Elements derived from observation arc 2003 Oct 31 - Nov 05 UTC: DMSP F16 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.2 v 1 28054U 03048A 03309.77602995 .00000719 00000-0 38304-3 0 05 2 28054 98.9237 343.3467 0007163 234.8244 125.2258 14.13385542 04 WRMS residuals = 0.014 deg For all practical purposes, this hobbyist result is equivalent to USSTRATCOM's most recent available elset: 1 28054U 03048A 03308.57256580 .00000792 00000-0 44530-3 0 400 2 28054 98.9217 342.1417 0007081 225.1728 134.8869 14.13386048 2382 For a more direct comparison, here is the hobbyist elset, propagated to the same ascending node as USSTRATCOM's: 1 70000U 03308.57257332 .00000719 00000-0 38304-3 0 06 2 70000 98.9237 342.1467 0007171 238.2289 121.8184 14.13383812 03 Inclination and RAAN agree to within a few thousandth's of a degree. Periods agree to within 0.01 s. Perigee distances agree to 0.06 km. That binoculars and stopwatch can rival radars is not news. During the first 30 years of the space age, geophysicists used hobbyist observations alongside those of radars and telescopic cameras, to analyze satellite orbit perturbations, revealing details of Earth's upper atmosphere and gravity field. Many of the today's leading observers developed their skills as contributors to observing programs sponsored by the Optical Tracking Subcommittee of the British National Committee for Space Research, and Project Moonwatch of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. As good as the hobbyist elsets are, great respect is due USSTRATCOM, which routinely tracks some 9,000 objects in Earth orbit, and freely shares (most of) their orbital elements with the world, via NASA/OIG. Ted Molczan ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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