Mystery satellite - GTO booster?
On Sunday evening 24th November I chanced upon a slow-moving brightish (mag 8) object that I couldn't immediately identify. I managed to take a set of 10-second integrations before it disappeared behind the house and initially measured the starting-points of the trails on 15 images. I later checked and corrected the positions and timings, and also added the endpoints of the trails from the first and last image. The astrometry is listed below.
I then applied the measurements to Project Pluto's Find_orb which gave me an orbit and a TLE file. The orbit doesn't coincide too well with my astrometry, but from the looks of it, the satellite is either a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit booster in decay or a new launch which failed.
Mystery Satellite passing group of five Astras.
Looking closer at the trails reveals fast chaotic-looking brightness variation.
Information from Guide 9
Mystery sat Period of orbit 462.26 minutes Epoch of elements JD 2456621.50000000 (25 Nov 2013 0:00:00) Perigee 169.0 km Apogee 26685.7 km Add a trail for this object Elements, in TLE form: 1 00000U 55555B 13329.00000000 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 01 2 00000 43.7619 193.5726 6694267 36.1083 335.3315 3.11511906 06Download TLE
"Pseudo-MPEC" for Mystery satellite
Created using Find_Orb
- Astrometry
- Observing stations
- Orbital elements
- Residuals
- Ephemeris
- Click here to search NEAT images for this object using Skymorph
- Click here to search DSS2 images for this object using Skymorph
- Click here to search Spacewatch images for this object using Skymorph
Astrometry: Download astrometry Mystery C2013 11 24.73642 22 55 44.30 -08 27 34.4 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.73654 22 56 30.98 -08 26 50.1 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.73660 22 56 56.61 -08 26 23.4 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.73955 23 15 09.30 -08 12 17.9 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.73998 23 17 35.35 -08 10 57.9 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74061 23 21 02.60 -08 09 19.3 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74108 23 23 35.78 -08 08 18.5 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74179 23 27 17.31 -08 07 06.3 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74202 23 28 27.85 -08 06 49.7 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74259 23 31 19.42 -08 06 12.2 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74329 23 34 44.71 -08 05 43.2 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74382 23 37 19.00 -08 05 36.1 x C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74470 23 41 22.55 -08 05 37.8 x C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74490 23 42 14.09 -08 05 47.5 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74507 23 43 01.55 -08 05 54.5 x C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74557 23 45 12.48 -08 06 15.6 C03 Mystery C2013 11 24.74569 23 45 42.08 -08 06 21.4 8.0 C03 Station data: (C03) Clayhole Observatory, Jokela (N60.55214 E24.96156) Finland. Observer J. Suomela. 0.2-m f/10 + Reducer. Orbital elements: Mystery Perigee 2013 Nov 25.022006 TT = 0:31:41 (JD 2456621.522006) Epoch 2013 Nov 25.0 TT = JDT 2456621.5 Find_Orb M 334.90347 (2000.0) P Q n1140.42963045 Peri. 36.48937 -0.68278351 0.71287793 a 19583.5389km Node 193.37788 -0.71762443 -0.61322126 e 0.6672839 Incl. 43.76358 0.13719268 0.34024216 P 454.56m H 26.1 U 14.6 q 6515.75725km Q 32651.3207km From 14 observations 2013 Nov. 24 (13.3 min); mean residual 6".631. 