Re: USA 144 debris

From: Gordon Prichard (gprichard@vtown.com.au)
Date: Wed Jan 02 2008 - 11:45:37 UTC

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    Hello everybody,
         I have been trying to access the links to Seesat archives provided
    by Ted but I find myself blocked by "Apache". When I google the archives
    or main website, for Seesat, I also receive an "access denied by
    Apache". Is something wrong?
         Gordon
    
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: "Ted Molczan" <ssl2molcz@rogers.com>
    To: <seesat-l@satobs.org>
    Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 7:31 PM
    Subject: RE: USA 144 debris
    
    
    > Gordon wrote:
    >
    > >     I recently observed 1999-028C with the unaided eye.
    > > Calsky informs me that it is debris from USA 144 with a
    > > magnitude of 4.8 and an orbit 2680kmx3140km. To be visible at
    > > all this must be quite a piece of debris!
    >
    > It is an unusual object. Until 2002, it was generally believed to be
    the
    > payload, mainly due to its brightness, and so we used to call it
    99028A.
    >
    > There were a couple of problems with the theory that it was the
    payload. It
    > rotated slowly, and it exhibited apparent orbital drag that was about
    10 times
    > greater than expected for a payload at its altitude.
    >
    > In 2002, a re-analysis of our large collection of hobbyist
    observations revealed
    > that the apparent drag was due to solar radiation pressure, which led
    to the
    > conclusion that the object was debris-like, as posted here:
    >
    > http://satobs.org/seesat/Aug-2002/0045.html
    >
    > In a follow-up message I speculated that the object could be a decoy,
    intended
    > to draw attention away from the deployment of the actual payload,
    which now is
    > generally believed to be the second Misty stealth imaging
    reconnaissance
    > satellite, probably in a quasi 65 deg, 700 - 800 km orbit:
    >
    > http://satobs.org/seesat/Aug-2002/0075.html
    >
    > In recognition that the object in question cannot be the payload, we
    eventually
    > changed our designation for it to 99028C.
    >
    >
    > > Can anyone tell me what it is and how large it is?
    >
    > Some of us believe the decoy theory; others prefer the debris theory;
    at this
    > time there is no way to be certain which theory is correct.
    >
    > I estimate that it is about 5 m across, with a mass of perhaps a few
    hundred
    > kilograms.
    >
    > > Is there an on-line catalogue of debris, with descriptions?
    >
    > Jonathan McDowell maintains an excellent catalogue of all objects ever
    launched
    > into orbit, which identifies many pieces of debris cast off during the
    launch
    > and deployment of satellites, as well as those resulting from
    fragmentations:
    >
    > http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt
    >
    > Ted Molczan
    >
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