Thanks to Ted Molczan and Gerhard Holtkamp, I have been able to generate sighting information for the upcoming Shuttle mission, STS-114 for the Greater New York Area. I used the (DOS) software program SPACE BIRDS, which was developed in 1987 by former U.S. Air Force orbital analyst Roger L. Mansfield, in conjunction with (preliminary) two-line orbital elements (TLEs) to produce the following viewing schedule. It should, of course, be stressed that the information presented below for the Discovery orbiter assumes an on-time liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:51 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 13. On Wednesday evening, the ISS will appear at 9:35:17 p.m., low (10-degrees up) in the NNW sky. It will take 4 minutes and 46 seconds to track toward the ENE, reaching a maximum altitude of 22-degrees above the horizon. Just over a half hour later, at 10:06:47 p.m., Shuttle Discovery should appear low in the NNW sky. It will be visible for 1 minute 53 seconds, before it disappears into the Earth's shadow at a point 24-degrees above the NE horizon. SPACE BIRDS predicts that just before slipping into shadow, 47% of the orbiter will be illuminated by the Sun. On Thursday evening, the ISS will appear at 10:02:01 p.m., low in the NW sky. It will take 2 minutes and 49 seconds to track toward the E, reaching a maximum altitude of 54-degrees above the horizon. As the ISS is disappearing from view in the east, Shuttle Discovery should appear low in the NW sky at 10:05:10 p.m. It should be visible for 2 minutes 27 seconds, before it disappears into the Earth's shadow at a point 48-degrees above the NE horizon. SPACE BIRDS predicts that just before slipping into shadow, 63% of the orbiter will be illuminated by the Sun. -- joe rao ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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