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IRDT Spacecraft:  Inflatable Reentry and Descent Technology Chronologies: 2000 payload #18 ; 2000-009A ; 5815th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: ESA, German DASA and the Russian Lavochkin company Launch: 8 February 2000 at 23h20 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz/Fregat (11A511U). Orbit: 581 km x 606 km x 64.9° x 96.6 min Landed: 14 February 2000 Mission: IRDT, built by DASA-Bremen and Lavochkin, weights 110 kg and has a shield of 0.8 meters in size packed, inflating to 3.6-meter diameter on use. It deployed inflatable heat shields for reentry. According to the ESA web site they landed in Russia 8 hours after launch with an impact velocity of about 47 kph. The separate IRDT demonstrator was found and survived reentry well. The launcher: The first test flight of the Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle appears to have been a success. The Fregat upper stage is derived from Lavochkin's Fobos/Mars-96 ADU propulsion unit. It uses the same liquid engine as Rokot's Briz upper stage. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 420 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-009A ;

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Gruzovoy Maket Dummy satellite Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #19 ; 2000-009B ; 5816th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Russia Launch: 8 February 2000 at 23h20 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz/Fregat. Orbit: 581 km x 606 km x 64.8° Mission: A 1-tonne dummy mass. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 420 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-009B ;

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Fregat Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #20 ; 2000-009C ; 5817th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Russia Launch: 8 February 2000 at 23h20 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz/Fregat. Orbit: Mission: In Russia, the search is still going on for the Fregat stage.  The shield deployed to 2.5m diameter on reentry, but failed to extend to its 4-meter drag chute mode during final descent. Fregat's shield was actually 14-meters in diameter at full extent. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 420 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-009C ;

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Astro E Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #21 ; 2000 1st loss ; 5818th spacecraft Type: Astronomy Sponsor: Japan's ISAS Launch: 10 February 2000 at 1h30 UTC, from Kagoshima Space Center's Mu, by a M-V (M-V-4). Orbit: n/a Decayed The ASTRO-E X-ray astronomy spacecraft may have reentered on the first orbit at around 2h30-3h00 UTC somewhere between East Africa and Tibet or western China (depending on the altitude at injection). Mission: During the launch, the first stage of the M-V launch vehicle went off course. An anomalous vibration was detected 25 seconds after launch. At 41 seconds, ceramic heat shields in the first stage nozzle apparently broke and fell off, and thrust vector control on the nozzle was lost. Although the upper stages were able to fire and make some correction to the trajectory, ASTRO-E ended up with a perigee of only 80 km and an apogee of 410 km. It may have reentered on the first orbit. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 421 ;

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JAK Artemis Picosat Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #22 ; 2000-004L ; 5819th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: U.S. Air Force/Santa Clara University Launch: Deployed on 11 February 2000 at 5h10 UTC fron OPAL (that was launched on 27 January 2000 at 3h03 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur).  Orbit: 750 km x 805 km x 100.2° x 100.4 min Mission: The Artemis team of women undergrads at Santa Clara University has three picosatellites aboard the OPAL deployer. They are called JAK, Thelma, and Louise. (JAK is the initials of the infant son of Artemis' advisor). JAK has a mass of about 0.2 kg, the other two around 0.5 kg. Size around 0.1-0.2-meter each.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 419, 420 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-004L ;

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STENSAT Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #23 ; 2000-004M ; 5820th spacecraft Type: Communications (radio-amateur) Sponsor: AMSAT-NA Launch: Deployed on 11 February 2000 at 5h10 UTC fron OPAL (that was launched on 27 January 2000 at 3h03 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur).  Orbit: 750 km x 805 km x 100.2° x 100.4 min Mission: The 0.5 kg STENSAT, built by an AMSAT-NA group, carries an amateur radio transponder. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 419 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-004M ; A Brief History of Amateur Satellites ;

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STS-99 - SRL-3 Spacecraft:  Space Shutle #97 ; Endeavour (14th flight) / Space Radar Lab 3 / Chronologies: 2000 payload #24 ; 2000-010A ; 5821st spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (Earth observations) Sponsor: NASA, NIMA, DLR and ASI. Launch: 11 February 2000 at 17h43 UTC, from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A, by the Space Shuttle. Orbit: 224 km x 242 km x 57° x 89.2 min Recovery: 22 February 2000 at 23h22 UTC on Kennedy Space Center's runway 33. Mission: STS-99 is a joint mapping mission by NASA and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), utilizing the 13,600 kg Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) radars. STS-99 mapped the land surface of the Earth between latitudes 60° North and 54° South to obtain a 3-D map of about 70% global terrain. Sponsors of the mission are NIMA (the National Imagery and Mapping Agency), NASA, DLR (Germany) and ASI (Italy); the mission is managed by JPL. (Some of the NIMA data will remain secret for use by the U.S. Dept. of Defense.)      Mounted on the pallet and the two ATS devices is the large imaging radar payload consisting of the SIR-C C-band/L-band radars and the international X-SAR X-band radar, as well as the ADAM mast which extends to 60-meter length carrying an 360 kg, 8-meter long outboard radar for interferometric imaging. The outboard mast is a new development, the rest of the payload is similar to the configuration flown on SRL-1 and SRL-2 in 1994 (STS-59 and STS-68).    On 12 February 2000 at 23h27 UTC, the 61-meter SRTM mast was deployed successfully. A failed thruster on the end of the mast concerned managers but did not affect the mission significantly. After some problems stowing the mast on 21 February, Endeavour returned on 22 February.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 419 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-010A ;

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Garuda 1 (ACES) Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #25 ; 2000-011A ; 5822nd spacecraft Type: Communicaions (phone) Sponsor: ACES consortium (which involves PSN of Indonesia, PLDT of the Phillipines, Lockheed Martin, and the Thai company Jasmine). Launch: 12 February 2000 at 9h10 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81L, by a D-1-e/Proton/DM-3. Orbit: Geostationary over Indonesia Mission: Garuda 1 is an Indonesian communications satellite. The 4- tonne spacecraft relays in L-band mobile telephone communications in Asia-Pacific region. It is the first of the ACeS (Asia Cellular Satellite) constellation, to be followed by Garuda 2 and others. The satellite is a Lockheed Martin A2100AXX and has two large 12-meter diameter L-band antennas for cellphone relay. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-011A ;

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Thelma Artemis Picosat (Thunder) Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #26 ; 2000-004J ; 5823rd spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: U.S. Air Force/Santa Clara University Launch: Deployed from OPAL on 12 February 2000 at 13h43 UTC. (OPAL was launched on 27 January 2000 at 3h03 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur). Orbit: 750 km x 805 km x 100.2° x 100.4 min Mission: The Artemis team of women undergrads at Santa Clara University has three picosatellites aboard the OPAL deployer. They are called JAK, Thelma, and Louise. Unfortunately no data was received from the picosats. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 419, 420 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-004J ;

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Louise Artemis Picosat (Lightnin) Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #27 ; 2000-004K ; 5824th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: U.S. Air Force/Santa Clara University Launch: Deployed from OPAL on 12 February 2000 at 13h43 UTC. (OPAL was launched on 27 January 2000 at 3h03 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur). Orbit: 750 km x 805 km x 100.2° x 100.4 min Mission: The Artemis team of women undergrads at Santa Clara University has three picosatellites aboard the OPAL deployer. They are called JAK, Thelma and Louise. Unfortunately no data was received from the picosats. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 419, 420 & 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-004K ;

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Superbird 4 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #28 ; 2000-012A ; 5825th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Japan's Space Communications Corp Launch: 18 February 2000 at 1h04 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 44LP (V127).  Orbit: Geostationary at 162° East longitude Mission: Superbird 4 is a Japanese communications spacecraft that carries 23 Ku-band (80 W) and six Ka-band (50 W) transponders to provide business communications to Japan and Asia-Pacific. The 4.1-tonne spacecraft is a Hughes HS-601HP satellite with a masse of 1,657 kg dry. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 421 ; Spacewarn No. 556 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-012A ;  421

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Ekspress A2 Spacecraft: Ekspress A No. 2 Chronologies: 2000 payload #29 ; 2000-013A ; 5826th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Russia's GO Kosmicheskaya Svyaz Launch: 12 March 2000 at 4h07 UTC, from the Baykonur Cosmodrome, by a D-1-e/Proton/DM-2M. Orbit: Geostationary at 80° East longitude. Mission: Express A2 is a 2,600-kg Russian communications spacecraft that carries 12 transponders in C-band and five in Ku-band to provide voice, data, and video communications in Russia, supplementing the existing fleet of seven Gorizonts, two Expresses and an EKRAN-M. This second Ekspress A satellite was assigned to the Ekspress 6A. The first Ekspress A was lost in a launch failure last year. The Ekspress A is built by NPO PM, with a communications payload from Alcatel. They are scheduled to replace the aging Gorizont fleet. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 ; Spacewarn No. 557 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-013A ;

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MTI Spacecraft:  P97-3 ; Multispectral Thermal Imager Chronologies: 2000 payload #30 ; 2000-014A ; 5827th spacecraft Type: Earth imaging Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nonproliferation and National Security Launch: 12 March 2000 at 9h23 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's LC-576E, by a Taurus 1110. Orbit: 577 km x 613 km x 97.4° x 96.6 min Mission: MTI is a quasi-military reconnaissance spacecraft cosponsored by the Deparment of Energy, Office of Nonproliferation and National Security. This USAF Space Test Program mission P97-3 is to test out a multispectral imager for treaty monitoring applications. It is a joint mission of Sandia Labs and Los Alamos, together with the Savannah River Technology Center. The 587-kg spacecraft carries visible and infrared sensors in 15 spectral bands to spot cooling ponds adjacent to nuclear reactors and dust content associated with uranium ore processing. The collected data will also have spin-off benefits to civilian research involving atmospheric ozone, water vapor and such.  The launcher: Orbital Sciences' Taurus 1110 rocket has a 63-inch fairing and a Peacekeeper first stage. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 & 423 ; Spacewarn No. 557 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-014A ; MTI Project ;

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ICO F-1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #31 ; 2000 2nd loss ; 5828th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: ICO Global Communications Launch: 12 March 2000 at 14h49 UTC, from Odyssey platform, by a Zenit-3SL. Orbit: n/a Mission: The first ICO satellite was lost when its Zenit-3SL launch vehicle failed. ICO F-1 was a 2,750 kg Hughes HS-601M satellite and would have entered a 10,300 km x 45 deg circular orbit.  It carried multiple spot beams for mobile communications. Launch: The Zenit-3SL vehicle took of from Boeing Sea Launch's Odyssey platform in the Pacific at 154° West and 0° North. Its second stage shut down prematurely due to a valve commanding mistake in the prelaunch sequence, and the satellite fell in the South Pacific, possibly south of Pitcairn.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 ;

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Dumsat / Fregat RB/Cluster 2 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #32 ; 2000-015A ; 5829th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Russia Launch: 20 March 2000 at 18h28 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz/Fregat. Orbit: 245 km x 18,019 km x 64.6° x 320 min Mission: Fregat RB/Cluster 2 is a Russian experimental upper stage rocket body (Fregat) and a dummy payload (Cluster 2) to simulate the launch of ESA's Cluster mission. The Fregat upper stage placed a dummy satellite, Dumsat, into orbit. The second test launch of the Soyuz-Fregat vehicle succeeded; the separation of the rocket body and the dummy was not planned, but the separation was simulated successfully. Built by Aerospatiale Matra, Dumsat is a mass model of a pair of Cluster II scientific satellites. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 ; Spacewarn No. 557 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-015A ;

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Asiastar Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #33 ; 2000-016A ; 5830th spacecraft Type: Communications (radio broadcasting) Families: Sponsor: Worldspace Launch: 21 March 2000 at 23h28 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 505, V128). Orbit: Geostationary at 105° East longitude Mission: Worldspace's second digital radio satellite relayes digital radio broadcasts to East Asia. It joins Afristar in orbit with a mission of providing radio broadcasting to and by communities in the developing world. The 2,777 kg, 5.6 kW, triaxially stabilized spacecraft is a Matra Marconi Space Eurostar 2000+ spacecraft.  Note: The first fully commercial Ariane 5 flight.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 ; Spacewarn No. 557 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-016A ;

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Insat 3B Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #34 ; 2000-016B ; 5831st spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: ISRO / Indian Space Research Organization, Launch: 21 March 2000 at 23h28 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 505, V128). Orbit: Geostationary at 83° East longitude Mission: Insat 3B is an Indian communications spacecraft that carries 12 Ext-C-band (15 W) and three Ku-band (55 W) transponders for rural educational and health service programs receivable by the thousands of VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals) in India, and a single S-band mobile satellite service (MSS) transponder for relaying voice, data, and facsimilies from/to mobile telephones with suit case sized "terminals". It carries a pure telecom payload, unlike earlier Insats which also had weather instruments. Insat 3B was accelerated to replace the lost Insat 2D. The 2,070 kg (with fuel), 1.7 kW, triaxially stabilized spacecraft was built by ISRO and has a dry mass of 970 kg. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 ; Spacewarn No. 557 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-016B ;

