SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.01 SUNSAT LAUNCH DELAYED AGAIN HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 024.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 24, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024.01 Vandenburgh AFB, California Once again for the eighth time upper air winds have postponed the launch of SUNSAT. It was within nine minutes this time! The surface conditions were again superb with good visibility of both the pad and the stars, but with a rather brisk north wind. Four of the South Africans have left but two remain for just one more trial. If this is not successful, then SUNSAT will have to be turned on from South Africa, resulting in a much later availability than the first few orbits. The latest information is that the next attempt is postponed until Monday night/Tuesday Morning the 25th of January. Of course this may change, but apparently the Delta will have to be defuelled at this time. [ANS thanks Cliff Buttschardt K7RR for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.02 AO-10 WORKING FINE HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 017.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 17, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024.02 AO-10 According to Frank de Wilde PE1KNL, AO-10 "the old bird" is still working fine, although there is QSB. On Wednesday January 20 1999 Frank worked Scott VE6ITV at 0744 UTC and Mike AL7OB at 0751 UTC. Also John K6YK logged 16 stations on January 21st. (Note by ANS AO-10 was launched on 16 June 1983) [ANS thanks Frank de Wilde PE1KNL and John K6YK for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.03 Y2K VIEWPOINT HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 024.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 24, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024.03 Y2K... Could this happen?.... another viewpoint! January 4, 2000 Dear Valued Employee: Re Your Vacation Pay: Our records indicate that you have not used any vacation time over the past 100 Year(s). As I'm sure you are aware, employees are granted 3 weeks leave per year or pay in Lieu of time off. One additional week is granted for every five years of service. Please take 9,400 days off work or notify our office and your next pay check will reflect payment of $8,277,432.22 which will include all pay and interest for the past 1,200 months. Sincerely Automated Payroll processing [ANS thanks Bryce Lee for this viewpoint ] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 024.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 17, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** January 22 - The latest information concerning MIR, is that the Russian Prime Minister has signed (today) a decree to keep MIR in orbit for another 3 years. This raises many questions, concerning the life of MIR after the previous problems in 1977 and how the Russians will want to use MIR while the International Space Station is being built on Earth and assembled in space. ** After launch SUNSAT basic amateur radio payload will be centered around a 2-meter parrot repeater operating 145.825 MHz using NBFM voice with 3 KHz peak deviation. Also, 1200 baud AFSK and 9600 baud AFSK transponders will allow digital capacity. ** RS-13 seems in good shape according to John K6YK, who made 5 QSOs all on CW, on January 20th 1999. This in spite of reports from Australia and South America that nothing could be heard south of the equator. ** Mike KF4FDJ reports working pass 2048 of FO-29 and talking to VA3DGR, N1ZKB, VE2JML, W0SAT and W0OQC in a roundtable, he and many others appreciate FO-29 being in the analog mode replacing some of the RS birds. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 024.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 17, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-024.05 MIR/SAFEX SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz Downlink 437.950 MHz FM Semi-operational. 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 Semi-operational due to SSTV transmissions. The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612 + V.8.1 TNC. The commands are similar to most PBBS and BBS systems. MIREX has announced an on-going APRS School Days Test. MIREX is allowing schools to use APRS for position and status reports via R0MIR. Non-school stations are asked to refrain from using APRS type transmissions or beacons via R0MIR. Scott, WA6LIE, has a set of instructions on how to work the Mir space station. Copies of the instructions are available from Scott by e-mail at wa6lie@juno.com, or by packet at wa6lie@wa6lie.#wcca.ca.usa.noam. [ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir status information] Radio Sport RS-12 Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 29.408 MHz Robot Uplink 21.129 MHz Downlink 29.454 MHz Last reported to be semi-operational, beacon only. Radio Sport RS-13 Uplink 21.260 MHz to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB Uplink 145.960 MHz to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.460 MHz to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 29.504 MHz Robot Uplink 21.140 MHz Downlink 29.458 MHz Last reported in mode KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink. The RS-12/13 satellite has seen many recent changes in operational status. Modes K, T, KT and now mode KA operation have all been reported by a number of stations. No official word from the Russian satellite controllers has been received. ANS recommends monitoring each satellite carefully to determine the transponder in operation and which mode it is operating in. RS-12/13 