SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.01 PHASE 3D AT LAUNCH SITE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 030.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 30, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.01 On January 17th, AMSAT's Phase 3D satellite started on a journey that brought it one step closer to an eventual launch. This maiden journey started at the Orlando, Florida AMSAT Integration Facility --and after a stop in Paris, France-- ended safely in Kourou, French Guyana at the Arianespace launch facility. The satellite is now safely located in the clean room of the Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building. All systems are turned off and the flight batteries are in an uncharged state. Phase 3D will remain in storage until a specific flight assignment is announced by Arianespace. Once a date is known AMSAT personnel will begin final payload processing, including the installation of the solar panels and main engine, charging P3D's batteries and final weighing and fueling. Currently, no AMSAT personnel are in Kourou. The trip to French Guyana was an interesting one. Phase 3-D's heat pipes are filled with ammonia and a special one-time waiver was needed from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This permit allowed the satellite to be initially transported aboard an Air France 767 passenger aircraft. Photographs of Phase 3-D's loading and departure from the Florida Lab can be found at the following URL: http://www.magicnet.net/ A launch contract accepting Phase 3D as a payload for the first suitable Ariane 5 launch vehicle was signed last October. Phase 3D is expected to be among the first secondary payloads to hitchhike aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Stay tuned to ANS for more information. [ANS thanks the ARRL and AMSAT-DL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.02 JAWSAT LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 030.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 30, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.02 An Air Force Minotaur rocket successful lifted off last Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base with a number of satellites onboard. The January 26th launch from the California Commercial Spaceport included several Amateur Radio packages. Deployable payloads were the Joint Air Force-Weber State University Satellite (JAWSAT), Stanford University's Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher (OPAL), Arizona State University's ASUSat-1 and the Air Force Research Lab's Optical Calibration Sphere. The primary payload was the US Air Force Academy's FalconSat. "It was a spectacular sight, since the sky was clear and the visibility almost unlimited," said Eric Lemmon, WB6FLY. "I was able to view the first two burns without binoculars, and it was an impressive sight! JAWSAT served as a bus for several deployable payloads and the Plasma Experiment Satellite Test experiment -- called PEST. The telemetry stream from JAWSAT, including data from the PEST project, will be transmitted on Amateur Radio frequencies. Ham operators have been invited to contribute to the program by recording the downlinked data. OPAL appears healthy with a strong downlink. The AMSAT-BB has been full of reports of strong signals received from OPAL, including reports from KF4FDJ, G3RWL, F6AGR, K5OE, JE9PEL, N4QWF, NP2L, BV1AF and KE9NA. Bob, WB4APR, even copied OPAL when he was mobile! OPAL is due to 'eject' StenSat into space this weekend. The tiny, eight-ounce StenSat is strictly a ham satellite. It was developed by a group of amateur enthusiasts in the Washington, DC, area as part of Stanford University's OPAL project. StenSat will operate as a single-channel Mode-J FM voice repeater. ASUSat-1 also contains amateur packet hardware and a 2-meter/70-cm FM voice repeater. Initial reports indicated that ASUSat-1 was healthy, however this may not be the case. Assi Friedman, KK7KX / 4X1KX, the ASUSat-1 Project Leader, reports separation telemetry is now suggesting that a critical failure of the solar array may be preventing the batteries from charging. The last reception report of ASUSat-1 was received 14 hours into launch. The ASUSat-1 team fears the satellite has been lost, but the team will continue to try and establish contact in hopes the satellite will wake up. Stay tuned to the AMSAT-BB for the latest developments concerning this launch - and to future ANS bulletin sets. On behalf of the worldwide satellite community, ANS congratulates all the satellite and launch teams associated with this outstanding achievement. [ANS thanks the ARRL and the JAWSAT team for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.03 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 030.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 30, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.03 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** Ham Radio Outlet's Anaheim, California, store was destroyed by fire recently. The fire apparently first broke out in a dental office at the south end of the strip mall that housed the HRO store. After spreading into an attic area, the flames raged through the rest of the business center, engulfing the HRO store, the dental office, and two other businesses. -ARRL Letter ** NASA may have to crash an orbiting telescope into an empty stretch of the Pacific Ocean this spring to avoid the risk of the 17-ton instrument falling randomly to Earth. In space since 1991, the $600-million Compton Gamma Ray Observatory poses no immediate danger as it studies supernovae, black holes and other objects from an orbit 317 miles above Earth. Officials are studying whether if it's safe to keep flying or if the telescope should be brought down March 14th southeast of Hawaii. A decision is expected in mid-February. -Florida Today ** Jim Haynie, W5JBP, of Dallas, Texas, will be the next president of the ARRL. The ARRL Board of Directors elected Haynie January 21st shortly after convening in Memphis, Tennessee. He will succeed Rod Stafford, W6ROD, to become the League's 13th president. -ARRL Letter ** An Ariane 42L blasted into orbit recently carrying a Hughes 601 GEO satellite for PanAmSat equipped with 24 C and 24 Ku band transponders. With the first successful launch of the year now behind it Arianespace is looking forward to a busy year. Currently Arianespace has up to nine Ariane 4 and five Ariane 5 launches planned for 2000. -SpaceDaily ** Since being launched in May 1999 the SETI@home project has become an enormously popular distributed computing project. Currently more than 1.6 million participants have allow their personal computers to churn through observations from the Arecibo radio telescope looking for signals from an extraterrestrial source. To date all those computers have performed 166,000 years of processing. -S&T ** NASA may send a shuttle to the International Space Station in April instead of waiting for Russia to launch the outpost's next segment first, officials said Thursday. A crew on shuttle Atlantis would fly the proposed mission, which calls for routine maintenance to prepare the station for the next addition - the much-delayed Russian Service Module. -Florida Today ** Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are working on a new mini-battery for wireless devices. The fuel cell, which uses methanol as the power source, reportedly will last 10 times longer than batteries used today. Consumers will have to wait for at least three years to see them in stores. The battery will be packaged in a see-through tube, so users can check their battery supply at any given time. The cost of the methanol batteries should be in line with current power supplies. -ARRL Letter ** Some doorstep astronomy from ANS: Sparkling low in the southeast these evenings is Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest true star in the sky. Jupiter high in the southwest is brighter, but it's a planet! To the upper right of Sirius is the constellation Orion. A similar distance to Sirius's upper left is Procyon, the Little Dog Star. -S&T --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.04 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 030.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 30, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-030.04 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 Operational, in mode-KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink. Kevin, AC5DK, reports that "activity has been picking up quite a bit" on RS-13. AC5DK tells ANS that "on several evening passes I have heard Canadian stations early and Mexican stations late in the same pass. Quite a few new stations have gotten on as well as several stations not heard in a year or more. Now is a good time to get on during the evening passes." AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page: http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html 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 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. Kimio, 8J1RL, will be active on AO-10 from Antarctica through February 5th. 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. Steve, K5PK, operated portable KP2 from St. Croix, Jerry, K5OE, reports Steve had good signals. K5OE also worked Mal, NP2L, in nearby St. Johns. XE2YVW will be operating from grid DK99. Ray, W2RS, reports an AO-27 question-and-answer page has been established on the AMSAT-NA web site. The URL is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html 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. The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an explanation of AO-27 operations (at): http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html Chuck, KM4NZ, reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on 12/14/99). TEPR 4 is 12 TEPR 5 is 48 [ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information] SUNSAT SO-35 Operational. SunSat has been in mode-B using an uplink of 436.291 MHz (+/- doppler) and a 145.825 MHz downlink. 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. The SunSat command team recently upgraded the diary software. The team has also uploaded the parrot repeater software and early tests were satisfactory. The parrot repeater should be functional near the end of January. According to the team packet radio operation is still some 3 months away. For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za [ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this 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. JAS-1b (FO-20) was launched in February 1990 and 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 Operational, rotated with digital mode and digi-talker. JAS-2 was successfully launched on August 17, 1996, by an H-II launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center. Digital Mode JD Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK Digitalker 435.910 MHz 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: through January 31st JA February 1 - 6th JD1200 mailbox February 7 -21st JA February 22 - 27th JD1200 mailbox February 28 - March 5th JA 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-030.