AMSAT News Service

December 17, 2000

The ARRL summed up the current situation with AMSAT OSCAR 40 quite simply and very accurately in a recent bulletin; "there's a problem aboard AO-40."

The satellite has not transmitted any telemetry since December 13th, and for the AO-40 command team the silence is deafening. "All we know is we've got a problem," said AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH. "I've got all my toes and fingers crossed."

The problem may or may not be related to earlier difficulties in getting AO-40's 400-Newton motor to fire properly. "A lot of people are putting their heads together," VE3FRH added, "but until the telemetry transmission reappears, not much will be known and it's very frustrating."

The current problems started following the first burn of the 400-N motor. AO-40's command team earlier reported that by December 10th the satellite had reached the proper orientation and spin for its first burn -- but the burn did not take place as commanded. The situation was investigated and another burn was scheduled. This time the burn started properly, but anomalies in the received telemetry indicated the burn did not stop at the programmed time, but in fact lasted about 3 minutes longer. A detailed analysis was under way when AO-40 stopped transmitting telemetry information altogether.

As of Sunday, December 17th, President Haighton supplied ANS with the following statement:

The health of AO-40 is still being assessed following the loss of telemetry. Various stations have reported hearing weak signals from AO-40 on 2-meters, which is positive, but we cannot yet be sure. However, since the anticipated reset of the systems, which was due to take place at the very earliest on Saturday, December 16th, there has not been any change reported. Several options still remain to be investigated and the control stations are still working to develop a positive sequence of events. P3D Project leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, reports that control operators are trying to recover the telemetry intact, so as to determine the exact cause of the incident.

The following statement was taken from the AMSAT-DL web site:

Even at the expected AOS of AO-40 over Europe on December 17th, contact hasn't been reestablished. The window for the emergency routine cannot be determined exactly, so the December 16th date is assumed to be the earliest possible point of time. There are various reports about very weak PSK signals which seem to be coming from AO-40. The command team is verifying these reports and investigating possible causes for the lack of transmission. The command team is also preparing for a new contact in case of the emergency routine is established. After entering this routine, AO-40 would need to be reconfigured for operation with its V-band transmitter. This process would take some time.

P3D Team member, Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, shared his thoughts with ANS:

A timeout was expected on Saturday. There were no observations and command stations tried to re-establish communication by sending blind commands. Assuming that no commands have been accepted by AO-40's IHU-1 since contact was lost on Wednesday, a command assist watchdog timer will be invoked on orbit 65, which should occur on December 21st. The command assist routine will cycle through various receiver, transmitter and antenna systems.

If commands were received by the spacecraft (although we have no evidence they were), then the command assist watchdog will be reset for another 10 orbits. In this case we may see this function happen not before December 25th.

Please note that this is a 'software' watchdog. There is no hardware watchdog. If the IHU has crashed, than a reset command can be issued from ground. This would be the last resort. It is a very fail-safe system, which has been used before on AO-10 and AO-13. However, before issuing a reset, it was decided to check and analyze all other possibilities before issuing such a drastic command. There is no need to hurry and we don't want to miss any option.

Speaking on behalf of the command team, Stacey Mills, W4SM, talked about the many messages of support the team has received. "I would also like to say thanks so much to those of you who have sent messages of support. They are very much appreciated by all of us."

"The command team remains very hopeful that we can recover P3D," said W4SM, "but remember, this really is rocket science. Regardless of the outcome with AO-40, AMSAT needs, and I believe deserves, our continued support, now more than ever."

Stay tuned to ANS, the official source of information on AMSAT OSCAR 40.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-NA and the ARRL for this information]

ARISS Update

AMSAT's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Chairman, told ANS that on December 19, 2000 at 3:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, students at the Burbank School in Burbank, Illinois, will close their textbooks, put on radio headsets, and use amateur radio to communicate with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Located in a Chicago suburb, the Burbank school is the first school to use the ARISS ham radio program to contact the Expedition-1 crew aboard ISS.

Rita Wright, a teacher at the Burbank school and the project coordinator, has been teaching science and math for thirty-one years in the southwest Chicago suburb school district. "If you walked into our school today and wandered down the halls, you would be surprised at the variety of topics, activities, and displays of work all centered around the ISS mission," Wright proudly states. "Our school is vibrating with excitement and activity."

To prepare for the December 19th contact, first grade classes created two themes: 'Flying High is Grade One', and 'Adventures in Space'. Second grade classes composed essays titled 'Why I Want to be An Astronaut.' The junior high classes created Powerpoint presentations, slide-shows and simulated models of future ISS stations. The entire student body of 700 students also developed questions and auditioned for the interview slots. Fourteen students were selected from the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, and 8th grades.

