The launch attempt has been delayed until 2006 Sep 11. Lift-off is scheduled for 04:35 UTC (two minutes later than the failed launch attempt of November 2003): http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=321475&ssid=27&sid=ENV Observers well north of about 50 N will have evening visibility. Note that unlike the first two IGS launches, this one will carry only the optical payload; the radar payload is expected to be launched early next year. Assuming the above launch time, and the same trajectory and sequence of events as the IGS 1 launch, I estimate the following orbits, about 9 h after launch, in order of passage through the ascending node. The NOTAM coordinates are somewhat different from those of the previous launches, which may invalidate these assumptions. The following are simple rotations of the search elsets I posted for the November 2003 launch: http://satobs.org/seesat/Nov-2003/0193.html IGS 2 adapter 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.4 v 1 70004U 06254.56275688 .00050000 00000-0 19198-2 0 14 2 70004 97.2979 11.9238 0007992 349.6872 10.4177 15.26466818 58 IGS 2 fairing1 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 v 1 70005U 06254.91800472 .00070000 00000-0 27026-2 0 32 2 70005 97.3130 12.2753 0006692 358.1528 152.3502 15.26292753 103 IGS 2 fairing2 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 v 1 70006U 06254.56285753 .00070000 00000-0 27213-2 0 19 2 70006 97.3037 11.9263 0005500 35.2895 324.8707 15.26071222 63 IGS 2A 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.7 v 1 70001U 06254.56290905 .00005000 00000-0 19563-3 0 17 2 70001 97.3059 11.9275 0005460 355.4383 4.6805 15.25857756 64 IGS 2 r 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6 v 1 70003U 06254.56439237 .00005000 00000-0 22876-3 0 13 2 70003 97.3006 11.8649 0067924 321.7503 37.8989 15.18458725 61 Here is a tabulation of the spacing of the above orbits, in seconds of time relative the Adapter, which is the leading object: Piece T + adapter (s) --------- --------------- Adapter +0.0 Fairing 1 +4.6 Fairing 2 +8.7 IGS 2A +13.1 2nd stage +141.3 These spacings will change over time due to differential rates of decay, and in the case of the payload, manoeuvres. The fairings are the most likely to flash, or at least exhibit a regular variation in brightness. Happy hunting! Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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