Space Brief 20 Jan 2025
Today's Space Brief highlights SpaceX's return to Starlink launches, a call to address space debris, and changes in NASA leadership under the new Trump administration.
Launch Date
March 21, 1996
Launch Site
SRILR
Launch Pad
FLP
Launch Vehicle
PSLV
NORAD ID
23827
International Designator
1996-017A
Epoch
Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:47:10 GMT
Apogee
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Perigee
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Inclination
99.03°
Right Ascension
208.97°
Eccentricity
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Argument of Perigee
242.26°
Period
101.14 min
Mean Motion
14.24 rev/day
Latitude
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Longitude
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Altitude
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Velocity
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Name
IRS-P3
Alternative Name
IRS-P3
Type
Status
Owner
ISRO
Country
India
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 23827U 96017A 26185.03276233 .00000124 00000-0 74721-4 0 9995
2 23827 99.0279 208.9693 0002326 242.2643 117.8299 14.23740079572269
Source: Celestrak
Length
1.6
Diameter
1.1
Span
12
Dry Mass
900
Launch Mass
922
Shape
Box + 2 Pan
Radar Cross Section
2.536
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
IRS-P3
Purpose
Earth observation
Mission
Earth observation
Manufacturer
ISAC/HAL
Life Expectancy
3 years (design); 6 years (achieved)
Bus
IRS
Configuration
IRS-1 Bus
Motor
AOCS
Equipment
WiFS, MOS, IXAE
Power System
2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's Space Brief highlights SpaceX's return to Starlink launches, a call to address space debris, and changes in NASA leadership under the new Trump administration.
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SpaceX continues to push boundaries with the successful launch of 28 Starlink satellites and significant testing preparations for upcoming Crew-11 and Starship missions.
GAO flags growing cost problems across Space Force satellite portfolio with workforce reductions compounding risks to missile-warning constellations like NGG and SWAT.
On April 22, 2010, an Atlas V lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying a reusable robotic spaceplane so secret that the Air Force would not even confirm its mission duration. It came back 224 days later, lighter, quieter, and more operational than anyone outside Washington had expected. Fifteen years later, the X-37B is still flying, and the military still will not say what it does.
SpaceX successfully launched the Sentinel-6B satellite, marking a significant milestone as its 500th mission with a reused rocket, furthering global sea level monitoring efforts.