SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0306 * SpaceNews 06-Mar-95 * BID: $SPC0306 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MARCH 6, 1995 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for unlimited free distribution. * SPACE CALENDAR * ================== Mar ?? - Galileo, Atmospheric Probe Checkout Mar ?? - DBS-3 (Direct Broadcasting Satellite) Ariane Launch Mar ?? - Helios Ariane Launch Mar 10 - Eutelsat II F6 Ariane Launch Mar 11 - 35th Anniversary (1960), Pioneer 5 Launch (Solar Orbiter) Mar 12 - Ulysses, Perihelion (1.3 AU from Sun) Mar 13 - Percival Lowell's 140th Birthday (1855) Mar 15 - 20th Anniversary (1975), Helios 1 Perihelion (0.309 AU from Sun) Mar 16 - 20th Anniversary (1975), Mariner 10, 3rd Mercury Flyby Mar 18 - Soyuz TM-21 Launch (Russian) Mar 18 - 30th Anniversary (1965), 1st Space Walk, Leonov on Voskhod 2 Mar 20 - Virginids Meteor Shower Mar 21 - 30th Anniversary (1965), Ranger 9 Launch (Moon Impact Mission) Mar 21 - M-SAT Atlas II Launch Mar 21 - Vernal Equinox Mar 23 - 30th Anniversary (1965), Gemini 3 Launch Mar 25 - 340th Anniversary (1655), Huygen's Discovery of Titan (Saturn Moon) Mar 30 - Prognoz-M2 Molniya-M Launch (Russian) [Info via Ron Baalke @ JPL] * TECHSAT-1 LAUNCH NEWS * ========================= The launch of TECHSAT-1 is currently scheduled for 28-Mar-95. TECHSAT-1 will be carried along with the Mexican UNAMSAT-1 satellite into a 670 km high circular orbit by a START rocket that will be launched from Plesetsk, Russia, about 700 km north of Moscow. TECHSAT-1 measures 0.45 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m, and weighs 50 kg. It carries a multi-user store-and-forward Amateur Radio digital communications transponder. TECHSAT-1 will primarily operate at 9600 bits per second FSK although it is also cable of 1200 bps BPSK. The following are pre-launch Keplerian elements for TECHSAT-1: Satellite: TECHSAT-1 Catalog number: Epoch time: 95087.37500000 (Separation) Element set: 001 Inclination: 75.3991 deg RA of node: 328.7324 deg Eccentricity: 0.0015304 Arg of perigee: 101.9385 deg Mean anomaly: 355.9607 deg Mean motion: 14.7000703 rev/day Decay rate: 0 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 0 TECHSAT-1 will operate on the 145 MHz, 435 MHz, and 1269 MHz bands as follows: 145 MHz Uplinks 1269 MHz Uplinks 435 MHz Downlinks 145.850 1269.700 435.225 145.890 1269.800 435.325 145.910 1269.900 145.930 1269.950 The satellite is expected to be commissioned for general use about three months after launch provided all tests return nominal results. 4X6EM at the Haifa Technion will serve as the command station for TECHSAT-1. The operators in charge include Asi 4Z7ABA, and Igaal 4Z7EBA. TECHSAT-1 telemetry reports can be posted to pc.4z4aba.ampr.org in the /techsat directory using anonymous FTP. [Info via Shlomo, 4X1AS] * WEBERSAT NEWS * ================= WEBERSAT (WO-18) is broadcasting new images and light spectrometer data weekly. Software for the extraction, decoding, and display of spectrometer data, written by Bob (KB7KCL), is available by request on AO-16/KO-23, or directly from Weber State University. Monday UTC, continues to be the day for the broadcast of the most recent spectrum, along with the week's WOD. WeberWare 1.0, 1.2, 1.3, or a similar program is required for picture extraction, decoding, and display. WeberWare 1.3 is the current software version, and is available from Weber State University, AMSAT-NA, or AMSAT-UK. Photo 8/12 was taken over Indian Ocean, and Photo 9/13 was taken over Southern Sudan near the Ethiopian border. The satellite now has a weak and relatively steady tone of about 1200 Hz in the downlink signal, which can cause reception problems with some modems. If this problem occurs, a ground-based solution is to adjust the IF-shift of the receiver to suppress the carrier into the skirts of the IF filter. WO-18 is currently sending spacecraft temperatures, and impact detector whole orbit data (WOD). This is an excellent opportunity for a student, group, or class to use this data for micrometeorite studies, or the study of spacecraft thermodynamcs. WOD collection and broadcast will adhere to the following schedule: 26 February/Week4: Temperatures and impact detector, Ch# 14 2F 30 35 3B 40 5 March/Week1: Array currents, Ch# 26 27 28 29 2A 2B 12 March/Week2: User requested channels, Ch# ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? 19 March/Week3: BCR, 21 22 29 2F 33 36 26 March/Week4: Temperatures and impact detector, Ch# 14 2F 30 35 3B 40 [Info via Tom Davis, IK3WVJ] * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the following paths: FAX : 1-908-747-7107 PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org -or- magliaco@pilot.njin.net SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19 MAIL : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD Department of Engineering and Technology Advanced Technology Center rookdale Community College Lincroft, New Jersey 07738 U.S.A. <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX