SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.01 AO-40 UPDATE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.01 AO-40 command station Stacey Mills, W4SM, informed ANS that because of current ALON/ALAT, RUDAK time slots during orbit have been moved and also increased slightly. RUDAK is currently active from MA-70 and MA-87. AO-40 is currently in a long period during which the Earth eclipses the Sun near perigee. These actually began about August 28th, and will rapidly increase in length. The will continue well into June 2002. During September, eclipses will peak at 85 minutes in duration. For the current transponder operating schedule visit: http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm Stay tuned to ANS, the official source of AO-40 information. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL and the ARRL for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.02 DENNIS KITCHEN, G0FCL, SILENT KEY AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.02 The worldwide Amateur Radio society and the satellite community has lost a very good friend -- Dennis Kitchen, G0FCL. Dennis passed away in late August, following a short illness. G0FCL was an active member of AMSAT-UK for many years. He was committee member in charge of the UK's Orbital Calendar since 1991, and coordinated AMSAT-UK's goods and services in recent years. Dennis also wrote the satellite column in the RSGB publication of Radio Communication. His passing will leave a void in our lives. Dennis will be warmly remembered for his passion for Amateur Radio, especially satellites, and for his willingness to share his knowledge and experience with all. AMSAT-UK Secretary, Jim Heck, G3WGM, told ANS that "I find it very sad to record the passing of a great friend, who gave so much to Amateur Radio and AMSAT-UK, in a very quiet and unassuming way." AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, upon hearing the sad news, released the following statement: I received this news with much regret. Dennis has been on this side of the Atlantic several times and he will be warmly remembered by many of us. It is always sad to loose a good friend. On behalf of the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors, Officers and members, I pass our condolences to his wife Barbara, his family and his many friends in AMSAT. 73, Robin Haighton, VE3FRH President AMSAT-NA [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.03 W2RS HEADED TO REGION 2 CONFERENCE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.03 AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Ray Soifer, W2RS, will be attending the IARU Region 2 Conference, which will be held September 30-October 5, 2001, in Guatemala City. The Conference agenda will include some very important issues including WRC-03 items on the proposed realignment of the 40-meter band. Possible changes to the ITU regulations governing Amateur Radio will also be discussed. As many ANS readers remember, W2RS demonstrated AO-27 operation at the 1998 IARU Region 2 Conference in Venezuela as YV7/W2RS. At the upcoming Conference, Ray will again represent AMSAT, and will try to operate as many UO-14 and AO-27 passes during the Conference as his schedule permits. Ray will be using the callsign TG9/W2RS. The grid square for Guatemala City is EK-44. As in Venezuela, the main purpose of this demonstration is to show the Conference delegates (many of whom are representing relatively poor countries with little or no satellite activity), how easy satellite operation can be - using minimal equipment and antennas. >From Venezuela W2RS worked 17 stations on AO-27, as far away as Canada, with just a handheld and extended length whip antenna. He will be using the same equipment in Guatemala. Look for TG9/W2RS! W2RS also reports that recent IARU Region news included two problems of Mexican origin, encrypted speech transmissions on 7008 kHz (and several other 40-meter frequencies) and taxi cabs in San Luis and Sonora using 2-meters for commercial communication. These issues have been addressed by Ramon Santoyo, XE1KK, the IARU Liaison with Federacion Mexicana de Radioexperimentadores. After discussing these problems, as well as two problems of CB interference, with officials at COFETEL, the Mexican communications administration, formal complaints were sent. It is hoped that the Mexican authorities will take appropriate action to eliminate these interference problems. The taxicabs have been especially troublesome because their signals have been picked up by the uplink receivers of several OSCAR satellites and have been rebroadcast over wide areas of North America. Also, CRAG, the Guatemalan IARU member society, said in its report to Region 2 that government authorities there have returned 430-440 MHz to Amateur Radio use, effective June 2001. Commercial users (which had purchased the auctioned frequencies in this band) will be relocated elsewhere. At WRC-03, Guatemala will request a footnote making Amateur Radio the primary user at 430-440 MHz, CRAG reported. AMSAT-NA congratulates CRAG and IARU Region 2 on this outstanding result! W2RS invites satellite operators to visit our the IARU Monitoring System Region 2 web site. Information on MS activities and reference information is provided along with a number of interesting links. The address is: http://www.echelon.ca/iarumsr2 [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Ray Soifer, W2RS, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.04 ANS IN BRIEF AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.04 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, who wants to become the world's next space tourist, could make his flight onboard a Russian craft as early as April 2002, according to the head of the Russian space agency. -SpaceDaily ** At ANS release time, the launch of PCSat has been delayed due to weather and radar problems at the Kodak