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IMAGE Spacecraft:  Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration Chronologies: 2000 payload #35 ; 2000-017A ; 5832nd spacecraft Type: Earth's upper atmosphère studies Sponsor: NASA Launch: 25 March 2000 at 20h34 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-2W, by a Delta 7326. Orbit: 987 km x 45 993 km x 89.9° Mission: IMAGE is a magnetospheric science spacecraft, a MIDEX (mid-sized Explorer mission) and was developed by NASA-Goddard and the SWRI (Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Texas). It carries a set of neutral atom imagers and ultraviolet imagers and antennae to study radio wavelength emissions from the magnetospheric plasma. The RPI radio plasma imager has four long wire antennae which will be deployed to a span of half a kilometer. The 494 kg, 250 W, spin-stabilized (2 min period) octagonal (2.25 meters wide and 1.52 meters high) spacecraft is a Lockheed Martin LM100.  The launcher: IMAGE was launched by a Delta 7326 which uses three strapon GEM-40 boosters, a long tank Delta II Thor first stage, a Delta II second stage with an Aerojet AJ-10-118K engine and a Thiokol Star 37FM third stage solid motor. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 ; Spacewarn No. 558 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-017A ;

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Soyuz TM-30 Spacecraft:  Soyuz 11F732 (7K-STM) no. 204 Chronologies: 2000 payload #36 ; 2000-018A ; 5833rd spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (to Mir space station) Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 4 April 2000 at 5h01 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U (11A511U). Orbit: 329 km x 333 km x 51.6° Recovered: 16 June 2000 at 0h44 UTC near Arkalyk, Kazakstan. Mission: Soyuz-TM-30 transports two cosmonauts for a 45-day stay in Mir space station, the EO-28 Mir crew of commander Sergey Zalyotin and flight engineer Aleksandr Kaleri. They repairs the 14-year-old station, especially the recent problems of pressure leak and a dysfunctional orientation of a solar panel.  Part of the EO-28 mission is financed by the private MirCorp company.       This Soyuz is the first in the "200" series of Soyuz TM vehicles to fly and that were originally built to support the International Space Station.  They are externally similar to the standard Soyuz TM.      Soyuz TM-30 docks with Mir's forward (-X) port on 6 April 2000 at 6h31 UTC. Zalyotin and Kaleri reactivated Mir and are settle in for a stay of uncertain duration (it was not clear how long the EO-28 crew will stay aboard). Finally, the spacecrfat landed on 16 June 2000. Zalyotin and Kaleri closed the hatch to Mir on 15 June at 18h17 UTC and undocked at 15h21;24 UTC on 16 June. This concludes the 15-year operation of Mir space complex. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 423, 424, 429 & 430 ; Spacewarn No. 555 & 558 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-018A ;

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Sesat Spacecraft:  Siberia-Europe Satellite Chronologies: 2000 payload #37 ; 2000-019A ; 5834th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Eutelsat Launch: 17 April 2000 at 21h06 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-200L, by a D-1-e/Proton-K. Orbit: Geostationary at 48° East longitude. Mission: SESAT is an European-Russian communications spacecraft  that provides high-speed internet access, high-volume data transmission, video broadcasting to support corporate networks, and messaging and positioning services to mobile users through its 18 Ku-band transponders. The 2,400-kg, 5.6-kW spacecraft is an MSS-2500-GSO (Gals/Ekspress) comsat built by NPO PM of Krasnoyarsk, with an Alcatel Espace telecoms payload with 18 Ku-band transponders. The combination of a Russian-built spacecraft bus and European communications payload follows the trend set by the similar Ekspress A series. Notes: Eutelsat grew out of the European Communication Satellites (ECS) launched starting in 1983; they have since developed their Hot Bird fleet of European television broadcast satellites, but the venture into broadcasting to Siberia is a new step for them. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 424 ; Spacewarn No. 558 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-019A ;

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Galaxy IVR Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #38 ; 2000-020A ; 5835th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: PanAmSAT Corporation Launch: 19 April 2000 at 0h29 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 42L (V129). Orbit: Geostationary at 99° West longitude. Mission: Galaxy 4R is a communications spacecraft that transmits television and internet signals from/to all parts of the United States, through its 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders. The 2,216-kg, 8.8-kW spacecraft is a Hughes HS-601HP model with a dry mass of 1,895 kg. The Galaxy satellites provide US domestic telecom services; the original Galaxy IVH failed in May 1998, putting pagers out of action across the USA. Over fifty HS-601 class satellites have now been launched, and most are still operating. The launcher: The Ariane 42L vehicle has two strap-on liquid boosters; the flight was the 51st launch of the uprated H10-3 high energy upper stage and the 124th launch of the three-stage Ariane 1/2/3/4 class vehicle. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 424 ; Spacewarn No. 558 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-020A ;

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Progress M1-2 Spacecraft:  Progress 11F615A55 (7K-TGM) No. 252 Chronologies: 2000 payload #39 ; 2000-021A ; 5836th spacecraft Type: Cargo delivery to Mir Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 29 April 2000 at 20h08 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: Circular at ~350 km x 51.6° Deorbit: 15 October 2000 Mission: Progress M1-2 is an automatic cargo ship that delivers supplies to Mir space station. It is the second of the new model (Progress M1) which will be a main carrier of cargo to the International Space Station. Its 2,037 kg payload contains an air-oxygen mixture, fuel (1,800 kg) to boost Mir to a higher orbit and food and supplies for the two cosmonauts who are already in Mir doing repair jobs. Progress M1-2 docked with the rear Kvant port on 27 April 2000 at 21h28 UTC. Mir's orbit was raised on 29 April in the first of a series of three burns. Progress M1-2 undocked from Mir on 15 October 2000 and was deorbited over the Pacific later the same day. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 424 & 437 ; Spacewarn No. 558 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-021A ;

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GOES 11 Spacecraft:  GOES L / Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Chronologies: 2000 payload #40 ; 2000-022A ; 5837th spacecraft Type: Meteorology Sponsor: NOAA Launch: 3 May 2000 at 7h07 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-36A, by an Atlas IIA (AC-137). Orbit: Geostationary at 104° West longitude Mission: GOES L is a US civilian weather satellite, renamed GOES 11 after it reaches geostationary orbit. It was built by SS/Loral and is based on the FS-1300 bus. It has one solar panel array and a counter-boom with a solar sail. As well as an imaging radiometer, the satellite carries an X-ray detector to monitor solar activity. The instruments onboard the 2,105 kg (with fuel) spacecraft are almost identical to the ones onboard GOES 8, GOES 9 and GOES 10. The spacecraft has now been parked about halfway between GOES 8 (75° W) and GOES 10 (135° W). (GOES 9, which had malfunctioned in 1998, is passively stored in orbit to replace any GOES that may fail.)      The major ones are the Imager, the Sounder and the SEM package. The Imager scans East-West with a north-south swath of eight km. The Sounder has 19 discrete wavelength channels; it is called a "sounder" only because the progressive increase in the atmospheric opacity from channel to channel enables sampling the atmosphere as those many layers for temperature, moisture content and ozone distribution. The spacecraft also carries a transponder for search and recovery activities. Notes: It is the first GOES launch on the Atlas II class vehicle, the old Atlas I has now been phased out. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 425 ; Spacewarn No. 555 & 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-022A ;

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Kosmos 2370 Spacecraft:  Yantar-4KS1 / 17F117 Neman-class Chronologies: 2000 payload #41 ; 2000-023A ; 5838th spacecraft  Type: Reconnaissance Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 3 May 2000 at 13h25 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: 240 km x 300 km x 64,8° Recovered?: 4 May 2001 Mission: Cosmos 2370 is a Russian military reconnaissance spacecraft with data arriving in digital form. It is the 22nd member of the 17F117 Neman-class fleet of spy satellites. an advanced imaging reconnaissance satellite based on the Yantar' bus and is a descendant of the Yantar'-4KS1 design. The Neman relays digital imagery to earth via geostationary comsats and is the Russian equivalent of the KH-11. It  was first launched in February 1986 (Kosmos 1731). The last Neman satellite, Kosmos 2359, reentered in July 1999 after on year in orbit.      According to Moscow's Kommersant newspaper, until this launch, Russia has remained without photo-reconnaissance resources for five months, after the failure of the Kobalt (Kosmos 2365) spacecraft in December 1999. The imaging will be done mainly over Chechnya, since there is no functional relaying resource in geosynchronous orbit (via the now dysfunctional Geyzer spacecraft) for images from elsewhere on the globe. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 425 & 426 ; Spacewarn No. 559 & 571 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-023A ;

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DSP 20 (USA 149) Spacecraft:  Defense Support Program Chronologies: 2000 payload #42 ; 2000-024A ; 5839th spacecraft Type: Missile early warning Families: 20th DSP (7th Phase 3) Sponsor: U.S. Air Force Source: A. Parsch Launch: 8 May 2000 at 16h01 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's LC-40, by a Titan 4B (4B-29, IUS-22). Orbit: Geostationary Mission: DSP-20 is the 20th in the DSP fleet and is reported to carry 6,000 lead sulfide infra-red sensors to detect rocket launches and nuclear explosions from horizon to horizon. The TRW-built, 2.5-tonne, 680-Watts spacecraft is the first fully successful Titan 4 mission from Cape Canaveral in four tries, a relief for Lockheed Martin Astronautics. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 425 ; Spacewarn No. 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-024A ;

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Navstar 43 (USA 150) Spacecraft:  Navstar SVN 51 / GPS 2R-4 Chronologies: 2000 payload #43 ; 2000-025A ; 5840th spacecraft Type: Navigation Families: 47th Navstar (4th second-generation replacement) Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense Source: A. Parsch Launch: 11 May 2000 at 1h48 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-17A, by a Delta 7925. Orbit: Circulat at 20 200 km x 55° x 712 min Mission: Navstar 47 is the latest addition to the American GPS fleet of navigation satellites. The 24-spacecraft fleet was completed in 1994, but this Navstar will replace a failing member. It is another Navstar Block IIR GPS navigation satellite which are built by Lockheed Martin/Sunnyvale and based on the Series 4000 comsat bus. Also known as PRN20 (in GPS parlance), it replaces the failing PRN14 in Slot E-1. Notes:      GPS navigational location has until recently been at 100 meter accuracy for civilian use signals, and at 20 meter accuracy for military use signals. As of 1st May 2000, the DoD has voided the intentional degradation of the accuracy for civilian use, and made it on a par with the military accuracy. But it retains the prerogative to degrade the accuracy at selected locations when necessary. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 425 ; Spacewarn No. 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-025A ;

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IKA-1 / Simsat-1 Spacecraft:  EPN 813IP/003 Chronologies: 2000 payload #44 ; 2000-026A ; 5841st spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Russia Launch: 16 May 2000 at 8h28 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-133, by a Rokot. Orbit: 543 km x 558 km x 86.3° x 95.6 min Mission: Simsat 1 and Simsat 2, which were launched by the new Russian rocket named Rokot, are 660-kdummies simulating future commercial launches. They were placed in orbits similar to the parking orbit that was used for the Iridium program. Notes: On 24 December 1999, the Rokot launch vehicle and its satellite were victim of an accident at Plesetsk. The launcher was not damaged in the accident, neither was the payload. Only the fairing was ejected and written off. Krunichev was therefore able to launch the vehicle in May with two dummy satellites. The launcher: Rokot is the two-stage UR-100N ICBM (known as SS-19 in NATO), but augmented by the addition of a Bris-Km booster stage and capable of launching two-tonne satellites into low Earth orbits inexpensively. (Previous launches of the SS-19 from a silo had engendered unacceptable acoustic impact on the payload.)      Rokot (`roar' or `rumble') is called Rockot by its Western marketers (EUROCKOT Launch Services GmbH), a joint venture between Krunichev and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. This was its first flight from Plesetsk, using a launch pad originally used for Kosmos rockets. The launch vehicle is a two-stage modified UR-100NUTTKh ICBM, developed by Krunichev. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 416, 418 & 426 ; Spacewarn No. 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-026A ;

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IKA-2 / Simsat-2 Spacecraft:  EPN 813IP/007 Chronologies: 2000 payload #45 ; 2000-026B ; 5842nd spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Russia Launch: 16 May 2000 at 8h28 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-133, by a Rokot. Orbit: 520 km x 544 km x 86.4 Mission: Simsat 1 and Simsat 2, which were launched by the new Russian rocket named Rokot, are 660-kdummies simulating future commercial launches. They were placed in orbits similar to the parking orbit that was used for the defunct Iridium program. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 426 ; Spacewarn No. 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-026B ;

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STS-101 / ISS-2A.2a Spacecraft:  Space Shutle #98 ; Atlantis (21st flight) Chronologies: 2000 payload #46 ; 2000-027A ; 5843rd spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (to the International Space Station) Sponsor: NASA Launch: 19 May 2000 at 10h11 UTC, from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A, by the Space Shuttle.  Orbit: Circular at ~400 km x 51.6° Mission: STS 101 main mission was to carry out repairs and upgrades to the International Space Station (ISS): to replace four of the six solar charged batteries on the Zarya module, to stabilize a wobbly 3-meter construction crane that was installed during an earlier shuttle mission, to complete the installation of a partially installed Russian 15-meter crane on the Zarya module, to replace a faulty communications antenna, to boost by 32 km the altitude of the Station (which has been loosing 2.4 km/week), to deliver a tonne of food, fuel and supplies to the station, and prepare the station for the arrival of the Russian service module (Zvezda) in mid-July. All objectives were implemented. The launcher: This was the first launch with the new Orbiter's electronic cockpit displays and other upgrades, and it seems to have gone almost flawlessly. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 422 & 426 ; Spacewarn No. 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-027A ;

