SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-142.01 SUNSAT DIGITAL SERVICE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-142.01 AMSAT-SA reported to ANS that the SunSat satellite, also known by its OSCAR number as SO-35, has now started transmitting digital signals. "Sunsat will now also offer digital services," confirmed Johann, ZR1CBC, of the SunSat command team. ZR1CBC also told ANS that when SO-35 orbits permit the acquisition of high-resolution digital images, the image data will be broadcast using an unconnected AX.25 data format. Satellite operators can then collect the data in KISS format. In addition to images, periodic announcements, bulletins, status information and calibrated telemetry will also be transmitted as unconnected AX.25 packets by the satellite. Digipeating of unconnected AX.25 packets will also allow relaying low Bandwidth data, such as APRS information. The digital transmissions started May 19th in conjunction with the Dayton Hamvention. During the next few weeks the SO-35 digital schedule is to be extended into a continuous service, except for when the FM voice repeater is active. More information is available from the SunSat web page at: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za/index.html [ANS thanks AMSAT-SA, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS5AKV, and Johann Lochner, ZR1CBC, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-142.02 ARISS UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-142.02 According to the ARRL and AMSAT-NA's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, a new chapter in the history of Amateur Radio will begin later this year when ham gear is installed aboard the International Space Station for the first time. KA3HDO reports that three major events must happen before the first QSO is made from the ISS, however. First, the Russian-built Zvezda Service Module is scheduled for launch this summer, providing the living quarters for the first ISS crew. Then, the initial amateur station hardware will be sent to the ISS aboard shuttle mission STS-106 in August. Finally, the initial crew of US astronaut Bill Shepard, KD5GSL, and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, (along with cosmonaut Yuri Gaidzenko) will be launched in October from Russia aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for what's expected to be a long-duration mission. Amateur Radio will be available to the first crewmembers once the equipment has been installed temporarily aboard the Zarya Functional Cargo Block module. Earlier plans had called for the initial station gear --primarily VHF and UHF hand-held transceivers-- to be put aboard the Service Module. Launch delays forced the change, however. The amateur gear likely will be transferred to the Service Module next year. The initial station will use existing antennas on the Functional Cargo Block. The system is being adapted to support Amateur Radio operation on 2-meters but not on 70-cm. As ANS earlier reported, a Russian station license and call sign, RZ3DZR, has been granted for the ISS ham station. Long-term plans call for obtaining an international call sign for the ISS station to recognize the cooperative nature of the ARISS project. With assistance from the International Amateur Radio Union, efforts are under way to request a specific ISS call sign block from the ITU. ARISS team members also continue to pursue licenses in their respective countries. A German call sign, DL0ISS, has been issued, and a US call sign has been applied for. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Vice-President for Human Spaceflight Programs Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-142.03 STS-101 MISSION UNDERWAY HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-142.03 After a spectacular early morning launch last Friday, Commander Jim Halsell gently pulled the Shuttle Atlantis into port, flawlessly latching the 200-ton spacecraft to the 35-ton International Space Station for a five-day stay. Although Atlantis is now firmly attached to the station, the astronauts will not enter the new outpost until Monday, turning their immediate attention instead to a six and half-hour spacewalk that is about to begin. Astronauts Jim Voss and Jeff Williams will perform the Sunday evening spacewalk to install the final part of a Russian-built crane on the station's exterior; replace a faulty communications antenna; and install various cables and handrails. The International Space Station remains in good condition, ready for the crew to enter on Monday to start several days of maintenance and unloading of supplies. 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. No Amateur Radio operation is scheduled during this flight. [ANS thanks NASA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-142.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-142.