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Space Shuttle Update
Space shuttle Discovery is about 3 hours away from their de-orbit burn for an expected landing of (17:39 UTC). NASA are about to start their go/no-go poll to close the payload bay doors.
Read More »More debris on it's way to the space station
While the shuttle is on it’s way to the station, more debris is inbound. NASA are deciding what to do. They may boost the station up a bit which will mean that the shuttle will get there a…
Read More »TLES – First Time Derivative of the Mean Motion
This post is part of a series on understanding the meaning behind the values contained in a Two Line Element set, or Keplerian Elements. The main article is here. First Time Derivative of the Mean Motion Engineers like…
Read More »TLEs – Epoch Year and Day
This post is part of a series on understanding the meaning behind the values contained in a Two Line Element set, or Keplerian Elements. The main article is here. Epoch Year and Day The epoch is simply the…
Read More »Space shuttle still on track for a launch in 30 minutes
Space Shuttle discovery is still on track for a launch at 11:43pm UTC. Weather is perfect and everything looks good. There is a sleeping bat attached to the external fuel tank however “The bat is not expected to…
Read More »Space Shuttle STS-119 still go for a Sunday Launch
After fixing a problem with leaking fuel, Space Shuttle Discovery is still go for Launch on Sunday the 15th March. Launch time is expected to be 23:43 UTC (Which is 19:43 EDT, or 12:43 Monday NZDT). More information…
Read More »TLEs – Calculation of the Julian Day Number (JDN)
This post is part of a series on understanding the meaning behind the values contained in a Two Line Element set, or Keplerian Elements. The main article is here. Calculation of the Julian Day Number (JDN) Julian day…
Read More »TLEs – International Designator (Piece)
This post is part of a series on understanding the meaning behind the values contained in a Two Line Element set, or Keplerian Elements. The main article is here. International Designator (Piece) This is a 3 letter code…
Read More »TLEs – International Designator (Launch number)
This post is part of a series on understanding the meaning behind the values contained in a Two Line Element set, or Keplerian Elements. The main article is here. International Designator (Launch Number) This is a three digit…
Read More »TLEs – International Designator (Year)
This post is part of a series on understanding the meaning behind the values contained in a Two Line Element set, or Keplerian Elements. The main article is here. International Designator (Year) This is a two digit number…
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