Sunday, June 02, 2019

Jonathan's Space Report No. 765

Jonathan's Space Report
No. 765                                                      2019 Jun 2   Somerville, MA
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International Space Station
---------------------------

On May 1-2 the Canadarm-2 and Dextre arms were used to replace a failed Main Bus Switching
Unit on the ISS S0 truss. The failed MBSU supported the channel 3 solar arrays.
It was exchanged with an MBSU on External Stowage Platform 2. This replacement unit was originally
the channel 2 MBSU, which failed in 2017, was brought inside ISS, repaired, and replaced on ESP-2.
There are 7 MBSUs on ISS:

   Launch order   Launch year   Current role
   MBSU 1         2002          Failed, on ELC-2 since 2013
   MBSU 2         2002          Active as MBSU-3 since 2019
   MBSU 3         2002          Failed, on ESP-2 since 2019
   MBSU 4         2002          Active as MBSU-4 since 2002
   MBSU 5         2005          Active as MBSU-2 since 2017
   MBSU 6         2007          Active as MBSU-1 since 2012
   MBSU 7         2013          Spare on ESP-2 since 2013


On May 4 SpaceX launched Dragon CRS-17 towards the Station. The CRS-17 trunk carries
OCO-3, a carbon measuring experiment, and STP-H6, with a set of USAF Space Test Program
experiments. STP-H6's experiments include XCOM, an X-ray transmitter which will carry
out communications experiments using the ISS NICER X-ray observatory as a receiver -
giving a whole different meaning to "X-band".

Dragon arrived at ISS on May 6, with SSRMS grapple at 1101 UTC and
berthing on Harmony nadir at 1422 UTC.  On May 10-11 OCO-3 was installed
on site EFU3 of the Kibo Exposed Facility, and STP-H6 was installed on
site 3 of Express Logistics Carrier ELC-3. The CATS experiment, launched
in 2015, was removed from the Kibo EF and installed in Dragon's trunk
for disposal; the SCAN testbed, launched in 2012, was similarly removed
from the ELC-3 and stowed in the trunk.

A failed BCDU (battery charge-discharge unit), launched in 2006, was removed from
the P4 truss on Apr 3 and placed on ELC-1; on May 16 it was brought inside the Kibo
airlock.

On May 29 astronauts Ovchinin and Kononenko made a spacewalk, VKD-46, from the
Pirs module, using spacesuits Orlan MKS-4 and MKS-5. For this spacewalk, to celebrate
the 85th birthday of the first spacewalker on May 30, they wore backpacks decorated
with the slogans "Leonov Number 1" and "Happy Birthday Aleksey Arkhipovich" (in Russian,
of course).

They depressurized the airlock at about 1530 UTC and opened the hatch at 1542 UTC.
They installed a commemorative portrait of Leonov on the EVA ladder, retrieved
a decontamination towel left tied to a handrail by Yuriy Lonchakov in Dec 2008;
retrieved a thermal sensor boom, 'Test' exposure cassettes, the IMPAKT experiment
and Vinoslivost' panels, cleaned windows on the airlock module,
and disassembled the Obstanovka experiment. Two Obstanovka experiment boxes
and two mounting booms were jettisoned between 1945 and 2101 UTC.
The hatch was closed at 2143 UTC and the airlock was repressurized at 2148 UTC.

Electron
--------

On May 5 Rocket Lab launched Electron mission 6, nicknamed 'That's A Funny Looking Cactus'.
The payload was USAF Space Test Program mission STP-27RD, consisting of the 150 kg
Harbinger satellite and two cubesats.

Harbinger is a small imaging radar satellite built by York Space Systems (Denver)
and will carry out a mission for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

SPARC-1 (Space Plug-and-Play Architecture Cubesat)  is a 6U mission from
the USAF Research Lab and the Swedish defense agency FMV, testing
advanced computing hardware in space.

The Falcon Orbital Debris Experiment (Falcon-ODE) 1U cubesat from the USAF Academy, will release
2cm and 4cm steel spheres to act as tracking targets.


Beidou DW45
-----------

The 45th Beidou satellite was  Beidou-2 G8, a replenishment satellite for the older Beidou phase 2
system. It was launched to geotransfer orbit on May 17.

