SPACEWARN Bulletin, SPX-598

  A publication of NASA NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information, and the 
       World Warning Agency for Satellites, for COSPAR/ISES.

    (All information in this publication was received between
                1 August 2003 and 31 August 2003.)

A.  List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UT).
    (USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.)
        
      COSPAR/WWAS  USSPACECOM  SPACECRAFT           
          INT.ID    CAT. #      NAME              LAUNCH DATE, UT
     -------------------------------------------------------------
       2003-040A (27875)   USA 170                 29 AUGUST 2003
       2003-039A (27873)   PROGRESS M-48           29 AUGUST 2003
       2003-038A (27871)   SIRTF                   25 August 2003
       2003-037B (27869)   COSMOS 2401             19 August 2003
       2003-037A (27868)   COSMOS 2400             19 August 2003
       2003-036A (27858)   SCISAT 1                13 August 2003
       2003-035A (27856)   COSMOS 2399             12 August 2003
       2003-034A (27854)   ECHOSTAR 9 (TELSTAR 13) 08 August 2003
   

B. Text of Launch Information

2003-040A  USA 170, also known as DSCS 3B6, is an American, Defense Satellite
           Communications System's geostationary, super-secure communication 
           satellite that was launched by a Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral
           AFS at 23:13 UT on 29 August 2003. It is the 10th and final member
           of the DSCS phase 3 fleet enabling worldwide links among the 
           American military personnel. The parking longitude is unavailable.

2003-039A  PROGRESS M-48 is a Russian automatic cargo carrier that was 
           launched by a Soyuz-FG rocket from Baikonur at 01.47 UT on 29 August
           2003. It carried 2.6 tonne of food, fuel, water, and equipment to be
           delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). It docked 
           automatically with the Zvezda module of the ISS at 3:45 UT on 31 
           August 2003. In anticipation, the previous carrier, PROGRESS M-47,
           containing the trash from the ISS was undocked and deorbited on 27 
           August. Initial orbital parameters were period 90.5 min, apogee
           347 km, perigee 253 km, and inclination 51.6 deg.
 
2003-038A  SIRTF (Space InfraRed Telescope Facility) is an American (NASA)
           astronomy satellite that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape 
           Canaveral at 05:35 UT on 25 August 2003. The 950 kg satellite is
           the fourth member of NASA's Great Observatories, the others being the
           Hubble Telescope, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory(decommissioned in
           June 2000), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. SIRTF, however, will
           be in a Sun-centered orbit at about 1 AU, moving behind the Earth
           closely, but receding by 0.1 AU/year. SIRTF Telescope has a Ritchey-
           Chretien design with a 85-cm, f/12 primary mirror backed by three 
           kinds of cryogenically maintained infrared detectors at the focal
           plane. About 360 liters of liquid helium help to maintain the 
           detectors at 1.5 Kelvin and the rest of the telescope at 5.5 
           Kelvin. There are three kinds of instruments in the focal plane.

           IRAC is an InfraRed Array Camera that will take broadband images at
           four wavelength bands, 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns, of galaxies,
           dust clouds, and the Kuiper Belt of ice balls located beyond Pluto's
           orbit. The detectors are 256 x 256 pixel array of either In-Sb or 
           Si-As. The field of view is 5 x 5 arc-min, with a resolution of one
           arc-min.

           IRS, an InfraRed Spectrograph is actually four separate 
           spectrographs, covering 5.3-14 micron band at low resolution, 10-
           19.5 micron band at high resolution, 14-40  micron band at low 
           resolution, and the 19-37 micron band at high resolution. Each is 
           backed by a 256 x 256 pixel array of Si-As or Si-Sb. Of 
           primary interest are the interstellar molecular absorption bands.
 
           MIPS is a Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF that is fed by a 
           scanning mirror to monitor the sky at three wavelength bands, at a 
           resolution of a few arc-min, with a 128 x 128 pixel array for the 24 
           micron band, a 32 x 32 array for the 70 micron band (or the 50-100
           micron band), and a 2 x 20 array for the 160 micron band. The field
           of view varies from 5 x 5 arcmin to 0.5 x 5 arcmin.

           In all, the SIRTF telescope will cover the infrared wavelength
           range of 3-180 microns. The program is managed by NASA's JPL, with
           Michael Werner as the Project Scientist, and David Gallagher as the
           Project Manager. Investigation of targeted topics will be
           funded through the "General Observer" Program. Another, novel program
           called the "Legacy Science" Program aims at archival quality, 
           exhaustive surveys involving massive observations of "general and 
           lasting importance to the broad scientific community", i.e., without
           targeted science topics, which would enable many specific 
           investigations in the future years. More details of the mission is
           available at http://sirtf.caltech.edu/. The initial (Earth-centered)
           orbital parameters were period 87.7 min, apogee 163 km, perigee 162
           km, and inclination 31.5 deg. However it will be maneuvered soon to 
           attain a heliocentric orbit of period about 363 days, at a radial 
           distance of about 1 AU, and inclination 0.0 degrees.

2003-037A, COSMOS 2400 and COSMOS 2401 are Russian military communications
2003-037B  satellites that were launched by a Cosmos 3M rocket from Plesetsk
           at 10:50 UT on 19 August 2003. The initial orbital parameters of 
           both were, approximately, period 115.7 min, apogee 1,501 km, perigee
           1,468 km, and inclination 82.5 deg.

2003-036A  SCISAT 1 is a Canadian (CSA) atmospheric research satellite that was 
           launched at 02:10 UT by a Pegasus XL rocket released from an 
           L-1011 cargo plane flying out of Vandenberg AFB on 13 August 2003. 
           The 152 kg, 70 W, "bias momentum stabilized" spacecraft points to 
           the Sun at one degree accuracy, and carries two instruments, FTS 
           and MAESTRO, to monitor the atmospheric ozone and dust composition
           in the 4-100 km altitude range. The Mission Scientist is Peter 
           Bernath of the University of Waterloo. More details of the mission
           and the instruments are available via http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/
           eng/. The initial orbital parameters were period 97.7 min, apogee
           655 km, perigee 642 km, and inclination 73.9 deg.

           FTS (Fourier Transform Spectrometer) is basically a Michelson 
           interferometer telescope with a primary lens, three secondary lenses
           at either side of a narrow slit, a beam splitter, a fixed mirror at
           the end of one beam and a movable mirror at the end of the other. 
           The reflected beams recombine after re-entering the splitter, 
           providing reinforced, annihilated or partially combined intensities,
           as the movable mirror is tuned. At an absorption band, in this case
           corresponding to a ozone absorption band, even the reinforced 
           intensity will be weak. The telescope is pointed at the setting or 
           rising Sun so that the long horizontal path in the atmosphere 
           maximizes the absorption at the (ozone) bands of interest. During
           the progression of the Sunrise/set, the data contains decipherable
           information on the vertical distribution of the ozone molecule.
           A Fourier transform is performed on the detector output, to
           decontaminate the output, so that the intensities are purely at 
           discrete wavelengths, uncontaminated by partial contributions from
           nearby wavelengths.

           MAESTRO (Measurements of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and
           Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation) is a reflecting grating 
           telescopic spectrometer consisting of a primary lens, a slit 
           flanked by secondary lenses on either side, a plane reflecting 
           grating and a detector. By slowly rotating the grating, lights of 
           different wavelengths will be enabled to impinge on the 
           photoelectric detector. In addition to providing a spectrum of 
           sunlight at the rising and setting positions, it will also enable
           derivation of the atmospheric extinction due to aerosols and dust. 
           No Fourier transformation of the detector output is called for. 

2003-035A  COSMOS 2399, also named NEMAN, is a Russian military photo-
           reconnaissance satellite that was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from
           Baikonur at 14:20 UT on 12 August 2003. The initial orbital 
           parameters were period 89.4 min, apogee 295 km, perigee 197 km, 
           and inclination 64.9 deg.

2003-034A  ECHOSTAR 9, also known as TELSTAR 13, is an American geostationary
           communications satellite that was launched by a Zenit 3SL rocket 
           from the floating Odyssey platform on the equatorial Pacific at 154
           deg-W longitude at 03:31 UT on 8 August 2003. The 4.7 tonne
           satellite carries 24 C-band, and a few Ku- and Ka- band transponders
           to provide direct-to-home and cable-fed high definition television 
           programs to all regions of North America after parking over 121 
           deg-W longitude. 

C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation

   1. Spacecraft with essentially continuous radio beacons on frequencies
less than 150 MHz, or higher frequencies if especially suited for
ionospheric or geodetic studies.  (NNSS denotes U.S. Navy Navigational
Satellite System. Updates or corrections to the list are possible only with
information from the user community.)

      THE FULL LIST APPEARED IN SPX 545. (See http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
      spacewarn/)
      THE LIST WILL NOT BE REPEATED IN  FUTURE ISSUES, UNTIL SIGNIFICANTLY
      REVISED AGAIN.
      
    2. Global Positioning System satellites useful for navigational purposes
and geodetic studies. High precision [< 20 cm] GPS constellation tracking data
obtained from the network of about 80 dedicated global stations that are of 
interest to geodetic study may be obtained through the following services 
provided by the International Association of Geodesy [IGS]).

                FTP:    igscb.jpl.nasa.gov  [directory /igscb]
                WWW:    http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/
                E-Mail: igscb@cobra.jpl.nasa.gov

The standard format of the GPS situation appeared in SPX-518. It will not be
repeated since an excellent source of trajectory- and science-related GPS
information is at URL
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html.
It provides many links to GPS-related data bases.

The latest addition to the fleet is NAVSTAR 51 (GPS 2R-8), 2003-005A.

    3. Russian Global Navigational (Positioning) Spacecraft, GLONASS
constellation. SPACEWARN requests updates or additions from readers to the
list. 

