[Submitted by Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov)]
ORBITING EARTH SATELLITE HISTORIES
5 VANGUARD 1: The second USA satellite (after Explorer 1) and the oldest
satellite still in orbit from any nation. Vanguard 1 is very faint
visually, between tenth and fifteenth magnitude depending on its distance
and illuminaton.
16 VANGUARD 1 ROCKET/BODY: The oldest RB in orbit, and with the Vanguard 1
payload, the oldest object still in orbit from any nation. The Vanguard
RB is much brighter than its payload, sometimes as bright as seventh
magnitude on very favorable passes.
20 VANGUARD 3: This satellite was never separated from its rocket/body, so
it is unusually bright for the early payloads still in orbit. At perigee
it can reach sixth magnitude, although it spends most of its time at much
higher altitudes.
47 TRANSIT 2-A ROCKET/BODY: From the 1960 launch of an early Transit
navigation satellite.
59 COURIER 1-B ROCKET/BODY: This is the rocket/body from the launch of the
very early low-orbit Courier 1-B communications satellite. Launched in
October 1960, three years to the day after Sputnik 1, there are only 22
objects (counting payloads, R/Bs and debris) that have been in orbit
longer than NORAD catalog number 59. And at a reliable sixth magnitude
this satellite is an easy object to spot in binoculars.
424 ALOUETTE 1: An eigth magnitude Canadian satellite that investigated the
ionosphere. This is the oldest non-USA satellite in Earth orbit, older
than any Soviet satellite in Earth orbit. There are two older Soviet
spacecraft in heliocentric orbit.
426 ALOUETTE 1 ROCKET/BODY: A fifth magnitude Agena-B rocket/body from Thor-
Agena TA-1, launched in September 1962 from Vandenberg. The payload was
Alouette 1, a Canadian satellite that investigated the ionosphere.
694 CENTAUR 2: This is the first Centaur rocket ever to enter space, on the
Atlas/Centaur 2 rocket launched in November 1963 from pad 36-A at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A/C-1 failed due to an Atlas
malfunction. Centaur 2 was an engineering test for the Centaur program,
under development for the Surveyor lunar landing probes. Visually
Centaur 2 is a very interesting satellite. It is tumbling with a period
of 20 seconds, with a three magnitude swing from maximum to minimum. It
is also in a very eccentric orbit, ranging from 500 to 1,500 kilometers,
which makes Centaur 2 appear very different depending on its altitude.
At perigee it ranges from first to fourth magnitude every 20 seconds, and
at apogee the swing is between fourth and seventh magnitude. Centaur 2
is the most easily seen satellite launched before the mid-60s. This is
one of the three Centaurs in low orbit.
727 SOLRAD 7A / SECOR 1 ROCKET/BODY: A multiple-payload fifth magnitude
rocket/body, probably an Agena. The payloads were the scientific
satellites Solrad 7A and Greb, the store/dump LEO comsat Secor 1, and
Gravity Gradient 1.
741 ECHO 2 ROCKET/BODY: This is the Agena upper stage from the Thor-Agena
TA-2 rocket that boosted the famous Echo 2 balloon satellite into a 1,000
kilometer high orbit from Vandenberg in January 1964. Echo 2 was a 135-
foot diameter mylar balloon that served as a passive line-of-sight
communications relay, and brilliant visual satellite, until its decay in
June 1969 due to a combination of solar radiation pressure and
atmospheric drag. The R/B is about sixth magnitude, still in the precise
orbit that the brilliant Echo 2 once followed (the R/B has a much higher
density and was unaffected by solar radiation pressure), today only and
echo of Echo.
1245 SOLRAD 7B / SECOR 3 ROCKET/BODY: A multiple-payload fifth magnitude
rocket/body, probably an Agena. The payloads were the scientific
satellites Solrad 7B and Greb, the store/dump LEO comsat Secor 3, Gravity
Gradient satellites 2 and 3, Surcal, and the amateur radio satellite
Oscar 3.
1807 ALOUETTE 2 ROCKET/BODY: The Agena rocket/body from the dual launch of
Alouette 2 and Explorer 31. The R/B has a wide magnitude range and a
period of 40 seconds.
2142 OAO 1: Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 1 failed after two days in
orbit due to a battery failure. OAO 1 has been reported as bright as
magnitude -1 during one flare, although it is typically closer to fifth
magnitude. All three OAOs have had flashes into the negative magnitudes,
probably due to the highly reflective telescopic mirrors.
2144 OAO 1 ROCKET/BODY: Agena-B rocket/body from the launch of Orbiting
Astronomical Observatory 1 in April 1966. In the fifth magnitude range.
2174 NIMBUS 2 ROCKET/BODY: Agena TA-6 rocket/body from the 1966 launch of a
Nimbus polar weather satellite aboard a Thor-Agena rocket. In a sun-
synchronous orbit with evening passes near sixth magnitude.
2255 PAGEOS ROCKET/BODY: Agena TA-7 rocket/body from the launch of the Pageos
mylar balloon. In a 4,000 kilometer high orbit, the R/B is quite faint
near ninth magnitude. It has been reported to have a flash period of
18.6 seconds.
2826 TIMATION 1 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of a navigation satellite.
3597 OAO 2: Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 was launched on Atlas/Centaur
16 in December 1968. OAO 2 ran a very successful ultraviolet astronomy
program. All three OAOs have been reported to flash into the negative
magnitudes on occasion, probably due to their highly reflective
telescopic mirrors.
