[jamsat-news:917] ANS 242

[Dan James <nn0dj@means.net>]

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE	
ANS 242	

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.01
W3GEY ACCEPTS NEW POSITION

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30,1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-242.01

SpaceDev, a commercial space exploration and development company, has 
announced that Jan King, W3GEY, has joined the company as Vice President 
for Space Engineering. Jan has a distinguished record within the small 
satellite and launch vehicle communities with more than 30 years of 
experience. During this time he was associated with the design and 
development of 17 small spacecraft and nine larger spacecraft, as well as 
one launch vehicle.

"It is people who make a company successful, and in Jan King we have a true 
expert in designing and overseeing the development of low cost spacecraft. 
Jan has that rare combination of hands-on experience coupled with many 
years of innovative approaches to getting the job done, from small 
satellites to large spacecraft to launch vehicles," said Jim Benson, 
SpaceDev President and Chairman.

Most recently, W3GEY has been a Schriever Chair Professor in the Department 
of Astronautics, United States Air Force Academy, where he organized and 
managed the technical portion of the small satellite program.

As a Vice President of Technology at Qualcomm, he developed, organized and 
conducted system level functional tests of the Globalstar communications 
transponder sub-system, which verified the overall Globalstar system 
traffic capacity.

Previous to his position at Qualcomm, Jan was Vice President of the Boulder 
Operations for Orbital Sciences Corporation. He was an original member of 
the Pegasus launch vehicle team and of the Orbcomm spacecraft development 
team. In 1991, W3GEY was the co-recipient of the National Technology Medal, 
presented to him by President George Bush. At the request of the Department 
of State, Jan also served as a member of the United States delegation to 
the 1987 Mobile World Administrative Radio Conference.

Between 1968 and 1980, Jan was an Aerospace Technologist employed by NASA 
at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He worked in the Test and Evaluation 
Division, the Communications and Navigation Divisions and the Delta Launch 
Vehicle Project Office.

W3GEY was a co-founder of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation  (AMSAT) 
in Washington, DC, also serving on the AMSAT Board of Directors. He was 
project manager for a series of 12 small satellites, currently advising 
AMSAT on current and future small satellite projects.

"Jan King's combination of AMSAT experience, large corporation business 
experience and Air Force Academy teaching uniquely qualify him to instill a 
low cost, hands-on culture throughout our Space Mission Division. His years 
of experience should increase our ability to perform missions in both near 
Earth and deep space," added Mr. Benson.

SpaceDev intends to launch the first privately financed spacecraft to land 
on another planetary body.
[ANS thanks Jim Benson, SpaceDev President and Chairman and the SpaceDev 
Corporation for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.02
INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES JOIN 1998 ASTRONAUT CLASS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30,1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-242.02

A cadre of international astronaut candidates has arrived at NASA's Johnson 
Space Center in Houston, Texas to begin training as members of the 1998 
Astronaut Class.

The international candidates, from Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and 
Italy will train as mission specialists for future Space Shuttle flights, 
and, more importantly, for International Space Station flight assignments.

"The Class of 1998 continues our international cooperation in space as we 
begin assembly of the International Space Station," said NASA's David 
Leestma, director of Flight Crew Operations. "We welcome our
international astronauts and the entire class. They have a lot of work and 
a very exciting time ahead of them."

The international candidates are: Leopold Eyharts, Paolo Nespoli, Hans 
Schlegel and Roberto Vittori, representing the European Space Agency; 
Bjarni Tryggvason, from the Canadian Space Agency; and Marcos Pontes, 
representing the Brazilian Space Agency.

[ANS thanks NASA for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.03
GUATEMALA HAMS WANT FREQUENCIES BACK

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30,1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-242.03

Guatemala's national ham radio society is telling its government and its 
people to give hams back their UHF and SHF bands. Unfortunately, it appears 
the Guatemalan telecommunications regulators are turning a deaf ear to that 
nations Amateur Radio community.

