Re: Question on Proton/Nimiq Launch
Phillip Clark (psclark@dircon.co.uk)
Fri, 21 May 1999 19:09:56 +0100 (BST)
On Fri, 21 May 1999, Ron Lee wrote:
> UNK
> 1 25740U 99027A 99141.11038716 -.00000282 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 00024
> 2 25740 048.5541 224.5122 7292818 000.1900 098.0441 02.28455169000011
> UNK
> 1 25740U 99027A 99141.22474593 -.00000189 00000-0 00000+0 0 39
> 2 25740 15.8459 227.1045 5169358 359.9529 186.0803 1.87314711 12
> I had seen the elsets except for the second #25740 elset and wondered
> about the Blok DM (?) object. Supposedly it was to separate from the
> payload ...likely at apogee of the transfer orbit. The second #25740
> elset shown here shows a definite apogee burn to reduce the inclination
> and partially circularize the orbit.
> Was this burn done by the Blok DM? If not, where is the elset for that
> object?
I am interested in the first orbit - the original GTO - being at 48.5 deg
since none of the previous commercial Proton-K launches has done a
perigee plane change: GTO has remained at 51.6 deg. I wonder why they
changed. Of course, all of the domestic launches to GEO have involved a
plane change to ~47.5 deg with the perigee burn.
As for the 15.8 deg orbit for the satellite - this is where the Blok DM3
should be. Also I have put together a mathematical model to predict the
"separation orbit" parameters for these commercial missions based upon
the mass of the satellites, and for Nimiq 1 is should be 15.95 deg: the
model will be presented at the British Interplanetary Society meeting two
weeks tomorrow (June 5th).
As for "where is the Blok DM3 ?", I would guess USSPACECOM has just to
find it. After all, they took months to find the Blok DM from the
commercial INMARSAT-3 2 launch, so compared with that a few hours is
nothing ! :-)
Phillip Clark
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Phillip S Clark 25 Redfern Avenue
Molniya Space Consultancy Whitton
Compiler/Publisher, Worldwide Satellite Launches Middx TW4 5NA
U.K.
Specialist in "space archeology" - the older and more obscure the more
interesting it is !
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