SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0310 * SpaceNews 10-Mar-97 * BID: $SPC0310 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MARCH 10, 1997 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * A NEW STAR IS BORN * ====================== The 04-Mar-97 issue of OMRI Digest reported that Russia successfully carried out its first launch from the new Svobodnyi cosmodrome in Amur Oblast on 04-Mar-97, sending a Zeya military satellite into orbit aboard a Start-1 booster rocket (a modified SS-25 ballistic missile). The Zeya satellite is equipped GLONASS and GPS receivers along with 20 laser reflectors for tracking purposes. Of interest to Amateur Radio Operators is the fact that the Zeya satellite also carries a Radio Sputnik Amateur Radio communications transponder. Zeya is identified as RS-16, and Amateurs around the world have successfully copied CW telemetry transmissions from the new satellite on 29.408 MHz. OZ1MY reported hearing what sounded like slow PSK on 29.451 MHz on at least one pass. The following are the latest Keplerian elements for Radio Sputnik 16 (RS-16) from the NASA OIG RAID RBBS as provided by Ken Ernandes, N2WWD: RS-16 1 24744U 97010A 97066.14889668 .00002139 00000-0 74153-4 0 367 2 24744 97.2814 333.1163 0009586 91.5327 268.6998 15.30875098 474 * NP4B LUNAR TEST * =================== Bob Zimmerman, NP4B, reports that station NP4B (Arecibo, Puerto Rico) will make a 1296 MHz lunar receiving test on Sunday, March 9. For lack of an hour-angle motor, the NP4B dish is fixed at 20 degrees above the eastern horizon. The moon will pass through the beam at 8:25 AM Atlantic Standard Time (1225 UTC) with a declination of -1.8=BA. A QSL will be sent to any station heard. * MIR NEWS * ============ Miles Mann, WF1F, has provided the following messages from the members of the Mir 22 crew prior to their departure at the beginning of March. These messages were relayed to planet earth using the Amateur Radio station on board the Mir space station. From commander Valery Korsan on Mir, Crew #22. Valery and Aleksander will be returning home on 3/2/97 Jerry and the new Crew #23 are currently manning the mir space station To : ALL From : R0MIR @ BBS : xID : Subject: Bye bye Bye bye our nice & kind frends. Tnx for your contacts with R0MIR-1 space station MIR. We'll remember all you & your support us in spase flight,your humour,your attention to our job on the orbit. We were happy Stat : PR Posted : 02/27/97 19:22 To : ALL From : R0MIR @ BBS : xID : Subject: From "Frigate" Our nicname was "Frigate",new crew is "Sirius". "Frigate says goodbye to all our friends on planet Earth. It was great to talk with you all--we enjoyed it alot. We wish you good health, success, and happiness. Dosvidania.73 de R0MIR-"Frigate". * HALE-BOPP NEWS * ================== Brian Webb, KD6NRP, reports observing Hale-Bopp on the morning of Wednesday 05-Mar-97 at 04:50 PST from Thousand Oaks, California. The comet was about 15 degrees above the northeast horizon. Brian reported that to the unaided eye, the nucleus was bright. As a matter of fact, it was the third brighest object in the sky (the moon was the brighest, followed by the star Vega). A tail more than 1 degree in length was seen (this is significant, since the sky at his location is bright due to light pollution). Brian estimated the brightness of the nucleus to be about magnitude +0.6. * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/ PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX