SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.01 UOSAT-12 RECEIVES OSCAR NUMBER AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-129.01 UoSAT-12, -amateur radio's newest satellite- will also officially be known as UoSAT/OSCAR 36, or simply UO-36. The satellite carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S transponders. OSCAR 36 will soon complete its first full month in orbit. Responding to a question from Keith Baker, KB1SF, President of AMSAT-NA, representatives of the UoSAT team requested that an OSCAR number be assigned to help designate their new spacecraft. The assignment of consecutive OSCAR numbers to new amateur radio spacecraft is a tradition that dates from the launch of the very first Amateur Radio Satellite - OSCAR-1. In order for an OSCAR number to be assigned, the satellite must successfully achieve orbit and one or more transmitters must be successfully activated in the amateur radio bands. Then, the builders/owners of the satellite must formally request that a consecutive OSCAR number be assigned to their satellite once the first two requirements are accomplished. Speaking for the UoSAT team, Chris Jackson, G7UPN, told AMSAT and ANS that "we would be honored if UoSAT-12 could be recognized as an OSCAR satellite, and suggest the designation UoSAT-12/OSCAR 36, abbreviated UO-36, be used." KB1SF has informed ANS that, in the light of this information, it is now appropriate to refer to the new amateur satellite as OSCAR-36 or simply UO-36. President Baker added "I am personally looking forward to the unique on-orbit capabilities that this satellite will bring. Our sincere thanks to the UoSAT team for a job well done!" The satellite remains in very good health. The in-orbit commissioning of the mini-satellite achieved another important milestone recently. On May 2nd, the newly developed 'Space GPS Receiver' (SGR) was operated for the first time on UO-36. The SGR is a 24-channel GPS receiver jointly developed by Surrey Satellite and the European Space Agency (ESA). It is designed to enable both orbit and attitude determination in addition to providing a precise on-board reference clock. Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, tells ANS that "from an autonomous start with no prior knowledge, the receiver was able to achieve a very accurate orbital position fix for UO-36 in under seven minutes." Positioning data was continuous over the five hours of test operation in orbit, with the SGR tracking a number of GPS satellites simultaneously. A more detailed analysis will be undertaken during upcoming tests. Experimentation also continues with the development of rapid initialization procedures and the operation of multiple antennas on the spacecraft. Further information about the satellite is available at the following URL: http://www.sstl.co.uk/ [ANS thanks Keith Baker, KB1SF, AMSAT-NA President, Chris Jackson, G7UPN and Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.02 DONALD STONER, W6TNS AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-129.02 ANS is saddened to report that the man who first conceived of Project OSCAR, Don Stoner, W6TNS, of Clearwater, Florida died May 4th. He was 67. Stoner reportedly had been in ill health for some time and reportedly suffered a ruptured aneurysm. In 1960, Stoner, then living in California, was the idea man behind Project OSCAR. Stoner outlined his concepts for an Amateur Radio space program in the February 1961 issue of QST. In his prophetic article, Stoner envisioned a two-phase project, the first to launch an orbiting VHF beacon transmitter into space, the second to launch an 'orbital repeater'. OSCAR 1 was launched December 12, 1961. An ARRL member, Stoner also will be remembered as a CQ columnist -he served in several editorial capacities- including VHF editor, Novice editor, surplus columnist and semiconductor columnist. Stoner also wrote the 'In Theory' column in CQ-VHF magazine during 1996 and 1997. ANS sends the sympathy of the satellite community to his wife Lucy and family. [ANS thanks the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.03 AMSAT AT HAMVENTION AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-129.03 AMSAT-NA Vice President for Field Operations, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, reminds ANS that the Dayton Hamvention is quickly approaching, scheduled for May 14-16, 1999. AMSAT-NA will again be represented in booth spaces 445-448. AMSAT volunteers will help handle the myriad of activities that typically occur at an AMSAT booth; handle transactions, deal with memberships and renewals, answer questions and serve as representatives of AMSAT-North America. WD4ASW reports he expects to have a very busy booth this year with all the normal AMSAT publications and a variety of updated and new items: ** Steve Thompson, W5PK, has created a glossy cardstock Phase 3-D model kit. Two assembled models will be on display. All kit donations go to the AMSAT Phase 3-D Fund. ** An updated