Re: Mir is leaking?
Alan Pickup (alan@wingar.demon.co.uk)
Thu, 14 Oct 1999 20:50:48 +0100
Brian Hunter <bkh@chem.queensu.ca> writes
>Has anyone done a calculation on when Mir might reenter if control were lost
>today?? Alan?
Over the past 40 days, Mir's semimajor axis (its "average height") has
contracted at an average rate of 216 metres per day. Its apogee has
fallen from 356 to 346 km during that time and its perigee from 350 to
342 km.
My last SatEvo decay list predicted 2000 May-July as Mir's re-entry
window, but I would have to shift that about one month earlier on the
basis of recent drag values. That 40-day average implies re-entry in
May, 2000, but drag rates over the past few days (if sustained) could
bring it down as early as March.
Alan
--
Alan Pickup | COSPAR 2707: 55d53m48.7s N 3d11m51.2s W 156m asl
Edinburgh | Tel: +44 (0)131 477 9144 Fax: +44 (0)870 0520750
Scotland | SatEvo page: http://www.wingar.demon.co.uk/satevo/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe'
in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org
http://www2.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html