SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-233.01 ISS UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 233.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 20, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-233.01 ISS flight controllers in the United States and Russia continued preparations this past week for the crew of Shuttle mission STS-106, who will be the next station visitors. The mission, aboard shuttle Atlantis, will open up the newly attached Zvezda living quarters module for the first time. The Atlantis crew returned to Houston recently after spending a week at the Kennedy Space Center preparing for the September mission to the station. Atlantis is to deliver several thousand pounds of equipment, food and supplies to the orbiting outpost to prepare it for the arrival of the first resident crew in November Meanwhile, the flight of shuttle Discovery to ISS in October may be slightly delayed, NASA officials said recently. The possible delay is tied to a piece of equipment the shuttle is to deliver to the station and not to the shuttle itself, which is having no problems. A decision on a possible delay will be made shortly. Discovery is currently scheduled to lift off October 5th from the Kennedy Space Center. Its main cargo will be a station part called a Z-1 truss, which is a framework for holding a range of station equipment. The truss was considered to be ready to head for space after being inspected by some of the shuttle Discovery crew that is to deliver it. "Hopefully, we'll light up the night sky for all of you," Discovery's commander Brian Duffy said after looking closely at the part. At 19,300 pounds - the U.S. built Z-1 truss will provide a range of power and heating capabilities for the station. Following the recent docking of a Progress supply vehicle to the station, controllers pressurized the vestibule between Progress and Zvezda and conducted a successful check for leaks. The seven-member crew of STS-106 will unload supplies and equipment from the Progress into the station through the vestibule. A successful test firing of thrusters on the Progress craft was also performed and changed the velocity of the station by about 2-miles per hour (one meter per second). A second firing again changed the velocity and one or two more firings may be performed to fine-tune the station's position for the rendezvous with STS-106. With the docking of Zvezda, the next phase in the development and installation of the ham radio gear on ISS is the launch and installation of the Initial, Phase 1 Amateur Radio station. This is currently scheduled to occur on STS-106. The initial station will include 2-meter and 70cm handheld radios, TNC, a specially developed headset, signal adapter module, and specially developed power adapters and the interconnecting cabling. The antenna systems that the Italian/Russian/US team have developed for the Service Module are ready but cannot be installed until later next year. In the meantime, the ARISS international team has received permission to use the Zarya antennas on 2-meters. This is an exciting time for Amateur Radio and the International Space Station! Stay tuned to ANS for further developments. [ANS thanks NASA, Florida Today, AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human Spaceflight Programs -- Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Roy Neal, K6DUE, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-233.02 DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 233.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 20, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-233.02 ANS reminds all satellite operators to mark your calendars and start making plans to attend the year's premier event in Amateur Radio digital communications -- the 19th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference. The event will be held September 22-24, 2000, in Orlando, Florida. The Conference is an international forum in digital communications, networking and related technologies. It is an excellent opportunity for those involved to meet, publish their work and present new ideas and techniques for discussion. The Digital Communications Conference is not only for the digital expert, but has been designed for digitally oriented amateurs of all levels of experience. Entire sessions with beginning, intermediate and advanced presentations on selected topics in digital communications will be offered. Topics will include APRS, Satellite Communications, TCP/IP, Digital Radio and Spread Spectrum. Full information on the conference (along with hotel information) can be obtained by contacting: Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Phone: (940) 383-0000 Fax: (940) 566-2544 Email: tapr@tapr.org Web: http://www.tapr.org [ANS thanks TAPR, the ARRL and AMSAT-NA's Steven Bible, N7HPR, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-233.03 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 233.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 20, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-233.03 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** A recent Ariane-4 rocket launch from French Guiana placed two telecommunications satellites into orbit. The Brasilsat-B4 and Nilesat-102 satellites both entered successful orbit some 25 minutes after launch. Brasilsat-B4, built by Hughes Space and Communications, will provide television and telecommunication services throughout Brazil. Nilesat-102, constructed in France by the European company Astrium, will deliver digital television for North Africa and countries in the Persian Gulf. -Arianespace/Florida Today ** There may have been far less water on Mars in the past than most observers have assumed to date. Ancient 'river' channels may have been formed by fierce winds carrying sand and dust, enhanced by flows of even purer carbon dioxide gas released when the dry ice permafrost warms up each year. This information is contained in a detailed essay on Mars and the search for water. Checkout the article at: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-water-science-00i1.html. -SpaceDaily ** One of the Progress cargo rockets going to Mir next year is planning to carry a small Amateur Radio satellite named Kollibri. The satellite reportedly will have a life span of 4-6 months and will be launched from Progress after it is in a Mir orbit. The satellite will be equipment with telemetry equipment, a digital voice recorder and solar panels. A web page (in Russian) is available at the following URL: http://www.iki.rssi.ru/kollibri/missija1.htm. -Miles, WF1F ** ANS principle satellite investigator, Mike, N1JEZ, reported he had the "pleasure of working Ray, W2RS" who was operating as G0AUK from the recent AMSAT-UK Colloquium. Mike reports Ray had a super signal on UO-14. Ray was also active on AO-27 during the event. -Mike, N1JEZ ** The newly appointed president of Arianespace said recently that the company's launch schedule will be on schedule for the rest of the year. "The Ariane 5 will go off September 15th and there will be two more launches the rest of the year," said Leo Mondale in a recent interview. Minnesota-born Mondale is the nephew of former Vice President Walter Mondale. He came on board to manage the French launch company's U.S. sales, marketing and customer relations last month. -Arianespace/Space.com ** In case you missed the recent AMSAT-UK Colloquium, G3RWL has posted photo's from the event on the AMSAT-UK web site. Check out the following URL: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/colpix00.htm. -Richard, G3RWL ** Two landers are due to descend to the surface of Mars within a month of each other in late 2003 or early 2004. Last week, NASA announced that it would be sending a rover to the red planet. Beagle 2, the Mars Express Lander, is due to take up its position on the Martian surface about one month before NASA's rover lands. -SpaceDaily --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-233.04 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 233.