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Author
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Topic: Vostok 1 international orbital nomenclature
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Colin E. Anderton
Member Posts: 63
From: Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 03-01-2011 10:47 AM
   
A thought has suddenly occurred to me...Vostok 1 was designated "1961 MU 1" under the old international system. But why? I have always understood that an object was not given an official international designation until it had completed a minimum of one orbit around the earth. As Gagarin fell slightly short of a complete circuit, why the official recognition? |
Colin E. Anderton
Member Posts: 63
From: Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 03-08-2011 06:18 AM
I'm surprised nobody has answered this question....
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-08-2011 06:24 AM
National Air and Space Museum curator Cathleen Lewis addressed the question of Gagarin's orbital record in a reply to a previous thread: ...on the question of Gagarin's orbit, the Earth had rotated more than 1000 miles (close to 1500) while he was in orbit, therefore he did complete an entire orbit, his launch location had moved to the East. |
Colin E. Anderton
Member Posts: 63
From: Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 03-08-2011 10:43 AM
Thanks for the reply, Robert. I understand now. |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-08-2011 12:02 PM
I'm hoping someone with operational experience will chime in, but as I understand it Cathleen's interpretation of a spacecraft orbit is not what is generally used operationally by manned spacecraft trackers, who look at where the spacecraft is relative to the ground when calculating orbits, not looking at rotation of the earth and other factors. |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 03-08-2011 08:38 PM
That's the difference between an orbit and a revolution. |
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