laminated AMSAT Frequency Guide with the latest satellite information will be offered. ** AMSAT-NA President Keith Baker, KB1SF, has updated the "How to Use the Amateur Radio Satellites" publication. The new version will be available. ** ANS principal satellite investigator Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, has updated the "Amateur Satellite Resource Guide". It will be offered as well as an updated "Working the Easy Sats" also by Mike. ** The latest in AMSAT 'fashion' featuring a golf shirt with embroidered 30th Anniversary design along with special AMSAT 30th Anniversary patches and T-shirts will be available. ** Once again, AMSAT will offer the 'Arrow Antenna' at the booth this year. Please note that AMSAT will be handling this antenna only at Hamvention (not available from AMSAT before or after Dayton) and it is the newly designed 'split boom' version with a built-in 10-watt duplexer. ** The latest version of WISP on diskette along with NOVA tracking software will be available. For the Mac enthusiasts, a demonstration of MacDoppler will be functioning on a I-MAC computer, including AZ/EL rotor control. For the PC user, the Kansas City Tracker will also be available. Barry is looking for volunteers to help man the AMSAT booth at the Hamvention. Contact WD4ASW at wd4asw@amsat.org for details. AMSAT-NA will be involved with several interesting and important satellite-related presentations on Saturday, May 15, 1999. Scheduled events start at 08:15 in Room 3. Presentations will include: 'Welcome' by Keith Baker, KB1SF, President, AMSAT-NA 'Getting Started on the Amateur Radio Satellites' by Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT-NA Vice President, Field Operations 'PHASE 3-D Spacecraft Status and Launch Prospects' by Dr. Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, President, AMSAT-Germany and P3-D Project Leader, Keith Baker, KB1SF, President, AMSAT-NA and Lou McFadin, W5DID, Phase 3-D Integration Laboratory Manager 'SAREX and the International Space Station: Mission Reports and Plans' by Roy Neal, K6DUE, Chairman, SAREX Working Group, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT-NA Vice President, Human Spaceflight Programs, Matt Bordelon, KC5BTL, SAREX/ISS Principal Investigator and Rosalie White, WA1STO, Director, ARRL Educational Activities Department Owen Garriott, W5LFL, the first person to operate on the amateur radio bands from space, will be a providing his insights on operating from orbit during the SAREX forum. Owen is a NASA astronaut who first flew on Skylab - the first Space Station. In November 1983 he pioneered the use of amateur radio on human spaceflight vehicles by flying a battery operated Motorola handheld on Space Shuttle Columbia during the STS-9 Spacelab-1 mission. Check the official Dayton Hamvention program for official starting times of each forum. Please note that the AMSAT forums will be held in the main Exhibit Area and not offsite. Other Dayton/AMSAT activities include the AMSAT Dinner on Friday evening at the Amber Rose Restaurant. ANS hopes everyone enjoys Hamvention and the related AMSAT festivities! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Vice President for Field Operations, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-129.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** AMSAT Net of the week: The 20-meter International AMSAT Net. The net meets each Sunday on 14.282 MHz. Pre-Net Warm-up starts at 18:00 UTC with ANS bulletins following the Pre-net. Main net control is Keith, W5IU. Alternate NCS includes Larry, NW7N, and Wray, W8GQW. If you were to listen to only one AMSAT net - this is the one! -ANS ** The May/June AMSAT journal will feature an excellent Apogee View column by AMSAT-NA President KB1SF. Keith will explore the recent SwatchSat controversy. ANS reminds amateurs that an AMSAT-NA membership includes the AMSAT journal. The May/June issue will be in the mail shortly. -ANS ** Guglielmo Marconi, the recognized inventor of radio, and whose birthday was recently celebrated (born in 1874), had some problems with his 'wireless'. Marconi's invention was so mysterious looking at the time that when he went to England customs officers smashed it for fear it was some kind of anarchist's bomb. -Shortwave Listener List ** Upgrade your shack with a P3D satellite kit from Steve Thompson, W5PK. All proceeds support the Phase-3D program. Kits are available from AMSAT-NA Headquarters and will also be featured at the AMSAT/Dayton hamfest booth. For additional details and a picture of a completed kit see: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/fun/model_photos/. -ANS ** If all went well the 3rd Annual Delaware Rockets for Schools program launched a suborbital rocket recently at Cape Henlopen State Park in southern Delaware. Three payloads were designed and constructed by the Computer/Electronics Technology students at Delaware Tech (who are also ham operators). Rocket telemetry data on 2-meters and a 