SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.01
Shuttle Columbia's flight data recorder found

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.01 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.01

Columbia accident investigators found a key flight
data recorder Wednesday near Hemphill, Texas. The
device could shed new light on what was happening
to the spacecraft before it disintegrated over east
Texas on Feb. 1. Seven astronauts, 3 of them amateur
radio operators, were lost in the accident.

About the size of a bread box, the instrument uses
magnetic tape to record data such as temperatures,
pressures, vibrations, acceleration, electrical
currents and strains on the vehicle. The recorder
was recovered intact and taken to Johnson Space Center,
where it must be cleaned up before determining how
to get to the data without damaging it.

The recorder starts up about 10 minutes before the
shuttle reaches the first traces of the upper
atmosphere. Investigators believe it would have continued
to run until the vehicle broke up.

To date, investigators have been forced to rely
on telemetry data beamed back from the shuttle,
video and photographs in attempt to piece together what
destroyed the Columbia.

That information has helped NASA build a timeline
of events as the orbiter crossed the southwestern
United States on way to a planned landing at
Kennedy Space Center.

[ANS thanks Florida Today for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.02
NASA ham-astronaut among those meeting with "future explorers"

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.02 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.02

NASA astronauts and educators are traveling the
nation, meeting face-to-face with future space
explorers--both teachers and students. Astronauts Barbara
Morgan, KD5VNP; Leland Melvin; and educator astronaut
co-manager Debbie Brown are visiting schools,
museums, and teacher conferences in New York,
California, Texas, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and Idaho during March and April. Their goal
is to reach out to discuss student and teacher
involvement in the nation's space program.
Nearly 6000 students, family members, and friends
have nominated their teachers to become permanent
members of NASA's Astronaut Corps. One Michigan
student nominated his teacher saying, "He makes me
want to come to school every day." The application
deadline for the Educator Astronaut Program is
April 30, 2003. For event locations and dates,
contact Gretchen Cook-Anderson, 202-358-0836.
To learn more about the Educator Astronaut Program
and other NASA education activities, visit the
NASA Web site at www.nasa.gov.

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.03
Paul Harvey plugs ham radio's emergency communications role

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.03 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.03

Veteran ABC Radio Networks commentator Paul Harvey
on March 19 offered some kind words for Amateur
Radio. The mention was the second item on
"page four" of his Paul Harvey Noon News and
Comment program: "America's quiet warriors are
the legion of ham radio operators, 700,000 of
them, who are always at ready for backup duty
in emergencies--amateur, unpaid, uncelebrated,
civilian radio operators, during and after
floods and fires and tornadoes. After the 9/11
attacks, hams were indispensable in reuniting
friends and families. Most recently it was they
who expedited the search for debris after the
disaster to the space shuttle Columbia, and
right now, at this moment, they are involved in
homeland security to a greater degree than you
would want me to make public." The commentary's
enigmatic and mysterious final sentence --typical
of Harvey's habit of leaving his listeners hanging--
apparently refers to the fact that many Amateur
Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur
Emergency Service (RACES) teams have ramped up
their alert status as hostilities get under way
in the Middle East.

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.04
Spring Satellites and Spaghetti

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.04 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.04

The Indian River Amateur Radio Club (IRAC) is
pleased to announce that our third Spring,
Satellites & Spaghetti day will be held on
29 March 2003.  Our objective is to give
operators an opportunity to try their hands
at satellite operating and introduce them to
the world of amateur satellites.  We will be
using the Club callsign, W4NLX, but you may
also hear members using their own callsigns
as well.  The event is not restricted to
club members and anyone who would like to
learn about amateur satellites is welcome
to attend.  We are planning to be active on
as many of the FM and SSB LEO satellites as
possible. The park opens at 1200z and we
expect to be operating until around 2100z.

Event:       Spring, Satellites & Spaghetti III
Location:  Kiwanas Island Park, Merritt Island, Florida
               Grid - EL98qi
Date:        Saturday, 29 March 2003
Time:        ~1200-2100 UTC
Modes:    FM and SSB LEO satellites

[ANS thanks Lee, KU4OS, for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.05
ARISS Continues While Shuttle Fleet Grounded

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.05 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.05

With the grounding of the space shuttle
fleet and planned cut back of ISS crew
members from 3 to 2, certain Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station
activities will be effected.

ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, says
there will be less scientific work taking
place on the International Space Station.
Bauer believes the most probable scenario
for a crew change will be that U-S Astronaut
Ed Lu, KC5WKK and Russian Cosmonaut Yuri
Malenchenko will fly to the I-S-S on a
Soyuz rocket to become the Expedition 7 crew.
But Bauer adds that Astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC,
is a back-up for the crew -- also in training --
just in case he is  needed.  He also notes that
Astronaut Pedro Duque, KC5RGG, who planned to
use the ARISS equipment on the upcoming Soyuz
transport flight, will now probably fly in the fall.

Baueer says that the only major setback for ham
radio so far concerns upgrading the ISS ham station
itself.  With the shuttles not flying,  consumables
like food and water are the highest priority items
to be launched on the upcoming Progress re-supply missions.