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Eutelsat W4 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #47 ; 2000-028A ; 5844th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Eutelsat / European Telecommunications Satellite Organization Launch: 24 May 2000 at 23h10 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-36B, by an Atlas IIIA (AC-201). Orbit: Geostationary at 36° East longitude Mission: Eutelsat W4 is a communications spacecraft carries 31 channels in the Ku-BSS band to provide voice and video communications to eastern African countries, eastern European countries and Russia. The 1,380-kg (dry mass), 6-kW spacecraft is an Alcatel Spacebus 3000B2 comsat. This is the third of the high power Eutelsat W series to be launched: the W1 was destroyed in a ground acciden, as Eutelsat W2 (at 16° East) and Eutelsat W3 (at 7° East) are the two other operational Eutelsats.  The launcher: This is the first launch of the Lockheed Martin Astronautics' Atlas IIIA. All previous Atlas models used a MA-5A sustainer with one nozzle and MA-5A booster with two nozzles, one on either side of the sustainer. The Atlas III first stage is a major redesign for the vehicle, replacing the venerable MA-5 engine system with an Energomash RD-180. The RD-180 is a LOX/kerosene engine with 412 kN thrust and two combustion chambers. The new much simpler design has no separating booster package. It retains the 3.05-meter diameter core tank size and is stretched to a length of 29 meters.      The Atlas IIIA second stage is the Centaur IIIA, or Single Engine Centaur. All previous Centaur stages have used a pair of Pratt and Whitney RL-10 LOX/LH2 engines, and the new design is similar in size and shape to its twin-engine Centaur IIA predecessor. The Centaur IIIA uses an RL-10A-4-1B engine which is basically the same as that used on Centaur IIA.      The irony of the US's first intercontinental missile being reequipped with Russian engines has drawn a lot of comment.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 427 & 490 ; Spacewarn No. 559 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-028A ;

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Gorizont 33 Spacecraft:  Gorizont No. 45L Chronologies: 2000 payload #48 ; 2000-029A ; 5845th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Russia's GP Kosmicheskaya Svyaz Launch: 6 June 2000 at 2h59 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81P, by a D-1-e/Proton/Briz-M. Orbit: Geostationary Mission: Gorizont 33 ("Horizon") is a Russian communications  dual-use spacecraft to provide improved television coverage in eastern parts of Russian and to further military communications. It carries 6 C-band transponders as well as one L-band and one Ku-band transponder. This Gorizont is the final launch of this series of television broadcasting satellite, as the new Ekspress satellites are replacing the system. The satellites are built by NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki of Zheleznogorsk for GP Kosmicheskaya Svyaz, the Russian comsat operator. The launcher: This the first successful Proton/Briz-M launch; earlier 4-stage Proton vehicles used the Energiya Blok-DM family of stages. The new stage is built by Krunichev, who also build the Proton-K core vehicle. A first flight of Proton/Briz-M failed early in launch last year, before the Briz-M got a chance to ignite.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 428 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-029A ;

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TSX 5 Spacecraft:  P95-2 / TSX / Tri-Service Experiments Chronologies: 2000 payload #49 ; 2000-030A ; 5846th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: United States' Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, the UK Ministry of Defense's DERA organization and the AFRL (USAF Research Lab). Launch: 7 June 2000 at 13h19 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base RW-30/22, by a Pegasus XL Orbit: 403 km x 1,704 km x 69.0° x 106 min Mission: TSX 5 is a military spacecraft that carries a compact environmental anomaly sensor (CEASE) to probe the near-spacecraft environment. Also on board are the STRV-2 and MWIR instruments: the former to experiment with laser communications between spacecraft and the latter to provide infrared images of flying aircraft.     TSX-5's main section is the STRV-2 experiment module, which is sponsored by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in collaboration with the UK Ministry of Defense's DERA organization at Farnborough, to test infrared sensors and a laser communications payload. STRV-2 attempts to take infrared images of UK military aircraft at perigee and then downlink data via laser. STRV-2 also carries vibration isolation and debris impact sensors. It is a follow-on to the STRV 1 microsatellites launched piggyback on Ariane in Jun 1994.     The secondary payload on TSX-5 is the S97-1 CEASE device. The Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor, developed by AFRL (USAF Research Lab), is a prototype sensor package to provide warning of spacecraft charging and radiation events.      TSX-5 is the fifth in the STEP (Space Test Experiments Program) series of satellites. The name was changed to TSX (Tri-Service Experiments) The launcher: Orbital Sciences launched its first Pegasus of the year. The L-1011 Stargazer OCA carrier airplane took off from RW-30/12 at Vandenberg on 7 June at 12h21 UTC and flew to the drop box at 36.0° North and 123.0° West over the Pacific. The L-1011 dropped the Pegasus XL rocket at 13h19 UTC and five seconds later the first stage ignited. Third stage separation at 13h34 UTC placed the TSX-5 payload in orbit. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 428& 429 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-030A ; TSX-5 Project :

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Ekspress A3 Spacecraft:  Ekspress A No. 3 Chronologies: 2000 payload #50 ; 2000-031A ; 5847th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Russia Launch: 24 June 2000 at 0h28 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-200?, by a D-1-e/Proton/DM-2M. Orbit: Geostationary at 120° East longitude Mission: Express A3 is a Russian communications spacecraft that relaies services for television and radio programs and telephone services in digital format throughout Russia. The 2,600-kg spacecraft use the on-orbit name Ekspress 3A. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-031A ;

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FY-2 / Feng Yun 2B Spacecraft:  Feng Yun Er Yi Chronologies: 2000 payload #51 ; 2000-032A ; 5848th spacecraft Type: Meteorology Sponsor: China  Launch: 25 June 2000 at 11h50 UTC, from Xichang Space Launch Center's LC-1, by a Chang Zheng 3. Orbit: Geostationaty at 104° East Mission: Fengyun 2 is a Chinese meteorological spacecraft which is equipped with a scanning radiometer, a cloud mapper and a water vapor scanner to provide timely weather data. This second Fengyun-2 weights around 1,400 kg and is spin-stabilized, similar to the older generation GOES satellites and the Himawari and Meteosat satellites. (There was another Fengyun 2 launched in 1997 (which retired in April 2000 after a three year mission) and two Fengyun 1 launched in 1988 and 1990.) Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 & 479 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-032A ;

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Nadezhda 6 Spacecraft:  Nadezhda 17F118 No. 701 (Nadezhda means "hope".) Chronologies: 2000 payload #52 ; 2000-033A ; 5849th spacecraft Type: Navigation (search & rescue) Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 28 June 2000 at 10h37 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 684 km x 708 km x 98.1° x 98.7 min Mission: Nadezhda is a Russian search and relay spacecraft intended to locate ships or aircraft in distress. It is a member of the international COSPAS/SARSAT fleet of such satellites. The operating frequencies are the internationally dedicated 150.00 and 400.00 MHz. (Since the previous one was Nadezhda 5, this latest should be designated as Nadezhda 6.)  Notes: The Nadezhda navigation/search satellite, built by AKO Polyot of Omsk, is an 800 kg cylinder with a gravity gradient boom for stabilization and derives from the Tsiklon navigation-communications satellite of the early 1970s, which was the Soviet analog to the U.S. Navy's Transit. The system was developed by the NPO PM organization in Krasnoyarsk but later transferred to Polyot.      The 11F617 Tsiklon satellite flew from 1967 to 1978. Its successor, the 11F627 Tsiklon-B (or Parus), began flight tests in 1974 and is still in service. An advanced version used also for civilian navigation, the 11F643 Tsikada, first flew in 1976. The 11F643N modification of Tsikada, referred to as Nadezhda, made 3 flights from 1982 to 1984 carrying French-developed COSPAS search and rescue packages. These were followed by the operational 17F118 Nadezhda satellites, of which six have now been launched. The launcher: It is the first ever sun-synchronous launch from the northern Plesetsk launch site. The Kosmos-3M rocket appears to have launched southbound into a suborbital trajectory. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-033A ;

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Tsinghua 1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #53 ; 2000-033B ; 5850th spacecraft 0thType: Technology Sponsor: China's Tsinghua University of Beijing Launch: 28 June 2000 at 10h37 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 677 km x 703 km x 98.12° x 98.7 min Mission: Tzinghua 1 is a Chinese microsatellite that is a demonstration model of a future seven-satellite fleet that will monitor natural disasters and help train students. The spacecraft is built by Surrey Satellite (SSTL) of England, is owned by Tsinghua University of Beijing and carries imager and communications payloads. The 50-kg, 0.69 x 0.36 x 0.36-meter box-shaped satellite is a standard SSTL microsat bus. Earlier SSTL microsats deployed a 6-meter gravity gradient boom for stabilization. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-033B ;

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SNAP 1 Spacecraft:  Surrey Nanosatellite Applications Platform  Chronologies: 2000 payload #54 ; 2000-033C ; 5851st spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: United Kingdom Launch: 28 June 2000 at 10h37 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 677 km x 703 km x 98.12° x 98.7 min Mission: SNAP 1 is a British student-built nanosatellite that demonstrated the successful assembly of a satellite with commercially available miniature electro-mechanical parts. Built by Surrey Satellite (SSTL) of England, the spacecraft is a 6-kg satellite with imager and propulsion and will test rendezvous techniques by formation flying with Tsinghua. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-033C ;

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TDRS 8 Spacecraft:  TDRS H Chronologies: 2000 payload #55 ; 2000-034A ; 5852nd spacecraft Type: Communications (data relay) Sponsor: NASA Source : Boeing Launch: 30 June 2000 at 12h55 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-36, by an Atlas IIA (AC-139). Orbit: Geostationary Mission: This first Advanced Tracking and Data Relay is a NASA relay satellites. The 2,910-kg (dry), 2.04-kW spacecraft carries two steerable, 5-meter diameter dishes to enable many channels in C-, Ku-, and Ka-bands, with rates of 300 Mbits/s in the Ku-band, and 800 Mbits/s in the Ka-band. In addition, a phased array antenna in C-band can receive signals from five different spacecraft simultaneously, while transmitting to one of them. This spacecraft brings to seven the number of operational spacecraft in this fleet (TDRS-B had perished on the Challenger shuttle in 1986). TDRS H (named TDRS 8 in orbit), is a Hughes HS-601 class comsat. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center chose Boeing Satellite Systems in February 1995 to build three next-generation TDRS (TDRS-H, I and J) under a $481.6 million contract.  Notes: TDRS H was launched by International Launch Services with a Lockheed Martin's Atlas-Centaur, a two-stage Atlas IIA variant. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-034A ; Boeing's TDRS H, I, J :

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Sirius 1 / SD-RADIO 1 Spacecraft: Chronologies: 2000 payload #56 ; 2000-035A ; 5853rd spacecraft Type: Communications (radio broadcasting) Sponsor: U.S. Digital Audio Radio Satellite Launch: 30 June 2000 at 22h08 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81R, by a D-1-e/Proton/DM-3. Orbit: 24,388 km x 47,097 km x 63.3° x 24 hr  Mission: Sirius 1 is a communications spacecraft that provides 100 S-band channels of commercial-free, digital, CD-quality music, news and entertainment (including "Car Talk") mainly to motorists in the continental USA. Most broadcasts will originate from New York, and the satellite-relayed signals will be rebroadcast by a network of 105 transmitters in dense urban areas. Listening requires a special, factory-installed receiver and, of course, a monthly subscription fee. Two more Sirius satellites are to be launched in September and October 2000.      The spacecraft was placed on an elliptical looping orbit which keeps it between longitude 60° West and 140° West, with apogee over the northern hemisphere. Sirius 1 is a Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 satellite with a dry mass of 1,570 kg. (This satellite is not to be confused with Nordiska Satellit AB's Sirius 1, an HS-376 satellite launched in 1989 as Marcopolo 1 but purchased and renamed by NSAB in Decembger 1993.) Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 429 & 430 ; Spacewarn No. 560 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-035A ;

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Kosmos 2371 Spacecraft:  Geizer No. 22L Chronologies: 2000 payload #57 ; 2000-036A ; 5854th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 4 July 2000 at 23h44 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-200?, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-2? Orbit: Geostationary Mission: A Geizer military communications relay. Geizer satellites are built by NPO PM using the KAUR-3 bus. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-036A ;

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Zvezda / ISS-1R Spacecraft:  DOS-7K No. 8 / 17KSM No. 128-1 (Zvezda means Star.) Chronologies: 2000 payload #58 ; 2000-037A ; 5855th spacecraft Type: Space station module Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 12 July 2000 at 4h56 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81L, by a D-1-e/Proton-K.  Orbit: Circulat at ~400 km x 51.6° Mission: Zvezda is a Russian "service module" that is to be a primary and vital component of ISS (at least during its construction phase), providing life-support function and electrical power for all other modules, enabling command and control, and providing residential quarters for the working crew. The 20 tonne module has three docking hatches and 14 windows. It was once being built as a replacement for the aging Mir. It carries about four thousand instruments and machinary units, compared to 1,500 in Zarya and 235 in Unity.       It is the eighth civilian Salyut-class space station. Zvezda is outwardly almost identical to the Mir core module launched in 1986, and the main structure is similar to all the civilian DOS orbital stations launched since 1971 built by the Krunichev company and developed and operated by Energiya. Launch mass of Zvezda is 20,295 kg.       Zarya docked with the Zarya module automatically on 26 July 200 at 0h45 UTC, forming the basic core of the International Space Station. The first construction crew of three is expected to reach the ISS on a Soyuz craft on 30 October 2000. Currently, the vision, mission and goal of ISS remain as its successful construction by 2005. (Note: this was the fifth Proton launch in a month.) Notes: Issue 9/2000 of Novosti Kosmonavtiki reports that the main hull of the Service Module was built as early as 1985, when it was thought that the vehicle would form the core of a Mir-2 space station. Zvezda's forward section is the PkhO (Perekhodniy Otsek, transfer compartment) with three passive SSVP-M G8000 docking ports, one on the axis (docked to Zarya), one zenith and one nadir, plus a side airlock hatch for spacewalks. Behind PKhO is the RO (Rabochiy Otsek, working compartment) with 2.9-meter and 4.1-meter diameter sections. The small section carries the two large solar arrays. Further back is the AO (Agregatniy Otsek, equipment module) with the main ODU twin S5.79 engines. Inside the AO is the smaller cylinder of the PK (Promezhutochnaya kamera), the tunnel leading to the SSVP G4000 aft passive docking port used for Soyuz and Progress. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430, 431 & 439 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-037A ;

