10-10-2017, 05:11 PM
Rocketman - see my post above:
"HOTPE - I'm afraid Iridium flashes are on the endangered list and will soon become extinct. The new Iridium satellites are of a newer design and won't produce flares. The older satellites they replace will either be maneuvered into an orbit where they burn up in the atmosphere or if they don't have the fuel to do that, will be retired in orbit. As they won't be controlled after retirement, the satellites will likely start tumbling and the flares they produce will become unpredictable."
A couple of links:
http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/e...ium-flares
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/...e-science/
"HOTPE - I'm afraid Iridium flashes are on the endangered list and will soon become extinct. The new Iridium satellites are of a newer design and won't produce flares. The older satellites they replace will either be maneuvered into an orbit where they burn up in the atmosphere or if they don't have the fuel to do that, will be retired in orbit. As they won't be controlled after retirement, the satellites will likely start tumbling and the flares they produce will become unpredictable."
A couple of links:
http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/e...ium-flares
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/...e-science/