SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-049.01 G3IOR EXPLAINS PROBLEMS WITH RS-15 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-049.01 G3IOR Provides Explanation Of RS-15 Power System Problems Studies of RS-15's shut-down of both the transponder and telemetry beacon show that the problem is due to the fall of the solar battery and on-board power supply voltage following passage of the satellite through prolonged darkness. The intermittent off/on switching commences when the normal 15.6 - 16.9v of the power supply falls below 12.4 volts, this condition normally resulting within 15 minutes of the passage of RS-15 in solar/earth eclipse. Immediately upon seeing sunlight again the voltage rises and both satellite systems return to continuous operation. The on/off operation was very noticeable on 10th February, coincident with popular late evening transponder use. Using GM4IHJ's eclipse computer software it was determined that RS-15 was then spending 28 minutes (22%) of its 128 minute orbital period in darkness, e.g. intermittent for some 13 minutes of each orbit. The good news is that GM4IHJ's program shows that RS-15's path is now taking it to an orbit of increasing sunlight to darkness ratio. By 17th February the satellite will see only 15.3 minutes (12%) of eclipse per orbit which should return the system to full time operation once more. On 18th February the eclipse period drops to 11.2 minutes (9%) and then to only 6.4 minutes (5%) on 19th February. From 20th February to 11 March inclusive it is in full orbit sunlight. The bad news is that we return to 6.4 minutes of eclipse on 12th March, increasing to 15.6 minutes on 14th March from when the intermittence will most likely return. By 5th April we are back to a 36 minute period of eclipse, this time then decreasing again to just 12.8 minutes again on 7th May 1995. On the assumption that the battery is in good condition, we may continue to expect regular and similar eclipse events in the future. [The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to thank Pat Gowen (G3IOR) for this bulletin item. Pat can be reached at G3IOR @ GB7VLS.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-049.02 STS-67 SAREX INFORMATION HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-049.02 STS-67 SAREX Mission Less Than 2 Weeks Away The next Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) mission, STS-67, is ready for flight. The mission, scheduled for launch on Thursday March 2 1995 at 6:37 UTC will carry six licensed hams on a 16 day mission to observe the stars in the ultraviolet spectrum of light. Avid AMSAT supporter and active ham radio operator Ron Parise, WA4SIR, will fly on his second mission as part of the STS-67 crew. A SAREX Fact Sheet, courtesy of Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, from AMSAT and Bob Inderbitzen, N1QR, from the ARRL follows: STS-67 Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) Information Sheet Mission:STS-67 Space Shuttle Endeavour/ASTRO-2 Primary Mission Objectives: Conduct Ultraviolet astronomical observations using a cluster of 3 telescopes mounted on the ESA designed Instrument Pointing System. The three telescopes include the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) from NASA Goddard, the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) from Johns Hopkins University and The Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) from University of Wisconsin. Launch:March 2, 1995, 06:37 UTC Orbit:28 degree inclination Mission Length:16 days (Nominal) Amateur Radio Operators:Stephen S. Oswald, KB5YSR, Commander William G. Gregory, KC5MGA, Pilot Tamara (Tammy) E. Jernigan, KC5MGF, Payload Commander Wendy B. Lawrence, KC5KII, Mission Specialist Ronald A. Parise, WA4SIR, Payload Specialist Samuel T. Durrance, N3TQA, Payload Specialist Modes:FM Voice Callsigns: KB5YSR, KC5MGA, KC5MGF, KC5KII, WA4SIR and N3TQA Packet Radio Callsign: W5RRR-1 Frequencies:All operations in split mode. Do not transmit on the downlink frequency. Voice Freqs:Downlink:145.55 MHz (Worldwide) Uplinks:144.91, 144.93, 144.95, 144.97, 144.99 MHz (Except Europe) 144.70, 144.75, 144.80 MHz (Europe only) Note: the crew will not favor any specific uplink frequency, so your ability to work the crew will be the "luck of the draw" Packet Freqs: Downlink:145.55 MHz Uplink:144.49 MHz Info:Goddard Amateur Radio Club, WA3NAN, Greenbelt Maryland, SAREX Bulletins and Shuttle Retransmissions 3860 KHz, 7185 KHz, 14,295 KHz, 21,395 KHz, 28,650 KHz and 147.45 MHz (FM) ARRL Amateur Radio Station, W1AW, Newington, CT SAREX News Bulletins 3990, 7290, 14,290, 18,160, 21,390, and 28,590 KHz and 147.555 MHz (FM) BBS Info: NASA Spacelink computer information system, Phone: (205) 895-0028 or Internet: spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov ARRL BBS (203) 666-0578 JSC ARC BBS (713) 244-5625, 9600 baud or less GSFC ARC BBS on internet: wa3nan.gsfc.nasa.gov Mission bulletins also available on internet via AMSAT ANS and through your local PBSS. School Group Participation: 26 school groups will participate in SAREX with pre-scheduled direct and telebridge contacts. These include Twenty-three in the US, and one each in India, South Africa and Australia. Prelaunch Keplerian Elements: STS-67 1 99967U 95061.32643015 .00011689 00000-0 86071-4 0 43 2 99967 28.4675 88.9985 0004519 287.7960 72.2100 15.71297841 28 Satellite: STS-67 Catalog number: 99967 Epoch time: 95061.32643015 = (02 MAR 95 07:50:03.56 UTC) Element set: 004 Inclination: 28.4675 deg RA of node: 88.9985 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-67 Eccentricity: .0004519 Prelaunch element set JSC-004 Arg of perigee: 287.7960 deg Launch: 02 MAR 95 06:37 UTC Mean anomaly: 72.2100 deg Mean motion: 15.71297841 rev/day Gil Carman Decay rate: 1.1689e-04 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center Epoch rev: 2 Checksum: 331 The deorbit burn will be Friday, March 17, at 19:09 UTC on orbit 245. QSL Cards: Send reports and QSLs to ARRL EAD, STS-67 QSL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111, USA. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-67, date, time in UTC, frequency and mode (FM voice or packet). In addition, you must also include a SASE using a large, business-sized envelope if you wish to receive a card. The Edison Radio Amateurs Association in Detroit/Edison MI has generously volunteered to distribute the QSL cards for this mission. [The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to thank Frank Bauer (KA3HDO) from the SAREX Working Group for this bulletin item.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-049.03 OSCAR ENTHUSIASTS TO MEET HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-049.03 A Meeting of Amateur Radio Satellite Enthusiasts in the Greater Washington, D.C. Area !!! AMSAT LOCAL MEETING NOTICE Sunday, March 19, 1995 at 1:00 p.m. EST NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center Auditorium Greenbelt, Maryland Talk-In: WA3NAN/R 146.835 (-) MHz FM Enter from Soil Conservation Road Just north of Greenbelt Road (MD193). Advance registration is NOT required for general admission. Advance registration with P. Kilroy *IS* required for each presentation or demonstration. AMSAT = The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT-NA headquarters: 301-589-6062) All topics relate to amateur radio and the amateur space program. The format will be a combination of presentations and informal "show 'n' tell" demonstrations, as well as a social period. Presenter and demonstration spots are still open. If you have something to talk about or something to show then contact host, AMSAT Area Coordinator Pat Kilroy, as soon as possible! Be sure that your current packet radio address appears on your local AMSAT survey/interest sheet. PLEASE SPREAD THIS INFORMATION THROUGH YOUR CLUB NEWSLETTER, AT HAMFESTS, AT SCHOOLS, AND ON YOUR CLUB NET. Extra Attractions: The GSFC Visitor Center will be open to the public on this meeting day, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. This includes the Satellite Museum, Gift Shop, and Picnic Area. There will be a "walking tour" of the NASCOM (NASA Communications) facilities at 11 a.m. and a model rocket launch demonstration by a local youth group at 1 p.m. Visitor Center phone: 301-286-8981 Gift Shop: 286-6476. OPEN TO ALL! BRING A FRIEND! PASS THE WORD!!!! Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ Home: 301-249-3396 (before 9 p.m.) Work: 301-286-5910 (anytime) Packet Radio: WD8LAQ @ WB3V.MD Internet: wd8laq@amsat.org Special Welcome to Teachers! Program concludes about 4 p.m. Local AMSAT Net Sunday 9 p.m. on 146.835 MHz Greenbelt, MD. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-049.04 WEEKLY OSCAR STATUS REPORTS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-049.04 Weekly OSCAR Status Reports: 18-FEB-95 AO-13: Current Transponder Operating Schedule: The Mode Schedule from 20-FEB-95 until 22-MAY-95 will be: Mode-B : MA 0 to MA 190 |Omnis : MA 230 to MA 25 Mode-BS : MA 190 to MA 218 | Mode-S : MA 218 to MA 220 |<- S beacon only Mode-S : MA 220 to MA 230 |<- S transponder; B trsp. is OFF Mode-B : MA 230 to MA 256 | Blon/Blat 230/0 Note: The Mode-B beacon is ON during the Mode-S transponder operations only. Please do NOT uplink to the B transponder during Mode S only, as it inter- feres with Mode-S operations. [G3RUH/DB2OS/VK5AGR] AO-13: SV1BMN reports that he has worked with AO-13 this past week and says there was A LOT OF ACTIVITY! He also says that the satellite is is working very well -- so well in fact -- that he has heard himself on the downlink with as little as 5 watts on the uplink! [SV1BMN@SV1SV.ATH.GRC.EU] FO-20: NM1K reports that from his QTH he has a lot of European stations using FO-20 this week. However, NM1K also says that he still does not hear many people on this bird. NM1K has called CQ on SSB and CW for entire passes without answer. [NM1K@ KB4N.NH.USA.NA] RS-10: NO1R has just received Satellite VUCC #30 from the ARRL. All contacts were Mode "A" on RS-10. His station consists of the Kenwood TR-751-A 2M All mode to an AEA Isopole up about 30 ft running 25 watts. The receiver is the Realistic HTX-100 to a ground mounted vertical. An Advanced Receiver Res- earch preamp was used for the 10M downlink. NO1R states that satellite operators are a special breed as NO1R reports that his QSL return rate was over 90%. [NO1R@ KB4N.NH.USA.NA] RS-15: NO1R reports that RS-15 seems to be in trouble. NO1R was monitoring the beacon and the CW was chirping at times. He tried calling CQ on CW and his "signal seemed to cycle on for a few seconds and then off for a few" seconds -- not the usual spin modulation that he has normally experienced. NO1R hopes this is temporary. [NO1R@ KB4N.NH.USA.NA] RS-12: WA6ARA reports that RS-12 has been excellent lately! On the weekends, the CW sections sounds like 20M during a contest! [WA6ARA @ WA6YBN.#SOCA.CA.USA.NA] The AMSAT NEWS Service (ANS) NEEDS YOUR HELP! The ANS looking for volun- teers to contribute weekly OSCAR status reports. If you have a favorite OSCAR which you work on a regular basis and would like to contribute to this weekly bulletin, please send your observations to WD0HHU at his CompuServe address of 70524,2272, on INTERNET at wd0hhu@amsat.org, or to his local packet BBS in the Denver, CO area, WD0HHU @ N0QCU. Also, if you find that the current set of orbital elements are not generating the correct AOS/LOS times at your QTH, PLEASE INCLUDE THAT INFORMATION AS WELL. The information you provide will be of value to all OSCAR enthusiasts. /EX