This means that the ARISS hardware that
was planned to be flown this year will
probably be delayed.  The gear waiting
for transport includes the Slow Scan Television
equipment, plus Kenwood D700 and Yeasu FT-100
radios and the Naval Academy's PC Sat 2 ham satellite.
Bauer says that this equipment will be kept
ready for any upcoming transport flight
opportunities to the ISS.

The good news:  Bauer says that the opportunities
for school contacts will remain at the same.
Look for them at a rate of at least two a week.
Maybe more if the Expedition 7 crew finds itself
with extra free time.

[ANS thanks Amateur Radio Newsline for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.06
Persistence Makes Perfect for Space Station QSO

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.06 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.06

Persistence paid off March 11 when students at
Eugene Field School in Park Ridge, Illinois,
finally got to quiz astronaut Don Pettit, KD5MDT,
about life aboard the International Space Station.
One earlier effort failed when the earth station
and NA1SS ended up on different 2-meter frequencies
due to a communication breakdown. The contact,
arranged by the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) program, also was postponed
several times because of schedule conflicts.

Pettit answered 19 questions put to him by the
students.  One topic discussed was Pettit's interest
and research into thin films of water, which, he said,
look much like soap bubbles in space. He also described
how a tin of food that would normally float off the
table while he was eating would stay in place if he
applied a small drop of water to the tin's bottom.
Pettit explained that the surface tension of the water
will keep the container from floating off.

Students expressed their delight with a round of applause
at the contact's completion. Audio of the contact was
distributed to five other elementary schools and two
middle schools in the suburban Chicago school district.
Several local TV and radio affiliates showed up to
record the contact and interview the students afterwards.

"This was special for everyone here," said Tony Clishem,
a curriculum coordinator at one of the schools listening
in on the contact.

Eugene Field School counts among its alumni former
First Lady and now US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and
actor Harrison Ford. The school has 600 students in
kindergarten through grade 5.

The contact was handled via W6SRJ at Santa Rosa
Junior College in California.  Earth station operators
were Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV, Herb Sullivan, K6QXB,
and Don Dalby, KE6UAY. Two-way audio was handled via a
WorldCom teleconferencing circuit. Tim Bosma, W6ISS,
moderated the ARISS QSO.

ARISS is an international project with participation
by ARRL, NASA and AMSAT. For more information, visit
the ARISS Web site at www.rac.ca/ariss

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.07
Mars Express Another Step Closer to Delivery

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.07 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.07

Mars Express, the first European spacecraft to
visit the planet Mars, has completed its tests at
Toulouse, France. After six months extensive thermal
environmental, mechanical and electric tests,
the spacecraft with the Beagle 2 lander will leave
for Baikonur, Kazakhstan on 19 March 2003 onboard an
Antonov 124 aircraft. It will be launched early June
2003 onboard a Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket.

The spacecraft will benefit from an exceptionally
favourable launch window in June 2003; at this date,
the distance separating the planets Earth and Mars will
be minimal, an opportunity only occurring all 17 years.
>From December 2003, Mars Express will be inserted
into an elliptical quasi-polar orbit.

Seven scientific instruments on the orbiter will
perform the following tasks: global high-resolution
imaging, global mineralogical mapping, global atmospheric
circulation and mapping of the atmospheric composition,
radar sounding of the subsurface structure, study of
surface-atmosphere interactions, and interaction of the
atmosphere with the interplanetary environment.

Mars Express will also carry the Beagle 2 lander
which will detach from the spacecraft and land on
the Martian surface. It will collect and analyse
rock and soil samples on the spot.

[ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.08
Artemis Relays First Envisat Images

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.08 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.08

The first satellite-relayed images from Envisat
have been received, via the Artemis data-relay
spacecraft in geostationary orbit, at the European
Space Agency's data processing centre near Rome.

For Artemis, the Advanced Relay Technology Mission,
the image transmission caps a historic, 18-month
recovery operation that brought the spacecraft
to its assigned geostationary orbit at 21.5 degrees
East after a July 2001 launch that left Artemis
stranded in an orbit far lower than intended.

Artemis carries payloads supporting land mobile
communications, navigation systems and data relay
systems. The spacecraft operates at S-band (2 GHz),
Ka-band (26 GHz) and optical frequencies. Artemis
and Envisat communicate at Ka-band frequencies.

Setting up the operational data relay system in
the Ka-band between Artemis and Envisat is a
first for Europe. The system proves the space
qualifications of new technologies and operational
procedures, along with demonstrating the complex
software used in both the ground and space segments.
It also shows the usefulness of data relay payloads.

Data from various instruments will continue to be
downloaded to the Envisat ground station and data
processing centre in Sweden, but the addition of the
data relay satellite offers several important new
capabilities to the Envisat data network.

The Swedish ground station can 'see' the satellite
for about 10 minutes of Envisat's 100-minute orbit,
and for 10 daily orbits. Because of its orbital position
above Envisat, Artemis can remain in contact with
Envisat on almost all its 14 daily orbits, and for
longer periods.

