Introduction and STS88/ISS/Cosmos 2265r sighting report
Peter_Kappesser@promail.com
Wed, 16 Dec 1998 01:20:44 -0500
Hello! I've recently joined the list, with the (high-inclination)
Shuttle/ISS mission rekindling my interest in spotting satellites. I
first got started about 10 years ago, running a program on my Apple ][
and using the Prediction Bulletins NASA mailed to me. What a change,
being able to get fresh elements almost immediately! Back then I was
mainly watching Mir, Soyuz T and Progress spacecraft, having an
interest in the Soviet space program. I recall seeing a triple pass of
Mir, a crewed Soyuz transport, and Salyut 7 within a few minutes of
each other. The date was June 25 (my birthday) but I'm not sure of the
year -- probably 1988 or 1989.
Had a great sighting of Endeavour and ISS Tuesday morning in Syracuse,
NY. The prediction was right on the money, with the Shuttle appearing
in the northwest at 6:07 am, quite bright, and the Space Station at
about 6:08:30, somewhat fainter. (I'm no good at estimating magnitudes,
yet.) I saw them from a hill at a city park, but the viewing was quite
good despite the light pollution. They both passed nearly overhead to
the south, then receded to the southeast. I could see the Shuttle
transit the crescent moon, but the Space Station faded from view before
it reached the moon's disk.
I'm using OrbiTrack on my Macintosh. Here's the data:
Station: Syracuse, NY (Schiller Park)
Latitude: 43 deg 4 min 3 sec N
Longitude: 76 deg 8 min 20 sec W
Height: 130 meters
Time Zone: EST (UTC -5)
ISS
1 25544 98067A 98348.73810309 -.00015977 00000 1 -20240-3 0 1223
2 25544 51.5932 44.4983 0009286 251.5949 108.3968 15.57999493 3839
STS 88
1 25549 98069A 98349.25121124 .00002588 00000 1 32289-4 0 439
2 25549 51.5737 41.9149 0012638 241.9328 122.8485 15.59105811 1728
I e-mailed the sighting prediction to some friends, and two of them
were able to see the Shuttle and space station, and were thrilled! Does
anyone on the list provide predictions to be published in local
newspapers? Might be interesting, at least for shuttle missions. I work
for a TV station, and gave the pass prediction info to one of the
meteorologists, who mentioned it briefly on the air.
While waiting for the Shuttle to appear, at 6:03 am I saw another
satellite almost due north, passing through the bowl of the Big Dipper
and heading toward the horizon. Using OrbiTrack's "Satellite Search"
feature, I think this was Cosmos 2265 r (1993 067B, NORAD 22876).
Cosmos 2265 r 7.4
1 22876 93067B 98344.02568993 .00076901 -20149-6 90499-3 0 3028
2 22876 82.8808 170.9986 0528850 148.2809 215.1423 14.75012687266262
--
Peter_Kappesser@promail.com