[jamsat-news:683] ANS WEEKLY BULLETINS

[Keith Baker <kb1sf@compuserve.com>]

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-313.01
SPUTNIK MODEL IN ORBIT 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 313.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 9, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-313.01

The working model of Sputnik is now in orbit and on the air.

Reports from several places indicate the working model Sputnik-40
satellite launched Monday, November 3, from the MIR space station 
is currently "beeping" on its downlink frequency of 145.82 MHz.

The satellite commemorates the 40th anniversary of the original 
Sputnik 1 satellite. Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union in 
1957, was the first artificial Earth satellite. The original 
Sputnik 1 transmitted a similar beacon on approximately 20 MHz. 

The one third scale Sputnik model was launched by hand from MIR 
during a space walk by Cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Anatoly 
Solovyev, who turned on the transmitter and checked out 
reception aboard MIR before launch with help from US astronaut 
David Wolf, KC5VPF. The beacon is audible in either FM or SSB 
mode. The beacon transmitter runs approximately 100 mW.

On Reunion Island, a great cheer went up as hams, students and 
teachers gathered to listen to the Sputnik model as it passed 
overhead on its initial orbit and heard the beacon signal from 
space for the first time. Students from the FR5KJ radio club at
Jules Reydellet College in St Denis, Reunion Island, and at the
Polytechnic Laboratory of Nalchik Kabardine in Russia 
cooperated in building the mini-Sputnik. The Russian students 
built the satellite body, while the French students fabricated 
the transmitter inside.  Two working models of the Sputnik were 
assembled and transported to MIR, but only one was launched.

The frequency of the beacon indicates the satellite's internal 
temperature. The scale runs from 1361 Hz at 50 degrees C to 541 
Hz at minus 40 degrees C. 

[ANS thanks Rick Lindquist, N1RL, and the ARRL Letter for the 
information that went into this Bulletin item.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-313.02
SPUTNIK -40 HISTORY AND QSL INFO

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 313.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 9,1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-313.02

The history of the Sputnik-40 project is one of international 
cooperation and perseverance.  

In began on the 20th February 1997 when an agreement was signed 
between Russia and France to commemorate the 40th anniversary
of the launch of the first artificial satellite of the 
Earth: Sputnik-1. Two groups of high school students would 
cooperate to build a  functional scale model (1:3) of the 
original Sputnik satellite. Students from Naltchik in Russia 
were to build the body of the satellite, and the students from 
Reydellet School in La Reunion Island would build the radio 
transmitter.  Soon after the project kick-off,  AMSAT-France 
also entered the effort to provide technical support to the two 
teams building the satellite.

The Aero-club de France and the Russian Federation of 
Astronautics helped raise funds for the transportation of the 
3 kg model to MIR and for its launch by the MIR cosmonauts 
during an EVA.  A  world -wide fund-raising drive called 
"40 sponsors for the 40 years of Sputnik" with 40 shares tagged 
at (US) $6,000 each, was  conducted to raise needed funds for 
the project.  Gerard Auvrey, AMSAT-France Vice President, says 
that the the team is still looking for 8 more Sponsors to fully 
finance the project as there are some bills yet to pay.  

Naltchik is the capital of Kabardine in the Balkan Republic. It 
is an industrial town located in the Caucasus, about 2000 Km 
from Moscow.  Sparked in large measure by radio contacts with 
French cosmonauts Jean Pierre Haignere and Claudie Andre-Deshays
aboard the orbital station MIR, the Jules Reydellet s radio club
on Reunion Island also competed and was selected to represent 
the French school in the Sputnik project.

Miles Mann, WF1F, says reception reports can be sent directly 
to Sergei Sambourov, PO Box 73, Kaliningrad-10 City, Moscow 
Area, 14070, Russia.  Include an SASE and one IRC for a 
certificate. ANS now understands that F1FY has also volunteered
to be the official QSL manager for Europe.  At press time Bruce 
Paige, KK5DO, was investigating the possibility of setting up a 
similar arrangement for North American stations to get their 
Sputnik-40 reception reports to Russia.

