Orbital Focus @OrbitalFocus
For those genuinely interested in the finer points of new launches & activities on orbit. Curated by Robert Christy. orbitalfocus.uk United Kingdom Joined May 2022-
Tweets2K
-
Followers2K
-
Following23
-
Likes164
Launch Report 2x navsats Apr 28, 00:34 UTC Falcon 9 Kennedy SC Two sats for ESA's Galileo constellation successfully delivered to MEO Transfer orbit available for upper stage with attached sats OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#079 @SpaceTrackOrg tags it as 59598/2024-079A, it will change
Mission update Shenzhou 17 return to Earth OrbitalFocus.uk/2023#164 Currently set for Apr 30 with original crew after six month stay at station Calculating precise landing time from orbit data is a less-exact science than for launches Estimated landing Apr 30, 09:45 UTC ±2 min
Launch Report Shenzhou 18 Apr 25, 12:59:00 UTC CZ 2F Jiuquan Time was six seconds earlier than my estimate Crew of three to CSS, docked at 19:37 UTC Initial orbit not available, Space-Track does not have orbit data from before the docking OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#078
Launch Advisory update Shenzhou 18 Apr 25, 12:59 UTC CZ 2F Jiuquan Crew exchange for Chinese space station Minor orbit tweak has pushed the time a few seconds later than my earlier forecast, it now computes as 12:59:06 ±15 sec
Mission Update SpaceX Bandwagon 1 We now have Catalogue Numbers, Designations and orbits for all sats OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#066
Mission Update Angara A5 test launch, Apr 11 @SpaceTrackOrg has now issued orbit data for the Orion rocket stage in graveyard orbit OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#069 It has been given the 'A' designation but ST has avoided classifying it as a rocket
Launch Report NEOnSat 1 & ACS 3 Apr 23, 22:32 UTC Electron RLLC 1, New Zealand Korean Earth imaging satellite & NASA solar sail Launch & orbits OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#077 ACS 3 solar sail will be deployed once NASA has control and the vehicle is stable
Mission Update Yunhai 2 Mission 1 placed six sats into orbit planes at 60° spacing of RA OrbitalFocus.uk/2018#112 Mission 2 is doing the same but planes will be half way between Mission 1's OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#052 Will lead to a constellation with planes at 30° intervals of RA
Mission Update Khayyam Russian-built imaging sat used by Iran OrbitalFocus.uk/2022#096 Has commenced orbit maintenance manoeuvres at its new orbit height ~485 km
Mission Update Yunhai mission 2 The first sat (one of those in the higher orbit) has started to descend towards its operational orbit It will be about six months before all six sats get down/up to operating height OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#052
Launch Advisory Shenzhou 18 Apr 25, 12:58 UTC CZ 2F Jiuquan Crew of three for space station duty rotation Time currently computes as 12:58:57 UTC but may move by a few seconds as CSS orbit is trimmed
China's Internet Test Satellites ceased orbit raising OrbitalFocus.uk/2023#212 Two of them matched orbit with the earlier triplet OrbitalFocus.uk/2023#181 One is ~25 km lower They orbit as a loose cluster at 50° inclination, giving 3-4 hours/day of test coverage over China
Heads up Wenchang city is expecting an influx of space-related people and organisations during the first week of May
Launch Report Gaojing 3-01 April 15, 04:12 UTC CZ 2D Jiuquan Earth imaging sat to sun-sync orbit OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#072
Launch Advisory unknown payload Apr 15, ~04:10 UTC CZ 2D? Jiuquan Aimed at sun-synch orbit with LTDN ~10:30
Mission Update Angara 5 test mission Orbit data available the Cubesat OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#069 There is a second item in similar orbit, maybe part of its separation mechanism Orion stage made further firings to take it to graveyard orbit so we may not see data for the GEO
