This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1\18 ISS On Orbit Status 18-01-2003
Part 2 of 2

Crew Earth Observation (CEO): Continuing to receive and review 
downlinked ECS (electronic still camera) imagery over southern 
hemisphere targets. Many thanks to the crew's ongoing efforts and 
dedication to acquire these useful photos.  Today's CEO targets were 
Congo-Zimbabwe Biomass Burning (although this is the low-fire [wet] 
season, some fires may exist, and burn scars from previous seasons are 
of interest [as irregular shapes often superimposed, so that the most 
recent fires are the clearest, several fire seasons being recorded in 
fire-prone areas]. Looking mainly right for oblique views), Lower 
Amazon River Basin (nadir pass over the Amazon River delta region.
Clearing weather at the basin and inland should have yielded nice
opportunity to document dynamic estuary changes in river just right of 
ISS track), Perth, Australia (Astronaut John Glenn called Perth the 
"City of Lights" after his historic fly-over in 1962. High pressure 
will dominate the area off the coast of Western Australia allowing for 
excellent viewing opportunity of Perth suburbs and the port city of 
Fremantle just south of track), and Patagonian Glaciers (nice pass 
between two slow moving frontal systems to capture detailed views of 
glacier shape and surface morphology [crevasse fields appear as 
aligned cracks], and color. Views of glacier tongues and peaks will 
all be north of ISS track.)

CEO images can be viewed at the website http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:28am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude -- 389.6 km
Apogee -- 393.5 km
Perigee -- 385.7 km
Period -- 92.35 min.
Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.64 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.0005792
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.59
Altitude loss -- 170 m (mean) in last 24 hours
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 23765

For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, 
see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html

 - End of File -
================

---