Re: tle's for china newest launch

From: Mike McCants (mmccants@io.com)
Date: Wed Apr 21 2004 - 12:55:10 EDT

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    >"The [Long March II C] was launched at 11:59 p.m. Sunday at the Xichang
    >Satellite Launch Center based in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
    >"About a dozen minutes after lift-off, the carrier rocket first
    >released the "Experiment Satellite I" and then "Nano-satellite I" 30 seconds
    >later."
    
    The Space-Launcher.com web page gives the names "Tansuo 1 (Shiyan 1)"
    and "Naxing 1".
    
    The "current" elsets are getting close to 2 days old.
    
    UNKNOWN OBJECT A
    1 28220U 04012A   04110.87500486 -.00007498 +00000-0 -83264-3 0 00116
    2 28220 097.7086 195.2032 0010792 317.2518 042.7850 14.86957496000185
    CZ-2C R/B
    1 28221U 04012B   04110.87504705 +.00001145 +00000-0 +13402-3 0 00067
    2 28221 097.7083 195.2039 0010647 317.5168 042.5102 14.86906465000181
    UNKNOWN OBJECT B
    1 28222U 04012C   04110.86823158 +.00000916 +00000-0 +86165-4 0 00043
    2 28222 097.6441 195.3201 0055001 263.3220 096.1739 14.95274108000184
    UNKNOWN OBJECT C
    1 28223U 04012D   04110.88783826 +.00035253 +00000-0 +53588-2 0 00046
    2 28223 097.8159 195.4039 0087200 095.2616 265.8927 14.71319924000184
    
    The very bright tumbling object that Russell Eberst observed is
    matched by 28222 = 04 12C.  I would assume that the A and B objects
    are the small payloads and that the rocket did some kind of fuel
    depletion maneuver after injecting them into a nearly circular orbit.
    
    Delta V for Object 04 12D relative to the payloads is slightly greater
    in magnitude and opposite in sign to the delta V for the rocket
    compared to the payloads?  A pyro released "cover"?  Interesting.
    
    With a height of 380 miles and a sun-sync orbit very near the
    noon/midnight line, these objects will be "summertime only" objects.
    
    Mike McCants
    
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