SPACEWARN Bulletin, SPX-649 A publication of NASA NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information, and the World Warning Agency for Satellites, for COSPAR. (All information in this publication was received between 1 November 2007 and 30 November 2007.) A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UT). Also USSTRATCOM, formerly USSPACECOM, Catalog numbers. COSPAR/WWAS USSTRATCOM SPACECRAFT INT.ID CAT. # NAME LAUNCH DATE, UT ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2007-057A 32299 SIRIUS 4 17 November 2007 2007-056B 32294 SKYNET 5B 14 November 2007 2007-056A 32293 STAR ONE C1 14 November 2007 2007-055A 32289 YAOGAN 3 11 November 2007 2007-054A 32287 USA 197 11 November 2007 2007-053A 32283 SAR LUPE 3 01 November 2007 B. Text of launch information 2007-057A SIRIUS 4 is a Swedish geostationary communications spacecraft that was launched by a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur at 22:40 UT on 17 November 2007. (It is also listed as SES SIRIUS 4, by prefixing the operating company's name). The 4.4 tonne (with fuel) craft carries 52 Ku-band and two Ka-band transponders to provide direct-to-home (DTH) TV and internet services to Europe and sub- Saharan Africa after parking over 5.0 deg-E longitude. 2007-056A STAR ONE C1 is a Brazilian geostationary communications satellite that was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou at 22:06 UT on 14 November 2007. The 4.1 tonne (with fuel) craft carries 28 C-band and 16 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home (DTH) voice, video, and internet services to Brazil and neighboring countries after parking over 65 deg-W longitude. It carries a single X-band transponder also for military use. It will replace the aging Brazilsat B2. 2007-056B SKYNET 5B is a British geostationary military communications satellite that was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou at 22:06 UT on 14 November 2007. The 4.7 tonne craft will also service NATO needs through X-band transmissions. No further details are available. 2007-055A YAOGAN 3 is a Chinese (PRC) remote sensing craft that was launched by a Long March rocket from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) on 11 November 2007. It carries imaging equipment to assess crop yields and to monitor potential natural catastrophies. The initial orbital parameters were period 97.3 min, apogee 629 km, perigee 628 km, and inclination 97.8 deg. 2007-054A USA 197, also known as DSP 23, is an American geostationary military craft that was launched by a Delta 4 rocket on 11 November 2007. The 2.4 tonne craft carries infrared detectors to warn of rocket launches, like the entire fleet of DSP satellites that are deployed. No further information is available. 2007-053A SAR LUPE 3 is a German military radar reconnaissance craft that was launched by a Kosmos-3M rocket from Plesetsk on 1 November 2007. The 720 kg craft carries a X-band and S-band transmitters to provide one-meter resolution images. It is the third of an eventual five-craft constellation. The initial orbital parameters were period 94.2 min, apogee 495 km, perigee 466 km, and inclination 98.2 deg. C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation 1. 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. Another site, http://www.gpsdaily.com/index.html also is useful. Both provide many links to GPS-related data bases. The latest addition to the fleet is NAVSTAR 60, 2007-047A. 2. 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.glonass-center.ru/, maintained by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC), Russian Space Forces. According to CSIC, the latest addition to the fleet are 2007-052A, -052B, and -052C. 3. Visually bright satellites/rockets. See http://www.space-track.org/perl/bulk_files.pl. Users must register. Conditions apply. The list has not been updated since a long time ago. 4. Actual decays or landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B) only. No further information is available. Designations Common Name Decay Date (UT), 2007 ------------ ----------- ---------- 2004-036B (28418) R/B GSLV 24 November 1992-085D (22258) R/B(2) Molniya 23 November 2007-050A (32272) STS 120 Landed on 07 November 2006-047C (29512) R/B Delta 2 01 November 5. 60-day decay predictions. See http://www.space-track.org/perl/60day_decay_predict.pl. Users must register for access. Conditions apply. 6. 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.) The Chinese (PRC) lunar probee, CHANG'E-1 (2007-051A) was injected into a circular 300 km orbit at 19:37 UT on 5 November 2007. The following are the revised names of the three Glonass satellites that were launched on 26 October 2007. Their GLONASS numbers remain unascertained. COSMOS 2433 (2007-052A), COSMOS 2432 (2007-52B) and COSMOS 2431 (2007-053C) The following are the official names of the four GLOBALSTAR craft that were launched on 20 October 2007: (They were listed as GLOBALSTAR-A,-B,-C and -D.) GLOBALSTAR-M067 (2007-048A), CLOBALSTAR-M070 (2007-048B), GLOBALSTAR-M066 (2007-048C), GLOBALSTAR-M068 (2007-048D). 7. 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 URLs, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/, and http://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/ For off-line data, please contact the Request Office, NSSDC, Code 690.1, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A., for specific information (REQUEST@ MAIL630.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://cohoweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/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@MAIL630.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. 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, news papers, and some Web sites.