Daniel Deak wrote: > > Since the B designation was assigned to the Titan IVB 2nd > > stage, and since the object in question probably is an > > unacknowledged second payload, I suggest calling it 99028C / 25746. > > > > Ted Molczan > > Hi Ted, > > I agree. And also the object should be named USA 144 DEB. I am less concerned about the name we assign it, than I am about the international designation and catalogue number. I believe there is now general agreement that the object in question is not USA 144. Also, I believe there is general agreement that its orbital perturbations and optical behaviour (it rotates) suggests that it is debris-like. A low mass decoy could also appear debris-like, and some folks, including myself, have come to believe that it probably is a decoy. I doubt there is general agreement on whether it is debris or a decoy, so it reasonable to expect some folks to include "debris" in their name for the object, and others to include "decoy". I have just looked at Mike's latest orbital elements updates, and I see that he has adopted my recommendation for 99028C / 25746, and is using the name "USA 144 Deb". I will call it "Misty 2 Decoy". Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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