[meteorite-list] OT: Possible rocket booster reentry early tomorrow morning

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:06:18 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C86901B4E561_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

Hi All,

Since there are a number of list members who live in Arizona,
I thought I'd report that there is a very slight chance that
the ASTRA 1K Blok DM3 upper stage will decay on an ascending
pass across the United States late tonite/early tomorrow
morning. If you happen to live in the Phoenix area, the
decay (if it occurs) would happen a little after 1:40am
Mountain Time (UTC - 7 hours). The ground track of the
booster actually passes just a little to the northwest of
Phoenix as it moves from southwest to northeast. From an
observer's viewpoint in Phoenix, the predicted track would
cut between Perseus and Cassiopeia in the northwest,
moving very rapidly left to right.

Other states that this pass flies over are Colorado (pretty
much corner to corner), Nebraska, the southeast corner of
South Dakota, southern Minnesota, and northern Wisconsin.
At orbital velocity, it takes only about 6 minutes for the
booster to fly from southwest Arizona all the way to Lake
Superior.

Of course, if the reentry does not occur on this pass, then
you will see nothing since the rocket body will not be sunlit.
But if it DOES occur, you will witness something far more
rare than a bright bolide!

Best,
Rob
Received on Tue 26 Nov 2002 11:29:13 PM PST