This message announces an important new SeeSat-L rule, so please read it carefully. On 2005 Jan 3, I registered to use Space-Track.org, which is expected to replace NASA/OIG after 2005 Mar 31, as the only official U.S. government-operated source of 2-line orbital elements and related information. The Space-Track.org site is well-designed, and it offers several enhancements over NASA/OIG, including: - historical data can now be accessed immediately - a file containing the latest elements of all objects that have been updated within the past 30 days is made available as a bulk download. It is updated twice per day. - bulk files containing all updated elsets issued on each UTC calendar day The one unhappy note is the very restrictive user agreement, which requires obtaining approval from the U.S. Secretary of Defense in order for a user to share data obtained from Space-Track.org with a third party. Somehow, I doubt that the speed of such approvals would be commensurate with the speed of a satellite. Late last week, I contacted Space-Track.org to learn whether or not any simplified/expedited approval process to share elements exists. I was informed that one does not exist at this time, but there appears to be a recognition of the need for a streamlined process, and early efforts in that direction are under way. How long this will take, and what form any approval procedure may take, is unknown. In the meantime, in order to comply with Space-Track.org's user agreement, I no longer share with anyone, elements or other data, e.g. RCS values, that could have been obtained from that site. This includes elements of unclassified objects obtained from NASA/OIG or third parties, since those same elements are now available from Space-Track.org, making it almost impossible to prove their origin. This applies also to historical elements, since those now are also available from Space-Track.org. Where in the past I might have included an elset of an unclassified object to substantiate an argument, now I state only its name, international designator, catalogue number and epoch of the elset in question, and leave it to interested readers to obtain the actual elset. From now, until further notice, I expect all SeeSat-L subscribers, even those who are not yet Space-Track.org subscribers, to follow this same practice when posting to the list. Elements of classified objects produced by hobbyists or other non-U.S. Government sources remain on topic. Also acceptable are U.S. Government elements of now classified objects that were issued by NASA/OIG prior to classification. I recommend that all who anticipate the need/desire to share elements and other data obtained from Space-Track.org, to contact them and suggest what form of approval process would work best for you. That is what I intend to do. Hopefully, before too long, a practical process will emerge. Discussion of this post, as well as Space-Track.org and its user agreement are on topic. Ted Molczan Admin, SeeSat-L ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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