SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.01 MIR IS OCCUPIED ONCE AGAIN AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.01 AMSAT's Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reported to ANS that two cosmonauts --Sergei Zalyotin and Alexandr Kaleri-- have arrived on the Russian Mir space station. Several news agencies (including CNN) also reported the April 4th launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the successful docking with Mir. In addition, CNN reported that this mission is the first privately funded manned mission into space. KK5DO told ANS (via the ARRL Letter) that this mission marks the first time in about eight months the Mir space station has been occupied. While the strong possibility exists for Amateur Radio operation, that is not considered to be high on the crew's list of priorities. Their first job is to locate a slow leak in the aging spacecraft. If amateur activity does take place, it most likely will be on 145.985 MHz FM and could include voice, packet or SSTV. As this edition of ANS was being edited, no Amateur Radio operation from Mir had been reported. Stay tuned to ANS for further developments. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, and the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.02 ISS INTERIM CONTROL MODULE NEARING COMPLETION AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.02 NASA officials are reporting that a U.S. component for the International Space Station will be ready to fly later this year if the key Russian Zvezda Service Module is delayed again. The launch of the Zvezda module has been delayed over two years. It is currently scheduled to be launched this July. "We have asked the team building the U.S. component to step up activities for a launch no earlier than December,'' NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown said. Called the Interim Control Module, the $210 million, 30,000-pound U.S. unit for the International Space Station is being built at the Naval Research Laboratory facility near Washington D.C. The module, which will carry 11,000 pounds of fuel, is being designed to keep the two pieces of the international station in orbit if the Russians miss the deadline with the Zvezda unit. After undergoing hardware testing, the interim module will be readied for shipment to Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the possible December launch. NASA (however) reiterated the agency's position that NASA officials fully expect the Zvezda module to fly in July. Originally, NASA did not want to build the interim module. But after it became clear in 1997 that the Russians would have trouble meeting their commitment on the station, the project was launched. If launched in December, the interim module would not be a permanent measure (in that it does not provide living quarters like the Russian Zvezda unit). However, it would keep the station orbiting, awaiting either the Zvezda module at some point or a replacement system. If Zvezda is launched in July, the interim module would be launched anyway, around 2001, to give the station added strength. No Amateur Radio operation from the International Space Station is scheduled until permanent human occupation is achieved aboard ISS. Built by the United States, Russia and 14 other nations, the orbiting International Space Station is intended to be an arena for space-based research that will open new frontiers. [ANS thanks NASA and Florida Today for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.03 EIGHTH ANNUAL JEWELRY CONTEST HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.03 AMSAT-NA will sponsor the 18th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting this October. A mainstay of the Symposium has been the annual jewelry contest, overseen by Dave, WB6LLO, and Leanore KA6UCD. Dave tells ANS that the contest this year is in the form of a brooch that was "carved out of a gold plated circuit board in the shape of a tuna." The board was donated by Qualcomm, delivered by Kerry Banke, K6IZW, during the 1999 Symposium in San Diego, California. The brooch is about three inches long, comes with a safety clasp, and can be pinned on or hung from a suitable chain. WB6LLO says the original board components have nothing to do with the contest solution. Contestants, (should they choose to take the assignment!) will need to determine the resonant frequency of the parallel tank circuit formed by the 'eye' and the 'mouth' of the tuna. The frequency is in one of the Amateur Satellite bands. The eye is a miniature variable capacitor - set at 7.0 pF. The mouth is a coil of #24 plated copper wire. It is 6 turns, .25 inches in diameter and .25 inches long. The wire spacing is one wire diameter. Dave reports the angular separation to form the 'mouth' of the tuna is of some consequence, and should be considered in the answer calculations. WB6LLO also reports that the eventual winner can re-set the capacitor to his frequency preference! Leanore, KA6UCD, will be wearing the brooch at the October 2000 Symposium and will announce the winner of the contest at the Symposium banquet. If the winner is present, the broach will be presented to the winner. Dave tells ANS that anyone can enter. Entry is very simple, just send your guess by e-mail to: ka6ucd@amsat.org (or) wb6llo@amsat.org The answer should be in the following format: XXX.XXXXXX MHz Dave says that he has no way he can measure it that accurately, "but the answer is set this way purposely to eliminate ties." More information about the contest and the broach can be found at the following URL: http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads [ANS thanks Dave Guimont, WB6LLO, and Leanore Guimont, KA6UCD, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** Japan's Liberal Democratic Party has chosen a successor for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, JI1KIT. Obuchi was hospitalized in Tokyo after suffering a recent stroke. He's reportedly in intensive care, in a coma and breathing with the aid of a respirator. Japan's Parliament has elected Yoshiro Mori to succeed Obuchi. News accounts say Obuchi, 62, is unable to communicate. -ARRL Letter ** The AMSAT-DC Meeting and Space Seminar held recently has been judged a huge success. Pat, WD8LAQ, reports "getting some very nice e-mail responses on how well the gathering was organized and enjoyed by all." Pat passes on a big thank you to all who helped in the success. For those who were unable to attend the meeting, Charlie, K3VDB, has posted photos of the gathering at his web site. Visit www.cyberia.com/pages/cheisler for details. -Pat, WD8LAQ ** Following a review of flight readiness, Space Shuttle managers have confirmed April 24th as the launch date for Atlantis on a mission that will continue the development of the orbiting International Space Station. Atlantis' liftoff is planned for approximately 4:15 p.m. EDT, within a 10-minute launch window. The precise launch time and window could vary slightly and will be established about 24 hours ahead of liftoff to optimize the Shuttle's performance. -NASA ** KE4AZN reports his first satellite contact via RS-13. Congratulations from ANS! -NN0DJ ** Lars, SM0TGU, reports the AMSAT-SM web site has been updated with information about the new WAP service. Check out the changes at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-sm. -Lars, SM0TGU ** NASA and Boeing have signed a modification to the International Space Station contract valued at $26.3 million for planned changes to the assembly sequence baseline. -SpaceDaily ** Five new commemorative postage stamps have been issued by the U.S. Postal Service to celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 10th anniversary. The five stamps feature images of the Eagle Nebula, the Ring Nebula, the Lagoon Nebula, the Egg Nebula and Galaxy NGC 1316, all taken by Hubble over the past 10 years. -Florida Today --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-100.05 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. 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. KP3A reports that AO-10 has been working well with many European stations that have good signals. KP3A is uplinking to AO-10 with 50-watts and a 9 turn helical. 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. 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. UO-14 was launched in January 1990. 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. 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. 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: April 7-16th - JA April 17th-20th - JD1200 April 21-May 7th - 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-100.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-100.06 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports the satellite has been operating very well, in spite of the limited power budget. Downlink efficiencies are in the 80% range. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part of the problem with recent 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 and receiving moderate traffic with average downlink efficiencies at 80%. [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. 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. OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1, 2000. 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/ 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. 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 spin rate evaluation confirms a spin rate of 1 revolution every 18 minutes. Power output is low due to this spin rate. The S-band transmitter is currently off. A new WOD collection of current graphics (dated 02/26/2000) can be found at: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu [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 (and the downlink) may be disabled at times. Joel, K2SAT, is now active on the digital birds (with help from W4SM, G0ORX and DK9SJ). Joel reports that he has had great success with UO-36 downloads. 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-100.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 100.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 09, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-100.07 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) on October 29, 1998. At the time of launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were promised to be available to Amateur Radio operators along with software to utilize this technology. To date, this has not happened. 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 (at that time) returned to Earth. AMSAT's Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reported to ANS that two cosmonauts --Sergei Zalyotin and Alexandr Kaleri-- have arrived on the Russian Mir space station. Several news agencies (including CNN) also reported the April 4th launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the successful docking with Mir. While the strong possibility exists for Amateur Radio operation, that is not considered to be high on the crew's list of priorities. Their first job is to locate a slow leak in the aging spacecraft. 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 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