SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1117 * SpaceNews 17-Nov-97 * BID: $SPC1117 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY NOVEMBER 17, 1997 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * RS-17 / SPUTNIK-40 NEWS * =========================== RS-17/Sputnik-40 continues to be heard well throughout the world, even with modest receiving equipment. The one-third scale Sputnik replica is currently transmitting on 145.820 MHz with about 200 mW of power. Francois, VE2FCA in grid locator FN45AJ, received Sputnik-40 on the following occasions: 05-Nov-1997 13:57, 14:39, 15:19 UTC 06-Nov-1997 12:54 UTC 07-Nov-1997 08:40, 13:27, 16:42 UTC The signal was reported quite weak but was received with clear audio. Mike, VE2TRV in grid locator FN35CP, received the satellite's signal on 11-Nov-1997 (1255 UTC) and 12-Nov-1997 (1331 UTC), the latter occasion with a very strong signal on a near-overhead pass. Rig used was a Yaesu FT-208R handheld with a 1/4-wave telescoping whip. The following Keplerian element set currently provides accurate tracking and orbital predictions of RS-17/Sputnik-40: RS-17 1 24958U 97058C 97317.37650187 .00036370 00000-0 43179-3 0 156 2 24958 51.6590 55.8829 0006516 312.1806 47.8321 15.60798196 1516 * SAFEX-II NEWS * ================= The SAFEX-II project on the Russian Mir Space Station is back on the air. Over the past few months, the Mir crews have been able to restore most of the power generating systems which were damaged in the June 25 collision. There is now enough extra power available to turn on the SAFEX-II 70-cm repeater. The repeater supports three different communications modes including voice QSO, FM repeater, and 9600 baud packet. Each mode has been assigned a specific frequency pair: Downlink Uplink PL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FM voice QSO, used to talk to the Mir Crew : 437.925 435.725 151.4 FM repeater, use just like any FM repeater : 437.950 435.750 141.3 FM 9600 baud packet : 437.975 435.775 None Only one mode will be active at a time. The Mir space station and the SAFEX-II project are traveling around the Earth at over 17,500 mph (28,000 kph). This great speed will make radio signals appear to shift in frequency as a result of the Doppler effect. The total Doppler shift for a transmitter on 437 MHz will be approximately 20 kHz. There will be a plus 10 kHz shift during the first 5 minutes of the pass, followed by a negative 10 kHz shift during the last 5 minutes of the pass. The Doppler shift will cause the Mir transmit frequency (437.950 MHz) to look like it is approximately 10 kHz higher in frequency when Mir is approaching your location. Because of the large Doppler shift and the present antenna orientation, a large amount of ERP (500-1200 watts) is required to access the repeater reliably. The average transmitter power output from the repeater is 1.5 watts. This satellite cannot be considered an Easy-Sat. To access the FM repeater, groundstations need to compensate for the Doppler effects during EACH transmission. The uplink frequency error into the repeater must be less than 2 kHz on each transmission. The greater the frequency error, the harder it will be for the repeater to receive and decode the uplink subaudiable access tone. The access tone control is used to help reduce interference from getting into the repeater. Groundstations capable of only 5 kHz frequency steps may have difficulty accessing the SAFEX-II repeater. MIREX suggests that such stations "tail end" off someone else's transmission to catch some of the squelch tail delay. The following consecutive odd split frequencies may be programmed into a groundstation transceiver to allow access to the SAFEX-II repeater on Mir. A similar channel plan can be use for the voice QSO mode and the 9600 bps packet radio mode. Repeater channel configurations for 2.0 kHz channel step transceivers Channel Downlink Uplink Doppler Offset 1 437.940 MHz 435.760 MHz +10 kHz 2.180 kHz 2 437.942 MHz 435.758 MHz + 8 kHz 2.184 kHz 3 437.944 