SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-340.01 New Director of Field Ops AMSAT News Service Bulletin 340.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 5, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-340.01 New Director-Field Operations Appointed AMSAT-NA Vice President-Marketing and User Services Barry Baines, WD4ASW has appointed Gould Smith, WA4SXM as Director-Field Operations for AMSAT-NA effective immeadiately. "After serving as head of Field Operations since 1995 and given the Board of Director's recent decision to have me serve in a new capacity as VP-Marketing & User Services, it was necessary to find a new team leader for Field Operations who will continue to provide leadership to the Field Ops team with enthusiasm, vision and provide the guidance necessary to encourage our Area Coordinators to represent AMSAT in their local communities" said Baines. Barry continued, "Gould's talents have been well demonstrated by his tireless efforts to encourage new comers to our hobby. He is well respected inside AMSAT as well as by others as an author, presenter, and role model within Field Operations." Gould Smith, WA4SXM was first licensed in 1976 and currently holds an Advanced Class license. A member of AMSAT since 1988 and and a Life Member, he has served as an Area Coordinator since 1989. He is well known as an author of six AMSAT publications. His first book was published in 1991 ("Decoding Telemetry from the Amateur Satellites") and his most recent publication, "Echo: Operations, Development, and Specification" was released in 2004. An accomplished lecturer, Gould has made a number of presentations about satellites at the Dayton Hamvention, AMSAT Symposium, and ARRL Division Conventions. He has also authored various presentations that have been utilized by Area Coordinators. Gould will lead an organization of 176 "Area Coordinators" who represent AMSAT in their local communities. These volunteers man AMSAT booths at hamfests, give club presentations, serve as 'Elmers' for newcomers to amateur radio satellites, organize local AMSAT nets and provide other means of supporting the amateur satellite program in their hometowns. As 'Ambassadors of AMSAT", they serve as the local contact for people needing information on the amateur satellite program. "I am looking forward to the challenge of keeping the Field Ops team vibrant and vocal in spreading the word about amateur satellite activities and operation, as well as raising funds for EAGLE and other satellite projects", said Gould. [ANS thanks Barry, WD4ASW for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-340.02 ECHO Updates AMSAT News Service Bulletin 340.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 5, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-340.02 Find ECHO Status at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/ControlTeam.php [Tnx Emily Clarke for correction] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-340.03 OSCAR 0 Highlight AMSAT News Service Bulletin 340.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 5, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-340.03 OSCAR 0, better known as the moon, will offer a visual delight on Tuesday, December 7 after moonrise . The planet Jupiter and several of its moons will be covered, or "occulted," by the Earth's moon. It will be visible throughout the Northern Hemisphere,weather permitting. This last occurred in 1968 so it is infrequent. The last time this happened and was viewable in NY was 1889. It should be a great site in the cool crisp air at this time of the year. Next view 2026. You can think thoughts of "moonbounce!" /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-340.04 New Sats AMSAT News Service Bulletin 340.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 5, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-340.04 Ralphie and Sparkie, a pair of satellites from the University of New Mexico are presently scheduled to launch as part of the Boeing Delta 4 Heavy Lift Launch demonstration for the USAF from Cape Canaveral. Launch is currently scheduled for 1931 UTC on 10 December 2004. The two satellites will be ejected while the Delta 4 coasts in a parking orbit approximately 100x135 nautical miles high with a 28 deg inclination. The satellites will conduct a technical investigation to demonstrate packet radio for inter-satellite links using a frequency of 437.5 MHz. Due to the low orbit it is anticipated that re-entry will occur within one to two weeks. [ANS thanks IARU Satellite Coordinator for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-340.05 ISS Update AMSAT News Service Bulletin 340.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 5, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-340.05 International Space Station Status Report #04-65 4 p.m. CST, Friday, December 3, 2004 Expedition 10 Crew The International Space Station’s Expedition 10 crewmembers completed the first 50 days of their six-month mission this week, highlighted by a short flight in their Soyuz spacecraft. To put the Station in the preferred configuration for two spacewalks out of the Russian Pirs Docking Compartment next year, Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov moved their ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft Monday from Pirs to the Earth-facing docking port on the Zarya module during a 21-minute flight. The work to prepare the Station for possible autonomous operations, and then to reconfigure it for normal operations, stretched from Sunday afternoon until early Monday afternoon. After getting off duty time Tuesday and Wednesday to rest, Chiao and Sharipov spent the rest of the week on routine maintenance tasks, such as the regeneration of filter cartridges in the Elektron oxygen generation system. They also completed audits of on board computer hardware and food as mission managers finalize the appropriate manifest for the next Russian cargo craft. The ISS Progress 16 spacecraft will ferry food, fuel, clothing and other supplies to the Station. The audit of food supplies aboard the Station confirmed that sufficient food remains for the crew until arrival of the next supply craft. Managers have adjusted the amount of food to be carried on the Progress, however, to ensure onboard stores are fully replenished. Included in the cargo are three laptop computers that will return the Station Support Computer network to full functionality. This week, one of the computers that crewmembers use to access messages while working at the Zvezda module’s command post, failed. Another computer is being temporarily moved from Sharipov’s sleep station to the command post until the new laptops are delivered. The new Progress cargo ship is targeted for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:19 p.m. CST on Dec. 23 (2219 GMT), and is due to arrive at the Station just after 6 p.m. CST on Christmas night (0005 GMT on Dec. 26). Chiao and Sharipov will spend time over the next three weeks loading unneeded materials from throughout the Station into the Progress currently mated to the Zvezda module. It will be undocked and deorbited on Dec. 22. On Tuesday, Sharipov located a missing component of an American spacesuit’s cooling pump. The shim, a washer-shaped piece of metal that is custom fit for each spacesuit, was missing last month at a time when Chiao was repairing the spacesuit’s pump assembly. The shim was planned to be installed in a portion of the spacesuit in a pure oxygen environment to ensure it is in pristine condition and free of contamination. Spacewalk specialists at the Johnson Space Center decided further spacesuit repair attempts will utilize a new shim to be delivered on the upcoming Progress to avoid any potential contamination from the shim that was temporarily lost. Information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future launch dates, as well as Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth, is available on the Internet at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ Details on Station science operations can be found on an Internet site administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at: http://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/ The next ISS status report will be issued Dec. 10, or sooner if events warrant. [ANS Thanks Arthur, N1ORC for this info] /EX