All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general COSMOS series. The COSMOS numbers
invoked by USSPACECOM have sometimes differed from the numbers (NNNN)
associated in Russia. The operating frequencies in MHz are computed from the
channel number K. Frequencies (MHz) are L1 = 1602.0 + 0.5625K and L2 = 1246.0 +
0.4375K. The standard format of the GLONASS situation appeared in SPX-545.
It will not be repeated in view of the excellent updated source, with the URL
http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/, or http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/english.html,
maintained by the Coordinational Scientific Information Center (CSIC), Russian
Space Forces.

    4. Visually bright objects. A comprehensive list of visually bright objects 
with their 2-line orbital elements is available from USSPACECOM, via a NASA 
URL. Go to Sec C-6 below and, after steps (1) through (6), click on "Special 
Interest Group Report". Then click on "Visible Interest Satellites", along 
with "Header and TLE". The list does not provide visual magnitude, but are
expected to be brighter than magnitude 5.

    5. Actual decays or landings of payload spacecraft and rocket bodies (R/B)
only. No further information is available.

Designations         Common Name                  Decay Date (UT), 2003
------------         -----------                     ----------
2003-039B (27874)  R/B Soyuz-FG                        31 Aug
2003-006A (27681)  PROGRESS M-47                       28 Aug
2002-029E (27447)  R/B (Aux.-Mot.) Proton-K            24 Aug
2003-035B (27857)  R/B Soyuz-U                         16 Aug
1993-067A (22875)  COSMOS 2265                         11 Aug
1979-020B (11286)  R/B that launched INTERCOSMOS 19    06 Aug
1970-011A (04330)  OSUMI (LAMBDA-4S)                   02 Aug
2003-003A (27647)  STS 107 (disintegrated)             01 Feb

    6. 60-day Decay Predictions. The USSPACECOM forecasts and maintains a 
list of decays of orbiting objects expected in the next 60 days, with fair 
accuracy. The list may be accessed through a NASA site, http://oig1.gsfc.
nasa.gov/scripts/foxweb.exe/app01?, as follows. (1) Click on "OIG Main Page". 
(2) Click on "Send Message to System administrator", who will provide a login 
account. (3) After getting an ID and a Password, click on "Registered User 
Login". (Step (2) is not needed after obtaining an account.) (4) Click on 
"Continue". (5) Click on "General information". (6) Click on "Reports". (7) 
Click on "Sixty Day Decay......". The login need is enforced after the 11 
September 2001 events.

   7. Miscellaneous Items. (This section contains information or data that are
entered on occasion and may not be repeated in each issue of the SPACEWARN
Bulletin.)

   8. Related NSSDC resources.

NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information is an archival center for science data
from many spacecraft. Many datasets are on-line for electronic access, through
the URL,
               http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
For off-line data, please contact the Request Office, NSSDC, Code 633, NASA
GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A., for specific information (REQUEST@
NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV). Information on the current status of the instruments
on board from the investigators will be most welcomed. Precomputed trajectory
files and orbital elements of many magnetospheric and heliospheric science-
payload spacecraft may be obtained from:
            ftp://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/miscellaneous/orbits

Other files of interest for Earth-centered s/c can be generated through the URL,
                  http://sscweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Codes related to the heliospheric spacecraft trajectories can be executed
through the URL,
                 http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/helios/heli.html
Descriptions of many spacecraft, experiments and datasets are available
through links from
                  http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/sc-query.html

===========================================================================

                         SPACEWARN Bulletin

The bulletin is intended to serve as an international communication medium
for the rapid distribution of information on satellites and space probes.  The
material it contains is based on guidelines in the COSPAR Guide to Rocket and
Satellite Information and Data Exchange, COSPAR Transactions #8, December 1972,
and various Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) resolutions.

All bulletins beginning with January 1991 (SPX-447) are now available on line;
the SPX number increases by one for each succeeding month (for example, the
January 1993 bulletin is SPX-471).

The bulletin may be accessed through the World Wide Web (WWW). The URL is
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/

Users are encouraged to submit their comments and suggestions for the
improvement of this bulletin to SPACEWARN Bulletin: WWAS@NDADSB.GSFC.NASA.GOV.

Categories of Spacecraft

To improve the effectiveness of international distribution of satellite and
space probe information via the SPACEWARN system, spacecraft are identified in
categories according to the urgency and detail of information needed by the
scientific community as follows:

CATEGORY 1:  Spacecraft that carry essentially continuous telemetry or radio
beacons, usually on frequencies less than 150 MHz.

CATEGORY 2: GPS constellation of positioning/navigational spacecraft.

CATEGORY 3: GLONASS constellation of positioning/navigational spacecraft.

CATEGORY 4: Occasionally, a list of bright, orbiting objects of visual
magnitude 4 or brighter.

The bulletin also carries launch dates, international IDs, and USSPACECOM
catalog numbers, followed by a brief outline of the payload and orbital
parameters, re-entry of major objects, and miscellaneous sections.
These data are based on launch announcements or on information received from
individuals, launching authorities, FBIS and USSPACECOM emails, news
papers, and some Web sites.