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In a surprise announcement last week, AMSAT-NA President Keith Baker, KB1SF, announced that he will not seek re-election to that office when his current term expires at the upcoming AMSAT Annual Meeting to be held in Portland, Maine in October.
"It's been a great ride," Keith told ANS upon making the announcement. "But, I have always believed that members of volunteer organizations should strive to rise from the ranks to serve in some official capacity for a brief time. And, unless there is pressing need for their continued service, they should also strive equally hard to eventually return to those same ranks when their terms expire in order to give someone else a chance to lead," he said.
When his current term of office expires in October, Keith will have served in the AMSAT-NA senior leadership for a total of six years, two of those as the organization's President. He assumed the office of Executive Vice President in October, 1994 soon after his retirement from the U.S. Air Force and his election as a member of the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors.
KB1SF assumed his current position as President of AMSAT-NA in October, 1998.
Baker also noted that his personal corporate consulting and training business along with a second, highly successful family enterprise were now taking a significant amount of his available spare time. "Any way you cut it, the Presidency of AMSAT is a full time job," he said, "and we need a President who can give it their full attention every day of the week, not to mention someone who can also bring some new ideas and a fresh face to the President's chair," Keith said.
Baker added, however, that he plans to still remain very active as a member of AMSAT's Board of Directors. Citing his recent re-election to another term on the Board, Keith said, "Our members believe I still have something positive to contribute to the organization as a member of our Board of Directors. I'm grateful for their continued show of support, and I will certainly do everything I can to be worthy of their continued trust," Keith said.
In discussing AMSAT's future, Baker noted that, "We are indeed fortunate that Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, our current Executive Vice President, has now agreed to serve us as our President come October, and Ray Soifer, W2RS, has also agreed to step (back) into the Executive Vice President's shoes at the same time."
"At my direction over the past few months, both of these individuals have been taking an expanding role in the day-to-day operation of the Corporation. Needless to say, they have risen to the challenge and have been doing an exceptional job," Keith said. "While my vote is only one of seven on our Board, I will strongly recommend that each of these superb individuals be elected to now 'officially' continue serving AMSAT in the respective posts," he concluded.
[ANS thanks Keith Baker, KB1SF, for the information that went into this bulletin]
The final preparation of AMSAT's Phase 3D satellite continues to proceed "on target" according to AMSAT-DL Executive Vice President Peter Guelzow, DB2OS.
Launch Team member Chuck Green, N0ADI, provided ANS with a detailed review of what has happened to date. In Chuck's words:
"The P3D launch campaign team has been working hard since the first members arrived on September 9, 2000. Team members arrive just before activity involving their specialty starts. Because P3D is such a complex satellite, a lot of work is involved in checking it all out and getting it ready to launch.
"The first thing each person must do is to obtain a badge which also contains a magnetic key allowing entrance to the areas they are authorized for. Next is safety training for everyone. Among the things we were taught is to always park our cars by backing into the parking space, leave the windows up and the keys in the ignition.
"Our activities are mostly in the satellite preparation area, where we have an office space and where daily meetings with our launch provider are held.
"After the administrative things were taken care of, our satellite and SBS crates were brought from where they had been stored to the integration facilities we were assigned. The boxes were put into an airlock where we unpacked everything, placed the satellite on a rotisserie and moved it into the clean room where it could be prepared for flight.
"There are always a few last minute things to be adjusted. The last module constructed was the LASER transmitter. Its box cover has a very special memorial for Werner Haas, DJ5KQ. Werner spent many of the last years of his life working on P3D.
"Interface cables for connecting to P3D just prior to launch were fabricated and the 400 N engine was installed. Power was applied to the satellite and the ability to communicate with it was verified. Next, leak testing of the satellite fuel system was successfully completed. This was followed by a complete checkout of the various transmitters, receivers, experiments, and support functions of the satellite.
"There are not many hams in Kourou. They do have a local club but no repeater system. A repeater was brought from Germany and installed at the local club station. Hand-held radios have proven to be quite useful for our team to communicate with around the launch facility.