As previously reported by ANS, Newsline and the ARRL, the Guatemala 
Congress reallocated almost half of all the UHF and SHF frequencies used by 
amateurs in Guatemala. The action included a formerly shared allocation 
from 430 to 440 MHz and all SHF bands. The spectrum was sold to commercial 
land mobile stations, with some of those stations now operating in the 
70-centimeter ham radio band.

The Club de Radioaficionados de Guatemal has issued what it terms as a call 
to the Guatemalan public conscience as part of its effort to get the 
government to restore ham radio access to these bands. The club has also 
presented a formal request to the Guatemalan Ministry of Communications.

Satellite operators in North and South America have noticed increased 
interference to several Amateur Radio satellites, most notably AO-27.

[ANS thanks the Radio Club of Guatemala, Newsline and the ARRL for this 
information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.04
ANS IN BRIEF

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-242.04

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

** Phase 3D Project Manager and AMSAT-DL President Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, 
recently gave his final approval to the Phase 3D transponder frequencies. 
The complete table of uplink, downlink and telemetry beacon frequencies is 
available at the following URL: http://www.aball.de/~pg/amsat/p3dqrg.html. 
--AMSAT-NA BB

** Bruce, KK5DO, reports there is a good possibility that the Houston AMSAT 
Net will be moving to a C-Band satellite (SpaceNet 4). KK5DO would like to 
hear from amateurs who are presently listening to the net via the KU-Band 
satellite, those that cannot listen to the satellite feed because they only 
have C-Band and anyone who would be better served by the proposed C-Band 
satellite change. Contact Bruce at kk5do@amsat.org.
--AMSAT-NA BB

** Andy, W5ACM, reports information from the South Texas Balloon Launch 
Team and the successful flight of BLT-13 is available at the following URL: 
http://www.flash.net/~hmac/blt. The site includes photographs taken from 
the balloon during the flight. --W5ACM

** George, W1ME, conducted a satellite demonstration at the New England 
Division Convention in Boxboro, Massachusetts with retransmission of AO-27 
passes on the local repeater. W1ME and crew also represented AMSAT-NA with 
a table and forum. George reports help is needed for an AMSAT presence at 
the September 19th Central Vermont ARC Hamfest, the Rhode Island Amateur FM 
Repeater Service get-together, the September 26-27th Moose Swappers Hamfest 
in Lancaster, New Hampshire and the upcoming HOSSTRADERS show in Rochester. 
Contact George for more information at w1me@amsat.org.
--AMSAT-NA BB

** The first component of the International Space Station, the Zarya 
Control Module, is scheduled to be launched from the Russian Baikonur 
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 20th. --NASA, ESA

** The Vicksburg Amateur Radio Club is in the process of restoring their 
digipeater to full operation, in anticipation of heavy usage during the 
upcoming AMSAT-NA Symposium in Vicksburg. KB5HAV is working with WB4APR to 
accommodate APRS users. In addition, K5NRK will be posting some GPS 
location information on the Symposium web site. --K5NRK

** Photographs from the recent 1998 Eastern VHF-UHF Conference are 
available at the following URL: http://www.qsl.net/vhfnews/photos.html. 
Proceedings from the conference are in the process of being prepared for 
mailing. In 1999, the conference will celebrate its 25th year by becoming 
an ARRL Operating Specialty National Convention. --WZ1V

** The European Space Agency's ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites (orbiting at an 
altitude of 780 km) have been used recently to view the floods in China. 
Their radar images are giving invaluable help in forestalling and coping 
with the environmental threat to the area. A follow-up satellite, ENVISAT, 
which is scheduled for launch in the year 2000, will continue this style of 
mission. A color ERS image of the flooded area, southwest of Wuhan on the 
Yangtze River, is available at the following URL: 
http://earth1.esrin.esa.it/ERS.  --ESA

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-242.05

MIR/SAFEX
SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz	
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM 	
Semi-operational.

SAFEX II 70 cm QSO Mode
Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz	
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM	
Semi-operational.

PMS
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM  1200 Baud AFSK 	
Operational.

The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612 + V.8.1 TNC. The commands are 
similar to most PBBS and BBS systems.

