| Date: | 2001-12-18 00:22:00 | |
| Sender: | V. Shargorodsky, V.Vasiliev, N.Parkhomenko <EDC slrmail account <slrmail@dgfi.badw-muenchen.de>> | |
| Subject: | [SLR-Mail] No. 856: SOS | |
| Author: | V. Shargorodsky, V.Vasiliev, N.Parkhomenko | |
| Content: | ******************************************************************************** SLR Electronic Mail 2001-12-18 00:22:00 UTC Message No. 856 ******************************************************************************** Author: V. Shargorodsky, V.Vasiliev, N.Parkhomenko Subject: SOS Subject: SOS Subject: SOS Dear Colleague, We are asking your help. The passive REFLECTOR satellite equipped with cube corner reflectors has been launched December 10. To our regret, we could address the ILRS with the request for the REFLECTOR mission support only late November, as we did not have the permission from the Russian authorities for launching of this satellite, and the ILRS CB had not sufficient time to consider our request. We have privately asked the Riga and Katziveli stations to observe the satellite, but weather conditions as well as absence of visibility in reflected sunlight at Maidanak did not allow us as far to detect and to identify the satellite. We fear to lose it forever, and thus are asking you for help not in support of this mission, but only for a short observation campaign - to find and identify the REFLECTOR satellite. The REFLECTOR satellite was launched as a piggyback load on the Meteor-3M(1) satellite. Besides the REFLECTOR satellite, 3 other satellites (without cube corners) have been put into orbit (KOMPASS, MAROC-TUBSAT, BADR-B). Situation is still more complicated because, in accordance with the MCC estimation, the coordinates indicated by NORAD for the MAROC- TUBSAT are more corresponding with the REFLECTOR coordinates. The most effective help could come from Southern hemisphere stations, as the satellite is there more frequently visible in the reflected sunlight than in the Northern hemisphere. We realize that now is Christmas Eve, and everybody is busy with holiday preparations, but nevertheless we are asking you for a short observation campaign to help us. Victor Shargorodsky Vladimir Vasiliev Natalia Parkhomenko Science Research Institute for Precision Instrument Engineering Aviamotornaya 53, 111250, Moscow, Russia Phone 7 095 273 33 44 Fax 7 095 273 45 35 Email: natali@ricimi.msk.su or 8423.g23@g23.relcom.ru From: EDC slrmail account ******************************************************************************** |