Jonathan's Space Report

Aug 30, 1989 (no. 23)

Well, lots of things have been happening while
I've been sunning myself in the UK..
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STS-28 landed at Edwards on Aug 13 after deploying a large satellite,
probably the KH-12 recon satellite, and a small SDI tracking target.
Can anyone tell me the runway number Columbia used?

The MAGE-2 apogee boost motor on Hipparcos failed
to fire after repeated attempts. Hipparcos will get
some photometry, but no distances or proper motions.
A major loss to astronomy.

As everyone knows, Voyager 2 encountered Neptune and Triton.
Onwards to the heliopause!

The first modified Progress freighter, Progress-M, has docked
with the Mir orbital station. The launch announcement did not
specify the launch vehicle used, but it was probably the new
Zenit.

Two more successful Delta launches: GPS-15 Navstar (Aug 18) on a USAF
Delta II, and Marcopolo 1 (Aug 27) for the British Satellite Broadcasting
Ltd. on a McDonnell Douglas Delta I, the first commercial orbital
launch from the U.S.

Kosmos-2035, launched Aug 2, landed Aug 16, was a Vostok-class
GRU recon sat in an 82 degree orbit. Kosmos-2036, launched Aug 22,
was a similar craft in a 63 degree orbit.

Resurs-F launched Aug 15 for remote sensing mission; 4th craft in the
series. The third Resurs-F landed on Aug 8.

The Kosmos-2031 spacecraft continues to maneuver extensively 
in low Earth orbit. It is probably an advanced recon satellite
of the Kosmos-1426 class, but AvWeek suggests it is the first
test flight of a new recon generation. This claim seems to be
based on the orbital inclination, used previously only for
Kosmos-670 in 1974 (probable test flight of "4th generation" recon
sat) and Kosmos-1426 in 1982 (test flight of "5th generation" recon sat);
it may well be right.

The Kosmos-2030 satellite was destroyed in orbit after an
engine failure, rather than reentering due to orbital decay
as suggested in the previous report.

The defunct Orbiting Solar Observatory 2, launched in 1965,
reentered on Aug 9. Kosmos-851, launched in 1976, reentered
on Aug 5.

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(c) 1989 Jonathan McDowell