RISAT-2B
--------

India's RISAT-2B radar imaging satellite was launched on May 22. It replaces the Israeli-built
RISAT-2, launched in 2009. Mass of RISAT-2B is 615 kg.

Yaogan-33
---------

The launch of China's Yaogan-33 radar satellite on May 23 was a failure.
The third stage burn was not performed successfully and the vehicle did
not reach orbit.


Starlink
--------

SpaceX launched its first batch of 60 Starlink Ku-band internet
satellites on May 24.  The Falcon 9 rocket placed the satellites in a
434 x 442 km x 53.0 deg. Each one is about 200-250 kg (the press kit
says 227 kg, but this is suspiciously close to the metric equivalent of
500 pounds, so it's possible they really mean 500+-50 lb = 227 +- 23
kg). The satellites are a flat panel with krypton-propellant electric
thrusters and a single deployable solar panel.

Observers in Europe saw the satellites as a spectacular string of mag 2
to 3 objects a few hours after launch. As of May 30 it appears the
satellites are mostly in the mag 4 to 7 range with frequent flares to
mag 2 and occasional brighter flares, depending on illumination
conditions and satellite orientation. (For the nonastronomers:
bigger mag is fainter, mag 1 = brightest stars in the sky and
mag 6 = barely naked-eye visible at a dark site).

The brightness of the satellites has raised concerns in the astronomical
community - a full constellation of many thousand satellites could
interfere with observations and, if they are brighter than mag 5 or so,
might dominate the naked-eye night sky in dark locations. However, it is
likely to take some weeks before we really understand how much of the
time the satellites are bright and whether it's a real problem. SpaceX
have now stated that they will look at ways to reduce the reflectivity
of later satellites.

In the meantime, the  60 satellites launched so far are fascinating to
watch, if you live somewhere less cloudy than Boston has been lately.

SpaceX report that 56 of the 60 satellites are working as expected,
and 4 have some problems but are in communication with the ground.
In addtion, there are a further 4 debris objects which tumble with
large observed brightness variations


Glonass
-------

Glonass-M No. 58 (Uragan-M No. 758) was launched on May 27, replenishing
the Russian navigation system. It will probably get the official cover name Kosmos-2534.

Yamal-601
---------

Yamal-601, a communications satellite for the Russian company Gazprom Space Systems built
by ISS Reshetnev, was launched on May 30 by a Proton from Baykonur into geotransfer
orbit.


Hayabusa-2
----------

Hayabusa-2 ejected a second small `target marker' onto the surface of Ryugu
at about 0219 UTC May 30, during another descent to about 10 metres above
the asteroid.

WGS 10
------

The USAF Wideband Global Satcom 10 satellite, launched on Mar 16 to a mildly
supersynchronous 462 x 44260 km x 27.0 deg transfer orbit, is using an unusual ascent
path to GEO. By Mar 26 its orbit was near-synchronous and equatorial but elliptical,
25876 x 45130 km x 0.2 deg. Since then it has slowly circularized and by May 30
its orbit was 34716 x 36850 km. This is in contrast to the usual practice of getting
one end of the ellipse to the GEO height quickly and only then adjusting the other.
The WGS 10 strategy may allow comms with a single ground station more quickly.

SSO-A
-----

Three more SSO-A cubesats have been identified: objects J, U and W are SPAWAR-CAL-O,
SPAWAR-CAL-R, and SPAWAR-CAL-OR. They are 1U cubesats for the US Navy Space and
Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) used for calibration of space tracking systems
and carry optical and radar reflectors.


Erratum
-------

IOD-1 GEMS is owned by Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., although
built by Orbital Microsystems and ClydeSpace. Catapult has a ground
station at Goonhilly in Cornwall, site of the first transatlantic satcom
link.