Launch Report WSF-M (USSF-62) Apr 11, 14:25 UTC Falcon 9 Vandenberg Environment sensing satellite to provide info to operational US military forces - sun-synch orbit Launch & orbit details: OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#070
Mission Update Angara test mission Orion stage arrived in near GEO at around 15:30 UTC Dummy satellite was intentionally not released… so expecting Space-Track data on two objects (plus any debris) - Gagarinets Cubesat in LEO and the Orion/dummy combo OrbitalFocus.uk/2024#069
China 'N Asia Spacefl.. @CNSpaceflight
20K Followers 97 Following 🇨 for Commentary/Conversation 🇳 for News Not only spaceflight, but also everything of space & the universe. Not only China, but also Asia CNSA JAXA ISRO KARI
Scott Manley @DJSnM
513K Followers 538 Following Internet Rocket Scientist, Gamer, Astronomer, Dad, Scotsman. Makes videos about science and video games.... at the same time! https://t.co/5p7T8YmtuC
Gunter Krebs 🚀 �.. @Skyrocket71
4K Followers 1K Following Spaceflight Historian & Analyst, Nerd, Physicist and Editor of Gunter's Space Page (https://t.co/dEIzsX3s6C) - also to be found on @[email protected]
Dr Marco Langbroek @Marco_Langbroek
21K Followers 1K Following Lecturer optical Space Situational Awareness @AETUDelft. Spy sats, missiles, meteorites, asteroids. Asteroid (183294). Former archaeologist. Opinions my own
Marcia Smith @SpcPlcyOnline
22K Followers 417 Following http://t.co/h6g8Y4OLgo provides news and analysis about U.S. and foreign civil, commercial, and military space programs. Its editor is Marcia Smith.
brianweeden @brianweeden
10K Followers 1K Following Space policy wonk, former engineer, husband, father, all around geek. I tweet things I find insightful, informative, or provocative. Day job @swfoundation
Daniel Fischer @cosmo.. @cosmos4u
14K Followers 4K Following All things astronomy and space - in tiny bits and pieces but mostly with links to more ... :-) Now also x-posting on https://t.co/7Xqj6Ifhea & https://t.co/B6an
Harry Stranger @Harry__Stranger
6K Followers 703 Following I like to look at stuff on Earth, mostly the space industry, from space using satellite imagery | SpaceFromSpace
Gene J. Mikulka @genejm29
16K Followers 13K Following Founded @talkingspace, Immersed in spaceflight since Apollo. Podcaster, Space Advocate, Lovebird Dad, Parrot & House Rabbit supporter. Opinions = mine.
jerel whittingham @jerel0
166 Followers 723 Following Seeks witty pithy bio strapline implying sagacity and depth but with edgy self-depreciation and venture start-up, tech, and shrops allusions....
Bertrand @Bertran45637512
44 Followers 107 Following
voila @garandian
3 Followers 371 Following
عبدالله الج.. @Aljohani_A_J
2K Followers 279 Following Wireless Communication Expert | دكتوراه في الهندسة الكهربائية | حساب شخصي
Lee Spitler @LeeRSpitler
119 Followers 347 Following
adam dickerson @adam101782
206 Followers 815 Following
Astro Katja 🛰️�.. @AstroKatja
54 Followers 263 Following Astrophysicist working on Space Surveillance & Tracking
Flyback @flyback31
3 Followers 36 Following
Tanja Banner @cassiopeia
2K Followers 4K Following Journalistin, #Astronomie #Raumfahrt #Wissen. Tweets können Spuren von #Amateurastronomie enthalten. @tanjabanner.bsky.social
Baby Death Star @kwj1973
187 Followers 3K Following Likes space, astronomy & sci-fi stuff. Dad & husband. Steed Mountain Observatory / Sternwarte Rossberg
Ryan @RyanFM83
141 Followers 740 Following![بوابة الفضاء [AstroGate] منصة علمية ناطقة بالعربية تسعى إلى نشر أخبار المهمات الفضائية وشرح المفاهيم الفيزيائية والفلكية بطريقة تفاعلية ممتعة ومبسطة.](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1098121429554483201/VdR81LRb.jpg)
AstroGate | بواب�.. @AstroGateSpace
13K Followers 1K Following بوابة الفضاء [AstroGate] منصة علمية ناطقة بالعربية تسعى إلى نشر أخبار المهمات الفضائية وشرح المفاهيم الفيزيائية والفلكية بطريقة تفاعلية ممتعة ومبسطة.
