SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-343.01 IARU AMSAT FREQUENCY COORDINATOR APPOINTED HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 9, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-343.01 Hans van de Groenendaal ZS5AKV IARU Satellite Advisor has appointed Graham Ratcliff VK5AGR as the IARU AMSAT Frequency Coordinator (IAFC). Graham was selected from a number of nominations made by international AMSAT Groups for his long association with the Amateur Satellite program and his excellent performance as a ground command station controller for AMSAT OSCAR 13. A native of Australia, Graham is a Medical Technologist employed by the Women's and Children's' Hospital where he is Laboratory Manager for the Department of Chemical Pathology and also responsible for all departmental computing. He became a radio amateur in 1978 with a limited license (VHF only) and commenced Amateur Satellite activities on AMSAT-OSCAR-7 and 8 using the mode A, B and J transponders. The following year he was granted a novice license (limited HF only) and awarded the 'OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Recognition Award.'. In 1980 he obtained a full license and callsign VK5AGR. In that year the 'Satellite DX Achievement Award' was bestowed on him. In 1981 he became Divisional Councillor/Education Officer for the South Australian Division of the Wireless Institute of Australia and in 1982 was elected as Divisional Councillor/Treasurer for the South Australian Division and in 1984 became Federal Councilor and Vice President. He held several other position in the Institute till 1986 when he resigned to focus all his attention on Amateur Satellite Service. With the launch of UoSAT-OSCAR-9 Graham started actively collecting satellite telemetry and using it for attitude determination. At that time he was also very active on the Russian mode A satellites. With the launch of AMSAT-OSCAR-10 he started actively monitoring the 400 baud PSK telemetry and using it for attitude determination and monitoring spacecraft health. In 1984 Dr. Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC invited Graham to train as a Command Station for Phase 3C (AMSAT-OSCAR-13) and Ian Ashley, ZL1AOX was given the task of providing the preliminary training. In May 1985 he attended a Command Station training session held in Boulder, Colorado during Phase 3D's thermal-vacuum testing. On his return he spent until the end of that year commanding AO-10 when required and was heavily involved in attempts to recover AMSAT-OSCAR-10 when its onboard computer failed at the end of the year. In 1987 Graham was invited by the University of Surrey to provide an Australian Gateway for the UoSAT-OSCAR-11 Digital Communications Experiment. With the AMSAT-OSCAR-13 launch on 15 June 1988 Graham along with other Command Stations DJ4ZC, DB2OS and ZL1AOX provided satellite ranging data for orbital element determination. In 1992 he was involved in the formation of the Australian Amateur Space Engineering Society and its proposal to build an Amateur Satellite in Australia. He is involved in the Space Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) as a relay station and is responsible for setting up a network of 3 Australian stations to maximize contacts via phone patch for school contacts. Graham is also committed to supporting the Phase 3D Project as a Command Station which has involved the encouragement and training of other prospective Command Stations. He is available on Email :gratclif@wattle.itd.adelaide.edu.au. His mailing address is: 9 Homer Road CLARENCE PARK SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5034 ANS thanks Hans van de Groenendaal ZS5AKV IARU Satellite Advisor for this bulletin /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-343.02 24TH ANNUAL SKN ON OSCAR HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 9, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-343.02 All are most cordially invited to join in the 24th annual Straight Key Night on OSCAR, sponsored by AMSAT-NA for Amateur Radio satellite enthusiasts worldwide. It's entirely unofficial: no rules, no scoring and no need to send in a log. Just call CQ SKN in the CW passband segment of any OSCAR satellite from 0000 to 2359 UTC on January 1, 1996, or answer a CQ SKN call from another station. OSCAR Zero (The Moon) counts too. Of course, all SKN operating must be done with a straight hand key. Those participating are encouraged to nominate someone they worked for recognition as having the "best fist." To send in a "best fist" nomination, please address it via packet to W2RS @ GB7HSN or W2RS @ WA2NDV (whichever is closer to you), via the Internet to , or via "snail-mail" to W2RS' callbook address. Those nominated will be featured in a bulletin sent to Amateur Radio publications and posted to packet radio and the Internet in early February. ANS thanks Ray Soifer W2RS for this bulletin. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-343.03 SPARTAN PACKER RADIO EXPERIMENT(SPRE) HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 9, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-343.03 The Spartan Packet Radio Experiment (SPRE) is an Amateur Radio communications experiment, the primary mission of which is to test satellite tracking using amateur packet radio and the Global Positioning System (GPS). SPRE was developed and built by the University of Maryland Amateur Radio Association (UMARA) with assistance from NASA, volunteer engineers, and volunteer software professionals. SPRE is one of four experiments on NASA's Spartan/OAST-Flyer spacecraft. The Spartan spacecraft is scheduled for launch on January 11, 1996 aboard the space shuttle Endeavor as part of mission STS-72. The spacecraft is a cube shaped, battery powered, retrievable satellite. Spartan will be deployed by the shuttle's robot arm and likewise retrieved after approximately 48 hours of free flight. SPRE is designed to relay ground station positions and transmit telemetry containing the GPS location of the spacecraft and housekeeping data. The GPS data is generated by another Spartan experiment. Special software called APRtrak (tm) will be used at SPRE ground stations to plot the positions of stations and objects world-wide using SPRE transmissions. APRtrak uses full color maps and graphics with the capability to display detail maps of selected geographic regions. Amateur radio ground stations can transmit their locations to SPRE, and if heard, SPRE will relay GPS information back to Earth. All ground stations within range of SPRE will see the relayed stations plotted at the on the map at the correct geographic location. The APRtrak software will also decode and display SPRE housekeeping telemetry including temperatures, voltages, and system status. This software is freely available on the Internet for installation on IBM compatible computers. The operational aspects of SPRE will include amateur radio operators throughout the world. Elementary and High Schools are encouraged to enlist the aid of local amateur radio operators to set up ground stations and participate in the SPRE experiment. SPRE can be used as an educational tool in many classes including math, science, and geography. SPRE can still be used as an educational tool even if a school is not in session during a fly-over. A simple amateur packet radio station can be configured to listen to the SPRE telemetry and record the data for later study. Amateurs and schools who participate are encouraged to send the data they collect to the SPRE Project to help to piece together a composite picture of the mission. The final results will be made available to participating schools and the amateur radio community. SPRE will use a ground control network, SPREnet, consisting of specially equipped amateur radio stations to distribute data via the Internet. These control stations will monitor the health and activity of SPRE. Data is transmitted on a downlink frequency of 145.55 MHz. The is the same frequency used by the MIR space station and the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX). The data format is completely printable ASCII characters and therefore is fully compatible with all amateur packet radio equipment in common use today. Schools or any amateur radio station wishing to participate, or needing more information, or help in acquiring the APRtrak software should contact the SPRE Project. Electronic mail may be sent to Ken McCaughey at kenneth@w3eax.umd.edu. Or send a self addressed stamped envelop and a 3.5 inch high density floppy disk to: Attn: SPRE Project Century Computing Inc. 8101 Sandy Spring Road Laurel, MD 20707 The SPRE mission is summarized as follows: Mission: STS-72, Space Shuttle Endeavor (OV-105) Launch: January 11, 1996 at 09:18 UTC (60 minute launch window) Orbit: 28.45 Degrees SPRE Deployment: 3 days 2 hours mission elapsed time SPRE mission: Approximately 46 hours Operating Mode: FM, AFSK 1200 baud packet radio Frequencies: 145.550 MHz Simplex Landing: January 20, 1996 at 04:54 UTC at KSC WWW Home Page: http://w3eax.umd.edu Anon. FTP site: w3eax.umd.edu /pub/spre directory ANS thanks Ken McCaughey N3FZX for this information. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-343.04 ARIANE V81-SUCCESFULLY LAUNCHES TWO COMMERCIAL SATELLITES HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 9, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-343.04 The 81st Ariane launch (V81) took place in the night of Wednesday 6 to Thursday 7 December. Lift-off occurred at 23:23 hrs GMT 7 December. An Ariane 44L launcher placed the French Telecom 2C and the Indian Insat 2C telecommunications satellites into their geostationary transfer orbits. The next launch (V82) is scheduled for 9 January 1996. An Ariane 44L launcher will carry into orbit two satellites: PanAmSat 3R and Measat. ANS thanks Keith Baker KB1SF for relaying this information. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-434.05 UPCOMING DX OPERATION ON AO-10 AND AO-13 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 9, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-343.05 Andre, ON1AIGI announces that he has been invited by Francesco, IK0FVC, to join the 1A-crew on their next operation. 1A0KM will be QRV on satellites as of Tuesday December 12th, probably late afternoon until Sunday December 17th. The HF operation will start a few days earlier. He asks satellite operators to look for him on both AO-13 and AO-10 around 890. Remember, the first hours he will work split, so it will be useless to call on the downlink. He notes that JA stations will have decent windows only on AO-10, so he will try to be QRV on AO-10 as much as possible. ANS thanks ON1AIG and the European Satellite DX Fund for this information. He can be reached via E-Mail at ON7RC.#BT.BEL.EU. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-434.06 APPARENT DOVE CRASH HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 9, 1995 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-343.06 According to Jim White WD0E, DOVE has apparently suffered a crash. It's in MBL and transmitting on s-band. He says that he and the other DOVE caretakers have begun to set up to work their way through the reload process, which will take a while. ANS thanks Jim White WD0E for this item. He can be reached via E-Mail at wd0e@amsat.org. /EX