SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.01 AVIATION EDUCATION DAY A SUCCESS AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-332.01 As ANS earlier reported (ANS 318.02), Hank, N1LTV, told ANS about the (then) upcoming Aviation and Space Education Day, a part of the Rhode Island Rockets for Schools program. N1LTV now reports the day was a tremendous success with many hams in attendance, both as communicators for event coordination and as active participants. Near Charlestown, Rhode Island more than three thousand students gathered from several states to launch model rockets, one high altitude balloon and a Viper-Dart sounding rocket. The rocket completed a suborbital flight, collecting comet dust from the Leonids meteor shower. "With crystal clear blue skies but blustery winds, the Viper-Dart sounding rocket left the launch site," reports N1LTV, adding, "it was right on schedule to the delight of the students." This marked the first time a missile launched from a New England state had reached space at approximately 60 miles up. N1LTV noted that pictures from the event, centered around the Viper launch can be found at the following URL: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/3161/hablic.htm [ANS thanks Hank Riley, N1LTV, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.02 SATELLITE LAUNCH IMMINENT AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-332.02 If all goes well, Vandenberg Air Force Base will soon be the site for the launch of several new satellites, including JAWSAT, OPAL, STENSAT and ASUSAT-1. Assi Friedman, KK7KX/4X1KX, the Deputy Program Manager of the ASUSAT program recently talked about the satellite his team has assembled: ASUSAT-1 is an Amateur Radio store-and-forward digital communications satellite centered around a 9600-baud (G3RUH style) communications platform - with a VHF uplink and UHF downlink. "From an operating perspective," reports KK7KX, "any Amateur Radio satellite station currently capable of working UO-22 or KO-25 should be able to communicate with ASUSAT-1." Assi tells ANS that after launch ASUSAT-1 should wake up in a power safe mode, sending a status beacon in both text and binary form. The downlink frequency will be 436.700 MHz. The planned orbit inclination is 100 degrees, at a planned orbit altitude of 750 Km. KK7KX also reports that a web page with initial information, a telemetry configuration file and status updates will be completed shortly. Currently, preliminary information can be found at: http://www.eas.asu.edu/~nasasg/asusat/launchcampaign/launchcampaign.html [ANS thanks Assi Friedman, KK7KX/4X1KX, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.03 OSCAR-11 REPORT AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-332.03 Clive Wallis, G3CWV, reports to ANS that from last October through mid-November -- OSCAR-11 continues its stalwart operation with reliable signals from its 145.826 MHz beacon. According to G3CWV, the Z-axis attitude correction counter has now reached its limit of 1,024 - which has stopped further firing of the magnetorquer system. This means that the attitude of the satellite is being controlled solely by the action of the gravity boom gradient. The current rotational period is -242 seconds (0.248 revs/minute) compared with the usual period of 350 seconds (0.171 revs/minute). OSCAR-11 ground control action to reset the counters is expected in the near future. The battery voltage during daylight passes has remained consistently high. The average value observed was 13.9 volts, with a range of 13.8 to 14.0 volts. Internal temperatures have risen by about one degree during the reporting period (7.4C and 5.6C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively). The operating schedule is unchanged with the ASCII bulletin currently a static message, detailing modes and frequencies of all the Amateur Radio satellites. The mode-S beacon is transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The beacon is a useful test source for those testing mode-S converters prior to the launch of P3-D. Clive asks that any reports of reception on 2401 MHz are welcome. Please e-mail Clive at: g3cwv@amsat.org. OSCAR-11 listeners may be interested in visiting the G3CWV web site. The site contains details of hardware and software required for capturing data and decoding ASCII telemetry from the satellite. Also included are some audio files that are examples of each type of data transmitted by OSCAR-11. The URL is: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ [ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-332.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** Randy, N7SFI, sent ANS projected orbit data for the JAWSAT launch. The scheduled liftoff is currently set for 02:22 UTC on December 8, 1999. The launch window is from 02:12 to 02:32 UTC. Epoch time: 99342.1084 Decay: 0.00000001 Element set: 1 Inclination: 100.0 RAAN: 164.2099 Eccentricity: 0.0000001 Arg Perigee: 0.0 Mean Anomaly: 180.0 Mean Motion: 14.4259 Orbit #: 1 Updates can be found at the following URL: http://www.xmission.com/~kohlwey/keps.txt. -Randy, N7SFI ** From cellular phone satellites to the laptops that astronauts use aboard NASA's space shuttles, the aerospace industry claims it is ready for the year 2000. Experts say they have sorted through critical systems, such as the ones commanding Pentagon spy satellites, and feel confident their computers will avoid problems from the Y2K bug. But admitting nothing is certain, they still plan on having Y2K gurus ready to react if some unforeseen problem starts trouble at midnight, December 31st. -Florida Today ** High flying balloons carrying science experiments (and maybe Amateur Radio transponders?