No 615 2009 Sep 10 Somerville, MA

Shuttle and Station

On Aug 7 the Station SSRMS arm grappled the PMA3 docking port and removed it from the Unity module's nadir berth at around 1000 UTC At around 1200 UTC the PMA3 was attached to Unity's port berth, leaving the nadir berth free for a new module

OV-103 Discovery was launched on Aug 29 on mission STS-128 It carries Multipurpose Logistics Module FM-1 - the MPLM 'Leonardo' - and other cargo carriers

STS-128 cargo manifest

Name Bay location Mass (kg,guess)

Orbiter Docking System 1-2 1800 with EMU 3009, 3015 suits 260? APC/SPDU 3 port 17? APC/MISSE carrier 4 port 57 APC/MISSE carrier 5 port 57 ROEU umbilical 7 starboard 79? Leonardo (MPLM FM-1) 7-12 12131 Lightweight MPESS Carrier (LMC) 13 1780 RMS Sill 410 OBSS Sill 382?

                                       Total 16973

Discovery docked with Station at 0054 UTC on Aug 31 and undocked at 1926 UTC on Sep 8 During the mission, the Leonardo module was attached to the nadir port on the Harmony node (from Aug 31 2135 to Sep 8 0001) and experiments and equipment were transferred to the Station from it, including the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT), a crew quarters rack, materials science and fluids experiment racks, and a freezer system

During three spacewalks the EUTEF and MISSE 6 experiments were retrieved from Columbus, an ammonia tank assembly (ATA) was replaced on the P1 truss, and the S3 payload attach system was deployed Cables were laid along the station in preparation for activating the Tranquility node when it arrives, although one cable could not be properly connected

Spacewalk details were as follows: EMUs Depr H Open OnBat H Close Repress EVA-1 Olivas, Stott 3015,3005 Sep 1 2144? 2148 2149 Sep 2 0419 0424 EVA-2 Olivas, Fuglesang 3015,3009 Sep 3 2204? 2209 2212 Sep 4 0445 0451 EVA-3 Olivas, Fuglesang 3015,3009 Sep 5 2035? 2038 2039 Sep 6 0334 0340

EMU 3005 will be returned to Earth aboard Discovery (it was launched on STS-126); EMU 3009 replaces it on the Station

A small object was released from the payload bay at some point during EVA-3; Discovery made an orbit adjust burn on Sep 10 to avoid it The object was cataloged as 1998-067BV Another small object floated out of the payload bay on Sep 9; it has not been cataloged

The Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, HTV-1, was launched on Sep 10

STSAT-2/Naro-1

The first launch of South Korea's KSLV-1 'Naro' rocket ended in failure with the reentry of the STSAT-2 satellite payload over the Pacific Early reports suggest that the Russian-built Angara first stage operated correctly, and the Korean solid-motor second stage also fired, but half of the payload fairing failed to separate STSAT-2 reached 387 km in altitude, but the extra mass of the fairing prevented the system from reaching orbital velocity The orbit was around -3100 x 387 km x 80 deg, and reentry was probably somewhere over New Guinea

Asiasat 5

An ILS/Khrunichev Proton-M launched the Loral-1300-class Asiasat 5 satellite on Aug 11 Asiasat 5 is owned by Asiasat, a Hong Kong based company, and provides C-band and Ku-band communications services

GPS 50

The final Block IIR-M Global Positioning System satellite, space vehicle number SVN 50, was launched from Cape Canaveral on Aug 17 It is the 21st IIR launch, and will replace a Block IIA series satellite The Delta II launch vehicle passed through intermediate orbits of 174 x 206 km x 37 5 deg and 191 x 1241 km x 38 0 deg to reach a (planned) 188 x 20256 km x 40 1 deg transfer orbit GPS SVN 50 will fire its ATK Star 37 solid apogee motor to circularize the orbit at 20000 x 20000 km x 55 deg

Block IIR satellites were built by Lockheed Martin at its Valley Forge, Pennsylvania site near Philadelphia The factory opened in 1961 as General Electric's Missiles and Space Division to build the Nimbus weather satellites and possibly the Orbital Control Vehicles for the KH-7 spy satellites (although one knowledgeable correspondent disagrees with this last statement) Does anyone know if GE's "King of Prussia" plant was the same as the Valley Forge one, or a separate one nearby? (The two towns are next to each other)

IRVE-II

The second Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment, IRVE-II/NASA 36 254NR, was launched from Wallops Island on a Black Brant IX on Aug 17 It deployed an experimental 3-meter diameter inflatable heat shield; the spacecraft survived reentry but was not designed to be recovered, and fell in the Atlantic A smaller precursor, IRVE-I/NASA 41 055NP, was launched on a Terrier Orion in 2007

PAN

United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V 401, mission AV-018, from Cape Canaveral on Sep 8 It carried the PAN communications satllite to a 13544 x 35400 km x 23 1 deg geostationary transfer orbit PAN/P360 is a Lockheed Martin A2100 satellite described as being for 'a US Government customer' It seems that LM operates the satellite on behalf of the unidentified agency

The satellite has been given the US government designation USA 207, used for secret government-owned satellites, so it is probably not a contractor-owned leased-capacilty system like the Hughes Leasat satellites operated for the Navy in the 1980s (which did not get USA numbers)

As first reported by spaceflightnow com's Justin Ray, Ted Molczan suggests that PAN may be a satellite providing services for the CIA replacing channels hosted on the US Navy's UHF/EHF communications network, to bridge the gap between the old UHF Follow-On series and the planned MUOS system, and Greg Roberts has tracked a beacon signal from the satellite on a frequency used by the UHF Follow-On satellites