3598 OAO 2 ROCKET/BODY: Centaur stage from Atlas/Centaur 16, launched in
December 1968 from pad 36-B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The
payload was the astronomical telescope Orbiting Astronomical Observatory
2. OAO 2 R/B is a very easily seen, if somewhat visually unpredictable,
satellite. It is generally in the third magnitude range, but it is
sometimes up to three magnitudes off prediction in either direction.
This is one of the three Centaurs in low orbit.
4159 TIMATION 2 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of a navigation satellite.
4327 SERT 2 (Space Electric Rocket Test): This was an engineering test for
ion propulsion in space. The ion engine fired a one-ounce thrust for
eight months, but the engines shut down before their design lifetime and
the mission was officially considered unsuccessful.
4392 MAO 1 ROCKET/BODY: The RB from the first Chinese launch, of the 'East is
Red' satellite, in April 1970.
4786 COSMOS 382: This is by far the largest piece from the Cosmos 382
satellite, which apparently made some separations during its operational
lifetime. C-382 was an engineering test for the 1971 Soviet missions to
Mars, which included the first soft landing ever made on that planet.
Unfortunately the 1971 spacecraft fleet arrived during a major dust storm
that obscured the planet's surface from view and made conditions on the
surface inhospitable to the Soviet lander, which went silent seconds
after touchdown. C-382 is a rather large satellite in a fairly high
orbit, making it relatively easy to locate visually. It has been
reported to have a flash period of under five seconds.
4794 NOAA 1 ROCKET/BODY: Delta rocket/body from the launch of the NOAA 1
polar weather satellite in December 1970 from Vandenberg.
Sun-synchronous orbit, flash period reported of 3.5 seconds.
4966 COSMOS 398: This satellite, close to re-entry, is thought to have been
an engineering test related to the Soviet manned lunar landing program.
5994 PAGEOS DA: This is one of the two large pieces of the Pageos balloon
satellite still in orbit. Pageos is a 100-foot diameter mylar ballon,
nearly identical to the Echo satellites, launched into a very high polar
orbit from Vandenberg. Pageos' orbital altitude was initially near 4,000
kilometers, but the satellite was still second magnitude despite the very
great distance. This combination of great altitude and great size made
Pageos one of the most interesting visual satellites ever launched. Due
to its great surface area and low mass, Pageos was subjected to intense
solar sailing due to the radiation pressure of sunlight. In 1975 Pageos
broke up in orbit, possibly due to weakening from micrometeoroid impacts,
into about 75 pieces. Only five remain in orbit, and only two of these
are large pieces (5994 and 8074). These two satellites are still active
solar sailers. Solar radiation pressure has, over time, made the orbits
of 5994 and 8074 very elliptical. Their perigees are under 1,000
kilometers, and their apogees are nearly 7,000 kilometers. Since they
have very low densities, their perigee altitudes are dangerously low and
they will probably re-enter within the next few years. This is the same
fate that brought down the similar Echo balloons -- solar sailing down
the perigee, and atmospheric drag finishing the job. Both 5994 and 8074
are quite bright and easily seen objects, normally seen in intermediate
altitudes near fourth to sixth magnitude. Due to their large surface
area and irregular shape their brightness can be unpredictable. 5994 was
mistakenly catalogued by NORAD as one of the Westford Needles deployed
from the Midas 6 satellite, which were in a similar orbit to Pageos, but
it is clearly a Pageos fragment.
6126 LANDSAT 1: USA earth resources satellite. For information on the
Landsat program, see 14780.
6153 COPERNICUS (OAO 3): The third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, renamed
Copernicus in orbit, was launched on Atlas/Centaur 22 in August 1972 from
pad 36-B. It ran a very successful ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy
program. Visually Copernicus is one of the most interesting satellites
in orbit. It has a complex light curve that repeats every minute. It
will be very faint, in the seventh magnitude range, and slowly increase
brightness over almost a minute to third magnitude. Then it will rapidly
increase brightness and flash in the magnitude zero to -2 range. The
magnitude drop after the flash is very rapid as it sinks back to seventh
magnitude. All three OAOs have flashed into the negative magnitudes,
although Copernicus is the only one to do so regularly. These flashes
are probably caused by their very reflective telescopic mirrors. Despite
its brilliant flashes Copernicus can be a difficult satellite to observe
because it is nearly invisible at minimum.
6155 COPERNICUS (OAO 3) ROCKET/BODY: Centaur stage from Atlas/Centaur 22,
launched in August 1972 from pad 36-B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station. Copernicus R/B is fairly easily seen, typically near third
magnitude, but its brightness is somewhat unpredictable like 3598. This
is one of the three Centaurs in low orbit.
7228 MIRANDA ROCKET/BODY: The Scout solid-fuel upper stage from the launch of
the British experimental satellite Miranda. In the seventh to eigth
magnitude range.
7615 LANDSAT 2: USA earth resources satellite. For information on the
Landsat program see 14780.
7902 INTELSAT 4-1 ROCKET/BODY: Information on the Intelsat-4 rocket/body
series is very similar to the Intelsat 4-A rocket/body series; see 8331.
7646 STARLETTE: French geodetic satellite, 25 centimeters diameter, passive
laser reflector. Probably not a good candidate for visual observation.
7946 NIMBUS 6 ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the 1975 launch of a Nimbus
weather satellite. In a sun-synchronous orbit with evening passes near
fifth magnitude.
