SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.01 SATELLITE PIONEER K2ZRO TO BE HONORED AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157.01 The Kopernik Observatory located near Binghamton, New York celebrated the observatory's 25th anniversary over the weekend with a special event amateur radio station that also honored the memory of one of the observatory's founders - Kaz Deskur, K2ZRO. Kaz Deskur died in 1984. Deskur's widow and family attended as honored guests along with keynote speaker Dr Joseph Dervay, a NASA astronaut-physician. Amateur Radio club station KB2UYF is located at the observatory, and paperwork has been submitted to the FCC to change the station's call sign to K2ZRO. Deskur was a satellite pioneer who operated the observatory's ham station under his call sign for many years. In the early days of the OSCAR and AMSAT programs, K2ZRO was a familiar call sign on many satellites. Kaz designed the original OSCAR-LOCATOR, a device many 'old-timers' used to track a satellite before the advent of personal computers and software tracking programs. For many years AMSAT sponsored an engineering award in Kaz Deskur's honor. The Kopernik Observatory is establishing a special 'Wall of Honor for Amateur Radio Satellites' to honor Kaz Deskur. All hams that knew or worked with him are invited to send their QSL cards for display on this wall. QSL cards may be sent (in an envelope) to: Kopernik Space & Science Education Center 30 Front Street Binghamton, New York 13905 Hams at Kopernik also will be active on June 19th, hoping to make many contacts during the ARRL's Kid's Day event - with operation planned on several satellites including FO-20 and AO-27. [ANS thanks the ARRL and John Kray, KA2CNG, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.02 1999 DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157.02 Many digital satellite operators will be on hand in Phoenix, Arizona this September for the 18th annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference. TAPR's Greg Jones, WD5IVD, will chair this year's conference. The conference is an international forum for radio amateurs in digital communications (including via satellite), networking and related technologies - to meet, publish their work and present new ideas and techniques for discussion. Conference highlights include a full day of papers, breakout sessions and selected topics for the beginner to advanced amateur digital enthusiast. Symposiums will include the latest in APRS information moderated by Steve Dimse, K4HG, and featuring satellite regular Bob Bruninga, WB4APR. The Saturday banquet will feature Geoff Baehr, N6LXZ, Sun Microsystems chief network officer as guest speaker. Full information on the conference is available at the following URL: http://www.tapr.org/dcc. [ANS thanks the ARRL and TAPR for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.03 SAREX MISSION NEARS AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157.03 As the International Space Station mission of STS-96 draws to a very successful close, thoughts now turn to the next SAREX mission, STS-93. This mission is tentatively set for a late July launch and is scheduled to include both voice and packet operations. AMSAT Vice President for Human Spaceflight, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, tells ANS that currently the International ARISS team is busy with the development and qualification of hardware for ISS. The team will be delivering the first ham equipment (the Initial Station) to NASA this July for launch on STS-101 in December. Initial Station hardware is being built and qualified by a multinational team with members from Russia, Italy, Germany and the United States. KA3HDO tells ANS that he is "quite proud of the international cooperation that is occurring to bring all this hardware to flight status." Meanwhile, ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, reports that five schools are currently scheduled to have dedicated contacts with the crew of STS-93. Crewmembers are also expected to support random voice contacts and packet operations on 144 MHz. [ANS thanks the ARISS team for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** With the May/June issue of the AMSAT-NA Journal due to arrive very soon, plans are underway for the July/August issue. Featured articles will include an ARISS Update, A Chat with Andy Thomas, Don't Fear the LEO's and an OPAL, PanSAT, StenSAT and VoxSAT overview. ANS reminds satellite operators that AMSAT-NA membership includes the Journal. -ANS/Russ, K5NRK ** A formal copy of the AMSAT Phase-3D Dayton Hamvention news release has been placed in the 'News Release' area of the AMSAT-NA web page. Check it out! -Paul, KB5MU ** Several news agencies have reported that Mir's current crew will abandon the Russian space station in August, and the orbiter will circle Earth unmanned until early next year. It is then expected the aging station will burn up in the atmosphere. Repeated attempts to raise money to continue support have failed. -AP/CNN/Morrock News ** When John Glenn returned from his historic shuttle flight last November, it took him four days to regain his balance. But the fact he did was one of the first concrete results to emerge from the mission. Using knowledge gained from Glenn's mission and an extensive study of how other NASA astronauts recover their sense of balance, researchers hope to develop techniques to predict and prevent falls among elderly men and women. -Florida Today ** Investigators using the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft revealed a new and complete look at the surface of Mars recently as they showed off the most detailed elevation map yet made of the red planet. Over 27 million elevation measurements were assembled to produce the global view. -Sky & Telescope /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-157.05 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. The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612+ V 8.1 TNC. The commands are similar to most PBBS and BBS systems. SSTV from Mir has been reported as sporadic. 