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[jamsat-news:1359] ANS 310
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 310
ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North
America, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the
activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an
active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating
through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
AMSAT-NA is pleased to announce that recent and future development
in Amateur Radio satellites will take place in Atlanta, Georgia at the
19th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting. Stay tuned
to ANS for date, agenda and other details on the 2001 Symposium!
Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org (or from)
AMSAT-NA
850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 600
Silver Spring, Maryland
20910-4703
Voice: 301-589-6062
FAX: 301-608-3410
Currently, AMSAT-NA supports the following (free) mailing lists:
* AMSAT News Service (ANS)
* General satellite discussion (AMSAT-BB)
* Orbit data (KEPS)
* Manned space missions (SAREX)
* District of Columbia area (AMSAT-DC)
* New England area (AMSAT-NE)
* AMSAT Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-EDU)
* AMSAT K-12 Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-K12)
A daily digest version is available for each list.
To subscribe, or for more list information, visit the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/listserv/menu.html
This edition of ANS is dedicated to the memory of Army Military
Affiliate Radio System Public Relations Coordinator Lori Matthew,
N4ZCF (also AAA9PR) of Kingman, Arizona. Matthew died recently
of complications from cancer. She had just turned 68. An ARRL
member, Matthew for 10 years authored 'The MARS Corner'
column that appeared in both Worldradio and in Florida Skip.
[ANS thanks the ARRL for this information]
ANS is also dedicated to the memory of past ANS editor 'BJ' Arts,
WT0N, and to the memory of long-time AMSAT supporter Werner
Haas, DJ5KQ.
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.01
PHASE 3D LAUNCH UPDATE
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.01
AMSAT News Service previously reported that the Phase 3D
satellite launch window will open very soon, with the anticipated date
and time of launch for Arianespace Flight 135, on which P3D will fly,
confirmed for 01:07 UTC, Wednesday, November 15, 2000. The
revised launch date was changed from the October 31st initial launch
window.
Phase 3D was recently mounted atop the Ariane 5 launcher, along with
the much smaller STRV-1C and 1D satellites. As this edition of ANS
is transmitted, the large PAS-1R communications satellite is being
placed aboard the launcher.
A view of the entire payload can be found at the following URL:
http://www.arianespace.com/news_missionupdate.html
The Radio Club of Kourou's FY5KE has announced plans to broadcast
the Phase 3D launch on 14.315 MHz in French ''and probably in
English.'' The FY5KE transmission will start at approximately 15 minutes
prior to launch and will end about 45 minutes later when the satellite
reaches orbit.
Closer to home, AMSAT-NA Vice President of Operations Keith Pugh,
W5IU, reports that details are being worked out for an AMSAT-NA P3D
Launch Information Net to run "live" during the launch. Keith told ANS
that "at a minimum, the net will include several HF stations and bands."
The current plan is to start about 15 minutes before launch and carry
through separation of P3D. The U.S. net will be based on the live
Arianespace satellite feed from the launch site and will also contain
commentary by key AMSAT officials associated with the launch.
According to W5IU, "dissemination of the launch information will be by
the Houston AMSAT Net connection and by key HF stations, led by
WA3NAN on their Shuttle re-transmission frequencies. Additional HF
stations and frequencies will be added to fill in North American
coverage."
The Houston AMSAT Net connection will also be available via the
Internet using the Real Audio format.
The AMSAT launch team Internet web site has been popular with
satellite operators around the world. The site now features several new
photographs showing Phase 3D being placed aboard the Ariane 5 launch
vehicle. To visit the site, point your browser to:
http://www.amsat-dl.org/launch/
Stay tuned to ANS for additional bulletins from AMSAT, the official
source for information on the Phase 3D Launch.
[ANS thanks the ARRL, AMSAT-DL and AMSAT-NA for this
information and congratulates the AMSAT launch team on their
outstanding work]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.02
ARISS OPERATION FROM ISS NEAR
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.02
Amateur Radio satellite operators worldwide followed the recent launch
of the 120-foot white, orange and gray Soyuz TM-31 rocket as it roared
into the autumn sky. The launch took place right on time from the same
site from which Yuri Gagarin blasted off to become the first human in
space some 39 years ago.
Sat ops were especially excited about this flight as aboard the Soyuz
rocket was the Expedition-1 crew headed for the International Space
Station. The crew includes expedition commander/U.S. astronaut Bill
Shepherd, KD5GSL, Soyuz vehicle commander/Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Gidzenko, and flight engineer/cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR.
