SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-366.02 PHASE 3D/AO-40 UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 366.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 31, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-366.02 The news received on Christmas day was what everyone wanted to hear -- AO-40 is transmitting again! Prior to this confirmation, the satellite had not transmitted any signals since December 13, 2000, which was shortly after the first burn of the 400-N motor. On December 25, 2000 at 21:45 UTC command station ZL1AOX transmitted a L-band reset command which included an initialization block to switch 'on' one of the two S-band transmitters onboard AO-40. Just after the first attempt, AO-40's S-2 beacon was received by Ian, ZL1AOX. The S-band signal strength was S-5 to S-6, which compared to S-2 when the beacon was last heard last during testing in early December. AO-40's S-band transmitter produced a steady signal at ZL1AOX and from the doppler wobbling it was also clear that it was in fact coming from AO-40. AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, received the news with much relief: "The excellent news of contact with AO-40 through the L-band uplink and S-band downlink has been received with joy and relief by AMSAT members around the world. AMSAT-DL issued a bulletin giving the news that everyone had hoped for on Christmas day, a fantastic gift to the Amateur Radio community." VE3FRH also added the following comments: "The command team has not stopped their investigation during the holidays. The AO-40 the team have now started to receive good telemetry data from the bird via the 2400 MHz S-band transmitter. However, copy is only available during the earliest part of each pass (typically MA 14-39) due to the offset of the antenna with respect to Earth. This restricts the amount communication that can take place during each pass. The data that has been recovered is being analyzed very carefully to try and determine a number of things," (such as): * what actually happened and why did it happen? * what telemetry functions are known to be correct and what telemetry data is suspect (and) why? * what is the actual attitude of the spacecraft with respect to Earth and has the attitude changed? * what is the spin velocity and has it changed? * what is the current state of the batteries and are the battery chargers and regulators working? * what happened to IHU-1 and IHU 2 and why? * are all the antennas operational and what can be done next to improve communications? * what risks are involved? "When questions such as these (and others) are answered, it may be possible to determine the working capability of the spacecraft, and, if appropriate, to start to try operation on other bands. Much analysis work remains to be completed and I know that the command team will try to keep us all informed as and when they can answer the questions. Over the next week or two some critical decisions will be made, these decisions will be based on the results of the analysis and much discussion among the command team. Meanwhile, lets hope that the first week or two of the New Year will bring the same joy and relief to us all as the initial news of December 25th." ANS earlier reported that on December 26th, ZL1AOX succeeded in loading IPS flight software and a minimal operational package into AO-40 and the satellite began sending telemetry (A blocks) that enabled initial analysis of the status of the spacecraft. AMSAT-DL President Dr. Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, reviewed the received telemetry: "A first (quick) look has revealed that some temperature sensors and possibly some current sensors have been lost by whatever incident caused the telemetry transmissions to stop. However, the power situation, in particular the battery voltages, look nominal. We will now start a detailed analysis of the situation; the command stations will continue to follow a conservative philosophy with the primary target of not causing any additional damage along with retaining as much evidence as possible for the analysis of the incident." DJ4ZC reported to ANS that recovery efforts of AO-40 will continue, mainly centered around housekeeping tasks designed to improve and stabilize the systems onboard the satellite. Several new software routines were successfully loaded that restored all Battery Charge Regulator functions and have resulted in a positive power budget. AO-40 has new flight software (with the exception of D-block programming and WOD routines which will be done later). Command station G3RUH (James Miller) reported that commanding AO-40 on L-band frequencies was fairly easy, thus it appears the L-band receiver seems to be work nominally. Recent telemetry instrumentation shows Helium pressure at essentially where it was following the first 400-N motor burn. Also, it appears that a few temperature and current sensors either failed and/or are showing incorrect values. The onboard sun sensors appear to be fine and are showing a solar angle that is near predictions. Received spin rate telemetry is not accurate when compared to the actual spin as measured by the doppler wobbling of the S-band beacon. A substantial spin increase is noted and the P3D team is working to analyze and understand what has happened here. As Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, reported to ANS; "the good news is that the spacecraft is now fully under control. During the next several days additional software will be loaded and the various uplinks will be verified." AMSAT-DL's Frank Sperber, DL6DBN/AA9KJ, placed the following statement on the AMSAT-DL web site: We wish you a happy new year which hopefully will bring back AO-40 to a substantial life. Thank you for your kind wishes and support. Both are very welcomed in these nervous times of AO-40's recovery. We'll try to keep you informed about the progress as best we can beside work and family. Stay tuned to ANS, the official source of information on AMSAT OSCAR 40. [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL and AMSAT-NA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-366.03 NEW OSCAR NUMBERS ANNOUNCED HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 366.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 31, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-366.03 ANS has received a copy of a letter sent to Dr. Turki Al Saud, the director of space research at the King Abdullaziz City for Science and Technology, the sponsoring agency of two of Amateur Radio's newest satellites, SaudiSat 1A and 1B. The letter is written by AMSAT-NA (past) President Bill Tynan, W3XO: In accordance with the request by AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, that I be charged with the issuance of OSCAR numbers to qualifying Amateur Radio satellites (and) in response to a request for OSCAR numbers for SaudiSat 1A and 1B, which correspond to the provisions set forth in the following IARU document: 'Information For Perspective Operators of Satellites Utilizing Frequencies Allocated to the Amateur satellite Service', I do hereby designate SaudiSat 1A as Saudi OSCAR 41/SO-41 and SaudiSat 1B as Saudi OSCAR 42/SO-42. Congratulations to all who worked on this project on the launch of these spacecraft. I am sure that the world's Amateur Radio community will very much appreciate having SO-41 and SO-42 available for use. Sincerely, William A. Tynan, W3XO SaudiSat 1A and 1B were launched September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Currently, both satellites are in their commissioning stage, with initial housekeeping tasks underway. Each satellite will operate as a 9600 baud digital store-and-forward system as well as an analog FM (bent-pipe) repeater. Congratulations from ANS! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA's Bill Tynan, W3XO for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-366.04 ANS IN BRIEF HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 366.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 31, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-366.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** The ARISS group reports the ISS contact with the Armstrong Fundamental School in Hampton, Virginia is currently scheduled for Friday, January 5th, starting at 20:34 UTC. Check the web for latest developments and changes (http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/). The downlink will be on 145.800 MHz and should be easily readable along the eastern coastline of North America. Real-time coverage of the audio is expected via the Internet. -Will, KC6ROL ** AMSAT-NA's Martha Saragovitz reports that Walt Rader, WA3DMF, recently suffered a stroke and has some difficulty with speech. The good news is that Walt is undergoing therapy. Walt is AMSAT-NA QSL Manager is member number 1948. Get-well cards can be sent to 3702 Allison Street, Brentwood, MD 20722. -ANS ** MSNBC's web site has a nice story about the International Space Station and Amateur Radio, point your browser to: http://www.msnbc.com/news/505064.asp. -ARISS ** Scientists at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University have found that by rotating a carbon nanotube, they can control its ability to conduct electrical current to another material, just as you can control the flow of electricity to lights by turning a dimmer switch. The discovery should lead to more advanced electronics. -SpaceDaily ** AMSAT-NA's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Chairman, tells ANS that the ARISS and SAREX web sites received over 70,000 combined 'hits' recently. ANS feels this is very good news for Amateur Radio! -NN0DJ ** The ARRL is asking the FCC to review an FCC Order that declined to include covenants, conditions and restrictions under the limited federal preemption of PRB-1. CCR's often impede or prohibit the installation of outside antennas. -ARRL Letter ** Iridium Satellite LLC announced that it has completed the acquisition of the operating assets of Iridium and its subsidiaries. Iridium Satellite LLC now owns all of the former assets of Iridium, including the satellite constellation, the terrestrial network, Iridium real property and property formally owned by Iridium. -SpaceDaily ** The Foundation For Amateur Radio Inc, a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, DC, plans to administer 67 scholarships for the 2001-2002 academic year. Amateur Radio operators holding a valid license may compete for these awards if they plan to pursue a full-time course of studies beyond high school and are enrolled in or have been accepted for enrollment at an accredited university, college or technical school. Information/application forms are available from FAR at: PO Box 831, Riverdale, MD 20738. -ARRL Letter ** The Central States VHF Society 35th technical conference will be held in Fort Worth, Texas, July 26-29, 2001. Development plans are currently underway for the technical program speaker list. More information is available from wa5vjb@csvhfs.org. -CSVHF Society --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-366.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 366.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 31, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-366.05 Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40 Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher from Kourou, French Guiana. A 50-second video of the launch can be seen at: http://arianespace.com/interior/v135better.mov Status: S-Band transmitter is active, recovery efforts continue Paul, VP9MU, reports the S-2 published beacon frequency of 2401.350 MHz may be misleading as the actual frequency has not been calibrated. VP9MU reports that from various reception reports it would appear that using 2401.318 MHz may be a good starting point. ANS reminds stations that at S-band frequencies doppler will be dynamic. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL for this information] 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: 145.800 MHz TNC callsign RZ3DZR ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis Status: Operational (although current ISS workload is limiting operation) The ISS contact with the Armstrong Fundamental School in Hampton, Virginia is currently scheduled for Friday, January 5th, starting at 20:34 UTC. Check the web for latest developments and changes. ARISS is made up of delegates from major national Amateur Radio organizations, including AMSAT. U.S. callsign: NA1SS (NN1SS will be used for ground-based transmissions from the Goddard Space Flight Center) Russian callsign: RZ3DZR German call sign: DL0ISS RZ3DZR-1 is the callsign entered into the TNC currently onboard Alpha. More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov. [ANS thanks ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, for this information] RADIO SPORT RS-13 Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 145.860 MHz Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher Status: Operational, mode T Kevin, AC5DK, reported to ANS that "questions continue to come into the RS-12/13 forum. Most problems still stem from incorrect Mode T downlink frequencies. What further compounds the problem is that the RS-12 upper beacon is being confused with the RS-13 lower beacon, but in actuality it is 100 kHz lower." AC5DK adds "I would also like to remind everyone to always doppler adjust the higher frequency when using RS-13; in this case it's the 2-meter receive frequency. I suggest never adjusting the 15-meter uplink as you may QSY into an ongoing terrestrial QSO and become unwelcome QRM... and always listen on your uplink frequency before transmitting." The latest information on 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 [ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information] 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 [ANS thanks Dave Guimont, WB6LLO, for this information] 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. Dirk, ON1DLL, reports "AO-10 seems to be in excellent shape." He recently worked TA1D, FR1GZ, EA6QD and TK1CX. W7FAF recently worked DS0NO in Korea. 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 (as of November 25, 2000) are: TEPR 4 18 TEPR 5 36 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, including the official operating schedule, 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 Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators 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 1200 baud BPSK or 9600 baud FSK Callsign 8J1JCS Digitalker 435.910 MHz The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following operation schedule of FO-29: Dec. 25 - Jan. 7 mode JA 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] SO-41 SAUDISAT-1A Uplink to be released Downlink 437.075 MHz Broadcast Callsign SASAT1-11 BBS SASAT1-12 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. SO-42 SAUDISAT-1B Uplink to be released Downlink 436.775 MHz Broadcast Callsign SASAT2-11 BBS SASAT2-12 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. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-366.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 366.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 31, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-366.06 TIUNGSAT-1 Uplink 145.850 or 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK Downlink 437.325 MHz Broadcast callsign MYSAT3-11 BBS MYSAT3-12 Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Operational, 38k4 baud FSK Chris, G7UPN, tells ANS that recently, TiungSat-1 has been operating at a data rate of 38k4. Data recovery at 38k4 is reported to be extremely good with efficiencies near 100%. The output power is at 8-watts "which should provide a very good downlink," said Chris, adding "the downside is that with the high power transmitter operating, the power budget is negative so we can't support continuous operation." According to G7UPN, TiungSat-1 now requires the Amateur Radio station to switch the downlink 'on' when the satellite comes into range. The way this works is for the ground station software to send a request to the spacecraft to switch the downlink on. The spacecraft receives this request and checks the battery voltage to see if it can support the operation, and if it can it will activate the downlink. TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to commercial land and weather imaging payloads offers 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 [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this information] KITSAT KO-25 Uplink 145.980 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK) Downlink 436.500 MHz FM Broadcast Callsign HL02-11 BBS HL02-12 Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Operational Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 operational with light 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 Broadcast Callsign UOSAT5-11 BBS UOSAT5-12 Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Operational Jim, AA7KC, reports UO-22 operational with heavy individual and Satgate traffic. 