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Do we know whose old satellites these are? Why aren't we able to predict this way ahead of time?
by yters 6y ago
Do we know whose old satellites these are? Why aren't we able to predict this way ahead of time?
- Diederich 6y agoThe exact orbital paths that various orbital objects take varies very slightly but unpredictably because the amount of atmospheric drag at a given altitude varies over time, and the exact geometry of each object makes that atmospheric interaction even more unpredictable. There are other factors as well.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoOne belongs to the USSR and one belongs to China Standard orbital propagation models like SGP4 can have a few km of error over the course of days. There's a lot of variables that change over time. As hard as it is to predict terrestrial weather, space weather is even worse. It looks like the objects' orbits take them above and below the thermopause, and the thermopause itself is mobile which makes things even more complicated
- JshWright 6y agoOne if them isn't what you'd likely call a "satellite" in the first place (though it certainly is, from a technical perspective). CZ-4C is the upper stage of a Chinese Long March rocket that was used to launch a reconnaissance satellite in 2009.