From my visual obs over the past six weeks , I suspect that SES Astra 1B is now irrecoverable , or at very least suffering major problems. I first noticed the increased brightness of the bird back on November 28th .At that time , it was also well to the east of the rest of the group , so whatever happened to it took place in early/mid November. Subsequently , I understand all programming on that spacecraft was transferred to other satellites in the fleet at 19 .2 east. I think amongst other things , SES may have had problems with pointing , that might well account for the increased brightness. During this time TLEs for the Astras were a bit sparse , so it was pointless trying to rely on tracking , other than visual obs. The latest TLEs for 1B ( day 360 ) put it at 19.24 east.... my last visual obs were on December 19 ...when the satellite was certainly well out to the east , at least 19.6 E Until further visual observations can be carried out it is difficult to determine just where it now is . There has been no official word from SES....although I have mailed SES Global today to see if I can get confirmation. / clarification John ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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