--NN0DJ) for up to 100 days are closer to becoming reality early in the next century thanks to advanced materials and a new design by researchers led by NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. -SpaceDaily ** During the recent ARRL EME contest Jean-Louis, F6AGR, tried to listen to EME activity with his AO-10 class station - with success. He tracked the Moon and clearly heard SM5FRH and IK3MAC, also detecting other weak signals on 144 MHz. His station consists of a 12 element circularly polarized Yagi feeding a multi-mode VHF/UHF transceiver. -ANS ** NASA's best eyes on the universe are closed temporarily after an equipment failure forced the Hubble Space Telescope to halt its science work. The telescope will stay shut down until space walking astronauts replace key components of the $3-billion telescope's pointing system during a mission scheduled for launch in December. The Hubble system broke down when the fourth of six gyroscopes stopped working. Three gyroscopes are needed to keep Hubble steadily locked on stars, planets and other targets. -Florida Today ** Shuttle Discovery's flight to the Hubble Space Telescope could be delayed if it takes NASA longer to repair damaged electrical wires. In addition, a new problem has cropped up, a leaky hydraulic unit that helps steer the shuttle during launch and landing. A seal is leaking on one of the three Auxiliary Power Units that steer the main engines during ascent and also control wing flaps and landing gear. Workers will replace the seal and retest the unit. -Florida Today ** China's first experimental spacecraft, part of its manned space flight program, recently completed a short mission in space after touching down near Inner Mongolia. Details of the flight are available at: http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/china-99m.html. -JSP List ** JPL reports that NASA's Mars Polar Lander is healthy and on target for a landing this December 3rd. The beefed up MPL team has spent time testing and training for the entry, descent and landing operations of the mission. -SpaceDaily ** The 4th Ariane 5 flight (Ariane 504) is currently scheduled to take place from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on December 10th. The launch window opens at 14:32 UTC and closes at 15:02 UTC. Ariane 5 is entering commercial service, launching ESA's XMM, a telescope that will study X-rays sources from the Universe. -ESA --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-332.05 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 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 Unconfirmed status. Last reported to be in mode-KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink. Kevin, AC5DK, reports a possible RS-13 failure. Users of RS-13 have recently noticed the downlink was filled with data signals. Closer inspection suggest that RS-13 is currently unusable, with no mode-K signals getting through and mode-A signals drowned out. AC5DK summarizes that transmitted data signals are coming through the transponder as evidenced by the fact that they rise and fall with RS-13's beacon. AC5DK's possible conclusion is that something has failed in the mode-K receiver. Stay tuned to ANS for further details. 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 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 for mode-A operation 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. DX continues to be worked (and heard) on AO-10. K5OE reports Roy, 7J7ACV, and Yoshio, JA6BX, are both active. W4SM has more information about the satellite at the following URL: http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html 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 [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. Jerry, KK5YY, will be active from Hawaii (late November through December 11th). AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR) to regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how long the satellite has been in an eclipse (or in the sun) and decides what subsystems to turn on or off. Chuck, KM4NZ, reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on 10/11/99). TEPR 4 is 22 TEPR 5 is 58 Mike, KF4FDJ, recently operated on AO-27 from the Tampa hamfest. [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. FO-20 continues to function quite well. [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. Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29, addressing analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy e-mail Mike at: kf4fdj@amsat.org Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the FO-29 operational schedule (announced by the JARL) is as follows: November 26 - 30th digitalker Mineo, JE9PEL, has updated his FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis Program. The software will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite such as current, voltage and temperature. The JE9PEL FO-29/software update is available at: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-332.06 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Non-operational. ANS has learned (from HL0ENJ) that satellite downlink telemetry shows two of KO-23's battery cells to be very unstable. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 is (again) not operational. Stay tuned to ANS for further developments. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, for KO-23 status information] KITSAT KO-25 Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 436.500 MHz FM Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational with good data throughput. [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. Chris, G7UPN, reported to ANS that UO-22 was recently reloaded with new software to make the satellite Y2K compliant. More information on the satellite is available at the following URL: http://www.sstl.co.uk/ [ANS thanks 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. The operating schedule is unchanged. ASCII status (210 seconds) ASCII bulletin (60 seconds) BINARY SEU (30 seconds) ASCII TLM (90 seconds) ASCII WOD (120 seconds) ASCII bulletin (60 seconds) BINARY ENG (30 seconds) The ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and frequencies of all active amateur radio satellites. More information on OSCAR-11 is available at the following URL: 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 Operational (with the exception of the mode-S beacon, which is currently off). AO-16 has operated continuously for over 1,800 days since its last software reload. Telemetry is as follows: Time is Sat Nov 27 10:44:35 1999 uptime is 1896/05:01:18 +X (RX) Temp -1.212 D RX Temp -0.002 D BCR Set Point 126.873 C BCR Load Cur 0.351 A BCR Input Cur 0.495 A BCR Output Cur 0.360 A Bat 1 Temp 6.049 D Bat 2 Temp 5.444 D RC PSK TX Out 0.442 W RC PSK BP Temp -0.002 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 2.419 D +Y Array Temp 4.839 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -0.607 D +Z Array Temp 3.629 D Baseplt Temp 6.654 D Total Array C= 0.464 Bat Ch Cur= 0.009 Ifb= 0.031 I+10V= 0.320 TX:010B BCR:81 PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:A1 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. The digipeater is active. Telemetry is as follows: Time is Sat Nov 27 11:01:49 1999 uptime is 483/21:27:11 +10V Bus 11.379 V +X (RX) Temp -2.674 D RX Temp -1.552 D BCR Set Point 133.308 C BCR Load Cur 0.151 A BCR Input Cur 0.314 A BCR Output Cur 0.268 A RC PSK TX Out 0.659 W RC PSK BP Temp 1.252 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 1.252 D +Y Array Temp 4.057 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 0.131 D +Z Array Temp -5.478 D Total Array C= 0.302 Bat Ch Cur= 0.117 Ifb= 0.012 I+10V= 0.139 TX:017 BCR:88 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/ PanSat is the featured cover article in the July/August 1999 issue of the AMSAT-NA Journal (written by KD6DRA and N7HPR). [ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information] SUNSAT SO-35 Semi-operational. SunSat has been in mode-B recently. 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. Hans, ZS5AKV, reports the SunSat ground control team at the University of Stellenbosch are now in the process of loading new control software. ZS5AKV reports "operation as previously scheduled is doubtful." For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za [ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information] UoSAT-12 UO-36 Downlink 437.025 MHz 437.400 MHz 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. The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions. S-band high speed downlink commissioning continues at rates between 128kb/s and 1Mb/s. The S-band downlink frequency has not been announced. UO-36 has been transmitting 9600-baud FSK telemetry framed in a VLSI format using a downlink frequency of 437.400 MHz. Chris, G7UPN, reports UO-36 is also (at times) testing on 437.025 MHz at a baud rate of 38,400 (38k4). Presently the BBS is still closed. The VK5HI/TMSAT viewer shareware is available on the AMSAT-NA web site at the following URL: ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/display/ccddsp97-119.zip Further information on UO-36 is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/ [ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey for this information] ITAMSAT IO-26 Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM 1200 baud Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB Semi-operational, digipeater function is 'on'. IO-26 was launched on the September 26, 1993. Alberto, I2KBD, reports IO-26 has been opened to APRS use. ITAMSAT ground controllers have switched the digipeater function to 'on'. [ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this information] TECHSAT-1B GO-32 Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry Updated status. Shlomo, 4X1AS, tells ANS that efforts are underway to bring GO-32 on line. According to Dr. Fred Ortenberg of the Asher Space Research Institute in Haifa, "the TechSat control team is about to finish its Amateur Radio BBS package tests. The next stage is to add beacon messages about the satellite's housekeeping status." Stay tuned to ANS for further information. 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/ /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-332.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 332.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 28, 1999 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-332.07 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: MIR SPACE STATION Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station came to a close on August 28, 1999 as the crew returned to Earth, leaving the station unmanned. Mir is in a stable orbit with only essential systems running. All Amateur Radio activities have ceased. Currently, the station is being prepared for re-entry sometime in the first quarter of 2000, however, the final fate of the space station has not been formally announced. Stay tuned to ANS for further developments. Current Amateur Radio equipment aboard Mir includes: MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz Downlink 437.950 MHz FM Not 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 Not operational. No operation in 1999 has been observed. MIR PERSONAL MESSAGE SYSTEM (PMS) Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK Not operational. 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. SEDSAT-1 SO-33 Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and recovery efforts have been unsuccessful over the past year. Mineo, JE9PEL, reports he has again received minimal telemetry from the satellite, the most recent dated November 11th. 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. /EX