SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.01 JANUARY 2002 PRESIDENT'S LETTER AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.01 Several times each year ANS will feature information from AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH. This feature is known as the President's Letter. The following is the January 2002 installment: The holiday season has come and gone and during this time the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors has been busy looking at an exciting new proposal for a satellite. As many of you are aware, our membership is comprised of people from all walks of life, including those who earn their living designing and building satellites. A company who builds satellites - with AMSAT-NA members as senior officers - approached the Board with a proposal to build a microsatellite in conjunction with AMSAT. This microsatellite, based on a design with several receivers and high power transmitters will enable users to: * communicate using analog voice through the satellite on several VHF uplink and UHF downlink channels simultaneously. Operation will be similar to AO-27 and UO-14 - but with handheld QRP power! * communicate using 9600-baud digital store-and-forward data, similar to UO-22 and KO-25 * communicate using APRS 9600-baud packet data, in either a digipeat or store-and-forward mode * repeat 1200-baud AFSK APRS packet data through the satellite's analog repeater * experiment with PSK-31 operation (28 MHz up/70-cm down) * uplink voice or data on 23-cm, 2-meters or 10-meters with a 70-cm downlink * receive up to 56K-baud digital transmissions using a UHF downlink * receive spacecraft telemetry and bulletins * experiment with various, simple, low gain antennas There is also room on board for one or two secondary payloads. This is quite a lot for a small satellite, but with shrinking electronic components it is possible to get so much more into a small space. Personally, I am very excited by this opportunity, which the BOD has accepted in principle. We anticipate that the satellite will be designed, constructed, and undergo all its tests in 2002-2003, and be ready for launch in late 2003. A suitable launch has not yet been defined, however, there are several opportunities that are being investigated. It is important to note that during the development of this bird, the design of the Eagle satellite project will continue. Eagle, being a larger satellite (and to be launched into GTO) will take longer to design and build. Currently, we hope that Eagle will be launched sometime in 2004, and we are still negotiating launch requirements. As you can see AMSAT-NA has a full agenda for the next few years, and we are making every effort to meet the operating requirements of our members as well as the expectations of the designers and builders. Your support of these programs is essential, and financially absolutely necessary. We now have more than 30 members of the President's Club and are looking for many more to be able to keep this exciting work going. Are you able to participate at any one of the three President's Club levels, or send regular donations to the AMSAT-NA office? Now for a few special notes: My congratulations to Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and the excellent work done with PCSat. Bob and his group have worked very hard on this project and it is always a pleasure to see such outstanding results, and a satellite usable by so many of us. Also, my congratulations go to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and the ARISS Working Group who developed and built the new antennas that are being deployed on the International Space Station. Much of the construction work was done by Lou McFadin, W5DID, in the AMSAT-NA lab in Orlando. These new antennas will provide enhanced communications with ISS, a good example of your AMSAT-NA dollars at work! Finally, another thank you to the AO-40 command team who very successfully operated the onboard GPS system, providing NASA with very interesting data from AO-40. This was the first time that data has been received from a satellite outside of the GPS ring. Yet another first for Amateur Radio! My congratulations to Stacey Mills, W4SM, Jim White, WD0E, Bdale Garbee KB0G, and Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, who were all involved in the AMSAT-NA part of this operation. See you on the birds! 73, Robin Haighton, VE3FRH AMSAT-NA President [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.02 17th AMSAT-UK COLLOQUIUM ANNOUNCED AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.02 The 17th AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be held at Surrey University, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, July 26-28, 2002. AMSAT-UK invites speakers to submit papers about Amateur Radio space and associated activities, both for the event and for the Proceedings document to be published following the event. Authors are asked to present the papers themselves, but event organizers also welcome un-presented papers. Offers of Papers should be submitted as soon as possible; the final date for full documents to be received is mid-June 2002 in order that the Proceedings document is available to participants. Submissions should be sent to Richard, G3RWL, via the following routes: Internet e-mail: g3rwl@amsat.org