SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-042.01 PHASE 3D/AO-40 UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.01 The month of February continues with on-going recovery efforts of AMSAT OSCAR 40. The AMSAT-DL web site is currently featuring the following statement: AMSAT OSCAR 40 is still in its seasonal limitations which will (naturally) end by April. If the announced de-spinning routine is successful, the (major) planned recovery efforts of AO-40 could begin earlier. Testing of this software routine is now underway. The S-band middle beacon is operating nominally on 2401.323 MHz and can be heard best between MA-2 and MA-14. The MA numbers will slightly change due to changing attitude. Eclipses around perigee do not appear to have a negative influence on the satellite power budget according to received whole-orbit-data. This year's AMSAT-DL Symposium will take place very soon and will have at least three lectures about AO-40: * AO-40 Telemetry Reception * the AO-40 Launch Campaign and History * AO-40 Now and in the Future AMSAT-DL Journal editor DL6DBN and AMSAT-DL executives DJ4ZC and DB2OS are scheduled to attend. ALON/ALAT is currently 248/-7, as last listed on the AMSAT-DL web page. The latest orbital parameters are as follows: Satellite: AO-40 Catalog number: 26609 Epoch time: 01033.57694040 Element set: 33 Inclination: 5.7772 deg RA of node: 225.7720 deg Eccentricity: 0.8134720 Arg of perigee: 215.7457 deg Mean anomaly: 44.3265 deg Mean motion: 1.26935859 rev/day Decay rate: -4.4e-07 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 119 Checksum: 287 The AMSAT-UK web site is also featuring news of AO-40: AO-40's situation is stable with good battery conditions. If command stations are unable to change the attitude then the wait could last until April before favorable reception conditions return. Before AO-40's launch, a long period was anticipated before full commissioning was expected to be completed. It now appears likely that this waiting period will be actually less than expected. The method of measuring the Sun angle with solar radiation is not a trivial activity. There are still strong hopes that the ATOS motor can be used later to adjust the orbit to something more suitable to general communications. Although optimism is certainly not a guarantee of future success, AMSAT continues to believe that there will be successful long-term Amateur Radio communication through AO-40. AMSAT-UK wishes the command team the best of luck in their hard work. Stay tuned to AMSAT News Service, the official source of AO-40 news and information. [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-042.02 NEW AMSAT-NA WEB SERVICE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.02 AMSAT-NA Vice President of Electronic Publications, Paul Williamson, KB5MU, recently informed ANS of a new web service - messages from the AMSAT-NA bulletin board are now available on the web! Indexes by date, thread and author are available. Archives of the current messages for several convenient periods are also listed, as are monthly archives (to February 1998). If a satellite operator needs to unsubscribe from the mailing list for a period, they can then (very conveniently) review what was missed by browsing the web archives. Some stations may even find the web archives easier to use than the mailing list itself! According to KB5MU, web pages for the SAREX mailing list will be added soon, followed by web pages for the other AMSAT-NA public mailing lists. ANS editor NN0DJ, has used this new service on several occasions since its inception. Dan finds the new service very easy to use and extremely beneficial (along with a very easy, user-friendly web page)! Need more information? Visit the following URL: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/index.html. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Vice President of Electronic Publications, Paul Williamson, KB5MU, for his hard work in putting this new service into operation] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-042.03 ATLANTIS HEADED TO ISS AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.03 The space shuttle Atlantis roared into space on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 with a primary objective to deliver and install the U.S. built Destiny Laboratory - onto the International Space Station. According to NASA, Destiny is the centerpiece of the station and the site where unprecedented science experiments will be performed. In addition, STS-98 astronauts will relocate a pressurized mating adapter from the Unity Node to Destiny. While at the station, the astronauts will conduct three space walks and use Space Shuttle Atlantis' robotic arm. No Amateur Radio operation is scheduled from the shuttle during this mission. [ANS thanks NASA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-042.04 ANS IN BRIEF AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** For those interested in crafting an S-band helix antenna, Jerry, K5OE, suggests taking a look at the one Mike, K9QHO, built from hardware store parts. It's an AF9Y design with a ring reflector and features a detailed assembly instruction as well. Check it out at the following URL: http://members.aol.com/homebrewpics. -Jerry, K5OE ** The charred remnants of a cargo vessel from the Russian space platform Mir plunged into the Pacific Ocean recently, five days after detaching itself to make way for a fuel delivery ship, a necessary step in getting Mir ready for re-entry in March. -SpaceDaily ** As expected, President George Bush picked Michael Powell to become FCC chairman. Powell, a Republican and a FCC member since 1997, is the son of Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell. Because Powell already sits on the Commission, the nomination was not subject to Senate confirmation. -ARRL ** The Cassini spacecraft has now successfully rounded Jupiter and has used a gravity-assist from that world to catapult itself on its way outward to Saturn -- a voyage of over six and half years (of which it is now approaching the halfway point). -SpaceDaily ** U.S. amateurs planning to vacation in a foreign country this year will find it easier to obtain permission to operate there. Amateur Radio operation from several countries is now a reasonable goal. The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administration (CEPT) now requires only three things; a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 99-2344, proof of citizenship and the FCC-issued Amateur Radio license. -ARRL ** Want to find extraterrestrial intelligence? In our Galaxy alone there are more than 100 billion stars, so where should one look? Bright, yellow stars like our own Sun have always seemed the obvious place to start... but researchers have now begun to look at a new class of likely targets; red dwarfs. -SpaceDaily --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-042.