I estimate the following orbital elements, assuming launch on 2005 Dec 19 at the start of the 8 h window, 19:00 UTC: Falconsat 2 r 3.4 1.7 0.0 6.6 d 1 72050U 05353.79444444 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 03 2 72050 39.0000 170.9534 0073000 70.0000 305.0000 15.39500000 05 I estimate the 2nd stage will reach about magnitude 4 on a good pass. Its tiny Falconsat 2 payload (a 35.6 cm cube) will be difficult to observe even with large binoculars. According to a post on the USENET, the 2nd stage will make a test burn sometime after payload separation. The orbit crosses the U.S. west coast about 22 min after launch, near 39 N. It crosses the east coast 9 min later, near 33 N. A launch delay of about 3 hours would result in a pass during evening twilight for the east coast. Greater delays would move evening visibility westward. Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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