KA3HDO told ANS "the contact itself is just the tip of the iceberg!" Many more such contacts are in the planning stages.

Hams around the world are welcome to will be listening in on the Burbank school's call to the ISS crew on the 19th. The contact will occur on the ISS amateur radio published downlink of 145.800 MHz. In addition, the ARISS Team will be web-casting the contact between the ISS crew and the Burbank school. See http://www.msnbc.com/m/lv/default.asp

For additional information about the ISS amateur radio contact and the Burbank School ISS mission, see http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/

The Discovery Channel aired a program that most amateur radio satellite operators found very interesting. 'Inside the Space Station' initially was broadcast on Sunday, December 10th. In case ANS readers missed it, the program repeats in North America on December 17, 18 and 23, 2000. Check local listing for times, or visit the Discovery Channel web site for details: http://www.discovery.com/stories/science/iss/iss.html

[ANS thanks the ARISS team and ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for this information]

New Picosats Planned

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, tells ANS that 'Kodiak Star' -- the first planned orbital launch from Alaska's new Kodiak Launch Complex, will be a NASA collaborative mission with the Department of Defense. The payload will consist of several small satellites, currently scheduled for launch aboard a Lockheed Martin Athena-I launch vehicle.

NASA's spacecraft in the Kodiak Star mission is Starshine-3, a small picosat about 1-meter in diameter. Starshine-3 is covered with front surface aluminum mirrors polished by participating grade schools from around the world.

PICOsat, the primary DOD Satellite, will carry several experiments in the areas of vibration isolation and ionosphere observations, along with polymer batteries. It was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited.

Also onboard will be a prototype communications satellite called PCSat, which will operate in the amateur radio bands, and was designed and manufactured by midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy. Its primary mission is to become part of the Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS).

The forth bird is a spacecraft called SAPPHIRE, a micro-satellite designed and built by students at Stanford University and Washington University-St. Louis. Its primary mission is to space-qualify two sets of infrared sensors designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Stanford University. Secondary experiments include a digital camera and voice synthesizer.

Kodiak Star is targeted for launch on August 31, 2001.

[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for this information]

ANS in Brief

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

Lunar meteorite ages present new, strong evidence for the 'lunar cataclysm', a 20-to-200 million-year episode of intense bombardment of the Moon and the Earth ending about 3.9 billion years ago.
-SpaceDaily
Listing a classified ad to buy and sell amateur radio-related equipment on the ARRL's Radios On-Line service now is free to League members. Listings will continue to be available for viewing by everyone. ARRL members now will be able to post free ads up to 100 words.
-ARRL Letter
Deep Space-1 has completed another challenging phase of its remarkable journey through the solar system by passing on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. Since leaving Earth orbit in 1998, DS1 has been orbiting the Sun just like a planet.
-SpaceDaily
Russia is on track to crash its history-making Mir space station into a huge, desolate zone of South Pacific waters in late February. Mir has been a long time fixture in space as the central core of the Russian station was hurled into orbit in February 1986.
-Space.com
As first-class domestic postage in the U.S. increases to 34 cents starting January 7th, the cost of mailing a QSL card within the U.S. will remain at 20 cents. Airmail QSL's will increase, now 50 cents if bound for Canada or Mexico and 70 cents to anywhere else in the world.
-ARRL Letter
The growing population of satellites flying above our planet continue to be guided by global satellite navigation systems just as easily as by ground-based systems, thanks to the recent work of ESA, who helped develop two new GPS space receivers, the TOPSTAR 3000 in conjunction with the French-based company Alcatel, and the SGR system in collaboration with Surrey Satellite Technology in the UK. On this side of the pond, AMSAT's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, has worked professionally with GPS guided satellites for years.
-SpaceDaily/NN0DJ
Need a neat digital photograph that makes nice wallpaper for a computer desktop? John, G7ETA, suggests http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg
-AMSAT-BB

Weekly Satellite Report

ISS . Mir . RS-12 . RS-13 . RS-15 . AO-10 . UO-11 . UO-14 . AO-16 . DO-17 . WO-18 . LO-19 . FO-20 . UO-22 . KO-23 . KO-25 . IO-26 . AO-27 . FO-29 . TO-31 . GO-32 . SO-33 . PO-34 . SO-35 . UO-36 . AO-40

Phase 3D / AMSAT-OSCAR 40 / AO-40

V-band Beacon 145.898 MHz
S-Band transmitters: operational at certain times
Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher from Kourou, French Guiana. A 50-second video of the launch can be seen at: http://arianespace.com/interior/v135better.mov
Status: unknown, no telemetry receive since December 13, 2000

