Sessions have been very short and infrequent as of late. If it wasn't for the storms making everything so darn cloudy all the time, the other issue is the fact that the sun doesn't set until 9pm and it doesn't even get truly dark until 10pm at which point sometimes I just want to go to sleep.
Most sessions were literally occurring as I was going to bed. I would step outside long enough to see just one satellite and then coming back inside.
One cool session was on June 13th when I showed my Mrs the ISS. Funny thing is that I knew about what time the ISS was going to be going overhead. When I saw it, I called to her and said 'Do you want to see the International Space Station?'. She said 'Sure'. So she stepped outside and there it was, though I though it was a bit faint, but since it was early eveing I thought that maybe it just wasn't as bright. So she saw the little light going across the sky and said 'Cool!'. It was at that point that I saw a REALLY REALLY bright thing out of the corner of my eye. THAT was the ISS. So I said, 'honey, I've made a mistake. you didn't see the ISS.' I then pointed above and said 'THAT'S the ISS'. She said 'Holy $#!%". I told her that it was bright because the sun had just set and that, well, it's the size of a freaking football field and if you look closely enough, you can see that it's not a round dot but kinda has a different shape to it. She thought it was cool. It was nice to share with her what I do when I'm standing outside for an hour or two.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 26-May-2011 Thursday
10:20 PM - Name: Cosmos 2219 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 1992-076-B
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 2219, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1992.
10:56 PM - Name: Cosmos 2297 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.2
Int'l Designator: 1994-077-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket body which was used to launch Kosmos 2297, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 27-May-2011 Friday
11:09 PM - Name: SeaSat 1 - Magnitude: 4.7
Int'l Designator: 1978-064-A
This is my 2nd sighting of SeaSat 1, an ocean observation satellite for monitoring ocean currents, wave heights and sea surface temperature. It was launched in 1978 using an Atlas-F Agena-D rocket. At the time, it was pretty impressive. Of note, it was the first satellite designed for remote sensing of the oceans and also the first satellite to have synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (aka, take several scans using a radar to get a picture than what is possible by just doing one scan). There's even conspiracy theory around this satellite. Supposedly, the satellite was sensitive enough to be able to detect the wakes of submerged submarines. According to the conspiracy theory, the military shut down SEASAT due to concerns that possibly a foreign military might be able to intercept the data from SEASAT and use it for recon, so they baked a story about a power failure.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 30-May-2011 Monday
10:02 PM - Name: Lacrosse 4 - Magnitude: 1.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-047-A
This is my 5th sighting of Lacrosse 4, a spy sat for the National Reconnaissance Office, or the NRO for short. This nights observation had a bit of a slow strobe to it. A little history: It was launched on August 17, 2000 using a Titan IV-B rocket. But you didn't hear that from me. :P
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 2-Jun-2011 Thursday
10:19 PM - Name: IGS 1B - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2003-009-B
This is my first sighting of IGS 1B, a Japanese spy satellite. IGS stands for 'Information Gathering Satellite'. IGS 1A, an optical spy satellite, and IGS 1B, a radar based spy sat, were launched in 2003 using an H-2A rocket (specifically an H2A2024. It is stated that the first set of IGS satellite was launched in response to the situation where North Korea tested missles over Japan in 1998. Since IGS 1A/1B, three other sets have been put into orbit (a fifth set was destroyed in late 2003 when the H-2A rocket failed). IGS 1B ceased functioning in March 2007 due to a power failure.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 3-Jun-2011 Friday
10:06 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 5th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1441, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite.
10:19 PM - Name: CZ-2C R/B aka Shiyan 2 LM Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2004-046-B
This is my first sighting of this Chinese Long March 2C rocket (or more specifically CZ-2C-III). This rocket was used to launch Shiyan 2, a civilian satellite capable of producing stereo earth terrain maps.
10:26 PM - Name: UARS - Magnitude: 0.6
Int'l Designator: 1991-063-B
This is my 3rd sighting of UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite). UARS was a huge,c omplex satellite which consisted of no less than 9 instruments that measured/studied things like natural microwave thermal emissions, winds from auroras, and total solar irradiance (of which I know nothing about). UARS was launched into orbit in 1991 using Space Shuttle Discovery as part of STS-48. Of note, the Internation Space Station had to take avoidance maneuvers on October 28 2010 in response to the flight path of UARS.
10:44 PM - Name: Envisat - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 2002-009-A
This is my first sighting of Envisat, a European (ESA) earth observation satellite. It contains nine different instruments that are used to study things like ozone depletion, ocean temperature and color, wind waves, hydrology (humidity, floods), agriculture and arboriculture, atmospheric dispersion modelling (pollution), etc. It was launched into orbit in 2002 using a Ariane 5G rocket from the French Guyana. Note: It's possible that the object I sighted was NOT Envisat. I was free-styling (observing without a given list) and if I remember correctly, things weren't matching up exactly but Enivsat was the closest thing that somewhat matched the orbit, time, etc. However, I would eventually accurately spot Envisat on June 14th 2011 (see below).
10:49 PM - Name: Spot 5 Rocket aka IDEFIX/ARIANE 42P - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2002-021-B
This is my first sighting of this Ariane 42P (specifically Ariane-42P H10-3) rocket which was used to launch 2 satellites in 2002. This launch was the last launch for the Ariane 42P. The two satellites aboard were SPOT 5, a French high-res optical imaging satellite and Indefix which was a payload attached to the final stage of the Ariane and was used to prove that it was it was feasible to use the spent final stages of a rocket to carry experimental payloads that do not require things such as specific altitude, solar orientation, blah blah blah etc. So, in short, what I spotted was actually the Indefix part.
11:00 PM - Name: X-37B OTV 2-1 - Magnitude: 1.8
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my 3rd sighting of X-37B OTV 2-1, the 'top secret' Air Force little mini-spaceshuttle. As always, the public has no knowledge of what this little spacecraft is doing up there, but it's still up there. It's official designation is USA-266. I checked but couldn't find any end date for the mission, however it was launched on March 5th 2011 from an Atlas V 501 rocket and was designed to stay in space for 270 days, so if it maxxes out its stay in space, it'll come home around Christmas time.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 6-Jun-2011 Monday
10:40 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This was an orange shooting star that started nearly overhead in the NE and streaked to the west.
10:47 PM - Name: CZ-2C R/B aka Shiyan 2 LM Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 2004-046-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Chinese Long March 2C rocket (or more specifically CZ-2C-III) that was used to launch Shiyan 2 earth observation satellite.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 13-Jun-2011 Monday
These are the two satellites that I got to see with the Mrs.
10:11 PM - Name: NOSS 3-2 Rocket aka ATLAS 2AS CENTAUR R/B - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 2003-054-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Atlas 2AS Centaur rocket. This rocket was used to put 2 NOSS (Naval Ocean Surveillance System) satellites, specifically the NOSS 3-2 pair of satellites. Earlier incarnations of NOSS sets (first and second generation) had three satellites.
10:17 PM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -3.4
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is my 16th sighting of the International Space Station.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 14-Jun-2011 Tuesday
9:12 PM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -2.8
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is my 17th sighting of the International Space Station. For this sighting, the sun had only set 4 minutes prior to spotting (sunset was at 9:08pm), so the sky was still very bright.
10:19 PM - Name: ETS-7 - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1997-074-B
This is my first sighting of ETS-7 (Engineering Test Satellite) from Japan. This satellite was launched aboard an H2 in 1997. The ETS-7 was an experiment in space rendezvous docking and space robotics. It actually consisted of two parts, a chaser and a target satellite. Of note, it was the first satellite in the WORLD to have a robotic arm, as well as being the first unmanned satellite to perform autonomous docking successfully.
10:27 PM - Name: Cosmos 2278 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 1994-023-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2278, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1994.
10:33 PM - Name: Cosmos 1844 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1987-041-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 1844, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1987.
10:41 PM - Name: Envisat - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2002-009-A
This is my 2nd sighting of the European Envisat earth observation satellite.
10:48 PM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -2.1
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is my 18th sighting of the Internation Space Station. It also may mark the first time that I've spotted a satellite twice in the same evening.
10:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 2082 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1990-046-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2082, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1990.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 15-Jun-2011 Wednesday
9:44 PM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -3.5
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is my 19th sighting of the Internation Space Station.
10:13 PM - Name: Cosmos 2278 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 1994-023-B
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2278, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite into orbit in 1994.
10:13 PM - Name: Cosmos 1263 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1981-033-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. This rocket was used to put the Ukranian Taifun-1 military target satellite (mostly for radar calibration) into orbit in 1981.
10:19 PM - Name: Cosmos 1222 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 1980-093-B
This is my first sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to put Kosmos 1222, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1980.
10:21 PM - Name: NOSS 3-5 (B) - Magnitude: 4.4
Int'l Designator: 2011-014-B
10:21 PM - Name: NOSS 3-5 (A) - Magnitude: 4.4
Int'l Designator: 2011-014-A
This is my first sighting of the NOSS 3-5 pair of satellite. NOSS stands for Naval Ocean Surveillance System. The official NASA designation for this pair of satellites is USA-229. It is rumored that this may be a fourth generation set of satellites. If I recall correctly, there was a shooting star that I saw back in April, when this pair was launched, that I through might be the re-entry of the NOSS 3-5 rocket, though that turned out not to be the case.
10:25 PM - Name: ARGOS - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1999-008-A
This is my 3rd sighting of the ARGOS (Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite). This sighting was unique in that there was a 3 second flare from the satellite. This satellite has a whole slew of different payloads (a total of 9) that sense and look at all kinda of stuff. Some of the payloads are: CERTO - Coherent Electromagnetic Radio Tomography Experiment, CIV - Critical Ionization Velocity Experiment, EUVIP - Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Photometer Experiment, HTSSE II - High Temperature Superconductivity Space Experiment and USA - Unconventional Stellar Aspect. This satellite was sponsored by the DoD BTW. It was put into orbit in 1999 usign a Delta II rocket (a Delta 7920 to be exact).
10:31 PM - Name: Shiyan 2 LM Rocket aka CZ-2C R/B - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2004-046-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Chinese Long March 2C rocket (or more specifically CZ-2C-III) that was used to launch Shiyan 2 earth observation satellite.
10:31 PM - Name: Cosmos 2056 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1990-004-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 2056, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite. Of note, when realing the info on the Strela-2M, it appears that the Strela-2M satellites have a life of about 2 to 3 years, which seems a bit wasteful or something. This (and various other Strela-2M satellites) are spinning around the earth, cluttering up space. Maybe they should plan on deorbiting them when they are done. Thie one has been spinning around the earth being usesless for the past 25 years. Geeeeeez. (And I'm not just finger-pointing at the Russians, as I am certain that the USA has just as many useless, defunct satellites spinning around the earth.)
10:33 PM - Name: NOSS 3-2 Rocket aka ATLAS 2AS CENTAUR R/B - Magnitude: 2.6
Int'l Designator: 2003-054-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Atlas 2AS Centaur rocket. This rocket was used to put the NOSS 3-2 (Naval Ocean Surveillance System) satellite pair into orbit.
10:35 PM - Name: Cosmos 2082 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1990-046-B
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2082, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1990.
10:41 PM - Name: Rosat - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1990-049-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Rosat, a German X-ray telescope which operated for 9 years. According to Wikipedia, it recently made the news when "the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the German government was in possession of a study indicating that the 2,400 kg satellite was unlikely to burn up entirely while reentering the earth atmosphere due to the large amount of ceramics and glass used in construction. Parts as heavy as 400 kg could crash on the Earth between October and December 2011." I guess we'll see if there is any truth to this report. At least it's going to deorbit soon (granted it's still been up there being useless since Feb 1999).
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Ants suck... and other things
Yeah... we have ants in the house... again. It appears that this will be a yearly thing unless I figure out how to deal with them. they are itty bitty teeny tiny orangish ants. I think they might be pharaoh ants. All I know is that I went to get somethign out of the pantry and they were in several lines up and down the wall. We we had to take all the shit out of there. Of course, my mom had put back some crackers without closing them at all and they were going to town on that. Egads. So i got some ant traps and also dusted around they entire house. That seemed to work last year. I also got some liquid borax stuff I think, so I might try that as well.
Work is going well. It's certainly a change of pace from how I am used to things working for the QA dept, so there's a little bit of acclimation going on for me. But, overall the people are nice and since they QA group just started, things generally aren't all "OMG the world is going to end if we don't test this!!!" so that's nice.
Been trying to knock shit off my to-do list which is something like 3 pages long (and technically still growing). I've started one of the harder projects which is to organize the misc crap I have that is considered "work bench" stuff (tape, tools, plumbing things, dry wall things, etc etc etc. it's a big pain in the ass, but it needs to be done.