The crew successfully docked with the International Space Station's
Zvezda module as the spacecraft flew high above southeastern Russia,
near the border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.
Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev begin what many people hope will be
a permanent human presence in space. Shepherd, the first commander
aboard ISS, became only the second American to be launched aboard a
Russian rocket.
The Station at long last has a real name -- or at least a radio call sign.
In
a gutsy bid to get bureaucrats to deal with a political hot potato, U.S.
astronaut Shepherd boldly asked for a go-ahead to christen the outpost
'Alpha' just hours after arriving at the complex last Thursday.
Amateur Radio activity has not started as of this bulletin -- with best
estimates pointing to a mid-November start.
The Expedition-1 crew's activities are being scheduled around a UTC
timeframe. It's expected that their working day will start around 08:00
UTC and end somewhere near 19:00 hours with a lunch break near
12:00 UTC.
Passes near the beginning, lunchtime, and end of the crew day might be
good times to find a crewmember relaxing with ham activities, once
Amateur Radio operation begins.
The crew will also have most weekends off -- from about mid-Saturday
until the end of the day on Sunday.
It is not known at this time if the power budget on Alpha will allow for
leaving the packet rig powered during times when the crew cannot
perform voice contacts. The ARISS working group has requested that
the packet rig be left on as much as possible. The crew has been
trained in the use of the beaconing capabilities of the TNC.
The Expedition-1 portion of the ARISS web page has been updated. To
view the page, point your browser to:
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/ExpeditionOne/
[ANS thanks NASA, ARISS and the ARRL for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.03
AMSAT SYMPOSIUM A SUCCESS
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.03
The 18th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting in
Portland, Maine has been judged an unqualified success. "Thanks to
all those folks who worked to make the Maine experience a good
one," said Richard, G3RWL. "The locals in Portland were surely
entertained with the sight of a dozen antenna waving satellite
operators in the parking lot at all hours of the day and night," reported
Bob, WB4APR. "Thanks to Caroline and George Caswell (W1ME),
and crew for their flawless arrangements. For us it was a tremendous
8-day vacation," said Dave, WB6LLO. Cliff, K7RR, added, "many
thanks to all that worked so hard in Portland."
Over 170 AMSAT members attended the event with some 20 satellite
related presentations given during the Friday and Saturday sessions.
Great interest was shown in the two sessions dealing with Phase 3D. Part
of the P3D launch team (who had recently returned from Kourou) showed
photographs and explained the operations which had taken place during
the P3D pre-launch campaign.
Many excellent papers were also presented with a continuing theme of
AMSAT participation in education at all academic levels from beginning
through very advanced levels.
A very important part of the Symposium is the AMSAT-NA Board of
Directors meeting. As reported by ANS, Keith Baker, KB1SF, had
previously indicated he was stepping down as AMSAT-NA President.
The BOD commended KB1SF for his outstanding accomplishments and
past several years as President. KB1SF will remain a member of the
AMSAT-NA Board of Directors.
An election was then held which included the following results:
* Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, President
* Ray Soifer, W2RS, Executive Vice President
Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, is well known in AMSAT circles. A
Canadian Advanced class Amateur Radio operator, Robin also
holds the callsign GD4INU. A professional electrical engineer, he
was first licensed in 1977 and has been an AMSAT member since
1991. Robin also organized the 1997 AMSAT-NA Symposium and
Annual Meeting.
Robin is a past president of the Burlington Amateur Radio Club and
is a Canadian ARISS team member as well as a life member of the
Canadian Amateur Radio Foundation/Radio Amateurs of Canada
organization.
Ray Soifer, W2RS, is also no stranger to AMSAT circles. Ray has served
as Vice President-International Affairs since 1994, mainly looking after
relations with the International Amateur Radio Union and other AMSAT
organizations around the world. This will be the second time that Ray
will serve as Executive Vice President, having been in the post from
1991 until 1994.
W2RS has been a long-time AMSAT member (since 1969) and has held
various AMSAT positions including a stint as a Board of Directors member
from 1972 to 1974.
Congratulations to both VE3FRH and W2RS on your new positions from
AMSAT News Service!
