[PPRAANet] Visible Pass of the International Space Station

[Al Penney]

Hello everyone,

This e-mail came across my computer at work today.  The International Space
Station will make a particularly visible pass over Colorado Springs early
Sunday morning.  There was a PowerPoint slide attached, but it can't get
through on the Reflector so I'll transcribe the bearings/elevations of the
International Space Station.  You'll just have to make sure that you get up
at 0545 Sunday morning!

Time	Elevation	Azimuth	Event
0545	4 deg		307 (NW)	ISS leaves Earth's shadow
0546	10 deg	307 (NW)
0549	81 deg	239 (WSW)	ISS at max elevation
0552	10 deg	133 (SE)
0554	0 deg		132 (SE)	ISS below horizon

The ISS completes one revolution around the Earth in 91 minutes 55 seconds,
and its velocity is 17,186 mph, so it will move pretty quickly across the
sky.  If you check out the ARRL website you will find information about the
FM repeater now working in the ISS - give it a try!  You might make your
first satellite QSO!

73
Al
VO1NO / W0

To: Visible Pass - COS
Subject: Visible Pass of ISS - COS - 5 Sep 04

Just in case you're looking for an excuse to get up early on Sunday morning
over the Labor Day weekend, the International Space Station will make a
visible pass over the Colorado Springs area on the morning of Sunday, 5
September 2004.

See the attached PowerPoint slide for details of the pass and the skychart
that shows the track of the ISS across the sky.  Please be sure to read the
instructions on how to orient the skymap.

Saturn and Venus will be clearly visible in the East, very close together.
Venus will be brighter.  On Sunday morning, the ISS will rise above the
Northwest horizon, arc across the sky just to the south of vertical, pass
very close to where the Moon will be in the sky, and set in the southeast.

The ISS will look like a bright point of light, almost as bright as Venus,
moving steadily across the sky.  No blinking lights.  It will be clearly
visible with the naked eye.  You can use binoculars if you wish.  Telescopes
don't work well because the ISS, travelling at about 17,200 mph moves too
fast to keep the narrow filed of view of the telescope focused on the ISS.

The ISS makes one revolution of the Earth about every 92 min and passes
within view of the Leavenworth/Fort Leavenworth area at least twice each
day, however, most passes are during the day when the sky is too bright to
see it or during the night when the ISS is in the Earth's shadow and,
therefore, there's nothing to see.

Visible passes occur when a large satellite in low Earth orbit happens to
pass over or near an area when the satellite is illuminated by the Sun, yet
the ground observer is in the dark; i.e., just before sunrise or just after
sunset.

The current crew, Commander Gennady Padalka (Russia) and NASA Engineer Mike
Fincke, have been on board the ISS since 21 April 2004.  They are scheduled
to return on 19 October 2004.

There will be visible passes of the ISS in the early evening, just after
sunset on 11 Sep 04.  Since the exact pass times could change if the ISS's
altitude is changed, pass predictions will be made only a few days in
advance.

Jeff Barker
Sr Space Instructor
US Army Command and General Staff College