Quote:
Originally Posted by doppler
Ok got all that and nicely explained, but my real question is was the altitude based on real "live" data or just algorithms predicting what that altitude might be.
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Just algorithms predicting what the altitude might be.
The two-line elements tend only to be published on a daily basis.
Space Command would have the ability to refine the elements they themselves are using each time the spacecraft
is tracked by one of their radars. But those fixes can be few and far between. So even they will be simply
extrapolating most of the time on any given day.
So even for the most sophisticated organization on Earth tasked with tracking these sorts of objects, there is no real "live" data
for the majority of the time.
