The satellite catalog number ( Eng. Satellite Catalog Number, SCN , previously also the NORAD number or the USSPACECOM object number ) is a unique five-digit identification number of artificial Earth satellites .
The catalog was originally compiled by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Then replenished with the US strategic command (USSPACECOM). The catalog contains the parameters of the orbits of objects in the form of two-line elements ( TLE ). The catalog does not contain data on secret US military satellites.
As of 2008, the catalog had up to 900 active satellites, about 400 of which were in geostationary orbits .
The open part of the catalog contains data on nearly 12800 objects in Earth orbit, the dimensions of which exceed 10 cm. Among them, about 8130 parts of destroyed satellites, spent rocket stages and objects lost during work in outer space (as of March 2009). The number of objects larger than 1 cm is estimated at 600 thousand.
An alternative satellite numbering system is the NSSDC ID .
Links
See also
- Main Catalog of Space Objects Outer Space Monitoring Systems
- NSSDC ID - Catalog Number US National Space Research Data Analysis Center Catalog Number