David Brierley replied to Peter Wakelin: > > 05-42A: A single bright flare at approx 203910. Has it manoeuvred > > slightly or have I screwed up? I am unable to get a good fit to either > > Mike's or Pierre's elsets, both only a day old. > > No you haven't screwed up. I was puzzled by the 10' cross-track error > in your first two observations, but combining them with Mike Waterman's > observations I think I've detected a change in inclination and > eccentricity after April 1. USA 186's (05042A / 28888) line of apsides has just (on Apr 5) precessed through the equatorial plane - ideal for changing the inclination and several other elements with a single burn. Its new inclination results in nearly the same rate of precession of the ascending node as USA 161 (01044A / 26934), which recently manoeuvred to set up synchronized operation with USA 186. USA 129 (96072A / 24680), which USA 186 has replaced, recently raised its altitude and decreased its inclination, causing its plane to drift westward relative the western KeyHole plane, at about 0.5 deg/month. Since its plane is 1 deg east of that plane, it is unclear whether the intent is to return to the plane, or to continue further west. Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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