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Echostar VI Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #59 ; 2000-038A ; 5856th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: Echostar Communication Corp Launch: 14 July 2000 at 5h21 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-36B, by an Atlas IIAS (AC-161).  Orbit: Geostationary at 119° West longitude Mission: Echostar 6 is a communications spacecraft that carries about 16 transponders in Ku-band to provide many voice and video channels direct-to-home in North America. Echostar VI is a Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 satellite with a dry mass of 1,493 kg. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-038A ;

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MITA / MITA-O Spacecraft:  MITA is an Italian acronym for Minisatellite, Italy, Technology and Advanced (all in Italian equivalents). Chronologies: 2000 payload #60 ; 2000-039A ; 5857th spacecraft Type: Earth-space studies Sponsor: ISA / Italian Space Agency Launch: 15 July 2000 at 12h00 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 422 km x 476 km x 87.3° x 93.6 min Decayed: 15 August 2001 Mission: MITA-O is an Italian experimental minisatellite built by Carlo Gavazzi Space of Milano and is controlled by Telespazio's Corcolle center near Roma. It has a mass of 170 kg and carries the NINA particle detector and an experimental attitude control system. The 170 kg spacecraft carries instruments to monitor cosmic rays and Earth's magnetic field. The package has been named NINA and some reports carry this name as an alternative spacecraft name. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 & 432 ; Spacewarn No. 561 & 573 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-039A ;

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CHAMP Spacecraft:  CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload Chronologies: 2000 payload #61 ; 2000-039B ; 5858th spacecraft Type: Geophysics Sponsor: Germany's GFZ Launch: 15 July 2000 at 12h00 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 416 km x 476 km x 87.3° x 93.5 min Mission: CHAMP is a German environmental research minispacecraft that carries instruments for collecting geophysical, oceanographic and meteorological data. The 500-kg, triaxially stabilized spacecraft is operated by GFZ, the Potsdam geophysics center to study the magnetic field and the gravitational field.      CHAMP has begun operations after some minor problems with star sensors, possibly due to damage during fairing separation.  Launch: This is the second recent Kosmos-3M launch to a new inclination: before last week's sun-synchronous launch, the highest inclination achieved from Plesetsk was 83 degrees. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 & 432 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-039B ;

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Rubin / Bird-Rubin Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #62 ; 2000-039C ; 5859th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Germany Launch: 15 July 2000 at 12h00 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 416 km x 476 km x 87.3° x 93.5 min Decayed: 30 August 2001 Mission: Rubin is a German microsatellite (37 kg) that carries components for testing in the space environment.  It also measures launch vehicle parameters developed by OHB and students of the Hochschule Bremen. Rubin remains attached to the payload adapter on the Kosmos-3M final stage. It is also called BIRD-Rubin in some references, but confusingly is not related to the BIRD microsatellite originally slated for this launch. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 ; Spacewarn No. 561 & 573 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-039C ;

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Navstar 44 (USA 151) Spacecraft:  Navstar SVN 44 / GPS 2R-5 Chronologies: 2000 payload #63 ; 2000-040A ; 5860th spacecraft Type: Navigation Families: 48th Navstar (5th second-generation replacement) Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense Source: A. Parsch Launch: 16 July 2000 at 9h17 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's LC-17A, by a Delta 7925. Orbit: Circular at ~ 20,500 km x 38,9° Mission: Navstar 48 is an American navigational satellite in the GPS constellation. The total number in the fleet is now 29, including five spares. The GPS IIR series are built by Lockheed Martin/Sunnyvale and have a dry mass of 980 kg.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-040A ;

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Samba / Cluster II FM7 Spacecraft:  FM7 Chronologies: 2000 payload #64 ; 2000-041A ; 5861st spacecraft Type: Magnetospheric research Sponsor: ESA / European Space Agency Launch: 16 July 2000 at 12h39 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz-Fregat. Orbit: Initial: 250 km x 18,072 km x 64.7° 16,869 km x 121,098 km x 90.6°  Mission: Cluster 2/FM7 and Cluster 2/FM6 are the first two of a four-spacecraft European mission. Each of the cylindrical (3-meter diameter, 1.3-meter height), 1,200-kg (with fuel), and 224-Watts spacecraft carries 11 identical instruments to probe the magnetosphere. All four spacecraft of the Cluster 2 mission have an identical design and payload and were designed to emulate the Cluster that perished during the failed maiden launch of Ariane 5 on 4 June 1996. These satellites, which are built by Astrium/Friedrichshafen (former Dornier), will deploy four 50-meter wire antennas.  Launch: The Soyuz launch vehicle is built by TsSKB-Progress, with the Fregat upper stage developed by Lavochkin and the Soyuz-Fregat launch services provided by the French company Starsem. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 & 432 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-044A ;

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Salsa / Cluster II FM8 Spacecraft:  FM8 Chronologies: 2000 payload #65 ; 2000-041B ; 5862nd spacecraft Type: Magnetospheric research Sponsor: ESA / European Space Agency Launch: 16 July 2000 at 12h39 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz-Fregat. Orbit: Initial: 250 km x 18,072 km x 64.7° 16,714 km x 121,090 km x 90.5° Mission: Cluster 2/FM7 and Cluster 2/FM6 are the first two of a four-spacecraft European mission. Each of the cylindrical (3-meter diameter, 1.3-meter height), 1,200-kg (with fuel), and 224-W spacecraft carries 11 identical instruments to probe the magnetosphere. All four spacecraft of the Cluster 2 mission have an identical design and payload, and were designed to emulate the Cluster that perished during the failed maiden launch of Ariane 5 on 4 June 1996. These satellites, which are built by Astrium/Friedrichshafen (former Dornier), will deploy four 50-meter wire antennas.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 430 & 432 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-041B ;

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Mightysat 2.1 / Sindri Spacecraft:  P99-1 (Mightsat 2.1 means first flight of the series-2 version) Chronologies: 2000 payload #66 ; 2000-042A ; 5863rd spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense Launch: 19 July 2000 at 20h09 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur. Orbit: 547 km x 581 km x 97.8° Decayed: 12 November 2002 Mission: Mightsat 2.1 is an American military minispacecraft to test/demonstrate components for future utilization. The 130 kg spacecraft carries two kinds of hardware for tests. In the list of "unproven technologies" are SAC which focuses solar energy on solar cells, NSX that is an ultra-light weight communications unit and MFCBS that contains a multifunctional composite bus structure. In the list of "stand alone experiments" is FTHSI that provides hyperspectral images through a Fourier transform technique, QS40 that monitors radiation damage in microelectronic components, SMATTE to investigate the bimodal behavior of composite sheets that change physical properties such as stiffness by tailored thermal inputs but can recover to the original status after heating above a transition temperature, and SAFI that carries embedded copper wires in a composite film to help reduce the weight of components.      Mightysat 2.1 is a 125-kg Spectrum Astro SA-200B platform that carries a hyperspectral imager for earth imaging and spectroscopy, as well as satellite technology experiments such as advanced solar arrays.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 431 ; Spacewarn No. 561 & 589 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-042A;

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Picosat 7/Picosat 8 Tethered Picosat Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #67 ; 2000-042C ; 5864th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense's DARPA Launch: 19 July 2000 at 20h09 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur. Orbit: 547 km x 581 km x 97.8° Decayed: 11 July 2002 Mission: An Aerospace Corp./DARPA picosatellite experiment, consisting of two small boxes connected by a deployable tether, is attached to Mightysat and was deployed. A similar picosat was deployed on the previous Minotaur launch in January. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 431 ; Spacewarn No. 561 & 585 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-042C ;

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DARPA Picosat 23 / MEMS 3/MEMS 4 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #68 ; 2000-042 ; 5865th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense Launch: 19 July 2000 at 20h09 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's CLF, by a Minotaur. Orbit: 547 km x 581 km x 97.8° Mission: An Aerospace Corp./DARPA picosatellite experiment, consisting of two small boxes connected by a deployable tether, is attached to Mightysat and wasdeployed later. A similar picosat was deployed on the previous Minotaur launch in January. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 431 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's ;

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PAS 9 / PanAmSat 9 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #69 ; 2000-043A ; 5866th spacecraft Type: Communicaions (multi-service) Sponsor: Panamsat Corp Launch: 28 July 2000 at 22h42 UTC, from Odyssey platform, by a Zenit-3SL. Orbit: Geostationary at 58° West. Mission: PAS 9 is a communications spacecraft that carries 24 Ku-band and 24 C-band transponders to provide over 160 voice, video, data and internet channels to North America, the Caribbean and Europe. It replaces PAS 5. The 2,389-kg spacecraft is a Hughes HS-601HP spacecraft. Launch: This Sea Launch occured from the Odyssey platform stationed at 154° West and 0° North in the Pacific. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 431 ; Spacewarn No. 561 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-043A ;

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Progress M1-3 / ISS-1P Spacecraft:  Progress-M1 11F615A55 (7K-TGM) No. 251 Chronologies: 2000 payload #70 ; 2000-044A ; 5867th spacecraft Type: Cargo delivery to the International Space Station Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 6 August 2000 at 18h27 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: Deorbit: 1st November 2000 at 7h05 UTC. Mission: Progress M1-3 is a Russian automatic cargo carrier that carries 1.5 tonnes of fuel and 615 kg of various equipment, water and food to deliver to the International Space Station. It automatically docked with the Unity/Zarya/Zvezda complex on 8 August 2000 at 20h13 UTC. Three months later, Progress M1-3 undocked from Zvezda's rear port on 1st November 2000 at 4h05 UTC and was deorbited over the Pacific. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 431, 432 & 438 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-044A ;

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Rumba / Cluster II FM5 (Phoenix) Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #71 ; 2000-045A ; 5868th spacecraft Type: Magnetospheric research Sponsor: ESA / European Space Agency Launch: 9 August 2000 at 11h13 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz-Fregat. Orbit: 17,200 km x 120,600 km x 90° Mission: The second pair of Cluster II magnetospheric research satellites is identical to the one launched on 16 July. By 13 August 2000, Rumba and Tango were in similar orbits to Salsa and Samba. The orbits of these four spacecrafts will be frequently maneuvered so as to achieve the targeted investigations. On 26 August, they began stationkeeping, maintaining separations from a few hundred to some thousands of kilometers in a tetrahedral constellation. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 432 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-045A ;

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Tango / Cluster II FM8 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #72 ; 2000-045B ; 5869th spacecraft Type: Magnetospheric research Sponsor: ESA / European Space Agency Launch: 9 August 2000 at 11h13 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz-Fregat. Orbit: 17,200 km x 120,600 km x 90° Mission: The second pair of Cluster II magnetospheric research satellites is identical to the one launched on 16 July. By 13 August 2000, Rumba and Tango were in similar orbits to Salsa and Samba. The orbits of these four spacecrafts will be frequently maneuvered so as to achieve the targeted investigations. On 26 August, they began stationkeeping, maintaining separations from a few hundred to some thousands of kilometers in a tetrahedral constellation. Source: Jonathan Space ReportNo. 432 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-045B ;

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Brasilsat B-4 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #73 ; 2000-046A ; 5870th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Embratel Brazilian communications company Launch: 17 August 2000 at 23h16 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 44LP (V131). Orbit: Geostationary at 92° West longitude Mission: Brazilsat B4 is a Brazilian communications spacecraft that carries 28 C-band transponders to provide voice and video communications to the entire South American continent. It replaces the 15-year-old Brasilsat A2. The 1,757 kg (with fuel) spacecraft is the fourth and last of the Brasilsat B series which use a unique Hughes HS-376W bus, based on the old HS-376 spin-stabilized design but with a larger diameter and using the R-4D liquid apogee motor instead of a solid apogee motor. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 433 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-046A ;

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Nilesat 102 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #74 ; 2000-046B ; 5871st spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Nilesat SA Egyptian communications company Launch: 17 August 2000 at 23h16 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 44LP (V131). Orbit: Geostationary at 7° East longitude Mission: Nilesat 102 is a communications spacecraft that carries 12 Ku-band 100 Watts transponders to provide digital communications for countries in North Africa and Middle East. The 1,827 kg (with fuel) spacecraft joins Nilesat 101 in providing Ku-band broadcast services. It has a dry mass of 813 kg, a launch mass of 1,827 kg.  It is a Eurostar 2000 class bus built by Astrium SAS of Toulouse (formerly Matra). Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 433 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-046B ;