8074 PAGEOS H: Large fragment of the Pageos balloon. See 5994 for details.
8331 INTELSAT 4A-1 ROCKET/BODY: Centaur stage from the launch of an Intelsat
4A international communications satellite. The Centaur stages in
Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) have bright repeating glints that can
be seen in binoculars at fairly high altitudes. The perigee altitudes of
the five Intelsat 4A, seven Intelsat 4 and four Comstar rocket/bodies are
high enough to avoid significant atmospheric drag; the three Intelsat 5
and the FltSatCom 4 rocket/bodies have a very low perigee that makes
their positions somewhat uncertain. These GTO Centaur objects have a
very unique appearance, due to their size, tumble and eccentric orbit,
that make them interesting satellites to observe.
8709 UME 1: Japanese ionospheric sounding satellite also known as ISS-A.
Flash period of 3.5 seconds.
8710 UME 1 ROCKET/BODY: Japanese N-1 rocket/body from launch of Ume-1.
8820 LAGEOS: (Laser Geodynamics Satellite) A 900-pound sphere with a
diameter of 2 feet, Lageos is in a very high altitude very highly stable
orbit for precise geodetic mapping. The satellite is a passive reflector
for laser beams. Because of its small size and great altitude, Lageos is
certainly not visible to amateur trackers.
8840 COMSTAR 1 ROCKET/BODY: Information on the Comstar rocket/body series is
very similar to the Intelsat 4A rocket/body series; see 8331.
8897 COSMOS 825-832 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 30 seconds
9598 COSMOS 871-878 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet R/B in a 1,500 kilometer high orbit,
very sharp glints every 4.17 seconds.
10293 COSMOS 939-946 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 31.8 seconds
10295 SIRIO ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the launch of the Italian
communications satellite Sirio-1 (translation to Sirius)
10517 SAKURA ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the launch of the Japanese
experimental geostationary communications satellite Sakura-1.
10674 UME 2: Japanese ionospheric sounding satellite also known as ISS-B.
10675 UME 2 ROCKET/BODY: Japanese N-1 rocket/body from launch of Ume-2, flash
period of 2.7 seconds.
10702 LANDSAT 3: USA earth resources satellite. For information on the
Landsat series see 14780.
10793 YURI ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the launch of the Japanese
experimental direct-broadcast communications satellite Yuri-1.
10954 GOES 3 ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the launch of the GOES-6
geostationary civilian weather satellite.
10967 SEASAT: This polar-orbiting and slightly retrograde satellite was
launched from Vandenberg to study the oceans. The solar arrays are
mounted on the Agena upper stage, which was maintained as part of the
Seasat structure. It came to a premature failure after a few months in
orbit, partly due to errors made in the ground operation of the
spacecraft. Despite its short life it produced a great deal of valuable
data on the oceans and on the capabilities of synthetic aperature radar
orbital mapping, a technique later used on the Magellan Venus orbiter and
the Lacrosse spy satellite. Visually Seasat is around third magnitude,
although it can get as bright as zero magnitude on rare passes.
11080 NIMBUS 7: USA civilian weather satellite in sun-synchronous orbit.
Passes near noon and midnight. Visually can be seen over the pole near
the summer solstice.
11136 COSMOS 1051-1058 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 6.82 seconds
11266 COSMOS 1076: Soviet oceanographic satellite
11286 INTERCOSMOS 19 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet R/B, tumbler, with a 40 second
period. Maximum can be in the second magnitude range.
11546 COSMOS 1130-1137 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 15.47 seconds
11671 COSMOS 1151: Soviet oceanographic satellite, flash rate of five seconds.
11751 COSMOS 1171 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 25.8 seconds
12069 FLTSATCOM 4 ROCKET/BODY: Centaur stage from AC-57 launch of military
comsat. Flash period of 5.15 seconds; the glints are fairly bright,
rising a couple of magnitudes above the predicted brightness.
12497 INTELSAT 5-1 ROCKET/BODY: Centaur stage from AC-56 launch of an
international communications satellite. Flash period of five seconds.
12553 NOAA 7: This polar-orbiting weather satellite is now tumbling, and has
frequent glints as bright as second magnitude on favorable passes. The
flash pattern is very regular and predictable. NOAA 7 is in a sun-
synchronous orbit that has seasonal visibility windows. Because of the
brightness of the glints it is often visible at low elevations, making it
possible to see the satellite even in seasons when there are no favorable
passes.
12887 SME: Solar Mesosphere Explorer science satellite studies atmosphere,
sunlight and their interaction. Flash period of 2 seconds.
12889 SME ROCKET/BODY: Delta rocket/body from launch of Solar Mesospheric
Explorer and amateur radio satellite Uosat Oscar-9.
12983 COSMOS 1320-1327 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 14.9 seconds
13007 INTELSAT 5-3 ROCKET/BODY: Centaur stage from AC-55 launch of an
international communications satellite. Flash period of 4.7 seconds.
13923 NOAA 8: USA civilian weather satellite, no longer operational.
13367 LANDSAT 4: USA earth resources satellite. For information on the
Landsat program see 14780.
13777 IRAS (InfraRed Astronomical Satellite): IRAS, the best infrared
telescope ever launched, is one of the most famous satellites in orbit.
It eventually ceased operation when the liquid helium used to cool the
telescope evaporated from solar warming. IRAS is a joint USA, UK and
Netherlands project, and was launced on a Delta rocket from the
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Visually IRAS is typically in
the fifth magnitude range, but it can sometimes flare up to second
magnitude. It is in a sun-synchronous orbit so its visibility is
seasonal. From my latitude (28 N) IRAS is best seen in the evening sky
in the winter months.
