RE: OFEQ 3

Ted Molczan (molczan@fox.nstn.ca)
Tue, 1 Oct 1996 10:32:09 -0400

Michael P. Murphy wrote:

>Observed OFEQ 3, 23549 (95 18 A) this morning at 10:31 UTC, just after
>culmination near the moon.  Quite a strange sight, going "backwards" across
>the sky from east to west! 

Yes, it is a neat sight. If you like extremely 
retrograde orbits, there were three mid 1960's 
launches in the U.S.A.'s OV series that went 
into 144+ deg inclinations. Here are the major 
pieces that remain in orbit:

65078A  1613  OV1 2
65078B  1616  OV1 2 r

66025A  2121  OV1 4
66025B  2122  OV1 5
66025C  2123  OV1 5 r
66025D  2124  OV1 4 r

66063C  2328  OV1 8 r

All of these payloads and rocket bodies are small, but
should be visible in binoculars. The 65078 objects have
a 400 km perigee height, so they should be easy to 
observe at least some of the time. Those two objects are
included in my weekly xxx.n2l file.

Ted Molczan