SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0515 * SpaceNews 15-May-95 * BID: $SPC0515 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MAY 15, 1995 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for unlimited free distribution. * MODE-A SPECIAL EVENT * ======================== On Sunday 14-May-95, David Reinhart, WA6ILT, will be making Mode A satellite contacts from Diamond State Park in the extreme northeast corner of Rhode Island. David hopes his operation will yield a Rhode Island contacts for stations seeking the Worked All States award. Diamond State Park is located near latitude 42 degrees North, and longitude 71.5 degrees West. Operations will begin after 1100 UTC. If RS-10 and RS-15 should come into David's range at the same time, precedence will be given to RS-15. CW will be the primary mode of operation. David will try to maintain a downlink frequency of 29.365 MHz for both satellites. If the operation is successful, David may try to operate from Vermont late this summer. The rain date for the Rhode Island operation is 21-May-95. QSL cards will be available through the following address: David Reinhart, WA6ILT 85 Lake St. Shrewsbury, MA 01545 USA [Info via WA6ILT] * STS-70 BRIEFINGS SET * ======================== Astronauts, flight controllers and scientists will discuss NASA's upcoming 100th human space flight, designated STS-70, during pre-flight briefings set for May 15-16. The Space Shuttle Discovery is currently targeted to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center, FL, June 8, and will carry a communications satellite and a myriad of scientific experiments to orbit. The satellite, known as TDRS-G, will enhance the current capabilities of NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System which provides communications, tracking, telemetry, data acquisition and command services essential for the Space Shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and many other low-Earth orbiting spacecraft. STS-70 also will be the first flight of an upgraded main engine for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, known as the Block 1 engine. The Block 1 engine uses a new high pressure liquid oxidizer turbopump that is expected to increase safety margins and the reliability of the Shuttle main engines. The pre-flight briefings will include discussions of the mission objectives and the Block 1 engine. Briefings will originate from the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, TX; the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD; and the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL. Two-way question and answer capability will be available from all participating NASA Centers. The briefing schedule is as follows: (All times EDT) May 15, 1995 9 a.m. Mission Overview (originating from JSC) Rob Kelso, STS-70 Lead Flight Director 10 a.m. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite/Inertial Upper Stage Overview Charles Vanek, TDRS Project Manager (originating from GSFC) Bob Hughes, Manager, Upper Stages (originating from MSFC) 11 a.m. Block 1 Engine Overview (originating from MSFC) Otto Goetz, Deputy Manager, SSME 2 p.m. Secondary Payloads Overview -- Life Sciences Experiments (originating from JSC) Dr. Neal Pellis, Principal Investigator, Bioreactor Demonstration System Dr. Jeffrey Alberts, Investigator, Physiological and Anatomical Rodent National Institutes of Health-Rodent Experiment 3 p.m. Secondary Payloads Overview -- Department of Defense Experiments (originating from JSC) Captain Craig R. Lamb (USAF), STS-70 DOD Payloads Mission Manager May 16, 1995 2 p.m. STS-70 Crew News Conference (originating from JSC) Terence "Tom" Henricks, Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Don Thomas, Mission Specialist 1 Nancy Currie, Mission Specialist 2 Mary Ellen Weber, Mission Specialist 3 NASA Television will carry all briefings live on Spacenet 2, Transponder 5, Channel 9 at 69 degrees West longitude. The transponder frequency is 3880 MHz with audio at 6.8 MHz. The polarization is horizontal. [Info via Bill Bard] * STS-70 SAREX NEWS * ===================== The next Space Shuttle mission with the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) payload on-board is currently slated for launch on Thursday June 8 at 14:20 UTC. The STS-70 Space Shuttle Discovery mission will carry Amateur Radio operator Don Thomas, KC5FVF into a 28.5 degree inclination orbit for what appears to be an 8 day mission. The primary objective of this flight is to deploy the last spacecraft in the current series of the Tracking Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Ten schools from the U.S. and Argentina have scheduled ham radio contacts with the astronauts. Several of these school group contacts will be performed using AMSAT's worldwide network of telebridge stations. The telebridge allows students to talk to the Astronauts through a remote ground station that is linked to the school though a phone bridge. The Goddard Amateur Radio Club, WA3NAN expects to retransmit some of these school contacts as part of their Shuttle Transmission activities. A limited number of schools which wish to "eavesdrop" on the STS-70 school group contacts via a listen only phone connection are encouraged to send e-mail to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, with your request. Your request should include an explanation of how you are going to use this listen only dialog in your classroom setting. Mr. Bauer's e-mail address is ka3hdo@amsat.org. [Info via Frank Bauer, KA3HDO] * 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 Brookdale Community College Lincroft, New Jersey 07738 U.S.A. <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX