Satellites and Malaysian Airlines flight MH370

Reconnaissance satellites - Chinese and US - are suddenly all over the news, in connection to the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on 2014 March 7 (UT: local March 8th).

There is a crowd-sourcing initiative to look for aircraft debris in commercial satellite imagery; the Chinese thought one of their reconnaissance satellites had photographed such debris on March 9 (but it turned out to be unrelated); and US authorities said there were no signs of an explosion in data from US infrared Early Warning satellites.

Let us look at the latter two cases. What satellites were used to look for an explosion and for debris?

SBIRS: looking for a mid-air explosion

First, the reported non-observation of a mid-air explosion by US military infra-red Early Warning satellites. Two such systems exist: the older DSP (Defense Support Program) and the newer SBIRS (Space-Based Infrared System).

Both US systems are dedicated to detect ICBM launches and have a semi-global coverage. They use infrared telescope equiped satellites to look for the infrared signatures of rocket launches. They also detect other transient infrared events such as meteoric fireballs, re-entering spacecraft, surface detonations and, it is claimed, exploding aircraft.

According to the news reports, the SBIRS network was used to look for any traces of a mid-air explosion of flight MH370. Defense specialists quoted in the news article claim that the SBIRS system is capable to detect such mid-air aircraft explosions.

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SBIRS currently consists of four satellites (see image above): two satellites in Geostationary orbit (SBIRS Geo 1 and SBIRS Geo 2, 2011-019A and 2013-011A), and two satellites in a Highly Elliptical Orbit (USA 184 and USA 200, 2006-027A and 2008-010A) with a SBIRS package piggybacked on to them.

Of these, two satellites had a view of the area where flight MH370 disappeared at that moment it disappeared: the geostationary SBIRS Geo 1 and the SBIRS HEO USA 200:

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It is less likely that the older DSP system was used. It probably does not have enough sensitivity, and the spokespersons in the news articles explicitly talk about the newer SBIRS. Two DSP satellites, DSP F21 and DSP F22 (both in a geostationary orbit) would have had a view of the relevant area:

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Gaofen 1: Chinese satellites looking for debris

On March 12 a Chinese government website released military reconnaissance satellite images of possible aircraft debris floating near 105.63 E, 6.7 N. The images were reportedly taken on March 9 near 11 am (presumably Beijing time). They later turned out to be unrelated to the missing aircraft (or rather: they have not been found by searching ships).

image: China Resources Satellite Application Center

China orbits several optical reconnaissance satellites, in the Yaogan and Gaofen series. According to analyst Brian Weeden, the images were likely taken by Gaofen 1 (2013-018A), as this satellite reportedly has enough resolution.

The listed time of "March 9, 11 am" corresponds to 9 March 3 UT. Gaofen 1 made a pass over the area at 3:40 UT, almost right overhead.

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The only other two Chinese imaging satellites passing near the area around that time are Yaogan 12 (2011-066B) and Yaogan 19 (2013-065A) who passed near 2:45 and 2:50 UT, but more to the East (but with the target area nevertheless in their visibility footprint):

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Note added 18/03/2014: there is a follow-up post here about the Inmarsat 3-F1 detection of ACARS ping-backs from the aircraft, and the potential use of SIGINT satellites.

ISS, Prowler, and a flashing Vortex 1 rocket

Apart from a  glimpse through clouds of the ISS on January 2nd (video posted here earlier), I managed to do my first observations of 2012 this weekend, in the evening of January 7 from Leiden and (using a remote telescope in the USA) on January 9.

Conditions were not ideal on January 7th: a lot of moonlight and intermittent clouds. I observed the HEO object USA 200 (08-010A), but due to the moonlight interference the trails were weak (but good enough to get a few positions) and the pictures not pretty.

For the night of January 8-9, I scheduled a few observations on a "remote" telescope, the 61-cm F10 Cassegrain of SSON in California. Target was Prowler (90-097E), an enigmatic object discussed here earlier.

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The image series on Prowler (I always take a series of at least three images at minute intervals, in case the object is a bit off from predictions) contained a flashing stray.

This turned out to be a classified object as well: Vortex 1r, the r/b from the Vortex 1 launch (78-058B). This rocket stage is clearly tumbling or spinning, as attested by a quite regular flash pattern:

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The main flashes are 2.96 seconds apart, and flanked on each side by slow secondary flashes about 0.47s before and after the sharp main flashes, giving the trail on the image a dash-dotted appearance.

Satellites far and near

Both Friday and Saturday evening were very clear, and the moon not yet a nuisance untill midnight.

On Friday I targetted both a few LEO and HEO objects. The KH-12 Keyhole USA 129 (96-072A), the SAR Lacrosse 3 (97-064A) and the FIA Radar 1 (10-046A) were observed, although a misalignment of the camera in the case of FIA R1 resulted in only one point on the latter. As I was waiting for FIA R1 to pass, the International Space Station (ISS) made a majestic, very bright zenith pass.

