UARS satellite: New images of tumbling spacecraft(legault.perso.sfr.fr)

20 pointsby seewhatvor 15 Jahren9 comments

legault.perso.sfr.fr

UARS satellite: New images of tumbling spacecraft

http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/uars_110915.html

4 comments

brfoxvor 15 Jahren

I can't decide if this is a dumb question or not, but why does something like the ISS always face the surface of the Earth in the same direction? For example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7...

I know the reason the moon is always facing the same face toward us is because it has locked its own rotational rate to match it orbital rate due to "tidal like" forces acting back on the moon.

So, maybe I just answered my own question, I guess they purposefully added a rotational component to the ISS so that it is always facing the surface as it orbits? Why do that instead of staying fixed according to the stars? Maybe that is too disorienting for the astronauts.

lditevor 15 Jahren

Control Moment Gyroscopes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_moment_gyroscope#Intern...

derobertvor 15 Jahren

Its done on purpose. For example, high-gain communications antennas need to remain pointed at Earth, else they don't do much good.

aw3c2vor 15 Jahren

Is there a page somewhere where I can see when it will be visible in certain regions of the world?

fbntvor 15 Jahren

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hRsgdyFQjM

6.5 tons of equipment burning into the atmosphere should be visible at the naked eye even in daylight.

narcissusvor 15 Jahren

http://heavens-above.com/ has satellite listings, too...

(Maybe not so reliable for a falling satellite I guess, though).

linker3000vor 15 Jahren

Good realtime overlay onto Google maps:

http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=21701

(a bit slow to load - I guess it could be popular right now)

rafedbvor 15 Jahren

aliens

sodiumphosphatevor 15 Jahren

The sky is falling.