SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.01 SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 135.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-135.01 The 18th AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium will be held October 27-29th, 2000 (Friday-Sunday) at the Holiday Inn West in Portland, Maine. This is the second call to authors who wish to submit papers for presentation and publication in the Proceedings document of the Symposium. Topics covering the diverse aspects of the Amateur Radio satellite disciplines are sought from throughout the AMSAT community. If authors do not wish to present a paper but have a topic of interest, they are asked to submit the topic and perhaps arrangements can be made for presentation and publication in the Proceedings document. Key deadline dates for authors are as follows: June 1, 2000 - Final due date for one-page abstracts. When submitting abstracts, authors should include any time preferences for presentation. Authors will be advised by e-mail and/or postal mail shortly after June 1, 2000 (if their paper has been accepted or not). August 1, 2000 - Camera ready copy due. This is the final due date for authors to submit camera-ready copy of their paper (authors are urged to submit their papers in advance of this deadline). Upon receipt, papers will only be superficially edited and will generally be printed as submitted. Authors are asked to refer to past proceedings for the grammatical layout of papers. Authors are also requested to provide an electronic copy preferably in any version of Microsoft Word or WordPerfect in the event a disaster is spotted and can be corrected at the last minute. In September, authors will be provided with a tentative Symposium agenda that provides the time they will make their presentations. Each presentation should be limited to approximately 20 minutes. Abstracts and papers should be sent to: George Caswell, Sr., W1ME 16 Westwood Avenue Scarborough, Maine 04074 More information is available by e-mail at: w1me@amsat.org [ANS thanks Carolyn Caswell for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.02 AMSAT-UK COLLOQUIUM SPEAKERS SOUGHT AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 135.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-135.02 Richard Limebear, G3RWL, reports that the AMSAT-UK Colloquium is getting nearer and they still have some vacancies for speakers. The Colloquium will be held in July. G3RWL tells ANS that "it is not mandatory that speakers have to give us a paper to publish, so if any satellite operator has something to pass on please don't be shy." Richard reports that one specific request that some attendees have said they would like to hear about is 38k4 digital uplink/downlinks - including how to modify equipment, available software and information about high-speed modems. More information about the guidelines for Colloquium presentations can be found at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium/speakers.htm Additional information is also available by e-mail from G3RWL at: g3rwl@amsat.org [ANS thanks Richard Limebear, G3RWL, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.03 STS-101 LAUNCH COUNTDOWN SET TO BEGIN HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 135.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-135.03 NASA informed ANS that it will begin the countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-101 -- Monday, May 15th, starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the T-43 hour mark. This mission marks the 3rd Shuttle flight to the International Space Station. The countdown includes 26 hours and 2 minutes of built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time at about 6:38 p.m. on May 18th. The launch window opens at 6:32 p.m. and extends for 10 minutes until 6:42 p.m. A preferred launch time will be determined during the T-9 minute built-in hold based on the orbital location of the International Space Station. Mission STS-101 is the 21st flight of the orbiter Atlantis and the 98th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program. STS-101 is scheduled to last 10 days, 19 hours and 14 minutes with a planned KSC night landing at 2:18 a.m. on May 29th. This is Atlantis' first flight since it returned to KSC from a maintenance down period. As ANS earlier reported, the first three launch attempts for STS-101 (on April 24th through 26th) were scrubbed because of unacceptable weather. On mission STS-101, the seven-member flight crew will prepare the ISS for the arrival of the Russian-made Zvezda service module. The mission includes a single space walk to complete maintenance on the outpost and astronauts will also transfer a variety of supplies and logistics. No Amateur Radio operation is scheduled during this flight. [ANS thanks NASA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 135.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-135.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** After three failed missions from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during the past two years, a massive 19-story, $432 million Titan rocket was launched successfully recently. The launcher carried a $250 million missile-detection satellite into space for the Air Force. -Florida Today ** The annual Moorabbin and District Radio Club Hamfest in Melbourne, Australia was underway as this edition of ANS was being assembled. In addition to the usual trading stands, this hamfest will also incorporate demonstrations of several aspects of ham radio, including satellite operation. Stations will be active on FO-20 and FO-29 as well as UO-14, RS-13 and AO-10. VK, ZL, P29 and other hams in the area should listen for VK3APC, the club callsign. -AMSAT BB ** Two Russian cosmonauts on a space walk outside Mir space station found traces of burns on electrical cables on the outer hull of the veteran craft, Mir mission control reported. It said the damage was probably caused by a short circuit while the craft was left abandoned for several months, and would explain why one of its solar panels was not functioning. The present crew has been aboard since last month. Sergei Zalyotin and Alexander Kaleri walked for more than five hours in space, returning safely to the station. Mir's basic module has been in Earth orbit for the past 14 years. -Florida Today ** A test firing of an Ariane-5 solid rocket motor is to take place shortly on the booster test stand at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, under the Ariane-5 Research and