MIREX has announced an on going APRS School Days Test. MIREX is allowing 
schools to use APRS for position and status reports via R0MIR. Non-school 
stations are asked to refrain from using APRS type transmissions or beacons 
via R0MIR.

[ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir status 
information]

RS-12
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB Uplink   21.210  to  21.250 MHz 
CW/SSB	
Downlink   29.410  to  29.450 MHz  CW/SSB Downlink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz 
 CW/SSB	
Beacon 29.408 MHz	
Robot   Uplink 21.129 MHz  Downlink 29.454 MHz	
Operational, mode KT.

Wayne, N5WD, reports RS-12 has been switched into Mode KT, with a 15-meter 
uplink and 10-meter and 2 meter downlinks. John, K6YK, reports "the 2 meter 
downlink is very loud and is easy copy compared to 10 meters. John also 
reports is only takes low power on 15 meters to have an effective uplink 
signal. "There seems to be a lot of high powered stations pumping the 
satellite receiver AGC," said K6YK. Al, WC9C, also reports a strong VHF 
downlink from RS-12.

RS-15
Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB	
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB 	
Beacon  29.352 MHz  (intermittent)	
Semi-operational, mode A

John, K6YK, reports he and KO6RD had a QSO on RS-15 recently by timing 
their transmissions so that they transmitted while the bird was 'on' and 
did not transmit during the 'off' periods.

OSCAR 10  AO-10
Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB	
Beacon 145.810 MHz (unmodulated carrier)	
Semi-operational, currently in 'sleep' mode.

Stacey Mills, W4SM, reports another sleep phase appears to be underway.
"I suspect that the rotational speed is so slow as to be incapable of 
holding
a stable attitude heading. Hence, we may be entering a time of chaotic
useful periods and sleep periods which cannot be predicted."

W4SM has more information about the satellite at the following URL:

http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html

[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, for his AO-10 status information and web 
site]

AO-27
Uplink     145.850 MHz FM	
Downlink 436.792 MHz FM	
Operational.

AO-27 TEPR States are currently:
    4  = 36 = 18 Minutes
    5  = 72 = 36 Minutes

This means AO-27's transmitter turns on 18 minutes after entering the Sun 
and stays on for 18 minutes. AO-27's transmitter is turned off at all other 
times during the orbit. N4USI reminds stations that this happens on every 
orbit, approximately 14.2 times a day. The current TEPR settings will cause 
the satellite to be on during the daytime at northern latitudes.

[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op for this update]

JAS-1  FO-20
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB	
Operational.      FO-20 in mode JA continuously.

Raul, EB4GZO, reports he is active from IN80HL on both FO-20 and FO-29 and 
is looking for US stations.

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]

JAS-2  FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA	
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB	
Operational.

Digital Mode JD	
Uplink 145.850   145.870  145.910 MHz FM	
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK	
Not operational, the satellite is in JA (voice) mode.

Kazu, JJ1WTK, tells ANS that OBC bit error investigation continues and the 
satellite will remain in voice mode. FO-29 has entered a period of 'full 
illumination' by the Sun. This illumination period will extend through the 
end of December.

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-242.06

KITSAT  KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM	
Operational. The telemetry is nominal.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report]

KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 436.50 MHz FM	
Operational. The telemetry is nominal.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report]

UO-22
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM	
Operational.

More information on the satellite is available at the following URL:

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Operations Manager of UO-22 for 
this report]

OSCAR-11
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK	
Beacon 2401.500 MHz	
Operational.

In response to many requests for information about methods of decoding 
OSCAR-11 signals, a package of hardware information has been added to the 
satellite web site. The site also contains some software for capturing 
data, decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD information. The URL is 
 http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

Beacon reception reports should be sent to:  g3cwv@amsat.org.

[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information]

PACSAT  AO-16
Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM 1200 bps Manchester FSK	
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps  RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK	
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz	
Operating normally.

The AO-16 command team has authorized an APRS experiment on AO-16 to 
explore the use of the 1200-baud PACSAT for APRS position/status reporting. 
The test periods will run each Tuesday from 0000 to 2359 UTC.

