Space Station Spotting

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==Journal== ==Journal==
 +
 +===Wednesday, June 15, 2011===
 +
 +very bright, passed right overhead, sky was still light
 +
 +===Saturday, January 23, 2010===
 +
 +Wow! Visible from very low, right on schedule. Beautyful bookends by mars and Jupiter.
 +
 +===September 07, 2009===
 +
 +very nice pass, the sky was still light at 7:20pm, but the station was very bright and Jupiter was also visible.
 +
 +===September 06, 2009===
 +
 +another nice pass, went right past the North Star.
 +
 +===[[January 17, 2009]]===
 +
 +great sighting today and Thursday. But, the time on the esa chart was early.
 +
 +===[[August 07, 2008]]===
 +
 +8:53. 87deg max. very bright! nice!
 +
 +===[[June 09, 2008]]===
 +
 +8:20, 29deg max. Very nice, long and low.
 +
 +===[[June 08, 2008]]===
 +
 +9:33, 56deg. Really nice, very bright with a bright crescent Moon. Was almost directly overhead when it disappeared into the shadow.
 +
 +===[[December 01, 2007]]===
 +
 +5:49, 31deg, beautiful!
 +
 +===[[August 2, 2007]]===
 +
 +9:00pm, 5 minutes, 55deg max elevation. another beautiful sighting!
 +
 +===[[August 1, 2007]]===
 +
 +8:38pm, 5 minutes, 29deg max elevation. a beautiful sighting
 +
 +===[[December 15, 2006]]===
 +[[Image:Ss_061215a.png|thumb|200px|right|star track for Friday, December 15, 2006]]
 +This looked like a perfect sighting opportunity, but, a storm is coming in and cloud cover was 100%.
 +
 +===[[December 14, 2006]]===
 +
 +Used the sky chart from ESA. I was a little late picking up the station but it followed the track on the chart and disappeared right one time. A nice sighting, low along the southern sky.
===[[December 09, 2006]]=== ===[[December 09, 2006]]===
Line 31: Line 83:
Great transit this morning starting at 5:48am reaching a max elevation of 32 degrees. Also saw two meteorites; very fast moving straight down towards and near the northern horizon. Great transit this morning starting at 5:48am reaching a max elevation of 32 degrees. Also saw two meteorites; very fast moving straight down towards and near the northern horizon.
 +
 +==Satellite Spotters Glimpse Secrets, and Tell Them==
 +
 +http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/science/space/05spotters.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
 +
 +http://galaxypix.com/
 +
 +http://satobs.org/
 +
 +==news==
 +
 +Small unmanned spacecraft is set for launch. The Air Force hasn’t revealed much about its X-37 pilotless space plane, fueling speculation that it’s being developed for military purposes. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0422-space-plane-20100421,0,4639114.story
 +
 +:http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2010/03/a13module_damage_big.jpg
 +:The Apollo 13 module, had it not been for NASA’s heroic efforts to get it back on course, would have missed Earth and tumbled into the depths of cold, lonely space. At least that’s been the story repeated in popular, academic, and cinematic accounts of the ill-fated mission, like Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. Now, space writer Andrew Chaikin and a team of modelers at Analytical Graphics have stumbled upon a surprise: The official story isn’t true. Instead of drifting into a nearly eternal orbit around Earth, the ship would have swung out past the moon, been pushed by its gravitational field, and been sent hurtling back toward Earth on a collision path, as described in the video above. In any case, the crew would not have survived. They’d have frozen first, then burned up on re-entry. Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/apollo-13-fate/#ixzz0jOgvPEOO
 +
 +Deep Discount on Space Shuttles. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/science/space/17nasa.html?ref=us
 +
 +Cocaine discovery prompts investigation by NASA. About 200 shuttle workers are tested after drug residue is found at the Florida base. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-nasa-cocaine17-2010jan17,0,2355936.story?
 +
 +NASA ASTRONAUT LEADS TOUR OF SPACE STATION IN HD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1OTSbIzcwI&feature=player_embedded#
 +
 +Evolution of the International Space Station http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm
 +
 +Shuttle Dodges Space Junk Risk. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/spacedebris-1.html
 +
 +Shuttle and space station dodge debris. A piece of space junk is approaching their orbit, so the shuttle powers the space station out of the way. Ten days ago, another piece of junk menaced the station. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-space-station23-2009mar23,0,7319512.story
 +
 +Space shuttle moved to launch pad as rescue ship. In an unprecedented step, a space shuttle was moved to the launch pad Friday for a trip NASA hopes it will never make - a rescue mission. The shuttle Endeavour is on standby in case the seven astronauts who go up on Atlantis next month need a safer ride home. Atlantis and its crew are headed into space for one last repair job on the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. It's a venture that was canceled when first proposed a few years ago because it was considered too dangerous. The risk is this: If Atlantis suffers serious damage during launch or in flight, the astronauts will not be at the international space station, where they could take refuge for weeks while awaiting a ride home. They would be stranded on their spacecraft at the Hubble, where NASA estimates they could stay alive for 25 days. Air would be the first to go. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080920/D93A9SEG0.html
 +
 +This NASA Astronaut Was 'Too Busy to Be Scared'. Whitson: We started noticing some unusual motion. I felt like I was being thrown into my seat, but it's hard to tell— your sensations after six months of zero gravity are pretty questionable. Then the automatic system commanded a ballistic entry, and the gs started building up very quickly. I saw 8.2 gs on the meter. Wired: Were you scared? Whitson: No. I was too busy to be scared. I knew what was happening was not strictly nominal, but we train for these scenarios. Wired: Uh-huh. You astronauts always say that. http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/16-08/st_qa
 +
 +Toilet trouble for space station. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7425180.stm
 +
 +Lexus of space station labs poised for launch. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080526/D90TD73G0.html
==links== ==links==
 +
 +What You Don't Know About Living in Space. As Astronauts Begin Spacewalks, a Few Things of Note About Life in Space. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=4450259&page=1
 +
 +A Space Robot With Arms to Make R2D2 Jealous. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/science/space/11robo.html?ref=space
 +
 +Scale Model Drawing Package http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/models/index.html
 +
 +[http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/ Space Station Gallery]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_meteor_showers List of meteor showers] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_meteor_showers List of meteor showers]

