Observation arc 2004 Mar 18.85 - 19.87 UTC: USA 129 15.0 3.0 0.0 5.3 v 1 24680U 96072A 04079.85875819 .00019773 00000-0 26010-3 0 07 2 24680 97.9724 141.3773 0531839 181.8987 178.0214 14.72375857 09 WRMS residuals = 0.02 deg The short observation arc to-date suggests that the eccentricity has increased, such that the mean perigee height has returned to its value prior to the perigee-raising manoeuvre several weeks ago. I find it difficult to believe that the operators would have done that, so for now I continue to set the eccentricity to conform with my assumption that the mean perigee distance has remained unchanged at about 284 km relative Earth's mean radius of 6371 km. I suspect that further tracking will reveal the eccentricity is between about 0.0531 and 0.0535 I also continue to freeze the B* decay term at its pre-manoeuvre value, until the arc grows sufficiently long to determine a reliable value. I was clouded-out last night, and tonight and tomorrow are unlikely to be better. Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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