wats@scicom.alphacdc.com (Bruce Watson) (10/28/88)
Radio Moscow has given a launch date/time of October 29 03:24 UT. Using this info and an approximate launch site lat/long (from the Britannica I have Tyuratam 46:00N, 63:15E and Baykonur 47:46N, 66:11E--does someone have a better position?) I have determined that Buran will have an initial Right Ascension of Ascending Node of 89.9 degrees while Mir at Buran launch will have a RAAN of 99.3 degrees. I haven't been following Mir. Has it been making pre-Progress type maneuvers? If Buran liftoff occurs at the given time it should be visible in the predawn hours over North America in the following days. I have assumed a Mir-like orbit of 91 minutes and an inclination of 51.6 degrees.