Paulo Simões, PhD @pjasimoes
774 Followers 615 Following Solar physicist, PhD, Eng., lecturer/professor, bad guitarist (in no particular order). (he/him)
Galactic Inc. @_galactics
21 Followers 491 Following
Niklas Förstberg @nforstberg
109 Followers 893 Following Father, Space nerd and Software developer. Incredibly bullish on the new space economy. Starship, Optimus and AI - the sky is no longer the limit
D @D95117635920
99 Followers 309 Following I don't really know how this works. Created an account so I could search NFL, military, int'l, history & science news again. I like dogs, books & the Old West.
Hook @stanimal_
581 Followers 2K Following Here for the SpaceX, Tesla, Titans, Sci-Fi and direct access to news sources (No DMs pls)
EyeForTruth @JeffOverstreet8
733 Followers 3K Following
Richard Stelling @rwstelling
217 Followers 2K Following Aerospace Engineer/Software Engineer/Researcher/Scientist/Person that should tweet more often.
Max Haot @maxhaot
10K Followers 2K Following CEO at @vast // Previously: Founder & CEO at @launcher (acquired by Vast), @mevocamera (acquired by @logitech) and Livestream (acquired by @vimeo). 🇺🇸
Jay @Jay537011423149
0 Followers 26 Following
Kyle Johnson @kylerjoh
137 Followers 1K Following Aerospace Engineering Masters Student at CU Boulder he/him/his
Bill Nolon @billynathome
107 Followers 324 Following
Duncan Meyers @duncan16v
244 Followers 1K Following Melbourne based pre-sales solutions architect. Current project: returning a Datsun 180B SSS race car to life. Lots of weird tweets of car parts ensue.
Tom Wilson @wilsot
192 Followers 2K Following
Greg is cool @greggly12
368 Followers 997 Following
jawolldrian_helge @djhelge
47 Followers 814 Following
Ryan @VaguelyRyan
3 Followers 3K Following
Josh Etkind @joshetkind
254 Followers 1K Following
Aklen @aklen
442 Followers 786 Following
Ann Finkbeiner @AnnFinkbeiner
4K Followers 1K Following Freelance science writer: astronomy, science/natsec, grief, women in science. @[email protected] @annfinkbeiner.bsky.social
I am Legend @Grannytologist
420 Followers 1K Following Not your stereotypical studier of stuff. 🌞🌪️⚾️🌌🚀
Adam Sroka @SrokaAdam
103 Followers 2K Following
Emil Eriksson 🇸�.. @emileriksson76
652 Followers 5K Following Generalist. Would leave Earth if possible. FCKPTN
European Space Agency @esa
1.8M Followers 999 Following We're the European Space Agency, keeping you posted on European space activities. Please see our Privacy Notice: https://t.co/UkkEqaJOwd
Rocket Lab @RocketLab
516K Followers 198 Following Official account for Rocket Lab. We build rockets and spacecraft that open access to space to improve life on Earth.
T.S. Kelso @TSKelso
9K Followers 21 Following Operator of CelesTrak, the world's first source for orbital element sets and related software and educational materials.
ULA @ulalaunch
367K Followers 1K Following The nation’s most experienced, reliable and accurate launch service provider.
LeoLabs @LeoLabs_Space
27K Followers 317 Following We're propelling the dynamic #space era with superior information 🛰🌎
s2a systems @s2a_systems
571 Followers 96 Following Developing and operating systems for Space Situational Awareness.
MHI Launch Services @MHI_LS
14K Followers 2 Following 打上げ前の組立作業の紹介や、打上げ時カウントダウンイベントをリアルタイムでレポート。ロケット打上げ場、種子島より熱気溢れる Twitterにご期待ください。 基本的にリプライやDMへのご返信、フォロー返しはいたしませんのでご了承ください。
NATA 🇰🇵 @NATA_DPRK
753 Followers 36 Following NATA's mission is to promote peaceful space development, cherish the host ideology, and advance the economy and science and technology through space issues.
