[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.]

Shuttle and Mir

Progress M-37 (7K-TGM No. 236) was launched from Baykonur on Dec 20, and brought new supplies to the Mir station. It docked at 1022 UTC on Dec 22.

Recent Launches

Intelsat 804 was launched on Dec 22 by an Ariane 42L rocket. The satellite, built for the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization by Lockheed Martin Telecommunications, will be placed in geostationary orbit by its liquid apogee engine.

Eight small 40 kg Orbcomm communications satellites were placed in low orbit on Dec 23 by a Pegasus XL rocket with a HAPS hydrazine fourth stage. The L-1011 carrier aircraft took off from Wallops Island and released the rocket over the Atlantic. Orbcomm is a subsidiary of Orbital Sciences, who also make the Pegasus rocket.

Early Bird, Earth Watch Inc's 3-m commercial remote sensing satellite, was launched on Dec 24 by an STT Kompleks Start-1 launch vehicle from the Russian Svobodniy (2-GIK) launch site.

A Krunichev Proton-K launch from Baykonur on Dec 24 placed an Energiya Blok DM3 upper stage in low perigee orbit with the Asiasat 3 payload attached. An hour later the Blok DM3 ignited to enter a geosynchronous transfer orbit, but 6 hr 20min after launch the second burn of the Blok DM3 shut down after only one second, stranding Asiasat in elliptical transfer orbit. Asiasat 3 was a Hughes HS-601 comsat for Hong Kong based Asia Telecommunications.

The launch of Iridium 42 and 44 by a Chinese CZ-2C rocket on Dec 8 left the second stage and several pieces of debris in low transfer orbit. However, another object, 1997-77H/25084, was cataloged in an orbit similar in height to the Iridium payloads, but more elliptical. This object must be associated with the SD (Smart Dispenser) upper stage; the SD itself is meant to deorbit after releasing the Iridiums, to minimize space debris, but perhaps this last burn of the SD did not go right and it ended up still in orbit. Alternatively, 77H may be some kind of adapter that got released.

Table of Recent Launches

Date UT       Name            Launch Vehicle  Site            Mission    INTL.
                                                                          DES.

Nov  2 1225   SCD-2A            VLS           Alcantara        Rem.sens.  FTO
Nov  3 0405   Sputnik-40                      Mir,LEO          Demo       58C
Nov  6 0030   GPS 38            Delta 7925    Canaveral LC17A  Navsat     67A
Nov  8 0205   TRUMPET 3?        Titan Centaur Canaveral LC41   Signal int 68A
Nov  9 0134   Iridium 38 )      Delta 7920    Vandenberg SLC2W Comsat     69E
              Iridium 39 )                                     Comsat     69D
              Iridium 40 )                                     Comsat     69C
              Iridium 41 )                                     Comsat     69B
              Iridium 43 )                                     Comsat     69A
Nov 12 1700   Kupon             Proton        Baykonur LC200   Comsat     70A
Nov 12 2148   Sirius 2     )    Ariane 44L    Kourou ELA2      Comsat     71A
              Cakrawarta 1 )                                   Comsat     71B
Nov 18 1115   Resurs-F1M        Soyuz-U       Plesetk          Rem.sens.  72A
Nov 19 1946   Columbia          Shuttle       Kennedy LC39B    Spaceship  73A
Nov 21 2105   Spartan 201                     OV-102, LEO      Astronomy  73B
Nov 27 2127   TRMM    )         H-2           Tanegashima      Rem.sens.  74A
              Hikoboshi  )                                     Technology 74B
              Orihime    )        
Dec  2 2252   JCSAT-5    )      Ariane 44P    Kourou ELA2      Comsat     75A
              Equator-S  )                                     Space sci  75B
Dec  2 2310   Astra 1G          Proton        Baykonur         Comsat     76A
Dec  3 1215   AERCam/Sprint                   OV-102, LEO      Technology 
Dec  8 0716   Iridium 42 )      CZ-2C/SD      Taiyuan          Comsat     77A
              Iridium 44 )                                     Comsat     77B
Dec  8 2352   Galaxy 8I         Atlas 2AS     Canaveral LC36B  Comsat     78A
Dec  9 0717   Kosmos-2347       Tsiklon-2     Baykonur LC90    Recon      79A
Dec 15 1540?  Kosmos-2348       Soyuz-U       Plesetsk         Recon      80A
Dec 17 0737   X-Mir Inspector                 Progress,LEO     Technology 58D
Dec 20 0845   Progress M-37     Soyuz-U       Baykonur         Cargo      81A
Dec 20 1316   Iridium 45 )      Delta 7920    Vandenberg SLC2  Comsat     82A
              Iridium 46 )                                     Comsat     82B
              Iridium 47 )                                     Comsat     82C
              Iridium 48 )                                     Comsat     82D
              Iridium 49 )                                     Comsat     82E
Dec 22 0016   Intelsat 804      Ariane 42L    Kourou ELA2      Comsat     83A
Dec 23 1911   Orbcomm A1 )      Pegasus XL/H  Wallops          Comsat     84A
              Orbcomm A2 )
              Orbcomm A3 )
              Orbcomm A4 )
              Orbcomm A5 )
              Orbcomm A6 )
              Orbcomm A7 )
              Orbcomm A8 )
Dec 24 1332   EarlyBird         Start-1       Svobodniy        Rem Sens.  85A
Dec 24 2319   Asiasat 3         Proton-K/DM3  Baykonur         Comsat     86A

