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[jamsat-news:967] * SpaceNews 16-Nov-98 *


SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1116
* SpaceNews 16-Nov-98 *


BID: $SPC1116


			       =========
			       SpaceNews
			       =========


		        MONDAY NOVEMBER 16, 1998


SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use.


* LEONIDS NEWS *
================
On 1998-Nov-17, scientists from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's
Space Sciences Laboratory in Huntsville, Ala., plan to launch a weather
balloon carrying a digital camera to about 100,000 feet for a clearer
view of the Leonids Meteor Shower.

The Leonids meteor storm is expected to be the most spectacular in years.
Scientists will launch the balloon sometime near midnight from Marshall's
Atmospheric Research Facility, dependent upon weather conditions.

Both still images and low-resolution television captured by the on-board
camera will be available online at the Space Sciences Laboratory Web site
at:
	http://science.nasa.gov/

Live downlink television also will be carried on cable TV channel 58 over
amateur radio frequency 426.250 MHz.  A special set-up must be followed,
and viewing instructions will be available at the Space Sciences Laboratory
Web site.

For more information, contact Tim Tyson with Marshall's Media Relations
Office at (256) 544-0994 or (256) 544-0034.  For an electronic version of
this advisory or more information, visit Marshall's News Center Web site at:

	http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news

[Info from Ron Baalke via Gregory Beat]


* LEONIDS ATV BALLOON FLIGHT *
==============================
This is to alert you all to a balloon flight that will be flown to look at
the Leonid Meteor Storm that will be happening on November 17th. As a
result it will be an unusual NIGHT flight....or rather a "wee hour of the
morning flight"

An ATV (amateur television) equipped balloon flight will take place on
1998-Nov-17 during the expected peak of the Leonids meteor storm.  The
balloon package will carry a light intensified camera to look at the meteor
trails from the stratosphere, and will be carried aloft by a 3000 gram
balloon, which may reach as high as 120,000 feet in altitude.  The balloon
will transmit video on 426.250 MHz using horizontal polarization using the
callsign KE4ROC.  The package will also carry a 144.390 MHz APRS Packet
Radio GPS system, and a 28.322 MHz (or 28.800 MHz) CW transmitter
transmitting a series of fast beeps.  The package is expected to be
deployed near Atlanta, Georgia at 2:30 AM EST on Tuesday morning.  The
duration of the flight is expected to be about 3 hours.

[Info via Bill Brown, WB8ELK]


* SEDSAT-1 NEWS *
=================
SEDSAT-1 was copied on Sunday in Aurora, Colorado, USA on orbit 309 by Rick,
KB0VBZ.  13 packet bursts were copied on one pass.  The center frequency
that produced the best reception was 437.914 MHz.

[Info via Rick Elverum, KB0VBZ]


* AMSAT-OSCAR-10 NEWS *
=======================
AO-10 continues to function well, with the exception of the usual QSB which
is better or worse at different portions of the orbit.  Strong signals were
heard over the weekend, event out at apogee.

James Miller and Stacey Mills have obtained additional ranging values and
have "tweaked" the AO-10 keps.  An updated set of elements is provided below.
The initial set Stacey posted had a typo which set the value of decay to
"0.0 e0", which, of course is mathmatically equal to "1".  The decay rate
should be set to zero for these elements.

Satellite: AO-10
Catalog number: 14129
Epoch time:     98 318.86783
Inclination:        26.7600 deg
RA of node:         58.4820 deg
Eccentricity:     0.59972
Arg of perigee:    265.8370 deg
Mean anomaly:      216.5650 deg
Mean motion:     2.05838221 rev/day
Decay rate:         0.00    rev/day^2

The article James wrote describing ranging can be found in the AMSAT Journal
(US) Vol 20 No.5, Sep/Oct 1997 and elsewhere, and the article can be
downloaded from:
	
	ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/articles/g3ruh/a123.zip

[Info via Stacey E. Mills, W4SM]


* OSCAR-11 NEWS *
=================
It has been another uneventful month for OSCAR-11.  During the period
1998-Oct-14 to 1998-Nov-15, reasonable signals have been received from
OSCAR-11's 145.826 MHz beacon.  Telemetry has been nominal, and the battery
voltage is now usually around 13.9 volts.