Dave, WB6LLO, reported on the annual 'Jewelry Contest' held during
the Symposium. "This year we had a total of 91 entries, the biggest
response ever," reported WB6LLO. The measured frequency of the
Tuney-Tuna was 145.925821 MHz. The winner of the contest was
Anthony, AA2TX, with his entry of 145.925426 MHz. In second place
was Bill, W3XO, followed by Harley, K6DS and Cliff, K7RR.
Congratulations Anthony, Bill, Harley and Cliff from ANS!
A Symposium special event station was active during the event using
the AMSAT Club Callsign W3ZM. Both satellite and HF operation
was featured.
Bruce Paige, KK5DO, told ANS that all Symposium audio files are
now available on the Houston AMSAT Net web site. In addition, Bruce
has also posted several photographs from the event. For more
information point your browser to:
http://www.amsatnet.com
[ANS congratulates Caroline Caswell and George Caswell Sr., W1ME,
for the Symposium success!]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.04
TIUNGSAT-1 OPENED FOR AMATEUR RADIO USE
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.04
Chris Jackson, G7UPN, has informed ANS that "all commissioning duties
have been completed on TiungSat-1 and the spacecraft is now open for
general Amateur Radio use."
Chris reports that currently the downlink is "operating in a digital mode at
9600 baud, although this will be switched to 38k4 in the coming weeks."
According to G7UPN, "when this is done the downlink will not be on at all
times since we will operate using the high power transmitter which
consumes considerably more power than the current transmitter." The
same system as currently employed on UO-36 will be used to allow
satellite operators to switch on the downlink from their ground stations.
The imaging systems aboard the satellite are still being calibrated and
not all images will be available for download. Chris notes that since the
images from TiungSat-1 should be the primary interest, uploading to the
bird is restricted to command stations only.
The imaging system has a Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) of about
70m and a wide angle camera with a GSD of approximately 1km.
No word was received when repeater style, FM 'bent pipe' operation will
be scheduled.
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.05
ANS IN BRIEF
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.05
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
** The Greenville, South Carolina Experimenters Group ARC, using the
callsign N4ISS, will be celebrating the manning of the International Space
Station with a special even station on December 2-3, 2000. HF operation
on 40, 20 and 10 meters as well as satellite operation through AO-27
will be featured. -Al, KD4SFF
** Bruce Paige, KK5DO, tells ANS that "since GE-4 has gone digital,
the Houston AMSAT Net has moved back to Satcom C3 (131 degrees west),
transponder 24, 7.5MHz audio.-Bruce, KK5DO
** Large telescopes with de-formable optics are allowing astronomers
to study distant asteroids with unprecedented clarity. This should lead
to the discovery of new shapes and configurations - presenting
scientists with new puzzles to solve. -SpaceDaily
** ESA has begun operating a 'virtual campus' for the International
Space Station, allowing present and future users of the Station in
Europe to be kept informed on all the new developments taking place,
share knowledge and find new research partners. -ESA
** What do you get if you mix together one part helium and
five-and-a-half parts hydrogen, add a dash of methane, heat to 60
Kelvin (-351 degrees F) and let sit for about four billion years? If you
made a large enough batch of these mixed gases, you might get the
planet Neptune! -SpaceDaily
** Ronald Ross, KE6JAB, is returning to Antarctica to begin a two
month expedition in the mountains of Queen Maud Land. He will be
operating from the area and invites satellite operators to check out
his website at http://www.thistle.org to find out more about the trip in
the next few weeks. -ANS
** Arianespace, using the Ariane 4 launch platform, recently took the
EuropeStar communications satellite to orbit. What is notable about
this flight is that it marked the 100th launch of the Ariane 4! With
some twenty more Ariane-4 launches scheduled between now and
2003 - it certainly is a high point and confirmation that the Ariane
4 launcher delivers the goods. -ESA
** A White House announcement directing federal agencies to work with
the FCC and the private sector to identify spectrum for next-generation
wireless services will not likely have any impact on amateur satellite
allocations. The Executive Memorandum issued by President Clinton
follows the path agreed to (earlier this year) to make frequencies
available for so-called third-generation portable wireless devices.