Table of Recent Orbital Launches
 ----------------------------------
Date UT       Name            Launch Vehicle        Site            Mission       INTL.   Catalog  Perigee Apogee  Incl   Notes

Apr  1 0357   EMISAT               ) PSLV-QL             Satish Dhawan SLP Sigint     18A   S44078   736 x   758 x 98.4 0930LT SSO
              BlueWalker 1         )                                       IoT Comms  18AD  S44105   434 x   515 x 97.5
              M6P                  )                                       IoT Comms  18AF  S44109   434 x   515 x 97.5
              Astrocast-0.2        )                                       IoT Comms  18F   S44083   494 x   510 x 97.5
              Danu Pathfinder 1    )                                       AIS Comms  18AB  S44103   490 x   507 x 97.5
              Lemur-2-JohanLoran   )                                   AIS/ADS-B/Met  18G   S44084   494 x   510 x 97.5
              Lemur-2-Beaudacious  )                                   AIS/ADS-B/Met  18H   S44085   493 x   510 x 97.5
              Lemur-2-Elham        )                                   AIS/ADS-B/Met  18J   S44086   493 x   510 x 97.5
              Lemur-2-Victor-Andrew)                                   AIS/ADS-B/Met  18K   S44087   493 x   510 x 97.5
              Flock 4a-1/ Dove 2218)                                       Imaging    18B   S44079   494 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-2/ Dove 2201)                                       Imaging    18C   S44080   494 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-3/ Dove 2206)                                       Imaging    18D   S44081   494 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-4/ Dove 2220)                                       Imaging    18E   S44082   494 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-5/ Dove 2227)                                       Imaging    18T   S44095   493 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-6/ Dove 220b)                                       Imaging    18S   S44094   494 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-7/ Dove 222d)                                       Imaging    18R   S44093   494 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-8/ Dove 2213)                                       Imaging    18Q   S44092   494 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-9/ Dove 2224)                                       Imaging    18W   S44098   493 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-10/Dove 2205)                                       Imaging    18V   S44097   493 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-11/Dove 2223)                                       Imaging    18U   S44096   493 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-12/Dove 2209)                                       Imaging    18AE  S44108   494 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-13/Dove 220c)                                       Imaging    18AA  S44102   492 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-14/Dove 222c)                                       Imaging    18Z   S44101   492 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-15/Dove 2207)                                       Imaging    18Y   S44100   493 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-16/Dove 222b)                                       Imaging    18X   S44099   493 x  507 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-17/Dove 2212)                                       Imaging    18L   S44088   493 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-18/Dove 2215)                                       Imaging    18M   S44089   493 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-19/Dove 2235)                                       Imaging    18N   S44090   493 x  510 x  97.5
              Flock 4a-20/Dove 2232)                                       Imaging    18P   S44091   493 x  510 x  97.5
              AISAT-1/PSLV-C45-PS4                                         Tech/Comms 18AC  S44104   435 x  515 x  97.5
Apr  4 1101   Progress MS-11         Soyuz-2-1A          Baykonur LC31     Cargo      19A   S44110   407 x  411 x  51.6  
Apr  4 1703   O3b FM17  )            Soyuz ST-B/Fregat   CSG ELS           Comms      20A   S44112  7809 x 7839 x   0.0
              O3b FM18  )                                                  Comms      20B   S44113  7818 x 7839 x   0.0
              O3b FM19  )                                                  Comms      20C   S44114  7830 x 7840 x   0.0
              O3b FM20  )                                                  Comms      20D   S44115  7839 x 7841 x   0.0
Apr  5 0156   SCI                            Hayabusa-2, Ryugu space       Weapon    14076  D00957   Ryugu impact
Apr  5 0214   DCAM-3                         Hayabusa-2, Ryugu space       Imaging   14076  D00958   Ryugu space
Apr 11 2235   Arabsat 6A             Falcon Heavy        Kennedy LC39A     Comms      21A   S44186   320 x89807 x  23.0
Apr 17 2046   S.S. Roger Chaffee )   Antares 230         MARS LA0B         Cargo      22A   S44188   285 x  380 x  51.6
              SASSI-2            )                                         Science    22C?  A09407   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1A         )                                         Tech       22D?  A09408   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1B         )                                         Tech       22E?  A09409   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1C         )                                         Tech       22F?  A09410   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1D         )                                         Tech       22G?  A09411   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1E         )                                         Tech       22H?  A09412   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1F         )                                         Tech       22J?  A09413   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1G         )                                         Tech       22K?  A09414   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1H         )                                         Tech       22L?  A09415   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1I         )                                         Tech       22M?  A09416   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1J         )                                         Tech       22N?  A09417   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1K         )                                         Tech       22P?  A09418   201 x  291 x  51.6
              ThinSat 1L         )                                         Tech       22Q?  A09419   201 x  291 x  51.6
Apr 20 1441   Beidou DW44                Chang Zheng 3B   Xichang          Navigation 23A   S44205   193 x35788 x  28.5
Apr 29 2252   Tianhui-2 01 zu 01 xing )  Chang Zheng 4B   Taiyuan          Imaging    24A   S44207   506 x  517 x  97.4 0600LT SSO
              Tianhui-2 01 zu 02 xing )                                    Imaging    24B   S44208   506 x  517 x  97.4 0600LT SSO
May  4 0648   Dragon CRS-17              Falcon 9         Canaveral SLC40  Cargo      25A   S44222   204 x  382 x  51.6
May  5 0600   Harbinger )                Electron         Mahia LC1        Radar      26E   S44229   484 x  512 x  40.0
              SPARC-1   )                                                  Tech       26B   S44226   493 x  511 x  40.0
              AFOTEC-1  )                                                  Cal        26A   S44225   496 x  511 x  40.0
May 17 1548   Beidou DW45                Chang Zheng 3C   Xichang LC2      Navigation 27A   S44231   198 x35743 x  19.4
May 22 0000   RISAT-2B                   PSLV-CA         Satish Dhawan FLP Radar      28A   S44233   550 x  558 x  37.0
May 22 2249   Yaogan 33                  Chang Zheng 4C   Taiyuan          Radar      F04   F01439  -6000?x 500?x  97.8?
May 24 0230   Starlink 01 )              Falcon 9         Canaveral SLC40  Comms      29A   S44235   434 x  443 x  53.0
              Starlink 02 )                                                Comms       .
              ...         )                                                            .
              Starlink 60 )                                                Comms      29BM  S44294   450 x  453 x  53.0
May 27 0623   Glonass-M No 58            Soyuz-2-1B/Fregat Plesetsk LC43/4 Navigation 30A   S44299 19128 x19156 x  64.8
May 30 1742   Yamal-601                  Proton-M/Briz-M   Baykonur        Comms      31A   S44307  6423 x35712 x  17.8