I've managed a couple of satellite sessions in the past month or so. I almost went all of May without a single session, but I made a mad dash at the end and cranked out 3 very small sessions. And then I have a few from early June, also very small sessions. The sun doesn't even set until 9:30ish and it's not really dark until 10:30 and by that time my ass is tired and I want to go to sleep, so that's part of the reason for both the infrequency and the shortness of the sessions I have had. Also, bugs n mosquitoes are starting to come out in force. The wife bought me a citronella candle, so I'll see how that works. Not sure if they candle will inhibit my night vision or not. I guess I'll find out. If it does, then I guess I'll have to find an alternative such as spraying myself with OFF! or using that OFF! belt thingy.
Work is going well. It's certainly a change of pace from how I am used to things working for the QA dept, so there's a little bit of acclimation going on for me. But, overall the people are nice and since they QA group just started, things generally aren't all "OMG the world is going to end if we don't test this!!!" so that's nice.
Been trying to knock shit off my to-do list which is something like 3 pages long (and technically still growing). I've started one of the harder projects which is to organize the misc crap I have that is considered "work bench" stuff (tape, tools, plumbing things, dry wall things, etc etc etc. it's a big pain in the ass, but it needs to be done.
I've managed a couple of satellite sessions in the past month or so. I almost went all of May without a single session, but I made a mad dash at the end and cranked out 3 very small sessions. And then I have a few from early June, also very small sessions. The sun doesn't even set until 9:30ish and it's not really dark until 10:30 and by that time my ass is tired and I want to go to sleep, so that's part of the reason for both the infrequency and the shortness of the sessions I have had. Also, bugs n mosquitoes are starting to come out in force. The wife bought me a citronella candle, so I'll see how that works. Not sure if they candle will inhibit my night vision or not. I guess I'll find out. If it does, then I guess I'll have to find an alternative such as spraying myself with OFF! or using that OFF! belt thingy.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sorry it's been so long...
At my new place of employment all blog and video sites have been blocked. So, whereas I would go through all my blogs and crap during the day at work, I can no longer do. And then, since I'm so used to be doing that, I forget to check when I'm at home. D'oh!
Nothing new, really ... I ripped like 10 Mini DV tapes and have been busy getting those on to DVD doing chapters and all that crap so it takes forever, especially since i'm on a 1.8 GHz machine. It's a bit slow to put it politely. But whatever. I'm in the home stretch now, so ... there.
I got a bit bag of nothing here.
TTYL!
Nothing new, really ... I ripped like 10 Mini DV tapes and have been busy getting those on to DVD doing chapters and all that crap so it takes forever, especially since i'm on a 1.8 GHz machine. It's a bit slow to put it politely. But whatever. I'm in the home stretch now, so ... there.
I got a bit bag of nothing here.
TTYL!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
April sessions
Here are the April sessions =-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-0=-
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 05-Apr-2011 Tuesday
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1626 - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1985-009-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 1626, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1985.
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1220 - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 1980-089-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 1220, a Russian US-P ELINT satellite which was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-2 (not Tsyklon-3) rocket in 1980. According to astronautix (my new fav place to look up stuff on odd satellites): "The US-P (later known as RTR) was a solar powered EORSAT (Electronic Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite). It used an active radar to track naval vessels from space in darkness and all weather. The RTR was an element in the integrated Soviet weapons system devoted to destruction of the US Navy's surface and submarine forces." Sounds kinda scary doesn't it???
9:36 PM - Name: Cosmos 1939 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1988-032-B
This is my first sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket. This rocket was used to put a Russian Resurs-O1 satellite (Kosmos 1939) into orbit in 1988. The Resurs-O1 satellites were for monitoring earth land resources.
9:39 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
this is my 6th sighting of the Japanese ADEOS II (Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2)satellite. It was launched in Dec 2002, however its mission ended in Oct 2003 when the solar panel array failed. An investigation panel was formed and after seeing the output just before failure drop from 6 kW to 1 kW they theorized that likely there was an impact to the power harness which caused an arc and thus killed the satellite.
9:43 PM - Name: Cosmos 1606 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1984-111-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 1606, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1984.
9:46 PM - Name: SERVIS 2 Rocket - Magnitude: 5.2
Int'l Designator: 2010-023-B
This is my first sighting of this Russian Rokot rocket. The Rokot launch vehicle was derived from an existing ICBM platform (shocker!). This particular rocket was used to put the Japanese SERVIS 2 (Space Environment Reliability Verification Integrated System 2) satellite into orbit in 2010. Unfortunately the Rokot platform has not been very successful by rocketry standards. In 18 launches, two have failed resulting in a 10% failure rate is not very good. In fact, the most recent Rokot launch, on 01 Feb 2011, was also the most recent failure which left the satellite in a lower orbit than required.
9:48 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1300, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1981.
9:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 2360 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 1998-045-B
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2360, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1998.
9:53 PM - Name: Cosmos 1777 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1986-070-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1777, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite, into orbit in 1986.
10:00 PM - Name: Nadezhda 6 Rocket (or SL-08 R/B) - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-033-D
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. This rocket was used to launch the Russian Nadezhda satellite (technically it should be called Nadezhda 6 since the previous 5 were called Nadezhda 1, 2, etc... however the Russians occasionally do this weird thing where they stop numbering them right before they come out with as new version or something... anyway...). The Nadezhda satellites are basically for detecting and locating distress signals from ships and aircraft that have the international COSPAS-SARSAT search-and-rescue equipment installed.
10:02 PM - Name: Chuanxin1-02 Rocket (or CZ-2D R/B) - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-056-C
This is my first sighting of this Chinese Long March 2D rocket. This rocket was used to launch two satellites: Shiyan 1 (or Experiment 1) which is an experimental stereo digital earth mapping system and Chuang Xin 1(2) (or Creation 1 #2) which is a "store and forward" communications satellite.
10:06 PM - Name: Cosmos 2263 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.1
Int'l Designator: 1993-059-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 2263, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1993.
10:07 PM - Name: Cosmos 1315 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-103-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1315, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1981.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 09-Apr-2011 Saturday
9:18 PM - Name: Cosmos 1606 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1984-111-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket (See Apr 5 2011 entry).
9:19 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket (or SL-16 R/B) - Magnitude: 2.5
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my 7th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Meteor 3M meteorological satellite.
9:34 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 1300, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite (see Apr 5 2011).
9:36 PM - Name: Cosmos 1437 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1983-003-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1437, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, that was put into orbit in 1983 using a Vostok-2M rocket.
9:37 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.1
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 7th sighting of the Japanese ADEOS II satellite. (See Apr 5 2011)
9:39 PM - Name: Cosmos 1400 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1982-079-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1400, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1982.
9:40 PM - Name: Cosmos 2278 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.5
Int'l Designator: 1994-023-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2278, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite into orbit in 1994.
9:56 PM - Name: Cosmos 1484 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1983-075-B
This is my first sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1484, a Russian Resurs-OE earth land resource satellite, into orbit in 1983.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 12-Apr-2011 Tuesday
9:13 PM - Name: X-37B OTV 2-1 - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my first sighting of the second X-37B (known as OTV-2 or Orbital Test Vehicle 2). OTV-2 was put into orbit using an Atlas 5 rocket. As always, the U.S. Air Force are fine with telling us _when_ the second X-37B is going to launch, however they are mum about it's orbit (which amateur sky-watchers quickly figured out) and what it's mission / experiments are. From what is known, only two OTVs have been created (OTV-1 and OTV-2).
9:42 PM - Name: SERVIS 2 Rocket - Magnitude: 5.1
Int'l Designator: 2010-023-B
This is my second sighting of this Russian Rokot rocket which was used to put the Japanese SERVIS 2 satellite into orbit in 2010. (see Apr 5 2011)
9:46 PM - Name: Alouette 1 Rocket - Magnitude: 6.0
Int'l Designator: 1962-049-B
This is my first sighting of this U.S. Thor-Agena (or, more correctly, Thor-DM21 Agena-B) rocket which was used to put Alouette 1 and TAVE (Thor-Agena Vibration Experiment) into orbit in 1962. Alouette 1 was Canada's first satellite and was used to study the ionosphere where many future satellites would be put into orbit (read more on Alouette 1; interesting stuff on its scientific life). TAVE was a set of instruments attached to the Agena-B upper stage used to study vibrations from the Thor rocket.
9:46 PM - Name: Cosmos 2219 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.1
Int'l Designator: 1992-076-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 2219, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1992.
9:47 PM - Name: ARGOS - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1999-008-A
This is my 2nd sighting of The Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) satellite, mentioned above on March 28th 2011.
9:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 1484 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1983-075-B
NUMBER 600!!!This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket. (See Apr 9 2011)
9:55 PM - Name: SJ 11-01 LM Rocket - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 2009-061-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Long March 2C III rocket which was used to launch Shi Jian 11-1, a Chinese science experiment satellite.
9:56 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This was an orange shooting star traveling directly into the west which also had a 'burst' at the end.
10:00 PM - Name: APEX - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1994-046-A
This is my 2nd sighting of the APEX (Advanced Photovoltaic Experiment) satellite. Read the Astronautix site on this one. Lots of interesting geek facts. The wikipedia page for this is minimal and not very good.
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 13-Apr-2011 Wednesday
9:32 PM - Name: X-37B OTV 2-1 - Magnitude: 2.6
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my 2nd sighting of the X-37B OTV-2 (Orbital Test Vehicle 2). (See Apr 12 2011)
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 26-Apr-2011 Tuesday
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 660 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 660, a Russian Taifun-1 military targeting satellite, into orbit in 1974.
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 29-Apr-2011 Friday
9:28 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.2
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 8th sighting of ADEOS II, the Japanese Advanced Earth Observation Satellite II. (see Apr 5 2011)
9:39 PM - Name: USA 129/KH 12-3 - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1996-072-A
This is my first sighting of this US NRO reconnaissance satellite known as USA 129 or KH 12-3. Historically there have been many version of reconnaissance satellites known as keyhole optical satellites. This particular satellite is from the KH-12 series (known as the Improved Crystal satellites (though the official series designation is not known and presumably KH-12 might not even be correct, but whatever). This satellite was launched using a Titan IV rocket (or more correctly, a Titan-4(04)A ).
9:40 PM - Name: Fregat/Iris - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2009-049-C
This my first sighting of IRIS (Inflatable and Rigidizable Structure) which was a joint experiment between Russian and Europe. It was put into orbit using a Soyuz-2-1b Fregat rocket in 2009. IRIS was actually attached to the Fregat upper stage and was one of 5 other satellites launched by the Soyuz-2-1b rocket.
9:41 PM - Name: Cosmos 494 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1972-043-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to put Kosmos 494, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite, into orbit in 1972.
9:47 PM - Name: Cosmos 1939 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1988-032-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1939. (see Apr 5 2011)
9:55 PM - Name: IRAS Rocket - Magnitude: 4.2
Int'l Designator: 1983-004-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Delta 3910 rocket which was used to launch the IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) satellite. Also onboard was PIX 2 (Plasma Interaction Experiment 2) which was attached to the Delta 3910's second stage was to investigate high voltage charges on various components.
9:56 PM - Name: Cosmos 2228 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1992-094-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2228, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1992.
10:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 2455 - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2009-063-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 2455, a Russian Lotos-S ELINT satellite. The Lotos-S is one component that to the Liana system which is replacing the Tselina-2 ELINT system. Kosmos 2455 was launched into orbit using a Soyuz-U rocket.
10:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 1452 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1983-031-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1452, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite, into orbit in 1983.
10:01 PM - Name: TACSAT 3 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 6th sighting of TacSat 3, a U.S. recon satellite which uses ARTEMIS (Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer). the goal of this satellite was to prove that real-time data could be observed and then relayed to ground troops. It was put into orbit using a Minotaur 1 rocket.
Also, when doing this LONG catch up, I also did some research on a few objects that were previously unknown from back on November 12. Since my skills are getting a little better, I was able to identify them.
You can go to my November 12th 2010 posting to see the updates. Look for 'Picard r DbE' and 'SMOS'.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 05-Apr-2011 Tuesday
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1626 - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1985-009-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 1626, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1985.
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1220 - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 1980-089-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 1220, a Russian US-P ELINT satellite which was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-2 (not Tsyklon-3) rocket in 1980. According to astronautix (my new fav place to look up stuff on odd satellites): "The US-P (later known as RTR) was a solar powered EORSAT (Electronic Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite). It used an active radar to track naval vessels from space in darkness and all weather. The RTR was an element in the integrated Soviet weapons system devoted to destruction of the US Navy's surface and submarine forces." Sounds kinda scary doesn't it???
9:36 PM - Name: Cosmos 1939 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1988-032-B
This is my first sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket. This rocket was used to put a Russian Resurs-O1 satellite (Kosmos 1939) into orbit in 1988. The Resurs-O1 satellites were for monitoring earth land resources.
9:39 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
this is my 6th sighting of the Japanese ADEOS II (Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2)satellite. It was launched in Dec 2002, however its mission ended in Oct 2003 when the solar panel array failed. An investigation panel was formed and after seeing the output just before failure drop from 6 kW to 1 kW they theorized that likely there was an impact to the power harness which caused an arc and thus killed the satellite.
9:43 PM - Name: Cosmos 1606 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1984-111-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 1606, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1984.
9:46 PM - Name: SERVIS 2 Rocket - Magnitude: 5.2
Int'l Designator: 2010-023-B
This is my first sighting of this Russian Rokot rocket. The Rokot launch vehicle was derived from an existing ICBM platform (shocker!). This particular rocket was used to put the Japanese SERVIS 2 (Space Environment Reliability Verification Integrated System 2) satellite into orbit in 2010. Unfortunately the Rokot platform has not been very successful by rocketry standards. In 18 launches, two have failed resulting in a 10% failure rate is not very good. In fact, the most recent Rokot launch, on 01 Feb 2011, was also the most recent failure which left the satellite in a lower orbit than required.
9:48 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1300, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1981.
9:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 2360 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 1998-045-B
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2360, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1998.
9:53 PM - Name: Cosmos 1777 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1986-070-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1777, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite, into orbit in 1986.
10:00 PM - Name: Nadezhda 6 Rocket (or SL-08 R/B) - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-033-D
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. This rocket was used to launch the Russian Nadezhda satellite (technically it should be called Nadezhda 6 since the previous 5 were called Nadezhda 1, 2, etc... however the Russians occasionally do this weird thing where they stop numbering them right before they come out with as new version or something... anyway...). The Nadezhda satellites are basically for detecting and locating distress signals from ships and aircraft that have the international COSPAS-SARSAT search-and-rescue equipment installed.
10:02 PM - Name: Chuanxin1-02 Rocket (or CZ-2D R/B) - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-056-C
This is my first sighting of this Chinese Long March 2D rocket. This rocket was used to launch two satellites: Shiyan 1 (or Experiment 1) which is an experimental stereo digital earth mapping system and Chuang Xin 1(2) (or Creation 1 #2) which is a "store and forward" communications satellite.
10:06 PM - Name: Cosmos 2263 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.1
Int'l Designator: 1993-059-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 2263, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1993.
10:07 PM - Name: Cosmos 1315 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-103-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1315, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1981.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 09-Apr-2011 Saturday
9:18 PM - Name: Cosmos 1606 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1984-111-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket (See Apr 5 2011 entry).
9:19 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket (or SL-16 R/B) - Magnitude: 2.5
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my 7th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Meteor 3M meteorological satellite.
9:34 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 1300, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite (see Apr 5 2011).
9:36 PM - Name: Cosmos 1437 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1983-003-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1437, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, that was put into orbit in 1983 using a Vostok-2M rocket.
9:37 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.1
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 7th sighting of the Japanese ADEOS II satellite. (See Apr 5 2011)
9:39 PM - Name: Cosmos 1400 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1982-079-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1400, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1982.
9:40 PM - Name: Cosmos 2278 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.5
Int'l Designator: 1994-023-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2278, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite into orbit in 1994.
9:56 PM - Name: Cosmos 1484 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1983-075-B
This is my first sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1484, a Russian Resurs-OE earth land resource satellite, into orbit in 1983.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 12-Apr-2011 Tuesday
9:13 PM - Name: X-37B OTV 2-1 - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my first sighting of the second X-37B (known as OTV-2 or Orbital Test Vehicle 2). OTV-2 was put into orbit using an Atlas 5 rocket. As always, the U.S. Air Force are fine with telling us _when_ the second X-37B is going to launch, however they are mum about it's orbit (which amateur sky-watchers quickly figured out) and what it's mission / experiments are. From what is known, only two OTVs have been created (OTV-1 and OTV-2).
9:42 PM - Name: SERVIS 2 Rocket - Magnitude: 5.1
Int'l Designator: 2010-023-B
This is my second sighting of this Russian Rokot rocket which was used to put the Japanese SERVIS 2 satellite into orbit in 2010. (see Apr 5 2011)
9:46 PM - Name: Alouette 1 Rocket - Magnitude: 6.0
Int'l Designator: 1962-049-B
This is my first sighting of this U.S. Thor-Agena (or, more correctly, Thor-DM21 Agena-B) rocket which was used to put Alouette 1 and TAVE (Thor-Agena Vibration Experiment) into orbit in 1962. Alouette 1 was Canada's first satellite and was used to study the ionosphere where many future satellites would be put into orbit (read more on Alouette 1; interesting stuff on its scientific life). TAVE was a set of instruments attached to the Agena-B upper stage used to study vibrations from the Thor rocket.
9:46 PM - Name: Cosmos 2219 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.1
Int'l Designator: 1992-076-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 2219, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1992.
9:47 PM - Name: ARGOS - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1999-008-A
This is my 2nd sighting of The Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) satellite, mentioned above on March 28th 2011.
9:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 1484 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1983-075-B
NUMBER 600!!!This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket. (See Apr 9 2011)
9:55 PM - Name: SJ 11-01 LM Rocket - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 2009-061-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Long March 2C III rocket which was used to launch Shi Jian 11-1, a Chinese science experiment satellite.
9:56 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This was an orange shooting star traveling directly into the west which also had a 'burst' at the end.
10:00 PM - Name: APEX - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1994-046-A
This is my 2nd sighting of the APEX (Advanced Photovoltaic Experiment) satellite. Read the Astronautix site on this one. Lots of interesting geek facts. The wikipedia page for this is minimal and not very good.
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 13-Apr-2011 Wednesday
9:32 PM - Name: X-37B OTV 2-1 - Magnitude: 2.6
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my 2nd sighting of the X-37B OTV-2 (Orbital Test Vehicle 2). (See Apr 12 2011)
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 26-Apr-2011 Tuesday
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 660 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2011-010-A
This is my 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 660, a Russian Taifun-1 military targeting satellite, into orbit in 1974.
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 29-Apr-2011 Friday
9:28 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.2
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 8th sighting of ADEOS II, the Japanese Advanced Earth Observation Satellite II. (see Apr 5 2011)
9:39 PM - Name: USA 129/KH 12-3 - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1996-072-A
This is my first sighting of this US NRO reconnaissance satellite known as USA 129 or KH 12-3. Historically there have been many version of reconnaissance satellites known as keyhole optical satellites. This particular satellite is from the KH-12 series (known as the Improved Crystal satellites (though the official series designation is not known and presumably KH-12 might not even be correct, but whatever). This satellite was launched using a Titan IV rocket (or more correctly, a Titan-4(04)A ).
9:40 PM - Name: Fregat/Iris - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2009-049-C
This my first sighting of IRIS (Inflatable and Rigidizable Structure) which was a joint experiment between Russian and Europe. It was put into orbit using a Soyuz-2-1b Fregat rocket in 2009. IRIS was actually attached to the Fregat upper stage and was one of 5 other satellites launched by the Soyuz-2-1b rocket.
9:41 PM - Name: Cosmos 494 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1972-043-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to put Kosmos 494, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite, into orbit in 1972.
9:47 PM - Name: Cosmos 1939 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1988-032-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1939. (see Apr 5 2011)
9:55 PM - Name: IRAS Rocket - Magnitude: 4.2
Int'l Designator: 1983-004-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Delta 3910 rocket which was used to launch the IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) satellite. Also onboard was PIX 2 (Plasma Interaction Experiment 2) which was attached to the Delta 3910's second stage was to investigate high voltage charges on various components.
9:56 PM - Name: Cosmos 2228 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1992-094-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put Kosmos 2228, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, into orbit in 1992.
10:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 2455 - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2009-063-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 2455, a Russian Lotos-S ELINT satellite. The Lotos-S is one component that to the Liana system which is replacing the Tselina-2 ELINT system. Kosmos 2455 was launched into orbit using a Soyuz-U rocket.
10:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 1452 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1983-031-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch Kosmos 1452, a Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite, into orbit in 1983.
10:01 PM - Name: TACSAT 3 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 6th sighting of TacSat 3, a U.S. recon satellite which uses ARTEMIS (Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer). the goal of this satellite was to prove that real-time data could be observed and then relayed to ground troops. It was put into orbit using a Minotaur 1 rocket.
Also, when doing this LONG catch up, I also did some research on a few objects that were previously unknown from back on November 12. Since my skills are getting a little better, I was able to identify them.
You can go to my November 12th 2010 posting to see the updates. Look for 'Picard r DbE' and 'SMOS'.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
6th time is a charm -and- a month of sat sessions
Well, it took me a while, but I finally got a USB keyboard for the KVM that will work. I think I ended up trying/buying 6 different keyboards. The first was when I tried to use a PS-2/USB adapter on the Microsoft Natural keyboard that I already had. that did not work. The lights would come on and then just go right back off, even after a reboot. So I asked my buddy todd for a USB keyboard which he gladly gave me. it was a Mac keyboard. It looked cool, but it was missing a few keys. I guess Macs don't need an insert key or a scroll lock key... which is a bummer since that is the button I needed to switch the KVM between machines. So next I went to Big Lots 'cause I didn't feel like driving all the way over to MicroCenter. I looked over their keyboards and thoguht I found one.. but then I noticed there were some 110-key versions in the back that had the same price of $9. Woot! So I grabbed one of those quickly and brought it home. Notice the word 'quickly'. I get it home, open it and ... it's a f'ing PS/2 keyboard. Dammit. So, I took that one back the next day to exchange it and quickly went over and grabbed a USB keyboard. Notice, again, the work quickly. I get this one home and realize that where PrintScreen. ScrollLock and Pause should be (which is NEXT to the Function keys, instead, the stupid power buttons are there. Which means they shoved everythign else down. So where the Home key should be... it's the Scroll Lock... and where the End key should be.. it's the home key... and how the Del / End / Pg Down buttons are directly above the arrows. I tried using if for like 15 minutes and quickly realized this one was not going to work either. I then remembered that when I was looking at the USB keyboards at Big Lots that there were TWO variations. I of course picked the wrong one. But now I'm just pissed off and all 'F- Big Lots'. So I took that one back for a refund and headed over to MicroCenter. I perused their many keyboards, looking for something similar to the MS Natural that I had. Well, the REAL MS Natural was like $45. Forget that. I was hoping to speand like $10. But they did have a Microsoft Comfort keyboard. It was somewhat ergo and when I tried it at the display it seemed okay. So I got that one for $20 and brought it home. Of course after using it for 15 minutes I realized, again, that this keyboard wasn't going to work either. It had flat keys like a laptop and the spacing wasn't the same as the Natural and it was throwing me off. So, I took that one back and found a very generic Microsoft 104-key keyboard for $12.99. It working out well. The kicker of it all, was that I looked at the main section where all the cheap-o cheap-o keyboards were and they all either had the stupid power buttons in the wrong place or had the odd (but seemingly becoming more common) 2 wide setup for the insert/delete, home/end, etc keys are and I knew that would totally screw me up. However, when I got home I looked at the box for the el-cheapo $6 keyboard we got for the wife to hook into the lappy... and it has the same layout as the $13 MS one I just bought. But I'm not f'ing going back to MicroCenter again so screw it. This one works like a charm and I'm keeping it. Sixth one is a charm. :-P
I'm about a month behind on entering my satellite sessions. With getting the job at the end of March and then spending alot of time burning my severance and then the kids sleep schedules getting all jacked up and then me just not wanting to do it, I... well... hadn't done it. But now I'm a month behind. Now, one would think this isn't that big of a deal, however most people don't realize I keep a spreadsheet of each object I spot and this spreadsheet contains the beginning, peak and end times for each object, not just the spotted time (which, anymore is the same as the peak time since that's generally when I spot it anyways). So, I used to prep spreadsheets and send them to myself, however I haven't had much time... and also nil access to the printer, so I haven't had the convenience of doing this. When this happens, I generally get the times from the heavens-above site. And usually this goes pretty smoothly since when I do these it's either that night or soon thereafter. However, these objects change their course, speed and all that crap. And in order to keep the current (and future) calculations correct, all these parameters get adjusted when people notice changes. So, when you're a month out, those calculations can change by quite a bit... sometimes up to 30 seconds. So, instead of being able to just cut n paste into my spreadsheet, I had to manually correct everything to match what the calculations where when I spotted the object. It has been a pain in the arse. But I'm caught up and have entered and corrected and researched over 50 sightings. Egads. I pray I do not fall this far behind again. So... this posting is a doozy... so feel free to skip the rest, but I did need some new cool stuff (including the latest X-37B spy orbiter plane thingy). :-)
Oh, and before I forget, whilst going over my spreadsheet, I did manage to track down two objects that I saw clear back in Nov of 2010 so I'll include those here as well (and also update the original post).
Hope all is well with everyone. Sorry for being long-winded, but the stories this time around just happened to be long and boring.
Here is the link to my March 28 2011 session...
It's taking a while, so I'll link back to them when I get them done.
Also, I managed to get a couple more sessions in since I even wrote this post... so .. there are about another 11 I need to get done on top of my entire april backlog. Egads.
