[FPSPACE] Could 2000 SG344 be the Luna 16 upper rocket stage?

[Larry Klaes]

POSSIBLE IDENTITY FOR 2000 SG344

>From Bruce Moomaw <moomaw@jps.net

Dr. Peiser:

Regarding the identity of 2000 SG344: I've wondered if it might be the upper
stage from the launch of a Soviet lunar or planetary probe -- some of which
were very large -- and, sure enough, the following message has turned up on
the Minor Planet Mailing List:

Bruce Moomaw

-----
FWDed from the Minor Planet Mailing List (also at egroups):

Date: Sat, 04 Nov 2000 23:19:31 -0500
From: RA Kowalski <bitnik@bitnik.com>
Subject: IS 2000 SG344 from Luna 16 Proton launch vehicle?

I just did what I'm sure many of you have done yourselves; Run the current
MPC elements for 2000 SG344 back in time to see when it made it's last
current approach to earth. Going back from today to January 1, 1959 (before
the Soviets launched the Lunik I probe, the first mission near the moon)
2000 SG344 passes near the earth only one time. Its last close approach was
12 September, 1970 at about 10 hrs UT. (My limited software gives a distance
of 0.011480 AU - 1708224 km, at that time)

That means for it to be a booster the mission it came from must have been
launched around that time.

Searching the NASA History website and linking to the 1970 information, I
came on this page (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chrono3.html) and
found only one mission which was launched on, you guessed it, September
12th, 1970.

More information about Luna 16, which was a successful lunar sample return
mission launched with a Proton booster, can be found here:

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1970-072A.html

Richard Kowalski
---

Looks like a good candidate to me.  I'll add only that there were five S-4B
stages from Apollo launches that ended up in solar orbit rather than hitting
the Moon: those from Apollo 8 through 12.  (Apollo 9 dropped off the Apollo
itself in Earth orbit for a test flight before the S-4B restarted its engine
to put itself into solar orbit.)

Bruce Moomaw


SATURN V STAGES IN HELIOCENTRIC ORBIT
 
>From Luciano Anselmo <luciano.anselmo@cnuce.cnr.it>  

Dear Benny,

Just to clarify the confusion concerning the Saturn V third stages in
heliocentric orbit, let me summarize the facts.

Ten (10) third stages (S-IVB) of the Saturn V moon rocket reached the escape
velocity, during 9 lunar missions (Apollo 8, 10-17) and one test mission in
earth orbit (Apollo 9). In the latter case, the first test of the Lunar
Module in earth orbit, the S-IVB was sent in heliocentric orbit, during an
engineering test, without passing close to the moon. 

Concerning the 9 missions towards the moon, 4 S-IVBs were sent in
heliocentric orbit after a close approach (C/A) with the moon, while the
stages of the last 5 missions (Apollo 13-17) were intentionally impacted on
our natural satellite to produce 2-hour long moonquakes, studied by the
Apollo instruments already in place.       

The following tables summarize the S-IVBs status: 5 in heliocentric orbit
(all launched in 1968-1969) and 5 disintegrated on the moon (all launched in
1970-1972). The first S-IVB stage to impact the moon was the only major
scientific experiment successfully completed during the legendary Apollo 13
mission.


S-IVBs IN HELIOCENTRIC ORBIT

Mission      Lunch Date              Date of Lunar  Lunar Radius (nm)
                                      Close Approach     at C/A

Apollo 8     21/12/1968                 24/12/1968        1620
Apollo 9     03/03/1969                 ----------        ----
Apollo 10    18/05/1969                 21/05/1969        2619
Apollo 11    16/07/1969                 19/07/1969        2763
Apollo 12    14/11/1969                 18/11/1969        4020


S-IVBs IMPACTS ON THE MOON

Mission      Launch Date             Lunar Impact Date

Apollo 13    11/04/1970                 15/04/1970        
Apollo 14    31/01/1971                 04/02/1971       
Apollo 15    26/07/1971                 30/07/1971
Apollo 16    16/04/1972                 19/04/1972
Apollo 17    07/12/1972                 10/12/1972

________________________________________________________________________

Luciano Anselmo                               Phone:    +39-050-315-2952
Spaceflight Dynamics Section                  Fax (G3): +39-050-313-8091
CNUCE Institute                               Fax (G4): +39-050-313-8092
CNR - Area della Ricerca di Pisa              
Via Alfieri 1
Loc. San Cataldo - Ghezzano         E-Mail: Luciano.Anselmo@cnuce.cnr.it
56010 San Giuliano Terme         CNUCE URL:  http://www.cnuce.pi.cnr.it/
Pisa - Italy                  CNR Area URL:   http://www.area.pi.cnr.it/