Next I changed the EF 2.5/50mm lens for the Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar MC 2.8/180mm, and targetted two faint and distant HEO objects, The Trumpet ELINT and SBIRS platform USA 200 (08-010A) and the SDS 3-4 data communications satellite USA 179 (04-034A). Two images of both are shown below.

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While sleeping, the G68 Sierra Stars Observatory Telescope in California made images for me that resulted in a position on the enigmatic Prowler (90-097E).

Saturday evening was clear as well. This time, I only targetted LEO objects: the Japanese malfunctioned satellite IGS 1B (03-009B), and both the KH-12 USA 129 and the FIA Radar 1 again.

As I was observing, a group of people attending a birthday party of one of the neighbours came onto the courtyard for a smoke. Curious, they asked me what I was doing, and after a short explanation from my part, the group of six watched in an excited state when IGS 1B made a very bright pass. It was easily visible naked eye, and they all saw it.

Below is one of the images from this evening: the FIA Radar 1 (10-046A) passing through Lyra (brightest star is Vega).

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FIA Radar 1 flaring!

Yesterday evening I had a short clear window of opportunity before clouds rolled in. I tried in vain to spot Nanosail-D in deep twilight, and next targetted the FIA Radar 1 (10-046A) again.

Much to my surprise (as I had not see it do that before), it flared twice. At about 17:54:11 UTC (25 Jan) the first brief but bright flare, to mag. -1 occurred. Unfortunately, I was re-aiming the camera at that moment. The satellite flared again however, to mag. +0.5, at 17:54:37.0 UTC, and this time the camera was photographing. Below is the resulting image, and the brightness curve derived from it. It are actually two flares, as a slightly fainter flare at 17:54:35.7 preceeds the main flare.

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Later that evening, during a second brief period of clear sky, I imaged Mentor 2 (98-029A) in Orion.

I also observed on the 20th (The FIA Radar 1 again, and Milstar 5r (02 001B)) and the 22nd (USA 200, 08-010A), during short clear spells.

Again USA 200, and another Proton Breeze-M tank

A somewhat belated report on the 11th. It was very clear on the night of 11-12 Feb. As I had dinner guests, I couldn't take advantage of it during the LEO window, but I did target a suitable HEO object later that night when my guests were gone: USA 200 (08-010A).

Like two nights earlier, the images with USA 200 contain a Russian Proton Breeze-M tank as a stray. It is another one than that of Feb 9th however: this time it was 06-056B, the Breeze-M tank of the MEASAT 3 launch.

Below images (both with the EF 100/2.5 Macro USM) show the short fat trail of USA 200, and the longer trail of the Breeze-M tank.

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USA 200 and a Proton Breeze-M tank - UPDATED

The last 3 weeks have been clouded and saw no opportunity to observe. Yesterday around midnight, I however noted it had cleared. It was a short duration clearing only before clouds bringing snow came in again, but the sky quality was quite good.

I tried to target the HEO USA 200 (08-010A) with the EF 2.5/100 Macro while it was passing through Auriga, but had bad luck: it didn't show up on the pictures, presumably being a bit too faint this time. Checking the images more carefully a few hours later, I discovered it some 0.35 degree off from the predicted position, being almost half a minute late.

The same picture series captured a stray unclassified object: a Russian Proton upper stage Breeze-M tank, 08-057B, from the 5 Nov 2008 launch of the Astra 1M satellite. Below is an animated GIF showing the trail (which was close to the image edge), and a picture of it's orbit. The animated GIF is constructed of 5 10-second exposure images taken at 20 second intervals.

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Off to a good start: a GOCE and a Lacrosse 2 flare

2010 started off well with a very clear evening of January 1st. I observed GOCE (09-013A), the Lacrosses 2 & 3 (91-017A & 97-064A), the tumbling NOSS 3-4 Centaur rocket (07-027B), and the HEO objects USA 179, 184 and 200.

I was treated to two small flares: one by GOCE (09-013A) and one by Lacrosse 2 (91-017A).

The GOCE flare was a mild one to about +3, at 17:32:58.0 UTC. It was caused by the 67.5 degree panel. The time of the flare (accurate to 0.1s) yields an angle of 93.2 and tilt of 66.3 with a nominal mis distance to the theoretical flare path (angle 90 degrees, tilt 67.5 degrees) of 19.4 km at the time of observation (and closest approach to 17.1 km 1.2 seconds earlier at 17:32:56.8 UTC).

So far, all the GOCE mild flares I observed were with an angle ~93 degrees. The distance to the nominal flare path of this one was much less than for the three flares previously observed by me, but that doesn't seem to have much influence on the observed flare brightness: they were all around +3 magnitude.

Below are the picture, the derived brightness profile, and a depiction of the flare path geometry based on Simone Corbellini's Visual Sat-Flare Tracker 3D software.

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Unexpectedly, I also captured a brief (<0.5s) flare/glint by Lacrosse 2 (91-017A) at 17:56:58.4 UTC. Below is the image and the resulting brightness profile:

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The Misty 2 decoy, USA 129, IGS 1B and more

Yesterday evening was a very clear evening. A bright moon lit the sky though.

Several objects were imaged. Two Keyhole satellites were captured: USA 129 (96-072A) and USA 161 (01-044A). For the first time this year, the Japanese IGS 1B (03-009B) defunct radar satellite was in range again, always a sure sign spring has arrived. Below are two images, of USA 129 and IGS 1B.

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Among the HEO objects, the SIGINT USA 200 (08-010A) and the USA 144 deb/Misty 2 decoy (99-028C) were captured.

The latter is an interesting object. Launched in May 1999, a bright object from the launch was tracked by amateur observers (see story here). After some time it became clear from the orbital behaviour of the object, that it could not be a real operational payload. Rather, it is a piece of debris or a decoy meant to draw attention away from the real stealth payload. The object is bright, but probably small and very lightweight, and moving in a 2700 x 3100 km orbit. Below is the image I obtained on a pass of this object last evening.

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Keyhole USA 161 flaring

On the night of April 1-2, the Keyhole optical satellite USA 161 (01-044A) flared brightly to mag. -2 just after shadow exit. I shot a whole series of images (yielding 7 positions), of which this is the first (exposure starting a few seconds after flare maximum):

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The same evening I also captured the Keyhole USA 129 (96-072A). HEO objects imaged were the SIGINT USA 200 (08-010A) and two brief glints by NOSS 2-3A (96-029A). The Russian Kosmos 2392 (02-037A) was captured as a stray on the USA 200 images.

More HEO object observations

Yesterday afternoon I was very tired and fell a sleep on the couch. I woke up to find it clear outside, and the LEO observation window largely gone by already.

So a bit later in the evening I targetted some HEO (High Earth Orbit) objects again with the EF 100/2.8 Macro USM lens: USA 200 (08-010A) in a Molniya orbit, and the rocket booster USA198r (07-060B) in a 4.9 revolutions/day orbit.

The latter was at an altitude of 13 800 km (8625 miles) and a distance of 15 300 km (9560 miles) from me over the Kaspian Sea when I imaged it.

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More flashing Iridium 33 wreckage, ISS, USA 200 and other high objects

As I wrote in my previous post with the image of USA 129 flaring, yesterday evening I hauled a rich batch of objects.

It started in twilight with a nice pass of the International Space Station (ISS). The image below shows it rising through Orion:

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Next I photographed passes of Lacrosse 3 (97-064A) and the NOSS 3-4 rocket (07-027B).

The wreckage of Iridium 33 (97-051C) was observed flashing again. Two photographs yielded five flashes, and like 3 days ago they fit a flash periodicity of 4.6 to 4.7 seconds. The timings were derived by measuring the flash positions astrometrically, and fitting the obtained positions to the most recent Iridium 33 tle. Here are the two images, with the flashes indicated:

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I also targeted some HEO (High Earth Orbit) objects again, this time experimenting with different camera settings. USA 200 (08-010A) was captured again, this time somewhat better than 3 days ago:

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I combined 4 of the images into an animated GIF, showing the movement of the sky and the satellite over a 1 minute period:



On the same image series I captured a piece of debris, USA 144 debris (99-028C), as a stray. In addition, I imaged another object in a Molniya orbit, USA 179 (04-034A) and the USA 198 rocket (07-060B) this evening.

Imaging distant objects: USA 200

Recently, I bought a new lens for my camera: a Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro USM. As this lens has a larger diameter than the EF 50/2.5 Macro I use for my regular satellite imagery, it is able to capture fainter stellar objects. Of course, the Field of View (FOV) is half as small, which makes it less fit for imaging objects in LEO (Low Earth Orbit).

It is more suitable though for imaging distant objects in HEO (High Earth Orbit): satellites which are at thousands of kilometers altitude (including, but not restricted to, Geostationary satellites). The brightest of these are around magnitude +8.5.

Yesterday I did some first succesful experiments on one of those objects: USA 200 (08-010A, NROL 28), an NRO ELINT satellite launched on 13 March 2008. It is in a Molniya orbit and as I imaged it, it was at an altitude of 29 564 km above the earth, and a distance to me of about 29 920 km! Hovering (well: not really. It is slowly moving in its orbit) high over Iceland at that moment, it keeps a watchful signals eye over the northern Atlantic and arctic.

I shot a series of 20 second exposures, from stationary tripod. The satellite showed some movement during these exposures. below photograph shows one of the images: the satellite has made a faint short trail perpendicular to the star trails.

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The images below show the orbit of USA 200. The Molniya-type orbit means it orbits about twice a day, spending only little time in its perigee at low altitude over the southern hemisphere, and most of its time in the hight altitude parts of its orbit over the high northern hemisphere, its surveillance area.

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