I'm about a month behind on entering my satellite sessions. With getting the job at the end of March and then spending alot of time burning my severance and then the kids sleep schedules getting all jacked up and then me just not wanting to do it, I... well... hadn't done it. But now I'm a month behind. Now, one would think this isn't that big of a deal, however most people don't realize I keep a spreadsheet of each object I spot and this spreadsheet contains the beginning, peak and end times for each object, not just the spotted time (which, anymore is the same as the peak time since that's generally when I spot it anyways). So, I used to prep spreadsheets and send them to myself, however I haven't had much time... and also nil access to the printer, so I haven't had the convenience of doing this. When this happens, I generally get the times from the heavens-above site. And usually this goes pretty smoothly since when I do these it's either that night or soon thereafter. However, these objects change their course, speed and all that crap. And in order to keep the current (and future) calculations correct, all these parameters get adjusted when people notice changes. So, when you're a month out, those calculations can change by quite a bit... sometimes up to 30 seconds. So, instead of being able to just cut n paste into my spreadsheet, I had to manually correct everything to match what the calculations where when I spotted the object. It has been a pain in the arse. But I'm caught up and have entered and corrected and researched over 50 sightings. Egads. I pray I do not fall this far behind again. So... this posting is a doozy... so feel free to skip the rest, but I did need some new cool stuff (including the latest X-37B spy orbiter plane thingy). :-)
Oh, and before I forget, whilst going over my spreadsheet, I did manage to track down two objects that I saw clear back in Nov of 2010 so I'll include those here as well (and also update the original post).
Hope all is well with everyone. Sorry for being long-winded, but the stories this time around just happened to be long and boring.
Here is the link to my March 28 2011 session...
It's taking a while, so I'll link back to them when I get them done.
Also, I managed to get a couple more sessions in since I even wrote this post... so .. there are about another 11 I need to get done on top of my entire april backlog. Egads.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Super Desk is almost done...
Changed the look and feel of the template for my blog. Hope you like it. Looks like shooting stars. Neat-o!!!
(mildly wordy post below)
Super Desk Deux is shaping up (and getting cleaned up as well). We bought the Mrs a new desk (and laptop) for her study up in the loft. She needed a printer stand so I gave up one of the printer stands from the super desk. However, this weekend my sis brought up some our old crap from her house and included in that haul was a short bookshelf, so it's part of super desk now.
I also picked up a Trendnet 2-port USB KVM switch at Microcenter for like $14 bucks on sale (normally $34). It also does audio switching!!! So I was able to get rid of the big honking monitor and another set of speakers. This thing is getting leaner and meaner. If I was a bigger dork, I would have purchased a 4 port and hooked up the remaining spare computer. But I never use more that 2 computers at a time, so I didn't see the point - plus, the other tower would have crowded my leg space... it's already a rats nest behind the computer desk, despite my best efforts to keep it neat and tidy.
At first I thought that the KVM switch was manual switch only... however it does hotkeys as well (scr lock + scr lock... finally, a real reason to use scr lock!!!). I'd much rather have both options since some of the Belkin soft-switch only KVMs have been known to have issues.
So, I'm giddy as all get out about the KVM. (It doesn't mention Win 7 support, but I'm running XP and Vista at the moment, so it works out for me at the moment... actually, it doesn't mention Vista on the MC description, but the documentation states that it does... so... there. I'm sure that if it supports Vista, it likely supports Win 7 as well).
I still need to get a USB keyboard since, somehow, all of my keyboards are PS/2 and the PS/2 to USB adapter thing doesn't seem to work. When plug in the keyboard, it lights up at first but then goes dark and there is no response when typing. I tried multiple PS/2 keyboards ... to no avail. And yes, I did try the customer support default of rebooting. :p
... in other news ...
The new furniture is coming tomorrow... well... most of it. The called later this evening and said that there was something wrong with the 'gentleman's chest of drawers' so that piece would be delivered NEXT Tuesday. But at least MOST of it is showing up tomorrow.
I start the new job on Wednesday. Part of me is relieved and the other part is scared to fail. But that's the norm for me when starting the new job so... all is well. :P
The roof guy came over the other day and patched a spot by the skylight that had been leaking recently... for free. He said 'it only took me 5 minutes... it's on me'. You don't see that very often any more. So... thanks Dustin.
The furnace repair guy is showing up on ... Friday I think. It's been rattling about. Their cost will certainly not be free. It cost more than what they originally quoted. But at least their labor rate isn't terrible. I think it's like $15 per 15 minutes or something. So that only $60 an hour (which is how long they said it would take). AFAIK there is no 'service call fee' so that repair should be under the $500 we budgeted. Egads. I'm not convinced that we need everything that they want to replace, however, the furnace is about 12 years old, so I might as well repair them before they break (things like the ignitor and some other thing beside the rattling induction fan (which I'm also still convinced is nothing more than a loose screw.. but whatever... I just want it done with so it doesn't sound like someone sharpening a lawn mower blade on a grinder every time the heat kicks on)).
I hope all is well with everyone else out there.
(mildly wordy post below)
Super Desk Deux is shaping up (and getting cleaned up as well). We bought the Mrs a new desk (and laptop) for her study up in the loft. She needed a printer stand so I gave up one of the printer stands from the super desk. However, this weekend my sis brought up some our old crap from her house and included in that haul was a short bookshelf, so it's part of super desk now.
I also picked up a Trendnet 2-port USB KVM switch at Microcenter for like $14 bucks on sale (normally $34). It also does audio switching!!! So I was able to get rid of the big honking monitor and another set of speakers. This thing is getting leaner and meaner. If I was a bigger dork, I would have purchased a 4 port and hooked up the remaining spare computer. But I never use more that 2 computers at a time, so I didn't see the point - plus, the other tower would have crowded my leg space... it's already a rats nest behind the computer desk, despite my best efforts to keep it neat and tidy.
At first I thought that the KVM switch was manual switch only... however it does hotkeys as well (scr lock + scr lock... finally, a real reason to use scr lock!!!). I'd much rather have both options since some of the Belkin soft-switch only KVMs have been known to have issues.
So, I'm giddy as all get out about the KVM. (It doesn't mention Win 7 support, but I'm running XP and Vista at the moment, so it works out for me at the moment... actually, it doesn't mention Vista on the MC description, but the documentation states that it does... so... there. I'm sure that if it supports Vista, it likely supports Win 7 as well).
I still need to get a USB keyboard since, somehow, all of my keyboards are PS/2 and the PS/2 to USB adapter thing doesn't seem to work. When plug in the keyboard, it lights up at first but then goes dark and there is no response when typing. I tried multiple PS/2 keyboards ... to no avail. And yes, I did try the customer support default of rebooting. :p
... in other news ...
The new furniture is coming tomorrow... well... most of it. The called later this evening and said that there was something wrong with the 'gentleman's chest of drawers' so that piece would be delivered NEXT Tuesday. But at least MOST of it is showing up tomorrow.
I start the new job on Wednesday. Part of me is relieved and the other part is scared to fail. But that's the norm for me when starting the new job so... all is well. :P
The roof guy came over the other day and patched a spot by the skylight that had been leaking recently... for free. He said 'it only took me 5 minutes... it's on me'. You don't see that very often any more. So... thanks Dustin.
The furnace repair guy is showing up on ... Friday I think. It's been rattling about. Their cost will certainly not be free. It cost more than what they originally quoted. But at least their labor rate isn't terrible. I think it's like $15 per 15 minutes or something. So that only $60 an hour (which is how long they said it would take). AFAIK there is no 'service call fee' so that repair should be under the $500 we budgeted. Egads. I'm not convinced that we need everything that they want to replace, however, the furnace is about 12 years old, so I might as well repair them before they break (things like the ignitor and some other thing beside the rattling induction fan (which I'm also still convinced is nothing more than a loose screw.. but whatever... I just want it done with so it doesn't sound like someone sharpening a lawn mower blade on a grinder every time the heat kicks on)).
I hope all is well with everyone else out there.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
old job -> new job = new stuff
Well, in case you hadn't heard, I got myself a new job last Friday. W00t! I also received my severance package from my former employer. There were quite a few things that the Mrs and I had been wanting to get for a while, so we've been splurging a little bit.
The first thing (I think) was that I got a new pair of dress shoes. My old ones weren't actually all that old, however, the sole came off. I gorilla glued the darn thing back on, however it was a pain in the butt carrying around black electrical tape with me whenever I went on an interview for fear that it would fail me at an inopportune time.
Yesterday I also bought a new suit at JCPenney. $99.99 for jacket and pants. Nice! I saved so much money that I also got the vest for shoots-n-giggles. I also got it altered so it will fit super nice. For facts sake, the jacket I was wearing to interviews was a 38 Short. When I got my sport jacket for my sisters wedding a few years ago, I needed a 40 Short. My new suit is a 42 Short. Just call me chunky-wunky from now on. :-P
We also purchased a new bedroom suite. Neither one of us has EVER had matching bedroom suites, went looking the other day with lil A in tow (and lil A was VERY good thank goodness) and we found something we both liked.
With the new bedroom suite means that the loft will likely change from the computer area to a 'reading room'. We have four bookshelves in the bedroom now, but the light wood on those wont anywhere match the dark cherry furniture we picked out... so... out they must go.
But what about M's computer, well... we've been looking to get a new laptop for school (since the other one crapped out in only two years), so the thinking is that we will buy a small computer desk for the lappy and put that in the bedroom. The bookshelves will go upstairs and the mondo computer desk will go...
DOWNSTAIRS!!! Where I am in the process of making Super Desk part DEUX! The previous super desk was made from my old L disk, an older and much smaller desk that M had and then a printer stand... all of which made a U shaped surround around desk. The new super desk is basically the big mondo hutch desk with printer stands on either side. I just measured and it is 8 1/2 feet wide. It literally takes up the one side of the wall. YES!!! And... this allows me to put the TV where it should go and clears up the middle of the room so i'm not constantly having to move around shit.
We are also in the process of fixing some crap that's needed fixing for a while. Like the squeaky breaks on the van, having someone fix the rattling furnace, and have someone take a look at the newly developed leak in the roof. Egads.
So, all is good here. With money not being such an issue and the Mrs and I have had in depth discussions about need to be done / purchased with said severance, I'm not such a bitchy bastard for the time being. Once the new job starts we'll have to re-budget and all that happy crap and try, once again, to stay within those budgets so we can actually plan to get new stuff yearly instead of every time I get laid off. :-P
The first thing (I think) was that I got a new pair of dress shoes. My old ones weren't actually all that old, however, the sole came off. I gorilla glued the darn thing back on, however it was a pain in the butt carrying around black electrical tape with me whenever I went on an interview for fear that it would fail me at an inopportune time.
Yesterday I also bought a new suit at JCPenney. $99.99 for jacket and pants. Nice! I saved so much money that I also got the vest for shoots-n-giggles. I also got it altered so it will fit super nice. For facts sake, the jacket I was wearing to interviews was a 38 Short. When I got my sport jacket for my sisters wedding a few years ago, I needed a 40 Short. My new suit is a 42 Short. Just call me chunky-wunky from now on. :-P
We also purchased a new bedroom suite. Neither one of us has EVER had matching bedroom suites, went looking the other day with lil A in tow (and lil A was VERY good thank goodness) and we found something we both liked.
With the new bedroom suite means that the loft will likely change from the computer area to a 'reading room'. We have four bookshelves in the bedroom now, but the light wood on those wont anywhere match the dark cherry furniture we picked out... so... out they must go.
But what about M's computer, well... we've been looking to get a new laptop for school (since the other one crapped out in only two years), so the thinking is that we will buy a small computer desk for the lappy and put that in the bedroom. The bookshelves will go upstairs and the mondo computer desk will go...
DOWNSTAIRS!!! Where I am in the process of making Super Desk part DEUX! The previous super desk was made from my old L disk, an older and much smaller desk that M had and then a printer stand... all of which made a U shaped surround around desk. The new super desk is basically the big mondo hutch desk with printer stands on either side. I just measured and it is 8 1/2 feet wide. It literally takes up the one side of the wall. YES!!! And... this allows me to put the TV where it should go and clears up the middle of the room so i'm not constantly having to move around shit.
We are also in the process of fixing some crap that's needed fixing for a while. Like the squeaky breaks on the van, having someone fix the rattling furnace, and have someone take a look at the newly developed leak in the roof. Egads.
So, all is good here. With money not being such an issue and the Mrs and I have had in depth discussions about need to be done / purchased with said severance, I'm not such a bitchy bastard for the time being. Once the new job starts we'll have to re-budget and all that happy crap and try, once again, to stay within those budgets so we can actually plan to get new stuff yearly instead of every time I get laid off. :-P
Monday, March 28, 2011
March 28 2011 session
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 28-Mar-2011 Monday
8:43 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite into orbit in 1981.
8:43 PM - Name: Cosmos 1703 - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1985-108-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1703, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1985.