"Some of us were given a tour of the block house before receiving additional safety training necessary for access to the Final Assembly Building (BAF). The BAF is no small building. This is where the ready-to-go rocket is brought in and the package of satellites is placed on top after the satellites are prepared in other rooms of this building.
"More later,
"73, Chuck Green, N0ADI"
P3D's latest status report from the launch site shows RF testing has been completed with all systems working well. The thermal blankets have been applied. Application of thermal materials on P3D's solar panels are progressing well and nearly completed. The solar panel simulators have been disconnected and P3D is now kept 'alive' by an umbilical charging system. The next tasks are to close out the equipment bays and install P3D's solar panels.
The launch team has established an Internet web site that includes photographs of the team preparing the satellite. See http://www.amsat-dl.org/launch/
There is also a link to the photo page from the AMSAT-NA web site.
As ANS distributed P3D status information through special bulletins placed on the AMSAT-NA reflectors, the AMSAT bulletin board received several e-mails from satellite operators around the world. "I would like to thank the crew for the hard work being put in on P3D," said Joe, KA0YOS. Jeff, N9AVG, liked the web link showing operations from the launch site - "very nice job with the pictures from Kourou," he said. "Go team go," echoed Bronson, N1ZAQ. Jim, W5VZF, added "please pass along my very best to the launch team and thank them for their time and effort."
Stay tuned to ANS for additional bulletins from AMSAT, the official source for information on the Phase 3D Launch.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-OH and AMSAT-NA for this information and congratulates the launch team on their outstanding work]
Gliding through a moonlit sky, space shuttle Atlantis returned home last Wednesday from the newly furnished International Space Station, soon to be home to a permanent crew. Amateur radio operators around the world followed the flight closely.
Within moments of Atlantis' touchdown, the clocks in Mission Control began counting backward toward the next launch. In one of NASA's faster turnarounds, Discovery is scheduled to blast off October 5th with new space station parts.
The Atlantis mission included a week of docked operations aboard the International Space Station. In the three tons of equipment and supplies left behind were a toilet, exercise machines, laptop computers and amateur radio equipment.
The ARISS initial station gear is now temporarily stored aboard the Functional Cargo Block module and will use an existing antenna that will be adapted to support 2-meter FM voice and packet. As ANS earlier reported, the ARISS equipment will get a more-permanent home aboard the Service Module in 2001, along with VHF and UHF antennas.
[ANS thanks ARISS, NASA, the ARRL, Roy Neal, K6DUE, Steven Bible, N7HPR, and Florida Today for this information]
AMSAT-NA Executive Secretary Martha Saragovitz informed ANS of the following results of the 2000 AMSAT Board of Directors election:
| Keith Baker, KB1SF | 1,070 votes |
| Tom Clark, W3IWI | 1,064 votes |
| Andy MacAllister, W5ACM | 769 votes |
| Bruce Paige, KK5DO | 487 votes |
| Mike Gilchrist, KF4FDJ | 424 votes |
KB1SF, W3IWI and W5ACM will begin serving their 2-year terms at the AMSAT-NA BOD meeting Sunday, October 29, 2000. KK5DO will serve as the alternate and KF4FDJ will serve as second alternate until the next official election.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Executive Secretary Martha Saragovitz for this information]
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
ISS . 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 to be released
Downlink to be released
ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis
Status: Non-operational
The ARISS initial station gear is now temporarily stowed aboard the Functional Cargo Block module of ISS. The initial station will use an existing antenna that will be adapted to support 2-meter FM voice and packet. The ARISS equipment will get a more-permanent home aboard the Service Module in 2001, along with VHF and UHF antennas. Plans call for amateur TV, both slow scan and fast scan ATV, a digipeater and relay stations.
Planning for the deployment and use of the ham system aboard ISS has been an international effort coordinated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The effort began in 1996 with the formation of the Amateur Radio International Space Station organization. ARISS is made up of delegates from major national amateur radio organizations, including AMSAT.
More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
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 29.458 MHz
Robot Uplink 145.840 MHz, Downlink 29.504 MHz
Launched February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Operational, in mode-KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink.
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
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)
Launched December 26, 1994 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
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)
Launched June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
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
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational
Software upgrades to AO-27 have been completed.
