Cassandra Williams wrote: > Having read emails sent to this list a few years ago > regarding the (mis)identification of a large inflatable decoy > as USA 144. Given that USA 144 still hasn't been seen, and > having seen a patent application dated 1990 for an inflatable > stealth spy satellite, I was curious as to whether, perhaps > this is not a decoy, but USA 144 itself. I discussed the pros and cons of the high object we now call 99028C / 25746 as the primary payload here: http://satobs.org/seesat/Aug-2002/0075.html The main problems are that its cross-sectional area would have to be huge, and sun-facing, which is inconsistent with any known reconnaissance payload. Also, it rotates slowly. In any case, neither characteristic applied to Misty 1 (90019B / 20516), so even if it is the primary payload, it is not a Misty. Most likely, its mass is a few hundred kilograms, and its major dimension about 5 m, which is consistent with a large piece of debris, or as some of us believe, a decoy. I have come to believe that the primary payload, 99028A / 25744, was Misty 2, based on the similarity to Misty 1 of its initial orbit and LEO debris-shedding. Also, I estimate that the Titan IVB, which was on its first launch from VAFB when it launched 99028A, had just enough performance to launch a Misty plus a light-weight manoeuvrable decoy. > Has anyone seen this object recently, and can anyone report > the approximate shape of the object? 99028C / 25746 is observed regularly, but it is far too distant for the optics typically used by hobbyists to resolve its dimensions or shape. Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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