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ONYX 4 (USA 152) Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #75 ; 2000-047A ; 5872nd spacecraft Type: Reconnaissance Sponsor: U.S. National Reconnaissance Office Launch: 17 August 2000 at 23h45 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-4E, by a Titan 4B (B-28). Orbit: Initial: 572 km x 675 km x 68.0° 681 km x 695 km x 68.1°  Mission: USA 152 is an American radar-imaging military/NRO satellite. It is the fourth in the Lacrosse series, and is probably a replacement for the aging Lacrosse 2. The spacecraft is an ONYX (formerly LACROSSE) radar imaging spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 433 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-047A ;

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DM-F3 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #76 ; 2000-048A ; 5873rd spacecraft Type: Test Sponsor: Boeing Launch: 23 August 2000 at 11h05 UTC, from Canaveral Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-17B, by a Delta 8930.  Orbit: 190 km x 20,655 km x 27.6° (geostationary transfert orbit) Mission: DM-F3 is a dummy satellite that was used to test the launch capability of the new model Delta 3 rocket. The DM-F3 payload is a mass model of the Orion 3 HS-601 satellite launched on the second Delta 3. The 4,348 kg satellite is a 2.0-meter diameter, 1.7-meter high steel spool cylinder with two circular end plates, painted with black and white patterns; it will be used by US Air Force researchers as a calibration target for a novel tracking technique. The satellite was built by Boeing/Huntington Beach. This third Boeing Delta III launch was completed successfully and the dummy DM-F3 satellite was placed in orbit.      The satellites was placed into a 190 km x 20,655 km x 27.6 deg; the intended orbit was a much higher 183 x 25,778 km x 27.5 deg according to the press kit. This would correspond to a 0.15 km/s underspeed, but a Boeing press release on Aug 24 said that because of the fuel temperature and atmospheric conditions on the day of launch, the actual expected apogee was 23,400 km with an error of 3,000 km, so the mission was just within target limits. Since the flight was to fuel depletion instead of targeting a specific orbit, the final orbit achieved does depend on atmospheric density. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 433 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-048A ;

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Raduga 1-5 Spacecraft:  Globus No. 16L Chronologies: 2000 payload #77 ; 2000-049A ; 5874th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 28 August 2000 at 20h08 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81R, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-2? Orbit: Geostationary Mission: Raduga 1-5 is a Russian military Globus-type communications. Globus are usually given the public name Raduga-1 but, possibly due to administrative error, this satellite was initially named Kosmos-2372 by the RVSN press service. The Globus satellites replaced the older Gran' (Raduga) series; many Radugas are still in orbit, but only about five of them are operational. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 434 ; Spacewarn No. 562 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-049A ;

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ZY-2 / Zi Yuan-2 Spacecraft:  Also known as Zhangguo Ziyuan 2 (meaning China Resource 2) Chronologies: 2000 payload #78 ; 2000-050A ; 5875th spacecraft Type: Reconnaissance Sponsor: China Launch: 1st September 2000 at 3h25 UTC, from Taiyuan Space Center, by a Chang Zheng 4B. Orbit: 483 km x 499 km x 97.4° x 94.4 min Mission: While disguised as a civilian earth monitoring system, ZY-2 was actually code-named Jianbing-3 and was China's first high-resolution military imaging satellite. The cover story of the official Xinhua news agency was that the civilian remote sensing system would be used primarily in territorial surveying, city planning, crop yield assessment, disaster monitoring and space science experimentation. However the satellite was placed at a much lower altitude than the ZY-1 satellite and US intelligence sources indicated that it was a photo-reconnaissance satellite for exclusively military purposes, such as targeting missiles at US and Taiwanese forces. The new satellite was believed to employ digital-imaging technology and to have a resolution of 2 m or less. The satellite was designed and built by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and was developed indigenously. It was said to be more advanced than earlier sensing satellites and was expected to have an orbital life of two years. The camera provided more than three times the resolution of the ZY-1 earth resources satellite. The Zi Yuan 2 satellite may have used the CBERS Sino-Brazilian bus of the earlier ZY-1. However it was also said to be of new design and demonstrated the capability to maneuver in orbit, adjusting its orbit after launch. In October 2000 Chinese scientists denied that the ZY-2 satellite had a military mission. It was said to be a remote-sensing satellite equipped with CCD cameras and an infrared multispectral scanner that could only identify objects on the ground with a resolution of several dozen meters to 1 km. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 434 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-050A ; Mark Wades's Encyclopedia Astronautica's Chronology (2000 Sep 1) ;

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Sirius 2 / SD-RADIO 2 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #79 ; 2000-051A ; 5876th spacecraft Type: Communications (radio broadcasting) Sponsor: U.S. Digital Audio Radio Satellite Launch: 5 September 2000 at 9h43 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81L, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM3. Orbit: Mission: Sirius 2 is a communications spacecraft that enables S-band digital radio broadcasts (music, news, and entertainment) directly or through urban relay stations to motorists in North America. The Sirius constellation will be completed with the launch of a third spacecraft later this year. The satellite is a Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 with a dry mass of 1,570 kg and a launch mass of 3,800 kg. Take care not to confuse this Sirius 2 with its namesake, the Sirius 2 launched in November 1997 by Nordiska Satellit AB which provides communications services to Scandinavia. Launch: This is another International Launch Services Proton flight. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 434 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-051A ;

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Eutelsat W1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #80 ; 2000-052A ; 5877th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: Eutelsat / European Telecommunications Satellite Organization Launch: 6 September 2000 at 22h33 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 44P (V132). Orbit: Geostationary at 10° East longitude. Mission: Eutelsat W1 is a communications spacecraft that provides voice and video transmission to Europe and southern Africa through its 28 Ku-band transponders. The 1,300 kg (dry)  box-shaped (2.5 x 5.0-meter) satellite has two rectangular solar panel arrays spanning 31.7 meters and two dishes, a European beam and a steerable beam..The Eutelsat-W constellation now has four members including the W2, W3, and W4 that had been launched earlier.      The first Eutelsat W1 satellite was damaged in a fire in the Cannes factory in 1998. Construction of a second Eutelsat "W1R" was begun as well as a ground spare, called Ressat, built by Matra Marconi Space/Toulouse (now part of the Astrium company). The second Eutelsat W1 was reassigned to become Eurobird and will be launched to 28° East, with Ressat becoming the third and final Eutelsat W1. . Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 434 & 490 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-052A ;

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STS-106 / ISS-2A.2b Spacecraft:  Space Shutle #99 ; Atlantis (22nd flight) Chronologies: 2000 payload #81 ; 2000-053A ; 5878th spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (to the International Space Station) Sponsor: NASA Launch: 8 September 2000 at 12h45 UTC, from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39B, by the Space Shuttle. Orbit: 375 km x 386 kmx 51.6° x 92.2 min Landed: 20 September 2000 at 7h56 UTC Mission: STS 106 carries 2.5 tonnes of cargo to deliver to the International Space Station. The seven-person crew worked also to unload the cargo from an earlier-launched Progress craft into the Zvezda module and to repair, furbish, or refurbish the machines and batteries on-board the Zvezda and Zarya modules. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 435 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-053A ;

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Astra 2B Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #82 ; 2000-054A ; 5879th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: Luxembourg-based SES / Société Européenne de Satellites Launch: 14 September 2000 at 22h54 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 506, V130). Orbit: Geostationary at 28.2° East longitude. Mission: Astra 2B is a communications spacecraft that provides digital video broadcasts to most of Europe through its 30 high power Ku-band transponders. This is an Astrium/Toulouse Eurostar 2000+ television broadcast satellite. Its dry mass is around 1,400 kg and it carries about 1,900 kg of fuel at launch. The satellite will replace the German DFS Kopernikus system. Astra 2B is the 18th Eurostar 2000 launched and is the first SES satellite built by a European prime contractor. Launcher: The Ariane 5 launch vehicle is Europe's largest rocket, with two strapon solid boosters (EAP) and a liquid hydrogen engined core stage (EPC), with a storable propellant upper stage (EPS). This is the fourth success in a row for Ariane 5 following two early test failures. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 435 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-054A ;

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GE 7 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #83 ; 2000-054B ; 5880th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: GE Americom Launch: 14 September 2000 at 22h54 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 506, V130). Orbit: Geostationary at 137° West longitude Mission: GE 7 is a communications spacecraft that provides direct-to-home cable TV distribution coverage over the US and has 24 C-band transponders. Its mass is 912 kg and it carries 1,023 kg of fuel at launch. The satellite is an A2100A model built by Lockheed Martin/Sunnyvale, the first lightweight A2100 with a mass about half that of earlier A2100 satellites. GE 7 continues one of the longest series of commercial communications satellites, which began with Americom's RCA Satcom 1 in 1975 (Americom was then owned by RCA). All the satellites were built by RCA Astro Space/East Windsor and its successors (now LMMS/Sunnyvale). Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 435 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-054B ;

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NOAA 16 Spacecraft:  NOAA-L / Advanced Tiros N Chronologies: 2000 payload #84 ; 2000-055A ; 5881st spacecraft Type: Meteorology Sponsor: U.S. NOAA / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Launch: 21 September 2000 at 10h22 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-4W, by a Titan II (23G-13). Orbit: 845 km x 850 km x 98.8° x 102.1 min, sun-synchronous orbit Mission: NOAA 16 is an American weather monitoring satellite. The NOAA-L, renamed NOAA 16, is an Advanced Tiros N model built by Lockheed Martin that carries a suite of imaging and sounding instruments. The 2,200 kg cylindrical (diameter 2 meters, length 4 meters) spacecraft carries several atmospheric and weather monitoring instruments. The AVHRR-3 (Advanced High Resolution Radiometer) has six wavelength channels of which the first three monitor the backscattered solar energy, and the second three monitor the emissions from land, sea, and clouds, all with a spatial resolution of 1.1 km. The HIRS-3 (High-resolution Infrared Sounder) monitors the atmosphere at 19 closely spaced channels so as to derive the vertical temperature profile out to an altitude of 40 km. The AMSU-A and AMSU-B (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit) capture the microwave emissions. The SBUV-2 (Solar Backscatter Ultra Violet) instrument derives the ozone profile by monitoring the incident and backscattered radiation in 12 wavelength bands. The spacecraft also carries a SEM-2 instrument to monitor kilovolt and megavolt electrons and protons.       On 9 June 2014, ground controllers decommissioned NOAA 16 after it completed 70,655 orbits of the Earth and traveled 3.4 billion kilometres since its launch in 2000.  It was then reported that the craft experienced a "critical anomaly" on June 5. "No data recovery and no command verification possible at this time." Notes: The NOAA satellites form the POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellite) low orbit constellation which complements the GOES geostationary constellation, and are the programmatic descendants of the original Tiros 1 weather satellite launched in 1960. They are developed by NASA-GSFC and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 435 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-055A ; SpaceflightNow's 11 Jun 14 ;

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Kosmos 2372 Spacecraft:  Orlets-2 / Yenisey Chronologies: 2000 payload #85 ; 2000-056A ; 5882nd spacecraft Type: Reconnaissance Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 25 September 2000 at 10h10 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-45, by a J-1/Zenit-2 (11K77). Orbit: 220 km x 364 km x 64.8° x 90.1 min Recovered?: 20 April 2001. Mission: Cosmos 2372 is a 12-tonne Russian military photo reconnaissance spacecraft that is fitted with 22 capsules to carry and land the high resolution photographs. Unlike previous photo reconnaissance spacecraft (which had functioned only for two to three months), this one is expected to function for a year. The new spacecraft's real code name is Yenisey (which is the name of one of the great rivers in Russia). Observers speculate that Yenisey is an improved version of the Orlets spy satellite launched as Kosmos 2290 in 1994. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 563 & 570 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-056A ;

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TiungSAT-1 / Malaysian-OSCAR-46 (MO-46) Spacecraft: Chronologies: 2000 payload #86 ; 2000-057A ; 5883rd spacecraft Type: Earth imaging Sponsor: Malaysia Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment Launch: 26 September 2000 at 10h05 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-109, by a Dnepr (15A18). Orbit: 640 km x 644 km x 64.6° Mission: Tiungsat 1 is a Malaysian remote sensing satellite. This 50-kg satellite with 80-meter resolution is built by Surrey Satellite and Astronautic Technology SB for the BKSA (Bahagian Kajian Sains Angkasa, the Space Science Studies Division under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment).  Launcher: The Dnepr rocket is a modified RS-20 ICBM, known in the NATO countries as SS-18 and as Satan, and was launched from a silo in Baykonur. This second Dnepr launch vehicle is a refurbished R-36M2 (15A18 or 15A18M) ballistic missile with two main stages and a post-boost stage used to target reentry vehicles. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-057A ; A Brief History of Amateur Satellites ;

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MegSat-1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #87 ; 2000-057B ; 5884th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Italy's MegSat Space Division Launch: 26 September 2000 at 10h05 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-109, by a Dnepr (15A18). Orbit: 640 km x 644 km x 64.6° Mission: Megsat-1 is a 56-kg environment monitoring research satellite owned and built by MegSat Space Division, part of the Gruppo Meggiorin companies in Brescia, Italy. (Megsat-0 was launched in April 1999). Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-057B ;