Terrestrial mail: R W L Limebear, G3RWL 60 Willow Road Enfield EN1 3NQ United Kingdom AMSAT-UK also invites anyone with requests for program topics to submit them to G3RWL. Invitations for any papers on specific subjects will be included in any future call. Additionally, AMSAT-UK will also be running sessions specifically for beginners to Amateur Radio satellite operating. [ANS thanks Richard Limebear, G3RWL, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.03 NEW VERSION OF PREDICT AVAILABLE AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.03 John, KD2BD, informed ANS that he has released the latest version of his PREDICT tracking software (for Linux operating systems). This new version is available from the AMSAT-NA web site. In the new release (version 2.1.5): * a command-line switch was added to permit an alternate network port to be specified when running PREDICT in the server mode. This flexibility permits multiple instances of PREDICT to run in a server mode on a single host without interaction. * a command-line switch was added to permit a set of orbital predictions for a single pass to be generated by PREDICT and obtained solely through the command line. * a modified script to download Keplerian element data from the Celestrak.com web site has been added. In addition to these and several other changes, the program documentation was also updated. Further information is available at: http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html [ANS thanks John Magliacane, KD2BD, for this information and his excellent work in this area] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.04 MYSTERY SATELLITE IDENTIFIED AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.04 A mystery satellite transmitting AFSK, frequency modulated, CW on 144.100 MHz for several days has been identified as MAROC-TUBSAT, an Earth-sensing spacecraft owned by the Royal Center for Remote Sensing, a Moroccan government agency. The satellite was placed into a polar orbit by a Russian launcher on December 10, 2001. Upon being informed of the interference being caused to amateur operations, Professor Udo Renner informed Norbert Notthoff, DF5DP, (of the German national radio society DARC), that the 144.100 MHz transmitter had been turned off immediately. MAROC-TUBSAT also has a downlink at 436.075 MHz, which is on over North Africa and Europe when the control stations in Rabat and Berlin are active. It has not been heard elsewhere. Talks are continuing. In addition, IARU Satellite Adviser Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, has written to the Moroccan national radio society (ARRAM) to ask for more information from their side. [ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for this information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.05 ANS IN BRIEF AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.05 ANS news in brief this week includes the following: ** An exploding star may have destroyed part of the Earth's protective ozone layer over 2 million years ago, devastating some forms of ancient marine life, according to a new theory. The new theory brings together clues from several different fields of research, including paleontology, geology and astronomy. -SpaceDaily ** The 2001 AMSAT Symposium awards included a presentation to James Miller, G3RUH, for all the hours of work he put into AO-40 during the recovery operations. His skill as a satellite controller greatly aided in the understanding of the satellite's problems and in finding solutions that resulted in recovery of many of the spacecraft's systems. -ANS ** The Earth may have had an oxygen-rich atmosphere as long ago as three billion years and possibly even earlier. Leading geologists have challenged long-held ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere became enriched with oxygen, and pushes the likely date for formation of an atmosphere (resembling today's) far back into the early history of the planet. -SpaceDaily ** A new Queensland distance record on 24 GHz was established recently over a 72.8 Km path. VK3ZQB, VK4ZHL, VK3XPD and VK5DK were involved. Signals strengths up to 5x5 after initial optimization with typical daytime QSB was reported. -ARNewsline. ** ESA will hold talks with NASA soon to discuss the International Space Station. ESA's representatives will press home Europe's concern that deep-spending cuts could imperil the ISS's core mission as a scientific platform in orbit. -SpaceDaily ** The 6th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference will take place April 26-27, 2001 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The conference promises to be an interesting and exciting event with presentations from accomplished VHF enthusiasts from several parts of the country. Registration, program details, hotel and travel information can be found at < www.svhfs.org >. -ARNewsline ** A new study finds that climate warming over the next century will bring potential flooding in winter, as a result of increased stream-flow throughout California. The study also finds less water to be available during the summer months. -SpaceDaily --ANS BULLETIN END--- /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.06 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.06 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 at times. 