http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/05/2919095.htm?section=justin It looks like Dragon/Falcon 9 may be responsible for these 'UFO' sightings. Greg, Sydney Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ted Molczan" <ssl3molcz@rogers.com> To: <SeeSat-L@satobs.org> Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 7:38 AM Subject: RE: Question about visibility of Falcon 9 and Dragon > Joe Rao asked: > >> I just received this from my editor at SPACE.com. Can >> anybody provide an answer that I can relay back to him? >> -- joe rao >> >> QUESTION: SpaceX just stunned me by launching Falcon 9 and >> Dragon mkockup today. The Dragon capsule mockup is going to >> stay in orbit for up to 1 year before burning up on re-entry. > > Seems unlikely, unless it has a very high areal density. Will be able to > estimate once elsets with reliable decay rates appear. > >> I'm just wondering if you had any idea if people can try and >> see it in space at all or not. Supposedly it's at 250 km, not >> sure of launch trajectory or inclination. > > The first TLE of 10026A / 36595 has appeared on Space Track. Orbit is 34.5 > deg, 239 km X 280 km. > > A quick check of current visibility north of the equator, reveals the tail > end of evening visibility at latitudes south of about 30 N; no visibility > further north. Morning window opens in a couple of weeks. South of the > equator, around 35 S, has tail end (several days) of morning visibility. > > Ted Molczan > > _______________________________________________ > Seesat-l mailing list > http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l
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