The internal temperatures have been almost constant and are now 10.2 C and
8.0 C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively.  They appear to
have reached a maximum value, and are now expected to fall slowly.  The
present length of solar eclipses appears to be about optimum for OSCAR-11,
maintaining an adequate power budget, while not allowing internal temperatures
to rise to excessive levels.

A single WOD survey, of channels 1, 2, 3, 61 (magnetometers) dated 1998-Oct-10
has been transmitted by the satellite.  This current WOD starts at the normal
time of 00:00:05 UTC.

Recently the magnetorquer spin correction counters have been of interest.
Normally, the negative spin counter increments at very roughly half the rate
of the Z-axis counter.  Over the last two months there have been very few
spin counter increments, although the spin period is nominal.

OSCAR-11's operating schedule remains unchanged:

	ASCII status (210 seconds)
	ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)
	BINARY SEU (30 seconds)
	ASCII TLM (90 seconds)
	ASCII WOD (120 seconds)
	ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)
	BINARY ENG (30 seconds)

The ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and
frequencies of all the amateur radio satellites.

There are additional status blocks after each bulletin is transmitted,
and between ASCII TLM and WOD.

The Mode-S beacon is ON, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but telemetry
indicates that it has partially failed, and delivering half power.  This
beacon is a useful test source for those testing Mode-S converters, prior
to the launch of P3-D.  It is considerably weaker than DOVE, which should
be used for initial testing.  Any reports of reception of OSCAR-11's 2401 MHz
beacon should be directed to Clive Wallis via e-mail: g3cwv@amsat.org.

OSCAR-11's 435.025 MHz beacon is normally OFF, however it can sometimes be
heard when the satellite is being commanded by ground control, ie. within
range of Guildford, UK.  When the 435 MHz beacon is transmitting, the 145 MHz
beacon is normally OFF.  The data transmitted is mainly binary.

Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting an OSCAR-11 Web site
maintained by Clive Wallis.  The web site contains details of hardware
required and some software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry
and WOD (whole orbit data) from the OSCAR-11 satellite.  There is an archive
of raw data (mainly WOD) for analysis, which is continually being expanded
as new data is captured.  Also included are some audio files, examples of
each type of data transmitted by OSCAR-11.  Each one plays for about ten
seconds.  There are also examples of Mode-S reception.  All the audio files
are compressed (zipped), so that they can be played off-line.  These should
help listeners identify the various types of data, and give an indication
of the signal quality required for successful decoding.

The URL is:

	http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

[Info via Clive Wallis, G3CWV]


* SPUTNIK-41 NEWS *
===================
Sputnik 41 was successfully deployed from the space station Mir last week,
and reception of its 2-meter FM beacon transmitter was confirmed almost
immediately after its deployment.  Sputnik 41 is similar to Sputnik 40
launched from Mir last year.  It is a small replica of the original Sputnik
spacecraft launched 41 years ago.  It is just under 8 inches in diameter
and weighs almost 9 pounds.  It carries a 200-mW FM transmitter that transmits
on or about 145.812 MHz, and is easily heard with modest receiving equipment.
The spacecraft has no solar cells, and is powered completely by storage
batteries.  Its expected operational lifetime is dictated by the life of
its storage batteries, and is expected to be approximately 30 days.

Sputnik 41 transmits a series of "beeps" (similar to the original Sputnik
satellite) whose audio frequency is related to the spacecraft's internal
temperature.  It also transmits stored voice messages in several different
languages.

Listeners who successfully hear Sputnik 41 may sent their reception reports
to:
	AMSAT-France
	RS-18 QSL Manager
	14 bis rue des Gourlis
	92 500 Rueil-Malmaison
	France

and have their reports confirmed with a QSL card.  A self-addressed envelope
and International Reply Coupon (IRC) (available at many post offices) should
be included with your report.


* 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, KITSAT-OSCAR-25


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/EX

--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- John A. Magliacane, KD2BD -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Internet  : kd2bd@amsat.org          |  Voice : +1.732.224.2948
Satellite : AO-16, LO-19, KO-25      |  Morse : -.-  -..  ..---  -...  -..
Packet    : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA  |  WWW   : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/
Video     : 426.250 MHz/439.250 MHz  |  FAX   : +1.732.224.2060
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