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UniSat Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #88 ; 2000-057C ; 5885th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Italy's GAUSS  Launch: 26 September 2000 at 10h05 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-109, by a Dnepr (15A18). Orbit: 640 km x 644 km x 64.6° Mission: Unisat is a 10-kg educational advancement experimental satellite developed by the GAUSS (Gruppo di Astrodinamica dell' Universita degli Studi "la Sapienza") in Roma. Unisat was financed by ASI and MURST (Ministero dell'Universtia e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica). It carries NiMH batteries, a magnetometer and a payload consisting of a space debris sensor and a camera. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-057C ;

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SaudiSat 1a / Saudi OSCAR 41 (SO-41) Spacecraft:  Saudisat 1A (Aprize?) Chronologies: 2000 payload #89 ; 2000-057D ; 5886th spacecraft Type: Amateur-radio communications Sponsor: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology Launch: 26 September 2000 at 10h05 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-109, by a Dnepr (15A18). Orbit: 640 km x 644 km x 64.6° Mission: Saudisat 1A and 1B are 10-kg satellites developed by the Saudi Institute for Space Research at KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology), Riyadh, carrying simple amateur store-forward communications payloads. Their amateur radio payloads (Saudi-OSCAR-41 and Saudi-OSCAR-42) have apparently not entered service as of June 2001 (although reportedly have been checked out successfully).       Although not announced at the time of launch, these satellites have a secondary commercial payload. Aprize Satellite of Fairfax, Virginia has a 400 MHz UHF Aprizestar commercial satellite location payload on each of the satellites, which will enter operation when Aprize completes financing and developed of user equipment. They will be used as pathfinders for a planned network of asset location satellites (for instance, relaying data from transmitters on shipping containers). These 0.2-m3, 10 kg satellites will be built by SpaceQuest (Aprize's parent company) in Fairfax, but the Saudi satellites were built by and are owned by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 & 455 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-057D ; A Brief History of Amateur Satellites ;

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SaudiSat 1b / Saudi SCAR 42 (SO-42) Spacecraft:  Saudisat 1B (Aprize?) Chronologies: 2000 payload #90 ; 2000-057E ; 5887th spacecraft Type: Amateur-radio communications Sponsor: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology Launch: 26 September 2000 at 10h05 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-109, by a Dnepr (15A18). Orbit: 640 km x 644 km x 64.6° Mission: Saudisat 1A and 1B are 10-kg satellites developed by the Saudi Institute for Space Research at KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology), Riyadh, carrying simple amateur store-forward communications payloads. Their amateur radio payloads (Saudi-OSCAR-41 and Saudi-OSCAR-42) have apparently not entered service as of June 2001 (although reportedly have been checked out successfully).       Although not announced at the time of launch, these satellites have a secondary commercial payload. Aprize Satellite of Fairfax, Virginia has a 400 MHz UHF Aprizestar commercial satellite location payload on each of the satellites, which will enter operation when Aprize completes financing and developed of user equipment. They will be used as pathfinders for a planned network of asset location satellites (for instance, relaying data from transmitters on shipping containers). These 0.2-m3, 10 kg satellites will be built by SpaceQuest (Aprize's parent company) in Fairfax, but the Saudi satellites were built by and are owned by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 & 455 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-057E ; A Brief History of Amateur Satellites ;

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Kosmos 2373 Spacecraft: Yantar-1KFT / Kometa No. 20 Chronologies: 2000 payload #91 ; 2000-058A ; 5888th spacecraft Type: Geodesy Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 29 September 2000 at 9h30 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-31, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: Initial: 193 km x 267 km x 70.4° x 89 min 211 km x 285 km x 70.4°  Recovered: 14 November 2000 at 22h53 UTC Mission: Cosmos 2373 is a Russian cartographic satellite. Its orbit will have a short life of 60 days during which one or more capsules carrying the films will be landing. This is the 20th in the Siluet/Kometa series (Yantar'-1KFT) mapping payload using the Yantar' bus with a Zenit-type recovery sphere. It is announced as a dual civil-military geodetic mission. The Vostok/Zenit-style sphere landed near Orenburg in Russia in November 2000. The first Kometa was launched in February 1981 as Kosmos 1246; the previous flight was Kosmos 2349 in February 1998.. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436, 437 & 439 ; Spacewarn No. 563 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-058A ;

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AAP-1 / GE 1A Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #92 ; 2000-059A ; 5889th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: GE Americom Launch: 1st October 2000 at 22h00 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81L, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-3. Orbit: Geostationary at 108° East longitude Mission: GE 1A is a communications spacecraft that provides direct-to-home voice, video and data transmission in India, China and Philippines through its 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders. The 3.9 tonne spacecraft is a Lockheed Martin/Sunnyvale A2100AX model Ku-band spacecraft. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-059A ;

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N-SAT-110 / Superbird 5 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #93 ; 2000-060A ; 5890th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: Japan's SCC and JSat. Launch: 6 October 2000 at 23h00 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 42L (V133). Orbit: Geostationary at 135° East longitude Mission: NSat 110 is a Japanese communications spacecraft that carries 24 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home television, internet and data transmission service to all of Japan. Also known as Superbird 5, it was another A2100AX satellite. It is jointly owned by SCC (Space Communications Corp of Tokyo) and JSat (Japan Satellite Systems); SCC controls the vehicle on orbit. Dry mass is 1,669 kg. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-060A ;

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HETE-2 Spacecraft:  High Energy Transient Explorer Chronologies: 2000 payload #94 ; 2000-061A ; 5891st spacecraft Type: Astronomy Sponsor: NASA/MIT Launch: 9 October 2000 at 5h38 UTC, from Kwajalein Missile Range's RW-06/24 (in the Marshall Islands), by a Pegasus. Orbit: 595 km x 636 km x 2.0° Mission: HETE 2 is an astrophysical research spacecraft that carries three instruments to measure gamma rays and x-rays. As soon as a radiation burst is recorded by the instruments, an automatic alarm are relayed to a number of ground astronomy stations around the world to look for the source in visible wavelengths. These very rare/transient bursts are presumed to be extra-galactic, but source identification remains elusive.     The 130-kg satellite was built to replace the first HETE, which failed to operate because of a Pegasus adapter failure during launch in November 1996. The satellite was built by MIT using leftover parts from HETE. MIT operates the satellite; the program is managed by NASA GSFC as an Explorer mission of opportunity. Launch: The Orbital Sciences Corp. L-1011 Stargazer aircraft took off from Bucholz Army Airfield (PKWA) Runway 06/24 (at 08 42.9° North and 167 43.6° East) on Kwajalein Island at the southeast end of the atoll on 9 October 2000 at 4h40 UTC. The Stargazer flew to the drop zone at 7.65° North and 167.7° East and at 5h38 UTC dropped the Pegasus launch vehicle at an altitude of 11.9 km. The model used was the Standard Pegasus rather than the newer XL model (strictly, it was a Hybrid Pegasus with some XL components). Five seconds after drop the first, winged, stage ignited and after 10 minutes the third stage cutoff to leave HETE-2 in orbit at 5h50 UTC.      This was the first orbital launch from USAKA (US Army Kwajalein Atoll) in the Pacific Ocean. Kwajalein, a circular lagoon, is the aim point for Western Range ICBM launches; the US Air Force fires ICBMs at Kwaj and the US Army sits on Kwaj and fires back with experimental anti-missiles. The main launch site is on Meck Island on the north side of the atoll. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-061A ;

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STS-92 / ISS-3A Spacecraft: Space Shutle #100 ; Discovery (28th flight) Chronologies: 2000 payload #95 ; 2000-062A ; 5892nd spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (to the International Space Station) Sponsor: NASA Launch: 11 October 2000 at 23h17 UTC, from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A, by the Space Shuttle Orbit: Circulat at ~400 km x 51.6° Landed: 24 October 2000 at at 20h59 UTC on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB. Mission: STS 92 carries the ITS-Z1 truss structure and the PMA-3 docking tunnel to the International Space Station. Z1 is the first segment of the space station truss. It was built by Boeing/Canoga Park and is 3.5 x 4.5 meters in size; it will be docked to the +Z port on Unity. It carries the control moment gyros, the S-band antenna, and the Ku-band antenna. PMA-3, built by Boeing/Huntington Beach, will be docked to the  -Z port opposite Z1. The truss is intended to support a football-field sized solar array that will be installed during a later mission in December 2000.      The Space Shuttle crew carried out space walks to install the 8.5 tonne, aluminum Z-1 truss on the Unity module. The crew also installed a major 1.2 tonne docking port named Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) on the Unity module. They fired thrusters in the Shuttle to raise the altitude of the ISS. Among other activities was a practice run of a device named SAFER (Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue) to rescue an untethered astronaut and to assess whether a dead or gravely ill spacewalker could also be retrieved back to a shuttle or the ISS.       Discovery's rendezvous with the International Space Station came on 13 October 2000 at 15h39 UTC, with docking at 17h45 UTC. The spaceship docked with PMA-2, the docking port on the +Y port of the Space Station's Unity module. Hatch was open to PMA-2 at 20h30 UTC the same day. On 14 October at 16h15 UTC, the Z1 segment was unberthed from the payload bay and at around 18h20 UTC it was docked to the zenith port on the Unity module. The  hatches between to the Space Station and the Orbiter were closed on 20 October at around 13h30 UTC. Discovery undocked from PMA-2 at 15h08 UTC the same day. Deorbit attempts were waved off on 22 and 23 October; the deorbit burn finally came on 24 October at 19h51:55 UTC, Discovery then made the first Edwards landing for a Space Shuttle since 1996. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 & 437 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-062A ;

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Kosmos 2374 Spacecraft: Uragan No. 83L Chronologies: 2000 payload #96 ; 2000-063A ; 5893rd spacecraft Type: Navigation Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 13 October 2000 at 14h12 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-2. Orbit: 19,120 km x 19,120 km x 64.8° Mission: Three Uragan ("Hurricane") navigation satellites for the GLONASS system, which are built by AKO Polyot of Omsk, are analogs of the USAF Navstar Global Positioning System. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 564;National Space Science Data Center's 2000-063A ;

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Kosmos 2375 Spacecraft:  Uragan No. 87L Chronologies: 2000 payload #97 ; 2000-063B ; 5894th spacecraft Type: Navigation Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 13 October 2000 at 14h12 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-2. Orbit: 19,120 km x 19,120 km x 64.8° Mission: Three Uragan ("Hurricane") navigation satellites for the GLONASS system, which are built by AKO Polyot of Omsk, are analogs of the USAF Navstar Global Positioning System. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-063B ;

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Kosmos 2376 Spacecraft: Uragan No. 88L Chronologies: 2000 payload #98 ; 2000-063C ; 5895th spacecraft Type: Navigation Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 13 October 2000 at 14h12 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-2. Orbit: 19,120 km x 19,120 km x 64.8° Mission: Three Uragan ("Hurricane") navigation satellites for the GLONASS system, which are built by AKO Polyot of Omsk, are analogs of the USAF Navstar Global Positioning System. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-063C ;

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Progress M-43 Spacecraft:  Progress 7K-TGM No. 243 Chronologies: 2000 payload #99 ; 2000-064A ; 5896th spacecraft Type: Cargo delivery to Mir Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 16 October 2000 at 21h27 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: 331 km x 359 km x 51.7° x 91.4 min Decayed: 29 January 2001 Mission: Progress M-43 is a Russian automatic cargo carrier that carries food and fuel for a probable crew that may enter Mir early 2001. It will raise Mir orbit, delaying reentry to preserve the option of a new MirCorp-financed flight next year. Progress M-43 docked with Mir on 20 October at 21h16 UTC, presumably at the Kvant docking port. To save fuel, a long 4-day rendezvous profile was used instead of the usual 2-day one. This slow docking enabled the cargo ship to conserve 150 kg of fuel that will be spent in raising Mir to a higher altitude from the currently perilous orbit. On 29 October, Mir was in a 329 km x 356 km x 51.6 deg orbit, after an apogee raising burn by Progress M-43. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 436 & 437 ; Spacewarn No. 564 & 567 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-064A ;

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DSCS III B-11 (USA 153) Spacecraft:  Defense Satellite Communications System Chronologies: 2000 payload #100 ; 2000-065A ; 5897th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense Launch: 20 October 2000 at 0h39 UTC, from Capel Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-36A, by an Atlas IIA (AC-140, IABS-8).  Orbit: Geostationary Mission: DSCS III B-11 is an American military communications spacecraft part of the fleet of Defense Satellite Communications System. The communications will be in six channels covering the frequency band of 50-85 MHz. The DSCS III satellites were built by Lockheed Martin/Valley Forge. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 437 & 495 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-065A ;

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Thuraya 1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #101 ; 2000-066A ; 5898th spacecraft Type: Communications (phone) Sponsor: Abu Dhabi's Etisalat, the Emirates Telecom Corp Launch: 21 October 2000 at 5h52 UTC, from the Odyssey platform, by a Zenit-3SL.  Orbit: Geostationary at 44° East longitude Mission: Thuraya 1 is a United Arab Emirate (UAE) communications spacecraft designed to handle thousands of voice, fax and data transmissions simultaneously from/to mobile telephones, via its 128-element phased array antenna of 12 meters x 16 meters dimension in the L-band. This first Boeing GEM satellite is built by Boeing/El Segundo (formerly Hughes).  The 3,200 kg (5,100 kg with fuel), 13 kW spacecraft is based on the HS-702 design but features a large 12-meter diameter truss antenna for L-band mobile telephone service. Launch mass of Thuraya is 5,108 kg; dry mass is probably around 3,000 kg. The satellite was delivered after on orbit testing to Etisalat, the Emirates Telecom Corp of Abu Dhabi, and its Thuraya Satellite subsidiary. Launch: Thuraya was launched by a Boeing Sea Launch Zenit-3SL from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific Ocean at 154° West and 0° North. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 437 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-066A ;

