SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079.01 CALL FOR PAPERS AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-079.01 The 15th AMSAT-UK Colloquium -also known as AMSAT Space 2000- will be held at Surrey University, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, later this summer. The official dates are July 28-30, 2000. The Colloquium organizer is well-known satellite enthusiast Richard Limebear, G3RWL. AMSAT-UK invites authors to submit papers about the Amateur Radio space service (and associated activities) for this event. Papers will also be published in the Colloquium Proceedings document. Normally, authors are asked to present their papers in person, but unpresented papers are also welcomed and will be presented at the Colloquium in the original author's absence. According to G3RWL, offers of official papers should be submitted as-soon-as-possible. The final date for full documents to be received is June 15, 2000. This date is necessary so that the Proceedings document can be made be available to Colloquium participants. Submissions should be sent to G3RWL, via the following routes: Internet e-mail: g3rwl@amsat.org Packet radio: G3RWL@ B7HSN.#32.GBR.EU Terrestrial mail: RWL Limebear, G3RWL 60 Willow Road Enfield EN1 3NQ United Kingdom AMSAT-UK also invites anyone with requests for program topics to submit them as soon as possible to G3RWL. Richard tells ANS that "obviously we are hoping for many presentations about the Phase 3D satellite but we still want to hear about other satellite activity areas." Additionally, AMSAT-UK will be offering sessions specifically for beginners to the Amateur Radio Satellite Service during the Colloquium. More information about the AMSAT-UK Colloquium can be found at the following URL: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium.htm [ANS thanks Colloquium Program Organizer Richard Limebear, G3RWL, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079.02 NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-079.02 Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reports to ANS that the nominating period for the 'Young Ham of the Year Award' is now open. The award is presented annually to a United States licensed radio amateur who is 18 years of age or younger and who has provided outstanding service to the nation, his community or the betterment of the state of the communications art through the Amateur Radio service. The Young Ham of the Year Award program was conceived in 1985 to highlight the accomplishments of our nations many young radio hobbyists and to encourage the entry of more young people into the exciting and rewarding hobby of Amateur Radio. ANS is hoping that the year 2000 winner might come from the Amateur Radio satellite community. Nominations must be submitted before May 30, 2000 on an official application and accompanied by verification materials. Applications forms are available at the following URL: http://www.arnewsline.org The award presentation is scheduled to take place at the 2000 Huntsville Hamfest later this summer. [ANS thanks Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079.03 OSCAR 11 CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-079.03 Clive Wallis, G3CWV, reports to ANS that OSCAR-11 has "completed another year in orbit as it celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1st, 2000." According to Clive, the satellite is in good shape despite a few minor problems which have arisen during its long existence in the very harsh environment of outer space. ANS congratulates the UoSAT team on this outstanding accomplishment! During the period of 15-February to 16-March - good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. Battery voltage during daylight passes has been unchanged. The average DC value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of 13.4 to 14.1 volts. The internal satellite temperatures have decreased by one degree Celsius. They are now 3.8C and 2.2C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. A single WOD survey of channels 10, 20, 30 and 40 has been transmitted. An ASCII bulletin is currently being transmitted, detailing modes and frequencies of all the active Amateur Radio satellites. There are additional status blocks after each bulletin is transmitted. Clive reported to ANS that the mode-S beacon is also on, transmitting an unmodulated carrier at a bit less than 1-watt of output power. The beacon is a useful source for those testing mode-S converters, prior to the launch of Phase 3-D. More information about the satellite can be found at the following URL: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ [ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-079.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** Mark your calendar as the AMSAT-NA forum at the Dayton Hamfest is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, 2000. More information about the Dayton Hamfest can be found at: www.hamvention.org. -Doug, KA8QCU ** SpaceDaily reports that the European Space Agency, the European Commission and the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation are making concrete progress in the development of a Global Positioning and Navigation Satellite System, dubbed GNSS. -SpaceDaily ** NASA reports that workers accidentally damaged an antenna on shuttle Atlantis recently as they were preparing the ship for an April flight to the International Space Station. With assessments ongoing, NASA officials can't say yet whether the repairs will delay Atlantis from its targeted April 13th launch. NASA will also replace a main engine on Atlantis, fearing it could have faulty parts that should have been scrapped. -Florida Today ** Russia has opened a serious dialogue with China to assist them in building their own space station. