Updates GOCE Mission News

[Urwumpe]

Sounds like time for another game of Re-Entry Roullette!

Where will GOCE come down? Place your bets ladies and gentlemen. Around and around she goes, where she'll stop nobody knows...

In the Pacific Ocean. :lol:

 

[astrosammy]

Sounds like time for another game of Re-Entry Roullette!

Where will GOCE come down? Place your bets ladies and gentlemen. Around and around she goes, where she'll stop nobody knows...

N52.03 E8.77 :leaving:

 

[garyw]

Not long now......

Sun 10 Nov 11:30UT #GOCE orbit 87.38 minutes 138.3 x 147.7 km Position 18.8N,119.5E alt=148.1km Unlit ~Re-entry 5h [0.12d]

 

[Ghostrider]

We're all gonna die.

(Collective cry by a bunch of fishes in the Pacific)

 

[garyw]

And closer......... Sun 10 Nov 13:00UT #GOCE orbit 87.36 minutes 136.9 x 146.3 km Position 29.4N,95.6E alt=150.3km Unlit ~Re-entry 4h [0.19d]

Looking at re-entry between 16:00 and 17:00 UTC today.

So, as people were asking about predictions, this is mine based on the current TLE set and assuming re-entry around 16:30UTC. Remember, that GOCE is in a retrograde orbit so it's moving west.

 

[ADSWNJ]

Sun 10 Nov 14:45 ... Alt now 144.49 and falling fast. Just exited North America (through Mexico) and into a Pacific loop

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Sun 10 Nov 14:51 (UTC) (9:51am EST) ... went through a periapsis at around 138km on the Equator and is now climbing again. Abeam Chile now in the south Pacific Ocean, at 149Km alt, speed 7.90.

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Sun 10 Nov 15:03 (UTC) ... over Antarctica ... alt 161KM, falling again. Don't understand this orbit yet? If peri over equator ... apo should be too? Hmm ... need to watch real time tracking closer. (See http://www.foxnews.com/science/interactive/2013/11/08/track-europe-falling-2000-pound-satellite-in-real-time/ .. though the plot seems offset by minutes between my various devices!!!)

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Tasking a Delta Glider pilot to get up there and report what he sees.


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Sun 10 Nov 15:13 (UTC) ... ALT: 139.71 SPD: 7.94 Apoapsis at 3 deg North. Headed to Oman

 

[Urwumpe]

Sun 10 Nov 15:03 (UTC) ... over Antarctica ... alt 161KM, falling again. Don't understand this orbit yet? If peri over equator ... apo should be too? Hmm ... need to watch real time tracking closer.

No, because the orbit is loosing energy.

 

[ADSWNJ]

No, because the orbit is loosing energy.

All above the "entry interface" too (120km)!!

Interesting .. so does the increasing drag at periapsis pull the apoapsis round the orbit towards us?

(Oh and 500 posts - w00t!!)

 

[Urwumpe]

All above the "entry interface" too (120km)!!

Interesting .. so does the increasing drag at periapsis pull the apoapsis round the orbit towards us?

(Oh and 500 posts - w00t!!)

Yes - actually periapsis altitude does only decrease slowly because of the uneven atmosphere. In a perfect world, the periapsis would stay at constant altitude.

 

[ADSWNJ]

.. plus the gravity effects that it was studying as its mission. I.e. updating this data:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Any more firm info on reentry time and location?

 

[orb]

ESA Blogs: Spacecraft doing great: GOCE at 133 km:

Update from GOCE Operations Manager Christoph Steiger at ESOC

Less than 10 hours before re-entry, we have just had another ground contact with GOCE at 15:37 CET using KSAT's Svalbard station.

The spacecraft is now at an altitude of just 133km, with the decay rate around 1.5 km per hour (and increasing quickly). The average drag level is well over 200 mN (milliNewton).

{...}

ESA: Track GOCE

 

[Notebook]

The tracker has no data, just me or has GOCE re-entered?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

The tracker has no data, just me or has GOCE re-entered?

N.

I still get data here. 140 km altitude in the moment

 

[Notebook]

Thats good, thanks Urwumpe.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Thats good, thanks Urwumpe.

N.

Yes - but the trajectory of the tracker seems to be based on old tracking data.

 

[Kendo]

Will we see anything of this in the night sky?

 

[Evil_Onyx]

my moneys on it coming down over Antarctica.

 

[Urwumpe]

Will we see anything of this in the night sky?

If you can see it - make sure it has angular motion in the night sky.

 

[Screamer7]

I use this tracker...any good?
http://www.satflare.com/track.asp?q=34602#TOP