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StenSat has been released by the OPAL 'mother ship' but the ARRL is reporting that little or nothing has been heard from the Amateur Radio picosat, raising fears that it has malfunctioned. StenSat was one of two picosats released February 10th by OPAL, Stanford University's Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher. The other was the JAK payload.
Since the deployment, stations monitoring StenSat's 436.625 MHz downlink have heard only very weak signals, or nothing at all. According to Hank, N4AFL, StenSat may be operating in an "abnormal mode." The picosat was supposed to transmit a CW identifier and packet telemetry after deployment, but neither have been heard. N4AFL is speculating that the satellite might be operating in FM transponder mode, telling ANS that "during testing of StenSat we made some late changes to the audio mixer that feeds the AX.25 and CW telemetry from the controller unit to the transmitter." N4AFL thinks it may be possible that this circuit has failed and that no telemetry is being transmitted and an un-modulated carrier is being transmitted instead. To test this theory N4AFL is requesting that stations try to place StenSat into voice transponder mode by issuing a DTMF command and then transmitting a modulated uplink signal.
The DTMF command for placing StenSat into transponder (repeater) mode is: #6676326
Cliff, K7RR, reported hearing his transmissions repeated through the satellite recently, but signals were weak and the audio distorted.
The StenSat group is asking amateurs to continue monitoring the downlink and send any reports (via e-mail) to hheidt@erols.com
More information is available on the StenSat Web site at http://users.erols.com/hheidt/
[ANS thanks the ARRL and Hank Heidt, N4AFL, for this information]
The International Space Station continues to operate in good working order - now in its fifteenth month in orbit.
Flight controllers continue to manage electrical power through the batteries inside the Zarya module, recharging four of the six on-board power plants. Battery 1, which has experienced some problems, will be replaced by Shuttle astronauts later this year on the next mission to ISS.
Space Shuttle and ISS managers discussed the option of flying a maintenance mission to the Station prior to the upcoming launch of the Zvezda module. At the request of the ISS program, shuttle managers approved an option of scheduling the next shuttle mission to the ISS no earlier than April 13, 2000 (prior to the Zvezda launch), to perform maintenance tasks on the Zarya and Unity modules.
The Kurs automatic docking system was tested twice recently without problems in an effort to verify that the system is ready to support the rendezvous with the Zvezda service module this summer. The Kurs system is the Russian automatic docking system located inside Zarya used to rendezvous with the service module for precise docking.
NASA managers also approved Shuttle mission STS-106 as the flight which will follow the launch of the service module. Seven crewmembers will spend a week docked to the ISS, loading supplies in the new Zvezda module and activating some of its systems.
The International Space Station is in an orbit of 240 by 226 statute miles. Since the launch of Zarya in 1998, the ISS has completed more than 7,105 orbits.
Space Station viewing opportunities worldwide are available on the Internet at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
[ANS thanks NASA for this information]
With six astronauts on board, shuttle Endeavour continues with the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Despite a problem with a small nitrogen thruster on the end of the 200-foot-long mast, both the C-band and X-band radar continue to perform as expected, and the thruster problem has had no impact on mapping operations.
Processing of the huge amount of data gathered by Endeavour -- enough to fill about 13,500 CDs if all goes according to plan -- will result in maps 30 times more accurate than the best global data available now. The maps also will be of unprecedented uniformity as Endeavour gathers mapping data at the rate of 40,000 square miles of land each minute.
Endeavour's crew and flight controllers continue troubleshooting a small problem with a nitrogen thruster mounted at the tip of the radar's outboard antenna. Although gaseous nitrogen propellant is flowing, little or no thrust is being produced. Without the thruster on the antenna, crewmembers have to fire the orbiter's thrusters more than expected.
Mission Control also told the astronauts that the EarthKAM aboard Endeavour has successfully transmitted over 2,000 images for middle school students across the U.S. EarthKAM, mounted in the overhead starboard window of Endeavour's aft flight deck, lets middle school students take pictures of the Earth. They use interactive web pages to select photos.
As this edition of ANS was being prepared, Endeavour continued to function well.
[ANS thanks NASA for this information]
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
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
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.
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.
Mike, N1JEZ, reports he worked Dan, OK1DIG, via RS-13 with very low elevation (< 2 deg) at the time. "I heard Dan well after the bird went over the horizon," reports N1JEZ. OK1DIG reports sub-horizon contacts via RS-13 with K0BLT, N1JEZ, NA2AA and WL7BQM.
AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page: http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html
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
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. John, K6YK, reports that CX6DD has been active.
Tony, AB2C, has been active on AO-10 using the Hellschreiber mode.
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]
Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink: 436.792 MHz FM
Operational.
Tony, W7EWC, tells ANS he plans to be active on AO-27 from the Bahamas as W7EWC/C6A during the entire month of March.
An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web site. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html
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, recently reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on February 12).
TEPR 4 is 22 TEPR 5 is 58
[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information]
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.
Peter, G4AJG/4S7PE, will be in Sri Lanka for the next three weekends and the SunSat team is making the satellite available for Peter's operations from that area.
There will be a satellite special event station on February 26, 2000 under direction of the Moorabbin District Radio Club in Australia. Two successive passes of SunSat will be available for this event.