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister gave the news recently to the Tass News Agency. -Space Daily ** With their $5 billion constellation of 66 satellites now on the verge of destruction, Iridium officials recently were given approval to begin shutting down the company's mobile phone system. Approval for the shutdown, which will affect 55,000 customers, came from a U.S. bankruptcy court in New York City after no big-name rescuer stepped forward to bail out the company. Barring the emergence of a financial savior, Iridium will cut off service to customers and then start to deorbit, and destroy, the satellites. The de-orbiting process could take as long as two years. -Florida Today ** The Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act bill now has supporting legislation in the U.S. Senate. Idaho Senator Michael Crapo has introduced a bill that mirrors the house bill, HR-783. The Senate measure has been designated S-2183. Like the House version, the Senate bill, if enacted, would require the FCC to provide equivalent replacement spectrum should it ever be necessary to reallocate Amateur Radio frequencies for some other purpose. -ARRL ** An ocean-based Sea Launch rocket failed recently, apparently falling into the Pacific Ocean with its $100 million communications satellite. Launch controllers lost contact with the rocket, a Russian-Ukrainian Zenit-3SL, a few minutes after liftoff from a floating platform about 1,400 miles southeast of Hawaii. Hughes Space and Communications of El Segundo, Calif. built the 6,050-pound satellite, for ICO Global Communications Ltd. of London. -Florida Today ** Arianespace has scheduled the next Ariane 5 launch. Flight 128 will orbit the dual payload of the AsiaStar and Insat 3B satellites. Following preventive checks on the AsiaStar satellite, preparations are complete for the Flight 128/Ariane 505 launch between 22:57 and 23:44 UTC on March 21, 2000. -Peter, DB2OS ** The SETI League will hold its annual meeting March 26th, at SETI League Headquarters in New Jersey. A non-profit organization, the SETI League supports a privately funded radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and its membership includes many Amateur Radio operators. The executive director is Paul Shuch, N6TX. -ARRL Letter ** The launch of the IMAGE satellite (Imager for Magnetopause-to- Aurora Global Exploration) for the Southwest Research Institute is currently scheduled aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket on Saturday, March 25th - from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The IMAGE satellite is the first spacecraft dedicated to imaging the Earth's magnetosphere, a region of space controlled by the Earth's magnetic field that contains extremely tenuous plasmas of both solar and terrestrial origin. -Florida Today ** The ARRL has formally asked the FCC to reconsider and modify two aspects of its December 30, 1999, Report and Order that restructured the Amateur Radio rules. The League wants the FCC to continue to maintain records that indicate whether a Technician licensee has Morse code element credit. It also seeks permanent Morse element credit for any Amateur Radio applicant who has ever passed an FCC-recognized Morse exam of at least 5-wpm. -ARRL Letter ** Some doorstep astronomy from ANS: Look south at nightfall for Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. It's also called the Dog Star, being the brightest star of the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog. Other leading stars of Canis Major are Mirzam, to Sirius's right and a bit lower, and the triangle of Adhara, Wezen, and Aludra, twice as far to Sirius's lower left. These three stars mark the dog's hindquarters and tail. Also look for Orion tilting down in the southwest after dark. Note that Orion's Belt (the row of three stars in the middle of the constellation) is roughly horizontal. This is another sign of spring. When Orion rises during the cold evenings around the start of winter, the belt is vertical. When Orion makes his springtime exit, the belt is horizontal. -S&T --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-079.05 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. John, K6YK, reports a QSO with OK1DIG via RS-13. OK1DIG was on the 15-meter uplink, K6YK on 2-meter uplink. 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. Mike, N1JEZ, reports RS-15 is currently operating with an active beacon, but it's an unmodulated carrier on for 5 seconds then off for 2 seconds, continually repeating the cycle. The transponder is only active when the beacon is on! Despite this Mike reports downlink signals were S-3 to S-5. 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. Eddie, DU1EV, has been active. 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. Tony, W7EWC, tells ANS he plans to be active on AO-27 from the Bahamas as W7EWC/C6A during the entire month of March. An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web site. Ray, W2RS, recently updated the information. 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, recently reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on 03/19/2000). TEPR 4 is 28 TEPR 5 is 64 [ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information] UO-14 Uplink 145.975 MHz FM Downlink 435.070 MHz FM Operational, mode J. Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO reported on the AMSAT bulletin board that UO-14 --launched in January 1990-- spent its first 18 months in orbit operating as an Amateur Radio store-and-forward satellite. It was then switched for use by Volunteers in Technical Assistance, who used it for medical messaging into Africa. "Since the computer which is used for store-and-forward communications is no longer able to perform that task, UO-14 is no longer usable in this mode," reported G7UPN. "It is, however, possible to use the satellite as a single-channel FM voice repeater, and I have configured the satellite to do this." John, K6YK, reports UO-14 has been a big hit with many mobiles and portables. John says that working UO-14 with a mobile/potable setup is fairly easy (using a dual band HT, preamp, duplexer and two mobile whips). Andrea, IT9GSV, reports very strong signals. Al, XE2YVW, was active from DL90, in Queretaro, Mexico. Eddie, DU1EV, reports working Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia via UO-14. Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information Site with UO-14 information, point your web browser to the following URL: http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information] SUNSAT SO-35 Operational. SunSat has been in mode-B (FM) 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, recently celebrating its first year in orbit. 