[JSR] Jonathan's Space Report, No. 733
Jonathan McDowell
jcm at planet4589.org
Wed Dec 28 18:14:31 EST 2016
Jonathan's Space Report
No. 733 2016 Dec 28 Somerville, MA
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International Space Station
---------------------------
Expedition 50 continues.
The Progress MS-04 cargo ship was launched from Baykonur on a Soyuz-U
rocket on Dec 1. However, the vehicle failed during third stage burn and
its debris fell in the Tuva Republic. Lost with the rest of the cargo
was the first Orlan-MKS spacesuit (possibly serial No. 3). Unconfirmed
reports from commenters in the Novosti Kosmonavtiki forum suggest the
Progress separated from the rocket third stage prematurely and the
accelerating stage then crashed into the Progress.
The 16-tonne Japanese HTV-6 (Kounotori-6) cargo ship was launched on Dec
9. The pressurized module contains 600 kg of water and 2152 kg of dry
cargo. This includes two JAXA J-SSOD and one Nanoracks NRCSD-10 cubesat
deployers; these will be transferred to the Kibo module.
The J-SSOD #5 contains the following cubesats:
STARS-C Oyaki and Koki ('parent' and 'child'), two 1U cubesats connected by a tether,
from Shizuoka University which is contining the earlier STARS experiments by Kagawa U.
STARS-C appears to have the alternate name 'Hagoromo', also used for a 1990 lunar orbiter.
The J-SSOD #6 contains the following cubesats:
EGG, a U. Tokyo 3U cubesat with a 0.6m deployable aeroshell for controlled reentry.
ITF-2, from Tsukuba University, a 1U amateur radio payload.
AOBA-VeloxIII is a 2U mission from Kyushu Tech and NTU of Singapore with a
micropropulsion system.
FREEDOM, a 1U cubesat with a 1.5m deorbit drag device, from Nakashima Engineering of
Hirokawa and Tohoku University.
Waseda-Sat3, a 1U cubesat from Waseda University with a large thin film drag sail.
TuPOD, from GAUSS SRi (Rome), a 3U cubesat containing (and ejecting)
two cylindrical 'Tubesats', each 0.75 kg, 0.09m dia 0.13m long. The tubesats are
TANCREDO-1 from a school in Ubatuba, Brazil
and OSNSAT from the Open Space Network of Mountain View, California.
The NRCSD-10 contains four Lemur-2 3U cubesats from Spire Global, and
the TechEdSat-5 (TES-5) from NASA-Ames. TES-5 will carry out a
controlled reentry experiment with an 'exobrake' drag sail. In
addition, the Honeywell/Morehead U. DM-7 'dependable multiprocessor'
experiment will be attached to the Nanoracks External Platform on the
Kibo exposed facility; it is a 1U box.
The HTV also has an Exposed Pallet, which on this mission (using the
enhanced capacity EP6B+) carries a set of replacement batteries for the
ISS truss, with a total cargo mass of 1367 kg. The S4, S6, P4 and P6
truss segments each contain an Integrated Electronics Assembly (IEA),
with 12 Ni-H2 batteries apiece in separate ORUs (Orbital Replacement
Units). On this mission the S4 batteries are to be replaced. Six new
197 kg Li-ion battery ORUs will be installed and six of the 166 kg Ni-H2
battery ORUs will be transferred to the HTV EP for disposal on reentry.
The remaining six Ni-H2 ORUs will remain on S4, but they will be taken
off line and new 29 kg Adapter Plate ORUs will be installed between
them and the truss.
On Dec 14 the Exposed Pallet was grappled by the Canadarm-2, pulled
out of HTV-6 and attached to the Mobile Base System on the ISS truss.
On Dec 15-16 the J-SSOD #5 was moved to the Kibo module's airlock.
On Dec 19 the Japanese RMS arm took the MPEP platform, with
J-SSOD attached, out of the airlock and the STARS-C cubesat was
ejected from it at 0855 UTC. On Dec 27 J-SSOD #6 was installed
in the airlock with its sats to be deployed in January.