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 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. Some 58 DXCC countries were QRV on AO-40 in 2001. AO-40 command station operator Stacey Mills, W4SM, tells ANS that on orbit 563, AO-40's IHU-2 computer was turned on and primed to take images early in orbit 564. When the IHU-2 is on, it controls the middle beacon but also listens to the IHU-1. Software is loaded into the IHU-2 to parrot the IHU-1's telemetry (with a one-block delay) until the images are ready to be downloaded; the IHU-2 then switches to outputting D-blocks. When the IHU-2 is in 'parrot' mode the only way to easily tell that it is actually (re)generating the IHU-1 telemetry is to note that the IHU-2 is 'on' in the status window of the telemetry program. Sometime around perigee 563/564 (presumably when passing through radiation), the IHU-2 computer crashed. This caused it to repeatedly spit out a diagnostic block with a sync-vector present, but with telemetry that was nothing more than gibberish. The IHU-2 (when on) is currently running in cache mode for speed and because it does not have active EDAC software - it crashes about 1 in 5 perigees. However, unlike the IHU-1, it controls no critical functions and is easily reloaded from onboard ROM in a matter of seconds. Because the picture "window" was about to pass during the orbit, the IHU-2 computer was simply turned off, instantly giving command of the middle beacon back to the IHU-1, which was running normally in the background. In addition to W4SM, Paul, VP9MU, told ANS that the number of telemetry capture submissions to the archive has fallen off severely over the last few months. Paul suggests that if stations are capturing telemetry from AO-40, please send a copy of the data to the AO-40 archive at: < ao40-archive@amsat.org >. For the current transponder-operating schedule visit: http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm [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 ISS packet station (normally) available for UI packets. The mailbox and keyboard is currently disabled. Please see the packet section of the ARISS web page before attempting to first work ISS on packet. The ISS gained a new HF antenna (last Friday), as the antenna, a flexible-tape design, was installed. Upcoming student contacts are scheduled with Butte High School in Montana; Deep Creek Elementary School in Oregon; Quogue Union Free School and Vestal Senior High School in New York; Kursk Technical University in Russia; Harrogate Ladies College in the United Kingdom and the Zeehan Primary School in Australia. NASA information on the ISS station can be found at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/ 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 A detailed breakdown of the antenna installation with some great pictures and diagrams (depicting the entire ISS ham system including antenna's) can be downloaded at: http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/EVAs/amsat01.pdf 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 (a SASE is required to get a QSL in return): Margie Bourgoin, KC1DCO Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2, 3) QSL ARRL, 225 Main Street Newington, Connecticut 06111 Canadian stations: Radio Amateurs of Canada Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2, 3) QSL 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217 Ottawa, Ontario KEG 0Z5 European stations (a SASE and 2 IRC's are required to get a QSL in return). AMSAT-France 14 bis, rue des Gourlis 92500 Rueil Malmaison France [ANS thanks Will Marchant, KC6ROL, and Jean-Louis Rault, F6AGR, 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 Robot 29.454 MHz (145.831 MHz uplink) 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. 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, with updates by Ray, W2RS. 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 On December 9, 2001 Chuck, KM4NZ, reset the TEPR states on AO-27 as follows: TEPR 4 - 19 TEPR 5 - 59 [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 Ray, W2RS, has revised the AO-27 FAQ on < www.amsat.org > to include information on UO-14. [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 as mode JA through March 2002. 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-027.07 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.07 PCSat Uplink/downlink 145.827 MHz 1200 baud AX-25 AFSK via PCSAT-1 Aux/Uplink 435.250 MHz 9600 baud via PCSAT-2 (off) APRS Downlink 144.390 MHz (Region 2) Launched: September 30, 2001 aboard an Athena-1 rocket from the Kodiak, Alaska launch complex. Status: Operational Bob, WB4APR, reports PCSat entered full sun for the period of January 7-21, 2001. During this time there was enough power to keep the GPS system turned on worldwide, allowing PCSat to be the first satellite to report its own exact position directly to all users for immediate display on their APRS maps. As the first in what is hoped to be a constellation of future Amateur Radio satellites doing dumb digipeating to mobile users, PCSat planned to use the digipeater alias of APRSAT and encourage its use on all such space digipeaters. Since this mission can also be supported by the existing ISS digipeater as well, PCSat has temporarily dropped the APRSAT alias and added NOCALL to its alias list (to be compatible with the ISS) so