-ARRL
** Skycorp recently announced the signing of an agreement with NASA
to place the world's first Internet server in Space. Skycorp and NASA
are working together to determine a Shuttle flight date for a
developmental test of this unique spacecraft technology. -SpaceDaily
--ANS BULLETIN END---
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-310.06
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/ARISS
Worldwide packet uplink: 145.990 MHz
Region 1 voice uplink: 145.200 MHz
Region 2/3 voice uplink: 144.490 MHz
Worldwide downlink for voice and packet: 145.800 MHz
TNC callsign RZ3DZR
ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis
Status: Expected operation to begin in mid-November
The ARISS initial station gear is now temporarily stowed aboard the
Functional Cargo Block module of ISS. The initial station will use an
existing antenna that will be adapted to support 2-meter FM voice and
packet. The ARISS equipment will get a more-permanent home aboard
the Service Module in 2001, along with VHF and UHF antennas. Plans
call for amateur TV, both slow scan and fast scan ATV, a digipeater and
relay stations.
Planning for the deployment and use of the ham system aboard ISS has
been an international effort coordinated by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center. The effort began in 1996 with the formation of the
Amateur Radio International Space Station organization. ARISS is made
up of delegates from major national amateur radio organizations,
including AMSAT.
Two U.S. callsigns have recently been issued for Amateur Radio
operations with ISS. The FCC granted vanity callsigns NA1SS
and NN1SS to the International Space Station Amateur Radio Club
in mid-October. The NA1SS callsign will be used aboard ISS, and
NN1SS will be used for ground-based transmissions from the
Goddard Space Flight Center. Russian callsign RZ3DZR and
German call sign DL0ISS have previously been issued for use
aboard the station. The crew may use their own callsigns
(KD5GSL, U5MIR) or they may use one of the ISS calls.
RZ3DZR is also the callsign entered into the TNC currently onboard
Alpha.
More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site
at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
[ANS thanks the ARISS team for this information]
RADIO SPORT RS-13
Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.460 to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 145.863 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: Operational, recently changed to mode-KT with a 2-meter
and 10-meter downlink and 15-meter uplink
First noted on the AMSAT bulletin board by Randy, N7SFI, RS-13
apparently has switched to mode-KT. Jerry, K5OE, confirmed the
move. Jerry notes that "2-meter beacon is at 145.863 MHz, and the
2-meter downlink seems to be 145.860-145.900 MHz. K5OE
reports the "2-meter downlink audio is terrific, much better than the
10-meter audio."
Kevin, AC5DK, also reported the mode change on RS-13 "and it's
thrown everybody for a loop!"
More information about RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the
AC5DK RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at:
http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html
RADIO SPORT 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)
SSB meeting frequency 29.380 MHz (unofficial)
Launched: December 26, 1994 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Semi-operational, mode-A, using a 2-meter uplink and a
10-meter downlink
Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 (and RS-13)
on his web site. In addition to satellite data, antenna information for
mode-A operation is also featured. The WB6LLO web site URL is:
http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads
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)
Launched: June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational, mode-B. AO-10 has been locked into a
70-cm uplink and a 2-meter downlink for several years
DX continues to be worked (and heard) on AO-10.
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]
AMRAD AO-27
Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink 436.795 MHz FM
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational, mode J
Periodically, AO-27's analog repeater will be turned off for a few days
at a time to enable ground controllers to gather Whole Orbital Data
(WOD), to verify the health of the satellite.
An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA
web site. The URL is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html.
AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR)
to regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how
long the satellite has been in an eclipse (or in the sun) and decides
what subsystems to turn on or off. The current TEPR settings are:
TEPR 4: 36 TEPR 5: 72
The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an
explanation of TEPR AO-27 operations (at):
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html
[ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information]
UO-14
Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational, mode J
Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information site
to include UO-14 information -- point your web browser to the
following URL:
http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information]
SUNSAT SO-35
Mode J Uplink: 145.825 MHz FM
Mode J Downlink: 436.250 MHz FM
Mode B Uplink: 436.291 MHz FM
Mode B Downlink: 145.825 MHz FM
Launched: February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California
Status: Operational.
The SunSat package includes 1200 and 9600 baud digital
store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system
that will be used primarily for educational demonstrations in addition
to Mode B/J operation. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF
transmit-receive systems.
For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL:
http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za
A summary of the active modes and frequency allocations for
SunSat is available at the following URL:
http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/~lochner/sunsat/modes.html
[ANS thanks Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, for this information]
JAS-1b FO-20
Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Launched: February 07, 1990 by an H1 launcher from the
Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
Status: Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously
Several satellite operators have reported problems with FO-20's
transponder. Mike, N1JEZ, told ANS that he believes the loss of signal
is a combination of two factors. First, battery age and an increase in FM
traffic due to operators unaware of the band plan. Mike reports he
routinely hears FM signals on the transponder.
Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators now believe
that the UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the
transponder. The UVC monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the
batteries from over discharge. Tak notes that FO-20, launched in 1990,
is now over 10 years old.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]
JAS-2 FO-29
Launched: August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the
Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
Status: Operational
Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Digital Mode JD
Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz 1200 baud BPSK or 9600 baud FSK
Callsign 8J1JCS
Digitalker 435.910 MHz
The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following
operation schedule of FO-29:
Oct. 7- Nov. 5 - Digi-talker (except mode JA every Wednesday)
The FO-29 command station further reports the mode switching
Digi-talker to mode JA was unsuccessful recently and FO-29 will
remain in Digi-talker mode until the next switch attempt can be
made.
Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29,
addressing the analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy
e-mail Mike at: kf4fdj@amsat.org.
Mineo, JE9PEL, has a FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program that
will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite (such as
current, voltage and temperature). The JE9PEL FO-29/shareware is
available at the following URL:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]
SAUDISAT-1A
Uplink to be released
Downlink 437.075 MHz
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway
SaudiSat-1A will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward
systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two
new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the
Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.
SAUDISAT-1B
Uplink to be released
Downlink 436.775 MHz
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway
SaudiSat-1B will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward
systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two
new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the
Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-310.07
TIUNGSAT-1
Uplink 145.850 or 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 437.325 MHz
Broadcast callsign MYSAT3-11
BBS MYSAT3-12
NUP MYSAT3-10
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational in digital mode, currently at 9600 baud FSK
TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to
commercial land and weather imaging payloads offers FM and FSK
Amateur Radio communication.
TiungSat-1, named after the mynah bird of Malaysia, was developed as
a collaborative effort between the Malaysian government and Surrey
Satellite Technology Ltd.
For more information on TiungSat-1, visit the following URL:
http://www.yellowpages.com.my/tiungsat/tiung_main.htm
KITSAT KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational
Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal KO-25 operation, with low traffic.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information]
UOSAT UO-22
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM
Call sign UOSAT5-12
Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational
Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal UO-22 operation at high efficiency,
with heavy traffic and major sat-gate operation.
More information on the satellite is available at the following URL:
http://www.sstl.co.uk/
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-22 status
information]
OSCAR-11
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM (1200 baud AFSK)
Mode-S Beacon 2401.500 MHz
Launched: March 1, 1984 by a Delta-Thor rocket from Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California
Status: Operational
OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday in space on March 1, 2000.
During the period 16-September to 17-October excellent signals have
been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The satellite is currently
experiencing very good solar conditions that should continue through
the end of the year.
Ground control operations recently reset the magnetorquer counters
and the spin period has now started to slowly return to a nominal value.
The battery voltage observed during daylight passes has continued to
increase. The average value observed was 14.0, with a range of
13.9 to 14.1 volts. The internal temperatures have increased recently.
They are now 5.8C and 4.2C for battery and telemetry electronics
respectively. This rise in temperature is expected to continue as solar
eclipse times become shorter.
The operating schedule is as follows:
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 active amateur radio satellites.
More information on OSCAR-11 is available at the following URL:
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information]
LUSAT LO-19
Uplink 145.84 145.86 145.88 145.90 MHz FM
(using 1200 baud Manchester FSK)
CW downlink 437.125 MHz
Digital downlink 437.150 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK)
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry
channels and one status channel. No BBS service is available. The
digipeater is not active.
Mineo, JE9PEL, has recorded LO-19 CW and PSK telemetry and
placed the information on his Internet homepage site at:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/
General information and telemetry samples can be found at:
www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for LO-19 status information]
PACSAT AO-16
Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.96 MHz FM
(using 1200 baud Manchester FSK)
Downlink 437.025 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK)
Mode-S Beacon 2401.1428 MHz
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational
Russ, WJ9F, reported the S-band transmitter is off. The VHF uplink and the
UHF PSK transmitter are operational (TX power at 1.5 watts). The
digipeater command is on.
General information and telemetry samples can be found at:
www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information]
TMSAT-1 TO-31
Uplink 145.925 MHz (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 436.925 MHz (9600 baud FSK)
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational
Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal TO-31 operation, with moderate traffic and
new image files available as of early November.
ProcMail V2.00G has been released by G7UPN. This software permits
the processing of image files from TO-31. It has been posted to the
AMSAT-NA FTP site at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp
Many of the high-resolution color images transmitted by TMSAT are
compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is
supported by the VK5HI CCD display program.