Gokturk-1
---------
The Turkish Defense Ministry's Gokturk-1 high resolution (0.7m) imaging satellite
was launched by the light European launch vehicle Vega on Dec 5. The satellite
was built by Thales Alenia (Cannes).
WGS 8
-----
The 8th Boeing 702-class Wideband Global Satcom payload for the US Dept.
of Defense carries an improved 'channelizer' that increases the capacity
of the satellite. The second stage was reportedly deorbited, and the
extra propellant required to do this necessitated a lower apogee
transfer orbit than for previous WGS missions. By Dec 25 WGS-8
had reached a 26728 x 44588 km x 0.2 deg orbit.
Resourcesat-2A
--------------
On Dec 7 India launched the Resourcesat-2A imaging satellite to provide
continuity of service for the system as 2011's Resourcesat-2 ages. The
satellite has a 6 metre resolution imager.
Fengyun 4-01
------------
The first satellite in the FY-4 series flew on Dec 10 to geotransfer orbit.
China's FY-1 and newer FY-3 series are polar orbiting weather satellites comparable
to the NOAA polar series, while the FY-2 constellation, now to be superseded
by the FY-4 system, consists of geostationary satellites like NOAA's GOES.
FY-4 No. 1 carries a 0.5 km resolution imager, a 913-channel IR sounder,
a lightning mapping imager, and a space environment package.
Arase
-----
Japan's second Epsilon rocket launched the 350 kg ERG geospace
science satellite on Dec 20 into elliptical orbit.
ERG carries experiments to study energetic particles, waves and fields
in the magnetosphere. After launch, ERG was renamed 'Arase' (rough water,
a metaphor for the dynamic magnetic storms of geospace).
The second Epsilon uses a new second stage, the M-35. The first flight
in 2013 used a derivative of the M-34 from the old M-V rocket. The M-35,
with a mass of 17200 kg, is a growth version sized to match the 2.6m
diameter of the larger Epsilon first stage. The third stage is the
KM-V2c, with minor improvements compared to the previous mission's
KM-V2b. The PBS liquid post-boost 4th stage was not included on this
flight.
Gaojing
-------
On Dec 28 China launched a CZ-2D from Taiyuan - the first time the 2D model has
flown from their southern launch site. However, the rocket appears to have
run into problems and achieved orbit with an underspeed of 100 m/s, making
a 212 x 520 km orbit instead of a circular 500 km one.
The main payloads are Gaojing 1 and 2, two commercial high resolution
(0.5m) imaging satellites also called SuperView 1 and 2. The satellites
are owned by Beijing Aerospace World View Information Technology Co.,
Ltd (also called Beijing Space View Tech Co.Ltd.); the US company
DigitalGlobe is a major investor.
Also aboard was BY70-1, or Bayi kepu weixing 01 xing, a 2U cubesat with
an amateur radio payload developed by high school students at the
PLA-related Beijing Bayi School.
Tan Weixing
-----------
China's Tan Weixing (Carbon Satellite or TanSat) was launched on Dec 21.
It carries a high resolution grating spectrometer to measure CO2 and O2
distribution and a wide field of view cloud/aerosol imager. The 620 kg
satellite will map global CO2 sources and sinks with a precision of 1
percent. Three smaller payloads from the Shanghai microsatellite center
were also carried; they are about 50 kg each. Spark-01 and Spark-02
have hyperspectral imagers; the third, referred to as Chao fenbianlu duo
guangpu chengxiang weixing (Ultra-resolution multispectral imaging
satellite) has a 1.4m resolution imager.
Ariane
------
Ariane vehicle L587, mission VA234, placed two comm satellites in orbit
on Dec 21. JCSAT 15, for Sky Perfect JSAT of Japan, will become JCSAT-110A
once it becomes operational at 110E to replace JCSAT-110R. Star One D1,
for Embratel Star One of Brazil, will replace Brasilsat B4. Both are
Loral 1300 class satellites built in MDA/Loral's Palo Alto factory.
Tianlian 1-04
-------------
On Dec 1 Tianlian 1-04 was tracked on station at 76.9E, a few degrees from
Tianlian 1-01.
