RE: Shenzhou V North America ground tracks

From: Monroe Harden (hardenm@sprynet.com)
Date: Wed Oct 15 2003 - 16:03:27 EDT

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    I saw Cosmos 389 a minute or so before seeing the Shenzhou this AM too.  It was quite faint, and I could barely follow it with my unaided eyes.  It was a bit disorienting since I was not expecting to see another satellite so close in time to the expected Shenzhou time, but going in a completely wrong direction.  Once Cosmos 389 came over by Orion I went back to my scan for Shenzhou and then saw it in the right place, much brighter than Cosmos 389, and moving in the proper direction.  
    
    The Shenzhou started out very bright to me, almost as bright as Sirius, but it faded in magnitude as it moved westward.  By the time I lost it over the top of my house it was almost invisible, even though it was heading toward the sunrise.
    
    Monroe Harden
    Maryland, USA
    
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Ted Molczan <molczan@rogers.com>
    Sent: Oct 15, 2003 3:47 PM
    To: SeeSat-L <SeeSat-L@satobs.org>
    Subject: RE: Shenzhou V North America ground tracks
    
    Jimmy Dean wrote:
    
    > I think I saw it just a seconds ago looks like it passed 
    > right by the moon and thru Orion. Can anyone else confirm 
    > this? Wow was it moving fast!
    
    Cosmos 389 appears to account for your observation:
    
    Cosmos 389       5.0  1.5  0.0  5.4 v 14.6
    1 04813U 70113A   03287.50559406  .00131036  00000-0  54880-3 0  8421
    2 04813  81.1197 284.1220 0006855 168.2530 191.9043 15.85177317786006
    
    As seen from Philadelphia on 2003 Oct 15, it was headed south, passing near the
    moon at 9:55:56 UTC, then through Orion less than 30 s later. At culmination its
    angular velocity was 1.25 deg/s, which is quite fast.
    
    Ted Molczan
    
    
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