2-watt fast-scan ATV UHF transmitter are part of the overall package. -Sam K3BY ** The FCC's top amateur enforcer, Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, says that hams who receive notices from ARRL Official Observers should take them seriously. "Failure to take the notices seriously and to take corrective action where possible will not be tolerated by the Commission," Hollingsworth said in an enforcement-related letter to a South Carolina amateur. "The volunteer work of these Official Observers is a critical element of the Commission's enforcement program," he said, adding that failure to act on an OO notice could lead to fines and other sanctions. -ARRL ** Most chemical elements in the Universe are produced in the stars, and thus the stars' environments act as huge chemical factories. The European Space Agency's infrared space telescope, ISO, has detected, in the dust surrounding a star, the chemical signature of a mysterious compound made of carbon, whose nature is being actively debated by astronomers all over the world. While some say it could be a very tiny diamond, others think it is the famous football-shaped molecule called 'fullerene' or 'buckyball'. -ESA ** Looking like a battery left inside a radio too long, the Liberty Bell 7 capsule is sitting upright on a pile of white chunks 3 miles down in the darkness of the Atlantic Ocean. It turns out that over the past 38 years, the capsule's heat shield corroded rather than the capsule, giving the spacecraft its strange look. Video reveals the Volkswagen-sized craft is in good shape, still adorned with the fake crack that was painted on its exterior to replicate its namesake. Recovery efforts are underway. -Florida Today ** NASA managers have set May 20th as the launch date for Space Shuttle Discovery and an international crew on an inaugural visit to the orbiting International Space Station. Discovery will spend six days linked to the new outpost on Shuttle mission STS-96 as the crew outfits Zarya and Unity. The Shuttle will carry more than two tons of supplies to be stored aboard the station, ranging from food and clothes for the first crew to laptop computers, a printer and cameras. -NASA ** A new hurricane-watching satellite won't be launched this week as planned, while investigators sort through problems that have doomed a half dozen U.S. rocket missions in recent months. The delay means the $250-million Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is grounded for at least a week. Recent failures include the Second Delta 3 launcher with the Orion-3 satellite (satellite placed in wrong orbit), the Titan 4B, with Milstar 2-F1 (satellite placed in useless orbit), the Lockheed Martin Athena 2 with Ikonos-1 (satellite failed to reach orbit), the Titan 4B with DSP-19 (failed to reach proper orbit), the inaugural Delta 3, with Galaxy-10 aboard (rocket exploded during ascent) and Titan 4A with a classified intelligence satellite (rocket exploded during ascent). -Florida Today /EX --ANS BULLETIN END--- SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-129.05 MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz Downlink 437.950 MHz FM Seldom-operational. No operation in 1999 has been observed. MIR SAFEX II 70-cm QSO Mode Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz Downlink 437.925 MHz FM Seldom-operational. No operation in 1999 has been observed. MIR PERSONAL MESSAGE SYSTEM (PMS) Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK Semi-operational. Steve, KF4FQT, reports two passes of Mir over Georgia with good signals from the PMS downlink. The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612+ V 8.1 TNC. The commands are similar to most PBBS and BBS systems. AMSAT-France announced that Air Force General Jean-Pierre Haignere has been given a personal amateur radio callsign to use aboard the Mir space station - FX0STB. The QSL manager for FX0STB is: Radio Club F5KAM QSL manager MIR 22 rue Bansac 63000 Clermont Ferrand France Scott, WA6LIE, has a set of instructions on how to work the Mir space station. Copies are available from Scott by e-mail at: wa6lie@juno.com (or by packet) wa6lie@wa6lie.#wcca.ca.usa.noam [ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir status information] RADIO SPORT RS-12 Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 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 Robot Downlink 29.454 MHz Last reported to be semi-operational, beacon only. RADIO SPORT RS-13 Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB Uplink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.460 to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 29.504 MHz Robot Uplink 145.840 MHz Robot Downlink 29.458 MHz Operational. Last reported in mode KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink. Mike, KD9KC, reports some good passes on RS-13 recently with two new states and two new grids on mode A. Mike, N8MR, reports working the RS-13 Robot via the 2-meter uplink. You can hear the entire QSO at the following URL: http://oeonline.com/~kf8bex/robot-12.html 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. The 29.380 MHz SSB 'meeting frequency' used by most RS-15 operators is showing good results. 