SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0710 * SpaceNews 10-Jul-00 * BID: $SPC0710 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY JULY 10, 2000 * ISS NEWS * ============ The third module of the International Space Station is scheduled to be launched on 12-July-2000 from the Baikonur Cosomodrome in Kazakhstan. After this module successfully docks with the ISS, a sufficient number of modules will be in place to allow a full time crew to move in later this year in November. The service module is now called Zvezda ("Star" in Russian). This module is of great interest to the Amateur Radio community because it is the module containing the four (4) antenna port feed-through connections, and this is the module where most of the Amateur Radio equipment will be located on the Space Station. The ISS modules scheduled to be launched this week will actually be visible in the morning sky over North America. Please check your satellite tracking program for times for your location. From July 13 - 25, you will be able to see the Zvezda module chasing the ISS modules. Each day the modules will get closer together. Then on the last day, the ISS module will dock with the Zvezda module. For more information about the modules being launched this week, please refer to the following URLs: Module overview: http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/assembly2_overview.htm The proposed time-line: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/flights/chron.html [Info via Miles Mann, WF1F] * NEW SSTL SATELLITES LAUNCHED * ================================ Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) has recently announced the successful launch of two new satellites, Tsinghua-1 and SNAP-1, by a Russian COSMOS rocket secondary payloads. The Tsinghua-1 microsatellite, a collaborative project with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, was designed and built by a joint Tsinghua/SSTL team at Surrey Space Center, in Guildford, UK. Tsinghua-1 carries multispectral Earth imaging cameras as well as experimental communications payloads, including digital store-and-forward, a digital signal processing (DSP) experiment, a GPS space receiver and a new 3-axis microsatellite attitude control experiment. SNAP-1, the UK's first nanosatellite, was designed and built by SSTL as a research project for evaluating the use of commercial micro-miniature technologies for highly advanced, yet tiny, satellites. Surrey calls SNAP-1 "a highly integrated and sophisticated spacecraft." SNAP-1 weighs just 6.5-kg and carries GPS navigation, camera technology, onboard computing and propulsion and attitude control technologies. SSTL reports that both missions are experimental and, using an inter-satellite link, it is planned that the SNAP-1 and Tsinghua-1 spacecraft will attempt to rendezvous in-orbit and demonstrate formation flying of nano-microsatellites for the very first time. Both satellites are in a 650-km sun-synchronous orbit. [Info via the AMSAT-NA News Service] * SUNSAT NEWS * =============== SUNSAT Mode B voice repeater operations resumed on Saturday 8 July. Digipeating may be enabled soon. Visit: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za/index.html for extended schedules. The current near-range schedule is as follows. All dates and times are in UTC: Japan 2000/07/08 10:12 2000/07/09 09:32 Australasia 2000/07/08 08:49 2000/07/09 08:09 South-Eastern Asia 2000/07/08 13:39 2000/07/09 12:58 Southern Africa 2000/07/08 17:09 2000/07/09 16:29 Europe 2000/07/08 18:29 2000/07/09 19:28 South America 2000/07/08 22:05 2000/07/09 23:05 North America 2000/07/09 01:11 2000/07/10 02:10 [Info via Johann Lochner, ZR1CBC] * COSTA RICA SATELLITE OPERATION * ================================== A group of hams from the Atlanta area will be operating from Quepos, Costa Rica (EJ89) the week of July 17. Plans include HF (CW/SSB), RS-13, and AO-27, UO-14 and SO-35 using 5 watts and an Arrow crossed yagi. Calls will be WA4ZJJ/TI8 and K4QFF/TI8. QSL to home calls. [Info via Dennis Morris, WA4ZJJ] * AMSAT FIELD DAY NEWS * ======================== Andy MacAllister, W5ACM, reports that there is still plenty of time for AMSAT Field Day Participants to submit their AMSAT-Rules Field Day reports. Andy has received several reports thus far via mail and e-mail, but hopes to get a LOT more. The form on the AMSAT web site may be used, or your own form may be crafted with all of the data requested on the standard form, and sent to Andy. If some good photos are available, pass them along as well. Digital photos should be at least 1024x768x16M color JPG files. Mail to: Andy MacAllister, W5ACM 14714 Knights Way Drive Houston, TX 77083-5640 Andy's e-mail address is: amacalli@danielind.com * 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/ MAIL: John A. Magliacane, KD2BD Department of Engineering and Technology Brookdale Community College 765 Newman Springs Road Lincroft, New Jersey 07738 U.S.A. PACKET: KD2BD @ N2TDU.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET: kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE: AMSAT-OSCAR-16, KITSAT-OSCAR-25 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> <<=- Serving the planet (and beyond) since 1987 -=>> /EX