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An Arianespace Ariane-5 launch vehicle recently completed a successful launch from the Kourou, French Guiana complex, located off the northern shoulder of South America. The success of this launch is very important to the eventual Ariane-5 ride that Phase 3D will undergo.
The Ariane-5 rocket is the centerpiece of Europe's commercial launch effort and is the second successful mission for the powerful rocket. In addition, this is the third successful launch of this year for Arianespace. Two Ariane-4 rockets were launched in January and February. Four additional Ariane-5 launches are scheduled for this year, with the next Ariane-5 launch scheduled for May 23, 2000.
The recent launch placed two commercial satellites into orbit exactly 34 minutes after liftoff. The total payload was about five tons. A 2.7-ton satellite owned by WorldSpace Corporation will transmit digital radio programs and an Indian Space Research Organization satellite will be used in a telecommunications role.
The Ariane-5 rocket is almost double the weight and power of the very successful Ariane-4 rocket. The Ariane-5 launch vehicle will eventually be able to carry space exploration modules and will also serve the International Space Station.
[ANS thanks Florida Today and Arianespace for this information]
Several news agencies (including Reuters) are reporting that all systems are go for cosmonauts to return to the abandoned Mir space station. Bolstered by deep pride in its long history of space exploration, Russia will launch a new crew on April 4th to the orbiting Mir station, which had previously been slated to see retirement by crashing into the atmosphere at about the same time.
"There will be a lot of work to do when they get there but until then all we have had to do is to turn on the computer and we've done that,'' said Viktor Blagov, Mir's deputy flight director. Yuri Grigoriyev, deputy head designer at the Energiya space corporation that owns Mir, said the latest crew will be aboard the station for about 45 days, but that the journey could be extended by a month or so.
Acting President Vladimir Putin has backed Mir's revival, but space officials say it remains unclear whether space will remain a priority for this new administration. "We have not had a single government that did not promise its support," said Sergei Gorbunov, spokesman for the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, "but our budget is still not enough and financial questions remain."
It is hoped that the amateur radio equipment aboard Mir is still functional -- and will be activated during this mission.
Stay tuned to ANS for further details.
[ANS thanks Reuters and Florida Today for this information]
ANS principal satellite investigator Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, is in the process of updating 'The Amateur Satellite Resource Guide'. The guide (available from AMSAT-NA) has proven to be a valuable resource for satellite operators, both old and new alike. Several satellite operators have mentioned to ANS how helpful the publication is -- including Beau, N1MJD, who told ANS that "the Amateur Satellite Resource Guide is a must have tool for the birds."
The guide (along with several other satellite publications) will be featured at the AMSAT-NA booth during the upcoming Dayton Hamfest.
Mike is interested in hearing from anyone who has found any additional source of satellite information that has proven to be helpful to them in any way. Mike reports that "these resources can be almost anything, such as books, periodicals, e-mail, FTP sites, web resources, newsgroups and on-line sources and links to both HF and VHF nets".
Mike tells ANS that if "a satellite operator has a favorite, I'd want to be sure I've included it in the Resource Guide."
N1JEZ can be reached at n1jez@amsat.org
[ANS thanks ANS principal satellite investigator Mike Seguin, N1JEZ for this information]
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
Mir . RS-12 . RS-13 . RS-15 . AO-10 . AO-27 . UO-14 . 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 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
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)
Mike, N1JEZ, reports RS-15 is currently operating with an active beacon, but it's an unmodulated carrier on for 5 seconds then off for 2 seconds, continually repeating the cycle. The transponder is only active when the beacon is on! Despite this Mike reports downlink signals were S-3 to S-5.
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.
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 March 19).
TEPR 4 is 28 TEPR 5 is 64
[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information]
Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Operational.
Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO reported on the AMSAT bulletin board that UO-14 -- launched in January 1990 -- spent its first 18 months in orbit operating as a store-and-forward satellite. It was then switched for use by Volunteers in Technical Assistance, who used it for medical messaging into Africa. "Since the computer which is used for store-and-forward communications is no longer able to perform that task, UO-14 is no longer usable in this mode," reported G7UPN. "It is, however, possible to use the satellite as a single-channel FM voice repeater, and I have configured the satellite to do this."
Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information Site with UO-14 information, see http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information]
Uplink 436.291 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 145.825 MHz CW/LSB
Operational.
SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, recently celebrating its first year in orbit.
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.
Due to an improvement in its power budget, SunSat's Mode B repeater will now also be enabled on most weekday evenings (except Monday). A schedule of the active passes can be found at http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za/ham1.htm
GPS data is currently collected on Mondays. It takes as much as twelve hours to fully recover the state of charge after these experiments.
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.
[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. Mineo, JE9PEL, recently downloaded FO-29 telemetry and reported the results on the AMSAT-BB.
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:
| March 25 - April 2 | 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 was non-operational for a brief period. Jim says KO-23 left the air with the last data received on 3/23/00. Mike, N1JEZ, reports that KO-23 was back in action at 11:20 UTC on 03/27/00.
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 "and receiving a good amount of traffic with a high downlink efficiency."
[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.
OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1st, 2000.
During the period of 15-February to 16-March - good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. Battery voltage during daylight passes has been unchanged. The average DC value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of 13.4 to 14.1 volts. The internal satellite temperatures have decreased by one degree Celsius. They are now 3.8C and 2.2C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. A single WOD survey of channels 10, 20, 30 and 40 has been transmitted.
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 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/
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, WJ9F, reports ground stations are currently running memory test software on the satellite. After loading the file server software the satellite reverted back to MBL mode after about 3 minutes. Russ and his team are evaluating if a write to memory glitch may have caused the problem. In addition to the memory testing, the spacecraft spin rate around the vertical (Z) axis has created a less than ideal condition for battery charging.
The S-band transmitter is currently off.
Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the AO-16 signal is weaker than before but perfectly decodable. The JJ1WTK spin rate measurement is also on going. The current spin rate is about 18 revolutions per minute.
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]
Uplink 145.960 MHz, 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 437.025, 437.400 MHz, 9600 baud FSK
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 BBS is open, although uploading may be disabled at times.
UO-36 ground control finished Merlion operations recently with limited coverage over the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The operations generated a carrier at about 1-watt of power on 2401 MHz.
The VK5HI TMSAT viewer shareware 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]
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
Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed.
Downlink 435.225 MHz, HDLC telemetry
Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line, however no additional information has been received by ANS (the last report was dated November 1999).
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: http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/
Uplink/downlink frequencies have never been released.
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.
For more information, visit the official PANSAT web site at:
http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/
PanSat was 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.
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.
SedSat-1 has downlinked months worth of telemetry data on the performance of its electrical power system parameters. The Nickel Metal Hydride batteries on the spacecraft were experimental and experienced some abuse due to a power negative situation. This information has provided NASA with useful information. With the exception of the imaging system and the use of the transponders, SedSat-1 has been judged a success.
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.