that mobile users do not have to re-configure between ISS and PCSat passes. PCSat is a 1200-baud APRS digipeater designed for use by stations using hand-held or mobile transceivers. Downlinks feed a central web site < http://pcsat.aprs.org >. The APRS-equipped PCSat was built by midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy under the guidance of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR. PCSat was recently featured on the DSL Reports web site, (a site dedicated to broadband technology) and on CNN's space news. In addition, a nice article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about PCSat occupied over three columns. For more information, visit the PCSat web site at: http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/pcsat.html [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for PCSat information] 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 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. [ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, 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. Downlink efficiency is in the 70% range. 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 During the period 15-December through 14-January good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The internal temperatures have been fairly static with no particular trends observed. These temperatures are now 5.6 and 4.0 C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. The battery voltage observed during daylight passes is unchanged. The average value observed was 13.8 volts with a range of 13.5 to 14.1 volts. The rate at which the SEU counter increments has continued to increase from 516 to 771 counts per day. The spin period has drifted between 179 and 247 seconds. Attitude is controlled solely by the gravity boom gradient (as the Z-axis magnetorquer counter has reached saturation (1024). Ground control action is awaited to reset the magnetorquer pulse counters. 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. Happy birthday to AO-16! Telemetry is as follows: uptime is 712/18:17:31. Time is Fri Jan 25 22:00:37 2002 +10V Bus 10.400 V +Z Array Temp -0.002 D +X (RX) Temp 4.839 D RX Temp 15.731 D Bat 1 V 1.248 V Bat 2 V 1.238 V Bat 3 V 1.245 V Bat 4 V 1.264 V Bat 5 V 1.263 V Bat 6 V 1.254 V Bat 7 V 1.249 V Bat 8 V 1.272 V Bat 1 Temp 10.890 D Bat 2 Temp 10.285 D Baseplt Temp 10.285 D PSK TX RF Out 1.607 W +Y Array Temp -11.499 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 7.260 D Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.441 Ifb= 0.193 I+10V= 0.265 TX:1009 BCR:1E PWRC:36D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:A7 A 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] 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-027.08 WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.08 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-027.08 THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL OR SEMI-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: KITSAT KO-23 Uplink 145.900 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK) Downlink 435.170 MHz FM Broadcast Callsign HLO1-11 BBS HLO1-12 Launched: August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana. Status: Non-operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter continues in a non-operational status. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, for KO-23 status 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: Non-operational Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-25 is not operating. The downlink transmitter is off and there has been no downlinked data since January 4, 2002. AA7KC recently confirmed KO-25's non-operating status again, after reports that KO-25 was operating again were received by ANS. [ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this 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: Unknown UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S transponders. Paul, KB2SHU, tells ANS that UO-36 has not been operational (over North America) since late July. In addition, Sangat, 9M2SS, reports he has not copied UO-36 since July 30th. 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 UO-36 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: The TO-31 downlink will be off over most areas, with the exception of Europe and Thailand. 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. Happy birthday LO-19! Telemetry is as follows: Time is Jan 25 20:58:00 2002 LUSAT HIHI 60 CW-Code: ava abv aav adb at4 ab6 ttu aae 5V-reg.: 4.85 V 8.5V-reg: 6.44 V 10V-Bat: 11.07 V 10V-Curr: 123.2 mA TX-Pwr : 0.977 W TX-Temp.: 7.68 ?C +Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 11.39 ?C CW-Code: ava abv aa4 adb ate abe ttu aee 5V-reg.: 4.85 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V 10V-Bat: 11.07 V 10V-Curr: 122.5 mA TX-Pwr : 0.977 W TX-Temp.: 7.33 ?C +Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 11.04 ?C CW-Code: ava abv aae adb at6 abe ttu aee 5V-reg.: 4.85 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V 10V-Bat: 11.07 V 10V-Curr: 122.5 mA TX-Pwr : 0.977 W TX-Temp.: 6.97 ?C +Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 10.68 ?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] 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. 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