13778 IRAS ROCKET/BODY: The Delta rocket/body from the launch of IRAS.
13985 SATCOM 6 ROCKET/BODY: Delta rocket/body from the launch of the Satcom-
F1R communications satellite.
14051 GOES 6 ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the launch of the GOES-6
geostationary civilian weather satellite
14096 EXOSAT ROCKET/BODY: Delta rocket/body from the launch of the European
X-Ray Observation Satellite.
14179 COSMOS 1473-1480 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 43.5 seconds
14372 COSMOS 1500: Soviet oceanographic satellite
14612 COSMOS 1522-1529 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 39.14 seconds
14693 PALAPA 4 ROCKET/BODY and 14694 WESTAR 6 ROCKET/BODY: Two PAM upper
stages that were intended to boost their commercial communications
satellite payloads into geostationary orbit. They were launched aboard
the space shuttle Challenger and deployed into an identical parking
orbit, but idential malfunctions stranded the satellites in low orbit.
The payloads were recovered on a later shuttle mission and relaunched in
1990 aboard unmanned launch vehicles, but the failed PAM stages remain in
low orbit, where they can be visually seen in the third to sixth
magnitude range depending on altitude. This provides a unique
opportunity for the observation of a PAM stage at close range.
14780 LANDSAT 5: Fifth in the USA series of earth resources satellites. Also
known as ERTS (Earth Resources Technology Satellites). The Landsat
series is the primary civilian USA source for global imaging of the
Earth's surface. Landsat images can show the current land use and the
potential natural resources. Landsats 1-3 are near sixth magnitude, and
the more advanced 4 and 5 satellites are near fourth magnitude.
15202 AMPTE ROCKET/BODY: Delta upper stage from the launch of three satellites
forming the Active Magnetosphere Particle Tracer Explorer constellation.
The three satellites (CCE [USA], IRM [West German] and UKS [UK]) were
boosted beyond the Delta's parking orbit into very highly eccentric
orbits for the study of the magnetosphere. The Ampte RB ranges from
fourth to eigth magnitude depending on altitude.
15244 LEASAT 2 ROCKET/BODY: Leasat 2 was launched aboard the space shuttle
Discovery in August 1984 on mission STS 41-D. For generic information on
the Leasat RBs, see 20411.
15331 COSMOS 1602: Soviet oceanographic satellite.
15333 COSMOS 1603: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite. Made a
dramatic series of orbital manoevers after launch, changing both altitude
and orbital plane.
15354 ERBS (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite): ERBS was launched aboard the
space shuttle Challenger (mission STS 41-G) in October 1984. Its mission
is to study the Earth's radiation budget, i.e. the solar energy recieved
and the reradiated energy from Earth. ERBS compliments similar
experiments flown on several polar-orbiting NOAA weather satellites.
Visually ERBS is in the fifth magnitude range.
15390 LEASAT 1 ROCKET/BODY: Leasat 1 was launched aboard the space shuttle
Discovery in November 1984 on mission STS 51-A. For generic information
on the Leasat RBs, see 20411.
15427 NOAA 9: USA civilian weather satellite in low polar sun-synch orbit.
15516 METEOR 2-12: Soviet weather satellite. Visually near sixth magnitude.
15595 GEOSAT: USA Geodynamic Earth and Oceans Satellite.
15625 COSMOS 1635-1642 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 40.25 seconds
16001 LEASAT 4 ROCKET/BODY: Leasat 4 was launched aboard the space shuttle
Discovery in August 1985 on mission STS 51-I. For generic information on
the Leasat RBs, see 20411.
16181 COSMOS 1697: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite.
16182 COSMOS 1697 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet SL-16 Zenit booster from launch of ELINT
satellite. For generic Zenit information see 20625.
16191 METEOR 3-1: Soviet weather satellite. Visually sixth-seventh magnitude.
16229 LEASAT 3 ROCKET/BODY: Leasat 3 was launched aboard the space shuttle
Discovery in April 1985 aboard mission STS 51-D. Due to a malfunction on
the satellite the upper stage that became 16229 was never commanded to
ignite, and the Leasat was stranded in a low orbit until a later shuttle
rescue repaired the problem. A solar reflector was installed on the
upper stage to try to warm the solid fuel. After several months in drift
mode the booster was ignited and the Leasat entered the intended orbit.
For generic information on the Leasat RBs, see 20411.
16408 METEOR 2-13: Soviet weather satellite. Visually near sixth magnitude.
16609 MIR COMPLEX: This is mankind's only operational space station. The
Soviet complex consists of the Mir core, two Kvant modules, and one
Kristall module, all launched separately and docked in orbit. Cosmonauts
are launched to the Mir complex and return to Earth aboard Soyuz
spacecraft. When manned the Mir includes the crew's Soyuz craft. The
normal Mir crew size is two, although it is typically five for a short
time when the old crew hands over to the new crew. There are frequent
launches of unmanned Progress cargo supply spacecraft to Mir when manned,
and there is normally one Progress docked to the complex. The primary
purposes of the Mir are life-sciences experiments to determine the effect
of long-duration weightless conditions on the human body and
'microgravity' commercial industrial experiments. Visually Mir is in the
zero magnitude range and is easily the brightest artificial satellite in
orbit. Because of frequent manoevering to compensate for atmospheric
drag, and occasional major orbital changes during rendezvous with Soyuz
and Progress spacecraft, Mir will often be much earlier or later than
predicted by satellite tracking software.
