SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0511 * SpaceNews 11-May-98 * BID: $SPC0511 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MAY 11, 1998 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * STS-91 ORBITAL DATA * ======================= Ken Ernandes, N2WWD, has uploaded STS-91 initial nominal orbital data to the AMSAT Web page at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/orbit.html STS-91 is the last scheduled Mir docking mission. As always, the AMSAT Web page is updated typically four (4) times per day during the mission with actual orbital data. Ken's personal Web site is usually updated in parallel with the AMSAT site and can be used as a backup in the event that the AMSAT site is busy and running slowly. A full set of STS-91 nominal mission vectors will be uploaded to the AMSAT Web and FTP sites in the near future. [Info via Ken Ernandes, N2WWD] * 70-CM BAND THREAT * ===================== The FCC has put on notice for public comment a petition filed by the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) seeking, among other things, "immediate....reallocation of 420-430 MHz, paired with 440-450 MHz, from Federal use to PMRS [Private Mobile Radio Service]". The petition notes that land mobile already has access to 420-430 MHz in three cities along the Canadian border (the result of a move by Canada at the time of WARC-79 to reallocate that part of the band from amateur to land mobile). The petition makes brief reference to expected "reduction in military use of this band" and to Wind Profiler use of 449 MHz, which according to LMCC "should be discouraged or at least minimized, in favor of higher frequency operation (e.g. 915 MHz), if reallocation to PMRS is considered." The petition notes that "The band is generally popular with radio amateurs, currently on a secondary basis, with repeater use in 440-450 MHz and satellite links and amateur television in 430-440 MHz" and says, "Amateur applications in the 420-430/440-450 MHz should remain secondary to PMRS." The LMCC is a loose affiliation of organizations with interests in (mostly private) land mobile communications. The comment deadline is 1998-Jun-01. Again, this is only a petition; the FCC itself has taken no position on the matter. [Info via Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML -- ARRL First Vice President] * W9ODI SK * ============ It is with great sadness that the death of Charles (Chuck) Parmelee, W9ODI, is reported. Chuck died on 1998-May-04. He had serious surgery in December but made good progress until about tow weeks ago. Chuck was a longtime supporter of AMSAT and was very active on both digital and analog satellites, especially FO-20 and FO-29. He will be sadly missed by his many amateur radio friends. Chcuk's wife Evelyn and son Dan would be pleased to receive cards at Chuck's callbook address or via email (dparmelee@midwest.idsonline.com). [Info via Ron Long, W8GUS] * SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS * ========================== The 16th Annual Meeting and Space Symposium will be held 1998-October-16 through 18 at the Park Inn International in Vicksburg Mississippi. This is the 2nd call to authors who wish to present papers at the Symposium that will be printed in the Proceedings. The subject matter of the papers should be topics of interest to the amateur radio satellite service. Key dates in calling for and submitting papers are as follows. One page abstracts are due no later than 1998-Jun-01. Authors will be advised by e-mail or postal mail shortly after 1998-Jun-15 regarding whether their paper has been accepted or not. Abstracts may be sent to w5xx@magnolia.net or to Malcolm Keown, W5XX, 14 Lake Circle Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39180. If you do send an abstact by e-mail, it might be wise to send a follow-up postal-mail copy since things do get lost in cyberspace. Proceedings of the Symposium will be printed by the ARRL and made available at and after the meeting. Also, if you do not wish to present a paper, but have a topic of interest, please submit the topic and perhaps arrangements can be made for a presentation. Information regarding Vicksburg area attractions and details on arrangements for the 16th Space Symposium and AMSAT Annual Meeting can be found at: http://pages.prodigy.com/DXHF93A [Info via Eddie Pettis, N5JGK (n5jgk@amsat.org)] * MIREX NEWS * ============== It looks as if Murphy hit the Mir APRS test again. Hours before the test was to begin, Mir's TNC experienced an undeturmined problem. The test then was then extended for an additional 3 days to end on 1998-Apr-30 at 2300 Z. This extended time was only for school participation. According to Bob Bruininga, WB4APR, there were many schools across the USA and Africa. For more information see: http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html Thanks to Bob, and all the other volunteers who helped make this test happen! There will be another School test in the very near future. However, this will be a "school" test only, and will happen with very little notice. This will also test the "readiness" of Amateur Radio Operators. MIREX has been informed that Andy Thomas requests that stations don't send packets while he is on voice. It is suggested that groundstations monitor 145.985 MHz on the passes to see if Andy is on voice before tring to connect to Mir (R0MIR-1) on packet. The "common-sense" rule is to LISTEN before transmitting to Mir. Remember that messages sent to R0MIR-1 are intended for the crew. Out of common courtesy, please wait until users of R0MIR-1 disconnect before attempting connections with R0MIR-1. And do not attempt to digipeat via Mir if the Mir BBS is in use by a groundstation. Last week's issue of SpaceNews was uploaded to Mir for the benefit of Andy Thomas and his fellow crewmates. [Info via Scott, WA6LIE] * SPECIAL EVENT PLANNED * ========================= Grand Valley State University is planning a special event operation to celebrate the National Science Olympiad. The event will take place on 1998-May-15 and 16 between 1300 and 2100 UTC, and take place on 7.290, 14.265, 21.365, 28.365 MHz. VHF frequencies, packet radio, and satellite frequencies will be announced. For further information, see: http://www2.gvsu.edu/~w8gvu/event.html or email: w8gvu@river.it.gvsu.edu [Info via W8GVU] * 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! -=>> <<=- Serving the planet for 10 years -=>> /EX