8:47 PM - Name: PSLV R/B - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2007-001-E
This is my 4th sighting of this Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from India which was used to put the Cartosat-2 Indian earth observation satellite (and 3 other satellites from Indian, Indonesia and Argentina) into orbit in 2007.
8:49 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This object was a yellow shooting star that was nearly horizontal in the sky going from west to northwest at around 45 degrees in the horizon.
8:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 1315 - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-103-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 1315, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit in 1981 using a Vostok-2M rocket.
8:51 PM - Name: Cosmos 405 - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1971-028-A
This is my 5th sighting of Kosmos 405, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit using a Vostok-2M rocket in 1971.
8:51 PM - Name: Resurs 1-4 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1998-043-G
This is my 26th (!!!) sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket. My sightings of "Ye Olde Brgith and Faithpul" have been sparse lately, only 4 sightings in the past four months, but I believe that sightings should be soon coming more frequently. I really am looking forward to my 50th sighting of this (or any) object.
8:57 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr (or CZ-4B DEB) - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 10th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket which was used to launch a couple of Shijian 6 satellites.
9:18 PM - Name: Resurs DK-1 - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 2006-021-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Resurs DK-1, a Russian commercial earth observation satellite which was put into orbit in 2006 using a Soyuz-U rocket.
9:19 PM - Name: Koronas-Foton Rocket (or SL-14 R/B) - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 2009-003-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put the Russian solar research satellite, Koronas-Foton, into orbit in 2009.
9:20 PM - Name: ARGOS - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1999-008-A
This is my first sighting of the ARGOS satellite. ARGOS (Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite) is a satellite that was funded by the Department of Defense and contains 9 different sensors that were developed by 9 different researchers. The amount of stuff this satellite was researching is crazy. Everything from upper atmosphere readings to a couple different experimental propulsion systems. Read the wiki for the goods. ARGOS was put into orbit using a Delta II (Delta-7920-10 to be exact) in 1999.
9:20 PM - Name: Cosmos 1544 - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1984-027-A
This is my first sighting of Cosmos 1544, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite which was launched into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1984.
9:22 PM - Name: Cosmos 2322 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 1995-058-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which launched the Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite Kosmos 2322 in the year 1995.
9:22 PM - Name: Lacrosse 5 - Magnitude: 1.8
Int'l Designator: 2005-016-A
This is my 8th sighting of NRO reconnaissance satellite, Lacrosse 5, which was launched in 2005 using a Titan IV-B rocket.
9:30 PM - Name: Rubin 4/r - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2003-042-B
This is my first sighting of German Rubin 4 satellite. Runbin 4 is actually still attached to the Kosmos-3M rocket that sent it up there. According to the astronautix site: "The orbital telematics experiment transmited information on the rocket’s acceleration, vibration load and position via e-mail using the Orbcomm satellite communications system. In this way, it will be possible to track the rocket in orbit reliably and without any data loss." Cool. Rubin 4 was launched in 2003.
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1818 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1987-011-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 1818, a Russian Plasma-A RORSAT satellite which, unlike the Tselina series, is a radar ocean reconnaissance satellite which looks for ships, submarines and the like.
9:39 PM - Name: NOSS 3-4 (A) - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2007-027-A
9:39 PM - Name: NOSS 3-4 (C) - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2007-027-C
This is my first sighting of the NOSS 3-4 pair of satellites. NOSS stands for Naval Ocean Surveillance System and it is what it sounds like. I also spotted the NOSS 3-4 rocket back on Oct 1st 2010 so this might be my first time where I've spotted both the NOSS satellites and the rocket which put them into orbit. Anyhoo... NOSS 3-4 A and C were launched into orbit using part B which was an Atlas V 401 rocket in 2007. Also of note, the fourth pair (and possibly next generation) of NOSS 3 satellite were launched on Apr 15th 2011. I don't believe I've spotted the new guys yet, so I'll have to keep my eyes open.
9:41 PM - Name: Lacrosse 4 - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-047-A
This is my 4th sighting of Lacrosse 4. It wasn't until just now that I realized that I spotted it's brother earlier in the evening. I don't believe that this is my first time doing so. I believe there was one evening where I spotted 3 of the 4 Lacrosse satellites that are still in orbit (Lacrosse 1 was deorbitted a while back).
9:43 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 5th sighting of the Japanese ADEOS II satellite. ADEOS 2 is short for 'Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2'. Yeah, it is what it sounds like. :-) They are watching us. And everyone else.
9:47 PM - Name: Cosmos 1697 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 1985-097-B
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1697, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite which was launched into orbit using a Zenit-2 rocket in 1985.
Date: 28-Mar-2011 Monday
8:43 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite into orbit in 1981.
8:43 PM - Name: Cosmos 1703 - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1985-108-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1703, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1985.
8:47 PM - Name: PSLV R/B - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2007-001-E
This is my 4th sighting of this Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from India which was used to put the Cartosat-2 Indian earth observation satellite (and 3 other satellites from Indian, Indonesia and Argentina) into orbit in 2007.
8:49 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This object was a yellow shooting star that was nearly horizontal in the sky going from west to northwest at around 45 degrees in the horizon.
8:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 1315 - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-103-A
This is my 2nd sighting of Kosmos 1315, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit in 1981 using a Vostok-2M rocket.
8:51 PM - Name: Cosmos 405 - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1971-028-A
This is my 5th sighting of Kosmos 405, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite that was put into orbit using a Vostok-2M rocket in 1971.
8:51 PM - Name: Resurs 1-4 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1998-043-G
This is my 26th (!!!) sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket. My sightings of "Ye Olde Brgith and Faithpul" have been sparse lately, only 4 sightings in the past four months, but I believe that sightings should be soon coming more frequently. I really am looking forward to my 50th sighting of this (or any) object.
8:57 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr (or CZ-4B DEB) - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 10th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket which was used to launch a couple of Shijian 6 satellites.
9:18 PM - Name: Resurs DK-1 - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 2006-021-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Resurs DK-1, a Russian commercial earth observation satellite which was put into orbit in 2006 using a Soyuz-U rocket.
9:19 PM - Name: Koronas-Foton Rocket (or SL-14 R/B) - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 2009-003-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to put the Russian solar research satellite, Koronas-Foton, into orbit in 2009.
9:20 PM - Name: ARGOS - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1999-008-A
This is my first sighting of the ARGOS satellite. ARGOS (Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite) is a satellite that was funded by the Department of Defense and contains 9 different sensors that were developed by 9 different researchers. The amount of stuff this satellite was researching is crazy. Everything from upper atmosphere readings to a couple different experimental propulsion systems. Read the wiki for the goods. ARGOS was put into orbit using a Delta II (Delta-7920-10 to be exact) in 1999.
9:20 PM - Name: Cosmos 1544 - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1984-027-A
This is my first sighting of Cosmos 1544, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite which was launched into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1984.
9:22 PM - Name: Cosmos 2322 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 1995-058-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which launched the Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite Kosmos 2322 in the year 1995.
9:22 PM - Name: Lacrosse 5 - Magnitude: 1.8
Int'l Designator: 2005-016-A
This is my 8th sighting of NRO reconnaissance satellite, Lacrosse 5, which was launched in 2005 using a Titan IV-B rocket.
9:30 PM - Name: Rubin 4/r - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2003-042-B
This is my first sighting of German Rubin 4 satellite. Runbin 4 is actually still attached to the Kosmos-3M rocket that sent it up there. According to the astronautix site: "The orbital telematics experiment transmited information on the rocket’s acceleration, vibration load and position via e-mail using the Orbcomm satellite communications system. In this way, it will be possible to track the rocket in orbit reliably and without any data loss." Cool. Rubin 4 was launched in 2003.
9:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1818 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1987-011-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 1818, a Russian Plasma-A RORSAT satellite which, unlike the Tselina series, is a radar ocean reconnaissance satellite which looks for ships, submarines and the like.
9:39 PM - Name: NOSS 3-4 (A) - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2007-027-A
9:39 PM - Name: NOSS 3-4 (C) - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 2007-027-C
This is my first sighting of the NOSS 3-4 pair of satellites. NOSS stands for Naval Ocean Surveillance System and it is what it sounds like. I also spotted the NOSS 3-4 rocket back on Oct 1st 2010 so this might be my first time where I've spotted both the NOSS satellites and the rocket which put them into orbit. Anyhoo... NOSS 3-4 A and C were launched into orbit using part B which was an Atlas V 401 rocket in 2007. Also of note, the fourth pair (and possibly next generation) of NOSS 3 satellite were launched on Apr 15th 2011. I don't believe I've spotted the new guys yet, so I'll have to keep my eyes open.
9:41 PM - Name: Lacrosse 4 - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-047-A
This is my 4th sighting of Lacrosse 4. It wasn't until just now that I realized that I spotted it's brother earlier in the evening. I don't believe that this is my first time doing so. I believe there was one evening where I spotted 3 of the 4 Lacrosse satellites that are still in orbit (Lacrosse 1 was deorbitted a while back).
9:43 PM - Name: ADEOS II - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 5th sighting of the Japanese ADEOS II satellite. ADEOS 2 is short for 'Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2'. Yeah, it is what it sounds like. :-) They are watching us. And everyone else.
9:47 PM - Name: Cosmos 1697 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 1985-097-B
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1697, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite which was launched into orbit using a Zenit-2 rocket in 1985.
A day without the kids and a morning / night session on March 27th
I also woke up Sunday morning around 5am despite taking some Tylenol PM the previous evening. I couldn't get back to sleep and I remembered that one of the satellites I wanted to see was likely going to be out an about. After peeping through the blinds, I determined that it was clear enough to likely see some satellites. I checked my chart, put in my contacts, got suited up and went outside just in time to see the satellite go overhead. I didn't have a list, so I free-styled a few more satellites and then went back inside because it was friggin' cold. I went downstairs and started doing my entries. It was then that I realized that I had forgotten what day it was, so the satellite I saw was actually not what I thought it was... but instead a different satellite that just happened to have the same peak time and altitude and direction. I then noticed that the ISS was going to be REALLY BRIGHT and going overhead in about 10 minutes, so I went back upstairs and got it see it. It was really bright and heading over the house. As I was coming back in, lil N and the wife were just waking up, so I had lil N look out the window to see the ISS. It was a bit confusing to try to explain to her that the really bright moving star was as big as a football field and that 7 people were living inside of it. :P This morning session was very fruitful in first sightings which is always nice to have. Six of the eight satellites I spotted in the morning were new. Wow!
My parents came up on Sunday and allowed the Mrs and I to have a little bit of time together without the kids which we hadn't been able to do for a couple months. We were starting to get a little stir crazy I think, so it was a very welcomed visit. We got to run around to a few stores and buy a few things. We visited the Borders. The wife got a few books. I had a few picked out, but decided that I likely could get most of them cheaper on Amazon (and, after checking when I got back, the prices weren't that bad on a couple, but a few would be MUCH cheaper on the Amazon Marketplace). Then we went to Pei Wei and got some tasty food. The Dan Dan Noodles are the bomb yo! So it was very nice to get some alone time with the Mrs. When we got home, lil N decided that she wanted to stay overnight at Grandma's... so after a little bit of discussion we decided... why not. Granted, in the morning she has to come right back home because of some already planned school stuff, but hey... Grandma was coming right back anyways to watch lil A so it wasn't like she wasn't coming back up this way. After lil N was in the car and off on her way, we put lil A to bed. The sky was a bit hazy but I went out for about 45 minutes and saw a few more satellites. Oddly, I really wasn't in the mood to be sat-spotting but it's hard to pass up a clear evening when there are only 1 or 2 clear skies a week.
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 27-Mar-2011 Sunday
5:35 AM - Name: Cosmos 2369 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2000-006-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 2369, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite. It was launched into orbit in 2000 using a Zenit-2 rocket.
5:41 AM - Name: Resurs 1-3 Rocket - Magnitude: 1.6
Int'l Designator: 1994-074-B
This is my first sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket. This particultar rocket was used to launch two satellites. The main satellite was Resurs O1-3, a Russian earth resources satellite. A secondary payload was Safir-R1, a German communications experiment, though I believe it was permanently fixed to the as there is no int'l designator assigned to Safir-R1.
5:49 AM - Name: SAR Lupe 1 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 2006-060-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the first German reconnaissance satellite, SAR-Lupe 1 on December 19 2006. The SAR-Lupe program consists of five satellites and one ground station. The system is SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) based and can provide high-resolution (~1 meter) images day or night, regardless of the weather.
5:55 AM - Name: Cosmos 2221 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1992-080-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 2221 in the year 1992.
5:56 AM - Name: XM 5 Tnk aka BREEZE-M DEB - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2010-053-C
This is my second sighting of this Briz-M tank from a Proton-M rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch XM-5 from the XM Satellite Radio corporation.
5:59 AM - Name: Cosmos 1862 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1987-055-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. It was used to put the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1862 into orbit in the year 1987.
