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
September 14, 2015
Launch Site
Launch Pad
LC81/24
Launch Vehicle
Proton-M/DM-3
NORAD ID
40896
International Designator
2015-048B
Epoch
Fri, 03 Jul 2026 21:31:05 GMT
Apogee
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Perigee
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Inclination
9.13°
Right Ascension
60.38°
Eccentricity
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Argument of Perigee
148.37°
Period
1459.57 min
Mean Motion
0.99 rev/day
Latitude
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Longitude
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Altitude
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Velocity
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Name
BLOCK DM-SL R/B
Alternative Name
Blok DM-03 No. 5L
Type
Status
Owner
VVKOV
Country
Russia
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 40896U 15048B 26184.89659280 -.00000190 00000-0 00000-0 0 9994
2 40896 9.1294 60.3759 0098669 148.3693 212.2102 0.98658908 38943
Source: Celestrak
Length
7.1
Diameter
3.7
Span
7.1
Dry Mass
2440
Launch Mass
19040
Shape
Cyl
Radar Cross Section
0.003
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
11S861-03 No. 5L
Purpose
Unknown
Mission
Unknown
Manufacturer
RKKE
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
Blok DM2
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
11D58M
Equipment
Unknown
Power System
Unknown
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
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On April 14, 1958, Sputnik 2 burned up over the North Atlantic, carrying the remains of a stray dog from Moscow who had been dead for five months. The Soviet Union told the world she survived for days. It took forty-five years for the truth to come out.