AMSAT News Service

April 16, 2000

Arianespace has announced the next mission of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher, AR-506 (Flight 130), has been postponed due to the unavailability of the Astra 2B satellite one of the two payloads planned for this mission.

Originally scheduled for launch on May 23rd, Flight 130 was slated to have lofted Astra 2B for the Société Européenne de Satellites (SES) and the GE-7 communications satellite for GE Americom.

Arianespace is now planning Flight 130 for July 2000, with the choice of launch vehicle to be based on the availability of customer satellite payloads.

ANS released a special news statement immediately following the Arianespace announcement.

Special ANS Bulletin 104.01 is repeated here:

ANS has learned that the launch of Arianespace Ariane 506 (Flight 130) with the Astra-2B and GE-7 communication satellites from Kourou, French Guiana has been delayed. The launch, originally scheduled for May 23, 2000 has been rescheduled for late July.

At this time AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL are unaware of what effect this delay will have concerning the launch of the Phase 3D satellite.

Stay tuned to ANS for more information as it becomes available.

[ANS thanks Florida Today, Arianespace and AMSAT-NA Vice President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, for this information]

Boston AMSAT Net Milestone

Ernie MacLauchlan, K1ELA, recently told ANS that the Boston VHF AMSAT Net had reached a noteworthy milestone - their 200th net operation! The Boston AMSAT net has been in operation since March 14, 1996.

The 200th net took place April 6th. Net control station K1ELA awarded each check-in to the net a special net certificate.

Since its inception, the Boston VHF AMSAT Net has had over 3,300 station check-ins, with a peak of 903 check-ins during 1998 - the nets most popular year. Over 200 stations have checked in so far in 2000. These numbers represent an average of 16 stations per net and a total of almost 500 individual stations since 1996.

Congratulations from ANS!

The Boston VHF AMSAT Net meets each Thursday on the 146.640 MHz Waltham Repeater. The net begins at 20:30 local time.

[ANS thanks Ernie MacLauchlan, K1ELA, for this information]

New Versions of PREDICT Freeware Released

John Magliacane, KD2BD, recently released a new version of his free satellite tracking and orbital prediction software - PREDICT. This new release adds several features over earlier versions. Some of the changes include:

A solar illumination feature was added to calculate the percentage of time a satellite spends in sunlight per day
Orbital predictions for satellites that appear to have decayed since the last Keplerian orbital update are no longer attempted by the program
Date and time used to start orbital predictions can now be abbreviated as Day/Month/Year
The system clock/calendar can now be read to millisecond precision

To find out more information about the program and the recent changes (including how to download PREDICT itself) see http://www.linuxfan.com/~predict

[ANS thanks John Magliacane, KD2BD, and SpaceNews for this information]

ANS in Brief

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

A flywheel energy storage system recently achieved full-speed operation at 60,000 revolutions per minute putting flywheels well on the way to replacing chemical batteries on the International Space Station.
-SpaceDaily

NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft is edging ever closer to the asteroid 433 Eros. A brief engine firing on April 11th nudged the craft into a circular orbit 100 kilometers from the surface. The spacecraft will maintain this orbit for 11 days, during which it will circle Eros three times while moving at just under 5 miles per hour. On April 22nd mission controllers will fire the engine again to start lowering the spacecraft more, and by April 30th it should reach its prime scientific orbit of 50 km above the asteroid surface.
-S&T

Arianespace's Ariane 4 launcher is complete following the installation of the PanAmSat Galaxy 4R satellite atop the vehicle. The Kourou, French Guiana mission's final countdown will begin on Tuesday morning, with liftoff scheduled for 00:29 UTC on April 19th.
-Florida Today

Skeptics who dismiss the idea of faster-than-light travel through wormholes in space may have to think again, as new calculations based on Einstein's general theory of relativity suggest that wormholes large and stable enough to allow intergalactic travel really can exist!
-SpaceDaily

The world's largest fully steerable radio telescope is nearing completion. On April 12th, astronomers at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia announced that the final segment of the 100-by-110-meter dish had been fitted to the Green Bank Telescope. Standing 148 meters tall and weighing more than 7,000 metric tons, the telescope features two novel aspects that will enhance its collection of radio waves from the distant cosmos.
-S&T

ESA's Envisat satellite is currently undergoing integration and tests at the European Space Research and Technology Center in the Netherlands. Mating of the payload module with the service module is currently under way.
-ESA

A revolutionary jet engine was unveiled at a Tokyo aerospace show recently. The engine may power a new generation of commercial aircraft to five times the speed of sound.
-SpaceDaily

Veteran Shuttle astronaut and senior Space Shuttle manager Loren Shriver announced his departure from the NASA/Kennedy Space Center. Shriver has since been named the deputy program manager of operations for a NASA prime contractor for the Shuttle program.
-NASA

Ten years ago this week a new era in the commercial space industry took flight when an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket was launched for the first time from beneath a NASA B-52.
-SpaceDaily

Weekly Satellite Report

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

Mir Space Station

AMSAT's Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reported that two cosmonauts -- Sergei Zalyotin and Alexandr Kaleri -- have arrived on the Russian Mir space station. Several news agencies (including CNN) also reported the April 4th launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the successful docking with Mir.

Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station is apparently back on line -- currently in limited fashion.

Tony, VK5ZAI, reports that the cosmonauts have been active on 2-meter FM over both Australia and New Zealand recently. Mir was on 145.985 MHz using the callsign of U8MIR. Allen, N2YAC, reported that Mir transmitted SSTV signals on a recent pass over the United States. SSTV reception was also reported by VK5ZAI, WAØZBL and WB8ERJ.

Mir Personal Message System (PMS)
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK

Doug Rolfe, from Geelong, Australia reports receiving Mir packet signals on 145.985 MHz during a recent (low) pass over Australia.

Stay tuned to ANS for further details.

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.

Ron, KA2HZO, has been experimenting with SSTV through RS-13, using the Scottie 1 mode.

More information about RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page: http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html

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. Joe, W2KQ reports working Allen, FG5GI (Guadeloupe Island). Mike, N1JEZ reports working SV5BYR and FY1DW.

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.

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]

UO-14

Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Operational.

UO-14 was launched in January 1990.

Mike, N1JEZ, reports that 12-year old Steve, KB1EXF made his first satellite contact on UO-14 working WA3SKQ during an AMSAT presentation at the Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont club meeting.

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]

SunSat SO-35

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]

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:

April 17 - 20	JD1200
April 21 - May 7	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]

KO-25

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

Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational and receiving moderate traffic with average downlink efficiencies at 90%.

[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

Chris Jackson, G7UPN, reports to ANS that UO-22 continues in 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.

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]

OSCAR-11

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

OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1, 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]

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.

The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry channels and one status channel. Currently, no BBS service is available. The digipeater is active.

Telemetry is as follows:

Uptime is 624/07:36:23 Time is Sat Apr 15 21:19:40 2000
+10V Bus 10.922 V   +Z Array V 23.120 V
+X (RX) Temp -9.966 D  RX Temp -0.430 D
Array V 22.495 V   BCR Set Point 122.692 C
RC PSK TX Out 0.547 W  +Y Array Temp -20.062 D
PSK TX HPA Tmp -4.917 D  +Z Array Temp -9.966 D
Total Array C= 0.435 Bat Ch Cur= 0.243 Ifb=-0.005 I+10V= 0.075
TX:016 BCR:7D PWRC:62D BT:3C WC: 0

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.]

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.
Semi-operational.

Russ, WJ9F, reports ground stations are currently running memory test software on the satellite. 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 spin rate evaluation confirms a spin rate of 1 revolution every 18 minutes. Power output is low due to this spin rate.

Normally, the S-band transmitter is off. Recently, WJ9F reported the S-Band transmitter (2401.143 MHz) was recently powered on for a short time. A Whole Orbit Data survey was conducted during this operation.

Telemetry is as follows:

Eclipsed moment of the orbit

Uptime is 062/17:54:26 Time is Sat Apr 15 21:24:24 2000
+10V Bus 10.400 V   BCR Set Point 22.062 C
PSK TX RF Out 1.265 W  +Y Array Temp -24.811 D
Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.379 Ifb= 0.172 I+10V= 0.225
TX:1008 BCR:1E PWRC:05C BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:8F

Solar moment of the orbit

Uptime is 062/17:59:26 Time is Sat Apr 15 21:29:24 2000
+10V Bus 10.900 V   BCR Set Point 108.841 C
PSK TX RF Out 1.419 W +Y Array Temp -23.601 D
Total Array C= 0.273 Bat Ch Cur=-0.038 Ifb= 0.037 I+10V= 0.337
TX:1008 BCR:74 PWRC:05C BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:8F

A new WOD collection of current graphics (dated 02/26/2000) can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu

[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.

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]

UoSAT-12 UO-36

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 (and the downlink) may be disabled at times. Joel, K2SAT, is now active on the digital birds (with help from W4SM, G0ORX and DK9SJ). Joel reports that he has had great success with UO-36 downloads.

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]

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]

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

KITSAT KO-23

Uplink 145.850, 145.900 MHz FM
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Non-operational.

Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 is (again) non-operational. The downlink transmitter is off, with the last received data received on 4/13/2000 at 04:10 UTC. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part of the problem with recent non-operation has been the power budget aboard the satellite.

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

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

Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed.

TechSat-1B GO-32

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 a continuous 3 seconds in length), currently on 435.225 MHz.

The TechSat team has constructed a home page about TechSat: http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/

PANSAT PO-34

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 (during STS-95) on October 29, 1998. At the time of launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were promised to be available to amateur radio operators along with software to utilize this technology. To date, this has not happened.

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]

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 and image and transponder 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.

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This week's AMSAT News Service bulletins were edited by AMSAT News Service Editor Dan James, NN0DJ.