6:00 AM - Name: Cosmos 2084 - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1990-055-A
This is my second sighting of Kosmos 2084, a Russian Oko missile defense satellite. It was launched into service using a Molniya-M rocket. The Oko missile defense system was introduced in the 1972 with the launch of Cosmos 520. Oko satellites are still being up into orbit, most recently with Cosmos 2469 which launched September 30 2010.
6:28 AM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -3.2
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is my 15th sighting of the International Space Station. This was the third brightest sighting of the ISS which seemed to be THE brightest considering the other two brighter sightings occurred during the dusk hours when the sun had not yet set.
8:50 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr aka CZ-4B DEB - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 9th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket. This rocket was used to launch the Shijian 6E and 6F satellites.
9:01 PM - Name: Cosmos 405 - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1971-028-A
This is my 4th sighting of Kosmos 405, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite which was launched into orbit using a Vostok-2M rocket in the year 1971.
9:07 PM - Name: Koronas F Rocket - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 2001-032-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Russian Koronos-Foton (Coronas-Photon) satellite which contained 10 different instruments to study the sun throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Coronas stands for "Complex ORbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun".
9:09 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This was a yellow shooting start that was nearly horizontal, shooting from W to NW at about 45 degrees.
9:09 PM - Name: Cosmos 975 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1978-004-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 975 in the year 1978.
My parents came up on Sunday and allowed the Mrs and I to have a little bit of time together without the kids which we hadn't been able to do for a couple months. We were starting to get a little stir crazy I think, so it was a very welcomed visit. We got to run around to a few stores and buy a few things. We visited the Borders. The wife got a few books. I had a few picked out, but decided that I likely could get most of them cheaper on Amazon (and, after checking when I got back, the prices weren't that bad on a couple, but a few would be MUCH cheaper on the Amazon Marketplace). Then we went to Pei Wei and got some tasty food. The Dan Dan Noodles are the bomb yo! So it was very nice to get some alone time with the Mrs. When we got home, lil N decided that she wanted to stay overnight at Grandma's... so after a little bit of discussion we decided... why not. Granted, in the morning she has to come right back home because of some already planned school stuff, but hey... Grandma was coming right back anyways to watch lil A so it wasn't like she wasn't coming back up this way. After lil N was in the car and off on her way, we put lil A to bed. The sky was a bit hazy but I went out for about 45 minutes and saw a few more satellites. Oddly, I really wasn't in the mood to be sat-spotting but it's hard to pass up a clear evening when there are only 1 or 2 clear skies a week.
Here's the time-line for the morning / evening of:
Date: 27-Mar-2011 Sunday
5:35 AM - Name: Cosmos 2369 - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2000-006-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 2369, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite. It was launched into orbit in 2000 using a Zenit-2 rocket.
5:41 AM - Name: Resurs 1-3 Rocket - Magnitude: 1.6
Int'l Designator: 1994-074-B
This is my first sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket. This particultar rocket was used to launch two satellites. The main satellite was Resurs O1-3, a Russian earth resources satellite. A secondary payload was Safir-R1, a German communications experiment, though I believe it was permanently fixed to the as there is no int'l designator assigned to Safir-R1.
5:49 AM - Name: SAR Lupe 1 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 2006-060-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the first German reconnaissance satellite, SAR-Lupe 1 on December 19 2006. The SAR-Lupe program consists of five satellites and one ground station. The system is SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) based and can provide high-resolution (~1 meter) images day or night, regardless of the weather.
5:55 AM - Name: Cosmos 2221 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1992-080-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 2221 in the year 1992.
5:56 AM - Name: XM 5 Tnk aka BREEZE-M DEB - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2010-053-C
This is my second sighting of this Briz-M tank from a Proton-M rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch XM-5 from the XM Satellite Radio corporation.
5:59 AM - Name: Cosmos 1862 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1987-055-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. It was used to put the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1862 into orbit in the year 1987.
6:00 AM - Name: Cosmos 2084 - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1990-055-A
This is my second sighting of Kosmos 2084, a Russian Oko missile defense satellite. It was launched into service using a Molniya-M rocket. The Oko missile defense system was introduced in the 1972 with the launch of Cosmos 520. Oko satellites are still being up into orbit, most recently with Cosmos 2469 which launched September 30 2010.
6:28 AM - Name: ISS - Magnitude: -3.2
Int'l Designator: 1998-067-A
This is my 15th sighting of the International Space Station. This was the third brightest sighting of the ISS which seemed to be THE brightest considering the other two brighter sightings occurred during the dusk hours when the sun had not yet set.
8:50 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr aka CZ-4B DEB - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 9th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket. This rocket was used to launch the Shijian 6E and 6F satellites.
9:01 PM - Name: Cosmos 405 - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1971-028-A
This is my 4th sighting of Kosmos 405, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite which was launched into orbit using a Vostok-2M rocket in the year 1971.
9:07 PM - Name: Koronas F Rocket - Magnitude: 2.3
Int'l Designator: 2001-032-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Russian Koronos-Foton (Coronas-Photon) satellite which contained 10 different instruments to study the sun throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Coronas stands for "Complex ORbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun".
9:09 PM - Name: shooting star - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: none
This was a yellow shooting start that was nearly horizontal, shooting from W to NW at about 45 degrees.
9:09 PM - Name: Cosmos 975 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1978-004-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 975 in the year 1978.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
March 24 2011 satellite spotting session
Got a fairly clear night on March 24 2011. I had my list all printed out and I kinda just rushed outside. The past few sessions had been in fairly mild weather where I didn't need a hat, gloves, wool socks, or even a sweatshirt. However, this even I _should_ have had those things... I didn't. Well... actually, I was smart enough to bring out my hat and gloves, but I was only wearing a t-shirt under my coat and had on super thin cotton socks. After this nearly 2 hour session, my feet and my butt was frozen.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 24-Mar-2011 Thursday
8:27 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 aka Meteor PRIRODA - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-A
This was my 3rd sighting of this Russian Meteor-Priroda meteorological satellite, Meteor 1-31. Meteor 1-31 was put into orbit using a Vostok-2M rocket. I don't know much about this particular model of Meteor satellite, other than the Meteor-Priroda model used electrically-powered spacecraft propulsion. Usually people talk about ion / plasma propulsion drives, however the Meteor-Priroda used an electrothermal drive which involves magnets creating heat for the propellant or something. Read the wiki if you want to know more.
8:28 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr aka CZ-4B DEB - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 8th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket. This rocket was used to launch the Chinese Shijian 6E and 6F space environment (and likely ELINT) satellites.
8:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1674 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1985-069-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, Kosmos 1674.
8:45 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-A
This is my second sighting of Kosmos 1441, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was launched into orbit in 1983 using a Vostok-2M rocket. I last observed this satellite on October 8th 2010.
8:50 PM - Name: Cosmos 1263 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1981-033-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to put the Russian Taifun-1 radar calibration sphere Kosmos 1263 in the year 1981.
8:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 220 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1968-040-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to launch the Russian Tsiklon satellite navigation satellite Kosmos 220 in the year 1968. Tsiklon was the first Soviet satellite navigation system. Kosmos 220 was the second Tsiklon satellite to be launched into orbit.
8:57 PM - Name: Helios 1B - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1999-064-A
This is my 13th sighting of Helios 1B, the French photo-recon satellite.
9:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 1674 - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1985-069-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 1674, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite.
9:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 1733 - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 1986-018-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1733, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1986.
9:01 PM - Name: Cartosat 2 Rocket aka PSLV R/B
Magnitude: 4.0 - Int'l Designator: 2007-001-E
This is my 3rd sighting of this Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. This particular vehicle launched 4 satellites into orbit.
9:06 PM - Name: Cosmos 1605 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.1
Int'l Designator: 1984-109-B
This is my first sighting of Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to launch the Russian Parus communication and navigation satellite Kosmos 1605 in the year 1984.
9:07 PM - Name: Cosmos 1354 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1982-037-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communication satellite Kosmos 1354 in the year 1982.
9:11 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. It was used to put the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1300 into orbit in 1981.
9:24 PM - Name: Lacrosse 4 Rocket - Magnitude: 1.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-047-B
This is my second sighting of this Titan IV-B rocket which was used to launch the US reconnaissance satellite Lacrosse 4.
9:33 PM - Name: Cosmos 405 - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1971-028-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 405, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was launched into orbit in 1971 using a Vostok-2M rocket.
9:43 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my sixth sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch five satellite, including the Russian Meteor 3M-1 meteorological satellite.
9:46 PM - Name: Okean 1-7 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1994-066-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. It was used to put the Russian Okean O1-7 oceanography satellite into orbit in 1994.
9:44 PM - Name: ADEOS 2 - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 4th sighting ADEOS II, the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2.
10:01 PM - Name: SJ 11-01 LM Rocket aka CZ-2C R/B - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 2009-061-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Long March 2C rocket. It was used to launch the Chinese Shijian 11-1 space experiment satellite in 2009.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 24-Mar-2011 Thursday
8:27 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 aka Meteor PRIRODA - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-A
This was my 3rd sighting of this Russian Meteor-Priroda meteorological satellite, Meteor 1-31. Meteor 1-31 was put into orbit using a Vostok-2M rocket. I don't know much about this particular model of Meteor satellite, other than the Meteor-Priroda model used electrically-powered spacecraft propulsion. Usually people talk about ion / plasma propulsion drives, however the Meteor-Priroda used an electrothermal drive which involves magnets creating heat for the propellant or something. Read the wiki if you want to know more.
8:28 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr aka CZ-4B DEB - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 8th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket. This rocket was used to launch the Chinese Shijian 6E and 6F space environment (and likely ELINT) satellites.
8:32 PM - Name: Cosmos 1674 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1985-069-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, Kosmos 1674.
8:45 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-A
This is my second sighting of Kosmos 1441, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was launched into orbit in 1983 using a Vostok-2M rocket. I last observed this satellite on October 8th 2010.
8:50 PM - Name: Cosmos 1263 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1981-033-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to put the Russian Taifun-1 radar calibration sphere Kosmos 1263 in the year 1981.
8:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 220 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1968-040-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to launch the Russian Tsiklon satellite navigation satellite Kosmos 220 in the year 1968. Tsiklon was the first Soviet satellite navigation system. Kosmos 220 was the second Tsiklon satellite to be launched into orbit.
8:57 PM - Name: Helios 1B - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1999-064-A
This is my 13th sighting of Helios 1B, the French photo-recon satellite.
9:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 1674 - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1985-069-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 1674, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite.
9:00 PM - Name: Cosmos 1733 - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 1986-018-A
This is my first sighting of Kosmos 1733, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was put into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket in 1986.
9:01 PM - Name: Cartosat 2 Rocket aka PSLV R/B
Magnitude: 4.0 - Int'l Designator: 2007-001-E
This is my 3rd sighting of this Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. This particular vehicle launched 4 satellites into orbit.
9:06 PM - Name: Cosmos 1605 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.1
Int'l Designator: 1984-109-B
This is my first sighting of Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to launch the Russian Parus communication and navigation satellite Kosmos 1605 in the year 1984.
9:07 PM - Name: Cosmos 1354 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1982-037-B
This is my first sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket. It was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communication satellite Kosmos 1354 in the year 1982.
9:11 PM - Name: Cosmos 1300 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-082-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. It was used to put the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1300 into orbit in 1981.
9:24 PM - Name: Lacrosse 4 Rocket - Magnitude: 1.7
Int'l Designator: 2000-047-B
This is my second sighting of this Titan IV-B rocket which was used to launch the US reconnaissance satellite Lacrosse 4.
9:33 PM - Name: Cosmos 405 - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 1971-028-A
This is my 3rd sighting of Kosmos 405, a Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It was launched into orbit in 1971 using a Vostok-2M rocket.
9:43 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my sixth sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch five satellite, including the Russian Meteor 3M-1 meteorological satellite.
9:46 PM - Name: Okean 1-7 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1994-066-B
This is my first sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket. It was used to put the Russian Okean O1-7 oceanography satellite into orbit in 1994.
9:44 PM - Name: ADEOS 2 - Magnitude: 2.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 4th sighting ADEOS II, the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2.
10:01 PM - Name: SJ 11-01 LM Rocket aka CZ-2C R/B - Magnitude: 2.4
Int'l Designator: 2009-061-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Long March 2C rocket. It was used to launch the Chinese Shijian 11-1 space experiment satellite in 2009.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Bad Darrin
After my interview was done... I stopped in at he Borders that is going out of business on Sawmill. Most stuff was at least 40% off... some has high as 75% (if you like holiday CDs). Of course, I meandered over to the DVD section... and of course they had some of the 50 Movie Packs. So, at 40% + 10% off I picked up a couple more of them. Legends of Horror and Western Legends. Bad Darrin. Some of the movies are even repeats from other sets I already have. I think there are about 15 from the Legends of Horror collection that I have on other sets. I'm not sure on the Western Legends one, though I'm guessing it's about the same number. Bad Darrin.
