NOTE: This text was submitted to the SeeSat-L Community. It is not exclusively for them, but to start a community observation. Feel free to spread the text to other communities...Dear SeeSat-L observers,
HYPSO-1 (NORAD 51053) is approaching re-entry, currently predicted for early November 2026. I wanted to ask whether anyone here might be interested in attempting optical observations during its remaining time in orbit.
I have been supporting the NTNU team by following HYPSO-1 via RF. Optical observations would be a very valuable complement as the orbit continues to decay, with the goal of improving the orbit and decay determination, and ultimately the re-entry prediction.
It would also make for a nice farewell tour for HYPSO-1. And, as a rather ambitious best case, it would be fantastic if someone from this community managed to capture HYPSO-1’s final re-entry — a last „falling star“ image that could perhaps even find its way into a paper, with due credit to the observer.
HYPSO-1 is small in dimension and thus faint in apparent brightness, so I realize this is a challenging target. But if there is a community with the equipment and experience to give it a try, I thought it would be this one.
Any positional observations or successful detections would be greatly appreciated. Results (as links to observation data) can be shared here on SeeSat-L, posted on your social media and tagged with #ChasingHYPSO1, or sent to:
ChasingHYPSO1 @ aerospaceresearch.net (please no full data, just links!)
And if you cannot observe HYPSO-1 yourself, it would be very much appreciated if you could spread the word among other satellite observers about #ChasingHYPSO1
More about HYPSO-1 and the call for observations:
- https://www.ntnu.edu/smallsat/hypso-1 (the cubesat mission)
- https://mastodon.social/@chasinghypso1 (general updates and your submissions for ChasingHYPSO1)
Many thanks for any observations, attempts, discussion, or help spreading the word!
HYPSO-1 is currently predicted to re-enter the November 6 (ESA DISCOSweb) / November 7 (our estimate). There is not much time left…
Best regards,
Andreas