RE: [amsat-bb] strange orbit

["Assi Friedman" <4x1kx@xxxxxxxx>]

Actually, Sirius spacecraft are in an elliptical orbit, not geosynchronous
or geostationary:

IntID/Name   CatNo Source period   Incl Apogee Perigee
                          [min]    [deg]  [km]    [km]
------------ ----- ------ ------ ------ ------ -------
2000-035A    26390 US     1436.1   63.2  47001   24573
SIRIUS 1                  Launched (2000/06/30)

2000-051A    26483 US     1436.0   63.4  47114   24456
SIRIUS 2                  Launched (2000/09/05)

2000-077A    26626 US     1436.0   63.8  47061   24507
SIRIUS 3                  Launched (2000/11/30)

Assi
4x1kx/kk7kx



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-AMSAT-BB@AMSAT.Org [mailto:owner-AMSAT-BB@AMSAT.Org]On
Behalf Of John B. Stephensen
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 7:19 PM
To: G8IFF/KC8NHF; amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] strange orbit


Most geosynchronous satellite orbits show a figure-8 pattern when viewed from
Earth. It is just a variation in the position of the subsatellite point
because
the orbital plane isn't exactly 0 degrees.

The Sirius marketing people must be running out of things to put in their
press
releases.

73,

John
KD6OZH

----- Original Message -----
From: "G8IFF/KC8NHF" <nigel@ngunn.net>
To: <amsat-bb@amsat.org>
Sent: Friday, 19 November, 2004 23:00 UTC
Subject: [amsat-bb] strange orbit


> >>> And we're doing it with satellites. Every second of the day, SIRIUS
> is shooting *over 120 channels of amazing radio* straight into the
> heavens to our three state-of-the-art satellites that rotate in figure
> eight, geo-synchronous orbits around the earth. <<<
>
> Would someone care to explain a figure of eight geo-synchronous orbit
> around the earth that doesn't crash twice every orbit?
----
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