SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 566 (DRAFT)

SPACEWARN Activities

All information in this publication was received between
1 December 2000 and 31 December 2000.

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UTC).

USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.

  COSPAR/WWAS USSPACECOM  SPACECRAFT              LAUNCH
    INT.ID    CAT. #      NAME                 DATE (2000)
  -------------------------------------------------------
   2000-082A   (26643)   Beidou 1B                 20 Dec
   2000-081C   (26640)   LDREX                     20 Dec
   2000-081B   (26639)   GE 8                      20 Dec
   2000-081A   (26638)   Astra 2D                  20 Dec
   2000-080A   (26635)   USA 155                   06 Dec
   2000-079A   (26631)   EROS A1                   05 Dec
   2000-078A   (26630)   STS 97                    01 Dec

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

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.)

   Note:
   The full list appeared in SPX 545.
   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. (“NNN” denotes no national name. SPACEWARN
   would appreciate 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
   http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/gcraft/notes/gps/gps.html#DODSystem
   It provides many links to GPS related databases.

3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS
   constellation. (SPACEWARN requests updates/additions from readers to this list.
   Entries marked “*” are updates or additions to the list.)

   All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general COSMOS series. The COSMOS numbers
   (nnnn) invoked by USSPACECOM have often differed from the numbers (NNNN)
   associated in Russia; when different, the USSPACECOM COSMOS numbers are shown
   in parentheses. The corresponding GLONASS numbers are Russian numbers, followed
   by the numbers in parentheses that are sometimes attributed to them outside
   Russia.

   The operating frequencies in MHz are computed from the channel number K.
   Frequencies (MHz) = 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 at:
   http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/english.html
   maintained by the Coordinational
   Scientific Information Center (CSIC),Russian Space Forces.

4. Visually bright objects.

   A comprehensive list of visually bright
   objects with their two-line orbital elements is available from USSPACECOM, via a
   NASA URL, http://oig1.gsfc.nasa.gov/files/visible.tle. The list, however,
   does not include visual magnitudes, but are expected to be brighter than
   magnitude 5.

5. Actual decays/landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B)
   only. No further information is available.

   Designations         Common Name              Decay Date (2000)
   
   1998-066C (25529) IRIDIUM 85                             30 Dec
   1970-034B (04392) R/B                                    29 Dec
   1987-109E (18719) R/B (Aux. Mot) that launched EKRON 17  20 Dec
   1992-047H (22067) R/B (Aux. Mot) Proton                  19 dec
   1997-085B (25124) R/B START 1                            12 Dec
   1997-009B (24743) R/B Arianne 44LP                       12 Dec
   2000-078A (26630) STS 97           Landed on             11 Dec
   2000-077B (26627) R/B Proton-K                           01 Dec
   1998-051D (25470) IRIDIUM 79                             29 Nov
   

6. Miscellaneous Items. (This section contains information/data that
   are entered on occasion and may not be repeated in each issue of the
   SPACEWARN Bulletin.)

   The USSPACECOM has rematched the names with the IDs for the following
   two spacecraft, after input from the launching agencies; the names are just
   reversed.

         2000-057A (26545) Saudisat 1A
         2000-057D (26548) Tiungsat 1
   

7. Related NSSDC resources.

   NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information is an archival center for science
   data from many spacecraft. Many space physics datasets are on-line for
   electronic access through:
   http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/

   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 parameters of many magnetospheric and heliospheric science-payload
   spacecraft may be accessed via anonymous FTP from NSSDC.
   (See About the SPACEWARN Bulletin
   for access method; a file in the active directory named AAREADME.TXT,
   outlines the contents.)

   Other files interest for Earth-centered spacecraft can be generated through the URL,
   http://sscweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/

   Programs related to the heliospheric spacecraft trajectories can be executed
   through the URL,
   http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/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/sc-query.html