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.05 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. The V-band, U-band and the L-band (L1) receivers are working on the the high-gain antennas. The omni-directional antennas appear to be non-functional. The attitude control system is functional. [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) Recent school contacts have gone well, the Merivale, Ottawa, Ontario school contact is currently scheduled for mid-February. ARISS is made up of delegates from major national Amateur Radio organizations, including AMSAT. U.S. callsign: NA1SS Russian callsign: R0ISS, 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 Happy birthday RS-12, now 10 years old! 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 Several stations have furnished ANS with recent RS-15 telemetry information: System voltage: 14.8v Transponder output: 4/10w Solar Cells: 17.6v @ 420mA Consumption: 520 mA 10m TX Temp: 12C 2m RX Temp: 5C Stabilizer Temp: 7C Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 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. 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] 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 Happy birthday FO-20, now 11 years old! 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. [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 April 2, 2001 - 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-042.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.06 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 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 downlink efficiency returning to normal. Low operator 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 is operational with heavy individual and Sat-gate 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 During the period of 16-December 2000 to 16-January, 2001 good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. OSCAR-11 users should note that the year displayed in the ASCII status blocks is incorrect. There is currently a similar error of one year in the date of the latest WOD survey. Ground control should be able to correct these errors shortly Battery voltage observed during daylight passes is unchanged. The average value observed was 14.0, with a range of 13.7 to 14.1 volts. Internal temperatures have continued to decrease by one degree as the eclipse periods lengthen. They are now 5.02 and 3.2 C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. The spin period has varied between 256 and 311 seconds. Two positive magnetorquer correction pulses and zero negative pulses have been counted, while there have been 324 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 437.126 MHz. No BBS service is available. The digipeater is not active. Frank, DL6DBN / AA9KJ, recently measured the frequency of LO-19's CW-beacon as 437.126 MHz. Here are Frank's telemetry values as received: 5V-reg.: 4.93 V 8.5V-reg: 8.74 V 10V-Bat: 11.01 V 10V-Curr: 116.9 mA TX-Pwr : 0.947 W TX-Temp.: 2.73 °C +Z-Sol.: 21.90 V Box-Temp: 6.41 °C DL6DBN reported LO-19 signals are solid copied with a small yagi. His calculated LO-19 values were done with a "quick hack" DOS-software that Frank has available on his web site: http://www.dl6dbn.de/amsat/lo-19 Telemetry (limited) is as follows: Sat Jan 27 at 13:00 2000 UTC LUSAT HIHI 60 AUN ADT AVT ADE AUU A6E A4E AE6 LUSAT HIHI 60 AUN ADT AVT AD4 AUU A6E A46 AE6 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 the 70-cm transmitter is at about 2-watts output and WOD is being collected to watch the battery temps to see if they stabilize to previous levels. S-band transmitter operation is scheduled to resume the weekend of February 17th. Telemetry is as follows: uptime is 356/07:22:15. Time is Sat Feb 03 10:58:14 2001 +X (RX) Temp 8.470 D RX Temp 0.603 D BCR Load Cur 0.420 A BCR Input Cur 0.399 A BCR Output Cur 0.348 A Bat 1 Temp 7.260 D Bat 2 Temp 7.260 D Baseplt Temp 7.865 D PSK TX RF Out 1.805 W RC PSK BP Temp 1.814 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 4.839 D +Y Array Temp 4.839 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 3.629 D +Z Array Temp 18.756 D Total Array C= 0.350 Bat Ch Cur=-0.072 Ifb= 0.049 I+10V= 0.371 TX:1009 BCR:80 PWRC:36D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:E9 Beacon text: Happy 11th birthday to AO-16, LO-19, UO-14. AO-16 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. Jim, AA7KC, reports small amounts of data downlinked (not decodable) from TO-31. Chris G7UPN, (UoSAT operations manager) reports the following to ANS: 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. 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 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-042.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 042.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-042.07 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: 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 The SunSat team released the following statement, dated February 1, 2001: We regret to announce that the last communication with SunSat from our ground station at the Electronic Systems Laboratory at Stellenbosch University took place recently. We are certain, after having performed several tests since the last contact, that an irreversible, physical failure has occurred on the satellite. It is therefore unlikely that we will have any further contact with SunSat, apart from the occasional visual sighting by telescope! When it was operational the SunSat package included 1200 and 9600 baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system in addition to Mode B/J operation with two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems. For more information on SunSat visit the following URL: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za [ANS thanks Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, 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: 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. Jeff, KB2WQM, reported to ANS that he noticed KO-23 transmitting a solid carrier recently (no data), Mineo, JE9PEL, also reported receiving KO-23 carrier signals. [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 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 in early March 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 has been in orbit for 11 years. 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 has been in orbit for 11 years. 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