launch site. The latest launch information can be using PCSat's sister satellite - Sapphire. Check out the following URL: http://students.cec.wustl.edu/~sapphire/sapphire_overview.html ** Indian rocket scientists claim to have designed a reusable space plane, dubbed Avatar, which they plan to use for launching small satellites at very extremely low cost and also taking tourists on rides into space, according to The Times of India. -SpaceDaily ** Alex, HB9DRI, reports a DX cluster dedicated to AO-40 is now active. AO40 Report Logger is available at the following URL: http://www.artieda.net/hb9dri/ao40logger. -Alex, HB9DRI ** The September/October issue of the AMSAT-NA Journal will include the following articles; RUDAK Digital Signal Processing on AO-40; 2001 Field Day Results; AMSAT-OSCAR 40 Update; Results of the AMSAT Project and Business Development Meetings; a Side-by-Side Comparison of the FT-847 and IC-910H and an AMSAT Satellite Awards update. The articles are in addition to the regular news and columns. Membership in AMSAT-NA includes the AMSAT Journal. -Russ, K5NRK ** Geologists poring over the latest images from Mars are turning up new evidence that water once flowed freely on the planet's surface and may still flow from time to time. If their interpretation is right, underground aquifers or ice layers should be commonplace on the planet. However, no spacecraft flown so far has been capable of identifying them. -SpaceDaily ** ANS congratulates Frank, K0BLT, who worked HC2FG on AO-10 for his 80th country via satellite! ** AMSAT-NA's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, who is the ARISS Chairman, told ANS that new flight antenna systems for ISS have been sent to JSC for bench review. The antenna systems are expected to be loaded into Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and flown on the STS-108/UF-1 flight, scheduled for late November. The new antennas will be located around the periphery of the Service Module and will give HF, VHF, UHF L-band and S-band capabilities. The HF antenna is a 2.5-meter long flexible tape that will definitely work on 10-meters and possibly 15 and 20-meters. The antennas were developed by a joint U.S., Russian and Italian team. More details will be provided at the upcoming AMSAT Symposium. -ANS ** A huge icy rock orbiting the Sun in deep space is the biggest asteroid ever spotted, outstripping the previous record-holder. The asteroid, designated 2001 KX76, has a diameter of at least 750 miles. -SpaceDaily ** The FCC has lowered the fee for a new or renewed Amateur Radio vanity call sign. The FCC proposed the lower fee last March in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for 2001. The FCC has estimated that 8,000 applicants will apply for vanity call signs in the current fiscal year. -ARRL --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.05 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.05 Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40 Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher from Kourou, French Guiana. Status: Currently, the U/L-1 to S-2 passband is active. Uplink U-band 435.550 - 435.800 MHz CW/SSB L1-band 1269.250 - 1269.500 MHz CW/SSB L2-band 1268.325 - 1268.575 MHz CW/SSB Downlink 2401.225 - 2401.475 MHz CW/SSB For the current transponder operating schedule visit: http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm AO-40 experimental transponder operation started on May 05, 2001 at approximately 08:00 UTC when the U-band and L1-band uplinks were connected to the S-2 transmitter passband downlink via the Matrix switch. Pieter Tjerk, PA3FWM, recently announced the availability of a new program for decoding and viewing AO-40 telemetry under the Linux operating platform, called ao40tlmview. AO40tlmview can be downloaded from: http://www.cs.utwente.nl/~ptdeboer/ham/ao40/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL and the ARRL 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 NOCALL ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis. ARISS is made up of delegates from major national Amateur Radio organizations, including AMSAT. Status: Operational. The Western Albemarle High School contact with ISS Commander Frank Culbertson was a great success. The ISS packet station (normally) available for UI packets. The mailbox and keyboard are currently disabled. Please see the packet section of the ARISS web page before attempting to first work ISS on packet. The ARISS-US team delivered a new packet module to NASA. This new packet module is expected to correct several of the problems that have been observed on the current ARISS packet system. Expedition-3 astronaut Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, is planning to make the packet module change-out. The ISS daily crew schedule (which gives an idea when crew members have free time and may be available for Amateur Radio operations) can be found at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/2001/may/index.html U.S. callsign: NA1SS Russian callsigns: RS0ISS, RZ3DZR The QSL routes for W/VE stations working NA1SS aboard the International Space Station: U.S. stations: Margie Bourgoin KB1DCO Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2) QSL ARRL, 225 Main Street Newington, Connecticut 06111 Canadian stations: Radio Amateurs of Canada Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2) QSL 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217 Ottawa, Ontario K1G 0Z5 European stations: AMSAT-France 16, rue de la Vallee 91360 Epinay sur Orge, France A self-addressed, stamped envelope is required to get a QSL in return. The ARISS international group has not yet finalized a QSL card design. It will be a few months before cards become available. 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 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 RS-12 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 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 heard and worked on AO-10. Drew, KO4MA, reports working LU4HE, DG2HSF and IK0WGF recently. 