16728 COSMOS 1745 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 11.02 seconds
16908 EGP/AJISAI: This Japanese satellite is the most distinctive object in
orbit. EGP (Experimental Geodetic Payload), also known as EGS (
Experimental Geodetic Satellite) or Ajisai (Hydrangea flower), was
launched on the first test flight of the H-1 rocket in August 1986. EGP
is a sphere with a diameter of seven feet, and is covered with mirrors
and corner-cube reflectors. The latter are used to reflect laser beams
and are invisible to amateur observers, but the mirrors are spectacular.
They are designed to reflect sunlight so the satellite can be
photographed by ground stations for precise geodetic surveying
measurements. The glints are probably in the third magnitude range but
are visible to the naked eye only in very dark skies under good
conditions. The brief flashes are too short to be noticed by the naked
eye. In binoculars EGP resembles the strobe of an airplane but the flash
pattern is more complex than a strobe light. Because of the extremely
high orbital altitude of 1,500 kilometers, EGP is often visible closer to
midnight than other satellites, and can frequently be seen on as many as
four orbits during a single overnight observing session.
16910 EGP ROCKET/BODY: Upper stage from the H-1 rocket that launched the EGP
satellite and a small amateur radio secondary payload Fuji 1 / Oscar 12
(FO-12). The R/B is quite large and, therefore, bright (fifth magnitude)
for its altitude of 1,500 kilometers. It does not appear to be tumbling
and is fairly constant in its brightness.
16969 NOAA 10: Active USA civilian weather satellite in low polar sun-synch
orbit. Passes near sunrise and sunset, sometimes visible in evening
skies near sixth magnitude. APT radio transmissions can be recieved on
137.500 MHz.
17070 POLAR BEAR: USA NNSS navigation satellite with auroral studies. Was
restored from display at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
17146 COSMOS 1794-1801 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 19 seconds
17480 ASTRO 3: Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite, also known as 'Ginga'.
17527 MOS 1-A: Japanese Maritime Observation Satellite
17589 COSMOS 1833: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
17590 COSMOS 1833 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet SL-16 Zenit booster from launch of ELINT
satellite. For generic Zenit information see 20625.
17973 COSMOS 1844: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
17974 COSMOS 1844 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet SL-16 Zenit booster from launch of ELINT
satellite. For generic Zenit information see 20625.
18121 COSMOS 1852-1859 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 40 seconds
18123 DMSP 2-3: Military weather satellite. For general information on the
DMSP series see 20978.
18129 COSMOS 1861: Soviet system-1 navigation satellite. Carries RS/10-11
amateur radio package onboard. Visually near sixth magnitude.
18312 METEOR 2-16: Soviet weather satellite. Visually near sixth magnitude.
18313 METEOR 2-16 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet Tsyklon (Cyclone) rocket/body.
18665 COSMOS 1900: This is the nuclear reactor from the Cosmos 1900 naval
reconnoisance satellite. The satellites, which operate in very low
orbits, are supposed to jettison their nuclear reactors into a higher
stable orbit at the end of their operational mission. Twice the
separation systems failed resulting in the re-entry of the nuclear fuel,
once into the NWT in Canada, and once into the Indian Ocean. C-1900
failed in orbit and came very close to re-entering before the separation
and boost systems activated, keeping the 110 pounds of uranium in orbit
as the rest of the spacecraft plunged to Earth. The C-1900 satellite is
about fourth magnitude and has a flash period of 10 seconds.
18820 METEOR 2-17: Soviet weather satellite. Visually near sixth magnitude.
18821 METEOR 2-17 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet Tsyklon (Cyclone) rocket/body.
18822 DMSP 2-4: Military weather satellite. For general information on the
DMSP series see 20978.
18945 COSMOS 1924-1931 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 20.1 seconds
18986 COSMOS 1934 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 16.8 seconds
19119 COSMOS 1943: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
19120 COSMOS 1943 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet SL-16 Zenit booster from launch of ELINT
satellite. Visually, a tumbler with a period of 20 seconds. For generic
Zenit information see 20625.
19257 COSMOS 1954 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 48 seconds
19274 OKEAN 1: Soviet oceanographic satellite
19336 METEOR 3-2: Soviet weather satellite. Visually sixth-seventh magnitude.
19467 FENG YUN 1-A: Chinese weather satellite in low polar sun-synch orbit
19531 NOAA 11: Active USA civilian weather satellite in low polar sun-synch
orbit. Passes near noon and midnight, sometimes visible over the pole in
summer near sixth magnitude. APT radio transmissions can be received on
137.650 MHz.
19649 COSMOS 1980: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
19650 COSMOS 1980 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet SL-16 Zenit booster from launch of ELINT
satellite. Visually, a tumbler with a period of 40 seconds. For generic
Zenit information see 20625.
19671 LACROSSE 1: This 'dark' Department of Defense satellite is actually ruby
red. The first Lacrosse satellite was launched aboard the space shuttle
Atlantis (mission STS-27) in December 1988 from launch pad 39-B at the
Kennedy Space Center. Lacrosse is a radar imaging satellite similar to
the Magellan Venus orbiter, but with a much higher resolution. It is
considered one of the most important USA military spacecraft. Lacrosse
was, at one time, known by the code name Indigo. Visually Lacrosse is,
after EGP, the most distinctive satellite in orbit. It is very bright,
second magnitude, and a very strong shade of red. At that magnitude the
eye can easily see color making the effect even more obvious. Lacrosse
is also in the rather high orbit of 670 kilometers, at least high for
something so large, so that the combination of color, brightness and
apparent speed make it instantly recognizable. Because it is a
classified satellite there are no NORAD orbital elements available, but
it is quite easy to keep track of the satellite without official help.
