet of IRIDIUMs. They were launched by a Proton-K rocket 21B,21A from Baykonur at 02:13 UT. The fleet will enable global relay of communications between telephones located far away from local cellular areas; the next launch will complete the goal of 66 active and six spare spacecraft. Initial orbital parameters of all seven spacecraft were approximately period 95 min, apogee 537 km, perigee 507 km, and inclination 86.7 deg. 1998-020A TRACE (Transition Region And Coronal Explorer) is an American solar physics spacecraft that was launched at 02:42 UT by a Pegasus-XL rocket that was released from an L-1011 plane off the coast of Vandenberg AFB. The 250 kg, 200 W spacecraft carries a triaxial magnetometer for housekeeping and an EUV telescope of 8.66 m focal length with cryogenic detectors covering many wavelengths in the 17-160 nanometer band to study the solar chromosphere and lower corona at 1-sec arc resolution. That resolution is sufficient to monitor the plasma entrapped by the thin bundles of twisted magnetic ropes that are presumed to dominate the transition region and contribute to coronal heating. Real-time science data may be viewed through the home page at http://sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov/smex/trace/ index.html. Initial orbital parameters were period 97.1 min, apogee 644 km, perigee 597 km, and inclination 97.8 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; an asterisk [*] indicates updated or new information since the last issue. Updates or corrections to the list are possible only with information from the user community.) SEE LIST IN SPX-520. THE LIST WILL REAPPEAR ONLY AFTER MAJOR UPDATES TO THE LIST ARE AVAILABLE. 2. Global Positioning System satellites useful for navigational purposes and geodetic studies. ("NNN" denotes no national name. SPACEWARN Bulletin appreciates suggestions to update this list. An asterisk [*] denotes changes in this issue. 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.utexas.edu/depts/grg/gcraft/notes/gps/gps.html#DODSystem. It provides many links to GPS-related data bases. The latest member of the GPS fleet is NAVSTAR 38 (1997-067A), launched on 6 November 1997. 3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS constellation. (SPACEWARN requests updates or additions from readers to this list. An asterisk [*] indicates updates or additions 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-515. It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source, with the URL http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/glonass.html, maintained by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC), Russian Space Forces. 4. Actual decays or landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. No further information is available. Designations Common Name 1998 1994-047B (23193) ATLAS 2A 22 Apr 1997-019B (24787) ATLAS 2A 21 Apr 1997-056F (24970) R/B DELTA 2 17 Apr 1997-080A (25095) COSMOS 2348 14 Apr 1992-009C (21892) R/B NAVSTAR 24 12 Apr 1998-013B (25238) R/B ARIANE 42P 08 Apr 1998-009A (25167) COSMOS 2349 02 Apr 1997-034F (24874) R/B DELTA 2 30 Mar 5. 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.) ASIASAT 3, launched in 1997 into a useless orbit, has now been purchased by the manufacturer from the insurance company for a nominal price and renamed HGS 1. It will be maneuvered into a Lunar swingby so as to provide eventually a moderately useful geocentric orbit. The correct 2-line elements of the SNOE spacecraft is now available under its proper NORAD catalog number 25233, after WWAS/WDC-A-R&S contacted USSPACECOM. Until May 1998, the elements had appeared under 25236. From: SMTP%"shige@crl.go.jp" 23-APR-1998 06:03:29.80 Subj: PLANET-B/ prelaunch announcement To: KING@NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV 23/ 1000 UT APR '98 FM CRL KOKUBUNJI JAPAN 232611 DEMPA J TO COSPAR/ISES WORLD WARNING AGENCY FOR SATELLITES WORLD DATA CENTER-A FOR R & S, NASA/GSFC CODE 633, GREENBELT, MARYLAND, 20771, USA Prelaunch Announcement Spacecraft Name PLANET-B Planned Launch Date JULY 4, 1998 Country Japan Orbit Type (prior to the trans-Mars orbit insersion) Elliptic Orbit Perigee 200km Apogee 300,000km - 400,000km Inclination 31.3 degree Coverage Cycle Duration Not Applicable Time of Descending Node Equator Crossing Not Applicable Weight - 540kg Orbit Period 7 - 11 days Position of Stationary Orbit Not Applicable Allowed Longitude Error Not Applicable Transmitting Frequencies & Output Power 2293.89 Hz (S-band) 35 dBm (2.5W) 8410.93 MHz (X-band) 37.6 dBm Mission Life 3 - 5 years Launch Organization: ISAS Mission: Interaction between solar wind and Martian upper atmosphere. ------------------ 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 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 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 the last page of the bulletin for the access method; a file in the ACTIVE directory named AAREADME.DOC outlines the contents.) It can also be accessed through the WWW URL http://sscop1.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc.html This HTML also enables executing several codes related to the orbits of many geocentric science payload spacecraft. The codes related to the heliospheric spacecraft trajectories can be executed through the URL http://nssdc/space/helios/heli.html Magnetospheric, planetary, and astronomical science data from many spacecraft may be accessed through links from the URL http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ =========================================================================== 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. Hard copy recipients and electronic accessers are encouraged to disseminate the bulletin to interested individuals and institutions in their regions or countries. 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). Through DECnet: At the prompt type: copy nssdca::anon_dir:[000000.active.spx]spx.471 Through FTP, at the prompt type: ftp nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov At the next prompt type: anonymous At the PASSWORD (NSSDCA.GSFC.GOV.ANONYMOUS) prompt hit: return At the next prompt type: get anon_dir:[000000.active.spx]spx.471 spx.471 Other subdirectories in [000000.active] carry many files of interest on science payload spacecraft. The bulletin may also be accessed through the World Wide Web (WWW). The URL is http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spacewarn.html. Users are urged to submit their comments and suggestions for the improvement of this bulletin to SPACEWARN Bulletin, World Data Center-A for Rockets and Satellites, Code 633, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A. 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 telexes, and news magazines. Launch Organization Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) Spacecraft Mission Interaction between solar wind and Martian upper atmosphere