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 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 TEPR states on AO-27 were reset on March 24, 2001 as follows: TEPR 4 is 38 / TEPR 5 is 78 (TEPR 5 is now 20 minutes long) [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, features UO-14 information on the Michigan AMSAT web site - 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 Tak, JA2PKI, reported FO-20 control station operators believe that the UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the transponder. The controller 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 Last reported, the JARL FO-29 command station announced the operation schedule of FO-29 through October 2001 - is mode JA 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] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.06 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 Bill, VK3JT, reports TiungSat-1 efficiency is 100% most of the time with strong signals and (usually) 2 megabytes exchanged each pass. Chris, G7UPN, tells ANS that 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 is operational with low traffic and low downlink efficiency. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this 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 moderate traffic. Downlink efficiency is in the 50% range. UoSAT command station G7UPN reports to ANS that UO-22 had been closed for amateur activity for a short duration while command stations assess the state of the RAM disk. Over the past few weeks there have been increasing difficulties downloading larger files from the spacecraft. The store and forward communications system has been reloaded. 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 information and Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for 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 Clive, G3CWV, reported to ANS that during the period of 14-August to 15-September, reliable signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The internal temperatures have continued to increase as the solar eclipse times decrease. A rise of 2.5 degree C has been noted. The temperatures are now 3.0 C and 1.6 C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. The battery voltage observed during daylight passes has increased. The average value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of 13.4 to 14.2 volts. The improved battery voltage is also a result of decreasing solar eclipse times, and this trend is expected to continue for several months. The operating schedule is unchanged. 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] 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. Telemetry is as follows: uptime is 579/16:59:06. Time is Fri Sep 14 20:36:10 2001 +10V Bus 10.100 V +X (RX) Temp -9.078 D RX Temp 4.234 D Bat 1 V 1.191 V Bat 2 V 1.163 V Bat 3 V 1.137 V Bat 4 V 1.231 V Bat 5 V 1.174 V Bat 6 V 1.226 V Bat 7 V 1.199 V Bat 8 V 1.236 V +Z Array Temp -14.524 D Bat 1 Temp 5.444 D Bat 2 Temp 4.839 D Baseplt Temp 4.839 D PSK TX RF Out 1.512 W RC PSK BP Temp -5.448 D RC PSK HPA Tmp -5.448 D +Y Array Temp -22.390 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -0.002 D Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.415 Ifb= 0.200 I+10V= 0.235 TX:1009 BCR:1E PWRC:36D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:27 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] 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-266.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 266.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-266.07 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: 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: 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] 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: Beacon only. 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. Telemetry is as follows: Time is Fri Jul 13 21:53:51 2001 CW-Code: avt aba av6 abn au6 a6v ttu aee 5V-reg.: 4.89 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V 10V-Bat: 10.94 V 10V-Curr: 114.1 mA TX-Pwr : 0.899 W TX-Temp.: -0.46 ?C +Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 3.56 ?C CW-Code: avt aba av6 abn aub a6u ttu aee 5V-reg.: 4.89 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V 10V-Bat: 10.94 V 10V-Curr: 113.4 mA TX-Pwr : 0.899 W TX-Temp.: -0.46 ?C +Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 3.20 ?C General information and telemetry samples can be found at: www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu [ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for LO-19 status information] 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: Unknown, this satellite has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional information. When/if operational, 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: Unknown, this satellite has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional information. When/if operational, 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. 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 re-activated in January 2001. 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, reported 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/was 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 frequency (listed on the PanSat web site) 436.500 MHz Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery. Status: Unknown The satellite is not available for general uplink transmissions. The Naval Postgraduate School developed PanSat. At the time of launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were to be available to Amateur Radio operators along with software to utilize this technology. 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] 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