Its red color was seen while still in Atlantis' cargo bay on mission 27,
and it was seen one orbit later after deployment as a red satellite
co-orbital with the shuttle. Since that time it has been 'lost' for only
a very short period of time, just after launch. Lacrosse is one of the
most interesting satellites to observe.
19826 COSMOS 2004: Soviet System-2 navigation satellite
19827 COSMOS 2004 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of navigation satellite. Tumbler,
with a flash period of 40.6 seconds.
19851 METEOR 2-18: Soviet weather satellite. Visually near sixth magnitude.
19910 COSMOS 2008-2015 ROCKET/BODY: Tumbler, flash period of 6.35 seconds
19911 DELTA STAR: This is a 'gray' Department of Defense satellite which NORAD
releases orbital data on. It is a research and development satellite for
the Strategic Defense Initiative, better known as Star Wars. The name is
derived from its Delta launch vehicle.
19921 COSMOS 2016: Soviet System-2 navigaton satellite
19922 COSMOS 2016 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of navigation satellite. Tumbler,
with a flash period of 17.2 seconds.
20045 COSMOS 2026: Soviet System-2 navigation satellite
20046 COSMOS 2026 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of navigation satellite. Tumbler,
with a flash period of 23 seconds.
20064 COSMOS 2027: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
20103 NADEZHDA 1: Soviet navigation satellite. The satellite is named (
translation=Hope) for an onboard COSPAS/SARSAT package that locates
emergency beacons.
20149 COSMOS 2034: Soviet system-2 navigation satellite
20150 COSMOS 2034 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of navigation satellite. Tumbler,
with a lighthouse appearance, flash period of 4.7 seconds.
20197 COSMOS 2037 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of Soviet geodetic satellite.
Tumbler, flash period of 0.8 seconds.
20259 COSMOS 2046: Soviet Electronic Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite (EORSAT);
very bright first-magnitude satellite.
20261 INTERCOSMOS 24: Joint Soviet / eastern block scientific satellite to
study the magnetosphere and the propogation of low radio frequencies.
20262 INTERCOSMOS 24 ROCKET/BODY: Soviet Tsyklon (Cyclone) third stage rocket
/body from launch of Intercosmos 24 and Magion subsatellite.
20303 GPS 2-4 ROCKET/BODY: Delta-II second stage from launch of fourth block-2
GPS-Navstar navigation satellite. The GPS (Global Positioning System)
series is a USA Department of Defense constellation of navigation
satellites in circular 12-hour orbits. The primary use of GPS is for
military navigation, but civilian users are allowed limited use of the
satellites. The block-2 GPS-Navstar satellites are launched on the new
Delta-II rocket. The second stage from the Delta remains in an eccentric
parking orbit near 400x1000 km for some launches, depending on the
payload's destination orbital plane. On some launches the parking orbit
perigee is much lower and the second stage quickly decays. Visually the
GPS RBs are fairly predictable in brightness, in the third to sixth
magnitude range depending on altitude and solar illumination. They do
not appear to be tumbling and maintain a steady brightness during a pass.
The second stage is actually blue-green, and carries the GPS, McDonnell
Douglas and USAF logos, but any color is very hard to detect in orbit.
20305 METEOR 3-3: Soviet weather satellite. Visually sixth-seventh magnitude.
20322 COBE (COsmic Background Explorer): COBE's mission is to explore the
residual background radiation from the big bang. It has measured the
smoothness of the background and shown that the early universe was
homogenous to a degree beyond the measuring capability of any previous
instrument. COBE was launched on a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California. Visually COBE is a rather erratic satellite,
often in the fourth magnitude range, but under certain lighting
conditions it will be near first magnitude. These changes seem unrelated
to the illumination phase. When it is bright its magnitude cycles
between about first and third magnitude as COBE spins. Under most
conditions COBE's spin does not appear to create a light curve. COBE is
in a sun-synchronous orbit.
20362 GPS 2-5 ROCKET/BODY: Delta-II second stage from the launch of the fifth
block-2 GPS-Navstar navigation satellite in December 1989 from the Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station. For general information on GPS RBs see
20303.
20406 JCSAT 2 ROCKET/BODY: The modified Minuteman-III third stage, similar to
the Leasat RBs, used as an upper stage for the Japanese communications
satellite JCSAT. Launched from CCAFS pad 40 aboard the first commercial
Titan rocket on new year's eve 1989.
20411 LEASAT 5 ROCKET/BODY: The Leasat R/Bs are modified Minuteman-III third
stages used as a perigee kick motor for the Leasat (also known as Syncom)
communications satellites. Leasat 5 was launched in January 1990 aboard
the space shuttle Columbia on mission STS-32, a flight that included the
recovery of the LDEF satellite. Visually the R/B has a firefly
appearance in the fourth magnitude range at perigee. The Leasat RBs are
in eccentric GTO orbits and are only good visual targets when close to
perigee.
20432 COSMOS 2056: Soviet store/dump communications satellite
20433 COSMOS 2056 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of store/dump comsat. Flash period
of 4.1 seconds.
20436 SPOT 2: European commercial earth resources satellite in polar sun-synch
orbit; launched on Ariane rocket
20443 SPOT 2 ROCKET/BODY: Ariane rocket/body from launch of Spot 2 earth
resources satellite and six small amateur radio satellites.
