Got a couple of clear nights on Tues and Weds. Tues I was only able to sneak out for a few minutes to catch a few, but I got a good session in on Weds. Most importantly, I finally was able to snag a view of NanoSail-D2!!! I've been wanting to nab a view of this one since it deployed. It's going to de-orbit in a month or so and the calculations make it look like this week might be the only good opportunity to see it in the evening sky. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to see it since it was passing overhead around 7pm, just past sunset. But as luck would have it, I was in the right place at the right time with a clear and dark enough sky to spot it. Usually when I spot an object, I watch it briefly before checking it off and moving on to the next one. For the NanoSail-D2, I watched it as long as I could see it. Yay!
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 1-Mar-2011 Tuesday
8:59 PM - Name: SJ 11-01 LM Rocket aka CZ-2C R/B - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 2009-061-B
This is my first sighting of this Long March 2C III rocket. It was used to put the first (and currently only) Shijian 11 scientific and experimental satellite into orbit in 2009.
9:12 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This was a white shooting star falling down into the NE sky.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 2-Mar-2011 Wednesday
7:00 PM - Name: NanoSail-D2 - Magnitude: 1.9
Int'l Designator: 2010-062-L
This is my first sighting of the NanoSail-D2 solar sail. This solar sail was launched into orbit on November 20 2010 using a Minotaur IV rocket, and enclosed inside of FASTSAT. On Dec 6 2010, the command to release NanoSail-D2 from FASTSAT was given, the payload door opened, however NanoSail-D2 did not eject from FASTSAT. It was assumed that the payload was stuck inside of FASTSAT for good. On Jan 19 2011, it was confirmed that NanoSail-D2 had finally ejected. It is not known why it did not eject in the first place, nor is it known what ultimately caused the satellite to eject. NanoSail-D2 unfurled its 100 square-foot (10 x 10) solar sail a day later and then, for a few days, was able to transmit a homing signal. Several amateur radio enthusiasts were able to receive the signal before NanoSail-D2's internal batteries ran out (as expected)three days later. Currently it is projected that NanoSail-D2 will deorbit sometime in April or May.
7:21 PM - Name: COSMO-SkyMed 1 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2007-023-A
This is my 13th sighting of COSMO-SkyMed 1, the Italian earth observation satellite.
7:21 PM - Name: Cosmos 2082 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1990-046-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which launched the Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, Kosmos 2082.
7:35 PM - Name: Sich 1 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1995-046-C
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch Sich 1, the first Ukranian earth observation satellite. Here are some pics taken by the Sich 1.
7:36 PM - Name: Abrixas - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1999-022-A
This is my first sighting of the Abrixas satellite. ABRIXAS stands for "A Broadband Imaging X-Ray All-Sky Survey". It was a small satellite which had 7 x-ray telescopes on board. As cool as that sounds, the on-board battery was accidentally overcharged and the battery died three days after launch. Attempts to communicate failed and the $20 million project was abandoned. It was launched into orbit using a Kosmos-3M rocket. I spotted the ABRIXAS Rocket several times back in Oct 2010.
7:37 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 9th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
7:43 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which put the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 3M into orbit in 2001.
7:52 PM - Name: Shijian 6-3B aka SJ-6F - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-B
This is my 5th sighting of Shijian 6-F, a Chinese satellite studying the environment of space, though it is rumored that the Shijian 6 satellites are actually for ELINT. This satellite was launched using a Long March 4B (CZ-4B) rocket.
7:53 PM - Name: Hubble Space Telescope - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1990-037-B
This is my 2nd sighting of the Hubble Space Telescope. This one is usually hard for me to spot because it is nearly always low in the sky and in the south, which is basically towards the town... and the haze of all its street lamps. I usually don't even bother wasting time to attempt to spot it, but this eveing it was fairly clear and there wasn't much else to look for during that period so I took a shot at it and managed to spot it again.
7:56 PM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -0.9
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is 14th sighting of the International Space Station. I'm surprised that I saw this one because it was very low in the northern sky which basically would be behind my neighbor's house. But I started looking early on and spotted it before it went behind the house. Yay!
7:56 PM - Name: Lacrosse 5 - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2005-016-A
This is my 7th sighting of Lacrosse 5, a US recon satellite. It was put into orbit using a Titan IV-B rocket in 2005.
7:58 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr aka CZ-4B DEB - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 5th sighting of this piece of debris from the Long March 4B which launched the Chinese SJ-6E and SJ-6F satellites (see 7:52pm for sighting of SJ-6F).
8:00 PM - Name: Meteor 2-5 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1979-095-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 2-5 in 1979.
8:05 PM - Name: ADEOS 2 - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 2nd sighting of ADEOS II, a Japanese earth observation satellite. Its Japanese name is Midori 2.
8:13 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This shooting star was falling low in the NNE (30 degrees)
8:15 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This shooting star was nearly directly overhead in the west.
7:33 PM - Name: 79095AN - Magnitude: 5.5
Int'l Designator: 1979-095-AN
This is my first sighting of this piece of debris from Meteor 2-5. I can't quite figure out if this was something from the Vostok-2M rocket that launched it or if the satellite itself fragmented and this is a piece of that. Most times when it is debris from the rocket or the launch process, it is listed as such. This piece is listed as debris from Meteor 2-5, so I'm guessing that the satellite itself fragmented.
8:12 PM - Name: Taurus Rocket aka Celestis-02/Orion 38 - Magnitude: 4.8
Int'l Designator: 1998-007-D
This is my first sighting of this Taurus rocket which was used to launch the GFO and ORBCOMM satellites. This piece may actually be the Orion 38 upper stage, but I can't figure out which piece it is. I could talk about the satellites, but its more interesting to talk about the rocket itself. The Taurus has a fairly spotty history. It currently has a 33% failure rate which is not very good. Its latest failure occurred today (March 4th 2011). In an early morning launch, a Taurus rocket was support to put the $400 MILLION Glory satellite into orbit (along with 3 other satellites). Unfortunately, as had occur in its previous launch, the fairing (the piece that protects the satellites during liftoff) failed to separate. This caused there to be too much weight and the rocket failed to achieve orbit and thus it likely plummeted into the Pacific Ocean somewhere.
8:11 PM - Name: SJ 11-01 LM Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2009-061-B
This is 2nd sighting of this Long March 2C III rocket. It was used to put the first (and currently only) Shijian 11 scientific and experimental satellite into orbit in 2009.
8:38 PM - Name: Cosmos 1110 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1979-060-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which launched the Russian Strela-2M commication satellite, Kosmos 1110.
8:36 PM - Name: Cosmos 2084 - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1995-055-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 2084, a Russian Oko satellite which is used to detect missile launches. It was launched into orbit using a Molniya-M rocket in 1995. The Oko satellites are usually in a constellation of satellites to provide 24-hour coverage. They reportedly can spot the flame of a missile against a stellar background (i.e. in space) 20 to 30 seconds after launch. In September 1983, an Oko satellite erroneously reported several US ICBMs were being launched. Luckily, the Russian commander who was commanding the Oko satellites at that time did not report the indication to his superiors because he believed it was in error (which it was). It was later determined that the angle between the sun, the satellite and the missile fields resulted in reflections off high-altitude clouds that caused the detections. That kinda reminds me of WarGames, which oddly enough PRECEDED this event as it was released in June of 1983. Who knows, maybe the Russian commander had seen the movie and thought twice about launching a counter-strike.
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