SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.01 PHASE 3D/AO-40 UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.01 AO-40 Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, has expressed confidence that, despite its problems, the satellite will be functional in the future - although its mission likely will be different from the one planned prior to launch: "Personally, I am optimistic and I believe that the command-and engineering team stand a good chance of turning AO-40 into an extremely useful Amateur Radio satellite." 73, Dr. Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC This past week command stations continued working with the satellite in the on-going recovery efforts. No new information is available as this edition of ANS is broadcast, however, DJ4ZC will have a status announcement in the very near future. The AMSAT-DL web site is currently featuring updated AO-40 orbital elements: Satellite: AO-40 Catalog number: 26609 Epoch time: 01007.63378031 Element set: 23 Inclination: 6.0423 degrees RA of node: 232.5105 degrees Eccentricity: 0.8133763 Arg of perigee: 203.8825 degrees Mean anomaly: 69.7775 degrees Mean motion: 1.26906686 rev/day Decay rate: -1.13e-06 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 86 Checksum: 278 AMSAT-UK's Richard Limebear, G3RWL, has put some thought into AO-40's future: We know so far that the S-band transmitter and the L-band receiver are working and the IHU-1 is operational. If this is all what AO-40 will be, we could at least do some kind of 400 baud PSK digital communication via IHU-1. In addition, if the IF-matrix is functional (and telemetry shows it linked the S-band transmitter), SSB/CW via a linear-transponder will be possible. If AO-40 reaches such a state, we will get as much or more than AO-10 and AO-13 offered, only on more state-of-the-art frequencies. Imagine if RUDAK and several other receiver and transmitter combinations can be turned on again. I'll be patient and let the command-stations do their best to get as much as possible from AO-40. Also, I keep in mind that AO-40 is an experimental satellite, and from experiments we can learn. Richard, G3RWL [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-NA and the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.02 AMSAT-UK COLLOQUIUM AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.02 The 16th AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be held at the University of Surrey, in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, July 27 - 29, 2001. AMSAT-UK is inviting speakers to submit papers about Amateur Radio space and associated activities, both for the Colloquium and the Proceedings document to be published at the same time. AMSAT-UK is also inviting requests for Colloquium program topics. AMSAT-UK's Richard Limebear, G3RWL, reported to ANS that "normally the Colloquium staff prefer authors to present the papers themselves rather than having someone else read them in the authors absence, but we also welcome unpresented papers for the Proceedings document." Offers of Papers should be submitted as soon as possible; the final date for full documents to be received is June 15, 2001. G3RWL reports that an added Colloquium attraction this year will be 'Show and Tell' presentations. In these, the presenter will be given ten minutes to tell about a useful project they are involved in. Additionally, AMSAT-UK will be offering sessions specifically for Amateur Radio satellite beginners. Colloquium submissions should be sent to G3RWL via the following routes: Internet e-mail: g3rwl@amsat.org Terrestrial mail: RWL Limebear G3RWL 60 Willow Road Enfield EN1 3NQ United Kingdom More information about the AMSAT-UK Colloquium can be found at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK Colloquium Program Organizer Richard Limebear, G3RWL, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.03 AMSAT-DC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.03 Space enthusiasts and Amateur Satellite operators are invited to the Maryland-DC area AMSAT Meeting and Space Seminar. The gathering takes place on Sunday, April 1, 2001 in the Visitor Center of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Topics at the seminar will relate to the amateur space program, Amateur Radio, homebrew electronic projects, high-altitude balloon experiments, telemetry and related items. AO-40 and ARISS news will be featured. The format is a combination of presentations, informal show and tell demonstrations, followed by a social period. The first presentations and the keynote address are designed to be especially valuable to beginners. The GSFC Visitor Center will also be open to the public on this during the event. Visitors can enjoy a walking tour of the Hubble space telescope Operations Control Center and the NASA Communications Center. The Educator's Resource Center will also be available for gathering student and classroom materials. More information about the event can be found at the following URL: http://simsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssamsatdc.html For additional information on the GSFC Visitor Center, visit: http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/vc/vc.htm [ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, N8PK, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.04 AMSAT-NA CHALLENGE CONTINUES AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.04 As ANS announced last week, AMSAT North America is looking for members, both new satellite enthusiasts and former members who have re-activated their interests. To help in attracting members, AMSAT member Mike Honer, W1BFN, challenged his fellow satellite enthusiasts by his offer to match (up to $1,000) any amount earmarked for a new or lapsed membership received during the month of January. ANS has learned of a new challenge. AMSAT-NA member Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, would like to join the challenge and offer to match any gifts or donation to AMSAT-NA from present members, up to a maximum of $1,000.00, made during the months of January or February 2001. W8GSM is a seasoned satellite operator, telling ANS "that I'm an old OSCAR 6/7 Mode A operator who is thrilled by the efforts with AO-40." Gunther is also an AMSAT-NA life member. Any matching funds will be used by AMSAT-NA to further advance both current and future projects. Need more details on joining or donating to AMSAT-NA? Contact Martha, the AMSAT Office Manager, at (301) 589-6062, or by e-mail at: martha@amsat.org. Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL: http://www.amsat.org [ANS thanks Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, for his generosity and dedication to AMSAT] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.05 OFFICIAL MIR DE-ORBIT DATE ANNOUNCED AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.05 Several news agencies are reporting that Russian space officials have agreed on March 6, 2001 as the official day for de-orbiting the Mir space station. The Russian Aviation and Space Agency and RKK Energia reported a Progress cargo ship with increased fuel capacity will be launched to Mir on January 18th, followed by the undocking of a Progress M-43 cargo ship currently at the station. Around mid-February, Mir's control attitude will be switched off and in early March, three pulses, designed to brake the station's orbital velocity, will take place. A final thruster firing is scheduled to take place on March 6th, which should slow the station enough to drop out of orbit and plunge into the Pacific Ocean later that day. Recently, the Russian government confirmed its intention to proceed with cooperation (with Canada, ESA, Japan and the United States) in the International Space Station program. Mir has become a fixture in orbit. The central core of the Russian station was hurled into space on February 20, 1986. Many Amateur Radio contacts have been accomplished from the station during its time in space. [ANS thanks Roy Neal, K6DUE, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.06 ANS IN BRIEF AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.06 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** Students from the Attica Central School District will be hoping to chat via Amateur Radio with the crew of Space Station Alpha very soon as part of the ARISS program. Fred Gephart, WA2CAM, is handling the ham radio communications arrangements at the school and the entire student body has been busy preparing for the event. The approximately 10-minute pass is expected to begin January 16th around 14:57 UTC and conclude at around 15:07 UTC. -ARISS/ARRL ** The ISS Expedition-1 crew is expected to turn on the packet system very soon. The ARISS packet system will identify as RZ3DZR-1 and will transmit a periodic beacon every two minutes. Earth stations are asked to refrain from using the Packet Mailbox System at this time as the crew will not have a computer to read messages initially. Packet reception reports should be sent to the ARISS team. For more information on ARISS, visit the ARISS Web site at: http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/. -ARISS/ARRL ** The Dayton Hamvention is accepting nominations for its Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement, and Technical Excellence Awards through January 31, 2001. Nominations go to Hamvention Awards, PO Box 964, Dayton, OH 45401-0964. -ARRL ** The ON1CAU Satellite Page has been updated with more information about on-line satellite tracking and predictions, Satellite DX-clusters and S-band equipment. Surf to: http://users.skynet.be/on1cau/. -Berto, ON1CAU ** The second test launch of China's future manned spacecraft is expected to take place before the end of January. In addition to testing all the spacecraft systems, experiments on space remote sensing and environment monitoring, space materials, life sciences, astronomy and physics may be conducted too. -SpaceDaily ** AMSAT's Roy Neal, K6DUE, (again) anchored the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade telecast. K6DUE's history with the Rose parade goes back to the 1950s, when he produced the parade coverage for NBC. Most recently K6DUE has served as chairman of the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment Working Group and remains involved in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program. -Bill, WA6ITF ** What's believed to be the largest MARS net on record took place recently when 527 Military Affiliate Radio System members from 47 states, Puerto Rico and Guam checked into the MARS net to celebrate its 75th anniversary of service to the US Armed Forces. Founded in 1925 the system became the Military Amateur Radio System in 1948 and was later renamed the Military Affiliate Radio System. -ARRL ** Scientists recently have shown that an unusual nuclear fuel could speed space vehicles from Earth to Mars in as little as two weeks. Standard chemical propulsion used in existing spacecraft currently takes from between eight to ten months to make the same trip. In addition, the University of Queensland's Hypersonic team are about to make the first test flight of the world's first operational scramjet engine. The scramjet may be the fastest air-breathing engine ever built, capable of pushing aircraft along at up to ten times the speed of sound. -SpaceDaily --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.07 Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40 Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher from Kourou, French Guiana. Status: S-Band transmitter is active, recovery efforts continue. So far, it has been determined that the L-band and U-band uplink receivers (both on high-gain antennas) seem to be OK. Also, the VHF and UHF uplink receivers are OK and they seem to be working nominally. Magnetorquing is underway and the results will be analyzed. [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 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 was successful. The next scheduled school contact is set for January 16th. 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, operation is expected shortly. 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-12 Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB Beacon 29.408 MHz Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher Status: RS-12 was re-activated in mode A on January 1, 2001 Kevin, AC5DK, told ANS "when the command stations for RS-12/13 start changing modes, they often will change it several times over a short period of time before settling on one mode for awhile." 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. 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 Juan, CE3LWU, reports a UO-14 contact with LU5JB. 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: Non-operational Amateur Radio service The SunSat web page currently contains the following: The orientation changes needed in order to resume imaging activities have been hampered by ground station problems. Due to the additional operational effort required, Amateur Radio services have been suspended until further notice. 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: through January 31st - 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-014.08 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.08 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.08 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 at 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 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 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: Non-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: Semi-operational Chris, G7UPN, reports to ANS that UO-36 may not be available at times due to the satellite currently in continual sunlight. Chris reports this generates considerable heat and command teams try and keep the transmitter off do avoid generating additional heat. 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-014.09 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 014.09 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 14, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.09 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: 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: non-operational (last operational in mode-T) RS-12 was apparently re-activated recently. Prior to this switch RS-13 was operational (mode T), but was apparently turned off following the recent RS-12 switch. 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] 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] 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 in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean on March 6, 2001. 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