SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1006 * SpaceNews 06-Oct-97 * BID: $SPC1006 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY OCTOBER 6, 1997 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * MIKE FOALE'S FINAL MESSAGE FROM MIR * ======================================= The following message is from Mike Foale prior to his departure from the Mir space station. It was received by Miles Mann, WF1F via the Mir packet radio BBS: Stat : PR Posted : 09/28/97 14:50 To : ALL From : R0MIR @ BBS : BID : Subject: Mir Status Well STS-86 made its docking smoothly yesterday, and I must honestly say I am looking forward to seeing my wife Rhonda, daughter Jenna, and 3 yr old son Ian, who my shuttle crew say has grown twice his size since I last saw him. I will be sad leave my good Russian friends Anatoli and Pavel here on Mir, but it is now time for me to say goodbye to them, and to all the Hams in the world who have spent the time to talk to us. Thank you. I will be showing David Wolf, my replacement, how to operate the PMS here, and I hope you will enjoy many contacts with him. For now, the 70cm experiment is over, and MIREX will later post its findings. Best wishes Michael Foale KB5UAC, NASA 5. * DOVE-OSCAR-17 RETURNS TO 2-METERS * ===================================== Jim White, WD0E, has reported through the AMSAT News Service that the DOVE-OSCAR-17 satellite has returned to 2 meters (145.825 MHz AFSK-FM). Operational software has again been successfully loaded into the spacecraft by the DOVE command team. WD0E started the software upload on 17-Sep-97 at 19:40 UTC and reports the software seems to be running well. Reports on the condition of the batteries would be appreciated, and should be directed to: wd0e@amsat.org. Jim reports it remains to be seen how long the intermittent watchdog timer in the satellite will allow this software to run. The S-band transmitter is on to facilitate testing of S-band equipment on the ground, particularly for those working toward P3D Mode-S capability. Power level on the 2 meter transmitter is about 1-watt day and night. Telemetry is currently being sent every 60 seconds, but this could change due to power management needs. * SSTV FOR SPUTNIK ANNIVERSARY * ================================ Well known SSTV experimenter Ted G6HMS will be transmitting Sputnik 1 pictures to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 using slow-scan television via the FO-20 and FO-29 satellites. Operations start on Saturday October 4th on FO-20 and FO-29 and will continue until November 3rd. Format for the transmissions is Martin 1 on 435.880 MHz to 435.870 MHz (USB). The uplink will be fixed in frequency, so groundstations receiving the images will need to tune their receivers in response to Doppler shift. [Info via John Heath, G7HIA] * STUDENTS HELP CELEBRATE SPUTNIK'S BIRTHDAY * ============================================== On 04-Oct-57, Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite was successfully launched in low-earth orbit, thus ushering in the dawn of the space age. Sputnik 1 was joined less than a month later by Sputnik 2 on 03-Nov-57. Sputnik 1 decayed in the earth's atmosphere in early January 1958, while Sputnik 2 survived until 14-Apr-58. To help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sputnik 1's historic space voyage, the L'Aeroclub of France, along with the Russian Aeronautical Federation joined forces to coordinate the construction of a miniature satellite similar in construction to Sputnik 1. Students from the Jules Reydellet College in St. Denis Reunion Island and the Polytechnic Laboratory of Nalchik Kabaradine Balkar Republique were called upon to develop a working model of the original Sputnik satellite that would be hand deployed from the Mir space station during an EVA on Sputnik 1's 40th birthday (04-Oct-97). The satellite carries a low-power (100 mW to 200 mW) 2-meter VHF-FM beacon transmitter operating on 145.800 MHz that emits a pulsating tone similar to the original Sputnik. The audio frequency of the tone is a function of the internal temperature of the spacecraft in keeping with the design and operation of the original Sputnik. Its lifetime in orbit is expected to be between one and two months. * HIGH-SPEED DIGITAL SATS ON THE WAY * ====================================== With TMSAT-1 and other high-speed digital communication satellites being prepared for launch, development on inexpensive and effective reception solutions will soon be needed. Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO has prepared a Web page describing what equipment is necessary to effectively communicate with the next generation of high-speed "Pacsats". The page may be found at: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/CSER/UOSAT/amateur/38k4_receiver_paper.html This page will be frequently updated with some additional information and higher quality images over the next week or so, so stay tuned. [Info via Chris G7UPN / ZL2TPO] * 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, KITSAT-OSCAR-25 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX