[Neocp_artsats] Recent/current junk on NEOCP

[Bill Gray]

Hi folks,

    It's been a busy few days in the junk business :

    A10Yj4d = A10YhVb.  (The latter has been removed from NEOCP;  I expect the former will be.)  ATLAS got it from Chile on back-to-back nights.  The geocentric orbits match and link nicely with solar radiation pressure included (it's an ETBO) :

https://www.projectpluto.com/pluto/mpecs/a10yhvb.htm

    and I've posted TLEs for it that should help ID it for the next few weeks.

    I've long wondered just how many ETBOs are out there.  It _seems_ as if there are a lot,  but it could be that we're just seeing the same four or five over and over again.  Lose one for a while and see it a few months later,  and intervening non-gravs will destroy any hope of making the linkage.

    We currently have decent ephems for two ETBOs : the one described above and A10XrSw = A10XB90 = A10Wg15,  which has been spotted on six occasions since August.  I've talked someone into doing some occasional follow-up of these objects;  my hope is that we can maintain some knowledge of where they are and not "re-discover" them.  Or we'll find out that there really are dozens of ETBOs,  and that keeping track of them isn't really worthwhile.

    I think TMG0088,  currently on NEOCP,  is an artsat (period around 1060 minutes,  i=56).  However,  a geocentric flyby orbit is also possible.

    A10YmM7 looks to be in a multi-day geocentric orbit (if I try to fit a five-day or shorter orbit,  the cross-track residuals get ugly).  It's not a recovery of C3X8PK1;  that object had a retrograde (i=142.2) orbit,  and this one has i=27.  Unfortunately,  it had only a 31-minute arc,  and is now "awaiting survey recovery".

-- Bill