SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0714 * SpaceNews 14-Jul-97 * BID: $SPC0714 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY JULY 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 * ============ News of Mir's Progress docking and EVA has been reported by Mike Foale via the Amateur Packet Radio communications system on-board the Mir space station: Stat : PR Posted : 07/07/97 09:40 To : ALL From : R0MIR @ BBS : BID : Subject: Mir Progress Docking Progress docked normally this morning. We are waiting 3 orbits before we start to unload it, checking the integrity of the hatch seals. The station attitude control system is working well, using the girodynes, and the power sth the base block and module Kvant 2 powered (airlock and toilet) with modules Kristal and Priroda [are] unpowered. Greenhouse experiment is continuing, using power from the base block, to dry the seed pods that have formed quite nicely. Stat : PR Posted : 07/11/97 16:08 To : ALL From : R0MIR @ BBS : BID : Subject: Mir EVA The crew is now extremely busy, trying to crawl through all the bags unloaded from Progress, which are now stored in dark, wet modules, which have no power. We are trying to inventory and assemble the 30 or so cables and adapt, required to install the hatch umbilical. A training run will be done on the 15th, and the real eva sometime after that. I will get some refresher training on preparing the soyuz for evacuation, and will be in a spacesuit,b,in the Soyuz during the eva itself. I will still try to read all your messages, but will have to leave most unanswered because of the little time available to us. Mike. KB5UAC [Info via Dr. Dave Larsen, and Miles Mann] * HIGH POWER NOT WELCOME ON OSCARS * ==================================== BJ Arts, WT0N, serves as an Official Observer (OO), and has received many complaints about satellite operators running excessively high levels of transmitter power within the uplink passband of Amateur communication satellites. Last week he observed stations on FO-20 and FO-29 running enough power to be 5 to 10 'S' units above the level of the beacon signal. In one case, two operators, who were in contact with one another, were causing FO-20's AGC to block out all other incoming signals operating with normal levels of transmitter power. Satellite users should make certain that their downlink signals are no stronger than that of the beacon transmitter. Excessive levels of uplink power pervent other users from equally sharing the satellite's transponder. It only takes several watts of transmitter power to make contacts through low-earth orbiting Amateur satellites. If groundstations have difficulty hearing their uplink signal with more than several watts of power, then a significant upgrade in receiver sensitivity may be in order. This can be accomplished by using a higher gain downlink antenna, high quality coax, or the use of a low-noise preamplifier (preferably mounted at the feedpoint of the antenna). * AO-27 SCHEDULE * ================== AO-27 TEPR (Timed Eclipse Power Regulation) States are expected to follow the following schedule (as of July 6, 1997): TEPR STATE Time TX Status ---------------------------------------- 1 N/A OFF 2 N/A OFF 3 --- OFF 4 21 OFF 5 17 ON at Medium Power 6 --- OFF The TEPR States are defined as follows: TEPR 1, Started when the satellite enters the earth's shadow (eclipse) TEPR 2, Started at (TEPR 1 time) after the eclipse starts TEPR 3, Started at (TEPR 1 time) + (TEPR 2 time) ... TEPR 4, Started when the satellite enters sunlight TEPR 5, Started at (TEPR 4 time) after the satellite enters sunlight TEPR 6, Started at (TEPR 4) + (TEPR 5) ... Please note that TEPR states 1, 2 and 3 occur during nighttime passes, and TEPR states 4, 5 and 6 occur during the day. These occur during EVERY pass, not just over the U.S.A. The times assigned to the TEPR states are chosen for the health of the satellite over operation convenience. Therefore, during parts of the year the satellite will turn on late or turn off early as seen by ground stations. Users are reminded that as an FM-mode repeater, AO-27 is subject to the "capture effect" and can only transmit one signal at a time. Users are asked to cooperate, keep calls short, give breaks so as many stations as possible can work a pass, and above all, listen before and while transmitting. The satellite has a very sensitive receiver, and