Current revision

The International Space Station (ISS) is a manned research space facility that is being assembled in orbit around the Earth.

It's orbit is about 220 miles above the Earth. It is easily visible when it passes overhead a just before sunrise or just after sunset.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station

Contents

Sighting opportunities

http://esa.heavens-above.com/esa/iss_step1.asp

http://esa.heavens-above.com/esa/iss_step1_3.asp?CountryID=US

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+States

Journal

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

very bright, passed right overhead, sky was still light

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Wow! Visible from very low, right on schedule. Beautyful bookends by mars and Jupiter.

September 07, 2009

very nice pass, the sky was still light at 7:20pm, but the station was very bright and Jupiter was also visible.

September 06, 2009

another nice pass, went right past the North Star.

January 17, 2009

great sighting today and Thursday. But, the time on the esa chart was early.

August 07, 2008

8:53. 87deg max. very bright! nice!

June 09, 2008

8:20, 29deg max. Very nice, long and low.

June 08, 2008

9:33, 56deg. Really nice, very bright with a bright crescent Moon. Was almost directly overhead when it disappeared into the shadow.

December 01, 2007

5:49, 31deg, beautiful!

August 2, 2007

9:00pm, 5 minutes, 55deg max elevation. another beautiful sighting!

August 1, 2007

8:38pm, 5 minutes, 29deg max elevation. a beautiful sighting

December 15, 2006

star track for Friday, December 15, 2006
Enlarge
star track for Friday, December 15, 2006

This looked like a perfect sighting opportunity, but, a storm is coming in and cloud cover was 100%.

December 14, 2006

Used the sky chart from ESA. I was a little late picking up the station but it followed the track on the chart and disappeared right one time. A nice sighting, low along the southern sky.

December 09, 2006

Very nice sighting this morning. Appeared low in the Southwest at 5:48am, moving toward the south behind low clouds.