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. Due to an improvement in its power budget, SunSat's Mode B repeater will now also be enabled on most weekday evenings (except Monday). A schedule of the active passes can be found at: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za/ham1.htm GPS data is currently collected on Mondays. It takes as much as twelve hours to fully recover the state of charge after these experiments. For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za A summary of the active modes and frequency allocations for SunSat is available at the following URL: http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/~lochner/sunsat/modes.html [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. Mineo, JE9PEL, recently downloaded FO-29 telemetry and reported the results on the AMSAT-BB. 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: March 21-24th - JD1200 March 25-April 2nd - 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-079.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-079.06 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Operational. AA7KC reports KO-23 is (again) operational. Jim says KO-23 returned to service recently with very good performance. User traffic is low. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part of the problem with non-operation has been the power budget aboard the satellite. [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 an approximate 50% downlink efficiency on 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. Clive Wallis, G3CWV, reports to ANS that OSCAR-11 has "completed another year in orbit as it celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1st, 2000." According to Clive, the satellite is in good shape despite a few minor problems which have arisen during its long existence in the very harsh environment of outer space. During the period of 15-February to 16-March - good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. Battery voltage during daylight passes has been unchanged. The average DC value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of 13.4 to 14.1 volts. The internal satellite temperatures have decreased by one degree Celsius. They are now 3.8C and 2.2C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. A single WOD survey of channels 10, 20, 30 and 40 has been transmitted. 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 CW downlink 437.125 MHz Digital downlink 437.150 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK Currently semi-operational. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry channels and one status channel. Currently, no BBS service is available. The digipeater is active. Mineo, JE9PEL, has 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: Uptime is 596/20:26:13. Time is Sun Mar 19 10:09:30 2000 +10V Bus 11.227 V +Z Array V 22.506 V +X (RX) Temp 0.692 D RX Temp 0.131 D BCR Set Point 133.308 C BCR Load Cur 0.145 A Bat 1 Temp 1.252 D Bat 2 Temp 1.813 D RC PSK TX Out 0.659 W RC PSK BP Temp 5.740 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 6.861D +Y Array Temp 0.692 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 5.179 D +Z Array Temp 1.252 D Total Array C= 0.223 Bat Ch Cur= 0.092 Ifb= 0.054 I+10V= 0.092 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] PACSAT AO-16 Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM using 1200 baud Manchester FSK Downlink 437.025 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK Mode-S Beacon 2401.1428 MHz Semi-operational. Russ, WJ9F, reports ground stations are currently running memory test software on the satellite. After loading the file server software the satellite reverted back to MBL mode after about 3 minutes. Russ and his team are evaluating if a write to memory glitch may have caused the problem. In addition to the memory testing, the spacecraft spin rate around the vertical (Z) axis has created a less than ideal condition for battery charging. The S-band transmitter is currently off. Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the AO-16 signal is weaker than before but perfectly decodable. The JJ1WTK spin rate measurement is also on going. The current spin rate is about 18 revolutions per minute. Telemetry is as follows: Uptime is 035/06:42:57. Time is Sun Mar 19 10:12:23 2000 +10V Bus 11.150 V +Z Array V 21.585 V +X (RX) Temp 10.285 D RX Temp -1.212 D BCR Set Point 131.381 C BCR Load Cur 0.428 A BCR Input Cur 0.530 A BCR Output Cur 0.394 A Bat 1 Temp 5.444 D Bat 2 Temp 7.260 D Baseplt Temp 4.839 D PSK TX RF Out 1.909 W RC PSK BP Temp -0.002 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 1.209 D +Y Array Temp -1.212 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 3.629 D +Z Array Temp 21.177 D Total Array C= 0.473 Bat Ch Cur=-0.034 Ifb= 0.058 I+10V= 0.370 TX:1009 BCR:88 PWRC:05B BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:FE 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 Uplink 145.960 MHz 9600 baud FSK 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 BBS is open, although uploading may be disabled at times. UO-36 ground control finished Merlion operations recently with limited coverage over the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The operations generated a carrier at about 1-watt of power on 2401 MHz. 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, the 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-079.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 079.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 19, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-079.07 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: 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 Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed. TECHSAT-1B GO-32 Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line, however no additional information has been received by ANS (the last report was dated November 1999). 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 never been released. 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. For more information, visit the official PanSat web site at: http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/ PanSat was the featured cover article on 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. 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 image and transponder 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. SedSat-1 has downlinked months worth of telemetry data on the performance of its electrical power system parameters. The Nickel Metal Hydride batteries on the spacecraft were experimental and experienced some abuse due to a power negative situation. This information has provided NASA with useful information. With the exception of the imaging system and the use of the transponders, SedSat-1 has been judged a success. 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