CZ-11
-----
The Nov 9 launch of a CZ-11 rocket, described last issue, put 4 objects
in a circular 500 km orbit and 3 in an elliptical 500 x 1000 km orbit.
It now appears that the final stage rocket, with attached amateur radio
payload CAS-2T, is object E, one of those in the elliptical orbit.
Space-Track has identified object A in the circular orbit as the main
pulsar navigation experiment satellite, and puts E in the 'large' radar
cross-section category which supports the idea that E is the rocket.
I am guessing that the two remaining small payloads are the two
remaining elliptical orbit objects F and G while objects B to D are
launch adapters or other debris. But it could be the other way around.
Table of Recent Orbital Launches
----------------------------------
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. Catalog Perigee Apogee Incl Notes
km km deg
Nov 2 0620 Himawari 9 H-IIA 202 Tanegashima LP1 Weather 64A S41836 243 x 35857 x 22.4
Nov 3 1243 Shi Jian 17 Chang Zheng 5/YZ2 Wenchang LC101 Comms/Tech 65A S41838 35771 x 35804 x 0.8 GEO 163E
Nov 9 2342 Maichong Xing SW ) Chang Zheng 11 Jiuquan SLS-E Astronomy 66A S41841 493 x 512 x 97.4
Xiaoxiang-1 ) Tech 66F? S41846? 503 x 1034 x 98.8
Lishui 1-01 ) Imaging 66G? S41847? 503 x 992 x 98.8
KS-1Q ) Imaging 66E? S41845? 503 x 1029 x 98.8
CAS-2T ) Imaging 66E? S41845? 503 x 1029 x 98.8
Nov 11 1830 WorldView-4 ) Atlas V 401 Vandenberg SLC3E Imaging 67A S41848 607 x 611 x 98.0
Prometheus 2.1 ) Comms 67 S41849 572 x 585 x 98.0
Prometheus 2.2 ) Comms 67 S41850 571 x 584 x 98.0
Aerocube 8C ) Tech 67 S41851 573 x 586 x 98.0
Aerocube 8D ) Tech 67 S41852 575 x 585 x 98.0
CELTEE ) Tech 67 S41853 576 x 586 x 98.0
Opticube 4 ) Cal 67 S41854 576 x 585 x 98.0
RAVAN ) Tech/Sci 67 S41855 569 x 583 x 98.0
Nov 11 2314 Yunhai-1 01 Chang Zheng 2D Jiuquan Weather 68A S41857 760 x 787 x 98.5
Nov 17 1306 GalileoSat-15 ) Ariane 5ES Kourou ELA3 Nav 69A S41859 22879 x 22906 x 54.6
GalileoSat-16 ) Nav 69B S41860 22890 x 22926 x 54.6
GalileoSat-17 ) Nav 69C S41861 22901 x 22912 x 54.6
GalileoSat-18 ) Nav 69D S41862 22898 x 22899 x 54.5
Nov 17 2020 Soyuz MS-03 Soyuz-FG Baykonur LC1 Spaceship 70A S41864 195 x 228 x 51.6
Nov 19 2342 GOES 16 (GOES R) Atlas V 541 Canaveral SLC41 Weather 71A S41866 8157 x 35269 x 10.6
Nov 22 1524 Tianlian-1 04 Chang Zheng 3C Xichang Data relay 72A S41869 201 x 41776 x 17.4
Nov 25 2015 Lemur-2-Sokolsky) Cygnus OA-5, LEO Weather/AIS 62D S41872 498 x 507 x 51.6
Lemur-2-Xiaoqing) Weather/AIS 62C S41871 498 x 507 x 51.6
Nov 26 0010 Lemur-2-Anubhavthakur ) Cygnus OA-5, LEO Weather/AIS 62E S41873 498 x 507 x 51.6
Lemur-2-Wingo ) Weather/AIS 62F S41874 498 x 507 x 51.6
Dec 1 1451 Progress MS-04 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Cargo F02 F01484 -4000?x 190 x 51.6
Dec 5 1351 Gokturk-1 Vega CSG ZLV Imaging 73A S41875 679 x 691 x 98.1 2230LT SSO
Dec 7 0454 Resourcesat-2A PSLV-XL Satish Dhawan FLP Imaging 74A S41877 814 x 831 x 98.7 1030LT SSO
Dec 7 2352 WGS SV-8 Delta 4M+(5,4) Canaveral SLC37B Comms 75A S41879 430 x 44207 x 27.0