stations running approximately 25 watts power to moderate-gain omnidirectional antenna can get a good uplink signal into the satellite. A sensitive UHF-FM receiver with a preamplifier and an omnidirectional antenna can receive AO-27's downlink with some fading; moderate-gain directional arrays should provide a solid receive signal. Remember to correct for the +/- 9 kHz of Doppler shift on the 436 MHz downlink signal during a pass. No Doppler correction is needed for the 145.850 MHz uplink signal. Users are asked not to transmit on 145.85 MHz if they do not hear the satellite's downlink so as to avoid possible interference to other satellite uplinks and downlinks on adjacent frequencies. This, and other information on the AO-27 satellite can be can be found at: http://www.umbra.com. [Info via Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control Operator] * FO-29 SCHEDULE * ================== The following is from the July issue of JARL News (magazine of Japan Amateur Radio League), originally in Japanese, and is provided by Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK: July 4 (Fri) 09:13z Digitalker July 8 (Tue) 09:05z JA July 11 (Fri) 09:51z JD 1200 bps July 18 (Fri) 00:20z JD 9600 bps July 25 (Fri) 09:23z JA Aug 1 (Fri) 08:17z JD 1200 bps Aug 8 (Fri) 00:30z JD 9600 bps Aug 15 (Fri) 01:08z JA Aug 22 (Fri) 08:26z JD 1200 bps Aug 29 (Fri) 00:40z JD 9600 bps Sept 5 (Fri) 01:18z JA Sept 12 (Fri) 00:13z JD 1200 bps Sept 19 (Fri) 00:51z JD 9600 bps Sept 26 (Fri) 08:09z JA FO-20 is in Mode JA continuously. * RS-12 NEWS * ============== Rusty, NM1K, reports a new regular on RS-12: KL7AH. KL7AH can often be heard on the east coast of US during passes having elevations of 20 degrees of less above the horizon. * STS-94 SAREX NEWS * ===================== The SAREX experiment package on Space Shuttle Columbia has been activated in both voice and packet radio modes. An archive of messages regarding STS-94 SAREX bulletins is available at: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/sarex/sarex_mainpage.html The SAREX Working Group has designated the following frequencies during the STS-94 mission: FM Voice Downlink: (Worldwide) 145.55 MHz FM FM Voice Uplink: 144.91, 144.93, 144.95, 144.97, and 144.99 MHz FM Voice Uplink: (Europe only) 144.70, 144.75, and 144.80 MHz FM Packet Downlink: 145.55 MHz FM Packet Uplink: 144.49 MHz FM Voice call signs: KC5RNI, KC5BTK and KC5FVF FM Packet call sign: W5RRR-1 A surplus of power in the Microgravity Science Laboratory has permitted packet radio operations to take place on STS-94. Since STS-94 is a re-flight of the shortened STS-83 flight, and since the SAREX gear did not go back to NASA/JSC from KSC and was not re-programmed after STS-83, the Heathkit SAREX TNC aboard Columbia reports "STS-83" in downlink packets. Hams should avoid transmitting on the shuttle's downlink frequencies. The crew will not favor any uplink frequency, so your ability to communicate with SAREX will be the "luck of the draw." Transmit only when the shuttle is within range of your station, and when the shuttle station is on-the-air. The crew will use separate receive and transmit frequencies. PLEASE do not transmit on the shuttle's DOWNLINK frequency. The DOWNLINK is your receiving frequency. The UPLINK is your transmitting frequency. Late aquisition of signal continues to be observed while the orbiter attitude is roughly "tail down, main engines forward". Most contacts reported occur well after rise time, but not necessarily after TCA, due to the observers squint angle of the antenna on Columbia. AOS seems to be about 1.5 to 2 minutes after rise. Send reception reports and QSLs to ARRL EAD, STS-94 QSL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494, USA. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-94, date and time in UTC, frequency and mode (FM voice or packet). In addition, you must also include a SASE using a large, business-sized envelope if you wish to receive a card. STS-94 represents the 23rd flight of Columbia and the 85th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981. Be advised that the next SAREX mission is not scheduled until August 1998. A great deal of effort is being made toward the next phase of SAREX: implementation on the International Space Station. [Info via Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ] * 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