USA 179

The map shows the sub-satellite ground track at 2006 November 17. USA 179 itself is above Italy at an altitude of 81,884 kilometres, close to the morning day/night terminator. The plot is based on this element set from Mike McCants's "classified.tle" file:

1 90027U 04841A   06322.78169364 0.00001111  00000-0  63148-0 0    01
2 90027  62.6062 128.2394 7033831 269.3293  90.6707  2.00608772    01

It describes an orbit of 1,499 x 38,858 kilometres at 62°.6 inclination with an anomalistic period of 717.80 minutes. It follows the patch shown on the map and repeats roughly the same track from day to day

The map was produced using "Orbitron" by Sebastian Stoff

The shape of the ground track plot is produced by a combination of USA 179's motion around its orbit and the rotation of the Earth. The symmetry is driven by the fact that the argument of perigee is very close to 270° which puts apogee at northern apex.

There is almost zero atmospheric drag on a satellite in an orbit like the one occupied by USA 179. However, there are gravitational influences that pull it away from its elliptical shape and pull it out of position. They come from the Sun, the Moon and the fact that the Earth itself is not a uniform shape.

Because of these influences, controllers find it necessary to correct the orbit every 20 days or so in order to keep things as they want them. The year pages listed in the left hand menu tell the story from mid-2006.

	USA 179	Lincoln, UK 2010 Mar 12, UTC Friday
Maintained by: Robert Christy FBIS Contact: Zarya Home Page SDS Home Page USA 179 Background USA 179 Orbit USA 179 Switching USA 179 in 2006 USA 179 early in 2007 USA 179 late in 2007 USA 179 early in 2008 USA 179 ndot/2	USA 179 - Orbit< The map shows the sub-satellite ground track at 2006 November 17. USA 179 itself is above Italy at an altitude of 81,884 kilometres, close to the morning day/night terminator. The plot is based on this element set from Mike McCants's "classified.tle" file: 1 90027U 04841A 06322.78169364 0.00001111 00000-0 63148-0 0 01 2 90027 62.6062 128.2394 7033831 269.3293 90.6707 2.00608772 01 It describes an orbit of 1,499 x 38,858 kilometres at 62°.6 inclination with an anomalistic period of 717.80 minutes. It follows the patch shown on the map and repeats roughly the same track from day to day The map was produced using "Orbitron" by Sebastian Stoff The shape of the ground track plot is produced by a combination of USA 179's motion around its orbit and the rotation of the Earth. The symmetry is driven by the fact that the argument of perigee is very close to 270° which puts apogee at northern apex. There is almost zero atmospheric drag on a satellite in an orbit like the one occupied by USA 179. However, there are gravitational influences that pull it away from its elliptical shape and pull it out of position. They come from the Sun, the Moon and the fact that the Earth itself is not a uniform shape. Because of these influences, controllers find it necessary to correct the orbit every 20 days or so in order to keep things as they want them. The year pages listed in the left hand menu tell the story from mid-2006.	Radio Frequencies Frequency lists, transmission details Satellite Tracking Techniques, analysis and results of tracking activities Zarya Diaries Consolidation of individual mission diaries from the site (and more!) Orbital Events Ongoing Calendar of comings and goings in space The Kettering Group People, reminiscences and tracking equipment Sputnik Korolyov's efforts in getting the first satellite into orbit Luna The Soviet Union's programme of automatic exploration Vostok First pilot to orbit the Earth Voskhod Soviet programme to put multiple passengers into space Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 First docking in orbit of piloted spacecraft ASTP First docking of piloted spacecraft from different nations Salyut Chronology of missions to the first space stations Mir Detailed calendar of launches and activities in orbit ISS Mission calendar for the early years