SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0414
* SpaceNews 14-Apr-97 *


BID: $SPC0414


			       =========
			       SpaceNews
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			  MONDAY APRIL 14, 1997


SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use.


* MIR NEWS *
============
At 1730 UTC on 08-Apr-97, the Russian Space Center in Moscow reported that
the docking of the Progress module with the MIR Space Station was a success.
The Progress is bringing up vital spare parts to repair the carbon dioxide
scrubber on MIR.  The scrubber shut itself off late last week when a coolant
leak caused it to overheat.  Both NASA and Moscow are reporting there is no
danger to the crew.  

In other news, the Associated Press reported last week that Russian controllers
had literally "pulled the plug" on ALL non-essential Mir activities until
further notice.  There is little doubt that this also includes ham radio
since it is considered to be a non essential activity.

[Info via James Flynn and Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF]


* STS-83 MISSION SCRUB *
========================
Shuttle mission STS-83 was scrubbed early due to a problem with one of
the fuel cells carried on the space shuttle Columbia.  Columbia landed
safely on Tuesday after cutting short its 16-day mission.

J. Dave Mayfield, KB9BNR, points out that the scrub was due not to any
partcularly danger condition on the space shuttle, but rather because of
space shuttle flight rules that require the proper functioning of three
fuel cells.

Quoting from NASA:

  "The shuttle has three fuel cells, which use a reaction of liquid
  hydrogen and liquid oxygen to generate electricity and produce drinking
  water.  Although one fuel cell produces enough electricity to conduct
  on-orbit and landing operations, shuttle flight rules require that all
  three be functioning well to ensure the safety of the crew and provide
  sufficient backup capability for the highly dynamic reentry and landing
  periods." 


* SOLAR FLARE NEWS *
====================
A solar flare was detected by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
satellite on 07-Apr-97 at 1400 UTC.  The flare was reported to be a class
C6/3N event meaning it was optically large, but contained relatively little
x-ray energy.  The next sunspot cycle is expected to bring solar flares 100
to 1000 times more powerful than last week's event over the next three to
six years.  These could produce suddent ionospheric disturbances, geomagnetic
distrubances, auroral displays in many areas of the world, as well as
anomalies and even failures of satellites in earth orbit.

Spectacular images of last week's storm taken by the SOHO spacecraft may
be found at:

	http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/newsroom/flash/flash.htm

Current images of the sun and the solar corona may be found at:

	http://umbra.gsfc.nasa.gov

Current predictions and other information can be obtained from the Space
Environment Center at:

	http://www.sec.noaa.gov

Information regarding current solar flux and geomagnetic data can be
found at:

	http://solar.uleth.ca/solar

A great deal of information is available from IPS Radio and Space Services
in Australia pertaining to this subject may be found at:

	http://www.ips.oz.au


* AO-27 NEWS *
============== 
Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 satellite control operator reports that an
Internet Web page describing the AO-27 satellite, its operating schedule,
and a description of TEPR states may be found at the following URL:

	http://www.umbra.com/sats/


* CALL FOR PAPERS *
===================
The final call for papers to authors who wish to present papers at
the 1997 Space Symposium in Toronto on Oct. 17-19, 1997 has been made.
Authors and titles are due by May 1st with abstracts by June 1st.  Final
versions are due by Aug. 1st.  Planners also encourage those not able to
attend to consider a paper for publication in the Proceedings of the
symposium.

Submissions should be made to Wayne Chandler, ve3whc@amsat.org, or by mail
to:

	W. H. Chandler
	Box 6
	Carlisle, On. L0R1H0
	Ontario, Canada.

[Info via Wayne Chandler, VE3WHC]


* RS-16 NEWS *
==============
Pat Gowen, G3IOR, had the oppotunity to confirm that spurious emissions
are indeed coming from the RS-16 satellite.  These emissions are on the
70-cm band when the 435.504 MHz beacon is active.

At first, Pat looked for spurious emissions using his 2 x 1/2 wave verticals
in phase.  With this arrangement, he heard the 435.504 MHz beacon at an S9
signal level with no other signals detected.  Pat then connected his 2 x 13
element RHCP AZ/EL Yagis, and sure enough, the spurious emissions reported
by Leo, UA3CR, could be heard.  The strongest was just S2, which Pat estimates
to be about 35 dB below the beacon.  Pat heard these emissions as very rough
T2 auroral like signals on 435.461, 435.478, 435.483, 435.491, 435.507,
435.516, 435.524, 435.538 and 435.544 MHz.  These frequencies are
approximate due to the rapid Doppler shift of the downlink signals.


* 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


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