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/sat.txt 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) Semi-operational, mode B. AO-10 has been locked into a 70-cm uplink and a 2-meter downlink for several years. John, K6YK, reports hearing ZL2VAL, 9V1UV, UA0AET on AO-10. Charlie, VR2XMT, recently worked KL5E, VE5FN, ZL2VBV, ZL3TIB and ZL2MQ. NH6VB, W6GGM, N3VBG, JL1MJD and VE3EYR have all been active on the satellite. ANS wishes to congratulate Robert, G8ATE, on reaching satellite DXCC! This past week he worked ZS2BWB, VU2MKP and VR2XMT on AO-10, running 50 watts to a 2-element Quad. Masa, JN1GKZ, reports his web page shows the current AO-10 spin period and spin rate (by measuring the beacon with FFTDSP software). The JN1GKZ web site can be found at the following URL: http://www.din.or.jp/~m-arai/ao10/beacone.htm 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] AMRAD AO-27 Uplink 145.850 MHz FM Downlink 436.795 MHz FM Operational, mode J. AO-27 has again been seeing very heavy use especially during the weekends. AMSAT Area Coordinator KD4SFF was active on May 8th from the Upstate Hamfest in Anderson, South Carolina using the callsign KD4 'Satellites For Fun'. Al also ran the AMSAT booth at the hamfest. Jeff, W4JEF, reports his first California contact via AO-27 with K6YK. Mel, NP2L, has been active from FK78, the Virgin Islands. The TEPR (Timed Eclipse Power Regulation) states on AO-27 currently are: TEPR 4 is 34 and TEPR 5 is 70. [ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information] JAS-1b FO-20 Uplink 145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously. Bruce, KK5DO, has posted pictures of JARL Headquarters and the FO-20/29 Command Station on his web site. They were taken during a recent visit. Visit the site using the following URL: http://www.amsatnet.com/jarl.html [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports] JAS-2 FO-29 Voice/CW Mode JA Uplink 145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB Semi-operational, rotated with digital mode and digi-talker. Digital Mode JD Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK Digitalker 435.910 MHz Semi-operational, rotated with analog mode and digi-talker. Kazu, JJ1WTK, reported to ANS that the new operational schedule announced by the JARL is as follows: through May 10 Digitalker May 10 - May 17 JA May 17 - May 24 JD1200 May 24 - May 31 JA [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-129.06 KITSAT KO-25 Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 436.500 MHz FM Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is performing well with good downlink efficiency. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information] UOSAT UO-22 Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.120 MHz FM Operational. Carol, W9HGI, reports UO-22 is performing within acceptable limits. W9HGI operates the West Coast Packet Satellite Gateway (WSPG) for the Worldwide Packet Network (WPN). More information on the satellite is available at the following URL: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/ [ANS thanks Carol Byers, W9HGI and Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-22 status information] OSCAR-11 Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 baud AFSK Mode-S Beacon 2401.500 MHz Operational. Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting the G3CWV web site. The site contains details of the hardware and some software for capturing OSCAR-11 data and decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD. There is also an archive of raw data (mainly WOD) for analysis, which is continually expanded as new data is captured. Audio files are also included with examples of each type of data transmitted by the satellite (each one plays for about ten seconds). Examples of mode-S reception can also be found at the site. All the audio files are zipped so that they can be played off-line. The URL is: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ [ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information] PACSAT AO-16 Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM using 1200 baud Manchester FSK Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK Mode-S Beacon 2401.1428 MHz Operating normally with the exception of the mode-S beacon, which is currently off. Telemetry is as follows: Time is Fri May 07 22:03:51 1999 uptime is 1692/16:25:19 +10V Bus 10.350 V RC PSK TX Out 0.599 W +X (RX) Temp -11.499 D RX Temp 1.814 D RC PSK BP Temp -6.053 D RC PSK HPA Tmp -3.027 D +Y Array Temp -25.416 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -5.448 D +Z Array Temp -18.760 D Baseplt Temp 1.814 D Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.522 Ifb= 0.154 I+10V= 0.389 TX:0109 BCR:1E PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:E7 