Periodically, over the next several months, the analog repeater will be turned off for a few days at a time, to enable ground controllers to gather Whole Orbital Data (WOD), to verify the health of the satellite.
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 an 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 TEPR AO-27 operations at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html
The current TEPR settings are:
TEPR 4: 36
TEPR 5: 72
[ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information]
Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational.
Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information site to include 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
Launched February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California
Operational.
Gustavo, LW2DTZ, reports telemetry packets from SO-35 during a recent pass over Argentina.
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 in addition to Mode J operation. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems.
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
Launched February 7, 1990 by an H1 launcher from the Tanegashima Space Center in
Japan
Operational.
FO-20 is in mode JA continuously.
Several satellite operators have reported problems with FO-20's transponder. Mike, N1JEZ, told ANS that he believes the loss of signal is a combination of two factors. First, battery age and an increase in FM traffic due to operators unaware of the band plan. Mike reports he routinely hears FM signals on the transponder.
Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators now believe that the UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the transponder. The UVC monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the batteries from over discharge. Tak notes that FO-20, launched in 1990, is now over 10 years old.
Tony, AB2CJ, reports solid copy from FO-20 on a recent pass.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for the FO-20 status reports]
The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following operation schedule of FO-29:
| through Sep 24 | JA |
| Sep 25 - Oct 1 | JD1200 mailbox operation |
| Oct 2 - 6 | JA |
| Oct 7 - Nov 5 | Digi-talker (except mode JA every Wednesday) |
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
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 145.980 MHz FM
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational with good downlink efficiency and with moderate traffic. Jim says that interesting graphic files and space shuttle information has been available recently.
[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
Launched July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational
Jim, AA7KC, reports UO-22 operational with heavy SatGate traffic.
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
Launched March 1, 1994 by a Delta-Thor rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California
Operational.
OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1, 2000.
During the period 15-August to 16-September 2000 good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The battery voltage observed during daylight passes has continued to increase. The internal temperatures have increased by 2.6C during the month. This rise in temperature is expected to continue until the end of the year as the solar eclipse times become shorter.
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
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Semi-operational.
The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry channels and one status channel. No BBS service is available. The digipeater is not active.
Mineo, JE9PEL, has 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.
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Semi-operational.
Russ, WJ9F, reported the S-band transmitter is off. The VHF uplink and the UHF PSK transmitter are operational (TX power at 1.5 watts). The digipeater command is on.
A WOD collection of satellite graphics (dated 02/26/2000) can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu
[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]
Uplink 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 436.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Launched July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
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
Launched April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Unknown (unofficially in full sunlight illumination)
UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S transponders.
NASA has demonstrated on UO-36 the ability to use standard Internet protocols to communicate with an orbiting spacecraft (just like any node on the Internet). NASA has been developing this project by working with the commercial payload aboard UoSAT-12.
The BBS is open, although uploading and downloading may be disabled at times.
The VK5HI viewer shareware for UO-36 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
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Semi-operational.
Digipeater function is on, open to APRS use.
[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this information]
Uplink 145.850, 145.900 MHz FM
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Launched August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Non-operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter was operational on 9/14/2000, but has been off since that date.
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 145.910 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
Launched February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed.
Downlink 435.225 MHz, HDLC telemetry
Launched July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Non-operational.
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).
Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for a continuous 3 seconds in length) on 435.225 MHz.
The TechSat team has a home page about TechSat: http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/
Uplink/downlink frequencies have never been released.
Launched October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery
Status: unknown
The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.
PanSat was developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. 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]
145.985 MHz simplex FM voice and SSTV (Robot 36 mode)
Launched February 18, 1986
Unmanned.
MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed.
MIR SAFEX II 70-cm QSO Mode
Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM
Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed.
Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the amateur radio equipment has been turned off. Several news agencies have reported that Mir in now on 'autopilot'.
Stay tuned to ANS for further details.
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK
Beacon 2401.220 MHz
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
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
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Non-operational.
WO-18 was last 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
Launched October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida
Non-operational.
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and image and transponder recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.
SEDSAT-1 signifies Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (satellite number one).
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.
