Triple Spaceship Flyby!

[egarrard]

TRIPLE FLYBY ALERT: Space shuttle Endeavour has just undocked from the ISS and the two spaceships are orbiting Earth in tandem. This sets the stage for a series of rare *triple* flybys. It's triple because three spacecraft are involved. First to appear is the ESA's Jules Verne cargo carrier flying 2000 km ahead of the ISS-Endeavour combo. Jules Verne is about as bright as a 1st magnitude star. Four minutes later, and even brighter, the shuttle and space station follow Jules Verne across the starry sky--a spectacular sight! US and Canadian readers can find out when to look using our new Simple Satellite Flybys tool.Source (http://www.spaceweather.com/)

It should be very good. An interesting thing to see. :thumb

[egarrard]

The European Space Agency's unmanned Jules Verne cargo carrier is maneuvering around the International Space Station this weekend and the two spacecraft are drawing very close together in the night sky. Maneuvers ending on March 29th will leave Jules Verne parked only 16 km from the ISS. Two nights later, on March 31st, Jules Verne will come within a mere 11 meters of the station before backing away again. If these practice runs succeed, the cargo carrier will perform an actual, automated docking on April 3rd. European sky watchers can see these events with their own eyes as the two spacecraft fly over their continent in the evenings ahead; visit http://heavens-above.com for European flyby timetables and check http://spaceweather.com for photos, movies and updates. Looks like it might be happening more often with the Jules Verne becoming operational now. :Thumb