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for TO-31 status
information]
UoSAT-12 UO-36
Uplink 145.960 MHz (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 437.025 MHz 437.400 MHz
Launched: April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome
Status: Operational
UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward
communications and mode L/S transponders.
NASA has demonstrated on UO-36 the ability to use standard Internet
protocols to communicate with an orbiting spacecraft (just like any node
on the Internet). NASA has been developing this project by working with
the commercial payload aboard UoSAT-12.
The BBS is open, although uploading and downloading may be
disabled at times.
The VK5HI viewer shareware for UO-36 is available on the AMSAT-NA
web site at the following URL:
ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/display/ccddsp97-119.zip
Further information on UO-36 is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/
[ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey for
this information]
ITAMSAT IO-26
Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM (1200 baud)
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater function is on and open for
APRS users
[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for
IO-26 information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 310.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 05, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-310.08
THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL
AT THIS TIME:
KITSAT KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 435.170 MHz FM
Launched: August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Intermittent operation with the downlink transmitter operating at
unpredictable intervals
Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter had been
operational recently, but is (again) not transmitting. Duration of this
status is unpredictable. Last received downlink was on October 28th.
KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part
of the problem with non-operation has been the power budget aboard
the satellite. "We are not sure when the bird might turn off again due to
insufficient power. The capability of the onboard power system has been
less and less," said Kim. HL0ENJ also noted that as of October 30, 2000
the onboard computer was reset and a reboot of operational software is
now underway.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ,
for KO-23 status information]
RADIO SPORT RS-12
Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 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
Robot Downlink 29.454 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed
TECHSAT-1B GO-32
Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome
Status: Semi-operational
Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line,
however, no information has been received by ANS (the last
report was dated November 1999).
Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every
30 seconds (the GO-32 beacon sends one short telemetry status
transmission of 44 bytes) and upon request the complete
telemetry buffer. The program to the access the satellite can be
downloaded from the homepage.
The TechSat team has a home page about TechSat. To view the site,
point your web browser to:
http://www.technion.ac.il/pub/projects/techsat/asher/techsatmain.html
PANSAT PO-34
Uplink/downlink frequencies have never been released
Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery
Status: Unknown
The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.
PanSat was developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. At the time of
launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were promised to
be available to Amateur Radio operators along with software to utilize
this technology. To date, this has not happened.
For more information, visit the official PanSat web site at:
http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/
PanSat was the featured cover article on the July/August 1999 issue
of the AMSAT-NA Journal (the story written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).
MIR SPACE STATION
145.985 MHz (FM) voice and SSTV (Robot 36 Mode)
Launched: February 18, 1986
Status: Unmanned
Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the
onboard Amateur Radio equipment has been turned off. Several
news agencies have reported that Mir in now on 'autopilot'.
Stay tuned to ANS for further details.
MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone of 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Status: Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed
MIR SAFEX II 70-cm QSO Mode
Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM
Status: Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed
DOVE DO-17
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM (1200 baud AFSK)
2401.220 MHz
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Non-operational
DOVE stopped transmitting in March 1998. The 145.825 MHz and
2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air and the satellite has not
responded to ground station control. No additional information is
available at this time.
WEBERSAT WO-18
Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB (1200 baud PSK AX.25)
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Non-operational
WO-18 was last reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash.
No additional information is available at this time.
SEDSAT-1 SO-33
Downlink 437.910 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Launched: October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape
Canaveral, Florida
Status: Semi-operational
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and
the image and transponder recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.
SedSat-1 signifies Students for the Exploration and Development of
Space (satellite number one).
SedSat-1 has downlinked months worth of telemetry data on the
performance of its electrical power system parameters. The Nickel
Metal Hydride batteries on the spacecraft were experimental and
experienced some abuse due to a power negative situation. This
information has provided NASA with useful information. With the
exception of the imaging system and the use of the transponders,
SedSat-1 has been judged a success.
For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at the
following URL:
http://www.seds.org/sedsat
No additional information is available at this time.
/EX
--ANS END---
ANS would like to thank Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, ANS principal satellite
investigator, for helping provide current satellite information.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor@amsat.org
Daniel (Dan) James
AMSAT News Service Bulletin Editor
AMSAT-NA Vice President/Public Affairs
Amateur callsign: NN0DJ
Grid Square EN28iv
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.
E-mail: nn0dj@amsat.org
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