Paleo-SeeSaters (or: Sputnik-1 elset req.)

Ruben Velasco (heston@arrakis.es)
Wed, 27 Aug 1997 11:16:09 +0200 (MET DST)

Hi!  This is my first posting, and I hope it's not off-topic:

I'm trying to find the TLE's for the Sputnik 1 (or an approximation)
during its first orbits.

The other day I was taking a look at local newspapers of oct. 1957,
and among the hoopla about the "baby-moon" (as it awas called), the
political implications, etc, I found a suspiciously high number of
sightings of the satellite, as well as reports of ham-radio
enthusiasts receiving the famous "blips".

Some people said they saw a fast star moving eastwards (but late
after sunset) while several amateur astronomers said they saw
something moving really fast that could not be any meteor (but
according to them, in the 4th magnitude)  I'm relatively new in this
business of satellite observing but that seems very bright for such
a small object with no solar panels.  Any comments welcome.

Elsets for the rocket body (Cat. # 00001) would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

--
Ruben Velasco <heston@arrakis.es>
Escuela Superior de Ingenieros / Telecomunicacion.  Sevilla - SPAIN
PGP KeyID 37219E45  Fingerprint = 96575B8713370081 1BC5D43D324B3F4D