December 08, 2006

I missed seeing the station this morning (5:24am) but did see another meteorite, trajectory straight down, to the west of my location.

December 06, 2006

Very pretty this morning. Rose in the NW at 6:12am close to the almost full moon. Crossed almost right overhead.

December 05, 2006

Great transit this morning starting at 5:48am reaching a max elevation of 32 degrees. Also saw two meteorites; very fast moving straight down towards and near the northern horizon.

Satellite Spotters Glimpse Secrets, and Tell Them

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/science/space/05spotters.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

http://galaxypix.com/

http://satobs.org/

news

Small unmanned spacecraft is set for launch. The Air Force hasn’t revealed much about its X-37 pilotless space plane, fueling speculation that it’s being developed for military purposes. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0422-space-plane-20100421,0,4639114.story

a13module_damage_big.jpg
The Apollo 13 module, had it not been for NASA’s heroic efforts to get it back on course, would have missed Earth and tumbled into the depths of cold, lonely space. At least that’s been the story repeated in popular, academic, and cinematic accounts of the ill-fated mission, like Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. Now, space writer Andrew Chaikin and a team of modelers at Analytical Graphics have stumbled upon a surprise: The official story isn’t true. Instead of drifting into a nearly eternal orbit around Earth, the ship would have swung out past the moon, been pushed by its gravitational field, and been sent hurtling back toward Earth on a collision path, as described in the video above. In any case, the crew would not have survived. They’d have frozen first, then burned up on re-entry. Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/apollo-13-fate/#ixzz0jOgvPEOO

Deep Discount on Space Shuttles. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/science/space/17nasa.html?ref=us

Cocaine discovery prompts investigation by NASA. About 200 shuttle workers are tested after drug residue is found at the Florida base. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-nasa-cocaine17-2010jan17,0,2355936.story?

NASA ASTRONAUT LEADS TOUR OF SPACE STATION IN HD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1OTSbIzcwI&feature=player_embedded#

Evolution of the International Space Station http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

Shuttle Dodges Space Junk Risk. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/spacedebris-1.html

Shuttle and space station dodge debris. A piece of space junk is approaching their orbit, so the shuttle powers the space station out of the way. Ten days ago, another piece of junk menaced the station. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-space-station23-2009mar23,0,7319512.story

Space shuttle moved to launch pad as rescue ship. In an unprecedented step, a space shuttle was moved to the launch pad Friday for a trip NASA hopes it will never make - a rescue mission. The shuttle Endeavour is on standby in case the seven astronauts who go up on Atlantis next month need a safer ride home. Atlantis and its crew are headed into space for one last repair job on the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. It's a venture that was canceled when first proposed a few years ago because it was considered too dangerous. The risk is this: If Atlantis suffers serious damage during launch or in flight, the astronauts will not be at the international space station, where they could take refuge for weeks while awaiting a ride home. They would be stranded on their spacecraft at the Hubble, where NASA estimates they could stay alive for 25 days. Air would be the first to go. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080920/D93A9SEG0.html

This NASA Astronaut Was 'Too Busy to Be Scared'. Whitson: We started noticing some unusual motion. I felt like I was being thrown into my seat, but it's hard to tell— your sensations after six months of zero gravity are pretty questionable. Then the automatic system commanded a ballistic entry, and the gs started building up very quickly. I saw 8.2 gs on the meter. Wired: Were you scared? Whitson: No. I was too busy to be scared. I knew what was happening was not strictly nominal, but we train for these scenarios. Wired: Uh-huh. You astronauts always say that. http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/16-08/st_qa

Toilet trouble for space station. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7425180.stm

Lexus of space station labs poised for launch. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080526/D90TD73G0.html

links

What You Don't Know About Living in Space. As Astronauts Begin Spacewalks, a Few Things of Note About Life in Space. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=4450259&page=1

A Space Robot With Arms to Make R2D2 Jealous. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/science/space/11robo.html?ref=space

Scale Model Drawing Package http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/models/index.html

Space Station Gallery

List of meteor showers