I also picked up the Indigo Girls 'Rarities' CD for $5. I don't feel bad about that particular purchase.
I blame Dan at work. He was going to take me out to lunch, but of course he didn't tell me that until he emailed me at work... where I was not. Had I known free food awaited me, I would have skipped Borders and eaten lunch. Instead, I bought more stupid-ass movies and picked up sushi from Kroger. I blame Dan.
I also picked up the Indigo Girls 'Rarities' CD for $5. I don't feel bad about that particular purchase.
I blame Dan at work. He was going to take me out to lunch, but of course he didn't tell me that until he emailed me at work... where I was not. Had I known free food awaited me, I would have skipped Borders and eaten lunch. Instead, I bought more stupid-ass movies and picked up sushi from Kroger. I blame Dan.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
a few more sessions (Mar 16,17,19 2011)
I managed to get a few more session outside. It's been very difficult lately due to the sky being very hazy and the moon coming up in the east during the peak sighting hours. One night I only managed to accidentally see one satellite flare and that was it. But, still, a few is better than none. Enjoy (or not).
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 16-Mar-2011 Wednesday
8:28 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 14th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31. I've been seeing this quite a bit recently, spotting it 11 times in the last month.
8:31 PM - Name: Aureole 2 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1973-107-B
This si my 3rd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Aureole 2 satellite in 1973. Aureole 2 (or Oreol 2) was used to study the magnetosphere of the earth.
8:31 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, Kosmos 1441.
8:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 1437 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1983-003-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, Kosmos 1437.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 17-Mar-2011 Thursday
8:13 PM - Name: Iridium 73 tum - Magnitude: 7.0
Int'l Designator: 1998-032-C
This is my first sighting of the tumbling Iridium 37 satellite. This was a really bad evening to be trying to spot satellites. The sky was VERY hazy and the moon was coming up and pretty much everything was working against me. I was trying to spot a satellite that was going to be pretty much straight up in the sky when I saw a flare out of the corner of my eye. After checking my websites, it appears that I saw the flare from this tumbling Iridium satellite. I didn't see anything else this evening which tells you how bad it was. I probably gave up fairly soon.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 19-Mar-2011 Saturday
8:28 PM - Name: NOSS 3-1 (C) - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-040-C
8:28 PM - Name: NOSS 3-1 (A) - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-040-A
This is my first sighting for either of these NOSS 3-1 satellites. NOSS (short for Naval Ocean Surveillance System) satellites are used for signal and electronic intelligence, mainly for spying on transmissions from submarines and other military water crafts. Sets of satellites are sent up in 2s or 3s and use the data to triangulate where the signal is coming from. Earlier NOSS systems used three, but with the introduction of the NOSS 3 system, only two satellites were used. This pair was launched into orbit using an Atlas IIAS rocket in 2001.
8:35 PM - Name: TacSat 3 - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 5th sighting of TacSat-3, a US recon satellite which launched in 2009 and, among other technologies, uses the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) hyperspectral imager.
8:42 PM - Name: Lacrosse 3 - Magnitude: 2.2
Int'l Designator: 1997-064-A
This is my 4th sighting of Lacrosse 3, a US recon satellite.
8:43 PM - Name: Helios 1B - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1999-064-A
This is my 12th sighting of this French photo-reconnaissance satellite. It was sent up in 1999 but the power supply failed in 2004 so it has been left to decay (which is obviously has not done yet). I tried to find an estimated date of decay, but failed to find any such calculations.
8:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 1340 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1982-013-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It's been quite a while since my last sighting on Oct 8 2010. Eventually, I'll set up a database so I can run reports to find the longest / shortest time between sightings, greatest number of sightings and that kinda thing.
8:59 PM - Name: Iridium 4 Dl Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1997-020-F
This is my 5th sighting of this Delta 7920 (Delta II) rocket which was used to launch the first set of five Iridium satellites (Iridium 4,5,6,7,8) into orbit.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 16-Mar-2011 Wednesday
8:28 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 14th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31. I've been seeing this quite a bit recently, spotting it 11 times in the last month.
8:31 PM - Name: Aureole 2 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 1973-107-B
This si my 3rd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Aureole 2 satellite in 1973. Aureole 2 (or Oreol 2) was used to study the magnetosphere of the earth.
8:31 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 4th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, Kosmos 1441.
8:52 PM - Name: Cosmos 1437 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1983-003-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite, Kosmos 1437.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 17-Mar-2011 Thursday
8:13 PM - Name: Iridium 73 tum - Magnitude: 7.0
Int'l Designator: 1998-032-C
This is my first sighting of the tumbling Iridium 37 satellite. This was a really bad evening to be trying to spot satellites. The sky was VERY hazy and the moon was coming up and pretty much everything was working against me. I was trying to spot a satellite that was going to be pretty much straight up in the sky when I saw a flare out of the corner of my eye. After checking my websites, it appears that I saw the flare from this tumbling Iridium satellite. I didn't see anything else this evening which tells you how bad it was. I probably gave up fairly soon.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 19-Mar-2011 Saturday
8:28 PM - Name: NOSS 3-1 (C) - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-040-C
8:28 PM - Name: NOSS 3-1 (A) - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-040-A
This is my first sighting for either of these NOSS 3-1 satellites. NOSS (short for Naval Ocean Surveillance System) satellites are used for signal and electronic intelligence, mainly for spying on transmissions from submarines and other military water crafts. Sets of satellites are sent up in 2s or 3s and use the data to triangulate where the signal is coming from. Earlier NOSS systems used three, but with the introduction of the NOSS 3 system, only two satellites were used. This pair was launched into orbit using an Atlas IIAS rocket in 2001.
8:35 PM - Name: TacSat 3 - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 5th sighting of TacSat-3, a US recon satellite which launched in 2009 and, among other technologies, uses the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) hyperspectral imager.
8:42 PM - Name: Lacrosse 3 - Magnitude: 2.2
Int'l Designator: 1997-064-A
This is my 4th sighting of Lacrosse 3, a US recon satellite.
8:43 PM - Name: Helios 1B - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1999-064-A
This is my 12th sighting of this French photo-reconnaissance satellite. It was sent up in 1999 but the power supply failed in 2004 so it has been left to decay (which is obviously has not done yet). I tried to find an estimated date of decay, but failed to find any such calculations.
8:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 1340 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.8
Int'l Designator: 1982-013-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite. It's been quite a while since my last sighting on Oct 8 2010. Eventually, I'll set up a database so I can run reports to find the longest / shortest time between sightings, greatest number of sightings and that kinda thing.
8:59 PM - Name: Iridium 4 Dl Rocket - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 1997-020-F
This is my 5th sighting of this Delta 7920 (Delta II) rocket which was used to launch the first set of five Iridium satellites (Iridium 4,5,6,7,8) into orbit.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
some stuff and #500 (yay!)
I had a pretty decent weekend.
On Saturday, I got a chance to walk outside with lil N to park and back using the trail behind the house. There is a little 'waterfall' farther down the trail that I did not know existed. I always assumed that the trail connected to the park down the street, but just never ventured that far down the trail to find out.
On Sunday, the lot of us went to the zoo where we saw the baby gorilla and the baby elephant, but we didn't get to see the 'baby' lions.
I had four satellite sessions in the past week. I reached a major milestone: I got to see object number 500! Took me 6 months and 15 days to achieve this.
Last Monday was cloudy as all get out, so I only got to see one. Other nights the clouds started rolling in in the evening. On Sunday, the clouds were hovering in the west for must of the evening. Thankfully it was a rather calm night. For the last four sessions I also had to deal with the moon being high and BRIGHT in the sky, but I still managed by blocking it with my hand when things were in the 60 - 90 degree range.
BTW... if you're curious what I see at night, this is a pretty good estimation. I still have yet to have a session with my buds Todd, Tom and Kevin. Maybe I'll get the chance last this spring to show my friends what a goober I am. :P Anywayzzzz, this example video shows a pair of NOSS 3 satellites passing overhead. My satellite log is below the video:
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 7-Mar-2011 Monday
7:34 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 10th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 11-Mar-2011 Friday
7:31 PM - Name: Cosmos 2369 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.5
Int'l Designator: 2000-006-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite Kosmos 2369 in 2000.
7:31 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 11th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
7:37 PM - Name: Cosmos 2058 - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1990-010-A
This is my 1st sighting of Cosmos 2058, a Russian Tselina-R ELINT satellite. Kosmos 2058 was launched into orbit in 1990 using a Tsyklon-3 rocket.
7:45 PM - Name: NOSS 3-2 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 2003-054-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Atlas IIAS Centaur upper stage. This rocket was used to launch a pair of NOSS 3 satellites (in particular, the pair known as NOSS 3-2... which is the pair featured in the video above).
7:52 PM - Name: Spot 1 ARk DbZ -or- deb Ariane - Magnitude: 4.5
Int'l Designator: 1986-019-Z
This is my 1st sighting of this piece of debris from an Ariane rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Spot 1 and Viking (Sweden) satellites. This Ariane rocket in particular exploded into 489 cataloged objects on November 13, 1986, 8 months after launch. It is not sure what caused this explosion, though typically this is caused by either an exploding battery or residual fuel left in the rocket. As for the satellites it deployed, the Spot 1 satellite is a high-resolution, optical earth imaging satellite. It appears to be used for scientific, not military use. Viking was Sweden's first satellite and was designed to explore plasma processes in the magnetosphere and the ionosphere.
7:53 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1441 in 1983.
7:57 PM - Name: Cosmos 1703 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1985-108-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1703 in 1985.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 12-Mar-2011 Saturday
7:30 PM - Name: COS B Dl Rocket - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 1975-072-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Delta 2913 rocket body. This rocket was used to put the European COS B satellite in orbit. It was the first satellite for the European Space Research Organization, was launched by NASA on their behalf, and went on to study gamma ray sources as well as studying the infamous Cygnus X3 pulsar. Here is a pic of the satellite.
7:30 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 12th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
7:34 PM - Name: Cosmos 407 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.4
Int'l Designator: 1971-035-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite Kosmos 407 in 1975.
7:36 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 6th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket which launched the Chinese satellites Shijian 6E and 6F.
7:42 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 3M-1, as well as four other satellites. The other satellites were Compass (Russia - Complex Orbital Magneto-Plasma Autonomous Small Satellite), Badr B (Pakistan - meteorological), Maroc-Tubsat (Morocco, Germany - Earth remote sensing and vegetation detection) and Reflector (USA - Retro-reflector Ensemble For Laser Experiments, Calibration, Testing & Optical Research).
7:42 PM - Name: Cosmos 2208 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1992-053-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite Kosmos 2208 in 1992.
7:45 PM - Name: Cosmos 1782 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 1986-074-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite in 1986.
7:45 PM - Name: Shijian 6-3B -or- SJ-6F - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-B
This is my 6th sighting of the Chinese Shijian 6F satellite. This satellite was launched into orbit (along with its brother SJ-6E) using a Long March 2B rocket and according to the Chinese government is studying the environment of space (though it is rumored that it also contains ELINT technology tests as well).
7:48 PM - Name: Cosmos 1908 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1988-001-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1908 in 1988.
7:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1441 in 1983.
7:58 PM - Name: TacSat 3 - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 3rd sighting of TacSat 3, a type U.S. recon satellite (one of MANY other types of US recon sats) which had three sensors, the main one being the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) hyperspectral imager. TacSat-3 was put into orbit using a Minotaur I rocket which is a modified Minuteman II ICBM.
8:02 PM - Name: Cosmos 676 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1974-071-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M communications satellite Kosmos 676 in 1974.
8:03 PM - Name: 99025DRG -or- deb FY-1C - Magnitude: 6.2
Int'l Designator: 1999-025-DRG
This is my 1st sighting of this piece of debris from the Chinese Fengyun-1C (FY-1C) meteorological satellite. Where did this piece of debris come from? Well, it seems that not so long ago in 2007 the Chinese government decided that they wanted to try out some anti-satellite technology. So, the ended up obliterating a weather satellite in high orbit. The test is the largest recorded creation of space debris in history with at least 2,300 pieces of trackable size (golf ball size and larger). Unlike the time when the US obliterated a failed spy satellite which was in low orbit and all debris decayed in a few months, FY-1C was in a high and very stable orbit... which means that this crap will be up there for a very very very very long time. According to a NASA report, debris that is 800km above the earth (FY-1C was at an altitude of 865 kilometers (537 mi)) will take decades to return back to earth. At 1000km, it can take a century or more. So, by my guesstimate, this crap will be circling probably until 2075. yay.
8:08 PM - Name: Cosmos 2263 - Magnitude: 4.2
Int'l Designator: 1993-059-A
This is my 1st sighting of Kosmos 2263, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite that was put into orbit in 1993 using a Zenit-2 rocket.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 14-Mar-2011 Monday
8:29 PM - Name: Helios 1B - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1999-064-A
This is my 11th sighting of the French photo-recon satellite Helios 1B.