The telemetry is nominal.

Time is Fri Aug 28 12:13:44 1998 uptime is 1440/06:40:57
+Z Array V      21.995 V  +X (RX) Temp    -1.212 D	
RX Temp         -6.658 D  Bat 1 Temp       1.209 D	
Bat 2 Temp       0.603 D  Baseplt Temp     1.814 D	
RC PSK TX Out    0.442 W  RC PSK BP Temp   1.814 D	
RC PSK HPA Tmp   3.629 D  +Y Array Temp    1.814 D  	
PSK TX HPA Tmp   2.419  D  +Z Array Temp    6.654 D	
Total Array C= 0.371 Bat Ch Cur=-0.029 Ifb= 0.049 I+10V= 0.309
TX:010B BCR:84 PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:D6

General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at:

http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/wod.htm

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

LUSAT  LO-19
Uplink 145.84  145.86  145.88  145.90 MHz FM  1200 bps Manchester FSK	
Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB  1200 bps RC-BPSK 	
Currently semi-operational.

Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, reports LUSAT/Oscar-19 ground control station 
LU8DYF has succeeded in regaining control of the satellite. Downlink 
signals show good modulation with an ASCII message containing the following 
text:

July 31 - 1998. No BBS service. On Board Computer reload in progress.
Digipeater active. Thank you - Norberto - LU8DYF.

EA1BCU reminds operators the digipeater mode is "a very interesting option 
to make contacts with other stations, or to be connected with your own 
station to evaluate the on-line the state of your installation."  Bob,
WB4APR, says an efficient way to communicate via a space digipeater is to 
use un-numbered UI frames, which require no acknowledgment. This way 
several stations can talk all to each other.

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

ITAMSAT  IO-26
Uplink 145.875  145.900  145.925  145.950 MHz  FM 1200 Baud PSK	
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB	
Semi-operational.

Telemetry is reported as being received on 435.822 MHz at 1200 baud PSK. No 
additional information is available at this time.

TMSAT-1  TO-31
Downlink 436.923 MHz  	

The TMSAT-1 micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian 
Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998. The satellite is expected to be 
available for general amateur use shortly.

A brief overview of the TMSAT satellite and commissioning plan is available 
at the following URL:

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/amateur/tmsat/tmsat_commissioni  
ng_plan.html.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this report]

TechSat-1B  GO-32
Downlink   435.325    435.225 MHz 	
HDLC telemetry framed so a TNC in KISS mode will decode it 	

The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian 
Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998. The satellite is expected to be 
available for general amateur use shortly.

The satellite does not have a continuos beacon, but does transmit a 
9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for about 3 seconds in length), currently 
on 435.225 MHz.

The TechSat team has also constructed a home page about TechSat.  To view 
the site, point your web browser to:

http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/

[ANS thanks Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 3

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 242.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 30, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-242.07

THE FOLLOWING SATELLITES ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME:

RS-16
Attempts to command the Mode A transponder have been unsuccessful. The 435 
MHz beacon (only) is operational. Transponder is non-operational. No 
additional information is available at this time.

DOVE  DO-17
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM   1200 Baud AFSK	
Beacon 2401.220 MHz	
Non-operational.

The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air. No
additional information is available at this time.

WEBERSAT  WO-18
Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB  1200 Baud PSK AX.25	
Non-operational.

WO-18 is reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash. No additional 
information is available at this time.

--ANS END---

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to
ans-editor@amsat.org,         (or to)
ANS Editor, Dan James, NN0DJ, at nn0dj@amsat.org.

/EX

Daniel  (Dan) James	
AMSAT News Service Bulletin Editor	
Amateur callsign: NN0DJ	
Grid Square EN28iv	
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.	
e-mail:  nn0dj@amsat.org	

Michelle Ervin	
AMSAT News Service Assistant Bulletin Editor	
Amateur callsign: KA9FUL	
Grid Square EM89du	
Springfield, Ohio U.S.A.	
e-mail: ka9ful@amsat.org	












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