NOSS 2-3 B (and A) timings ?

bjorn@tt-tech.se
Fri, 17 May 1996 13:33:13 +0100

Both Ron Lee and Paul Maley reported observing the rocket
of the Titan launch 2-3 minutes early on May 16.
I haven't found Paul's coordinates yet.

I checked Ron's observation against Allen Thomson's 4000+
object el960428 file, and found no reasonable cause for
mistaken identity.

Rainer's and my elsets differ slightly - I used ELCOR with
an approximate post-launch position included. Rainer's is
accurate in time on May 14+15, with mine the rocket was 2
seconds early May 14, 6 seconds on May 15. Neither is
quite accurate on positions.

This does not explain the timings of May 16. Did the rocket
maneuvre when releasing something recently ? Is the A object
going into a Molniya orbit some time ? Haven't there been
reports on previous occasions about these objects flashing
in LEO ? I am no good at keeping/remembering historical data.

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