8:29 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 13th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
8:37 PM - Name: NOSS 3-3 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 2005-004-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Atlas IIIB rocket which was used to launch the NOSS 3-3 pair of satellites (NOSS-3 3A, NOSS-3 3B).
8:37 PM - Name: JB-3 - Magnitude: 4.5
Int'l Designator: 2004-044-A
This is my 2nd (though, possibly first since the first sighting sin Sep 2010 was questionable) of this Ziyuan-2 (Chinese for Resource 2) satellite. It's also known as JianBing-3 3. The Chinese government lists this as a civilian earth observation satellite, however some speculate that this is part of China's first military high resolution imaging satellite system.
8:40 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1441 in 1983.
8:42 PM - Name: UARS - Magnitude: 0.4
Int'l Designator: 1991-063-B
This is NUMBER 500!!! This is my 2nd sighting of UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite). I'm amazed, honestly, that I've made it this far this quick. Five hundred objects in 6 months seems fast to me. That's 83 objects a month.
8:51 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 7th sighting of this piece of Long March 4B debris. I have yet to figure out what 'ptr' is about. Obviously CalSky has it as being part of the SJ6-3A but Heavens-Above has it as being CZ-4B debris. Anyways, I don't know if I'll ever know what the heck this thing is.
8:54 PM - Name: Cosmos 1437 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1983-003-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1437 in 1983.
8:59 PM - Name: ADEOS 2 - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 3rd sighting of ADEOS II (Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2), a Japanese earth observation satellite.
9:02 PM - Name: Cosmos 407 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1971-035-B
This is 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite Kosmos 407 in 1975.
9:04 PM - Name: Iridium 4 Dl Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1997-020-F
This is my 4th sighting of this Delta II rocket (a Delta-7920-10C to be exact) which was used to launch the first set of Iridium satellites, Iridium 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8; Iridium 01, 02 and 03 were not put into orbit.
9:06 PM - Name: TacSat 3 - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 4th sighting of TacSat-3, a U.S. recon satellite featuring ARTEMIS.
9:11 PM - Name: Okean 1-7 - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1994-066-A
This is my 1st sighting of Okean 1-7, a Russian oceanography satellite. It was launched into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket.
9:19 PM - Name: Cosmos 2151 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1991-042-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-R ELINT satellite Kosmos 2151 in 1991.
More (not so) interesting numbers:
Number of objects seen per month (running total):
Aug 2010 - 1 (1)
Sep 2010 - 25 (26)
Oct 2010 - 166 (192)
Nov 2010 - 89 (281)
Dec 2010 - 26 (307)
Jan 2011 - 32 (339)
Feb 2011 - 109 (448)
Mar 2011 (through Mar 14th) - 59 (507)
On Saturday, I got a chance to walk outside with lil N to park and back using the trail behind the house. There is a little 'waterfall' farther down the trail that I did not know existed. I always assumed that the trail connected to the park down the street, but just never ventured that far down the trail to find out.
On Sunday, the lot of us went to the zoo where we saw the baby gorilla and the baby elephant, but we didn't get to see the 'baby' lions.
I had four satellite sessions in the past week. I reached a major milestone: I got to see object number 500! Took me 6 months and 15 days to achieve this.
Last Monday was cloudy as all get out, so I only got to see one. Other nights the clouds started rolling in in the evening. On Sunday, the clouds were hovering in the west for must of the evening. Thankfully it was a rather calm night. For the last four sessions I also had to deal with the moon being high and BRIGHT in the sky, but I still managed by blocking it with my hand when things were in the 60 - 90 degree range.
BTW... if you're curious what I see at night, this is a pretty good estimation. I still have yet to have a session with my buds Todd, Tom and Kevin. Maybe I'll get the chance last this spring to show my friends what a goober I am. :P Anywayzzzz, this example video shows a pair of NOSS 3 satellites passing overhead. My satellite log is below the video:
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 7-Mar-2011 Monday
7:34 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 10th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 11-Mar-2011 Friday
7:31 PM - Name: Cosmos 2369 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.5
Int'l Designator: 2000-006-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite Kosmos 2369 in 2000.
7:31 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 11th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
7:37 PM - Name: Cosmos 2058 - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1990-010-A
This is my 1st sighting of Cosmos 2058, a Russian Tselina-R ELINT satellite. Kosmos 2058 was launched into orbit in 1990 using a Tsyklon-3 rocket.
7:45 PM - Name: NOSS 3-2 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 2003-054-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Atlas IIAS Centaur upper stage. This rocket was used to launch a pair of NOSS 3 satellites (in particular, the pair known as NOSS 3-2... which is the pair featured in the video above).
7:52 PM - Name: Spot 1 ARk DbZ -or- deb Ariane - Magnitude: 4.5
Int'l Designator: 1986-019-Z
This is my 1st sighting of this piece of debris from an Ariane rocket. This particular rocket was used to launch the Spot 1 and Viking (Sweden) satellites. This Ariane rocket in particular exploded into 489 cataloged objects on November 13, 1986, 8 months after launch. It is not sure what caused this explosion, though typically this is caused by either an exploding battery or residual fuel left in the rocket. As for the satellites it deployed, the Spot 1 satellite is a high-resolution, optical earth imaging satellite. It appears to be used for scientific, not military use. Viking was Sweden's first satellite and was designed to explore plasma processes in the magnetosphere and the ionosphere.
7:53 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1441 in 1983.
7:57 PM - Name: Cosmos 1703 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1985-108-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1703 in 1985.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 12-Mar-2011 Saturday
7:30 PM - Name: COS B Dl Rocket - Magnitude: 2.7
Int'l Designator: 1975-072-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Delta 2913 rocket body. This rocket was used to put the European COS B satellite in orbit. It was the first satellite for the European Space Research Organization, was launched by NASA on their behalf, and went on to study gamma ray sources as well as studying the infamous Cygnus X3 pulsar. Here is a pic of the satellite.
7:30 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 12th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
7:34 PM - Name: Cosmos 407 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.4
Int'l Designator: 1971-035-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite Kosmos 407 in 1975.
7:36 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr - Magnitude: 3.6
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 6th sighting of this piece of debris from a Long March 4B rocket which launched the Chinese satellites Shijian 6E and 6F.
7:42 PM - Name: Meteor 3M Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 2001-056-F
This is my 5th sighting of this Zenit-2 rocket which was used to launch the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 3M-1, as well as four other satellites. The other satellites were Compass (Russia - Complex Orbital Magneto-Plasma Autonomous Small Satellite), Badr B (Pakistan - meteorological), Maroc-Tubsat (Morocco, Germany - Earth remote sensing and vegetation detection) and Reflector (USA - Retro-reflector Ensemble For Laser Experiments, Calibration, Testing & Optical Research).
7:42 PM - Name: Cosmos 2208 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1992-053-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite Kosmos 2208 in 1992.
7:45 PM - Name: Cosmos 1782 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.8
Int'l Designator: 1986-074-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite in 1986.
7:45 PM - Name: Shijian 6-3B -or- SJ-6F - Magnitude: 3.9
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-B
This is my 6th sighting of the Chinese Shijian 6F satellite. This satellite was launched into orbit (along with its brother SJ-6E) using a Long March 2B rocket and according to the Chinese government is studying the environment of space (though it is rumored that it also contains ELINT technology tests as well).
7:48 PM - Name: Cosmos 1908 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1988-001-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1908 in 1988.
7:49 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.7
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1441 in 1983.
7:58 PM - Name: TacSat 3 - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 3rd sighting of TacSat 3, a type U.S. recon satellite (one of MANY other types of US recon sats) which had three sensors, the main one being the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) hyperspectral imager. TacSat-3 was put into orbit using a Minotaur I rocket which is a modified Minuteman II ICBM.
8:02 PM - Name: Cosmos 676 Rocket - Magnitude: 4.0
Int'l Designator: 1974-071-B
This is my 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M communications satellite Kosmos 676 in 1974.
8:03 PM - Name: 99025DRG -or- deb FY-1C - Magnitude: 6.2
Int'l Designator: 1999-025-DRG
This is my 1st sighting of this piece of debris from the Chinese Fengyun-1C (FY-1C) meteorological satellite. Where did this piece of debris come from? Well, it seems that not so long ago in 2007 the Chinese government decided that they wanted to try out some anti-satellite technology. So, the ended up obliterating a weather satellite in high orbit. The test is the largest recorded creation of space debris in history with at least 2,300 pieces of trackable size (golf ball size and larger). Unlike the time when the US obliterated a failed spy satellite which was in low orbit and all debris decayed in a few months, FY-1C was in a high and very stable orbit... which means that this crap will be up there for a very very very very long time. According to a NASA report, debris that is 800km above the earth (FY-1C was at an altitude of 865 kilometers (537 mi)) will take decades to return back to earth. At 1000km, it can take a century or more. So, by my guesstimate, this crap will be circling probably until 2075. yay.
8:08 PM - Name: Cosmos 2263 - Magnitude: 4.2
Int'l Designator: 1993-059-A
This is my 1st sighting of Kosmos 2263, a Russian Tselina-2 ELINT satellite that was put into orbit in 1993 using a Zenit-2 rocket.
Here's the time-line for the evening of:
Date: 14-Mar-2011 Monday
8:29 PM - Name: Helios 1B - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1999-064-A
This is my 11th sighting of the French photo-recon satellite Helios 1B.
8:29 PM - Name: Meteor 1-31 Rocket - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1981-065-B
This is my 13th sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian meteorological satellite Meteor 1-31 in 1981.
8:37 PM - Name: NOSS 3-3 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.1
Int'l Designator: 2005-004-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Atlas IIIB rocket which was used to launch the NOSS 3-3 pair of satellites (NOSS-3 3A, NOSS-3 3B).
8:37 PM - Name: JB-3 - Magnitude: 4.5
Int'l Designator: 2004-044-A
This is my 2nd (though, possibly first since the first sighting sin Sep 2010 was questionable) of this Ziyuan-2 (Chinese for Resource 2) satellite. It's also known as JianBing-3 3. The Chinese government lists this as a civilian earth observation satellite, however some speculate that this is part of China's first military high resolution imaging satellite system.
8:40 PM - Name: Cosmos 1441 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.5
Int'l Designator: 1983-010-B
This is my 3rd sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1441 in 1983.
8:42 PM - Name: UARS - Magnitude: 0.4
Int'l Designator: 1991-063-B
This is NUMBER 500!!! This is my 2nd sighting of UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite). I'm amazed, honestly, that I've made it this far this quick. Five hundred objects in 6 months seems fast to me. That's 83 objects a month.
8:51 PM - Name: Shijian6-3Aptr - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 2008-053-D
This is my 7th sighting of this piece of Long March 4B debris. I have yet to figure out what 'ptr' is about. Obviously CalSky has it as being part of the SJ6-3A but Heavens-Above has it as being CZ-4B debris. Anyways, I don't know if I'll ever know what the heck this thing is.
8:54 PM - Name: Cosmos 1437 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1983-003-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Vostok-2M rocket which launched the Russian Tselina-D ELINT satellite Kosmos 1437 in 1983.
8:59 PM - Name: ADEOS 2 - Magnitude: 3.0
Int'l Designator: 2002-056-A
This is my 3rd sighting of ADEOS II (Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2), a Japanese earth observation satellite.
9:02 PM - Name: Cosmos 407 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1971-035-B
This is 2nd sighting of this Kosmos-3M rocket which was used to launch the Russian Strela-2M military communications satellite Kosmos 407 in 1975.
9:04 PM - Name: Iridium 4 Dl Rocket - Magnitude: 3.3
Int'l Designator: 1997-020-F
This is my 4th sighting of this Delta II rocket (a Delta-7920-10C to be exact) which was used to launch the first set of Iridium satellites, Iridium 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8; Iridium 01, 02 and 03 were not put into orbit.
9:06 PM - Name: TacSat 3 - Magnitude: 3.2
Int'l Designator: 2009-028-A
This is my 4th sighting of TacSat-3, a U.S. recon satellite featuring ARTEMIS.
9:11 PM - Name: Okean 1-7 - Magnitude: 2.9
Int'l Designator: 1994-066-A
This is my 1st sighting of Okean 1-7, a Russian oceanography satellite. It was launched into orbit using a Tsyklon-3 rocket.
9:19 PM - Name: Cosmos 2151 Rocket - Magnitude: 3.4
Int'l Designator: 1991-042-B
This is my 1st sighting of this Tsyklon-3 rocket which was used to launch the Russian Tselina-R ELINT satellite Kosmos 2151 in 1991.
More (not so) interesting numbers:
Number of objects seen per month (running total):
Aug 2010 - 1 (1)
Sep 2010 - 25 (26)
Oct 2010 - 166 (192)
Nov 2010 - 89 (281)
Dec 2010 - 26 (307)
Jan 2011 - 32 (339)
Feb 2011 - 109 (448)
Mar 2011 (through Mar 14th) - 59 (507)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)