Dec 9 1326 Kounotori 6 H-IIB Tanegashima Cargo 76A S41881 276 x 302 x 51.6
Dec 10 1611 Fengyun-4 01 Chang Zheng 3B/G2 Xichang LC3 Weather 77A S41882 184 x 35803 x 28.4
Dec 15 1337 CYGNSS A ) Pegasus XL Canaveral RW13 Weather 78D S41887 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS B ) Weather 78C S41886 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS C ) Weather 78H S41891 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS D ) Weather 78B S41885 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS E ) Weather 78A S41884 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS F ) Weather 78F S41889 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS G ) Weather 78G S41890 515 x 537 x 35.0
CYGNSS H ) Weather 78E S41888 515 x 537 x 35.0
Dec 18 1913 Echostar 19 Atlas V 431 Canaveral SLC41 Comms 79A S41893 164 x 65110 x 25.6
Dec 19 0855 Hagoromo Parent ) ISS, LEO Tech 98-67KR S41895 400 x 406 x 51.6
Hagoromo Child )
Dec 20 1100 Arase Epsilon Uchinoura Space Sci 80A S41896 228 x 32259 x 31.4
Dec 21 1922 Tan Weixing ) Chang Zheng 2D Jiuquan Atmos Sci 81A S41898 690 x 719 x 98.2 0138LT SSO
Spark-01 ) Imaging 81B S41899 690 x 720 x 98.1
Spark-02 ) Imaging 81C S41900 690 x 726 x 98.1
CFDG ) Imaging 81D S41901 690 x 728 x 98.1
Dec 21 2030 JCSAT 15 ) Ariane 5ECA Kourou ELA3 Comms 82A S41903 35721 x 35774 x 0.1 GEO 135Edr
Star One D1 ) Comms 82B S41904 35741 x 35777 x 0.1 GEO 86Wdr
Dec 28 0323 Gaojing 1 ) Chang Zheng 2D Taiyuan Imaging 83A S41907 212 x 523 x 97.6
Gaojing 2 ) Imaging 83B S41908 212 x 523 x 97.6
BJ70-1 ) Comms 83C S41909 212 x 523 x 97.6
Table of Recent Suborbital Launches
-----------------------------------
There have been suggestions of planned Chinese missile launches in early
December based on NOTAM airspace closures, but no evidence that the
launches actually occurred.
On Dec 16 the US Army (as part of a NASA managed launch) test-launched the Zombie, a missile-defense target missile
probably based on an ATACMS motor. It's not clear whether the flight was exoatmospheric.
The Dec 15 MDA target launch was intercepted by two SM-6 endoatmospheric missiles from the Aegis ship DDG 53.
It's not clear what kind of target launch vehicle was used.
Also on Dec 16, according to Pentagon sources quoted by Bill Gertz in the Washington Free Beacon,
Russia again tested the Nudol antisatellite missile. It's probable Russia is still just testing
the rocket launch vehicle rather than carrying out actual intercepts at this stage.
Date UT Payload/Flt Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission Apogee/km Target
Oct 25 0858 RV UR-100NU Yasniy Test 1000? Kura
Dec 15 FTM-27 Target ? Kauai? Target 200? Pacific Ocean
Dec 16 A-235 test Nudol Plesetsk Test 100? -
Dec 16 1615 NASA 12.080DR Zombie White Sands Test 80? White Sands
Dec 26 0535 Agni RV Agni V Kalam Island Test 500? Indian Ocean
.-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Jonathan McDowell | |
| Somerville MA 02143 | inter : planet4589 at gmail |
| USA | twitter: @planet4589 |
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