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** As this edition of ANS was being assembled, the Dayton Hamvention was underway with partly cloudy weather and temperatures in the mid-60s to the low 70s. Hamvention officials report that advance ticket sales are up over last year. Typically, upwards of 30,000 visitors turn out from around the world each spring to attend Hamvention, sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. -ARRL Letter ** The Homebrew Amateur Satellite Equipment Picture Album web page has been updated with K7RJ's Eggbeater II antennas for VHF and UHF. Check out the changes at the following URL: http://members.aol.com/homebrewpics. -Jerry, UA3T/K5OE ** N7SFI and KC7QFS report sending signals to JawSat/WO-39 recently. Unfortunately, they did not get any reply signals back from the satellite. -AMSAT-BB ** Some doorstep astronomy from ANS: The brightest star shining very high in the southeast after dusk is Arcturus, the 'spring star'. Also, late spring is when the Big Dipper floats high in the northern sky during evening. It's upside down, with its bowl to the lower left. The two stars forming the front of the bowl (the lower-leftmost two) point to the lower right nearly toward the rather dim North Star, Polaris. -S&T --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-142.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-142.05 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 ham radio activity has been reported from the orbiter during the last several weeks. 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. 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. Scottie, VE6ITV, reports that Greenland was heard on AO-27 recently. 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 05/18/2000). TEPR 4 is 42 - TEPR 5 is 78 [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. Al, XE2YVW, reports a QSO with Armando, TI2AEB, in Costa Rico via UO-14. Mike, N1JEZ, worked TF3MLT in Iceland and also reported that KK5YY was active on the satellite from the Dayton Hamvention. 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. AMSAT-SA reported to ANS that SO-35, has now started transmitting digital signals. "Sunsat will now also offer digital services," confirmed Johann, ZR1CBC, of the SunSat command team. Joel, K2SAT, reports receiving the initial digital broadcasts from SO-35. 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. 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. [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-142.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-142.06 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 normal traffic and downlink efficiencies 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, reported to ANS last March that UO-22 was in full sunlight and the temperatures had increased considerably. Controllers (at that time) turned the satellite upside down to point the critical systems to cold space. At the time of the last report only the 145.900 MHz receiver was usable for communications. No further information has been received from the UO-22 ground control stations. 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/ Telemetry is as follows: uptime is 658/08:55:23. Time is Fri May 19 22:38:40 2000 +X (RX) Temp -11.087 D RX Temp 0.131 D Bat 1 V 1.324 V Bat 2 V 1.327 V Bat 3 V 1.340 V Bat 4 V 1.329 V Bat 5 V 1.338 V Bat 6 V 1.352 V Bat 7 V 1.328 V Bat 8 V 1.297 V +5V Bus 4.781 V +8.5V Bus 7.822 V RC PSK TX Out 0.508 W RC PSK BP Temp -4.917 D RC PSK HPA Tmp -5.478 D +Y Array Temp -18.940 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -4.917 D +Z Array Temp -17.257 D Total Array C= 0.008 Bat Ch Cur=-0.252 Ifb= 0.122 I+10V= 0.136 TX:016 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 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.96 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, reported last March that ground stations were running memory test software on the satellite. In addition to the memory testing, ANS received information that the spacecraft spin rate around the vertical (Z) axis created a less than ideal condition for battery charging. No recent information about these situations has been received by ANS. Normally, the S-band transmitter is off. Telemetry is as follows: uptime is 096/19:25:41. Time is Fri May 19 22:56:22 2000 +10V Bus 10.400 V +X (RX) Temp -11.499 D RX Temp 0.603 D PSK TX RF Out 1.243 W Bat 1 V 1.252 V Bat 2 V 1.215 V Bat 3 V 1.258 V Bat 4 V 1.254 V Bat 5 V 1.216 V Bat 6 V 1.232 V Bat 7 V 1.226 V Bat 8 V 1.256 V +5V Bus 4.687 V +8.5V Bus 7.746 V RC PSK TX Out 0.017 W RC PSK BP Temp -7.868 D RC PSK HPA Tmp -6.658 D +Y Array Temp -25.416 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -3.027 D +Z Array Temp -17.550 D Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.364 Ifb= 0.154 I+10V= 0.228 TX:1008 BCR:1E PWRC:05C BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:25 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-142.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 142.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 21, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-142.07 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Non-operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 is (again) non-operational with the last data received on May 16th. 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] 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 was last 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