Sunday, 19 November 2017

Introducing TLE from Proxy

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A simple way to estimate orbital elements for an upcoming launch , is to use elements from a previous, similar launch as a proxy. For...
Friday, 17 November 2017

[UPDATED] Tomorrow's SpaceX Zuma launch

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click map to enlarge If nothing interferes (the launch has been postponed twice already), SpaceX will launch the classified Zuma satel...
Friday, 3 November 2017

Introducing IOD Entry: software to aid observers in creating IOD formatted observational data [UPDATED]

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International amateur satellite observers (well: apart from the British, who use their own format) generally use the IOD format to communic...
Wednesday, 4 October 2017

The Space Age turns 60

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click to enlarge Today at 19:28:24 UT, it is exactly 60 years ago that Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of the Earth, was laun...
Monday, 2 October 2017

The North Korean Hwasong-12 test of 14 September: georeferencing Kim Jong Un's map

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(This post has been a while in the making. Due to various reasons, including the 21 Sept fireball , I did not come to write it up on this b...
Tuesday, 26 September 2017

OT: The brilliant fireball over the Netherlands of 21 September 2017, 19:00 UT, a piece of comet Encke

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The fireball as photographed from Ermelo, the Netherlands. Image (c) Koen Miskotte In the evening of 21 September 2017 at 21:00:10 CES...
Monday, 4 September 2017

OT: imaging the close flyby of Amor asteroid (3122) Florence

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On 1 September 2017 near 12:06 UT the Amor class Near Earth Asteroid (3122) Florence made a relatively close approach to Earth. The no...
Friday, 1 September 2017

The other subliminal message in Kim Jong Un's missile test map

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image: KCNA The image above (from North Korea's KCNA) shows the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a map. It was likely taken on th...
Thursday, 31 August 2017

North Korea's 29 August Hwasong-12 test with Japan fly-over: did it go as planned?

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image: KCNA It are hectic times for those (like this author) interested in the North Korean rocketry program. The past months have seen ...
Sunday, 13 August 2017

[UPDATED] My take on North Korea's hypothetical threath to Guam

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click to enlarge The sabre rattling between North Korea and the United States is continuing, with increasingly colourful and volatile l...
Saturday, 29 July 2017

North Korea's July 28 ICBM test

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On 28 July 2017 around 14:45 UT, North Korea tested another ICBM . Early reports from US Military sources indicate a night-time launch f...
Monday, 3 July 2017

Close Encounters of the Classified Kind

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The Space Review has just published my paper on the close ISS flyby of US spy satelllite USA 279.
Saturday, 1 July 2017

OT: Broek in Waterland, the sixth Dutch meteorite (observed fall, 11 January 2017)

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Last Monday was a special and extremely busy day. At Naturalis , the Dutch National Museum of Natural History, we presented a new meteor...
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