Reception reports can now also be sent directly to The Radio 
Club of Jules Reydellet school on Reunion Island.  Those whose
reports are confirmed will receive a 15 x 21 cm, 4 color 
certificate on high quality paper with number identification 
and the radio club stamp.  Requests for these certificates 
should be made only by letter with an SASE ( 15 x 21 cm) and 
2 IRCs. The certificates will be sent after the end of PS2's 
transmission.  Please DO NOT send requests by E-mail!  

The mailing address for FR5KJ is:

FR5KJ Radio Club
103 Rue de la Republique
97 489 Saint Denis Cedex
Reunion Island

[ANS thanks Gerard Auvrey, F6FAO; Miles Mann, WF1F; and Bruce 
Paige, KK5DO for the information that went into this bulletin 
item.]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-313.03
SPUTNIK-40 TECHNICAL DESCRPTION

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 313.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 9, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-313.03

A brief technical description of the Sputnik 40 follows:

SPACEFRAME:   A sphere of 200 mm outside diameter, 
weighing about 3kg.
RF POWER :  100 mW radiated in 4 antennas with circular 
polarization. 
ATTITUDE CONTROL:   None.
POWER SUPPLY :  12 Lithium batteries ( 3 groups in parallel of 4 
batteries in series ).
BATTERY DESCRIPTION:   3.5V, 9 AH (batteries are the same as 
the Mars Rover).
EXPECTED LIFETIME :  1 month of active life. It should burn up on  
reentry after 1 or 1.5 years.
FREQUENCY:  145.820 Mhz.
MODULATION: FM +/- 4khz.
Audio: Audio frequency around 1khz versus internal temperature.

CONVERSION TABLE:
50 degrees Celsius: = 1360 HZ
30                           1290
25                            1261
10                             1208
0                               1131
-10                             1040
-20                             891
-30                             724
-40                              541

BEEP DURATION: 1/6 seconds every 0.9 s.

TRANSMITTER:   48 Mhz crystal oscillator( 2N2222), one tripler 
(BFY90) and one amplifier (BFR91).
BEEP:  2 x NE555.
OFFICIAL NAME:  Sputnik-40 Years or Spoutnik-40 Ans (French name).
PROJECT NAME:  PS2 (PS means simply "sputnik" in Russian, 
and in memory of PS1 the first Sputnik).
ADDITIONAL NAME:  Radio Sputnik ( Amateur satellite) RS-17.
NASA CATALOG NUMBER:   24958.

A more complete technical description of the satellite, dealing 
with its electronic, mechanical and thermal designs as well as 
its antenna patterns is available from AMSAT-France for a 
nominal donation (it is written in French). Contact them at:
 "amsat-f@amsat.org" for more details.

Those interested in more information can also visit  AMSAT-F's  
WEB pages at: 

"http://www.ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/AMSAT_F"

You can also visit the Reunion Island web site about Sputnik-40 
at:

"http://www.oceanes.fr/~fr5fc/spoutnik.html"

[ANS thanks Gerard Auvrey, F6FAO, for the information that went
into this bulletin item.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-313.04
SAFEX II BACK ON THE AIR

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 313.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 9, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-313.04

Reports from several Amateurs indicates that the SAFEX Repeater
aboard the MIR Space Station is now back up and running.  AMSAT's 
VP International, Ray Soifer, W2RS, reports he worked Charles, 
KB2ETV, on November 9, using a dual-band hand-held and a  
half-wave whip.  Ray indicates the downlink was quite active at
the time with many stations calling.

For those not familiar with the transponder, SAFEX II's input 
frequency is 435.750 (PL 141.3) and its output is 437.950.  
Both frequencies are subject to Doppler shift of up to 10 kHz, 
so users are cautioned to program their radios accordingly.

[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for the information that went
into this bulletin item.]

EX/