JAXA(Japan Aerospace .. @JAXA_en
170K Followers 60 Following JAXA performs various activities from basic research to development and utilization in the fields of space and aeronautics.
PA0DLO @HAMSATNL
914 Followers 34 Following
MOMENTUS @momentusspace
8K Followers 155 Following Momentus provides orbital transportation and other in-space services for satellites.
CGWIC @CGWIC
1K Followers 75 Following CGWIC is the sole company authorized by the Chinese government to provide satellites, commercial launch services and international space cooperation.
LΛUNCHER @launcher
21K Followers 331 Following Launcher (a @vast company) develops the E-2 liquid rocket engine.
FCC Space Licenses @FccSpace
5K Followers 4 Following I tweet notice of any FCC applications for space vehicles. Support: https://t.co/W5e2PnaJU0
NRO @NatReconOfc
78K Followers 178 Following Official Twitter account of the National Reconnaissance Office—Innovative Overhead Intelligence Systems for National Security. Follows/RTs are not endorsements.
D-Orbit @D_Orbit
6K Followers 2K Following A New Space company with solutions covering the entire lifecycle of a space mission
Space-Track @SpaceTrackOrg
41K Followers 117 Following https://t.co/diZ7YQ4nD3 provides critical Space Situational Awareness Data for a worldwide Space Community. Following, RT & links ≠ endorsement. Not a DoD acct.
NASA Commercial Crew @Commercial_Crew
458K Followers 157 Following 🚀We are space explorers transporting humans to and from the @Space_Station through government-commercial partnerships! Verification: https://t.co/NVuokqmW8m
Boeing Space @BoeingSpace
260K Followers 475 Following Your front row seat as we continue to build the future of space for all of humanity.
SpaceX @SpaceX
34.5M Followers 113 Following SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft
@planet4589 You sure you aren't 4 days late on this post? 🤣
@OrbitalFocus @SpaceTrackOrg Possible, but for an escape mission the launch profile may be different (if payloads are low mass, perhaps CZ-2C does reach orbit, reserving YZ-1S prop for the escape burn)
@OrbitalFocus @SpaceNews_Inc Self-defense. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBlock_Or…
@OrbitalFocus @TSKelso ... and new TLEs today reflect the corrected international designations.
@OrbitalFocus I assume you mean 'Iran's Russia-built imaging satellite' ?
@OrbitalFocus The December 2021 failure was announced as carrying three satellites, likely a main payload and two cubesat-type.
@OrbitalFocus @CelesTrak @SpaceTrackOrg No, unfortunately we could not discover Object C. It was either very faint or not where we had been looking based on the first published position data.
@OrbitalFocus Great. Now our world is back "in order". 😊 This is in line with our assessment based on the light curves.
@OrbitalFocus According to info at @NASASpaceflight forums it's the third launch of @cas_space Kinetica 1.
@Cosmic_Penguin Seems to be accurate x.com/orbitalfocus/s…
Mission Update Tianzhou 7 Navigation warnings for Wenchang area on Jan 17 confirm my estimate of the launch time (14:27:00 UTC ±30 seconds)
@OrbitalFocus This is the launch of the Einstein Probe (Aiyinsitan Tanzhen) on a CZ-2C. bit.ly/SpaceLaunchCal…
It is still not clear why objects docked to the ISS or CSS, which all have the same orbital elements, are not updated with the parent object’s data (1.19 vs. 0.07 days old for the ISS). This results in a 1.6-km difference today. Users advised to use ISS or CSS elements only.
@AdmiralSirJohn @RocketLab @QPS_Inc audio was fine for me, may have been on your end
@OrbitalFocus @planet4589 @philipwhiuk @SpcPlcyOnline @SpaceTrackOrg @18thSDS @amazon New TLE on 21Nov Still several months to go to GEO?
To be clear, I was not the only one with this interpretation - in particular I seem to remember Bob Christy proposing the same option. Anyway, now we can more accurately reconstruct the trajectory of the previous failure!
@OrbitalFocus I believe TL-1-05 (49011) is also operational (it was just launched in 2021).
Trends for United States
You might like
