AMSAT News Service

January 9, 2000

• JAWSAT Data - Part 4
• ISS Update
• Nominations Open for Maxim Memorial Award
• ANS in Brief
• Weekly Satellite Report

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JAWSAT Data - Part 4

As reported earlier in ANS, the JAWSAT launch (with Amateur Radio's newest satellites) was postponed last December. A new launch date has been set for January 15, 2000. This delayed launch timeframe has allowed ANS to take a more detailed look at each of the new birds. In the last edition ANS explored STENSAT, the small satellite that will operate as a single channel, Mode-J, FM voice transponder (much like AO-27). STENSAT will be ejected from OPAL, the Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher. OPAL is part of the JAWSAT multi-payload adapter space-frame. OPAL will also eject a small satellite called ARTEMIS.

ARTEMIS is twice the physical size of STENSAT with a VHF uplink and downlink. The interesting thing about the satellite is the main payload: several very low frequency (VLF) receivers each with a 1-meter whip antenna. The receivers are a science payload in conjunction with Stanford University that will approximate the occurrence and amplitudes of horizontal and vertical lightning.

For more information about ARTEMIS, visit the satellite web site at http://screem.engr.scu.edu/artemis/

A webcast of the launch of JAWSAT (and ARTEMIS) is available. To register for the webcast, visit http://www.webcastingtv.com/jawsat/

The Vandenberg launch schedule is available at http://mocc.vafb.af.mil/launchsched.asp

[ANS thanks Richard Limebear, G3RWL, for this information]

ISS Update

The International Space Station entered the New Year operating normally with no problems reported as it orbits the Earth every 90 minutes. Flight controllers both in Houston and in Moscow reported a smooth, uneventful Y2K rollover of computers commanding ISS as the year 2000 dawned.

Controllers continue to manage the charging of the batteries on the Zarya module and are watching over other systems on the station. Electrical power management continues to be the focus, with the Station operating on the power generated by four of six batteries inside Zarya. Flight controllers also reported a good test of the Kurs automatic docking system on Zarya. The Kurs system will be used during the final rendezvous and docking of ISS with the Zvezda module about two weeks after it is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The International Space Station continues to operate in excellent shape as it orbits the Earth at an altitude of 246 by 234 statute miles. Since the launch of Zarya in November 1998, the ISS has completed almost 6,500 orbits. Space Station viewing opportunities worldwide are available on the Internet at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

[ANS thanks NASA for this information]

Nominations Open for Maxim Memorial Award

ANS has received information from the ARRL about the 1999 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award. The award goes each year to a radio amateur under the age of 21 whose accomplishments and contributions are of the most exemplary nature within the framework of Amateur Radio activities. These include, but are not limited to:

• Participation or leadership in organizational affairs at the local or national level
• Technical achievement
• Operating record
• Recruitment and training of new amateurs
• Public relations activities

An award panel will review the nominations received and select the winner. The prize consists of a cash award of $1000, a suitably engraved plaque, and travel and accommodation expenses to enable the winner to attend an ARRL convention for a formal presentation. Nominations are open until March 31, 2000.

For information and a nomination form visit http://www.arrl.org/field/awards/hpm.html

[ANS thanks the ARRL for this information]

ANS in Brief

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

• Mark your calendars! All space enthusiasts and amateur radio satellite operators are invited to the next Maryland-DC area AMSAT Meeting and Space Seminar (including students, teachers, parents and all satellite operators). The gathering will take place on Sunday, April 2, 2000 in the auditorium of the beautiful Visitor Center at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. ANS will feature more event details in future editions.
  -ANS

• Ray, W2RS, tells ANS that now the Y2K edition of Straight Key Night on OSCAR is history, all participants are encouraged to nominate the operator with the best fist among those they worked. Please send your nomination to W2RS. Best Fist nominees will be featured in an ANS bulletin (early February) and in the next available issue of The AMSAT Journal.
  -Ray, W2RS

• The Space Shuttle Discovery safely completed its mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. During three spacewalks, astronauts replaced all six of Hubble gyroscopes (4 of which had failed, leaving the telescope unable to make observations), as well as installing voltage regulators on batteries, a faster central computer, a fine-guidance sensor, a data recorder, and a new radio transmitter. The telescope was released from Discovery on Christmas Day. The new components are now being checked out and the space telescope should return to service shortly.
  -S&T

