SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.01 SPACE FAIR '98 PART 2 A SUCCESS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 116.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1998 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-116.01 Keith Pugh, W5IU, AMSAT-NA Vice President of Operations, tells ANS that the amateur radio satellite demonstrations at the Riverside Applied Learning Center was a huge success. As ANS reported last week, Riverside Applied Learning Center is an elementary school for 'special kids' in the Fort Worth, Texas area. The school has placed emphasis on learning about outer space this year. Last week approximately 200 students and parents from the school attended a 'Mir Visual Sighting Party' and were treated to a "perfect 60 degree elevation Mir pass," said W5IU. Satellite demonstrations took place on Friday, April 24th. Operators participating from Riverside were W5IU, WB5QLD and KG5OA. Satellites utilized in the on-air demonstrations included FO-20, FO-29, AO-27, AO-16, LO-19, UO-22, KO-23, KO-25 and Mir. Contacts were made on the analog (voice) satellites and messages were also received on the digital satellites from the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Austria. W5IU and crew also uploaded several digital messages. Keith also tells ANS it's not too late to send greetings to the school, just send a message to W5IU on any of the current pacsats. In addition to satellite operation, high frequency contacts were made with AD6P, AA0QP, KI0MN (at W0WR), the Kansas Cosmosphere Station in Hutchinson, Kansas, with WA4SIR (at WA3NAN), the Goddard Space Flight Center Radio Club in Greenbelt, Maryland and with WB8IMY at W1AW, the ARRL Headquarters Station in Newington, Connecticut. W5IU passes on a special thanks to Ron Parise, WA4SIR, for the patience and grace he displayed in answering the many questions from the students about his experiences as an astronaut. Space Fair '98 is not over yet. Mike, WB5QLD, will be back at the school on Monday, April 27th to participate in the next MIREX school test through Mir. W5IU closes his report by saying, "for those of us that worked at the school, the enthusiasm displayed by these young children was the best reward we could possibly receive. Thanks again to all that participated." [ANS thanks Keith Pugh, W5IU, AMSAT-NA Vice President of Operations and all who had a hand in making this event a success] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.02 SUCCESSFUL MIR-SCHOOL SERIES CONTINUES HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 116.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1998 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-116.02 Pupils at Newman Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts were the latest to get a chance to speak with US astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF, aboard the Russian Mir space station. On April 13th, some 14 fifth graders asked questions about life aboard Mir, Mir-shuttle dockings, and the duties of the Mir crew. AMSAT/SAREX Technical Mentor Randy Becnel, KC5YJI, called the contact "highly successful." The QSO was made possible via a telebridge with Ellen Baker, KB5SIX, in Houston, Texas. Students got to speak with Thomas for the full 10-minute pass and without interruptions. Becnel said having Baker as the station operator turned out to be "an added and unexpected bonus" for the youngsters. A relative of hers attends Newman Elementary, and she has visited the school previously to talk to the students about life in space. Teacher-coordinator Angela Dinapoli also had met with Baker during a visit to Johnson Space Center. After the contact ended, Baker talked about ham radio and encouraged the kids to consider it as a hobby. On hand for the occasion were local media as well as parents, other teachers and students. In an effort to involve as many of the youngsters as possible, teachers assigned several student reporters to cover the contact and write an article for the school's magazine, called the Dragonfly. Since Mir-school contacts resumed earlier this year after a one-year hiatus, schools in several states have had a chance to chat with Thomas, a native of Australia. Two Connecticut schools remain on the schedule for Mir contacts in May. Additional contacts are possible before Thomas returns to Earth in June. As it now stands, Thomas will be the last US astronaut to serve a tour of duty aboard Mir. Thomas' Russian crewmates, Talgat Musabayev, RO3FT, and Nikolai Budarin, RV3FB, have performed a series of space walks in the past couple of weeks, to make repairs to the aging space outpost. [ANS thanks the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.03 MIREX SCHOOL TEST HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 116.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1998 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-116.03 Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, reports over 40 schools have signed up for the upcoming MIREX School Test. This test will allow amateur radio stations, especially school club stations, to transmit APRS position reports through the Mir Space Station on Monday, April 27th. MIREX has authorized APRS packets for most passes that day between 10:00 and 23:00 UTC. WB4APR tells ANS that it was successfully demonstrated in the last test that more than 30 stations per footprint can be sending APRS position reports through Mir, and Bob says there is room for a few more experimenters, especially in Europe. However, Bob reports that to keep from saturating the channel, MIREX must be selective in asking other stations to participate. MIREX is asking non-school APRS stations to transmit UI position reports via MIR (only) if they are included in any of the following categories: Youth Groups Trains Boats Aircraft Backpack portable running on battery power MIREX is asking all stations not to send any conventional traffic to the Mir Crew via the PMS System regarding this experiment. Mir does not have MIRMON or APRS software on board and are not familiar with the test. They are being informed via MIREX (only). The following URL's will be of interest during the MIREX School test: Live capture of existing Mir downlinks -- http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html Live APRS Map Display of Mir downlinks -- http://www.mirex.net [ANS thanks the MIREX Team, MIREX President Dr. Dave Larsen, N6CO, and Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.04 ANS NEWS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 116.