SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.01 PHASE 3D LAUNCH UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-303.01 AMSAT-DL Executive Vice President Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, tells AMSAT News Service that the Phase 3D satellite continues in a "ready to fly" status hold at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The Phase 3D launch window will open on Tuesday, November 14, 2000. The revised launch date for Ariane 5 Flight 135 --on which Phase 3D will fly-- was changed from the tentative October 31st initial launch window. Phase 3D is scheduled to be launched with three other satellites - including the large PAS-1R communications satellite and the much smaller STRV-1C and 1D satellites A view of the entire payload can be found at the following URL: http://www.arianespace.com/news_missionupdate.html Information about the STRV-1C and 1D satellites can be found at: http://www.dera.gov.uk/html/news/strv_overview.htm After launch, P3-D will be in a transfer orbit used for geosynchronous satellites. Through firing the onboard 400N motor, P3D's perigee height will be increased to 4,000 km. Then, through another firing at perigee, P3D's apogee will be increased to 47,000 km. At apogee, the motor will burn once again, placing the satellite in an inclination of about 60 degrees. P3D's designers are currently planning for a northern hemisphere apogee drift after some 2-years in orbit. At that point, the onboard ATOS motor will be used, first to change the P3D orbit to a final inclination of about 63 degrees, and, after that time, the motor can be used for small orbit changes. The AMSAT launch team reports the 'Callsign to Fly' plaque was mounted onto a side panel before the panel was installed on P3D. A photograph of the plaque before installation is available at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/images/onp3d.jpg The AMSAT launch team Internet web site has been popular with satellite operators around the world. The site features photographs showing the Phase 3D launch preparation process. To visit the site, point your browser to: http://www.amsat-dl.org/launch/ Stay tuned to ANS for additional bulletins from AMSAT, the official source for information on the Phase 3D Launch. [ANS thanks the ARRL, AMSAT-DL and AMSAT-NA for this information and congratulates the AMSAT launch team on their outstanding work] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.02 ARISS OPERATION FROM ISS NEAR HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-303.02 Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow are preparing the International Space Station to come to life next week with the arrival of its first inhabitants. The Expedition-1 crew is set to blast off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, bound for ISS. The crew should arrive aboard the station shortly thereafter and the begin a four-month stay as the first permanent occupancy of the international complex. The launch from Baikonur is set for October 31st. NASA television plans extensive coverage of the launch. Amateur Radio satellite operators worldwide have been following ISS developments and are especially excited about this flight as ham operation is expected to debut soon after the Expedition-1 crew arrives aboard the International Space Station. The crew includes expedition commander/U.S. astronaut Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, Soyuz vehicle commander/Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko, and flight engineer/cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. The flight to the ISS will take approximately two days following the launch. The crew has expressed a high level of interest in beginning Amateur Radio operations early in their mission but it may be several weeks before they can setup the ham station and begin operations. Initial operations will take place only in the 2-meter band. The tentative frequencies are: Worldwide downlink for voice and packet: 145.800 MHz Worldwide packet uplink: 145.990 MHz Region 1 voice uplink: 145.200 MHz Region 2/3 voice uplink: 144.490 MHz Two U.S. call signs have recently been issued for Amateur Radio operations with ISS. The FCC granted vanity call signs NA1SS and NN1SS to the International Space Station Amateur Radio Club in mid-October. The NA1SS call sign will be used aboard ISS, and NN1SS will be used for ground-based transmissions from the Goddard Space Flight Center. As ANS has reported, Russian call sign RZ3DZR along with the German call sign DL0ISS have both previously been issued for use aboard the station. The crew may use their own call signs (KD5GSL, U5MIR) or they may use one of the ISS calls. For more information about the ARISS program, visit the following URL: http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/ [ANS thanks NASA, ARISS and the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.03 AMSAT SYMPOSIUM UNDERWAY HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-303.03 The 18th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine is underway as this edition of ANS is broadcast. A Symposium special event station has been active during the event using the AMSAT Club Callsign W3ZM. Both satellite and HF operation is being featured. On Friday evening, October 27th, AMSAT-NA presented a free educational session for students, parents and educators. Searching for Life Among the Stars; Cansats: What to do With Your Used Pop Cans; Project Starshine and Aerospace Science in the Schoolhouse and Home - were each presented. The presentations were designed to encourage learning and experimentation in the sciences, particularly aerospace. Stay tuned to ANS for more information about the happenings at the 18th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting. [ANS thanks Caroline Caswell and George Caswell Sr., W1ME, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.04 MIR FUTURE DOUBTFUL HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-303.04 Several news agencies are reporting the Mir space station will be de-orbited early next year. The previously announced hope that private funds may save the nearly 15-year-old Mir are apparently not coming to fruition. Earlier this year, the station had won a new lease on life when a private company signed a lease agreement and provided funds to keep the station aloft. Russian officials have now left no doubt that the decision to de-orbit Mir is indeed final and are now preparing the details of the operation to discard the venerable station. Mir has been quickly losing altitude since its latest crew left in June. The current thinking is that a Progress supply ship with a larger amount of fuel will be launched to Mir to give it the final impulse and start the splash down. Mir was launched on February 18, 1986. Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the onboard Amateur Radio equipment has been turned off. Mir is currently on 'autopilot'. ANS has carried the following report for several months: 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 [ANS thanks Florida Today for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.05 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-303.05 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** Arianespace maintained its fast-paced mission schedule with the recent successful launch of Flight 134, which orbited the first satellite for EuropeStar telecommunications. Launch occurred right on time from Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane 44LP rocket lifted off under the power of its four first stage engines, augmented by the thrust of two large liquid strap-on boosters and two solid strap-ons. The EuropeStar spacecraft separated from its launcher 20 minutes later. -Florida Today ** Cassini continues to approach Jupiter on-route to Saturn, with the spacecraft providing breathtaking views of the gas giant. -SpaceDaily ** The famous K7UGA call sign formerly held by the late Barry Goldwater has been re-issued to the Central Arizona DX Association. The FCC granted the request for K7UGA on October 24th. The call came up for grabs this fall after the mandatory two-year waiting period -ARRL ** Shuttle Discovery finally returned to Earth on Tuesday, October 24th, landing at Edwards Air Force Base to cap the 100th mission in the history of the shuttle program and an important mission to the International Space Station. The landing was two days overdue, and occurred in California, 3,000 miles away from NASA's preferred shuttle runway at the Kennedy Space Center. High winds at KSC forced NASA to use its backup landing site at Edwards. -Florida Today ** The FCC is set to authorize a new Citizens Band Radio Service to be called the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS). The service will deploy five former Private Land Mobile Radio Service channels for voice, data and imaging transmissions. The channels, 151.82, 151.88, 151.94, 154.57 and 154.60 MHz --will be authorized for up to 2-watts on an unlicensed basis. The effective date to deploy MURS is pending completion of an FCC proceeding. -ARRL ** Could some countries vanish beneath rising seas? Are melting icecaps responsible for ever-higher sea levels? Above all, are these changes man-made and preventable, or part of a natural cycle? These are the questions that could soon be answered by scientists using data from both ESA's ERS-1 and ERS-2 and Envisat satellites. -SpaceDaily ** AMSAT-UK has announced a search engine that will help find elusive, but vital, information on the AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NA Internet sites. The search engine can be found at the following URL: http://www.uk.amsat.org/search/. -Richard Limebear, G3RWL ** The ARRL is accepting nominations for the 2000 Professional Media Award. The award pays tribute to the late CBS News President Bill Leonard, W2SKE. Each year the award goes to a professional journalist whose coverage best reflects the enjoyment, importance and public service value of Amateur Radio. The deadline for entries is December 15, 2000. The winner receives a plaque and a cash award of $500. Contact ARRL Media Relations for more information about the award or to obtain a nomination form. -ARRL --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-303.06 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/ARISS Worldwide packet uplink: 145.990 MHz Region 1 voice uplink: 145.200 MHz Region 2/3 voice uplink: 144.490 MHz Worldwide downlink for voice and packet: 145.800 MHz ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis Status: Expected operation to begin in mid-November The ARISS initial station gear is now temporarily stowed aboard the Functional Cargo Block module of ISS. The initial station will use an existing antenna that will be adapted to support 2-meter FM voice and packet. The ARISS equipment will get a more-permanent home aboard the Service Module in 2001, along with VHF and UHF antennas. Plans call for amateur TV, both slow scan and fast scan ATV, a digipeater and relay stations. Planning for the deployment and use of the ham system aboard ISS has been an international effort coordinated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The effort began in 1996 with the formation of the Amateur Radio International Space Station organization. ARISS is made up of delegates from major national amateur radio organizations, including AMSAT. Two U.S. call signs have recently been issued for Amateur Radio operations with ISS. The FCC granted vanity call signs NA1SS and NN1SS to the International Space Station Amateur Radio Club in mid-October. The NA1SS call sign will be used aboard ISS, and NN1SS will be used for ground-based transmissions from the Goddard Space Flight Center. As ANS has reported, Russian call sign RZ3DZR along with the German call sign DL0ISS have both previously been issued for use aboard the station. The crew may use their own call signs (KD5GSL, U5MIR) or they may use one of the ISS calls. More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov [ANS thanks the ARISS team for this information] 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 Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher 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) Launched: December 26, 1994 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 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) Launched: June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana 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. 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 Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Operational, mode J Periodically, AO-27's analog repeater will be turned off for a few days at a time to enable ground controllers to gather Whole Orbital Data (WOD), to verify the health of the satellite. 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 current TEPR settings are: TEPR 4: 36 TEPR 5: 72 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 [ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information] UO-14 Uplink 145.975 MHz FM Downlink 435.070 MHz FM Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Operational, mode J 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 Mode J Uplink: 145.825 MHz FM Mode J Downlink: 436.250 MHz FM Mode B Uplink: 436.291 MHz FM Mode B Downlink: 145.825 MHz FM Launched: February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Status: Operational. 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 B/J operation. 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 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Launched: February 07, 1990 by an H1 launcher from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan Status: Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously Several satellite operators have reported problems with FO-20's transponder. Mike, N1JEZ, told ANS that he believes the loss of signal is a combination of two factors. First, battery age and an increase in FM traffic due to operators unaware of the band plan. Mike reports he routinely hears FM signals on the transponder. Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators now believe that the UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the transponder. The UVC monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the batteries from over discharge. Tak notes that FO-20, launched in 1990, is now over 10 years old. [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports] JAS-2 FO-29 Launched: August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan Status: Operational Voice/CW Mode JA Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB Digital Mode JD Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK Digitalker 435.910 MHz The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following operation schedule of FO-29: Oct. 7- Nov. 5 - 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] SAUDISAT-1A Uplink to be released Downlink 437.075 MHz Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway SaudiSat-1A will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. SAUDISAT-1B Uplink to be released Downlink 436.775 MHz Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway SaudiSat-1B will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. TIUNGSAT-1 Uplink to be released Downlink 437.325 MHz Broadcast callsign: MYSAT3-11 BBS: MYSAT3-12 NUP: MYSAT3-10 Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to commercial land and weather imaging payloads will offer FM and FSK Amateur Radio communication. TiungSat-1, named after the mynah bird of Malaysia, was developed as a collaborative effort between the Malaysian government and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. For more information on TiungSat-1, visit the following URL: http://www.yellowpages.com.my/tiungsat/tiung_main.htm /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-303.07 KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK) Downlink 435.170 MHz FM Launched: August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Intermittent operation with the downlink transmitter operating at unpredictable intervals Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter has been operational (as of 10/27/00). Duration of this status is unpredictable. 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. HL0ENJ also reports that KO-23 is currently in a full sunlight period that should last through the end of October. The control team will attempt to operate the satellite during this period along with an attempt to control the attitude system. "We are not sure when the bird might be turned off again due to insufficient power. The capability of the onboard power system has been less and less," said Kim. [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 Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Operational Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal KO-25 operation, with moderate traffic. [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 Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Operational Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal UO-22 operation, with heavy traffic and major sat-gate operation. 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 Launched: March 1, 1984 by a Delta-Thor rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Status: Operational OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday in space on March 1, 2000. During the period 16-September to 17-October excellent signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The satellite is currently experiencing very good solar conditions that should continue through the end of the year. Ground control operations recently reset the magnetorquer counters and the spin period has now started to slowly return to a nominal value. The battery voltage observed during daylight passes has continued to increase. The average value observed was 14.0, with a range of 13.9 to 14.1 volts. The internal temperatures have increased recently. They are now 5.8C and 4.2C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. This rise in temperature is expected to continue as solar eclipse times become shorter. 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) Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana 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 Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Semi-operational Russ, WJ9F, reported the S-band transmitter is off. The VHF uplink and the UHF PSK transmitter are operational (TX power at 1.5 watts). The digipeater command is on. [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) Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Operational Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal TO-31 operation, with moderate traffic and large image files. 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 Launched: April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Operational 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 Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater function is on and open for APRS users [ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for IO-26 information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.08 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 303.08 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 29, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-303.08 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 Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher Status: Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed TECHSAT-1B GO-32 Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Semi-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). Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (the GO-32 beacon sends one short telemetry status transmission of 44 bytes) and upon request the complete telemetry buffer. The program to the access the satellite can be downloaded from the homepage. The TechSat team has a home page about TechSat. To view the site, point your web browser to: http://www.technion.ac.il/pub/projects/techsat/asher/techsatmain.html PANSAT PO-34 Uplink/downlink frequencies have never been released Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery Status: Unknown The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions. PanSat was developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. 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). MIR SPACE STATION 145.985 MHz (FM) voice and SSTV (Robot 36 Mode) Launched: February 18, 1986 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 Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana 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) Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana 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) Launched: October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida Status: Semi-operational The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and the image and transponder recovery efforts have been unsuccessful. SedSat-1 signifies Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (satellite number one). 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