• The US Naval Observatory reports on its Web page that despite all the hype made by the media we have not entered a new decade, century or millennium. The Observatory notes the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the third will be reached at midnight on January 1, 2001. This date is based on the now globally recognized Gregorian calendar.
  -SpaceNews

• Launch preparations are scheduled to begin soon for a Department of Energy research satellite developed in New Mexico. The Multispectral Thermal Imager satellite developed at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories includes a sophisticated telescope that collects day and night ground images in 15 spectral bands ranging from the visible to long-wave infrared.
  -SpaceDaily

• Have you gazed upon a full Moon hanging lazily above the horizon and thought that it looks surprisingly huge? You're not alone, but it has nothing to do with the Moon actually being bigger or brighter. Such perceptions have been dubbed the 'Moon-illusion.' Recently, a father and son team of researchers put the illusion to the test and concluded that the illusion arises because seeing an object across miles of filled space makes it look farther, bigger, and more impressive than when there are no visual cues to its great distance.
  -S&T

• NASA may fly an unplanned shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The flight would involve sending Atlantis to the outpost so astronauts could perform maintenance work on the two segments that are linked in orbit. The mission would take place if the launch of the station's Service Module by the Russians is delayed beyond late spring or early summer, which now seems almost certain. Among the things the Atlantis crew could do would be to replace batteries and avionics components that are now nearing the end of their usable life.
  -Florida Today

• Today in history: on January 9, 1793 balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard lifted off in a hydrogen-filled balloon from Philadelphia, beginning the first manned balloon trip in the United States. Blanchard settled back to Earth in Woodbury, New Jersey.
  -Balloon/Rocket reflector

• Are you a U.S. ham wondering about ULS? Simple, step-by-step instructions on how to register for the FCC's Universal Licensing System now are available from the ARRL at http://www.arrl.org/fcc/uls101.html.
  -ARRL

• The Galileo spacecraft orbiting Jupiter continues to make milestones. The craft successfully made a flyby of Europa on January 3rd, dipping to just 218 miles above the icy surface. During the Europa flyby, Galileo's instruments were looking for magnetic signatures that may be generated by a subsurface ocean. Also, the signal from the spacecraft was blocked by the moon itself, which will provide scientists details about any thin atmosphere Europa may have.
  -S&T

• Some doorstep astronomy from ANS: in North America, face north and look very high, almost overhead, during early evening for the zigzag constellation Cassiopeia. Its five stars, moderately bright, are shaped like a flattened letter M. The two stars on the left are a little fainter than the others and that side of the M looks more squashed. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was a North African queen!
  -S&T

Weekly Satellite Report

Mir . RS-12 . RS-13 . RS-15 . AO-10 . AO-27 . FO-20 . FO-29 . KO-23 . KO-25 . UO-11 . AO-16 . DO-17 . WO-18 . LO-19 . UO-22 . IO-26 . TO-31 . GO-32 . SO-33 . PO-34 . SO-35 . UO-36

RS-12

Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.408 MHz
Robot Uplink 21.129 MHz, Downlink 29.454 MHz

Semi-operational, beacon only.

RS-13

Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.460 to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.504 MHz
Robot Uplink 21.140 MHz, Downlink 29.458 MHz

Operational, in mode-KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink.

AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page: http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html

AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Forum: http://www.hotboards.com/powerforum/pwrforum.exe?who=rs1213

RS-15

Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.352 MHz (intermittent)
SSB meeting frequency 29.380 MHz (unofficial)
Semi-operational, Mode A (2m uplink, 10m downlink)

Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 and RS-13 on his personal web site. In addition to satellite data, antenna information for mode A operation is also featured. The WB6LLO web site URL is http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads

AO-10

Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB
Beacon 145.810 MHz (unmodulated carrier)
Semi-operational.

DX continues to be worked (and heard) on AO-10. Eddie, DU1EV, is active from grid PK04 in the Philippines. Al, KD4VA, reports that U.S. hams have been enjoying AO-10 DX into Europe recently. F8GB, I5MPK, IT9GSV, DG9NB OM3WBC and UA3PAB have all been heard and worked on the satellite.

Stacey Mills, W4SM, has more information about the satellite at http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html

[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, for his AO-10 status information and web site]

AO-27

Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink: 436.792 MHz FM
Operational.

Bob, KA0MR, was recently active from P40 (Aruba).

AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR) to regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how long the satellite has been in the eclipse (or in the sun) and decides what subsystems to turn on or off. The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an explanation of AO-27 operations at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html

Chuck, KM4NZ, reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on December 14).

TEPR 4 is 12    TEPR 5 is 48

[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information]

JAS-1b FO-20

Uplink 145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB
Operational.

FO-20 is in mode JA continuously.

JAS-1b (FO-20) was launched in February 1990 and continues to function quite well.

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for the FO-20 status reports]

JAS-2 FO-29

Voice/CW Mode JA

Uplink 145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB
Operational, rotated with digital mode and digi-talker.

Digital Mode JD

Uplink 145.850, 145.870, 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Operational, rotated with analog mode and digi-talker.

JAS-2 was successfully launched on August 17, 1996, by an H-II launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center.

Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29, addressing analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy e-mail Mike at kf4fdj@amsat.org

Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the FO-29 operational schedule (announced by the JARL) is as follows:

Mineo, JE9PEL, has updated his FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program. The software will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite such as current, voltage and temperature. The JE9PEL FO-29/software update is available at http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]

KITSAT KO-23

Uplink 145.850, 145.900 MHz FM
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Operational.

The satellite has returned to service.

ANS has learned (from HL0ENJ) that satellite downlink telemetry shows two of KO-23's battery cells to be very unstable. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 has returned to operation. Jim's first operational pass took place on January 8th at 03:45 UTC. WA4SCA, KE6QIS, N1JEZ, all confirm KO-23 reception.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, for KO-23 status information]

KO-25

Uplink 145.980 MHz FM
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Operational.

Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational with good data throughput.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information]

UO-22

Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Operational

More information on the satellite is available at http://www.sstl.co.uk

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO for UO-22 status information]

OSCAR-11

Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 baud PSK
Beacon 2401.500 MHz
Operational.

The operating schedule is unchanged.

ASCII status (210 seconds)
ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)
BINARY SEU (30 seconds)
ASCII TLM (90 seconds)
ASCII WOD (120 seconds)
ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)
BINARY ENG (30 seconds)

The ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and frequencies of all the amateur radio satellites.

More information on OSCAR-11 is available at the following URL:

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information]

LUSAT-OSCAR-19

Uplink 145.840, 145.860, 145.880, 145.900 MHz 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK
Currently semi-operational.

No BBS service. The digipeater is active.

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Sat Jan 01 11:57:23 2000 uptime is 518/22:22:45
RC PSK TX Out    0.659 W  	+Y Array Temp    4.057 D
Coax Rly Stat    1.000 C  	Coax Rly Stat  255.000 C
Total Array C= 0.340 Bat Ch Cur= 0.122 Ifb= 0.013 I+10V= 0.157
TX:017 BCR:87 PWRC:62D BT:3C WC: 0

General information and telemetry samples can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/lo19.htm

[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]

TMSAT-1 TO-31

Uplink 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 436.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Operational.

TO-31 users may also note that many of the high resolution color images on TMSAT are now compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is supported by the VK5HI CCD display program.

ProcMail V2.00G has been released by G7UPN. This software permits the processing of image files from TO-31. It has been posted to the AMSAT-NA FTP site at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this report]

PANSAT PO-34

Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established.
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions.

PANSAT, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School, was launched from the shuttle Discovery. PANSAT spread-spectrum digital transponders will be available to amateur radio operators in the near future along with software to utilize this technology.

Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, PANSAT Project Manager recommends 'The ARRL Spread Spectrum Sourcebook' as a good place to start in understanding the spread-spectrum scheme.

For more information, visit the official PANSAT web site at:

http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/

PanSat is the featured cover article in the July/August 1999 issue of the AMSAT-NA Journal (written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).

[ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information]

SunSat SO-35

Operational. SunSat has been in mode-B using an uplink of 436.291 MHz (+/- Doppler) and a 145.825 MHz downlink.

SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SunSat stands for Stellenbosch University Satellite and takes it name from the South African university whose students constructed the payload.

The SunSat package includes 1200 and 9600 baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system that will be used primarily for educational demonstrations. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems.

The SunSat command team recently upgraded the diary software. The team has also uploaded the parrot repeater software and early tests were satisfactory. The parrot repeater should be functional near the end of January. According to the team packet radio operation is still some 3 months away.

