This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3\01 ISS On-Orbit Status 01-03-2003
Part 2 of 2

Crew Earth Observations (CEO): Despite XPOP attitude limitations and 
lower light in the Northern Hemisphere, the crew continues to maintain 
both high volume and quality of downlinked imagery. They were thanked 
for the great imagery of dynamic winter ice conditions and the 
beautiful shots of the Aurora Australis. A fine image of the Panama 
Canal will be published in Earth Observatory this week (see link, 
below).  Today's CEO targets were Mekong River Delta (ISS track during 
this pass was directly over the delta. Although nadir views may not 
have been possible, crew was to try for oblique views either side of 
track to document the change of land use patterns at the edges of the 
delta and to observe the river's sediment plumes in the South China 
Sea), Lake Eyre, Australia (more views of Lake Eyre and the Ergomanga 
Basin to the north of it are needed to document and understand the 
impact of this year's El Nino weather patterns on regional hydrology. 
Crew to look left of track for any indications of water or stream 
flow), Tropical Cyclone Japhet (DYNAMIC EVENT TARGET: This compact 
cyclone, packing 90-kt winds, was forecast to meander off the coast of 
southern Mozambique for the next several days. Looking left of track 
for views of the banding structure of the storm and possibly its small 
eye), Industrialized Southeastern (air stagnation continues over 
southern Africa with a resulting buildup of aerosols. Looking 
obliquely left of track for smog over the industrialized interior 
valleys), Eastern Mediterranean Dust (a small cut-off cyclone is 
drifting into the central Med. As ISS approached the coast of Libya 
from the northwest, crew was to look left of track for evidence of 
dust blowing northward), and Lower Rio Grande Valley (DYNAMIC EVENT 
TARGET: A serious, decade-long drought grips the lower Rio Grande 
valley with grave economic implications for the region both sides of 
the border. Crew was to take advantage of clearing weather and sun 
glint enhancement to detect surface water features right of track from 
Laredo to Brownsville).

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

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:43am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude -- 390.7 km
Apogee -- 398.7 km
Perigee -- 382.7 km
Period -- 92.37 min.
Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.001181
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.59
Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 160 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 24420

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 -
================

---