The use of Artemis will also enable the European
Space Agency to increase the amount of data acquired
by Envisat anywhere in the world, particularly in
the case of the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar
(ASAR) instrument, increase the flexibility of the
mission's ground segment, and provide a back-up
in the event of a problem with the onboard recorders,
which will improve mission reliability.

Envisat recently marked its first year in orbit.
Launched on 28 February 2002 from Europe's spaceport
in French Guiana, it is the largest and most capable
Earth observation satellite ever built. Its suite of
10 sensors is designed to provide a comprehensive
view of the Earth's oceans, land, atmosphere and ice
caps.

The optical data relay system will be used between
Artemis and the French Earth observation satellite,
SPOT 4, starting in April. In 2005 the Automatic
Transfer Vehicle will start using a regular data
relay service and possibly starting in 2006 Columbus,
the European element of the International Space
Station, will establish data relay links to Artemis
for nearly five hours a day.

[ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.09
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2003-03-19 19:00 UTC

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.09 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.	March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.09

The ARISS (a joint effort of AMSAT, the ARRL, NASA, the ARISS international
partners including Canada, Russia, the European Partners, and Japan)
operations team wishes to announce the following very tentative schedule for
ARISS school contacts.  This schedule is very fluid and may change at the
last
minute.  Remember that amateur radio use on the ISS is considered secondary.
Please check the various AMSAT and ARISS webpages for the latest
announcements.  Changes from the last announcement are noted with (***).
Also, please check MSNBC.com for possible live retransmissions
(http://www.msnbc.com/m/lv/default.asp).  Listen for the ISS on the downlink
of 145.80 MHz.


For information about educational materials available from ISS partner space
Agencies, please refer to links on the ARISS Frequently Asked Questions
page.

If you are interested in supporting an ARISS contact, then you must fill
in an application.  The ARISS operations mentor team will not accept a
direct request to support an ARISS contact.

You should also note that many schools think that they can request a
specific date and time.  It does not work that way.  Once an application
has been accepted, the ARISS mentors will work with the school to
determine a mutually agreeable date.

Websites that may be of interest include:

http://www.arrl.org/sarex
http://www.arrl.org/ariss
http://www.amsat.org
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
http://spacelink.nasa.gov/index.html
http://ehb2.gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/educator_guide/

Your completely filled out application should be returned to the
nearest coordinating ARISS region if your specific region is not
listed.  E-mail is the preferred method of submitting an application.

Here are the email addresses:
ARISS-Canada and all other countries not covered:   ve2ka@rac.ca (Daniel
Lamoureux VE2KA)
ARISS-Europe:  jh.hahn@gmx.net (J. Hahn, DL3LUM / PA1MUC)
ARISS-Japan and all Region 3 countries:  iaru-r3@jarl.or.jp (Keigo Komuro
JA1KAB)
ARISS-Russia: n2ww@attbi.com  (Valerie Agabekov N2WW/UA6HZ)
ARISS-USA:  ARISS@arrl.org (The American Radio Relay League)

ISS Expedition 6 crew:
Kenneth Bowersox KD5JBP
Nikolai Budarin RV3FB
Donald Pettit KD5MDT

Saint Ursula's College, Toowoomba, Australia
Wed 2003-03-19 08:09 UTC via VK5ZAI
Congratulations Don KD5MDT and Saint Ursula for a successful contact. (***)

Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee, Tallahassee, FL (***)
2003-03-22 15:26 UTC telebridge via WH6PN (***)

Higashi Kaneko Junior High School, Japan
2003-03-26 09:45 UTC via 8N1ISS (***)

Osnovna Sola Selnica ob Dravi Slovenia
2003-03-26 19:04 UTC via S59TTT (***)
Cowichan Secondary School, Duncan, BC, Canada, Direct via VE7POH
TBD

Lounsberry Hollow Middle School, New Jersey
TBD

The latest ARISS announcement and successful school list is now available on
 the ARISS web site.  Several ways to get there.

Latest ARISS announcements and news
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt

Successful school list
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf

or
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov

If you can not get into the GSFC site, then go directly to the RAC site.
(***)

click on English
you are now at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/
click on News

Currently the ARISS operations team has a list of over 60 schools that we
hope will be able to have a contact during 2003.   As the schedule becomes
more solidified, we will be letting everyone know.  Current plans call for
an
average of one scheduled school contact per week.


[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, for the above information.]

/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.10
AMSAT-DC Annual Meeting and Space Seminar

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.10 From AMSAT HQ

SILVER SPRING, MD.  March 23, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-082.10

WHO:   All hams, students and educators are invited.
WHAT:  Talks, demos, tutorials and socializing about amateur
        satellites and balloon experiments.
WHEN:  Sunday, May 4, 2003 starting at 1:00 P.M.
WHERE: NASA GSFC Visitor Center auditorium, Greenbelt, Md. 20771
WHY:   Fun, education, public service, cool, and more fun.
HOW:   Talk-in on 146.835 MHz WA3NAN/R and on APRS map.
HOST:  Pat Kilroy, N8PK, n8pk@amsat.org
WEB:   http://www.patkilroy.com/amsat-dc

[ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, N8PK, for the above information.]

/EX