Question Whats orbiting just before ISS?

[ElPelado]

Today I saw a very bright ISS pass (-3.6 according to heavens above)
When it was right above me I saw that it was gogin to pass very near a star.... then I realized that the sater was ALSO moving.... the ISS was following it!
My first thought was that it was, of course, ATV-2
But in some satellite tracking websites (n2yo) i saw that the ISS is pretty far back from ATV....

So, was it the ATV and the orbit in those sat tracking sites was not up to date (may be the ATV made some orbit correction today?), or was I looking at something totaly different???

Thank you

 

[Scruce]

Did you see ISS from binoculars or telescope?

 

[ElPelado]

Just my eyes.....

 

[Scruce]

Just my eyes.....

Hmmm... so you did see it for real.

 

[garyw]

It might be a piece of debris from the recent spacewalk.

 

[Urwumpe]

Not just with the naked eye though. The junk is in front of the ISS, but should be almost invisible except by binocular.

 

[ElPelado]

I've read about the junk, but it was to bright to be that (much less brighter that then ISS, but bright enough to see it in the city). And it was somethink like 3 full moons before the ISS....

 

[Urwumpe]

I've read about the junk, but it was to bright to be that (much less brighter that then ISS, but bright enough to see it in the city). And it was somethink like 3 full moons before the ISS....

Thats 1.5 degrees. or 180 km ahead, if it would be at the same orbit altitude as the ISS.

 

[T.Neo]

This is it! Proof of the US advanced saucer program!

It has been known in the conspiracy community for some time now that the US government owns and operates saucer spacecraft, and that these are used for regular experimental and supply flights to the International Space Station (ISS). One might ask "but what of the international partners on the ISS". This is no issue to the CIA and the M12, as the "international" program is merely a coverup. Part of this coverup program is that spacecraft such as the US Space Shuttle and Russian Soyuz are used for resupply and construction flights to the station. However, most launch vehicles cannot launch any useful payload to the ISS, due to its high inclination above the equator. To ensure the secrecy of the saucer program, NASA launches shuttle missions only as show flights, and saucer spacecraft secretly 'hand over' payloads to waiting Shuttles just before docking- out of the range of cameras and ground observers.

With the Shuttle coverup coming to an end due to the retirement of the Shuttle program (a Shuttle has not carried a useful payload since the Columbia accident, as this was the last flight to an inclination possible with "current" propulsion technology), NASA has dutifully developed new coverup spacecraft, along with several supposedly "international" vehicles. These too cannot launch to the high altitude of the ISS, and will also rely on saucers to ferry cargo to them.

Civillian interaction onboard the ISS is banned. This is believed to be due to the top-secret antigravity and energy weapon testing conducted secretly aboard the supposedly peaceful station. Contrary to popular belief, there has been absolutely no evidence found of space-based mind control experiments.

- Anonymous source, conspiracymogul.com

This is absolutely awesome stuff! I can't believe someone on the forums actually detected evidence of secret activity from Area 51!

 

[walsjona]

This is it! Proof of the US advanced saucer program!



This is absolutely awesome stuff! I can't believe someone on the forums actually detected evidence of secret activity from Area 51!

Not to put a fly in your ointment, but how is this proof of anything other than there is an object ahead of the ISS (abeit an unidentified one).

There is of corse loads of junk up there and could quite easily just be that.

As much as I'd love to think there was some secret saurcer shuttle I can't really see it myself

 

[T.Neo]

Iceit, maybe my sense of parody is better than I thought... I am kidding. I just wrote (purposefully) a whole lot of rubbish, to try and lampoon the people who do post nonsensical conspiracy theories. A quick Google search will reveal that there is no such thing as "conspiracymogul.com".

I purposefully used my knowledge of spaceflight reality to try and make my post sound as nonsensical as possible. :thumbup:

 

[Notebook]

Probably the British Rail Flying Saucer, lost in orbit in 1962. Leaves on the line, or the wrong kind of snow most likely cause.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_flying_saucer"]British Rail flying saucer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

N.

 

[tblaxland]

What you saw could be Progress M-07M/39P which undocked from the ISS yesterday: http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=243257&postcount=808

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

What you saw could be Progress M-07M/39P which undocked from the ISS yesterday: http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=243257&postcount=808

Good point! M-07M was deorbited shortly after it undocked - at what time did the sighting in question take place?

 

[tblaxland]

Good point! M-07M was deorbited shortly after it undocked - at what time did the sighting in question take place?

Do you have any known good elements for post-undocking? The latest elements I can find (Celestrak) are from before undocking.

 

[ElPelado]

I also thought it may be the Progress, but when I look for it, Wiki said it was still docked :/
From the link on the forum, It seems that the de-orbit burn was more ore less at the sime I saw them.... The ISS pass above me started at 4:02 PM, 10 minutes before the Progress burn....

So, if indeed it was the progress, it was my first Progress
Thanks!

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

I also thought it may be the Progress, but when I look for it, Wiki said it was still docked :/
From the link on the forum, It seems that the de-orbit burn was more ore less at the sime I saw them.... The ISS pass above me started at 4:02 PM, 10 minutes before the Progress burn....

So, if indeed it was the progress, it was my first Progress
Thanks!

Never trust Wiki for space news!

It would make sense that it was Progress - the undocking and separation burn would've given Progress a retrograde motion from ISS, which would've dropped it into a lower orbit, allowing it to overtake ISS over a few orbits.

Think about this: You may have been one of the last few people on Earth to ever set eyes on Progress M-07M!

 

[ElPelado]

Think about this: You may have been one of the last few people on Earth to ever set eyes on Progress M-07M!

That's exactly what I thougth a few minutes ago!

WOW

 

[FADEC]

It's 03:38 am local time here in Germany right now. I wanted to stay up for an ISS sighting before Dragon returns to earth later today. I used the tracker from ESA in combination with sighting data from NASA. The pass was announced for 03:21 am local time.

So I went to my window at about 03:19 am. And there it was, already. But it was not bright, which is quite unusual if I consider that dawn is going to begin at 04:35 am local time. So I went back to my PC to have a look at the ESA tracker. It indicated ISS above Reims, France. Strange. I went back to my window, and, surprise, there it was "again". But bright as usual this time. It crossed my house at the exact same track as the less shiny object just seconds ago.

So there is definitely something orbiting before ISS. And as far as I know there was no Progress uncocking, wasn't it?

 

[astrosammy]

Propably Falcon 9's second stage:

:tiphat: