SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0327 * SpaceNews 27-Mar-00 * BID: $SPC0327 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MARCH 27, 2000 * IMAGE SATELLITE NEWS * ======================== NASA's IMAGE satellite, launched on March 25, will revolutionize our understanding of Earth's magnetosphere. Space weather data from the innovative spacecraft will be freely available to the public on the web. NASA scientists are also developing plans for down-to-earth listening stations that HAM radio operators and others can build to capture the data themselves. Further information is available at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast24mar_1m.htm [Info via NASA] * FUJI-OSCAR-29 NEWS * ====================== The following is the latest FO-29 operating schedule: Sat 25-Mar-00 - Sun 02-Apr-00 Mode JA Mon 03-Apr-00 - Thu 06-Apr-00 Mode JD 1200 Fri 07-Apr-00 - Sun 16-Apr-00 Mode JA Mon 17-Apr-00 - Thu 20-Apr-00 Mode JD 1200 Fri 21-Apr-00 - Sun 07-May-00 Mode JA [Info via Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK] * FODTRACK AND Y2K * ==================== Manfred, XQ2FOD, reports that contrary to earlier reports, FODTRACK version 2.5 is fully year 2000 compliant. In fact, FODTRACK was Y2K compliant in versions issued several years ago. [Info via Manfred, XQ2FOD] * WEATHER SATELLITE ANNIVERSARY * ================================= April 1, 2000, marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of the world's first weather satellite. The world's first weather satellite, a polar orbiting satellite, was launched from Cape Canaveral on April 1, 1960. Named "TIROS" for Television Infrared Observation Satellite, it demonstrated the advantage of mapping the earth's cloud cover from satellite altitudes. TIROS showed clouds banded and clustered in unexpected ways. Sightings from the surface had not prepared meteorologists for the interpretation of the cloud patterns that the view from an orbiting satellite would show. Today, U.S. environmental satellites are operated by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service in Suitland, Md. NOAA's environmental satellite system is composed of two types of satellites: geostationary operational environmental satellites for national, regional, short-range warning and "now-casting;" and polar orbiting environmental satellites for global, long-term forecasting and environmental monitoring. Both GOES and POES are necessary for providing a complete global weather monitoring system. Both also carry search and rescue instruments to relay signals from aviators and mariners in distress. POES satellites monitor the entire Earth, tracking atmospheric variables and providing atmospheric data and cloud images. They track weather patterns affecting the weather and climate of the United States. The satellites provide visible and infrared radiometer data for imaging purposes, radiation measurements, and temperature and moisture profiles. The polar orbiters' ultraviolet sensors also measure ozone levels in the atmosphere and are able to detect the "ozone hole" over Antarctica from mid-September to mid-November. Each day, these satellites send global measurements to NOAA's Command and Data Acquisition station computers, adding vital information to forecasting models, especially for remote ocean areas, where conventional data are lacking. GOES satellites are a mainstay of weather forecasting in the United States. They are the backbone of short-term forecasting or nowcasting. The real-time weather data gathered by GOES satellites, combined with data from Doppler radars and automated surface observing systems, greatly aids weather forecasters in providing warnings of thunderstorms, winter storms, flash floods, hurricanes, and other severe weather. These warnings help to save lives and preserve property. The United States operates two meteorological satellites in geostationary orbit, one over the East Coast and one over the West Coast with overlapping coverage over the United States. Currently, GOES-8 and GOES-10 are in operation. In addition, NOAA operates satellites in the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), which are also polar-orbiting satellites. NOAA also manages the processing and distribution of the millions of bits of data and images the GOES and POES satellites produce each day. [Info via NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center] * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: WWW: http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/ MAIL: John A. Magliacane, KD2BD Department of Engineering and Technology Brookdale Community College 765 Newman Springs Road Lincroft, New Jersey 07738 U.S.A. PACKET: KD2BD @ N2TDU.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET: kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE: AMSAT-OSCAR-16, KITSAT-OSCAR-25 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> <<=- Serving the planet (and beyond) since 1987 -=>> /EX