The payload elements (07027A and C) take advantage of Scott Campbell's very precise observations of 2007 Jun 18 UTC: http://satobs.org/seesat/Jun-2007/0233.html and Ed Cannon's most accurate position from his series of approximate discovery observations of 2007 Jun 16 UTC: 31701 07 027A 8730 G 20070616022144200 17 25 1650638-104504 28 S 71703 07 027C 8730 G 20070616022146400 17 25 1650638-104504 28 S The above are my reduction of Ed's observation of the appulse 20 Oph, as he described it (I used a miss-distance of 0.2 deg) : http://satobs.org/seesat/Jun-2007/0206.html NOSS 3-4 (A) 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.9 v 1 31701U 07027A 07169.11767374 .00000020 00000-0 20000-4 0 08 2 31701 62.6639 39.9716 0226981 161.9434 198.9828 13.65633615 01 NOSS 3-4 (C) 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.9 v 1 71703U 07027C 07169.11779601 .00000020 00000-0 20000-4 0 00 2 71703 62.6639 39.9798 0227142 161.9434 198.9834 13.65568162 08 The above elements agree with the faint trail in Babak A. Tafreshi's photos, as I discussed earlier: http://satobs.org/seesat/Jun-2007/0244.html The payload elements should be reasonably accurate, but are likely to be revised somewhat as additional precise observations are made. Observers should allow a couple of minutes prediction time uncertainty, and at least one degree of cross-track error. Also, keep in mind that the objects are manoeuvrable, and need to make some fairly large ones to achieve the intended orbit. I am much less confident in the Centaur elements, but they do agree well with the bright trail in Babak A. Tafreshi's photos, as I discussed earlier (see the above URL). Allow for at least 5 min prediction time uncertainty, and lots of cross-track error, especially on high elevation passes. NOSS 3-4 r 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 v 1 31702U 07027B 07166.77441821 .00000020 00000-0 20000-4 0 04 2 31702 63.5600 45.3807 0299881 161.5762 199.6425 13.68630000 00 The mean motion is a guess, based on the NOSS 3-3 launch, hence my low confidence in these elements. The above epoch corresponds to the first ascending node after Mr. Tafreshi took his photos. The predicted time of the trails is in accord with that of the payload trails, per the above elements. Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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