Re: Prelaunch Elset, Delta Iridium, 17 May 98
Bjoern Gimle (b_gimle@algonet.se)
Mon, 18 May 1998 02:51:30 +0200
>
>Prelaunch elset for the 17 May 98 launch (if it occurs) follows:
>
>Iridium, Delta, 5/17/98, 21:15:56 UT
>1 98765U 980XXA 98138.40157280 -.00378067 00000-0 -55178-1 0 12
>2 98765 86.5706 256.3573 0009801 264.3271 95.7271 14.78175419 89
>
>There still remains the unresolved issue about differences between my
>elset and data provided by another individual. I am standing by my
>elset until proven wrong!
>
Thanks, Ron! After finding your messages while on the trip to Finland,
using only pen and pencil, I decided to stick to your elset(s).
I was rewarded as the string of five passed a star at RA 20:29:46,
decl.+49 02 (2000) above alp Cyg at 00:09:33.0 to 00:09:34.7 UT.
Just 4.3-6 seconds after Ron's elset. I was out late, so I missed the
predicted +4.2 peak magnitude, they were about +6 and fading.
I lost them after less than a minute.
I was also too late to look for the rocket.
Note that the elset assumes that they start climbing by decreasing MM
by 0.0075/day, and a similarly high B*. You may want to try
Iridium, Delta, 5/17/98, lower abs.ndot2/B*
1 98765U 980XXA 98138.40157280 -.00003780 00000-0 -55178-5 0 12
2 98765 86.5706 256.3573 0009801 264.3271 95.7271 14.78175419 89
so you won't have them pass before predictions.
---------------------------------------------------------------
-- bjorn@tt-tech.se (office) b_gimle@algonet.se (home) --
-- 59.2237N, 18.2286E, 44 m http://www.algonet.se/~b_gimle --
-- SeeSat-L / Visual Satellite Observer Home Page found at --
-- http://www.satellite.eu.org/satintro.html --
---------------------------------------------------------------