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1998 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-116.04 ANS NEWS IN BRIEF: ** The AMSAT-NA Journal is putting together a list of all satellite projects, from proposals that are looking for help to get going to satellites that are going together and/or are ready to go. If you're involved with such a project, the AMSAT-NA Journal would like to hear from you. Send your information (such as) name of satellite/group, proposed mode(s) of operation, frequencies, special features and launch date or plans to wd9iyt@amsat.org -- Andy Reynolds, WD9IYT ** US astronauts Winston Scott and Daniel Tani are newly licensed hams. Scott is KD5DXD, and Tani is KD5DXE. --The ARRL Letter ** The Dayton Amateur Radio Association has agreed to handle QSL duties for the SAREX space shuttle STS-95 mission. That's the October flight that will carry once-and-future astronaut John Glenn into space for the first time since the 1960s. Two hams are among the STS-95 crew members. --The ARRL Letter, Rosalie White, WA1STO ** More stations reporting RS-17 QSL's received lately in the mail. The latest include DF5DP, VK3YIC, VE6ITV and SV1XV. Mike, WB8ERJ, reports he has received RS-17 QSL's from Russia and Reunion Island, noting they are the same. John, G7HIA tells ANS that in a recent message via packet radio, Andy Mironov, RK3KP, confirmed that return cards resulting from the Sputnik Award activity will be sent via DF4XW. The 425DXNews web page has a picture of the RS-17 QSL at http://www-dx.deis.unibo.it/htdx/ -- AMSAT BB ** The FCC's International Bureau has granted--subject to certain specified conditions--authorizations to four companies to operate non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite systems in low Earth orbit (NVNG MSS or Little Leo systems). None of the operating frequencies are within amateur bands. Little LEO systems will offer data communications services, including two-way data messaging, vehicle tracking and remote meter reading to earthbound users. --FCC Digest, ARRL ** Matt, WV1K, reminds anyone who wants to count grids, states and DXCC countries worked and confirmed via satellite can submit them for posting at his web site using the form there. To avoid confusion, WV1K now acknowledges all postings received via e-mail. The site can be found at http://www.capecod.net/~mcassari -- AMSAT BB /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 116.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1998 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-116.05 MIR/SAFEX SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz Downlink 437.950 MHz FM Not operational at this time. SAFEX II 70 cm QSO Mode Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz Downlink 437.925 MHz FM Semi-operational. PMS Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 Baud AFSK Operational. The modem is a Kantronics KPC-9612 Plus, Revision 8.1. Chris Edmondson, VK3CE, reports working Andy Thomas, VK5MIR, on voice recently. Chris reports they spoke for quite a few minutes, with Andy saying he was very busy, although he hoped to spend a while longer at the mic. KC2BBU monitored a R0MIR voice contact on April 24th at 15:00 UTC. Costa, CT1EAT, reports working Andy recently on 145.985 MHz with 5X9+20/9 signals. WB4APR reports from the US Naval Academy Satellite Lab that during the annual review (and) while the Admiral in charge of Naval Space Command was touring the facility, WB4APR conducted a completely at random two-way chat with Andy. Bob reports most of the VIP's at the Naval Academy were in attendance, and yes, they were impressed. Bob says that even the best planning could never have accomplished this kind of luck, adding, "thank you ham radio!" [ANS thanks the MIREX team for Mir status information] RS-12 Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB Operational, mode KA. The 15m ROBOT is operational. RS-15 Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB Semi-operational. CW appears to be the most successful mode on RS-15. AB2CJ has been QRV on RS-15 CW recently. RS-16 Beacons (only) are operational. The 29 MHz beacon has not been operational for some time. Recent attempts to command the Mode A transponder on have been unsuccessful. Transponder information on RS-16. Uplink = 145.915 - 145.948 MHz Downlink = 29.415 - 29.448 MHz Beacons = 29.408 and 29.451 MHz Pwr 29 MHz Down = 1.2W /4W Beacon 1 = 435.504 MHz Beacon 2 = 435.548 MHz Pwr 435 MHz Beacons = 1.6W AO-10 Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB Semi-operational. Stacey Mills, W4SM, reports solar illumination on AO-10 appears to be way down and the satellite is nearly "comatose." W4SM can hear the beacon (with FMing) and can hear his downlink as well, but the signals are very, very weak. This condition is in keeping with W4SM's best guess regarding attitude, which shows less than 50% solar panel illumination at the moment. Given the age of the panels, that's probably enough to cause significant performance degradation. Things will probably continue to get worse for the next month and may not be any better by Field Day. However, they should improve again later in the summer and peak in August. W4SM has more information about the satellite on his AO-10 web page, using the following URL: http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html [ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM for his AO-10 status information and web site] AO-27 Uplink 145.850 MHz FM Downlink 436.792 MHz FM Operational. Widely used especially during weekend passes. [ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op for this update] FO-20 Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Operational. FO-20 in mode JA continuously. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for his FO-20 status reports] FO-29 Voice/CW Mode JA Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Operational. Digital Mode JD Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK Not operational, the satellite is in JA (voice) mode. Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, tells ANS that FO-29 was switched into mode JA because of 2 bit errors detected in the digital operation of the on-board-computer. Resetting and reloading software into the OBC will resume. FO-29 will stay in mode JA until a further notice. An updated status announcement will be made on April 28th. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 116.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1998 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-116.06 KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports the satellite is operating normally. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC for this report] KO-25 Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK Downlink 436.50 MHz FM Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports the satellite is operating normally. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report] OSCAR-11 Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud PSK Beacon 2401.500 MHz Operational. In response to many requests for information about methods of decoding OSCAR-11 signals, Clive, G3CWV, has added a package of information to his web site. The site also contains some software for capturing data and decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD. The URL is: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ Excellent signals have once again been received from the 145.826 MHz beacon. The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally off. However it can sometimes be heard when the satellite is being commanded by ground control. The data transmitted is mainly binary. The mode-S beacon is on, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but telemetry indicates that it has partially failed, delivering half output power. Beacon reception reports should be sent to: g3cwv@amsat.org. [ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information] AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT) Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM 1200 bps Manchester FSK Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK Beacon 2401.1428 MHz Operating normally. The telemetry is nominal. The S band transmitter is off. Time is Sat Apr 25 13:08:58 1998 uptime is 1315/07:37:41 Baseplt Temp 1.814 D RC PSK BP Temp 1.814 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 3.629 D +Y Array Temp 1.814 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 1.814 D +Z Array Temp 9.680 D RC PSK TX Out 0.487 W Total Array C= 0.330 Bat Ch Cur= 0.002 Ifb= 0.040 I+10V= 0.288 TX:010B BCR:84 PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:4A General information and telemetry WOD files can find it in: http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/wod.htm [ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report] DO-17 (DOVE) Downlink 145.825 MHz FM 1200 Baud AFSK Beacon 2401.220 MHz Currently non-operational. The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air. Command stations are working on the problem. [ANS thanks Jim White, WD0E, for this update] WEBERSAT (WO-18) Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB 1200 Baud PSK AX.25 Currently non-operational. WO-18 is in MBL mode after a software crash. Attempts are being made to find and correct the cause of the suspected seasonal crashes. Additional information is not available at this time. [ANS thanks the WO-18 Command Team for this news] LUSAT-OSCAR-19 Uplink 145.84 145.86 145.88 145.90 MHz FM 1200 bps Manchester FSK Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB 1200 bps RC-BPSK Operating normally. The telemetry is nominal. Time is Sat Apr 25 12:23:30 1998 uptime is 1039/22:18:20 Baseplt Temp 0.131 D RC PSK BP Temp 5.179 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 6.301 D +Y Array Temp -3.235 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 3.496 D +Z Array Temp 1.252 D RC PSK TX Out 0.898 W Total Array C= 0.245 Bat Ch Cur= 0.001 Ifb= 0.035 I+10V= 0.204 TX:01A BCR:7D PWRC:36E BT:3C WC: 0 General information and telemetry samples can be found at: http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/lo19.htm [ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report] UO-22 Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK Downlink 435.120 MHz FM Operational. The satellite is operating normally. [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Operations Manager of UO-22, for this report] IO-26 (ITAMSAT) Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM 1200 Baud PSK Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB Operational. Telemetry is being downloaded on 435.822 MHz at 1200 baud PSK. [ANS thanks Alberto Zagni, I2KBD, ITAMSAT Mission Director for this information] Please send any amateur satellite news or repots to ans-editor@amsat.org, or to ANS Editor, Dan James, NN0DJ, at nn0dj@amsat.org. /EX Daniel (Dan) James AMSAT News Service Bulletin Editor Amateur callsign: NN0DJ Grid Square EN-28iv Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A. e-mail: nn0dj@amsat.org