Lacrosse satellites produce high resolution imagery using synthetic aperture radar, which illuminates targets through cloud cover and/or in darkness. Their orbits are not published by official sources; however, they are readily tracked by hobbyists, who are the sole public source of their orbital elements. Lacrosses were among the brightest of all satellites, typically reaching 2nd magnitude on favourable passes.
Five Lacrosse satellites have been launched - all have been deorbited.
The first four Lacrosses had a characteristic orange-red hue as a result of the extensive use of gold coloured kapton thermal insulation, as shown in the photo below. Lacrosse 5 is the first that did not have this distinct colour. It was more or less white, which enables the human eye to perceive it as about one magnitude brighter than its predecessors.
The Lacrosse satellites were succeeded by five FIA satellites in 123 degree retrograde orbits.
Numerous KH satellites have been launched.
These satllites can "flare" to become very bright.
Orbital elements and satellite prediction resources can be found on the Tracking Programs and TLE Resources page.
On Jan 29, 1998, an Atlas 2A rocket launched what was believed to be a 2.5 ton Hughes SDS satellite, into a Molniya orbit, to provide real-time relay of data from U.S. imaging reconnaissance satellites. Molniya orbits are highly elliptical, typically about 1000 x 39000 km. Their approximately 63 deg inclination causes their apogee to remain over the northern hemisphere, enabling data to be relayed over the north polar region to receiving stations in the U.S.A.
According to AW&ST Feb 23, 1998, this is a new advanced 20 ton imaging reconnaissance satellite the size of a school bus and resembling the Hubble Space Telescope.
Cosmos 2344, with an ID of (COSPAR 1997-028A/NORAD 24827) is presently in an orbit of 2740 x 1500 km, with an inclination of 63.4 degrees. It repeats its ground track every 24 hours. The orbit provides a wider field of view and a slower overflight time. It supposedly is designed to provide wide area surveillance at 2-5 meter resolution. The spacecraft's powerful telescope can be pointed to multiple targets as far as 1000 km off its track. It uses folded optics to achieve a 27 meter imaging focal length. It's reported to work in the visible and near infrared spectrum. It was launched from Baikonur in June 1997 on a Proton K rocket.
Return to the Visual Satellite Observer Home Page.
