QuickBird 1 decay observed?

From: Alan Pickup (alan@wingar.demon.co.uk)
Date: Tue Nov 21 2000 - 09:54:26 PST

  • Next message: Alan Pickup: "Decay watch: 2000 Nov 21"

    Luis Hermida in Uruguay has emailed with a report of which I believe to
    be of the re-entry of the ill-fated QuickBird 1 satellite and/or its
    Cosmos 3M rocket. He states that luminous phenomena were witnessed by
    several people from lat 35 deg S / long 56 deg W at 00:15 UTC on
    November 21. Two big luminous objects and several small ones were
    observed. The general direction, seemed to be S-N.
    
    The second of two elsets issued for QuickBird 1 is:
    QuickBird 1                                      610 x 78 km
    1 26617U 00074A   00325.98147396 -.00001942  61402-5  00000-0 0    20
    2 26617  65.7786  26.6793 0395802 357.8364 186.5166 15.75231226    06
    
    Mike McCants's LATLONG program gives the following ground track:
    
        UTC      Latitude  Longitude
        00:05     48.1 S    64.8 W
        00:06     44.7 S    61.5 W
        00:07     41.3 S    58.6 W
        00:08     37.7 S    55.9 W
        00:09     34.1 S    53.6 W
        00:10     30.4 S    51.4 W
        00:11     26.7 S    49.4 W
        00:12     22.9 S    47.6 W
        00:13     19.0 S    45.8 W
        00:14     15.2 S    44.2 W
        00:15     11.3 S    42.6 W
    
    Note that it should have reached its very low perigee when close to the
    following northbound equator crossing at 00:18 UTC near longitude 38.2
    deg W, just NE of Brazil. The prediction is some 6 minutes early with
    respect to Luis's report, but the track and direction of motion are
    consistent and I surmise that the reported time may be late or that the
    object may have made a slightly lower and faster swoop around the Earth
    following its launch from Plesetsk at 23:00 UTC - perhaps a combination
    of both.
    
    
    Alan
    -- 
    Alan Pickup / COSPAR 2707:  55d53m48.7s N   3d11m51.2s W      156m asl
    Edinburgh  / SatEvo & elsets:    http://www.wingar.demon.co.uk/satevo/
    Scotland  / Decay Watch: http://www.wingar.demon.co.uk/satevo/dkwatch/
             *
    
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