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GE 6 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #102 ; 2000-067A ; 5899th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: GE Americom' Launch: 21 October 2000 at 22h00 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-3 Orbit: Geostationary at 83° West longitude. Mission: GE 6 is a communications spacecraft that carries 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home voice, video and data transmission to America and the Caribbean countries. The Lockheed Martin A2100 series satellite has a mass of 3,552 kg at launch and 1,900 kg dry. Launch: Another International Launch Services. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 437 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-067A ;

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Europe*Star F1 Spacecraft:  Europe*Star FM1 Chronologies: 2000 payload #103 ; 2000-068A ; 5900th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: Europe*Star Source : Europe*Star Launch: 29 October 2000 at 5h59 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 44LP (V134). Orbit: Geostationary at 45° East longitude Mission: Europe*Star 1 is a European communications spacecraft that carries 30 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home video, internet, and high speed data transmission among South Africa, Europe and the Indian subcontinent. The 4.2 tonne (with fuel) spacecraft is a Loral FS-1300 model with a launch mass of 4,167 kg and a dry mass of 1,717 kg; the satellite has two cruciform solar arrays. An Alcatel company, Europe*Star is headquartered in London. Notes: It was the 100th successful launch by Ariane rockets, almost coinciding with the 100th launch of the American Shuttle mission. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 437 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-068A ;

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Beidou 1 Spacecraft:  Beidou 1A Beidou Navigation Test Satellite ("Beidou" is the Chinese for "Northern Dipper", equivalent to "Ursa Major".) Chronologies: 2000 payload #104 ; 2000-069A ; 5901st spacecraft Type: Navigation Sponsor: China Launch: 30 October 2000 at 16h02 UTC, from Xichang Space Launch Center's LC-1, by a Chang Zheng 3A. Orbit: Geostationary at 140° East longitude. Mission: Beidou is a Chinese test model of a navigational system satellite. China's first experimental navigation technology satellite was developed by CAST/Beijing. When completed, the Beidou Navigational System (BNS) will help to locate and navigate highway, railway and oceanic transportation. (Launch was at 0h02 Beijing time on 31 October, which corresponds to 16h02 UTC on 30 October.) Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 438 & 439 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-069A ;

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Soyuz TM-31 / ISS-2R Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-STM No. 205 Chronologies: 2000 payload #105 ; 2000-070A ; 5902nd spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (to the International Space Station) Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 31 October 2000 at 7h53 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: 374 km x 383 km x 51.6° x 92.2 min Landed: 6 May 2001 at 5h41 UTC near Arkalyk in Kazakstan. Mission: Soyuz TMA-1 is Russian passenger transportation spacecraft that carries the Expedition One crew to the International Space Station (ISS), the first of a decade-long "permanent inhabitation" of the Station. Soyuz TM-31 commander (komandir) is Yuriy Gidzenko, Flight engineer-1 (bortinzhener) is Sergey Krikalyov and Flight engineer-2 is Bill Shepherd of NASA. The two Russian and one American were to spend over three months in the ISS and return to Earth in in STS-102 in February 2001.      Soyuz TM-31 flew from Pad 5, Area 1 at 5 GIK Baykonur and docks at Zvezda's rear port on 2 November 2000 at 9h21 UTC. The hatch to Zvezda was opened at 10h23 UTC. Once aboard ISS, Shepherd became the ISS Commander. In the initial days, the crew brings a variety of life support systems on-line and creates a lap-top computer network that to help run all systems in the ISS. The remaining months were allotted for exercise and space endurance practice.     On 6 May 2001, Soyuz TM-31, carrying the first ISS visiting crew of Musabaev, Baturin and tourist Dennis Tito, undocked from Zvezda's -Y port at 2h21 UTC. The deorbit burn came at 4h47 UTC, followed by separation of the BO and PAO modules. The descent craft touched down near Arkalyk in Kazakstan at 5h41 UTC. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 438 & 452 ; Spacewarn No. 564 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-070A ;

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Navstar 45 (USA 154) Spacecraft:  Navstar SVN 41 / GPS 2R-6 Chronologies: 2000 payload #106 ; 2000-071A ; 5903rd spacecraft Type: Navigation Families: 49th Navstar (6th second-generation replacement) Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense Source: A. Parsch Launch: 10 November 2000 at 17h14 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-17A, by a Delta 7925. Orbit: 20,177 km x 20,498 km x 55.1° x 724.3 min  Mission: Navstar 49 is a navigational satellite in the GPS fleet. This GPS SVN 41 is the sixth Block IIR navigation satellite which are built by Lockheed Martin. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-071A ;

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PAS 1R / PanAmSat 1R Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #107 ; 2000-072A ; 5904th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: PanAmSat Launch: 16 November 2000 at 1h07 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 507, V135). Orbit: Geostationary at 45° West longitude Mission: PAS 1R is a communications spacecraft that carries 36 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home (DTH) digital video and internet services to Europe and the Americas. The 1,200-kg, 15-kW spacecraft is a large Boeing Model 702 satellite with a dry mass of about 3,000 kg (launch mass 4,793 kg) and a solar panel span of 45 meters. PAS 1R is operated by Panamsat, whose fleet includes the former Hughes Galaxy system. Launch: Ariane vehicle 507 flight V135 carries PAS 1R, STRV 1c/1d and AMSAT Phase 3D satellites. The EPS stage entered geostationary transfer orbit, followed by separation of the PAS 1R main payload. The two small STRV cubes were then ejected from the ASAP-5 secondary payload structure. At 1h49 UTC the SBS cylindrical adapter which connected PAS-1R to AMSAT was jettisoned; 50 seconds later AMSAT separated from the EPS. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-072A ;

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P3D / AMSAT-OSCAR-40 (AO-40) Spacecraft:  AMSAT Phase III-D Chronologies: 2000 payload #108 ; 2000-072B ; 5905th spacecraft Type: Communications (radio amateur) Sponsor: German's AMSAT-DL (AMateur radio SATellites Dutchland) Launch: 16 November 2000 at 1h07 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 507, V135). Orbit: Geostationary Mission: Amsat P3D is an international amateur radio spacecraft, the largest amateur-support spacecraft, carrying 5 receivers and seven transmitters. Also carried on-board are some experimental instruments such as two cosmic ray monitors, two wide-angle cameras in the SCOPE unit available for the amateurs to command their images from locations of interest, a passive ionospheric "sounder" so as to derive the electron densities in the upper part of the ionosphere, and a GPS-receiver to locate the spacecraft position.       The long-delayed Phase 3D amateur radio satellite, built by AMSAT-DL (Germany), was renamed AMSAT-Oscar-40 (AO-40) once launched. The 400-kg, 250-W spacecraft carries an MBB S400 liquid engine (actually the backup engine for the Galileo Jupiter probe) as well as an ammonia arcjet thruster and a laser communications experiment. The satellite is the largest amateur satellite yet and the first to feature deployable solar panels. Mass is 397 kg dry. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-072B ; A Brief History of Amateur Satellites ;

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STRV-1c Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #109 ; 2000-072C ; 5906th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: United Kingdom's DERA Launch: 16 November 2000 at 1h07 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 507, V135). Orbit: Geostationary Mission: STRV 1C and STRV 1D are two British microsatellites that carry technology-test devices such as lithium ion batteries, a new communications system that allows a high degree of security and a GPS receiver. The 100-kg spacecraft are small satellites built by the DERA (former Royal Aircraft Establishment), Farnborough, England. STRV-1c performs accelerated life testing of new components and materials in the high radiation environment of GTO. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-072C ;

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STRV-1d Spacecraft:  S97-2 Chronologies: 2000 payload #110 ; 2000-072D ; 5907th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: United Kingdom NRL Launch: 16 November 2000 at 1h07 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5 (Ariane 507, V135). Orbit: Geostationary Mission: STRV 1C and STRV 1D are two British microsatellites that carry technology-test devices such as lithium ion batteries, a new communications system that allows a high degree of security and a GPS receiver. The 100-kg spacecraft are small satellites built by the DERA (former Royal Aircraft Establishment), Farnborough, England. STRV-1d carries an NRL Space Test Program experiment (S97-2), a camera, and technology and computer experiments. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-072D ;

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Progress M1-4 / ISS-2P Spacecraft:  Progress M1 11F615A55 (7K-TGM)  No. 253 Chronologies: 2000 payload #111 ; 2000-073A ; 5908th spacecraft Type: Cargo delivery (to the International Space Station) Sponsor: Rosaviakosmos / Russian Space Agency Launch: 16 November 2000 at 1h32 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-1, by an A-2/Soyuz-U. Orbit: ~400 km x 51.6° Deorbit: 8 February 2001 at 13h50 UTC over the Pacific.  Mission: Progress M1-4 is a Russian automatic cargo delivery spacecraft that carries 1.8 tonnes of material, food, water, clothes and other necessities for the three-man crew now in the International Space Stations (ISS).      The cargo craft made rendezvous with the Station on 18 November. After problems with the automatic system, Gidzenko took over manual control with the remote TORU system at 3h02 UTC. After one failed attempt when M1-4 got to only 5 meters from docking at 3h09 UTC, docking was successfully achieved at 3h48 UTC at Zarya's nadir port. The problem with the TORU system is that the TV camera on the Progress, which Gidzenko uses to steer the vehicle with, is not that great and tends to ice up quickly when the Progress is in shadow.       Progress M1-4 undocked from ISS's Zarya nadir port on 1st December 2000 at 16h23 UTC. The vehicle remains in orbit. It then redocked to Zarya's nadir port on 26 December 2000 at 10h54 UTC. The redocking testing out a fix to software that caused problems in the vehicle's first docking attempt on 18 November. Expedition One Pilot Yuriy Gidzenko completed the docking manually using the remote control TORU system. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439, 440, 442 & 446 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-073A ;

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QuickBird 1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #112 ; 2000-074A ; 5909th spacecraft Type: Earth remote sensing Sponsor: EarthWatch Inc. Launch: 20 November 2000 at 23h00 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-132, by a Kosmos-3M. Orbit: 81 km x 614 km x 65.8° Decayed: 21 November 2000 at 0h15 UTC Mission: Quickbird 1 is an American remote-sensing and imaging spacecraft. The spacecraft could not be sighted or commanded after the first orbit. A report has it that the second stage did not complete its burn, or that the nose cone may not have been ejected. It re-entered the atmosphere on the next day.      QuickBird 1 was a 1-meter resolution imaging satellite using a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus. It was 3.0-meter high and 1.6-meter x 1.6-meter in cross-section with a 5.2-meter solar array span; mass was 931 kg full and 899 kg dry (the satellite had four 4.4N hydrazine thrusters). It was the second use of the Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 satellite; NASA's QuikScat, launched in Jun 1999, continues to operate.       The Kosmos-3M second stage placed QuickBird 1 in a 81 x 614 km x 65.8 deg orbit but apparently failed to restart at apogee, and reentered at the next perigee over South America. This failure is a heavy blow to EarthWatch Inc. whose other satellite, EarlyBird, failed after a few days in orbit in December 1997. EarthWatch's rival, SpaceImaging, lost one satellite too but its second Ikonos is operating in orbit. Visual observations from Uruguay of reentering debris suggest that QB-1 reentered at around 0h15 UTC on 21 November. The last Kosmos-3M failure, in 1995, had a similar profile and was attributed to contamination in the oxidizer lines for the  second stage main engine  QuickBird 2 is under construction. . Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 & 440 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-074A ;

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EO-1 / Earth Observing 1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #113 ; 2000-075A ; 5910th spacecraft Type: Technology/Earth remote sensing Sponsor: NASA Launch: 21 November 2000 at 18h24 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-2W, by a Delta 7320. Orbit: 682 km x 729 km x 98.2° Mission: The Earth Observing mission 1 is the first spacecraft in the American New Millennium Program (NMP). The 573-kg satellite carries three well-developed instruments (and seven technology-test items) to image Earth's surface in numerous wavelength bands. The spacecraft is a NASA-Goddard spacecraft which demonstrates technology for the next generation Landsat for NASA's New Millenium Program (complementing the New Millenium's Deep Space series). It flies in formation with Landsat 7 for comparisons, using a hydrazine thruster to adjust its orbit. The satellite uses a MIDEX-derived bus built by Swales Aerospace; dry mass is 566 kg. The main instruments are ALI (Advanced Land Imager) and the Hyperion 220-band imaging spectrometer. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-075A ;

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SAC-C Spacecraft:  Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas C Chronologies: 2000 payload #114 ; 2000-075B ; 5911th spacecraft Type: Earth remote sensing Sponsor: CONAE / Argentine space agency (+ other countries) Launch: 21 November 2000 at 18h24 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-2W, by a Delta 7320. Orbit: 687 km x 707 km x 98.3°  Mission: SAC-C is an International (Argentina plus USA, France, Italy, Denmark and Brazil) satellite. Its mission is to remotely-sense vegetation, wetlands, and ecosystem in four wavelength bands with a spatial resolution of 1 km. The orbital planes of SAC-C, EO 1, Landsat 7 and Terra are closely coplanar, with a given site being successively visited by each spacecraft within an hour of each other. SAC-C was developed by the Argentine space agency CONAE and built by the Argentine company INVAP. The 467 kg satellite carries a battery of earth observing instruments and will focus on Argentine forestry and agriculture studies. SAC-C carries a NASA experiment which uses the distortion of GPS signals observed near the horizon to derive atmospheric conditions. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-075A ;