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 29.458 MHz Robot Uplink 145.840 MHz Robot Downlink 29.504 MHz Operational. Last reported in mode KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink. John, K2JF, has been active on the satellite. Bob, W2GG, reports that Dennis, K7BV, has attempted portable operation via RS-13 from Market Reef as OJ0/K7BV. LW8DLB and LU9WFY recently exchanged 5x5 signal reports on RS-13. RS-13's Robot CW auto-transponder is currently active. For confirmation of an RS-13 Robot contact, send your QSL card along with the Robot QSL number to: Radio Sport Federation Box 88 Moscow Kevin, AC5DK, has information about RS-12/13 that contains a simple explanation on how to operate on the satellite, including a forum for operators to exchange information, pose questions or even set up skeds via RS-12/13. AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page: http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Forum: http://www.hotboards.com/powerforum/pwrforum.exe?who=rs1213 RS-12/13 command is now in the hands of Alex Papkov, in Kaluga City, Russia. [ANS thanks Tony, AB2CJ for RS-13 Robot QSL info] 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) SSB meeting frequency 29.380 MHz (unofficial) Semi-operational, mode A, using a 2-meter uplink and a 10-meter downlink. Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 and RS-13 on his personal web site. In addition to satellite data, antenna information and AMSAT-NA Jewelry Contest information is also featured. The WB6LLO web site URL is: http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads 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. Houston AMSAT Area Coordinator Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reminds ANS that June 1999 marks the 16th birthday of AO-10! Reinhard, DC8TS, plans to be active from Sao Tome through June 19th. Watch for DC8TS around 145.890 MHz. 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. Eddie, N5JGK, was active from Riverfront Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi during 'Ham Day in the Park' sponsored by the Vicksburg Amateur Radio Club in conjunction with the ARRL. Watch for Don, KC4YRT, to be active from Glacier National Park in Montana (DN38am) through June 9th. Don will be using a handheld and portable antenna. Gerry, K1LRO, recently made his first contact on AO-27 (with N7SFI)! 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. [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 07-June mode JD1200 07-June to 14-June mode JA 14-June to 21-June mode JD1200 21-June to 05-July mode JA The JARL/FO-29 command station reports FO-29 will be in mode JA on the weekend of the ARRL Field Day. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-157.06 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. During the period 15-April to 15-May reliable signals have been received from the 145.826 MHz beacon. The battery voltage during daylight passes has continued to decrease. The internal temperatures have continued to fall, by about two degrees C during this period, due to the increasing eclipse times. The magnetorquer spin correction counters have now started to show some activity. During the last month the negative spin counter has started to increment at about three counts per day - previously it was incrementing at about one count every three days. For more information on OSCAR-11, visit the following web site: 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 Sat Jun 05 11:38:06 1999 uptime is 1721/05:58:17 +Z Array V 21.892 V +X (RX) Temp 9.680 D RX Temp -3.632 D Bat 1 Temp 2.419 D Bat 2 Temp 1.209 D Baseplt Temp 1.814 D RC PSK TX Out 0.414 W RC PSK BP Temp 1.814 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 4.839 D +Y Array Temp -2.422 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 2.419 D +Z Array Temp 21.177 D Total Array C= 0.459 Bat Ch Cur= 0.046 Ifb= 0.029 I+10V= 0.292 TX:010B BCR:8A PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:A4 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 Sat Jun 05 12:32:49 1999 uptime is 308/22:58:11 +Z Array V 22.097 V +X (RX) Temp 1.252 D RX Temp -0.991 D RC PSK TX Out 0.644 W Total Array C= 0.108 Bat Ch Cur=-0.013 Ifb= 0.044 I+10V= 0.120 TX:017 BCR:87 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 general 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 general 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 Ground control stations have received images from the PAL-TV imager on SunSat. The imager is a commercial grade TV camera connected to the S-band transmitter. [ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information] UoSAT-12 UO-36 Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established. The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions. UoSAT-12 was successfully launched on April 21, 1999 from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome. UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S transponders. G7UPN reports that due to the increase in satellite temperature over the past several days the 437.025 MHz 38k4 downlink is off again. "This transmitter is generating too much heat now that the satellite is in continuous sunlight. Hopefully over the next few days we will change the attitude mode of the satellite and we'll then be able to put the transmitter back on," Chris told ANS. Further information is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/ [ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 157.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 06, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-157.075 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