MHz 435.756 MHz + 6 kHz 2.188 kHz 4 437.946 MHz 435.754 MHz + 4 kHz 2.192 kHz 5 437.948 MHz 435.752 MHz + 2 kHz 2.196 kHz 6 437.950 MHz 435.750 MHz 0 kHz 2.200 kHz 7 437.952 MHz 435.748 MHz - 2 kHz 2.204 kHz 8 437.954 MHz 435.746 MHz - 4 kHz 2.208 kHz 9 437.956 MHz 435.744 MHz - 6 kHz 2.212 kHz 10 437.958 MHz 435.742 MHz - 8 kHz 2.216 kHz 11 437.960 MHz 435.740 MHz -10 kHz 2.220 kHz When Mir is approaching your QTH, use channels 1 through 5. Then when Mir is directly overhead, use channel #6. When Mir passes your QTH and begins to recede, use channel 7 through 11. For best results you should use a computer tracking program which displays the current Doppler shift for 437.950 MHz. A program such as InstaTrack or SatTrack will display the Doppler shift in real-time. This will assist you in determining when it is the best time to change channels. If your groundstation transceiver is equipped with an FM center tuning meter, you can use this meter to assist in determining when it is time to change channels. The 9600 baud packet mode of this repeater has not yet been used. The information received from the crews indicates they have not been able to get the built-in 9600 baud TNC to respond to the terminal programs on Mir. One possible scenario is that the TNC may be in "Host Mode", which requires special software that is not available on Mir. Whatever the problem, do not expect SAFEX-II 9600 baud packet operations to be available this year. [Info via Miles Mann, WF1F] * STS-87 ORBITAL DATA * ======================= What follows is the nominal State Vector and Keplerian Elements for STS-87. The vector data comes from NASA; the Keplerian Elements were computed from the vector. This file may be read by VEC2TLE version 9648 to update your Keplerian Elements text file. Vector format = 10117 Satellite Name: STS-87 Catalog Number: 99987 Epoch MET: 0.03001030100 0/00:43:12.890 MET EFG E: 9732372.58899999 ft F: 17189716.7899999 ft G: -9361179.8719999 ft Edot: -21474.160303456 ft/s Fdot: 9266.87806510699 ft/s Gdot: -5300.8229414059 ft/s ndot/2 (drag): 0.00040121794 rev/day^2 nddt/6: 6.72842E-09 rev/day^3 Bstar: 8.95827E-05 1/Earth Radii Elset #: 1 Rev @ Epoch: 1.67780888922 Launch scheduled: 19-NOV-97 / 19:46 UTC Note that "99987" is a temporary Catalog Number for STS-87. Once STS-87 is launched, a permanent Catalog Number and International Designator will be assigned. The following Keplerian elements were computed by VEC2TLE from this vector, and the scheduled launch time using a 1.0 drag multiplier: STS-87 1 99987U 97323.85362141 .00040122 67284-8 89583-4 0 11 2 99987 28.4670 185.6850 0002865 329.1052 274.9205 15.96550274 11 Satellite: STS-87 Catalog number: 99987 Epoch time: 97323.85362141 Element set: 1 Inclination: 28.4670 deg RA of node: 185.6850 deg Eccentricity: 0.0002865 Arg of perigee: 329.1052 deg Mean anomaly: 274.9205 deg Mean motion: 15.96550274 rev/day Decay rate: 4.01218e-04 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 1 Checksum: 313 VEC2TLE may be downloaded from: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/orbit.html The STS-87 Nominal Mission Orbit Profile and State Vectors have been uploaded to the AMSAT Web site. They are available for download at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/vectors.html As always, actual updates to the Shuttle's orbit will be posted on the Shuttle Orbital Data page at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/orbit.html [Info via Ken Ernandes, N2WWD] * SpaceNews 10th ANNIVERSARY * ============================== It's official. SpaceNews is now in its tenth year! Upcoming issues will provide a brief history of the publication, and outline some of its major accomplishments. Stay tuned. :-) * THANKS! * =========== Thanks to all who sent messages of appreciation to SpaceNews, especially: EB3FNW KF6BUY F6HCC LU8EBH * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/ PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19, KITSAT-OSCAR-25 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> /EX