Palapa D

Indosat's Palapa D satellite was launched by a Chinese Chang Zheng 3B rocket on Aug 31 The CZ-3B reached a low parking orbit, and the third stage reignited for a second burn towards geostationary transfer orbit However, the engine shut down early leaving the Palapa D in a 217 x 21138 km x 22 4 deg orbit The satellite on Sep 2 used its own on-board propulsion to reach the correct 216 x 35687 km x 22 2 deg transfer orbit; this maneuver will however reduce its operational life By Sep 8 the satellite orbit was 9616 x 35670 km x 7 8 deg

Indonesia has one of the developing world's more extensive satellite fleets The early Palapa satellites were owned and operated by Indonesia's state telecom agency Perumtel, later Telkom In 1996 a privatization move put the Palapa satellites in the hands of the Satelindo company, and in 2003 that company was absorbed by Indosat Meanwhile, Telkom operates a new series of satellites (Telkom 1 and 2); Media Citra Indostar and Paskifik Satelite Nusantara (with its ACeS joint venture) also operate telecom satellites, and the LAPAN space agency launches sounding rockets and operates the LAPAN-TUBSAT low orbit satellite built with German assistance

Indonesian satellites: Satellite Model Operated Palapa A1 Hughes HS-333 1976-1986 Palapa A2 Hughes HS-333 1976-1986? Palapa B1 Hughes HS-376 1983-1995 Palapa B2 Hughes HS-376 1984 wrong orbit, recovered by Shuttle Palapa B2P Hughes HS-376 1987-1996 Sold to Mabuhay 1996 Palapa B2R Hughes HS-376 1990-2001 refurbished, relaunched B2 Sold to Newsat 2001 Palapa B4 Hughes HS-376 1992-2005 Palapa C1 Hughes HS-601 1996-1999 Sold to HGS 1999 Palapa C2 Hughes HS-601 1996- At 113 0E Indostar 1 Orbital Star 1 1997- At 107 5E Telkom 1 LM A2100 1999- At 108 0E ACES Garuda 1 LM A2100AXX 2000- At 123 0E Telkom 2 Orbital Star 2 2005- At 118 0E LAPAN TUBSAT TUB 2007- In 618 x 638 km x 97 8 deg orbit Palapa D Thales SB4000B3 2009- wrong orbit

Table of Recent (orbital) Launches

Date UT Name
Jul 1 1752 Terrestar 1 Jul 6 0126 Kosmos-2451 ) Kosmos-2452 ) Kosmos-2453 ) Jul 14 0336 Razaksat Imaging 37A Jul 15 2203 Endeavour STS-127 ) Kibo Exposed Facil)
Jul 21 0357 Kosmos-2454 ) Sterkh No 1) Jul 24 1056 Progress M-67 Jul 29 1846 Dubaisat-1 ) Deimos 1 ) UK-DMC 2 ) Nanosat-1B ) AprizeSat 3) AprizeSat 4) Jul 30 1234 DRAGONSAT (BEVO-1/Aggiesat-2) Jul 30 1723 ANDE Active (Castor) ANDE Passive(Pollux) Aug 11 1947 Asiasat 5 Aug 17 1035 GPS 50 Aug 21 2209 JCSAT 12 ) Optus D3 ) Aug 25 0800 STSAT-2 Aug 29 0400 Discovery Leonardo ) Aug 31 0928 Palapa D Sep 8 2135 USA 207 (PAN) Sep 10 1701 HTV Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL DES Ariane 5ECA Kourou ELA3 Comms 35A Rokot Plesetsk LC133? Comms 36A 36B 36C Falcon 1 Omelek I Space Shuttle Kennedy LC39A Spaceship 38A Kosmos-3M Plesetsk LC132/1 Nav/Com? 39A SAR 39B Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1/5 Cargo 40A Dnepr Baykonur LC109 Imaging 41B Imaging 41A Imaging 41C Tech 41E Comms 41F Comms 41D OV-105, LEO Tech 38B OV-105, LEO Science 38F Science 38E Proton-M/Briz-M Baykonur LC39/200 Comms 42A Delta 7925 Canaveral SLC17A Nav 43A Ariane 5ECA Kourou ELA3 Comms 44A Comms 44B Naro KSLV-1 Naro Tech F03 STS-128) Space Shuttle Kennedy LC39A Spaceship 45A CZ-3B Xichang LC2 Comms 46A Atlas V 401 Canaveral SLC41 Comms 47A H-IIB Tanegashima Y2 Cargo 48A

Table of Recent (suborbital) Launches

Date UT Payload/Flt Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission Apogee/km Jul 13 0120 RV (x 10?) Sineva K-84, N Pole Test 1000? Jul 13 2350 RV (x 10?) Sineva K-117, N Pole Test 1000? Jul 22 1945 Arrow Target LRALT? C-17, Pacific Target 500? Jul 31 0340 Aegis Target Unknown Kauai Target 160? Jul 31 0342 Aegis FTM-17 KV SM-3 DDG-70, Pacific Interceptor 160 Jul 31 0400? Aegis Target Unknown Kauai Target 160? Aug 11 0450 MARTI Black Brant IX San Nicolas Target 150? Aug 17 1152 IRVE Support Viper 3A Wallops Weather 90? Aug 17 1252 NASA 36 254NR Black Brant IX Wallops Reentry test 210 Aug 23 1601 Mk 21 RV? GT195 Minuteman 3 Vandenberg Op Test 1300?

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