1 00000U 13329.00000000 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 01 2 00000 43.7619 193.5726 6694267 36.1083 335.3315 3.11511906 06 Residuals in arcseconds: 131124 C03 8.3+ 1.5+ 131124 C03 12.8+ .39+ 131124 C03(45.7+ 5.7+) 131124 C03 16.6- 2.1- 131124 C03 2.8- .66+ 131124 C03 7.5+ 1.1+ 131124 C03 6.8+ 1.1+ 131124 C03 3.0- 1.3- 131124 C03(34.4+ .51-) 131124 C03 4.0+ 1.2- 131124 C03 5.3- .20- 131124 C03 12.0+ .86- 131124 C03 5.0+ .25- 131124 C03 1.4- 1.6+ 131124 C03 14.6- .60- 131124 C03 12.7- .08+ 131124 C03(45.5+ .23+) Ephemerides (For E 24.9830, N 60.5500): Date (UT) HH:MM RA Dec delta r elong mag ---- -- -- ----- ------------ ------------ ------ ------ ----- --- 2013 12 07 19:09 03 34 28.821 -23 08 09.70 31557 .98529 129.9 9.6 2013 12 07 19:14 03 38 32.679 -23 27 58.71 31592 .98529 130.0 9.6 2013 12 07 19:19 03 42 37.740 -23 48 00.38 31605 .98529 130.1 9.6 2013 12 07 19:24 03 46 44.388 -24 08 15.89 31595 .98529 130.1 9.6 2013 12 07 19:29 03 50 53.017 -24 28 46.50 31564 .98529 130.1 9.6 2013 12 07 19:34 03 55 04.035 -24 49 33.52 31510 .98529 130.1 9.5 2013 12 07 19:39 03 59 17.867 -25 10 38.33 31433 .98529 130.1 9.5 2013 12 07 19:44 04 03 34.958 -25 32 02.42 31335 .98529 130.0 9.5 2013 12 07 19:49 04 07 55.778 -25 53 47.34 31214 .98528 130.0 9.5 2013 12 07 19:54 04 12 20.827 -26 15 54.76 31070 .98528 129.8 9.5 2013 12 07 19:59 04 16 50.637 -26 38 26.45 30904 .98528 129.7 9.5 2013 12 07 20:04 04 21 25.784 -27 01 24.32 30715 .98528 129.5 9.5 2013 12 07 20:09 04 26 06.887 -27 24 50.38 30504 .98528 129.3 9.5 2013 12 07 20:14 04 30 54.625 -27 48 46.81 30269 .98528 129.1 9.5 2013 12 07 20:19 04 35 49.735 -28 13 15.95 30010 .98527 128.8 9.5 2013 12 07 20:24 04 40 53.033 -28 38 20.29 29728 .98527 128.5 9.5 2013 12 07 20:29 04 46 05.418 -29 04 02.54 29423 .98527 128.2 9.5 2013 12 07 20:34 04 51 27.893 -29 30 25.59 29093 .98527 127.8 9.4 2013 12 07 20:39 04 57 01.579 -29 57 32.58 28738 .98526 127.4 9.4 2013 12 07 20:44 05 02 47.736 -30 25 26.85 28359 .98526 126.9 9.4 2013 12 07 20:49 05 08 47.790 -30 54 12.04 27954 .98526 126.4 9.4 2013 12 07 20:54 05 15 03.364 -31 23 52.00 27524 .98525 125.8 9.4 2013 12 07 20:59 05 21 36.314 -31 54 30.89 27067 .98525 125.1 9.4 2013 12 07 21:04 05 28 28.777 -32 26 13.11 26584 .98525 124.4 9.3 2013 12 07 21:09 05 35 43.230 -32 59 03.31 26074 .98524 123.6 9.3 2013 12 07 21:14 05 43 22.564 -33 33 06.33 25536 .98524 122.7 9.3 2013 12 07 21:19 05 51 30.171 -34 08 27.09 24970 .98523 121.8 9.3 2013 12 07 21:24 06 00 10.067 -34 45 10.48 24375 .98523 120.7 9.3 2013 12 07 21:29 06 09 27.038 -35 23 21.05 23750 .98522 119.5 9.2 2013 12 07 21:34 06 19 26.837 -36 03 02.63 23096 .98522 118.2 9.2 2013 12 07 21:39 06 30 16.430 -36 44 17.63 22412 .98521 116.7 9.2 2013 12 07 21:44 06 42 04.333 -37 27 06.05 21697 .98520 115.1 9.2 2013 12 07 21:49 06 55 01.035 -38 11 23.71 20951 .98520 113.2 9.2 2013 12 07 21:54 07 09 19.568 -38 56 59.69 20174 .98519 111.2 9.1 2013 12 07 21:59 07 25 16.250 -39 43 32.02 19366 .98518 108.8 9.1 2013 12 07 22:04 07 43 11.632 -40 30 21.00 18527 .98518 106.1 9.1 2013 12 07 22:09 08 03 31.691 -41 16 18.25 17661 .98517 103.0 9.1 2013 12 07 22:14 08 26 49.209 -41 59 29.53 16768 .98516 99.4 9.1 2013 12 07 22:19 08 53 45.124 -42 36 47.49 15854 .98515 95.2 9.2 2013 12 07 22:24 09 25 09.257 -43 03 10.34 14926 .98514 90.2 9.2 2013 12 07 22:29 10 01 59.034 -43 10 43.95 13996 .98513 84.3 9.4 2013 12 07 22:34 10 45 13.837 -42 47 34.64 13079 .98512 77.1 9.6 2013 12 07 22:39 11 35 42.220 -41 37 11.79 12203 .98511 68.4 9.9 2013 12 07 22:44 12 33 42.254 -39 20 07.71 11406 .98510 57.8 10.? 