Iridium platform decay alert for N. America
Craig Cholar (3432P@VM1.CC.NPS.NAVY.MIL)
Wed, 25 Feb 98 23:57:21 PST
The decaying Iridium 42 CZ platform (25080, 97077D) mentioned by Alan
Pickup is making 3 northbound evening passes over N. America Thursday
night, close to the possible decay time. Most of those tracks just miss
being lit by the sun, but if you are lucky it will be providing its
own illumination. Using Alan's 98058.05227022 elset (2/27 0115 UT),
Los Angeles has an unlit pass at elev. 50, az. 270 around 1850 PST 2/26
(2/27 0250 UT). It then may continue on to Washington and British
Columbia about 4 minutes later. The predicted height is only 130km
(80 miles) when it passes over S. California. To be directly under the
track, head over to the Ventura/Oxnard area.
It's a long shot for sure, but if you see the decay you might feel better
about not making the trip to the Caribbean to see the eclipse!
A helpful hint for newbies:
If you run your own predictions for decayers, you might want to
remember to turn off the sun check to get the unlit passes.
Craig Cholar 3432P@VM1.CC.NPS.NAVY.MIL