November 16, 2001
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AO-40 celebrates one year in space!
The Phase 3D satellite was launched on November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher from Kourou, French Guiana.
Transponder operation started on May 5, 2001 when the U-band and L1-band uplinks were connected to the S-2 transmitter passband
downlink via the matrix switch.
Congratulations to the entire AO-40 team!
Bob, WB4APR, has been working on a portable reflector system, following the pioneering work of G6LVB. Bob has been working on a
1-meter suitcase portable system. Check out the construction at http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/ao40ant.html.
AO-40 is currently in a long period during which the Earth eclipses the Sun near perigee. These actually began about August 28th, and
will rapidly increase in length. They will continue well into June 2002.
For the current transponder operating schedule visit http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm
Stay tuned to ANS, the official source of AO-40 information.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for this information]
Expedition-3 Commander Frank Culbertson and Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov completed the external outfitting of the PIRS docking compartment on
the International Space Station recently, conducting a 5 hour spacewalk outside the orbital outpost.
Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, who conducted two previous spacewalks
in October, monitored the activities from inside the ISS and operated the
Canadarm2 robotic arm, providing television views for flight controllers in
Houston and Moscow.
Science work aboard the station has resumed this week.
ISS will have a new set of amateur radio antennas soon. The antennas are expected to be transported to ISS shortly and installed around
the perimeter of the Service Module, allowing future operation from HF to
microwave frequencies. The HF antenna is made up of a flexible tape that will work on 10 meters (along with possibility 15 and 20 meters).
Miles, WF1F, has posted pictures of the new antenna system on the web
at http://www.marex-na.org/fileshtml/galleryantenna.html
With systems operating normally, the station is orbiting at an average
altitude of 247 statute miles. For additional information on station activities, including sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth,
see http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/
[ANS thanks NASA for this information]
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
- AMSAT-NA's VP of Human Spaceflight Programs Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, participated in a public interest radio program (along with
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR) on NPR's WAMU radio station. The session was carried on 33 NPR stations throughout the U.S. Frank talked
about satellite operation, centered on the ARISS program. "I really
enjoyed the opportunity to share our tremendous hobby with the rest of the world," said KA3HDO. The lively, informative segment
was complemented by a series of callers - most of them also
amateur radio licensees - who offered additional insights into ham radio or
wanted to share a story. For those who did not hear the program, you
can go to the WAMU Public Interest web site and hear the program on
Real Audio. See http://www.wamu.org/pi/index.html.
-ANS/ARRL
- In the DX department, OM5CM (Slovak Republic) has been active on AO-10. ZS2ACP (South Africa) also created weekend pile-ups on
AO-40, operating when both Europe and North America were in his window.
-Jerry, K5OE
- Jon, N0JK, will be operating HC8N on the FO-20/29, UO-14 and AO-10 from November 20-26th. The primary purpose of this trip is
operating the CQ-WW CW Contest. Pictures of May 2001 HC8N satellite operations are
at http://communities.msn.com/6mdx.
-Jon, N0JK
- Scientists in the Netherlands in cooperation with ESA are tracking an
ozone mini-hole opening over the North Atlantic, heading for Europe.
The scientists predict that the mini hole will see ozone levels fall to
60-70% of the seasonal average as it sweeps from Greenland to southern Scandinavia. Using real time processing of data from the
ERS-2 satellite, the scientists are able to monitor the loss of ozone in
the atmosphere, and watch the hole as it moves.
-ESA
- The 2001 AMSAT Field Day Competition results show W9REG in 12th place, XE2AT in 13th, W8MRM in 14th, K5ENG in 15th and
K4RS in 16th place. Congratulations all!
-Andy, W5ACM
- The Dayton Amateur Radio Association has opened the nominating period for the 2002 Dayton Hamvention Awards. There are three awards
presented each year; Radio Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement,
and Technical Excellence. Awards are decided by the committee, based
partially upon the information received. Nominations can be submitted to
Box 964, Dayton Ohio 45401.
-DARA
- Early in 2002 an Ariane-5 rocket will launch the largest and most
advanced Earth observation satellite ever built in Europe from the
spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana. The ENVISAT satellite will deliver
images and data that will help better understand and more effectively
protect the Earth.
-ESA
- 2001 AMSAT Symposium awards included a presentation to Diana Diggs, in grateful appreciation for her work as Outside Activities
Coordinator for the 2001 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium.
Her dedicated service and hard work in handling the myriad details
associated with this important aspect of our annual gathering was noted
with thanks.
-AMSAT-NA
- The FCC assigned a rulemaking number to the petition in which Kenwood asks the government to permit control methods like its
own Sky Command radio remote system. Kenwood's Sky Command lets a user control a fixed location HF station using a pair of dual-band
VHF/UHF transceivers. A change in Part 97 rules would expand permission to operate an auxiliary station on all 2-meter frequencies
above 144.5 MHz.
-ARNewsLine
- A symbol of American technological prowess, NASA's shuttle Endeavour stands poised on a Kennedy Space Center launch pad, a
potential target for a terrorist attack. But the seven astronauts and
cosmonauts destined to launch aboard the ship say they'll be fearless
fliers when Endeavour blasts off for the International Space Station
later this month.
-NASA
Link to the weekly report on satellite ...
All
Satellites
ISS . 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 . SO-41 . SO-42
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.
AMSAT News Service