Jonathan’s Space Report No 431 2000 Aug 6

No 431 2000 Aug 6, Cambridge, MA

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Shuttle and Stations

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The Zarya/Unity stack docked with the Zvezda module at 0045 UTC on Jul 26,
forming the basic core of the International Space Station. Progress-M1
vehicle No. 251 (Progress M1-3) was launched on Aug 6 and will dock with
Zvezda’s rear port.

Current Launches

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An Orbital Sciences Minotaur was launched from Vandenberg on Jul 19. The
payload was Mightysat 2.1, also known as Sindri. The 125 kg satellite is
a Spectrum Astro SA-200B platform The Minotaur placed it in a 547 x 581
km x 97.8 deg orbit. The satellite carries a hyperspectral imager for
earth imaging and spectroscopy, as well as satellite technology
experiments such as advanced solar arrays. An Aerospace Corp./DARPA
picosatellite experiment, consisting of two small boxes connected by a
deployable tether, is attached to Mightysat and may be deployed later. A
similar picosat was deployed on the previous Minotaur launch in January.

A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL was launched from the Odyssey platform at 154W 0N
in the Pacific on Jul 28. 14 minutes after launch it entered an
intermediate parking orbit (parameters unknown); a second burn of the
Blok DM-SL upper stage put the PAS-9 payload in geostationary transfer
orbit. PAS 9 is a Hughes HS-601HP communications satellite for Panamsat,
and will replace PAS 5 at 58W.

The first two Cluster satellites have reached their operational orbits.

Table of Recent Launches

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Date UT       Name            Launch Vehicle  Site            Mission    INTL.

                                                                          DES.

Jul  4 2344   Kosmos-2371       Proton-K/DM-2? Baykonur LC200?  Comms      36A

Jul 12 0456   Zvezda            Proton-K       Baykonur LC81L   Station    37A

Jul 14 0521   Echostar VI       Atlas 2AS      Canaveral SLC36B Comms      38A

Jul 15 1200   CHAMP   )         Kosmos-3M      Plesetsk LC132   Science    39A

              MITA    )                                         Science    39B

              Rubin   )                                         Imaging    39C

Jul 16 0917   GPS SVN 44        Delta 7925     Canaveral LC17A  Navsat     40A

Jul 16 1239   Samba   )         Soyuz-Fregat   Baykonur LC31    Science    41A

              Salsa   )                                         Science    41B

Jul 19 2009   Mightysat 2.1     Minotaur       Vandenberg CLF   Tech       42A

Jul 28 2242   PAS 9             Zenit-3SL      Odyssey, POR     Comms      43A

Aug  6 1827   Progress M1-3     Soyuz-U        Baykonur LC1     Cargo

Current Shuttle Processing Status

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Orbiters               Location   Mission    Launch Due   

OV-102 Columbia        Palmdale      OMDP

OV-103 Discovery       OPF Bay 1     STS-92  2000 Oct     ISS 3A

OV-104 Atlantis        OPF Bay 3     STS-106 2000 Sep     ISS 2A.2b

OV-105 Endeavour       OPF Bay 2     STS-97  2000 Nov?    ISS 4A
MLP-1

MLP-2/RSRM-75/ET-103         VAB Bay 1  STS-106

MLP-3/RSRM-76/ET-104         VAB Bay 3  STS-92

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|  Jonathan McDowell                 |  phone : (617) 495-7176            |

|  Harvard-Smithsonian Center for    |                                    |

|   Astrophysics                     |                                    |

|  60 Garden St, MS6                 |                                    |

|  Cambridge MA 02138                |  inter : jcm@cfa.harvard.edu       |

|  USA                               |          jmcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu |

|                                                                         |

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