Satgen 609 AO40 Initial Orbit by GM4IHJ (BID SGEN609) 2000-11-25 Well it is finally up there. But what can you do with it? Amsat were still showing Keplerian elements for a day 320 launch. So lets add a day to the Epoch date and see when it might be heard. 17th November 0830 to 1100 approx never above 6 degrees elevation , which looks bad . The elevation of the local hill on that azimuth is 7 degrees . So not surprisingly nothing heard 435.45 MHz, but G3IOR thinks he has it on 2m on 145.9 MHz. So quick shift to 2m , only to be drowned by loud RS13 KT downlink voice signals. When RS13 signals cease there is a very weak 145.901 MHz signal , but it is far too weak to classify. Who gets the prize for nominating this collision frequency ? 18th November In range twice today but both are horizon scrapers at this QTH 56 degrees from AO40s equatorial orbit. A search around 435.45 MHz and also over the band up to 435.85 , produces nothing. So look for G3IORs signal on 2m when it comes above the horizon here. It is there quite clearly at 0 degrees on the horizon . But is it AO40 ? Difficult to tell without the 400 bps modem. However FFTDSP comes up with the answer. A quick check of the ancient AO13 telemetry spectrum library print out, shows an exact match with what is now on the computer screen. All of which raises several questions. Why 400 bps , a mode for which few modems exist , when a large number of amateurs have 1200 bps for terrestrial packet already in their shacks? Why did Amsat fail to mention the possibility that a 2m beacon would come on after launch? Indeed there is no mention of a 2m beacon in any of the P3D pre launch literature. So talked to several other Ops about their progress. They almost universally expressed their utter confusion with the pre launch published track , Amsat Journal Vol23 No 4 page 5 Figure 1 refers. Noting that it can be interpreted as showing a launch from south of the equator, while Kourou is some way north of the equator. All rather confusing. At least the 2m beacon seemed to be telling us something. The afternoon pass west of IHJ was lower elevation but stronger signal than the morning pass east of IHJ. A feature which has repeated each day since . Which together with the lack of periodic fading seems to suggest that the satellite is spin stabilized with residual spin fron launch , and it is pointing most of its antennas away from earth, to the east along the equator. Which is also bad luck for the Sband and above antenna pointing. Though maybe the use of the ArcJet will alter that. So as seen from GM4IHJ 56N 4W IO86, and others in the north, these first few orbits suggest lean pickings for another 10 months. In that the near equatorial orbit of the satellite will only give a reasonable period in range on a particular orbit if the satellite is within 70 degrees of longitude of Scotland and , just as important its apogee is occuring when its orbit brings it north of the equator. This situation will not change all that much even if and when the ArcJet raises the apogee height presently 39400 kms approx , up to the proposed 60,000 kms or more. Noting that this only widens the footprint angle by 4 degrees . An effect consequent on earth curvature which results in increased height greater than 34000, having rapidly decreasing effect on the size of the footprint the satellite sees on the earth.