SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1120 * SpaceNews 20-Nov-95 * BID: $SPC1120 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY NOVEMBER 20, 1995 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for unlimited free distribution. * MIR QSL NEWS * ================ Dave Larsen, N6JLH, is now the new QSL manager for the USA for all Mir QSL cards for the callsign R0MIR and R0MIR-1. All older callsigns have to go to Russia. Dave has been granted the privilege of acting as QSL manager from Sergji, RV3DR. QSLs must include date, time, and mode of contact. Cards for SWL reports will not be handled by Dave. If a contact is made with the Mir packet radio personal message system, then the message number issued by the PMS should be included on the QSL card. QSLs must be sent along with a business-sized self-addressed stamped envelope (the card will not fit in a regular-sized envelope). A "green stamp" to cover postage would also be appreciated. QSLs should be sent to: N6JLH P.O.B. 1501 Pine Grove, California 95665 U.S.A. [Info via G. Miles Mann, WF1F] * STS-74/SAREX NEWS * ===================== The SAREX Astronauts were very active on STS-74, making numerous voice contacts with groundstations on 2-meter FM. It should be noted that Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, KC5RNJ, received his Canadian Amateur License last week. His Canadian callsign is VA3OOG. He used this callsign on several passes other North America, particularly when the Shuttle traversed over Canada. Last week, the Atlantis astronauts completed 5 scheduled ham radio contacts with US students as part of the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment or SAREX. These groups included students from Franklin Junior High School in Pocatello, Idaho, Norwalk County schools in Connecticut, Lake Street Elementary School in Crown Point, Indiana, Round Lake-area schools in Illinois, and Quimby Oak Junior High School in San Jose, California. The students were assisted by their local Amateur Radio clubs and many AMSAT SAREX volunteers. QSL cards and reports may be sent to ARRL EAD, STS-74 QSL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494, USA. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-74, date, time in UTC, frequency and mode (FM voice). In addition, you must also include a SASE using a large, business-sized envelope (#10) if you wish to receive a card. The Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club in Norwalk, CT has generously volunteered to manage the cards for this mission. [Info via Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, of the SAREX Working Group] * INFRARED SPACE OBSERVATORY (ISO) IN ORBIT * ============================================= The 80th launch of a European Ariane booster was successful on the night of November 16, 1995. The Ariane 44P rocket liftoff was performed from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, South America. Built by Aerospatiale for the European Space Agency (ESA), the spacecraft will have a major impact on every field of astronomy, spanning from solar systems, the birth and death of stars, and the most extragalactic sources. The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was placed in highly elliptical orbit of 570 km by 71,499 km, inclined 5.2 degrees, with a period of 24 hours. The primary objective of the mission is to provide spectroscopic, photometric, imaging, and polarimetric observations of selected celestial sources. NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) will support the mission after the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) is complete. The Goldstone, California 26 meter and 34 meter antennas will provide support for real-time telemetry and commanding. The ISO Control Center is located in Villafranca, Spain. Tracking support from Goldstone will be provided during a 8 to 10 hour period per day. Telemetry and tracking data will be downlinked from the spacecraft at 2266.5 MHz with a real-time data rate ranging between 4,096 - 32,768 bits per second. [Info via Keith Stein] * SORRY! * ========== Sorry, but due to a very busy schedule and a minor health problem, there was no SpaceNews issued last week (13-Nov-95). Thanks to all who sent messages and news items during the week. * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: FAX : 1-908-747-7107 FTP : pilot.njin.net cd to /pub/SpaceNews WWW : http://www.njin.net:80/~magliaco/ PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, 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