Current Shuttle Processing Status
____________________________________________

Orbiters               Location   Mission    Launch Due
                                           
OV-102 Columbia        LEO           STS-87  
OV-103 Discovery       OPF Bay 2     STS-91  May 28
OV-104 Atlantis        Palmdale      OMDP
OV-105 Endeavour       LC39A         STS-89  Jan 22

                                          
MLP/SRB/ET/OV stacks                       
                  
MLP1/                                             
MLP2/RSRM65              VAB Bay 3     STS-90
MLP3/RSRM64/ET-90/OV-105 LC39A         STS-89

[Ed. Note: visit http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ for the complete calendar]

January 1998

Jan 01 - Asteroid 1997 YM9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU) 
Jan 01 - Asteroid 441 Bathilde Closest Approach to Earth (1.600 AU) 
Jan 01 - Asteroid 1921 Pala Closest Approach to Earth (2.034 AU) 
Jan 02 - Asteroid 1992 AB Closest Approach to Earth (0.738 AU) 
Jan 03 - Earth at Perihelion (0.983 AU from Sun) 
Jan 03 - Quadrantids Meteor Shower Peak 
Jan 03 - Asteroid 5751 Zao Closest Approach to Earth (0.637 AU) 
Jan 05 - Lunar Prospector Athena II Launch (Moon Orbiter) 
Jan 05 - Moon Occults Saturn 
Jan 05-09 - National Radio Science Meeting, Boulder, Colorado 
Jan 06 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (23 Degrees) 
Jan 06 - Asteroid 79 Julia Occults SAO 56001 (9.86 Magnitude Star) 
Jan 06 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Discovery of Comet Wild 2 By Paul Wild 
Jan 06-10 - 191st American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting, 
	Washington DC 
Jan 07 - Gorizont-33 Proton Launch (Russia) 
Jan 07 - Venus Passes 3.9 Degrees from Neptune 
Jan 07 - Mars at Perihelion 
Jan 07 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Surveyor 7 Launch (Moon Lander) 
Jan 08 - Mir Spacewalk 
Jan 08 - Comet Hartley 2 Closest Approach to Earth (0.820 AU) 
Jan 08 - AAS Teachers and Astronomers Workshop, Washington DC 
Jan 08 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Luna 21 Launch (Soviet Moon 
	Lander/Rover) 
Jan 08 - 5th Anniversary (1993), Sakigake, Earth Flyby (Japan) 
Jan 08 - Frank Dyson's 130th Birthday (1868) 
Jan 09 - Skynet-4D Delta 2 Launch 
Jan 09 - ACE Spacecraft Transfers To Halo Orbit 
Jan 10 - Lunar Prospector Enters Orbit Around Moon 
Jan 11-17 - Conference on Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the 
	Universe, Calcutta, India 
Jan 12 - Mir Spacewalk 
Jan 12 - Asteroid 2062 Aten Closest Approach to Earth (0.765 AU) 
Jan 12 - Asteroid 21 Lutetia at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude) 
Jan 12-15 - From Atomic Nuclei to Stars and Galaxies: Physical Processes 
	in Astrophysical Fluids, Haifa, Israel 
Jan 12-15 - AIAA 36th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nevada 
Jan 12-16 - Interstellar Turbulence Conference, Tonantzintla, Puebla, 
	Mexico 
Jan 13 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #40 (OTM-40) 
Jan 13 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-54 Launch (Endeavour), TDRS-F 
Jan 13-15 - Workshop on Observational Cosmology With The New Radio 
	Surveys, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain 
Jan 14 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #10 (TCM-10) 
Jan 14 - Comet Taylor Closest Approach to Earth (0.992 AU) 
Jan 14 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CU29 at Opposition (43.808 AU - 23.0 
	Magnitude) 
Jan 15 - Asteroid 1996 FG3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.385 AU) 
Jan 15 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy 3 Closest Approach to Earth (1.845 AU) 
Jan 15-17 - 4th International Workshop on Gravitational Microlensing 
	Surveys, Paris, France 
Jan 16 - Mars Global Surveyor, Aerobraking Ends 
Jan 16 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CS29 at Opposition (42.622 - 21.4 
	Magnitude) 
Jan 17 - Comet Tempel-Tuttle Near-Earth Flyby (0.357 AU) 
Jan 17 - Asteroid 2421 Nininger Occults SAO 77237 (6.9 Magnitude Star) 
Jan 17-24 - Fundamental Parameters in Cosmology, Les Arcs, France 
Jan 19 - Asteroid 1994 VM4 Closest Approach to Earth (0.433 AU) 
Jan 20 - Asteroid 1997 AQ18 Closest Approach to Earth (0.931 AU) 
Jan 20 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CW29 at Opposition (41.497 AU - 22.8 
	Magnitude) 
Jan 20 - Simon Mayr's 425th Birthday (1573) 
Jan 21 - Mars Passes 0.2 Degrees from Jupiter 
Jan 21 - Bengt Stromgren's 90th Birthday (1908) 
Jan 22 - STS-89 Launch, Endeavour, 8th Shuttle-Mir Mission 
Jan 22 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 5 Launch 
Jan 23 - NEAR, Earth Flyby 
Jan 23 - GeoSat-FO-1 Taurus 2 Launch 
Jan 23 - SNOE/BATSAT Pegasus XL Launch 
Jan 24 - Mercury Occults 187729 (6.5 Magnitude Star) 
Jan 24 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Progress 1 Launch (USSR) 
Jan 24 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Cosmos 954 Reentry (Radioactive Debris 
	Landed in Canada) 
Jan 25 - Sinosat-1 Long March 3B Launch 
Jan 25 - Venus at Perihelion 
Jan 25 - Comet Wolf-Harrington Closest Approach to Earth (1.141 AU) 
Jan 25 - Asteroid 3752 Camillo Closest Approach to Earth (0.836 AU) 
Jan 25 - Asteroid 1992 UB Closest Approach to Earth (2.059 AU) 
Jan 25-29 - Space Technology & Applications International Forum (STAIF 
	98) Albuquerque, New Mexico 
Jan 26 - NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) Atlas 2A Launch 
Jan 26 - GEOSAT/ORBCOMM Taurus Launch 
Jan 26 - 20th Anniversary (1978), IUE Launch 
Jan 26 - 15th Anniversary (1983), IRAS Launch 
Jan 26-31 - 2nd International Conference on Fusion of Earth Data, Cote 
	d'Azur, France 
Jan 26-Feb 01 - Winter Star Party, Florida Keys, Florida 
Jan 27 - Inmarsat 3-F5/Brasilsat B-3 Ariane 4 Launch 
Jan 27 - Asteroid 230 Athamantis at Opposition (10.5 Magnitude) 
Jan 27 - 90th Anniversary (1908), P. Melotte's Discovery of Jupiter Moon 
	Pasiphae 
Jan 28 - Chinese New Year 
Jan 28 - Soyuz TM-27 Launch (Russia) 
Jan 28 - Comet P/1997 C1 (Gehrels) Perihelion (3.564 AU) 
Jan 28-29 - 3rd Workshop on Discovery Missions Program: Lessons Learned, 
	Houston, Texas 
Jan 30 - Astra-2A Proton-K Launch 
Jan 31 - 40th Anniversary (1958), Explorer 1 Launch 

February 1998

Feb ?? - GPS Delta 2 Launch 
Feb ?? - CRSS-1 Athena 2 Launch 
Feb 01 - Moon Occults Saturn 
Feb 02 - Mercury Passes 2.0 Degrees From Neptune 
Feb 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DB2 at Opposition (39.263 AU - 23.5 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DA2 at Opposition (33.031 AU - 23.3 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 02-04 - International Workshop on Electric Components For The 
	Commercialization of Military and Space Systems, Huntington 
	Beach, California 
Feb 02-05 - First International Conference on Comet Hale-Bopp, Canary 
	Islands, Spain 
Feb 03-04 - 1998 Direct Broadcast Satellite Conference: Five Burning 
	Questions, Los Angeles, California 
Feb 04 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #11 (TCM-11) 
Feb 04 - Iridium 7 Delta 2 Launch 
Feb 04 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CT29 at Opposition (43.898 AU - 21.5 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 05 - Globalstar-1 Delta 2 Launch 
Feb 05 - Asteroid 1997 CU26 at Opposition (12.717 AU - 17.3 Magnitude) 
Feb 05-06 - Space Weather: Research To Operations II, Boulder, Colorado 
Feb 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CR29 at Opposition (41.011 AU - 22.7 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 07 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #41 (OTM-41) 
Feb 08 - Mercury Passes 1.3 Degrees From Uranus 
Feb 08 - Asteroid 30 Urania at Opposition (10.3 Magnitude) 
Feb 08 - Asteroid 704 Interamnia at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude) 
Feb 08 - Asteroid 3800 Karayusuf Closest Approach to Earth (0.588 AU) 
Feb 08 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CV29 at Opposition (39.000 AU - 23.0 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 08 - Jules Verne's 170th Birthday (1828) 
Feb 09 - Asteroid 1951 Lick Closest Approach to Earth (0.524 AU) 
Feb 09-11 - 1998 AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Monterey, 
	California 
Feb 10 - Galileo, Europa 13 Flyby 
Feb 10-13 - Toward Solar Max 2000 Workshop, Yosemite, California 
Feb 11 - JawSat Minuteman II Launch 
Feb 12 - Asteroid 3361 Orpheus Near-Earth Flyby (0.1668 AU) 
Feb 12 - Asteroid 63 Ausonia at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude) 
Feb 12 - Marcel Minnaert's 105th Birthday (1893) 
Feb 13 - UHF-F8 Atlas 2 Launch 
Feb 13 - COMETS H-II Launch (Japan) 
Feb 13 - Asteroid 1992 EB1 Closest Approach to Earth (1.218 AU) 
Feb 14 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #42 (OTM-42) 
Feb 14 - Edouard Baillaud's 150th Birthday (1848) 
Feb 14 - Fritz Zwicky's 100th Birthday (1898) 
Feb 15 - Voyager 1 Overtakes Pioneer 10 (Farthest Man-Made Object To 
	Leave The Solar System) 
Feb 15 - ORBCOM-2 Pegasus XL Launch 
Feb 16 - 50th Anniversary (1948), Kuiper's Discovery of Uranus Moon 
	Miranda 
Feb 17 - Asteroid 192 Nausikaa at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude) 
Feb 17 - Asteroid 405 Thia at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude) 
Feb 17 - Asteroid 1996 DH Closest Approach to Earth (0.980 AU) 
Feb 18-20 - 3rd International Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark 
	Matter in the Universe, Santa Monica, California 
Feb 19 - Asteroid 516 Amherstia at Opposition (10.8 Magnitude) 
Feb 19 - Asteroid 1995 LH Closest Approach to Earth (2.782 AU) 
Feb 19 - Copernicus' 525th Birthday (1473) 
Feb 21 - STEX Taurus 3 Launch 
Feb 22 - Asteroid 5590 1990 VA Near-Earth Flyby (0.2383 AU) 
Feb 22 - Mercury Passes 1.0 Degree From Jupiter 
Feb 23 - Comet McNaught-Hughes Perihelion (2.116 AU) 
Feb 23-27 - 17th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems 
	Conference, Yokohama, Japan 
Feb 24 - Asteroid 1994 CN2 Closest Approach To Earth (1.186 AU) 
Feb 24 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Discovery of First Pulsar 
Feb 26 - Globalstar-2 Delta 2 Launch 
Feb 26 - Solar Eclipse, Visible from Galapagos, S. America & Carribean 
Feb 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CQ29 at Opposition (40.176 AU - 22.6 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DC2 at Opposition (44.230 AU - 23.5 
	Magnitude) 
Feb 27 - Hot Bird-4/BSAT-1B Ariane 4 Launch 
Feb 27 - Moon Occults Mars 
Feb 27 - Comet P/1997 G1 Montani Closest Approach to Earth (3.577 AU) 
Feb 28 - Comet Tempel-Tuttle Perihelion (0.977 AU) 
Feb 28 - Asteroid 1988 EG Near-Earth Flyby (0.0316 AU)