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 20, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-233.04 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 146.00 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 29.458 MHz Robot Uplink 145.840 MHz Robot Downlink 29.504 MHz Status: 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 RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at: 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) Status: 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) Status: 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. Dirk, ON1DLL, reports working 9Y4AT and FY1DW. John, K6YK, reports "AO-10 is very strong right now!" Mike, N1JEZ, tells ANS that AO-10 was (also) very good, working Carlos, EA8BHH and Raul, LW1DZB. Mike also reports a nice chat with Jeff, 9Y4AT, with the bird at 40,000 + km and 5x5 signals. Jim, KD4HUR, also reports good signals from 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 Status: Software updates underway. Software upgrades to AO-27 are currently underway. Satellite operators are asked to refrain from transmitting on the AO-27 uplink. Resumption of service will be announced on the AMSAT-BB and in ANS. An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web site. The URL is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html. AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR) to regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how long the satellite has been in an eclipse (or in the sun) and decides what subsystems to turn on or off. The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an explanation of TEPR AO-27 operations (at): http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html Chuck, KM4NZ, reset the TEPR states (on 7/26/00) as follows: TEPR 4 46 TEPR 5 82 [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 Status: Operational, mode J. UO-14 was launched in January 1990 and has returned to Amateur Radio operation after many years of commercial service. Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information site to include 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 Status: Operational. 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 in addition to Mode J operation. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems. Johann, ZR1CBC, reports that SunSat will operate in Mode J during the coming weeks (with weekdays included). A schedule for all voice passes is available on the SunSat web page. 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 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Status: Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously. JAS-1b (FO-20) was launched in February 1990. OZ1MY reports the beacon on FO-20 is working again, mostly in CW. Dirk, ON1DLL, reports a nice contact with FY1DW and KB2WQM via FO-20. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports] JAS-2 FO-29 Voice/CW Mode JA Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Status: Operational, rotated with a digital mode and a digi-talker. JAS-2 was successfully launched on August 17, 1996, by an H-II launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. 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. The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following operation schedule of FO-29: July 20-Aug 31st - Digi-talker (except mode JA every Wednesday) Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29, addressing the analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy e-mail Mike at: kf4fdj@amsat.org. Mineo, JE9PEL, has a FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program that will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite (such as current, voltage and temperature). The JE9PEL FO-29/shareware is available at the following URL: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-233.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 233.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 20, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-233.05 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK) Downlink 435.175 MHz FM Status: Operational. Alan, KE6QIS, reports KO-23 is (again) operational. 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 Status: Operational. [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 Status: Operational. Richard, G3RWL, reports that both uplinks are currently available. 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 Status: 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. 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) Status: Semi-operational. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry channels and one status channel. No BBS service is available. The digipeater is not 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 Status: 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. Dirk, ON1DLL, reports that the satellite is currently transmitting telemetry along with a brief text announcement. The text reads: June 2000, S-Band off, PSK TX power 1.5 watts, Digi-peater is on. >From the AO-16 Command Team (WJ9F). A WOD collection of satellite 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) Status: 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 Status: Operational. 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 has demonstrated on UO-36 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 aboard UoSAT-12. The BBS is open, although uploading and downloading may be disabled at times. The VK5HI viewer shareware for UO-36 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 Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater function is on and open for APRS users. IO-26 was launched on the September 26, 1993. [ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for IO-26 information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-233.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 233.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 20, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-233.06 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 Status: Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed. TECHSAT-1B GO-32 Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry Status: Non-operational. Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line, however, no 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 transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for a continuous 3 seconds in length) on 435.225 MHz. The TechSat team has a home page about TechSat. To view the site, point your web browser to: http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/ PANSAT PO-34 Status: Unknown. 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 (the story written by KD6DRA and N7HPR). [ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information] MIR SPACE STATION 145.985 MHz (FM) voice and SSTV (Robot 36 Mode) Status: Unmanned. Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the onboard Amateur Radio equipment has been turned off. Several news agencies have reported that Mir in now on 'autopilot'. Stay tuned to ANS for further details. MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone of 141.3 Hz Downlink 437.950 MHz FM Status: 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 Status: 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 Status: 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) Status: 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) Status: Non-operational. The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and the 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