Observing TacRL-2/Odyssey and it's Pegasus upper stage

 

I observed the Space Force's new Odyssey/TacRL-2 satellite last light, some 15.5 hours after it's airborne launch on a Pegasus-XL rocket (see previous blogpost). The Pegasus upper stage of the launch was observed as well, close to the payload.

They can both be seen in the video above, shot with a WATEC 902H2 Supreme and Samyang 1.4/85 mm lens. Which of the two objects is which is unclear at the moment: the identities have switched between successive orbit updates.

The bright object moving at a tangent at 23:43:23 UT is a Starlink satellite. While observing over the past few nights, the by now ubiquitous and still growing number of Starlink satellites was very apparent. There isn't a minute that one doesn't pass through the field of view. They have a large range in brightness.