Technology program. The objectives are to verify that Ariane-5 launcher qualification, reliability and performance levels are maintained and also to qualify modifications resulting from obsolescence or changes in technology. This motor test will also serve to qualify Ariane-5 improvements designed to increase launcher lift capability and keep production costs down. -ESA ** GM4JJJ reports a MS Windows Version of MoonSked has been released. This a moon scheduling program and is shareware. More information can be found at: http://www.qsl.net/gm4jjj/MoonSked/moonsked.htm. -David, GM4JJJ ** Powered by a Russian engine and carrying a European communications satellite, an advanced U.S. commercial rocket is set to roar into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The planned launch of the $200 million Lockheed Martin Atlas 3A, which marks the first time a Russian engine has been used on an American rocket, is a clear symbol of the continuing globalization of the space-business marketplace. -Florida Today ** Very soon the European Space Agency will inaugurate the VIL-1 antenna that will be used for the Cluster II mission to the magnetosphere. The newly refurbished antenna, at the Satellite Tracking Station site near Madrid, has been selected as the prime communication link with the Cluster II spacecraft. The VIL-1 antenna will play a vital role in ESA's Cluster mission by monitoring and controlling the four mission spacecraft and by receiving the vast amounts of data that will be returned to Earth during two years of mission operations. -ESA ** A 12-story Delta 2 sent a military navigation satellite into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station recently, the third successful launch from the Cape in the past seven days. The launch of the $50 million Delta for the Air Force included the $42 million Navstar Global Positioning System 2R satellite. -Florida Today --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 134.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-135.05 MIR SPACE STATION 145.985 MHz Simplex (FM) Voice and SSTV (Robot 36 Mode) AMSAT's Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reported that two cosmonauts --Sergei Zalyotin and Alexandr Kaleri-- have arrived on the Russian Mir space station after an April 4, 2000 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the successful docking with Mir. Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station is apparently back on line -- currently in limited fashion. No activity has been reported from the orbiter during the last week. Stay tuned to ANS for further details. 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. More information about RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the 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. Mark, KB3CWS, reports that he can generally start hearing himself at about 30 degrees AOS and continue until about 20 degrees before LOS with RS-15. Mark reports that RS-15 is a challenge because it's higher than most satellites and has a weak downlink signal. The difference (Mark says) between unusable and usable signals was his improvement of his downlink antenna. 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. 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, 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. Mike, KD9KC, reports a new country via UO-14 (HP1/Panama). 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 Uplink 436.291 MHz FM Downlink 145.825 MHz FM Operational, mode B. 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. Transponder operation has resumed. Operations were recently cancelled due to high satellite temperatures caused by satellite orbit orientation. Tests were performed to find workable solutions to the temperature problem. The SunSat team reports these tests have been successful and internal satellite temperatures has been reduced by changing both the satellite orientation and spin rate. 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. Takushi, JO2OXL, reports that the JARL FO-20 Ground Station operators believe that with the inability to (now) determine the satellite battery status (through the loss of the beacon), it is possible that FO-20 is in its final phases. Operation will continue as long as possible. Ron, VE7VVW, reports receiving a QSL for a March contact with OK1DIG in the Czech Republic. Ron has 17 countries on FO-20 including Japan, Finland and Germany, all done on 15W or less and with no prearranged schedules. [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 June 8th - 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-135.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 135.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-135.06 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 is (again) operational. Traffic and downlink efficiencies are very good. 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 completely operational with moderate traffic and with a downlink efficiency in the 90% range. [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 continues in 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 in space on March 1, 2000. 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. Users should note that the date in the hardware generated ASCII telemetry is now advanced by 3 days and the other dates (which are generated by software) are advanced by 1 day. Ground control may be able to correct the software generated dates, but not the hardware generated date. 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 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.96 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 rate of 1 revolution every 18 minutes. Power output is low due to this spin rate. Normally, the S-band transmitter is 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. NASA recently demonstrated the ability to use standard Internet protocols to communicate with an orbiting spacecraft (just like any node on the Internet). NASA has been developing this project by working with the commercial payload on UoSAT-12. The BBS is open, although uploading (and the downlink) may be disabled at times. 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 - opened to APRS use. IO-26 was launched on the September 26, 1993. [ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 135.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-135.07 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 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. 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