> 2002-016A 27403 ITSO 1436.1 0.0 35799 35775 0.0000 > INTELSAT 903 Launched (2002/03/30) > > 2002-016B 27404 CIS 698.1 25.5 35863 3514 27.3241 > SL-12 R/B(2) Launched (2002/03/30) This launch is the reason for the missing catalogue numbers ! I am sure that USSPACECOM reserved the usual sequence of catalogue numbers for this launch before they reaqlised that the three stages of the Proton-K were sub-orbital, and therefore the third stage and what I call the fourth stage casing/shroud were also sub-orbital. Maybe they also reserved a catalogue number for an ullage motor as well (we don't get these on _commercial_ Proton-K launches, they remain attached to the fourth stages). Anyway, they later filled in a gap with the CRRES debris object and then maybe just "forgot" about the other two unused catalogue numbers. Don't forget that a lot of the work on the cataloguing is done by human beings and thus is prone to error. Regarding the recent GLONASS launch, my guess for the absence of the Proton-K third stage and the fourth stage shroud is that these were in short-lived orbits and - again - due to human error they were not transferred to the public catalogue before they decayed from orbit. If you check back, you will see that the parking orbits used for GLONASS launches are much lower than those used on GEO Proton-K missions, meaning a much more rapid decay from orbit. I certainly doubt that the Blok DM-2(M) from this launch performed LEO injection - there is no reason for the launch profile to be changed after all these years. I would also look out for the two ullage motors bing catalogued from this launch: they will be up there, it's once more down to a human being transferring them to the public catalogue. Phillip Clark ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Dec 28 2002 - 06:21:40 EST