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. The G3CWV OSCAR-11 report for December shows "once again it's been an uneventful month for OSCAR-11. Good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon and the satellite is experiencing good solar conditions that should continue until the end of the year." The battery voltage observed during daylight passes is unchanged with the average value observed at 14.0, with a range of 13.9 to 14.1 volts. Internal temperatures have now started to decrease slightly as the eclipse periods start to lengthen. The spin period has varied between 218 and 299 seconds. Seven positive magnetorquer correction pulses and zero negative pulses have been counted and there have been 281 Z-axis correction pulses. 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) Broadcast Callsign LUSAT-11 BBS LUSAT-12 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 on 437.136 MHz. No BBS service is available. The digipeater is not active. Telemetry (limited) is as follows: Sat Dec 30 at 23:25 2000 UTC LUSAT HIHI 60 AVT ABV AA6 ADB ATB AB4 TTU AEE 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: www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu [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 Broadcast Callsign: PACSAT-11 BBS PACSAT-12 Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater command is on Russ, WJ9F, reported he has been doing some WOD (Whole Orbit Data) collections recently and has had the S-band transmitter on during some passes. Russ has a software update planned that may allow (hopefully) continuous S-band operation. Telemetry is as follows: uptime is 321/19:21:26 Time is Sat Dec 30 22:56:34 2000 +10V Bus 10.450 V PSK TX RF Out 1.631 W +X (RX) Temp 1.814 D RX Temp 15.731 D Bat 1 V 1.252 V Bat 2 V 1.257 V Bat 3 V 1.270 V Bat 4 V 1.241 V Bat 5 V 1.263 V Bat 6 V 1.292 V Bat 7 V 1.262 V Bat 8 V 1.272 V BCR Load Cur 0.413 A BCR Input Cur 0.186 A BCR Output Cur 0.015 A Bat 1 Temp 9.075 D Bat 2 Temp 9.075 D Baseplt Temp 8.470 D RC PSK BP Temp 1.209 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 1.814 D +Y Array Temp -13.919 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 5.444 D +Z Array Temp -1.817 D Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.398 Ifb= 0.186 I+10V= 0.227 TX:1009 BCR:1E PWRC:36D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:5B Beacon text: AO-16 S-Band Tx testing to begin shortly Pacsat owned and operated by AMSAT-NA AO-16 Command Team A new WOD collection of current graphics along with general information and telemetry samples can be found at: www.telecable.es/personales/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) Broadcast Callsign: TMSAT1-11 BBS TMSAT1-12 Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Status: Not operational, no data downlinked since December 18, 2000 Chris G7UPN, (UoSAT operations manager) reports the following to ANS: Over the next few days - or possibly couple of weeks - the TO-31 downlink will be off over most areas, with the exception of Europe and Thailand. This is required to allow control stations to recondition the battery with minimum power drain. I am trying to get this moving as quickly as possible however with the holiday season it may take slightly longer than normal. 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 Broadcast Callsign UO121-11 BBS UO121-12 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 Broadcast Callsign ITMSAT-11 BBS ITMSAT-12 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-366.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 366.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 31, 2000 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-366.07 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK) Downlink 435.170 MHz FM Broadcast Callsign HLO1-11 BBS HLO1-12 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 continues in non-operational status. Jim says that KO-23 shows some signs of trying to recover, but no useful data has been downlinked. The duration of this status is unpredictable. No data has been received since October 28, 2000. 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. "We are not sure when the bird might turn off again due to insufficient power. The capability of the onboard power system has been less and less," said Kim. HL0ENJ also noted that as of October 30, 2000 the onboard computer was reset and a reboot of operational software is now underway. [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 Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher Status: unconfirmed ANS has received reports from several stations that the 29.408 MHz RS-12 beacon has been heard. The beacon telemetry indicated that both the 10 and 2-meter receivers aboard RS-12 are currently off. Jerry, K5OE, reports both the 2 and 10-meter beacons have been heard at his QTH, (although the 10-meter beacon has been intermittent). [ANS thanks K5OE and AC5DK for this information] 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. [ANS has no further information] 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). [ANS has no further information] 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'. Several news agencies are reporting the Mir space station will be ditched this coming February in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean. 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 [ANS has no further information] 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. [ANS has no further information] 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. [ANS has no further information] 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://seds.uah.edu/projects/sedsat/sedsat.htm [ANS has no further information] /EX