The SunSat team will consider other special events. Send a detailed e-mail request to: SAAMSAT@intekom.co.za
The announced SunSat schedule is as follows (all times are UTC):
February 19/20th
| Japan | 23:53 to 00:07 |
| Sri Lanka | 03:06 to 03:20 |
| RSA | 07:54 to 08:08 |
| Europe | 06:37 to 06:51 |
February 25/26th
| Australia special event | 22:51 to 23:05 |
| Australia special event | 00:30 to 00:44 |
| Sri Lanka | 04:04 to 04:18 |
| RSA parrot repeater | 07:13 to 07:27 |
February 27th
| Japan | 00:12 to 00:26 |
| Sri Lanka | 03:24 to 03:38 |
| RSA parrot repeater | 08:12 to 08:26 |
| USA | 15:12 to 15:26 |
March 4th
| Sri Lanka | 02:43 to 02:57 |
| RSA | 07:31 to 07:45 |
| Europe | 07:54 to 08:08 |
| USA | 14:30 to 14:44 |
March 5th
| Sri Lanka | 03:42 to 03:56 |
| RSA | 06:51 to 07:05 |
| Europe | 07:14 to 07:28 |
| South America | 13:33 to 13:47 |
For more information on SunSat, visit http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za
A summary of the active modes and frequency allocations for SunSat is available at http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/~lochner/sunsat/modes.html
[ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information]
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. Ron, VE7VVW, reports that the footprints of both FO-20 and FO-29 have covered parts of Western Europe recently.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for the FO-20 status reports]
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:
| through February 21 | JA |
| February 22 - 27 | JD1200 mailbox |
| February 28 - March 5 | JA |
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]
Uplink 145.850, 145.900 MHz FM
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Operational.
AA7KC reports KO-23 is operational again, returning to service on February 16th. Jim reports KO-23 is performing well with excellent downlink efficiency. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part of the problem with non-operation has been the power budget aboard the satellite.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, for KO-23 status information]
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]
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Operational
Chris Jackson, G7UPN, reports to ANS that UO-22 has now entered full sunlight and the temperatures have increased considerably. Controllers have turned the satellite upside down to point the critical systems to cold space. This has reduced the temperature on various systems (such as the batteries) by between 5 and 10 degrees. The unfortunate by-product of this is that the downlink is now quite weak.
The satellite will remain in full sunlight until late March, when controllers will turn it back 'over' again. According to G7UPN "over the next few years this situation will become worse as the no eclipse periods become longer."
Only the 145.900 MHz receiver is usable for communications at the moment.
More information on the satellite is available at http://www.sstl.co.uk
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO for UO-22 status information]
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 baud PSK
Beacon 2401.500 MHz
Operational.
Clive Wallis, G3CWV, reports that during the period of 15-January to 15-February good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The battery voltage during daylight passes has dropped slightly. The average value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of 13.6 to 14.1 volts. The internal temperatures have decreased slightly. They are now 5.0C and 3.2C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. A WOD survey dated January 6th has been transmitted. The mode-S beacon is on and transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The beacon is a useful test source for testing mode-S converters prior to the launch of P3D.
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]
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.
The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry channels and one status channel. Currently, no BBS service is available. The digipeater is active.
Mineo, JE9PEL, recently recorded LO-19 CW and PSK telemetry and placed the information on his Internet homepage site at http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/
Telemetry is as follows:
Time is Sun Feb 20 12:22:40 2000 uptime is 568/22:39:23 +10V Bus 11.125 V RC PSK TX Out 0.659 W Total Array C= 0.157 Bat Ch Cur= 0.042 Ifb= 0.037 I+10V= 0.120 TX:017 BCR:88 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.]
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.
Semi-operational.
Russ Platt, WJ9F, of the AO-16 Command Team tells ANS the 437.025 MHz transmitter has been turned off and the S-band transmitter is now on. The satellite is back in a PHT (PACSAT Housekeeping Task) mode. This task manages the battery charging during sunlit periods and manages the decay during eclipse periods. It also includes safeguards to protect the batteries. WJ9F will be running Whole Orbit Data surveys to watch the batteries during the S-band only operation. Russ is also reloading the software to bring the file server back on line.
Stay tuned to ANS for further updates.
Telemetry is as follows:
Time is Sun Feb 20 12:13:08 2000 uptime is 007/08:43:58 +10V Bus 9.900 V +Z Array V 25.268 V Bat 1 V 1.122 V Bat 2 V 1.177 V Bat 3 V 1.170 V Bat 4 V 1.224 V Bat 5 V 1.131 V Bat 6 V 1.183 V Bat 7 V 1.167 V Bat 8 V 1.223 V Array V 23.944 V +5V Bus 4.905 V PSK TX RF Out 0.714 W Total Array C= 0.076 Bat Ch Cur=-0.035 Ifb= 0.043 I+10V= 0.086 TX:1006 BCR:49 PWRC:26B BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:31
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.]
Uplink 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 436.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Operational.
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
Many of the high-resolution color images transmitted by TMSAT are compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is supported by the VK5HI CCD display program.
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this report]
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]
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]
Downlink 435.225 MHz, HDLC telemetry
Updated status. Shlomo, 4X1AS, tells ANS that efforts are underway to bring GO-32 on line.
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/
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]
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:
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.
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.
Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. Recovery efforts have
been unsuccessful.
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.
This week's AMSAT News Service bulletins were edited by AMSAT News Service Editor Dan James, NN0DJ.