2013 12 07 22:49 13 38 43.163 -35 41 11.02 10738 .98509 45.0 11.? 2013 12 07 22:54 14 49 17.825 -30 44 33.96 10259 .98508 29.8 13.? 2013 12 07 22:59 16 02 53.724 -25 08 59.04 10024 .98507 12.9 19.? ................ 2013 12 07 23:09 18 22 56.178 -15 55 47.30 10402 .98507 21.0 15.? 2013 12 07 23:14 19 21 57.590 -13 12 07.40 10981 .98507 35.3 12.? 2013 12 07 23:19 20 11 58.362 -11 31 17.45 11744 .98508 47.3 11.? 2013 12 07 23:24 20 53 46.926 -10 34 22.38 12629 .98509 57.3 10.? 2013 12 07 23:29 21 28 44.227 -10 06 15.43 13584 .98509 65.5 10.3 2013 12 07 23:34 21 58 11.026 -09 56 33.49 14574 .98510 72.4 10.0 2013 12 07 23:39 22 23 15.842 -09 58 32.65 15574 .98511 78.1 9.9 2013 12 07 23:44 22 44 53.072 -10 07 56.10 16568 .98512 83.0 9.8 2013 12 07 23:49 23 03 44.780 -10 22 00.74 17546 .98512 87.2 9.7 2013 12 07 23:54 23 20 23.254 -10 39 02.23 18502 .98513 90.9 9.7 2013 12 07 23:59 23 35 13.342 -10 57 53.20 19431 .98514 94.1 9.7 2013 12 08 00:04 23 48 34.303 -11 17 49.70 20331 .98514 96.9 9.6 2013 12 08 00:09 00 00 41.211 -11 38 22.84 21201 .98515 99.4 9.6 2013 12 08 00:14 00 11 45.986 -11 59 13.55 22039 .98516 101.7 9.6 2013 12 08 00:19 00 21 58.161 -12 20 09.22 22847 .98516 103.8 9.7 2013 12 08 00:24 00 31 25.435 -12 41 01.58 23623 .98517 105.6 9.7 2013 12 08 00:29 00 40 14.095 -13 01 45.28 24369 .98517 107.4 9.7 2013 12 08 00:34 00 48 29.321 -13 22 16.98 25084 .98518 108.9 9.7 2013 12 08 00:39 00 56 15.420 -13 42 34.70 25770 .98518 110.4 9.7 2013 12 08 00:44 01 03 36.007 -14 02 37.40 26426 .98519 111.7 9.7 2013 12 08 00:49 01 10 34.136 -14 22 24.70 27053 .98519 113.0 9.7 2013 12 08 00:54 01 17 12.413 -14 41 56.68 27652 .98520 114.1 9.7 2013 12 08 00:59 01 23 33.072 -15 01 13.73 28224 .98520 115.2 9.7 2013 12 08 01:04 01 29 38.045 -15 20 16.44 28768 .98520 116.2 9.8 2013 12 08 01:09 01 35 29.013 -15 39 05.56 29285 .98521 117.2 9.8 2013 12 08 01:14 01 41 07.446 -15 57 41.94 29776 .98521 118.1 9.8 2013 12 08 01:19 01 46 34.639 -16 16 06.47 30241 .98521 118.9 9.8 2013 12 08 01:24 01 51 51.740 -16 34 20.10 30680 .98522 119.7 9.8 2013 12 08 01:29 01 56 59.771 -16 52 23.79 31095 .98522 120.5 9.8 2013 12 08 01:34 02 01 59.648 -17 10 18.51 31484 .98522 121.2 9.8 2013 12 08 01:39 02 06 52.195 -17 28 05.23 31850 .98523 121.9 9.8 2013 12 08 01:44 02 11 38.159 -17 45 44.91 32191 .98523 122.5 9.8 2013 12 08 01:49 02 16 18.220 -18 03 18.53 32508 .98523 123.1 9.8 2013 12 08 01:54 02 20 53.002 -18 20 47.04 32801 .98523 123.6 9.8 2013 12 08 01:59 02 25 23.077 -18 38 11.39 33071 .98523 124.2 9.8 2013 12 08 02:04 02 29 48.976 -18 55 32.52 33318 .98524 124.7 9.8 2013 12 08 02:09 02 34 11.194 -19 12 51.39 33541 .98524 125.2 9.8 2013 12 08 02:14 02 38 30.195 -19 30 08.94 33742 .98524 125.6 9.8 2013 12 08 02:19 02 42 46.415 -19 47 26.10 33919 .98524 126.0 9.8 2013 12 08 02:24 02 47 00.268 -20 04 43.83 34074 .98524 126.5 9.8 2013 12 08 02:29 02 51 12.150 -20 22 03.09 34206 .98524 126.8 9.8 2013 12 08 02:34 02 55 22.440 -20 39 24.84 34316 .98524 127.2 9.8 2013 12 08 02:39 02 59 31.507 -20 56 50.07 34403 .98524 127.5 9.8 2013 12 08 02:44 03 03 39.708 -21 14 19.79 34467 .98524 127.8 9.8 2013 12 08 02:49 03 07 47.394 -21 31 55.02 34508 .98524 128.1 9.8 2013 12 08 02:54 03 11 54.913 -21 49 36.84 34527 .98524 128.4 9.8 2013 12 08 02:59 03 16 02.610 -22 07 26.33 34523 .98524 128.6 9.8 2013 12 08 03:04 03 20 10.830 -22 25 24.63 34496 .98524 128.8 9.8 2013 12 08 03:09 03 24 19.924 -22 43 32.94 34447 .98524 129.0 9.8 2013 12 08 03:14 03 28 30.247 -23 01 52.49 34374 .98524 129.2 9.8 2013 12 08 03:19 03 32 42.163 -23 20 24.59 34277 .98524 129.4 9.8 2013 12 08 03:24 03 36 56.047 -23 39 10.63 34157 .98524 129.5 9.7