Table of Recent Suborbital Launches
-----------------------------------

Sandia National Labs launched two Terrier Malemute rockets with technology payloads in April,
according to T. Rummler from Sandia.

The Trident II test on May 9 sent its reentry vehicles into the South Atlantic Ocean off the
coast of Namibia.

The University of Southern California's student rocket group RPL flew a rocket called Traveler IV
to 103 km on Apr 21, a record apogee for a student built rocket.


Date UT       Payload/Flt Name Launch Vehicle      Site                  Mission    Apogee/km    Target

Apr  5 2214   AZURE 1           Black Brant XIA    Andoya                Auroral       320       Norwegian Sea
Apr  5 2216   AZURE 2           Black Brant XIA    Andoya                Auroral       320       Norwegian Sea
Apr 11 1651   CLASP 2           Black Brant IX     White Sands           Solar UV      274       White Sands
Apr 21        Traveler IV       Traveler           Spaceport America     Test          103       Spaceport America
Apr 23        HOT SHOT 2        Terrier Malemute   Kauai                 Tech          320?      Pacific
Apr 24        HOT SHOT 3        Terrier Malemute   Kauai                 Tech          320?      Pacific
May  1 0942   GT230GM           Minuteman III      Vandenberg LF10       Op Test      1300?      Kwajalein
May  2 1334?  New Shepard NS-12 New Shepard        West Texas            Test          105       West Texas
May  3 2045   Momo TF-3         Momo               Taiki                 Test          118       Pacific Ocean
May  9 0740   GT229GM           Minuteman III      Vandenberg LF09       Op Test      1300?      Kwajalein
May  9        DASO-29           Trident II D-5    USS Rhode Island, ETR  Op Test      1000?      S Atlantic
May 10        SM-3 KV           SM-3-IB           USS Roosevelt, Hebrides   Test       150?      Atlantic
May 23        Shaheen II RV     Shaheen II         Somniani?             Op Test       300?      Arabian Sea  


-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
|  Jonathan McDowell                 |                                    |
|  Somerville MA 02143               |  inter : planet4589 at gmail       |
|  USA                               |  twitter: @planet4589              |
|                                                                         |
| JSR: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html                                 |
| Back issues:  http://www.planet4589.org/space/jsr/back                  |
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