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Munin Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #115 ; 2000-075C ; 5912th spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: Sweden's IRF / Insitute for Space Physics Launch: 21 November 2000 at 18h24 UTC, from Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-2W, by a Delta 7320. Orbit: 693 km x 1,794 km x 95.4° x 110 min. Mission: Munin is a Swedish auroral research nanosatellite that carries a combined electron-ion spectrometer and a solid state detector for high energy particles. Also on-board is a miniature CCD camera to image auroras. Only the interesting data over auroral passes will be captured, compressed and stored in a 2 MB memory for downloading during Kiruna (Sweden) passes. The 6-kg, cubical spacecraft with solar cells covering all sides was built by Swedish students in collaboration with the Swedish Insitute for Space Physics (IRF). Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-075C ;

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Anik F-1 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #116 ; 2000-076A ; 5913th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBD) Sponsor: Telesat Canada Launch: 21 November 2000 at 23h56 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-2, by an Ariane 44L.  Orbit: Geostationary at 107.3° West longitude Mission: Anik F1 is a Canadian communications spacecraft that carries 36 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home (DTH) digital telecommunications to all locations in Canada, USA and the Caribbean. The 4.7-tonne (with fuel), 17.5-kW spacecraft is a Boeing model 702 satellite. Launch mass is 4,852 kg and dry mass is 2,950 kg. Telesat Canada became the first domestic comsat operator with the launch of Anik A1 in 1972. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-076A ;

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Sirius 3 / SD-RADIO 3 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #117 ; 2000-077A ; 5914th spacecraft Type: Commuinications (radio broacasting) Sponsor: U.S. Digital Audio Radio Satellite Launch: 30 November 2000 at 19h59 UTC, from Baykonur Cosmodrome's LC-81L, by a D-1-e/Proton-K/DM-3. Orbit: 24,388 km x 47,097 km x 63.3° x 24 hr  Mission: Sirius 3 carries 100 channels in the 2.320-2.325 GHz band to relay music, news and entertainment directly to motorists in America. There are also 90 dedicated ground-based relay stations in dense urban areas that will rebroadcast the signals. The 3.9-tonne satellite is a Loral FS-1300 series vehicle. This launch completes the planned fleet of three satellites which will become operational in January 2001. Reception requires installation of a special radio, or purchase of one of the upscale automobiles pre-equipped with the receiver. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 440 ; Spacewarn No. 565 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-077A ;

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STS-97 / ISS-4A Spacecraft:  Space Shutle #101 ; Endeavour (15th flight) Chronologies: 2000 payload #118 ; 2000-078A ; 5915th spacecraft Type: Piloted spaceflight (to the International Space Station) Sponsor: NASA Launch: 1st December 2000 at 3h06 UTC, from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39, by the Space Shuttle. Orbit: circular at ~400 km x 51.6° Landed: 11 December 2000 at 23h03 UTC Mission: STS 97 main mission was to install the double-wing ITS-P6 solar panel on the International Space Station. This truss element was installed on the +Z end of the Z1 truss (and later it will be moved to the end of the port truss). (Note: the previously docked Progress M1-4 cargo spacecraft had to be temporarily evicted from the ISS before the installation.) It required several spacewalks by the crew to extend the panel taut enough. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439 & 440 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-078A ;

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ITS-P6 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #119 ; n/a  ; 5916th spacecraft Type: International Space Station component Sponsor: NASA Launch: 1st December 2000 at 3h06 UTC, from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39, by the Space Shuttle. Orbit: Circular at ~400 km x 51.6° Mission: ITS-P6 consists of a solar array wing, an Integrated Electronics Assembly (IEA) section with a thermal radiator for the solar wing, and the Long Spacer (LS) truss segment with two thermal radiators for the Destiny module (which will follow on a later flight). It is a 72-meter x 11.4-meter, 65 kW double-wing solar panel and, including the support beams, radiators and batteries, it has a mass of 15.75 tonnes. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 439&440 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ;

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EROS A1 Spacecraft:  Earth Resources Observation Satellite Chronologies: 2000 payload #120 ; 2000-079A ; 5917th spacecraft Type: Earth remote sensing Sponsor: Israel's ImageSat Launch: 5 December 2000 at 12h32 UTC, from Svobodniy, by a Start-1. Orbit: 491 km x 506 km x 97.3° x 94.6 min Sun-synchronous  Mission: EROS A1 is an Israeli commercial imaging satellite. The 250-kg (dry mass) triaxially stabilized spacecraft carries a black and white high resolution (1.8 meter) CCD camera to obtain images (with terrain width of 12.6 km) of locations chosen by Israeli military or world-wide commercial clients, and downlink them at one of the 14 ground stations. The spacecraft is owned by ImageSat (an Israeli-led company registered in the Netherlands Antilles) and built by IAI using the Ofeq-3 design. Launch The satellites was launched by a Start-1 (modified Topol' ICBM) rocket from the Russian Far Eastern spaceport 2-GIK at Svobodniy. This is the third launch from this new launch site in Siberia. The START 1 rocket is a modified RS-12M Topol ICBM, also known in NATO as SS-25. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 440 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-079A ;

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NRO "Great Bear" (USA 155) Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #121 ; 2000-080A ; 5918th spacecraft Type: Communications (data relay satellite) and/or Signal intelligence Sponsor: U.S. National Reconnaissance Office Launch: 6 December 2000 at 2h47 UTC, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's SLC-36A, by an Atlas IIAS.  Orbit: Geostationary Mission: A classified National Reconnaissance Office payload which is probably either a data relay satellite (to transfers spy satellite imagery to the ground) or a signals intelligence satellite.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 440 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-080A ;

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Astra 2D Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #122 ; 2000-081A ; 5919th spacecraft Type: Communications (DBS) Sponsor: Luxembourg-based SES / Société européenne de satellites  Launch: 20 December 2000 at 0h26 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5G (Ariane508, V138).  Orbit: Geostationary at 28.2° East longitude Mission: Astra 2D is a communications spacecraft that carries 16 Ku-band transponders to provide direct-to-home voice, video and data transmissions to Britain and neighboring countries. The 825-kg (dry mass) satellite is a Boeing 376HP spin-stabilized satellite with a dry mass of around 700 kg. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-081A ;

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GE 8 / Aurora III Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #123 ; 2000-081B ; 5920th spacecraft Type: Communications (multi-service) Sponsor: GE Americom and AT&T Alascom for Alaskan communications Launch: 20 December 2000 at 0h26 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5G (Ariane 508, V138). Orbit: Geostationary at 139° West longitude Mission: GE 8 is a communications spacecraft that carries 24 C-band transponders to provide voice, video and broadband data communications to the contiguous USA, Alaska and the Caribbean. The spacecraft is a Lockheed Martin A2100A with a launch mass of 2,015 kg and a dry mass of 919 kg. Americom and Alascom were originally both RCA subsidiaries, and in the satellite communications game, Alascom has continued to use the Americom network; GE operates the satellite. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-081B ;

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LDREX Spacecraft:  Large-scale Deployable Reflector EXperiment Chronologies: 2000 payload #124 ; 2000-081C ; 5921st spacecraft Type: Technology Sponsor: NASDA Launch: 20 December 2000 at 0h26 UTC, from Kourou Space Center's ELA-3, by an Ariane 5G (Ariane 508, V138). Orbit: Mission: LDREX is a Japanese experimental antenna dish. The reflector was to stay expanded to a diameter of 6 meters for about 20 minutes after sliding out of a tubular container on the rocket. An on-board camera was to image and downlink the deployment process. The Ariane 508's EPS upper stage carried an ASAP5 small payload attachment ring with a special camera system and the LDREX experimental antenna for Japan's NASDA space agency. It was to deployed to test the deployment mechanism for the larger antenna to be used on the ETS-8 satellite. After the test the antenna was jettisoned.     The LDREX experiment was a failure; it was designed to determine whether the deployment mechanism (planned for the ETS-8 satellite) worked, and it indeed returned lots of information on that subject, which hopefully will lead to a successful ETS-8 mission in the future. (If the video camera or telemetry hadn't functioned, LDREX would have been a failure, but problems with the antenna deployment were what LDREX was designed to measure and don't per se make it a failure). Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 & 445 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-081C ;

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Beidou 2 Spacecraft:  Beidou 1B Beidou Navigation Test Satellite Chronologies: 2000 payload #125 ; 2000-082A ; 5922nd spacecraft Type: Navigation Sponsor: China Launch: 20 December 2000 at 16h20 UTC, from Xichang Space Launch Center's LC-2, by a Chang Zheng-3A. Orbit: Geostationary Mission: Beidou 1B is the second Chinese navigational spacecraft that completes the two-satellite navigational system which will provide positional information for highway, railway and marine transportation. The Beidou satellite is based on the DFH-3 comsat and has a mass of around 2,200 kg including its FY-25 solid apogee motor. Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ; Spacewarn No. 566 ; National Space Science Data Center's 2000-082A ;

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Gonets D1 #7 Spacecraft:  Gonets-D1 No. 7 Chronologies: 2000 payload #126 ; 2000 3rd loss ; 5923rd spacecraft Type: Communications (civilian) Sponsor: Russia Launch: 27 December 2000 at 18h56 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-32, by a F-2/Tsiklon-3 (11K68). Orbit: n/a Mission: Six small communications satellites were destroyed in a launch failure. The payload is believed to have been three Strela-3 military commsats and three Gonets D-1 sats (the civilian version of Strela-3). These small cylindrical satellites were designed by NPO PM and are built by AO Polyot; they were intended for a 1,400 km circular orbit inclined at 83 degrees.  Launch: The 11K68 Tsiklon-3 rocket took off from Plesetsk, but the S5M third stage failed and the vehicle crashed a few thousand kilometers downrange near Wrangel Island. The impact zone in the East Siberian Sea suggests that the failure happened during the first burn, at an altitude between 170 and 200 km, rather than a second burn failure in which the vehicle would have completed one orbit. The last launch failure of a Tsiklon-3 was in 1994. This was the fourth launch failure of the year, following a Zenit-3SL, a Mu-V and a Kosmos-3M.2 Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ;

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Gonets D1 #8 Spacecraft:  Gonets-D1 No. 8 Chronologies: 2000 payload #127 ; 2000 4th loss ; 5924th spacecraft Type: Communications (civilian) Sponsor: Russia Launch: 27 December 2000 at 18h56 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-32, by a F-2/Tsiklon-3. Orbit: n/a Mission: Six small communications satellites were destroyed in a launch failure. The payload is believed to have been three Strela-3 military commsats and three Gonets D-1 sats (the civilian version of Strela-3). These small cylindrical satellites were designed by NPO PM and are built by AO Polyot; they were intended for a 1,400 km circular orbit inclined at 83 degrees.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ;

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Gonets D1 #9 Spacecraft: Gonets-D1 No. 9 Chronologies: 2000 payload #128 ; 2000 5th loss ; 5925th spacecraft Type: Communications (civilian) Sponsor: Russia Launch: 27 December 2000 at 18h56 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-32, by a F-2/Tsiklon-3. Orbit: n/a Mission: Six small communications satellites were destroyed in a launch failure. The payload is believed to have been three Strela-3 military commsats and three Gonets D-1 sats (the civilian version of Strela-3). These small cylindrical satellites were designed by NPO PM and are built by AO Polyot; they were intended for a 1,400 km circular orbit inclined at 83 degrees.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ;

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Strela-3 Spacecraft: Chronologies: 2000 payload #129 ; 2000 6th loss ; 5926th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 27 December 2000 at 18h56 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-32, by a F-2/Tsiklon-3. Orbit: n/a Mission: Six small communications satellites were destroyed in a launch failure. The payload is believed to have been three Strela-3 military commsats and three Gonets D-1 sats (the civilian version of Strela-3). These small cylindrical satellites were designed by NPO PM and are built by AO Polyot; they were intended for a 1,400 km circular orbit inclined at 83 degrees.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ;

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Strela-3 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #130 ; 2000 7th loss ; 5927th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 27 December 2000 at 18h56 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-32, by a F-2/Tsiklon-3. Orbit: n/a Mission: Six small communications satellites were destroyed in a launch failure. The payload is believed to have been three Strela-3 military commsats and three Gonets D-1 sats (the civilian version of Strela-3). These small cylindrical satellites were designed by NPO PM and are built by AO Polyot; they were intended for a 1,400 km circular orbit inclined at 83 degrees.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ;

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Strela-3 Spacecraft:  Chronologies: 2000 payload #131 ; 2000 8th loss ; 5928th spacecraft Type: Communications Sponsor: Russian Defense ministry Launch: 27 December 2000 at 18h56 UTC, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome's LC-32, by a F-2/Tsiklon-3. Orbit: n/a Mission: Six small communications satellites were destroyed in a launch failure. The payload is believed to have been three Strela-3 military commsats and three Gonets D-1 sats (the civilian version of Strela-3). These small cylindrical satellites were designed by NPO PM and are built by AO Polyot; they were intended for a 1,400 km circular orbit inclined at 83 degrees.  Source: Jonathan Space Report No. 442 ;