The NOTAM for the 2003 Nov 29 UTC launch attempt has been issued: A4746/03 (11/077) - AIRSPACE RESERVATION ACTIVATED ON JAPANESE H-II ROCKET NO.6 STATIONARY RESERVATION WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 1241N/13108E 1159N/13345E 0725N/13231E 0806N/13000E 0825N/13000E SFC UNL 29 NOV 03:00 UNTIL 29 NOV 06:00 As expected, it is similar to that of the previous launch attempt. The co-ordinates are slightly different, but the launch period remains 03:00 - 06:00 UTC. IGS 2's intended sun-synchronous orbital plane results in a brief visibility window near the summer solstice, with passes occurring after local midnight. Northern hemisphere observers will have to wait for their turn next summer, but southern hemisphere observers well south of 30 deg S will have visibility immediately. The further south the better, so our friends in New Zealand will have the best seats in the house. Observers in southern parts of South Africa and Australia will have passes at elevations below about 30 deg, which should be manageable because all of the objects are bright. If anyone would like to try his or her hand at making some positional observations of these objects, I would be please to provide look angles. Please e-mail me, if you are interested. I have already heard from one observer, who may be able to participate. Based on Japanese media reports prior to the previous launch attempt, I believe that lift-off is scheduled for 2003 Nov 29 at 04:33 UTC. Assuming that time is correct, 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: IGS 2 adapter 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.4 v 1 70004U 03333.56136799 .00050000 00000-0 19198-2 0 18 2 70004 97.2979 89.0190 0007992 349.6872 10.4177 15.26466818 51 IGS 2 fairing1 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 v 1 70005U 03333.56142180 .00070000 00000-0 27065-2 0 03 2 70005 97.3130 89.0229 0006909 359.5750 0.5482 15.26243026 05 IGS 2 fairing2 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 v 1 70006U 03333.56146864 .00070000 00000-0 27213-2 0 13 2 70006 97.3037 89.0215 0005500 35.2895 324.8707 15.26071222 66 IGS 2A 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.7 v 1 70001U 03333.56152016 .00005000 00000-0 19563-3 0 12 2 70001 97.3059 89.0227 0005460 355.4383 4.6805 15.25857756 67 IGS 2B 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 v 1 70002U 03333.56179118 .00005000 00000-0 20288-3 0 00 2 70002 97.3011 89.0173 0002527 265.0271 95.0678 15.24650418 00 IGS 2 r 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6 v 1 70003U 03333.56300348 .00005000 00000-0 22876-3 0 18 2 70003 97.3006 88.9601 0067924 321.7503 37.8989 15.18458725 64 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 IGS 2B +36.6 2nd stage +141.3 These spacings will change over time due to differential rates of decay, and in the case of the payloads, manoeuvres. The fairings are the most likely to flash, or at least exhibit a regular variation in brightness. Happy hunting! Ted Molczan ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Nov 27 2003 - 10:08:10 EST