20453 GPS 2-6 ROCKET/BODY: Delta-II second stage from the launch of sixth
block-2 GPS-Navstar navigation satellite from the Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station. GPS 2-6 was launched just after sunset on January 24,
1990, and broke into daylight during ascent. For general information on
GPS RBs see 20303.
20465 COSMOS 2058: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
20478 MOS 1-B: Japanese Maritime Observation Satellite
20479 ORIZURU (DEBUT): Japanese Deployable Boom and Umbrella Test. Technology
development satellite.
20491 MOS 1-B ROCKET/BODY: Japanese H-1 rocket/body from launch of MOS 1-B,
Orizuru and a small Fuji amateur radio satellite
20496 LACE: USA Laser Atmospheric Compensation Experiment launched on Delta
rocket with RME. A star wars test satellite for development of laser
technology. Visually in the fourth magnitude range with a slightly
reddish hue.
20497 RME: USA Relay Mirror Experiment launched on Delta with LACE. Carries a
2-foot diameter mirror for star wars testing.
20508 NADEZHDA 2: Soviet navigation satellite. The satellite is named (
translation=Hope) for an onboard COSPAS/SARSAT package that locates
emergency beacons.
20509 NADEZHDA 2 ROCKET/BODY: Tumbler with a flash period of 20.5 seconds
20510 OKEAN 2: Soviet oceanographic satellite
20523 INTELSAT 6-3: This international communications satellite was left
stranded in low orbit when its booster, the second Commercial Titan
rocket (similar to the Titan-III), failed to separate the satellite from
the second stage. The Titan/Intelsat combination was in a very low
parking orbit so the only way to save the payload was to order spacecraft
separation from the Intelsat's third stage perigee kick motor. The Titan
second stage refused all commands to separate from the third stage, which
is not part of the Titan launch vehicle and is considered to be payload
at that stage in the launch process. The Intelsat was separated from the
third stage and moved into a higher parking orbit where it can compensate
for atmospheric drag by using its onboard manoevering fuel. The
burned-out Titan second stage, and the Intelsat's third stage which was
still firmly bolted to the Titan, re-entered 14 days after launch.
Intelsat 6-3 is awaiting a shuttle rescue, presently scheduled for the
first flight of the new orbiter Endeavour in 1992. The shuttle will
carry a new third stage to Intelsat and place it on the satellite so that
it will reach its operational geostationary orbit. Until it is rescued,
satellite observers have a very rare opportunity to see a geosynch
communications satellite at close range -- some 60 times closer, and nine
magnitudes brighter, than its intended orbit. Intelsat 6 satellites are
spin stabilized, and Intelsat 6-3 goes through a very noticeable light
curve from most perspectives. Its theoretical magnitude is third, but it
is more often either brighter or fainter than predicted. From some
angles it goes through some very bright glints. It normally gives only
three or four flashes before its orbital motion takes it away from that
angle. If the satellite is observed on the following days, it will
almost always produce a similar series of flases in the same part of the
sky.
20525 COSMOS 2060: Soviet Electronic Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite (EORSAT);
very bright first-magnitude satellite.
20527 COSMOS 2061: Soviet system-2 navigation satellite
20528 COSMOS 2061 ROCKET/BODY: From launch of navigation satellite. Flash
period of 17.9 seconds.
20546 PEGSAT: This is the rocket/body, with an attached payload, from the
first orbital rocket ever launched from the air. The privately developed
Pegasus booster is dropped from a B-52 over the Pacific Ocean and then
fires itself into orbit. A chemical release payload is attached to the
spent rocket casing, and a small Department of Defense GLOMR satellite
was deployed into a separate orbit. Pegsat is visually an interesting
satellite, with a very large magnitude range from maximum to minimum, and
a 2-second period to complete an entire cycle. Pegsat is in a
sun-synchronous orbit.
20557 COSMOS 2064-2071 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period 12.4 seconds.
20571 PALAPA 6 ROCKET/BODY: Delta second-stage from the relaunch of the Indian
Palapa satellite stranded (see 14693) and recovered by the shuttle.
20577 COSMOS 2074: Soviet system-2 navigation satellite
20580 HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE (HST): HST was launched aboard the space shuttle
Discovery (mission STS-31) in April 1990 from launch pad 39-B at the
Kennedy Space Center. HST is mankind's best optical telescope despite
the serious spherical abberation that has left it unable to achieve its
theoretical capabilities. HST is scheduled to be revisted by the shuttle
several times during its 15-year orbital life. The purpose of these
visits, planned long before the spherical abberation was discovered, are
to boost HST's orbit and replace the scientific instruments with more
advanced designs. HST has no onboard propellant at all and is purely
ballistic; it does not have the ability to boost its orbit periodically
to compensate for atmospheric drag. The reason for this is that any
residual propellants in HST's orbit could damage its optical instruments.
HST must be revisited by the shuttle every few years to reboost it to its
original altitude of over 600 kilometers; otherwise it will be destroyed
on reentry, as happened to Skylab and Solar Max, and could have happened
to LDEF. It has been expected that better instruments could be built for
HST during its 15-year lifetime, so NASA planned to make use of the
revisit missions to swap some of the scientific experiments while the
shuttle was there. This capability will be utilized to partially 'fix'
HST on the first revisit mission by replacing the primary camera with a
replacement that will compensate for the spherical abberation. Visually
HST is rarely fainter than third magnitude on favorable passes, and is
more frequently in the first magnitude range. Each of the two solar
panels is as large as the telescope itself, and these are held
perpendicular to the Sun, so the illumination phase of HST is very
important in predicting its brightness. When HST is seen at a high phase
(in the east after sunset or the west before sunrise) there are sometimes
very brilliant glints off the solar panels, sometimes as bright as
magnitude -4. HST's orbital inclination of 28 degrees means it never
passes directly over most of the United States, but it can be seen in
binoculars even at elevations of 10 degrees, so it can be seen by
ambitious observers in very northern latitudes.
