SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-046.01 ECHO launch delay AMSAT News Service Bulletin 046.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 15, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-046.01 Due to a delay in the delivery of the primary payload to the launch site, I have been informed that the Launch of ECHO has been delayed by some 3 months. The "official" launch date is now June 29 2004. I assume that this new date is the start of the new launch window which may last several weeks. As and when more information becomes available I will keep you informed. 73 Robin Haighton VE3FRH President AMSAT-NA [ANS thanks Robin, VE3FRH for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-046.02 ARISS Status AMSAT News Service Bulletin 046.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 15, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-046.02 1.Articles on U.K. School Contact Mike Foale, KB5UAC, generated much excitement over his January 28 ARISS contact with The King's School. The BBC ran an article on Foale's contact, entitled 'Old boy calls school from orbit.' To view the article, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3441031.stm The ARRL also ran an article on Foale's contact entitled, 'Foale Speaks via Ham Radio to Students at his Alma Mater.' See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/02/03/1/?nc=1 An audio recording of the contact is available on the ARISS-Europe website. Go to: http://www.ariss-eu.org/. Under Archives, click entry 31/01/2004. Video of the contact can be found at: http://www.g6lvb.com/kings/index.htm 2.Texas School Contact, a Big Success James Bay Elementary School in Houston, Texas made contact with the ISS on Wednesday, February 4. The students asked 18 questions, of which two of these were asked by Mike Foale's son. Audio of the contact is available at http://www.amsatnet.com/audio.html The James Bay entry is located toward the bottom of the page. 3. Expedition 9 Crew Change NASA announced a crew change for Expedition 9. Mike Fincke will replace Leroy Chiao and will be the ISS science officer and flight engineer. Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, will be the Expedition 9 commander. Fincke has expressed interest in earning his Amateur Radio license prior to launch so that he may participate in the ARISS Educational Outreach Program. 4. ARRL Article on Columbia Memorial On February 3, ARRL ran a Web story about NASA dedicating a memorial to the Columbia crew members entitled, "NASA dedicates memorial, Martian landmarks to shuttle Columbia crew." See: http://www.remote.arrl.org/ 5. Phase 1 Hardware Status The ARISS team is taking additional steps to get the Phase 1 packet capability fully operational again. Kenneth Ransom, of JSC, has drafted an email to Mike Foale to inquire as to the status of the computer system on the Phase 1 system in the FGB. 6. Phase 2 Radio System Engineering Checkout Passes ARISS Russian delegate Sergej Samburov, RV3DR, reported that Engineering Checkout tests were run during a pass over Russia on February 2. The ARISS U.S. team is still working on scheduling its pass to checkout the Kenwood Radio System. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-046.03 2004 AMSAT-DC Meeting and Space Seminar AMSAT News Service Bulletin 046.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 15, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-046.03 WHO: All ham radio operators, students and educators are invited. WHAT: Talks, demos, tutorials and socializing about amateur satellites and balloon experiments in the mid-Atlantic area. WHEN: Sunday, March 21, 2004, starting at 12:00 noon EST. 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: See http://patkilroy.com/amsat-dc/ for late breaking info. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2004 AMSAT-DC MEETING AND SPACE SEMINAR The local AMSAT members invite all space enthusiasts to the next Maryland-DC area annual AMSAT Meeting and Space Seminar. Students, educators, experimenters and all Amateur Radio operators are welcome. We start at 1 2:00 noon this year. Mark your calendar for Sunday, March 21. Same place as last year, namely the Visitor Center auditorium at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. The topics relate to the amateur space program, Amateur Radio, homebrew electronic projects, high-altitude balloon experiments, telemetry and related items. The format is a combination of presentations, informal "show 'n' tell" demonstrations and a social period. Normally the first presentations and the keynote address are designed to be especially valuable for the beginner satellite operator. Informal talk-in is on WA3NAN/R 146.835 MHz Greenbelt. The Visitor Center phone number is 301-286-8981. Donations will be accepted to help offset the associated seminar costs. Free paved parking is available on site. Map and directions: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/vc/directions.html Note: From Soil Conservation Service Road turn west onto Explorer Road. The meeting place coordinates are roughly N 38¡ 59' 34.8", W076¡ 50' 48.8". Unlike previous meeting years, the NASA GSFC Visitor Center and the Gift Shop is NOT open to the general public on Sunday. DUE TO SECURITY RESTRICTIONS observed at this facility, our meeting here is contingent upon the national Homeland Security Level being no higher than ELEVATED (Code Yellow) on the meeting date. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/ or http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=29 for the security level in effect. Information and late breaking news can be found at http://patkilroy.com/amsat-dc/ This meeting is open to all. Please forward this message, print this out, post it and SPREAD THE WORD. Hope to see you there! Sincerely, Pat Kilroy, N8PK AMSAT Area Coordinator (MDC Section) n8pk@amsat.org [ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, N8PK for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-046.04 AMSAT Journal Mailed AMSAT News Service Bulletin 046.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 15, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-046.04 I have been informed by our mailer that the January/February issue of The AMSAT Journal will be mailed from suburban Maryland today (2/12/04 Ed.) [ANS thanks Martha, AMSAT Manager for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-046.05 Echo Satellite Integration Web Site AMSAT News Service Bulletin 046.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 15, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-046.05 A web site has been created which shows the integration and lab testing of the Echo Satellite. It contains images of the modules and on-air recordings of the testing taken in December 2003 at SpaceQuest in Fairfax, VA The site can be found at: http://web.infoave.net/~mkmk518/echo.htm The Integration Team expressed their thanks to the following for their support during Integration: - Great support from the SpaceQuest team. - Harold Price, NK6K, for his donation of the kernal and file system and his support during this effort. - Bob Diersing, N5AHD, for his timely work on the boot loader. - Skip Hansen, WB6YMH, for his efforts on the ground station software. - The AMSAT project management team for their help and assistance, especially Rick, W2GPS and Dick, W4PUJ. - David Bern, W2LNX, for his assistance with the ground station hardware. The webpage author is KE4AZN and maybe contacted at KE4AZN@amsat.org [ANS Editor, Dave, G4DPZ] /EX