SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0715 * SpaceNews 15-Jul-96 * BID: $SPC0715 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY JULY 15, 1996 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * AMSAT NET CONTROLLERS NEEDED * ================================ With the Summer travel season upon us, the weekly AMSAT HF Nets are in need of some alternate (and primary) net control stations. Immediate needs exist for the Mid-America 75 Meter Net. Lesser needs exist for the other sections of the 75 Meter Net and for the 20 Meter Net. Since W0CY became a Silent Key last February, the 75 Meter Mid-America Net has been without a primary NCS. Various people have been filling in since February, but they have not been ideally located or equipped for the job. The current secondary NCS for this net, W5IU, will be on travel for the nights of July 23, 30, and Aug 3. This would be a good time to break in a new NCS. Other helpers, such as W3XO, will be around to help. This net meets at 2100 CDT, Tuesday evenings on 3840 kHz. An ideal NCS would be located in KS, OK, MO, NE, or CO, and would be capable of at least 500 watts PEP on 3840. The NCS should be familiar with current events on the satellites and connected to Internet (amsat.org) for receipt of bulletin information, Keps, etc. The Sunday afternoon 20 Meter International Net could also use some depth. Current NCSs are W5IU and W8GQW with support from KB7UZ, WA0GGE, and others. Both W5IU and W8GQW will be "out of pocket" on July 28 , Aug 4, and Aug 11. KK5DO and WB5UUK have volunteered to "fill in the gap" but again, additional depth would be appreciated. This net starts with a "pre-net warm-up" at 1800 UTC on 14.282 MHz followed with bulletin sessions at 1900 and 1930 UTC. Geographic location is not as important for this net, but the NCS should be able to generate a respectable signal on 20 meters to hold the frequency. If you can help with any of this activity, please contact Keith Pugh, W5IU, AMSAT-NA VP of Operations, at 817-292-5633, or w5iu@amsat.org before July 17. [Info via Keith Pugh, W5IU] * AMSAT-OSCAR-13 NEWS * ======================= OSCAR-13 started experiencing total solar eclipses by the Earth on 08-Jul-96 and will continue to do so until 27-Jul-96. The maximum duration is 2 hours 2 minutes on 19-Jul-96. The transponders are OFF from MA 20-120 during this period. Since the squint angle is poor at this time, with the low-gain omni-directional antennas in use, users will not be seriously inconvenienced. The following is a listing of expected AO-13 eclipses: Entry Exit DUR IN OUT DATE HHMM.SS HHMM.SS min ONO MA MA ============================================================== 1996 Jul 14 [Sun] 1025:33 1213:38 108 6191 45 85 1996 Jul 14 [Sun] 2151:41 2342:32 111 6192 45 86 1996 Jul 15 [Mon] 0917:57 1111:15 113 6193 45 87 1996 Jul 15 [Mon] 2044:19 2239:46 115 6194 45 88 1996 Jul 16 [Tue] 0810:48 1008:06 117 6195 45 89 1996 Jul 16 [Tue] 1937:24 2136:15 119 6196 45 90 1996 Jul 17 [Wed] 0704:07 0904:13 120 6197 46 91 1996 Jul 17 [Wed] 1830:56 2032:00 121 6198 46 91 1996 Jul 18 [Thu] 0557:52 0759:36 122 6199 46 92 1996 Jul 18 [Thu] 1724:55 1927:02 122 6200 47 92 1996 Jul 19 [Fri] 0452:05 0654:16 122 6201 47 93 1996 Jul 19 [Fri] 1619:23 1821:18 122 6202 48 93 1996 Jul 20 [Sat] 0346:48 0548:09 121 6203 48 94 1996 Jul 20 [Sat] 1514:22 1714:47 120 6204 49 94 1996 Jul 21 [Sun] 0242:05 0441:13 119 6205 50 94 1996 Jul 21 [Sun] 1409:58 1607:25 117 6206 50 94 1996 Jul 22 [Mon] 0138:01 0333:23 115 6207 51 94 1996 Jul 22 [Mon] 1306:16 1459:05 113 6208 52 94 1996 Jul 23 [Tue] 0034:45 0224:30 110 6209 53 94 1996 Jul 23 [Tue] 1203:28 1349:37 106 6210 54 93 1996 Jul 23 [Tue] 2332:29 0114:23 102 6211 55 93 1996 Jul 24 [Wed] 1101:50 1238:45 97 6212 56 92 1996 Jul 24 [Wed] 2231:36 0002:38 91 6213 58 92 1996 Jul 25 [Thu] 1001:54 1125:57 84 6214 59 91 1996 Jul 25 [Thu] 2132:52 2248:31 76 6215 61 89 1996 Jul 26 [Fri] 0904:49 1010:04 65 6216 63 88 1996 Jul 26 [Fri] 2038:21 2129:57 52 6217 66 85 1996 Jul 27 [Sat] 0815:36 0846:04 30 6218 70 82 ============================================================== Internet users wanting the latest AO-13 information should always check the many files at: ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/satinfo/ao13/ http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ The active AO-13 command stations are listed below, and constructive feedback about operations is always welcome. Peter DB2OS Graham VK5AGR Ian ZL1AOX James G3RUH Stacey WB4QKT They may be reached via Internet (callsign@amsat.org) and KO-23. Please remember to state a return address clearly. Notes prepared by: James Miller G3RUH @ GB7DDX.#22.GBR.EU 1996 Jul 11 [Thu] 1011 UTC * STS ORBITAL DATA VIA E-MAIL * =============================== NASA Spacelink has set up a special mailing list for subscription to Shuttle Orbital Data. The data provided are the Keplerian elements that David Cottle, Ken Ernandes N2WWD, and STSPLUS author Dave Ransom compute from NASA State Vectors using N2WWD's VEC2TLE software. This is a coordinated team effort that typically provides three updates per day, with updates generally occurring at 04:00, 12:00, and 19:00 UTC or thereabouts. To subscribe to this mailing list send an E-Mail message to the following Internet address: listproc@spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov The text of the message should be as follows: subscribe STSTLE "Your Name" Note that "Your Name" should literally be your name as the return E-Mail address is used to determine the subscription address. This orbital data is the same as what N2WWD posts on the AMSAT Web Page at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/orbit.html While the two services are thus redundant in terms of the information provided, their modes of operation is what may make one or the other a better choice for a particular user. If you are considering subscribing to the mailing list, keep in mind that you will receive ALL three daily updates, plus any additional postings that may result from an orbit adjust maneuver. These postings are made for all Shuttle missions, so you will receive the orbital data regardless of whether or not a mission has SAREX equipment on board. The advantages are that the most current Keplerian elements will be no further than your E-Mail in-basket and that E-Mail is the only Internet access required. The AMSAT World-Wide Web page offers users the flexibility to update their Keplerian elements on a "by-request" only basis. Thus the user only receives the updates he or she specifically asks for. This service allows SAREX-only or other occasional users convenient access to the data without being overwhelmed by a large number of unwanted E-Mail messages. The mailing list was established by NASA because the Keplerian elements computed by David, Ken, and Dave have become an important source of Keplerian data for both professionals as well as amateur satellite trackers. Several facilities controlling experiments on board the Shuttle have come to rely on this data as their primary source of Keplerian elements during a mission. By providing the mailing list service, NASA has made the coordination and distribution process easier for the three providers. [Info via Ken Ernandes] * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/ PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX