SB SAT @ AMSAT   $ANS-246.01
UKRAINIAN, CHILEAN SATELLITES REPORTEDLY FAIL TO SEPARATE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 246.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD September 5, 1995
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-246.01

Unofficial word had reached ANS that the first Chilean satellite,
FASAT-Alpha, failed to separate from the first Ukrainian
satellite SICH-1. The two spacecraft were launched together on
August 31st from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Reportedly, several attempts have been made to separate the two
satellites, but these operations were not successful as of the
time of these reports.

It is understood that if the Chilean satellite does not separate,
the Ukrainian satellite will still be able to operate.  However,
FASAT-Alpha's operations will not be activated until it separates
since it is programmed to start its functions after being
jettisoned from SICH-1.

FASAT-Alpha is not an amateur radio satellite. It is to use a
downlink frequency between 400 and 401 MHz.

ANS thanks Eric Rosenberg WD3Q, who received it from JPL's
Unofficial Space Calendar World Wide Web home page, for this
information.  URL is:
http://NewProducts.jpl.nasa.gov:80/calendar/sich_fasat.html

/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT   $ANS-246.02
AO-13 OPERATIONS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 246.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD September 5, 1995
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-246.02

Command Station G3RUH reports that a fine adjustment was made to
AO-13's attitude between Saturday 2 September and Monday 4
September, 1995.  The adjustment took place on perigees 5531/2
and 5532/3.  During that period, users may have noticed
that the Mode-B beacon was "FM-ing" slightly.  James says that
this is quite normal under these circumstances.  The final
attitude was to be ALON 228 and ALAT -1.

G3RUH also reminds Oscar-13 users that the satellite will
experience total solar eclipses by the Earth from Saturday 2 Sep
to Monday 18 September 1995.  The maximum duration is 131 minutes
on 10 September.  He says that the transponders will be OFF from
MA 60-140 during this period.  Since the squint angle is poor at
this time, with the lo-gain omni-directional antennas in use,
users should not be seriously inconvenienced.  The Mode-S beacon
will be ON from  MA 135-140 for command purposes.

In a further note, G3RUH says that AO-13 Re-Entry Keplerian
Element sets, updated 2 September, are available via
ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/satinfo/ao13/decaykep.zip.  The file
includes a detailed explanation for these data.

ANS thanks James Miller G3RUH for this information.

/EX