SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0505 * SpaceNews 05-Apr-97 * BID: $SPC0505 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MAY 5, 1997 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * STS-84 LAUNCH DATE SET * ========================== NASA managers set May 15 as the official launch date for Space Shuttle Atlantis' sixth docking with Russia's Space Station Mir following completion of the Flight Readiness Review at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), FL. The STS-84 launch window opens at about 4:08 a.m. EDT (0808 UTC) and extends for approximately seven minutes. The actual opening of the window may vary by a couple of minutes based on the Shuttle's rendezvous requirements and Mir's precise location in space at the time of launch. An on-time launch May 15 will result in Atlantis landing at about 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 UTC), Saturday, May 24, at KSC, completing nine days in space. "We have just completed a comprehensive review of the STS-84 mission," said Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey, who chaired the meeting. "Together with our Russian partners, we reviewed the status of Atlantis and the Mir station and have agreed that everything is ready to proceed with the next docking mission. We look forward to welcoming Jerry Linenger home after his stay on Mir and also look forward to watching Mike Foale continue our cooperative efforts and joint science experiments on the station." STS-84 is the sixth in a series of docking missions between the Shuttle and Mir and the third involving the exchange of American astronauts. Linenger, who has been a Mir crew member since January 15, will be replaced by Foale, who then will spend more than four months on the station before returning to Earth on the STS-86 Atlantis/Mir docking mission in September. [Info via NASA] * AMSAT-OSCAR-16 NEWS * ======================= AMSAT-OSCAR-16 continues to perform well providing store-and-forward "Pacsat" communications around the world. The satellite OBC is posting an uptime of over 960 days since it's last software reload. The current beacon message reads as follows: PACSAT-1>AMSAT : May 1997 PACSAT AO-16 Owned and Operated by AMSAT-NA Command Team WJ9F, WD0E, VK7ZBX, KB5MU AO16 Command Team * FUJI-OSCAR-29 NEWS * ====================== Fuji-OSCAR-29 was in Mode JD (1200 bps) early this week running mailbox software version 1.01. Current mailbox commands are as follows: ------ JAS-2 Mailbox Availlable commands ------ B : List file headers addressed to ALL F : List file headers from latest F : List file headers since posted day H : Show help message K : Kill a file number M : List file headers addressed to current user Q : Disconnect(quit) JAS-2 mailbox R+ : Read a file number+ U : List current user(s) Y : More display W : Write a file The current operating schedule is as follows: May 2 (Fri) 10:26z(19:26) JD 1200bps 9 (Fri) 00:57z(09:57) JD 9600bps 16 (Fri) 01:35z(10:35) JA 23 (Fri) 00:29z(09:29) JD 1200bps 30 (Fri) 01:07z(10:07) JD 9600bps * MIR NEWS * ============ The Alaiedon Elementary School has established Amateur Radio communications with the Cosmonauts on the Mir space station. On 14-Apr-97, Alaiedon Elementary school students made a direct contact with Jerry Linenger on Mir. The students were very excited about making the contact. [Info via Rudy, IW2BSF and Marian, N8RBB from Michigan] * RUDAK PHOTOS ON THE WEB * =========================== Bdale, N3EUA, updated the Phase 3D RUDAK Web Page on amsat.org using images generated by Lyle, WA7GXD. The images show various RUDAK modules undergoing turn-on and testing in his lab in late March. The RUDAK page may be accessed at the following URL: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/phase3d/rudak-u/ [Info via Bdale, N3EUA] * 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