Tom wrote: >I wonder if in the future the community at large will know when the >Space Shuttle is going to reenter or is NASA going to eliminate that as >well? Seems like the public aided NASA a great deal on the last one. We shouldn't jump to conclusions. The idea is not to eliminate supplying TLE to the public, but to create a pilot program by which instead of NASA distributing the information, it will now be distributed by the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). (It would be interesting to know why someone thought that such a change was necessary.) The immediate problem* is that NASA is planning on cutting off its service on October 1st even though there is no sign that the AFSPC will have the pilot program up and running by then. As I understand it, there is no legal obligation for NASA to discontinue providing TLE data on October 1st. I would suggest that all Americans on this list write to their local congressman asking that the current service be maintained until an alternative is ready. You can send an email, but a written letter tends to be more effective. Congressmen (members of the House of Representative) are very responsive to appeals from their constituents. Also, if a congressman sends a letter to a government office, a reply must be sent within 48 hours. The situation is worrying. I run a commercial web site that depends on TLE information, so I'm VERY worried, but it might not be a disaster. After all, the purpose of the pilot program is to provide TLE information. But letters to Congress might help things to move in the direction we would like. Ed Ehrlich - SkyWatch - The Astronomical Alarm Clock <webmaster@sky-watch.com> Jerusalem, Israel http://www.sky-watch.com *There are other possible problems also. Will there be a charge for the information? Will it be distributed in a timely manner? What format will be used? But for the moment, I suggest that we concentrate on the immediate problem of maintaining the flow of TLE information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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