command is now in the hands of Alex Papkov, in Kaluga City, Russia. Radio Sport RS-15 Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 29.352 MHz (intermittent) Semi-operational, mode A, using a 2-meter uplink and a 10-meter downlink. Dave, WB6LLO, reports he has prepared a "quick and dirty" set of operating instructions for RS-15 at the following URL: http://users.aol.com/dguimont OSCAR 10 AO-10 Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB Beacon 145.810 MHz (unmodulated carrier) Operational, mode B. AO-10 is locked into a 70-cm uplink and a 2-meter downlink. AO-10 continues to function well with the exception of the periodic deep QSB, which can be partially eliminated by switching antenna polarization. Strong signals have been heard even at apogee. Also note that AO-10's apogee has passed its most northern point. This gives the satellite track (on a rectangular Mercator map projection) a distinctly symmetrical pattern. The apogee has now begun a slow migration southward. W4SM tells ANS that he has, using ranging software (and hardware) developed by James Miller, G3RUH, recently made ranging measurements on AO-10 and have fed these measurements into an algorithm, which generates modified Keplerian elements from a "seed" set of elements. The Keplerian elements generated appear to be accurate within 16-25 km. Satellite: AO-10 Catalog number: 14129 Epoch time: 99020.76950000 Element set: 005 Inclination: 26.927 deg RA of node: 46.982 deg Eccentricity: 0.60084 Arg of perigee: 284.293 deg Mean anomaly: 119.137 deg Mean motion: 2.05867845 rev/day Decay rate: 0.0 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 11735 Checksum: 256 NASA 2-line format: 1 14129U 00 0 0 99020.76950000 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 0052 2 14129 026.9270 046.9820 6008400 284.2930 119.1370 02.05867845117354 W4SM has more information about the satellite at 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, mode J. [ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information] JAS-1b FO-20 Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports] JAS-2 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. The present JA mode of operation will continue to investigate the frequency of bit errors in the on-board-computer. Reports from Amateurs on the value of channel 2A are appreciated. The position of 2A is the fifth item after 'HI HI' in CW telemetry. The normal value is '00'. Reports should be sent to lab@jarl.or.jp. The FO-29 Command Team says digital (JD) mode operation may be available soon. Digi-talker operation is also being planned. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 024.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 17, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-024.06 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Operational. Ko-23 has suffered a further OBC crash this last week, at the time of writing the satellite status is operational [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-23 status information] KITSAT KO-25 Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK Downlink 436.50 MHz FM Operational. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information] UO-22 Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK Downlink 435.120 MHz FM Semi-operational. Chris, G7UPN, tells ANS the OBC186 flight software on UO-22 crashed recently after operating for well over 500 days. The software reload should be completed at his time. More information on the satellite is available at the following URL: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/ [Chris Jackson, G7UPN /ZL2TPO, is the Operations Manager of UO-22] OSCAR-11 Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK Beacon 2401.500 MHz Operational. Telemetry has been nominal. The mode-S beacon is ON, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but telemetry indicates that it has partially failed, and delivering half power. This beacon is a useful source for those testing mode-S converters, prior to the launch of P3-D. The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally off. More information about OSCAR 11 can be found at the following URL: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ Beacon reception reports should be sent to g3cwv@amsat.org. [ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information] PACSAT AO-16 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 AO-16 command team has authorized an APRS experiment on AO-16 to explore the use of the 1200-baud PACSAT for APRS position/status reporting. Test periods will run each Tuesday from 0000 to 2359 UTC. Telemetry is nominal. General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu Telemetry WOD graphics corresponding to Dec-30 can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod.htm A complete collection of WOD graphics corresponding to the year of 1998 can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod1998.zip [ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report] LUSAT LO-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 Currently semi-operational. No BBS service. OBC (on board computer) reload in progress. The Digipeater is active. General information and telemetry samples can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/lo19.htm [ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report] ITAMSAT IO-26 Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM 1200 Baud Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB Semi-operational. Telemetry is reported as being received on 435.822 MHz at 1200 baud PSK. ANS has not received any recent updates concerning the status of IO-26. No additional information is available at this time. TMSAT-1 TO-31 Uplink 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK Downlink 436.