General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu 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 AO-16 status information] LUSAT LO-19 Uplink 145.84 145.86 145.88 145.90 MHz FM using 1200 baud Manchester FSK Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK Currently semi-operational. No BBS service - EA1BCU and ANS have not received any updated information for several months. The digipeater is active. Telemetry is as follows: Time is Fri May 07 21:33:49 1999 uptime is 280/07:59:11 +Z Array V 24.961 V +X (RX) Temp -9.966 D RX Temp -0.991 D RC PSK TX Out 0.520 W Total Array C= 0.368 Bat Ch Cur= 0.250 Ifb= 0.020 I+10V= 0.050 TX:017 BCR:7F PWRC:62D BT:3C WC: 0 General information and telemetry samples can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/lo19.htm [ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for LO-19 status information] TMSAT-1 TO-31 Uplink 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK Downlink 436.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK Operational. ProcMail V2.00G has been released by G7UPN. This software permits the processing of image files from TO-31. It has been posted to the AMSAT-NA FTP site at the following URL: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for TO-31 status information] PANSAT PO-34 Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established. The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. PanSat, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School, was launched from the shuttle Discovery during STS-95. PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders will be available to amateur radio operators in the near future along with software to utilize this technology. Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, PanSat Project Manager recommends 'The ARRL Spread Spectrum Sourcebook' as a good place to start in understanding the spread-spectrum scheme. 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] SUNSAT SO-35 Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established. The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. Hans, ZS5AKV, reports that SunSat is still in the initial test stages and the command team will provide more information as it becomes available. General amateur radio service is planned for the near future. SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SunSat stands for Stellenbosch University Satellite and takes it name from the South African university whose students constructed the payload. The SunSat package includes 1200 and 9600 baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system that will be used primarily for educational demonstrations. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems. For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za [ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 129.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 09, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-129.07 THE FOLLOWING SATELLITES ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: RS-16 The 435 MHz beacon (only) is operational. Attempts to command the mode A transponder 'on' have been unsuccessful to date. No additional information is available at this time. DOVE DO-17 Downlink 145.825 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK 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. 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. ITAMSAT IO-26 Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM 1200 baud Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB Unknown status. ANS has not received any recent updates concerning the status of IO-26. No additional information is available at this time. TECHSAT-1B GO-32 Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry framed so that a TNC in KISS mode will decode it Unknown status. ANS has not received any recent updates concerning the current status of GO-32. The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998. Last reported, 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), on 435.225 MHz. The TechSat team has constructed a home page about TechSat. To view the site, point your web browser to: http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/ No additional information is available at this time. SEDSAT-1 SO-33 Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. Recovery efforts have been unsuccessful. 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. For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at the following URL: http://www.seds.org/sedsat No additional information is available at this time. KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Not operational. The downlink transmitter has not been operational for any normal communication for several months. ANS has learned (from HL0ENJ) that satellite downlink telemetry shows one of KO-23's battery cells to be very unstable. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, for KO-23 status information] /EX