20582 COSMOS 2075 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 4 seconds
20624 COSMOS 2082: Soviet Electronic Intellegence (ELINT) satellite
20625 COSMOS 2082 ROCKET/BODY: This SL-16 Zenit rocket boosted a Soviet ELINT
spacecraft. The R/B is a very rapid tumbler, with a flash period of 1.3
seconds, and slowing due to interaction with the magnetic field. The
Zenit boosters are among the largest objects in orbit and easily
naked-eye, often close to second magnitude at maximum.
20638 ROSAT: The Rosat (Roentgen Satellite) is a German X-ray telescope
launched on a Delta-II rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in June 1990. Rosat is the most advanced X-ray telescope ever launched.
It was initially planned for a shuttle launch and the reconfiguration to
an unmanned launch vehicle delayed its flight by several years. There is
significant American and British involvement in Rosat. Visually Rosat
has a very strong yellow-gold hue because of the insulation that covers
almost all of the spacecraft. It is typically in the fourth magnitude
range but has been seen as bright as first magnitude.
20639 ROSAT ROCKET/BODY: Delta second-stage from launch of Rosat
20663 COSMOS 2084: This is a Soviet satellite intended for a Molniya orbit
which was left stranded in a 600-kilometer altitude orbit due to a
booster failure (see 20664). C-2084 is believed to be an early-warning
military spacecraft. Observers of this satellite have a unique
opportunity to observe a Molniya-orbit satellite at close range.
Visually it is in the fourth magnitude range.
20664 COSMOS 2084 ROCKET/BODY: This is the fourth stage perigee kick motor
that was to have boosted Cosmos 2084 from its parking orbit into a
Molniya orbit. It apparently shut down shortly after ignition and then
separated from the payload, leaving it in a useless but stable low orbit.
As with the payload, observers have here a unique opportunity to observe
the upper stage at close range. Visually it is a tumbling object, easily
naked-eye at maximum.
20670 METEOR 2-19: Soviet weather satellite. Visually near sixth magnitude.
20683 GAMMA: Large Soviet gamma-ray astronomical telescope. Second magnitude
satellite.
20712 CRRES: Joint NASA/USAF Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite.
The NASA program is a series of chemical releases of Barium and Lithium
into the magnetosphere; the unclassified USAF program is research and
development testing of new materials and electronic parts to determine
the effects of the space environment for future spacecraft design.
20775 COSMOS 2098 ROCKET/BODY: Flash period of 2.3 seconds
20788 FENG YUN 1-B: Chinese weather satellite in low polar sun-synch orbit.
20789 ATMOSPHERE 1 and 20790 ATMOSPHERE 2: These are two passive balloons
launched by China as piggyback payloads on the Feng Yun 1-B rocket in
September 1990. The satellites are about 10 feet in diameter. Their
mission is to measure the density of the upper atmosphere at orbital
altitudes by observing the air's drag effect on their orbits. Atmosphere
1 is near re-entry, but Atmosphere 2 is still safely in orbit. The two
are in the fourth magnitude range and starting to show unstable
brightnesses as the balloons start to deform.
20791 FENG YUN 1-B ROCKET/BODY: This Chinese booster exploded in orbit, well
after deploying the Feng Yun 1-B weather satellite and two small balloon
secondary payloads. None of the payloads were damaged by the explosion,
which produced about 75 pieces of debris large enough to be tracked by
NORAD. The largest piece of the R/B, 20791, now has a very complex light
curve. This is visually one of the most interesting satellites in orbit.
The flash period, that is, the time for the brightness variations to
repeat, has been measured at three seconds. Some of the glints can get
fairly bright when seen from a good perspective.
20843 ULYSSES ROCKET/BODY: The IUS (Intertial Upper Stage) first-stage from
the launch of the Ulysses interplanetary spacecraft, en route to Jupiter
for a gravity assisted plane change to enter the intended polar
heliocentric orbit for study of the Sun's magnetic field. 20843 has
remained in Earth orbit, in GTO, and is an interesting historic object to
sight at perigee. Ulysses was launched in October 1990 aboard the space
shuttle Discovery on mission STS- 41.
20919 INMARSAT 2-1 ROCKET/BODY: Delta-II second stage from the launch of the
first dedicated Inmarsat communications satellite (previous Inmarsat
payloads have piggybacked on other comsats). The launch vehicle was the
200th Delta rocket.
20960 GPS 2-10 ROCKET/BODY: Delta-II second stage from the launch of the tenth
block-2 GPS-Navstar navigation satellite from the Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station. This was the first flight of a Delta with the uprated
larger solid boosters, and the increased payload capacity was partly used
to reduce the inclination of the parking orbit to 21 degrees. For
general information on GPS RBs see 20303.
20978 DMSP 2-5: Military weather satellite (Defense Meteorology Support
Program). The DMSP satellites are in low polar sun-synch orbits and
similar in size to the civilian NOAA weather satellites. Their orbits
are not classified. Visually DMSP satellites are in the sixth magnitude
range.