The health of AO-40 is still being assessed following the loss of telemetry on December 13th. Various stations have reported hearing AO-40 on 2-meters which is positive. However, since the anticipated reset of the systems, which was due to take place at the very earliest on Saturday, December 16th, there has not been any change reported. Several options still remain to be investigated and the control stations are still working to develop a positive sequence of events. P3D Project leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, reports that control operators are trying to recover the telemetry intact, so as to determine the exact cause of the incident.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL for this information]

International Space Station/ARISS

Worldwide packet uplink: 145.990 MHz
Region 1 voice uplink: 145.200 MHz
Region 2/3 voice uplink: 144.490 MHz
Worldwide downlink: 145.800 MHz
TNC callsign RZ3DZR
ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis
Status: Operational (although current ISS workload is limiting operation)

ARISS is made up of delegates from major national amateur radio organizations, including AMSAT.

U.S. callsign: NA1SS (NN1SS will be used for ground-based transmissions from the Goddard Space Flight Center)
Russian callsign: RZ3DZR
German call sign: DL0ISS

RZ3DZR is also the callsign entered into the TNC currently onboard Alpha.

More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

[ANS thanks ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, for this information]

RS-13

Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 145.860 MHz
Launched February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher

Operational, mode T

Kevin, AC5DK, reports, "while there has been some mode changing in the past few weeks, RS-13's transponder is hopefully settled down and contacts are being reported. One problem some may have been experiencing is that until recently the published frequencies for the RS-13 Mode T downlink were wrong. Refer to ANS bulletins or the AC5DK web page for the correct frequencies."

The latest information on RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the AC5DK RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information]

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)
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

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)
Launched June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Semi-operational.

DX continues to be worked (and heard) on AO-10. Valery, UN3G, reports recent contacts with VU2MKP, VU2GMN, TR8CA, EB8AYA, ZR6JRN, TK1CY, FR1GZ, V73AT, VR2XMT, VK2ZDX, VK2APG, DU1EV, UA0FC, UA9HK, RA3PG, UR5MGW, in addition to many EU and JA stations.

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 436.795 MHz FM
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational

Periodically, AO-27's 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 current TEPR settings (as of November 25, 2000) are:

TEPR 4: 18
TEPR 5: 36

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

[ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information]

UO-14

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]

SunSat SO-35

Mode J uplink 145.825 MHz FM
Mode J downlink 436.250 MHz FM

Mode B uplink 436.291 MHz FM
Mode B downlink 145.825 MHz FM

Launched February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
Operational.

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]

JAS-1b FO-20

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.

Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators 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.

[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
Digital Mode JD: Uplink 145.850, 145.870, 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Callsign 8J1JCS
Digi-talker Mode: Downlink 435.910 MHz FM
Launched August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan

The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following operation schedule of FO-29:

through Dec 24	JD 1200 baud PSK
Dec 25 - Jan 7	JA

N1JEZ reports that as of 16:59 UTC on December 17th FO-29 is still in mode JA.

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]

SAUDISAT-1A

Uplink to be released
Downlink 437.075 MHz
Launched September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway

SaudiSat-1A will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

SAUDISAT-1B

Uplink to be released
Downlink 436.775 MHz
Launched September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway

SaudiSat-1B will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

TIUNGSAT-1

Uplink 145.850 or 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 437.325 MHz
Broadcast callsign: MYSAT3-11
BBS: MYSAT3-12
NUP: MYSAT3-10
Launched September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational in digital mode, currently at 9600 baud FSK

Chris, G7UPN, tells ANS that recently, TiungSat-1 has been operating at a data rate of 38k4. Data recovery at 38k4 is reported to be extremely good with efficiencies near 100%. The output power is at 8 watts "which should provide a very good downlink," said Chris, adding "the downside is that with the high power transmitter operating, the power budget is negative so we can't support continuous operation."

According to G7UPN, TiungSat-1 now requires the amateur radio station to switch the downlink 'on' when the satellite comes into range. The way this works is for the ground station software to send a request to the spacecraft to switch the downlink on. The spacecraft receives this request and checks the battery voltage to see if it can support the operation, and if it can it will activate the downlink.

TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to commercial land and weather imaging payloads will offer FM and FSK amateur radio communication.

TiungSat-1, named after the mynah bird of Malaysia, was developed as a collaborative effort between the Malaysian government and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.

For more information on TiungSat-1, see http://www.yellowpages.com.my/tiungsat/tiung_main.htm

KO-25

Uplink 145.980 MHz FM
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Broadcast callsign: HL02-11
BBS: HL02-12
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational.

Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal KO-25 operation with moderate to heavy traffic.

[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
Broadcast callsign: UOSAT5-11
BBS: UOSAT5-12
Launched July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Operational

Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal UO-22 operation with heavy individual station and Satgate traffic.

More information on the satellite is available at http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/

[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
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 through November 14, 2000 good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon as the satellite is currently seeing good solar conditions which should continue until the end of the year. Ground control stations have reset the magnetorquer counters, the spin period has varied between 217 and 276 seconds. The battery voltage observed during daylight passes is unchanged with an average value of 14.0, with a range of 13.9 to 14.1 volts. Internal temperatures have increased slightly and are probably near maximum value. They are now 6.6C and 4.8C for battery and telemetry electronics. A single WOD survey of dated 06-October-2000, has been transmitted. The mode-S beacon is transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The beacon is a useful test source for mode-S converters. The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally off but can sometimes be heard when the satellite is being commanded by ground control.

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 437.150 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK
CW Downlink 437.125 MHz
Broadcast callsign: LUSAT-11
BBS: LUSAT-12
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.

Telemetry (limited) is as follows:

Sat Dec 16 at 10:46 2000 UTC
LUSAT HIHI 60 AUN ADT AVA AD4 AUV A6B A4N AE6

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.]

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)

Uplink 145.900, 145.920, 145.940, 145.860 MHz FM, 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.025 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz.
Broadcast callsign: PACSAT-11
BBS: PACSAT-12
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Semi-operational.

Russ, WJ9F, reported he has been doing some WOD (Whole Orbit Data) collections recently and has had the S-band transmitter on during some passes. Russ has a software update planned that may allow (hopefully) continuous S-band operation.

Telemetry is as follows:

Beacon text:
AO-16 S-Band Tx testing to begin shortly
Pacsat owned and operated by AMSAT-NA
AO-16 Command Team <WJ9F>

uptime is 307/06:48:24.  	Time is Sat Dec 16 10:23:22 2000
+X (RX) Temp     7.865 D  	RX Temp          1.209 D
BCR Load Cur     0.436 A  	PSK TX RF Out    1.780 W
BCR Input Cur    0.427 A  	BCR Output Cur   0.354 A
Bat 1 Temp       6.654 D  	Bat 2 Temp       6.654 D
Baseplt Temp     6.654 D  	RC PSK BP Temp  -0.607 D
RC PSK HPA Tmp   0.603 D  	+Y Array Temp   -0.607 D
PSK TX HPA Tmp   3.024 D  	+Z Array Temp   18.151 D
Total Array C= 0.426 Bat Ch Cur=-0.081 Ifb= 0.002 I+10V= 0.434
TX:1009 BCR:82 PWRC:26D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:63

A new WOD collection of current graphics along with general information and telemetry samples can be found at http://www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu

[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information.]

TMSAT-1 TO-31

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.

Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal TO-31 operation, with moderate traffic. Jim tells ANS that no new image files have been posted since December 10th.

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
Broadcast callsign: UOSAT12-11
BBS: UOSAT12-12
Launched April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational

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]

ITAMSAT IO-26

Uplink 145.875, 145.900, 145.925, 145.950 MHz FM
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK
Broadcast callsign: ITMSAT-11
BBS: ITMSAT-12
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Semi-operational.

Digipeater function is on, open for APRS users.

[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
Broadcast callsign: HL01-11
BBS: HL01-12
Launched August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Intermittent operation with the downlink transmitter operating at unpredictable intervals

Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter continues in non-operational status. Jim says that KO-23 shows some signs of trying to recover, but no useful data has been downlinked. The duration of this status is unpredictable.

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. "We are not sure when the bird might turn off again due to insufficient power. The capability of the onboard power system has been less and less," said Kim. HL0ENJ also noted that as of October 30, 2000 the onboard computer was reset and a reboot of operational software is now underway.

[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
Launched February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher

Status: unconfirmed

ANS has received reports from several stations that the 29.408 MHz RS-12 beacon has been heard. The beacon telemetry indicated that both the 10 and 2-meter receivers aboard RS-12 are currently off.

Jerry, K5OE, reports both the 2 and 10-meter beacons have been heard at his QTH, (although the 10-meter beacon has been intermittent).

[ANS thanks K5OE and AC5DK for this information]

TechSat-1B GO-32

Downlink 435.225 MHz, HDLC telemetry
Launched July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Semi-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 (the GO-32 beacon sends one short telemetry status transmission of 44 bytes) and, upon request, the complete telemetry buffer.

ANS has no further information.

PANSAT PO-34

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 has no further information.

Mir Space Station

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'.

Several news agencies are reporting the Mir space station will be ditched this coming February in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.

Stay tuned to ANS for further details.

DO-17 (DOVE)

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.

ANS has no further information.

WEBERSAT (WO-18)

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.

ANS has no further information.

SEDSAT SO-33

Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Launched October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida
Semi-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

ANS has no further information.

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.