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK TMSAT-1 is now open for general access by Amateur Radio operators worldwide. Normal access will allow operators to use the store and forward communications on the spacecraft and also download the high-resolution multispectral images. Chris Jackson advises, that The TMSAT OBC186 flight software crashed on the afternoon of January 21, and that a memory dump of the OBC 186 would take place that evening. The software would be re-loaded on friday January 22 and the satellite should be operational by the time this bulletin is issued. [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN /ZL2TPO, for this report] TechSat-1B GO-32 Downlink 435.325 435.225 MHz HDLC telemetry framed so a TNC in KISS mode will decode it The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998. ANS has not received any recent updates concerning the current status of GO-32 and no additional information is available at this time. The satellite does not have a continuos beacon, but does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for a continuous 3 seconds in length), currently on 435.225 MHz. The TechSat team has also constructed a home page about TechSat. To view the site, point your web browser to: http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/ [ANS thanks Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS, for this information] SedSat SO-33 Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. SedSat-1, signifying Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Satellite number one, was successfully launched and placed in orbit on Saturday, October 24, 1998. SedSat is continuing to perform as it has since launch, transmitting telemetry until the batteries are depleted and then going into safe mode (for about ten hours) and then repeating the process. "The orbital geometry is such that we have had as much as 120 hours of continuous operation from the bird before the batteries die," said Dennis, KD4ETA. Recovery efforts continue. For more information on SedSat-1, including Version 1.2 of the SedSat ground station software -- visit the satellite web site at the following URL: http://www.seds.org/sedsat [ANS thanks Dr. Mark Maier, KF4YGR, for this information] PanSat PO-34 Downlink frequency not established. The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. PanSat, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School, was launched from the shuttle Discovery. PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders will be available to amateur radio operators in the near future along with software to utilize this technology. The PO-34 command station is located in Monterey, California. Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, PANSAT Project Manager recommends 'The ARRL Spread Spectrum Sourcebook' as a good place to start in understanding the spread-spectrum scheme. The PANSAT Team does not expect the satellite to be available to the Amateur Radio community for another few months. For more information, visit the official PANSAT web site at: http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/ [ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 3 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 024.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 17, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-024.07 THE FOLLOWING SATELLITES ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: RS-16 Attempts to command the mode A transponder 'on' have been unsuccessful to date. At this time the RS-16 transponder is non-operational. The 435 MHz beacon (only) is operational. No additional information is available at this time. RS-18/Sputnik 41 Russian cosmonauts successfully launched RS-18/Sputnik 41 on November 10, 1998, during a spacewalk from the Mir space station. The satellite stopped transmitting early on December 11, 1998, meeting the 30-day projected lifetime. If the Goddard Space Flight Center forecast is correct, RS-18/Sputnik 41 should have re-entered and burned up in the atmosphere on January 7, 1999. A computer .wav file of the actual received signal can also be found at: http://www.ik1sld.org/sputnik41.htm F6FAO suggests the following address for RS-18 QSL requests: AMSAT-France RS-18 QSL Manager 14 bis rue des Gourlis 92 500 Rueil-Malmaison France The list of received QSL's by the French QSL manager is available at the following link (note: the list changes daily as cards are received): http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ascerland/sp41QSL.htm DOVE DO-17 Downlink 145.825 MHz FM 1200 Baud AFSK Beacon 2401.220 MHz Non-operational. DOVE stopped transmitting in March 1998. The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air and the satellite has not responded to ground station control. Command stations will again attempt contact in the near future. QSL cards for receiving DOVE (when the satellite is operating) may be obtained from: Dianne White, N0IZO 45777 Rampart Road Parker, Colorado 80138-4316 USA Dianne has received a few cards recently for what apparently is UO-11. Dianne handles cards for DOVE (DO-17) only. No additional information is available at this time. WEBERSAT WO-18 Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB 1200 Baud PSK AX.25 Non-operational. WO-18 is reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash. No additional information is available at this time. --ANS END--- Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to ans-editor@amsat.org /EX