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 030.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 30, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-030.05 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Operational. W0SL, K4OGT and 9M2SS all report problems with KO-23 reception. Jim, AA7KC, tells ANS that KO-23 is operational but downlink efficiencies are widely variable with an average 50% efficiency. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports from the KO-23 control team that part of the problem is due the current power budget aboard the satellite. Stay tuned to ANS for more information. [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 Jackson, G7UPN, reports to ANS that UO-22 has now entered full sunlight and the temperatures have increased considerably. Controllers have turned the satellite upside down to point the critical systems to cold space. This has reduced the temperature on various systems (such as the batteries) by between 5 and 10 degrees. The unfortunate by-product of this is that the downlink is now quite weak. The satellite will remain in full sunlight until late March, when controllers will turn it back 'over' again. According to G7UPN "over the next few years this situation will become worse as the no eclipse periods become longer." Only the 145.900 MHz receiver is usable for communications at the moment. 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 as follows: 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] 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. Mineo, JE9PEL, recently recorded LO-19 CW and PSK telemetry and placed the information on his Internet homepage site at: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ Telemetry is as follows: Time is Fri Jan 28 21:39:50 2000 uptime is 546/07:56:33 +10V Bus 10.770 V +X (RX) Temp -3.235 D RX Temp 7.422 D Bat 1 V 1.351 V Bat 2 V 1.353 V Bat 3 V 1.364 V Bat 4 V 1.356 V Bat 5 V 1.368 V Bat 6 V 1.365 V Bat 7 V 1.352 V Bat 8 V 1.334 V +5V Bus 4.812 V +8.5V Bus 7.822 V +10V Bus 10.875 V RC PSK TX Out 0.674 W RC PSK BP Temp 6.861 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 5.179 D +Y Array Temp -12.770 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 5.179 D +Z Array Temp -9.966 D Total Array C= 0.008 Bat Ch Cur=-0.289 Ifb= 0.119 I+10V= 0.177 TX:017 BCR:1E 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] 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 Semi-operational. Russ Platt, WJ9F, of the AO-16 Command Team tells ANS the 437.025 MHz transmitter has been turned off and the S-band transmitter is now on. The satellite is back in a PHT (PACSAT Housekeeping Task) mode. This task manages the battery charging during sunlit periods and manages the decay during eclipse periods. It also includes safeguards to protect the batteries. WJ9F will be running Whole Orbit Data surveys to watch the batteries during the S-band only operation. Russ is also reloading the software to bring the file server back on line. Stay tuned to ANS for further updates. Telemetry is as follows: Time is Fri Jan 28 21:30:36 2000 uptime is 007/06:00:12 +10V Bus 10.500 V Bat 1 V 1.294 V Bat 2 V 1.290 V Bat 3 V 1.274 V Bat 4 V 1.280 V Bat 5 V 1.250 V Bat 6 V 1.281 V Bat 7 V 1.272 V Bat 8 V 1.292 V PSK TX RF Out 1.655 W Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.398 Ifb= 0.158 I+10V= 0.255 TX:1009 BCR:1E PWRC:58B BT:3C WC:CC EDAC:35 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] 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 Many of the high-resolution color images transmitted by TMSAT are compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is supported by the VK5HI CCD display program. [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for TO-31 status 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). Currently, this downlink is switched on over Europe. Due to the limited power on UO-36, it is not possible to have this downlink on permanently over all areas. Presently the BBS is still closed. The VK5HI 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. [ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 030.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 30, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-030.06 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: 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/ 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] 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. 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 or 2000 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 or 2000 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. Mineo, JE9PEL, reports he has again received minimal telemetry from the satellite, the most recent dated December 9th. 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