Post a Comment On: SatTrackCam Leiden (b)log

The attention to the hunt for USA 161 means I have a backlog of other objects to report. One of these is my first observation of SBSS 1 (2010-048A), the first object in the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) series.

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The picture above was made in the evening of September 1st, using the new Samyang 1.4/85mm lens. It shows SBSS 1 moving (left to right) through the northern part of Cygnus (bright star at left is Deneb).

SBSS 1 is the pathfinder mission in the SBSS series and was launched a year ago on 25 September 2010. It is too faint for my 2.5/50mm lens, but the 1.4/85mm Samyang captures it well and has a FOV that is wide enough to show the full trail.

The satellite consists of a 30cm telescope with a 2.4 megapixel sensor. It's purpose is to track other objects in space. A picture of it during assembly can be seen here.


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[Image] Above: mission and launch patches from the SBSS 1 launch