August 12, 1999

PLEASE START TRACKING AND REPORTING ON MIR AND ISS AND SL-16

An exciting new flashing object, the tumbling SL-16 rocket body, is now
visible in the twilight skies, and it appears very similar to the way
Starshine will appear near the end of its orbital life.  So, we'd like to add
it to the list of satellites you're now tracking, in preparation for
Starshine's final plunge in January 2000.  SL-16 is in a nearly polar orbit
at an altitude of 650 kilometers (400 miles), so it moves across the sky
somewhat differently from the way Starshine, Mir and the International Space
Station (ISS) do, but it flashes like we originally expected that Starshine
would, so it's a good addition for you to practice on.  Please go back and
read our Starshine Update for August 2, 1999, to see why we're adding
practice satellites to your tracking list.

Gil Moore
Director
Project Starshine
gilmoore12@aol.com

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