Amateur/Lurker here in California. I have some Calipso passes over the next few months and would like to try to observe/photograph the green laser. I see that the laser is down for most of Mar/Apr due to a leak, but I have good passes in May. I would be appreciative if someone could clear up some of these questions... 1. I normally usually use Heavens-Above and HeavenSat to spot ISS, STS, and Iridiums. Is there a better tool (using Windows) for making ground tracks? H-Above provides little detail. SeeSat archives mention http://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/tools/overpass/coords, but this appears to be only historical data, and I don't know how to make a ground track from it. 2. I see mentions of "orbit raise" and "drag make-up maneuver". What is the difference? Is it safe to assume they only affect timing by a few seconds and not the ground track? 3. Since the beam width on ground is only 70 meters, how do I fine tune or verify position? How would I generate coordinates for use with GPS? Thanks in advance Paul B. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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