For more information on SunSat, visit http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za

[ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information]

UoSAT-12 UO-36

Uplink ?
Downlink 437.025, 437.400 MHz

UoSAT-12 was successfully launched on April 21, 1999 from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome. UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S transponders.

The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.

S-band high speed downlink commissioning continues at rates between 128kb/s and 1Mb/s. The S-band downlink frequency has not been announced.

UO-36 has been transmitting 9600-baud FSK telemetry framed in a VLSI format using a downlink frequency of 437.400 MHz. Chris, G7UPN, reports UO-36 is also (at times) testing on 437.025 MHz at a baud rate of 38,400 (38k4). Currently, this downlink is switched on over Europe. Due to the limited power on UO-36, it is not possible to have this downlink on permanently over all areas.

Presently the BBS is still closed.

The VK5HI TMSAT viewer software is available on the AMSAT-NA web site at ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/display/ccddsp97-119.zip

Further information on UO-36 is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/

[ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey, for this information]

ITAMSAT IO-26

Uplink 145.875, 145.900, 145.925, 145.950 MHz FM
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK
Semi-operational.

Digipeater function is on.

IO-26 was launched on September 26, 1993.

Alberto, I2KBD, reports IO-26 has been opened to APRS use.

[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this information]

TechSat-1B GO-32

Downlink 435.225 MHz, HDLC telemetry

Updated status. Shlomo, 4X1AS, tells ANS that efforts are underway to bring GO-32 on line. According to Dr. Fred Ortenberg of the Asher Space Research Institute in Haifa, "the TechSat control team is about to finish its Amateur Radio BBS package tests. The next stage is to add beacon messages about the satellite's housekeeping status."

Stay tuned to ANS for further information.

The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998.

Last reported, the satellite does not have a continuous beacon, but does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for about 3 seconds in length), currently on 435.225 MHz.

The TechSat team has constructed a home page about TechSat. To view the site, point your web browser to:

http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/

The following satellites are in orbit but are non-operational at this time:

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)

Uplink 145.900, 145.920, 145.940, 145.860 MHz FM, 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz.
Non-operational.

Russ Platt, WJ9F, of the AO-16 Command Team tells ANS "it appears that after 1900 plus days of operating -- AO-16 suffered a problem that returned it to safe mode." WJ9F has been able to turn the 70-cm transmitter back on. AO-16 is in MBL (Microsat Boot Loader) mode and ground teams are checking the on-board memory to find the cause of this problem. Stay tuned to ANS for further updates.

General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu

A complete collection of WOD graphics corresponding to the year of 1998 can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod1998.zip

[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]

Mir Space Station

Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station came to a close on August 28, 1999 as the crew returned to Earth, leaving the station unmanned. Mir is in a stable orbit with only essential systems running. All amateur radio activities have ceased. Currently, the station is being prepared for re-entry sometime in the first quarter of 2000. However, the final fate of the space station has not been formally announced. Stay tuned to ANS for further developments.

Current Amateur Radio equipment aboard Mir includes:

SAFEX II 70cm Repeater

Uplink 435.750 MHz FM with subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Not operational.  No operation in 1999 has been observed.

SAFEX II 70cm QSO Mode

Uplink 435.725 MHz FM with subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM
Not operational.  No operation in 1999 has been observed.

Packet Radio PMS

Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM, 1200 baud AFSK
Not operational.

DO-17 (DOVE)

Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK
Beacon 2401.220 MHz
Non-operational.

DOVE stopped transmitting in March 1998. The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air and the satellite has not responded to ground station control.

No additional information is available at this time.

WEBERSAT (WO-18)

Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK AX.25
Non-operational.

WO-18 is reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash.

No additional information is available at this time.

SEDSAT SO-33

Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. Recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.

Mineo, JE9PEL, reports he has again received minimal telemetry from the satellite recently, dated October 22nd.

SEDSAT-1, signifying Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Satellite number one, was successfully launched and placed in orbit on Saturday, October 24, 1998.

For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at http://www.seds.org/sedsat

No additional information is available at this time.

ANS would like to thank Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, ANS principal satellite investigator, for helping provide current satellite information for ANS.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to the ANS Editors at ans-editor@amsat.org, or to ANS Editor Dan James, NN0DJ, at nn0dj@amsat.org.

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This week's AMSAT News Service bulletins were edited by AMSAT Executive Vice President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH.