Re: Icos 19 Info needed

Ted Molczan (molczan@fox.nstn.ca)
Wed, 31 Jul 1996 11:27:27 -0400

Ron Dantowitz wrote:

>This evening we observed Icos 19 (#11285) with our tracking scopes...
>although this satellite did not have a Molczan #, we were suprised at it's
>brilliance and angular size.

>Marek Kozubal reported some unusual structure even at only 80x... we will
>image it next time over, but does anyone have any info on the satellite
>and/or series?

I am not certain that I know what a Molczan number is, but from
the context, I guess you are referring to the dimensions or the
estimated standard magnitude, derived from the dimensions. Here
is how 79020A appears in the file 329.n2l:

In-Cosmos 19     1.5  1.8  0.0  7.1
1 11285U 79020  A 96206.22191964  .00000355  00000-0  22483-4 0  5275
2 11285  73.9651 254.7567 0178497 254.9827 103.1540 14.96538810934712

The dimensions were taken from the RAE Table of Satellites, in which
the object was estimated to be a 1.8 m x 1.5 m octagonal ellipsoid.
Since that was only an estimate, and given that you report seeing
a much brighter, larger object, I have decided to consult NASA/OIG's
satellite situation reports. Based on 8 reports, the object appears to
have a mean cross-sectional area of about 14.3 sq.m. I have entered
the corresponding diameter of 4.3 m into my database, which resulted
in the following name-line information:

In-Cosmos 19     4.3  0.0  0.0  5.2

>Also, we are interested in imaging large sats, and without Molczan #s, we
>are quite in the dark, so to speak.  If you are aware of BIG sats w/o
>Molczan#s, we would love to hear from you.

Just out of curiosity, have you imaged any of the objects I suggested
(listed below) in my message of 10 June 1996; if yes, where can we download
them? Many likely will be too small or too distant, but I would be
interested in learning the results of your obs. As we have seen with
79020A, we do not always have accurate dimensional data, so observations
can contribute useful information.

NORAD  Intl Des    Name         Dimensions   stdMv       Mission
------ -------- ------------  -------------- ----- --------------------
01314U 65027  A Snapshot      11.6  1.5  0.0  5.7  experimental RTG?  
01316U 65027  C Snapshot (C)   3.0  0.0  0.0  6.0  debris - a panel?
01389U 65027  D Snapshot (D)   3.0  0.0  0.0  6.0  debris - a panel?
04327U 70009  A SERT 2         7.6  1.5  0.0  6.1  ION thrust experiment
04786U 70103  A Cosmos 382     7.6  0.0  0.0  4.0  Soviet lunar module?
05560U 71089  A ASTEX          9.6  1.5  0.0  5.9  SAR imager?
06212U 72076  A Radcat        12.2  3.0  0.0  4.8  solar studies?
08074U 66056  H Pageos (H)     8.6  0.0  0.0  3.7  aluminized mylar sheet
10967U 78064  A Seasat        21.0  1.5  0.0  5.1	  SAR imager
17369U 87011  A Cosmos 1818    6.0  2.0  0.0  5.9  nuclear reactor
18122U 87052  A Cosmos 1860    6.0  2.5  0.0  5.6  nuclear reactor
20663U 90055  A Cosmos 2084    3.4  1.6  0.0  6.7  a Molniya in low orbit
21701U 91063  B UARS           9.8  4.6  0.0  4.4	  atmospheric research
23596U 95028  A Cosmos 2313    6.0  0.0  0.0  4.5  EORSAT
23674U 95051  A Cosmos 2320    7.0  2.0  0.0  5.8  IMINT
23710U 95059  A Radarsat       8.0  0.0  0.0  3.9	  SAR imager
23818U 96016  A Cosmos 2331    7.0  2.0  0.0  5.8	  IMINT