Description of xxx.n2l Data --------------------------- by Ted Molczan 4 Feb 1990, rev 26 Apr 1991 There are 3 lines of data for each object. The first contains the name and certain physical data. The second and third are the orbital elements, in the standard NORAD "2-line" format. Line 1 ------ Line 1 contains the name, dimensions and estimated standard magnitude, in the following format: Column 01-15 Name 17-20 Length, m * 22-25 Width, m ** 27-30 Depth, m *** 31-35 Estimated standard magnitude (at 1000 km range, and 50 % illuminated) * If width and depth are zero, then the object is a sphere, and the length is its diameter. Objects with unknown dimensions have been assumed to be spherical, and a diameter has been "guesstimated". ** If depth is zero, then the object is a cylinder, and width is its diameter. *** The standard magnitude is an estimate based on the mean cross-sectional area derived from the dimensions. To estimate the magnitude at other ranges and illuminations, use the following formula: mag = stdmag - 15.8 + 2.5 * log10 (range * range / fracil) where : stdmag = standard magnitude as defined above range = distance from observer to satellite, km fracil = fraction of satellite illuminated, [ 0 <= fracil <= 1 ] Line 2 ------ Column 01-01 Line number 1 of NORAD elements 03-07 NORAD number 08-08 Class 10-11 International designation - year of launch 12-14 International designation - number of launch since start of year 15-17 International designation - code for specific piece from this launch 19-20 Epoch - year 21-32 Epoch - day of the year and fraction, UTC 34-43 One half of first derivative of mean motion with respect to time, rev/day**2 45-52 One sixth of second derivative of mean motion with respect to time, rev/day**3 (leading decimal point assumed, not shown) 54-61 BSTAR drag term used by SGP4 (leading decimal point assumed, not shown) 63-63 Ephemeris type 65-68 Bulletin number 69-69 Modulo 10 checksum. Letters, blanks, periods = 0, minus sign = 1, plus sign = 2. Line 3 ------ Column 01-01 Line number 2 of NORAD elements 03-07 NORAD number 09-16 Inclination, degrees 18-25 Right ascension of the ascending node, degrees 27-33 Eccentricity (leading decimal point assumed, not shown) 35-42 Argument of perigee, degrees 44-51 Mean anomaly, degrees 53-63 Mean motion, rev/day 64-68 Revolution number 69-69 Modulo 10 checksum. Same rules as for line2. Header Lines ------------ The elements are preceeded by a header line, and followed by a trailer line, as shown below. These are included to provide start/end points to enable programs to distinguish between the elements and any comments which may be included. startn2l Alouette 1 0.9 1.1 0.0 8.2 1 00424U 62B-A 1 90 25.21309753 .00000220 00000-0 25410-3 0 2561 2 00424 80.4628 67.0294 0022286 281.5113 78.3546 13.67284761363155 endn2l Comments on Accuracy -------------------- Most of the elements in the XXX.n2l files originate with NORAD, and are distributed by NASA. I receive them from several sources, in hard-copy and electronic form. These sources are usually accurate, however, they do not all include all of the original NORAD data. For example, some sources omit the second time derivative of the mean motion, BSTAR, bulletin number and revolution number. Except for BSTAR, these are not serious omissions. To ensure compatibilty with SGP4 users, missing BSTAR data has been estimated based on the mean motion, XN0 and the first time derivative of the mean motion, XNDT20, using the following formula : BSTAR = XNDT20 / XN0 / C2 / 1.5 where : XN0 and XNDT20 have been converted to units of radians and minutes, as in SGP and SGP4 C2 = value computed during SGP4 initialization Values of BSTAR obtained in this way are usually within about 3% of the original NORAD value. The orbital decay terms produced by NORAD (and others) are often very inaccurate. In most cases, it is possible to make more accurate predictions by using average values. Most of the elements in the xxx.n2l files have mean values for the first time derivative of the mean motion and BSTAR. The exceptions are satellites which make large manoeuvres or are greatly affected by solar radiation pressure, which can more than offset drag. The average drag terms are obtained as follows. Using two elsets separated in epoch by about 7-10 days, the average value of the first time derivative of the mean motion is computed: mean motion 2 - mean motion 1 average XNDT20 = ----------------------------- 2 X (epoch2 - epoch1) Then BSTAR is computed using the formula presented earlier. For further information on the xxx.n2l files, or on any other satellite observation related topic, leave a message for me on the Canadian Space Society's BBS, at 416-458-5907, 24 h/d, <=2400 B, 8N1. - Ted Molczan