SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1216 * SpaceNews 16-Dec-96 * BID: $SPC1216 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY DECEMBER 16, 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-OSCAR-13 DECAY * ======================== On December 5th, 1996, the international telecommunications satellite AMSAT-OSCAR-13 burned up upon re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. AMSAT-OSCAR-13 was successfully launched on June 15th, 1988, into a highly elliptical orbit on board the first test flight of the new European ARIANE 4 rocket. Over the years, AMSAT-OSCAR-13 has enabled direct radio contacts among the world-wide community of nearly 2 million radio amateurs. AMSAT-OSCAR-13 had been constructed within four years by an international project group under the leadership of Dr. Karl Meinzer of AMSAT-Germany. AMSAT (Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation) is a world-wide alliance of approximately 6000 scientists, engineers, technicians and radio amateurs who voluntarily build and operate scientific and communications satellites. During its operational period, AMSAT-OSCAR-13 was monitored and controlled by a group of ground stations in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. Upon its re-entry, AMSAT-OSCAR-13 has had a lifespan of over eight years. Originally the mission had been conceived to last only seven years. Overheating of the satellite due to air friction in the upper atmosphere resulted in the destruction of the solar panels on November 24th and the consequent interruption of all radio links. Prior to this event, the on-board monitoring system had transmitted much data relating to the satellite's behavior in the upper atmosphere to ground stations for evaluation. The decay of the orbit was caused by the gravitational attraction of the Sun and the Moon. The elliptical orbit was stretched so that the satellite gradually approached the Earth which lies at one of the two focal points of the ellipse. This phenomenon motivated AMSAT to develop new analytical and computational methods to allow long term predictions for future satellites on similar, highly elliptical orbits. The orbit of the next satellite, AMSAT Phase 3-D, has been calculated using these new methods and will therefore be more stable over the long term. AMSAT Phase 3-D is scheduled to be launched into space during the first half of 1997 as apparently the only satellite payload for the second test flight of the new ARIANE 5 launcher. [Info via AMSAT-DL News Release] * NEW STSORBIT PLUS VERSION * ============================= David Ransom, Jr. has just released STSPLUS Version 9650. This is primarily a FEATURES UPDATE, adding "Night Vision" capability where the screen is RED for use on laptops outdoors (like teachers and Boy Scout Troops have requested!), and a new Location Map Mode which allows the user to specify the map center coordinates for the orthographic maps and "move around" and look at the maps. A number of teachers have requested this feature for use as a geography teaching tool. In addition and as usual, a number of relatively minor bugs that crept into the code were found and fixed in the latest version. The new version (as well as all other software by David Ransom) is available via anonymous FTP at: ftp.mindspring.com/users/dransom The new files for STSPLUS are in the /stsplus subdirectory and are: stsplus.new STSPLUS Version 9650 Update Notes sop9650a.zip STSPLUS Version 9650, Complete Package Part 1 of 2 sop9650b.zip STSPLUS Version 9650, Complete Package Pare 2 of 2 sop9650u.zip STSPLUS Version 9650, Update from Version 9610 or later. As always, comments, suggestions, and bug reports are most welcome, and should be directed to Mr. Ransom at: rans7500@spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov. * OSCAR ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EVENT * =================================== The Satellite Amateur Radio Club, W6AB, will host a Special Event on December 14-15 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR-1. This historic "bird" was launched on December 12, 1961, from Space Launch Complex One-West at Vandenberg AFB, California. The Thor-Agena B booster lifted off at 2042 hours UTC (12:42 pm Pacific Standard Time) with OSCAR-1 carried as a "piggyback" payload with the Discoverer 36 photo-reconnaissance satellite. The OSCAR's battery-operated transmitter was rated at a modest 140 milliwatts into a simple, quarter-wave monopole antenna. The 145.000 MHz carrier was modulated by an electronic keyer which sent the word "HI" at a rate dependent upon the OSCAR's internal temperature. The signals were heard by hams around the world for 18 days, until the batteries expired. The SARC will handle contacts from approximately 1600-0400 UTC on Saturday and Sunday, at the lower ends of the General phone bands. A certificate will be available upon receipt of a large SASE. Satellite ARC, Post Office Box 5117, Vandenberg AFB CA 93437-0117. [Info via Eric Lemmon] * WEBERSAT NEWS * ================= WEBERSAT-OSCAR-18 was copied at KD2BD on 14-Dec-96 at 16:38 UTC. The satellite was transmitting telemetry and status messages on its 435.822 MHz downlink. The following packet frames indicate a recent software reload: WEBER-1>TIME-1 : PHT: uptime is 002/20:48:01. Time is Sat Dec 14 16:38:47 1996 WEBER-1>CAST : Reloaded initial software. * EASY-SAT NEWS * ================= Those who feel that Amateur satellite communications is too difficult or requires expensive equipment will find relief in this report. During a recent visit to London, Ray Soifer, W2RS, made several contacts through the RS-10 satellite using his "World's Smallest Satellite Station". From St. James Park, Ray used a scanner and a 1.5-watt 2-meter handheld to access the satellite's Mode A transponder, pressing the press-to-talk switch to generate a CW uplink signal. Pat Gowen, G3IOR, used similar set-up, except he used an ICOM IC-720A powered by a 12 volt battery to copy the transponder downlink. Both stations made a perfect contact with Ray receiving an RST 534 and Pat receiving a 549 (keying an FM rig doesn't produce the cleanest of CW notes). When Ray returned to his home in the US, two more scheduled contacts were made across the pond to England. This time Pat went portable on the highest nearby hill using his handheld and IC-720A with a 29 MHz mobile whip antenna on his car. Pat copied Ray giving him an RST of 524, but Ray could hear neither Pat nor his own downlink on the first mutual RS-10 window. The second attempt on Saturday 07-Dec-96 was successful. Contact was made between 1047 and 1050 UTC. Pat gave Ray an RST of 524, while Ray gave Pat a 449 report. Both stations were running with effective radiated powers of only about one watt. This success shows the excellent sensitivity of RS-10 when it is not overloaded by many stations running higher power. It also shows that it doesn't take high power or expensive equipment to make successful satellite contacts. Sometimes it just takes a clear frequency and a little creativity. [Info via Pat, G3IOR] * MIR FAN CLUB UPDATE * ======================= An Internet World Wide Web page has now been established for the Mir Fan Club. The page may be accessed at the following URL: http://www.italianstore.com/radio/mfc/ [Info via Rudy, IW2BSF, Mir Fan Club Founder] * W6AMW: SILENT KEY * ===================== Clifford Buttschardt, K7RR, sadly reports that Bob Dalleskie, W6AMW, has recently become a silent key. Bob was an AMSAT-NA area coordinator. He will be missed. * 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