[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[jamsat-news:1560] ANS 217


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 217

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.

ANS is first released via the AMSAT-NA 20-meter net held each Sunday
on 14.282 MHz. Pre-net operations start at 18:00 UTC, with current ANS
bulletins transmitted to the eastern U.S. at 19:00 UTC and to the western
U.S. at 19:30 UTC. ANS is also released worldwide via the AMSAT ANS
e-mail reflector.

AMSAT-NA is pleased to announce that recent (and future)
developments in Amateur Radio satellite technology will be discussed in
Atlanta, Georgia at the 19th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual
Meeting, October 5-6, 2001. The Symposium Chairman is Steve Diggs,
W4EPI. Contact W4EPI at:          w4epi@amsat.org

Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org <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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT-NA offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors
To AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits.
Initially, there will two levels for donations - Gold and Silver.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT-NA Office. For further
Information and details contact:

Daniel James, NN0DJ
AMSAT Vice President-Public Affairs
P.O. Box 297
Warroad, MN  56763-0297

NN0DJ can be reached at: (218) 386-1544  (or)  via e-mail at:
nn0dj@amsat.org

This edition of ANS is dedicated to the memory of Jake McHendrix,
WD4PBF, of Florence, Kentucky who died recently at age 72.
McHendrix retired this past April as Boone County Emergency
Coordinator after 23 years of service. "Jake was a loyal and dedicated
ham and he will be missed greatly by all of us who were lucky enough
to call him friend," said ARRL Great Lakes Division Vice Director Gary
Johnston, KI4LA. [ANS thanks the ARRL for this information]

ANS is always dedicated to the memory of past ANS editor 'BJ'
Arts, WT0N, and to the memory of long-time AMSAT supporter
Werner Haas, DJ5KQ.

ANS salutes Faust Gonset, W6VR, Amateur Radio author
and technician and founder of Gonset Laboratories. W6VR is
best known for bringing affordable VHF equipment to amateur
market. He is among the inaugural group of 50 inductees into the
CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. The Hall was established to recognize
those individuals, whether licensed radio amateurs or not, who
significantly affected the course of Amateur Radio; and radio amateurs,
who, in the course of their professional lives, had a significant impact on
their professions or on world affairs. AMSAT and OSCAR
supporters/notables on the CQ Hall of Fame list include K1JT, K1ZZ,
W6SAI, W2SKE, W8JK, K7UGA, W6ZH, W3ASK, W1HR, KA9Q and
W3IWI. [ANS thanks CQ Amateur Radio magazine, published by CQ
Communications, Inc. for this information]

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-217.01
AO-40 UPDATE

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 217.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 05, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-217.01

AO-40 status continues this week as before; currently the U/L-1 to S-2
passbands are active. The current ALON/ALAT is providing low squint
angles (especially in the Northern Hemisphere), allowing excellent
downlink signals.

AO-40 experimental transponder operation started on May 05, 2001 at
approximately 08:00 UTC when the U-band and L1-band uplinks were
connected to the S-2 transmitter passband downlink for the first
time - via the onboard Matrix switch.

AO-40 command station Stacey Mills, W4SM, tells ANS that orbit 345
(which started at approximately 19:50 UTC on July 30th) was significant
because it featured continued testing of the RUDAK system.

During orbit 345, which was visible by South America, most of North 
America, Africa, and Europe; the transponder passbands and the middle
beacon were on from MA-10 to MA-37. At approximately 22:35 UTC
(MA-37), the transponder passband and middle beacon were turned
off for RUDAK software loading.

RUDAK testing continued on August 3rd, during orbit 349.

W4SM also reports that for the immediate future, the passbands can be
assumed to be on from MA-10 through 99.

Stay tuned to ANS, the official source of AO-40 information.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-217.02
MISSION STS-105 NEARS LAUNCH

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 217.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 05, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-217.02

The next shuttle mission to the International Space Station is currently
undergoing final preparations as the August launch date nears. Top
priorities for the shuttle Discovery crew during the mission is the
rotation of the ISS crew, bringing water, equipment and supplies
to the station and completion of a series of spacewalks and robotics
tasks.

International Space Station program priorities include the following
tasks:

* water transfer from the shuttle to the station

* rotation of the Expedition-2 and Expedition-3 crews

* transfer of critical cargo from the shuttle mid-deck to the station

* berth the Multipurpose Logistics Module (MLM) to the station

* complete checkout of the MLM module

* transfer and stow return cargo in the MLM module and return the
  module to the shuttle cargo bay

Spacewalk and robotics activities during the mission include installation
of the Early Ammonia Servicer along with preparation for future station
assembly modules, including laying heater cables for a planned (future)
truss segment.

ANS will follow the launch, in-orbit activities and return to Earth of 
Mission STS-105.

[ANS thanks NASA and Roy Neal, K6DUE, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-217.03
ANS IN BRIEF

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 217.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 05, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-217.03

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

** The existence of a large Moon in orbit around the Earth and its
implications for the origin and nature of life have been a subject of
considerable discussion. With models for the catastrophic origin of
the Moon by glancing collision, it becomes clear that our Moon is a
rare celestial object and that few Earth-like planets could have
produced such a chance outcome during their assembly. -SpaceDaily

** ESA is organizing Teach Space 2001, the first ISS education
conference for teachers, this October in the Netherlands. ESA is
inviting teachers to enter space-related projects for this event.
The conference will enable teachers, companies and space enthusiasts
to share ideas with colleagues from other European countries. Teachers
will also have an opportunity to show their own space projects with the
best space projects selected for presentation. -ESA

** Will, KC6ROL, and Charlie, AJ9N, report the Joan Martin School ham
contact with Jim Voss aboard the International Space Station (using
NA1SS)went very well. Mike, KF9WW, was the control operator for the
contact and he and his crew did a great job. Contact was made with the
space station within about 5-seconds of AOS! Seventeen students had
their questions answered before loss-of-signal. There were two
newspapers and a PBS TV station at the school to watch the contact.
Congratulations to all! -ANS

** Boeing Satellite Systems and IBM recently announced they have
created what they feel is the world's most powerful satellite-based
digital signal processor, designed to make space-borne wireless
communications available to a wide audience of users. -SpaceDaily

** Meeting recently in Connecticut, the ARRL Board of Directors adopted
a goal of legislative action to provide amateurs the same protections
from real estate covenants, conditions and restrictions now enjoyed
under FCC rules by home satellite dish owners. BOD members felt that
amateurs should be granted the right to install an antenna having a
visual impact similar to that of a home television satellite dish or other
antenna that falls under the FCC's Over the Air Reception Devices
policy. -ARRL Letter

** The latest AMSAT-ZL Newsletter included an article on four of the
more popular S-band downconverters. Following this, AMSAT-ZL
members conducted additional bench tests and posted the results
the AMSAT-ZL page at: http://www.nzart.org.nz/amsatzl/downcons.html
-Terry ZL3QL.

**  China is said to be ready to launch its third unmanned spaceship
soon to pave the way for sending the first Chinese astronaut into
space sometime next year. In addition, China is in final testing and
preparation to launch a new satellite dedicated to study ocean
colors and related phenomena. The launch may come as early as
this month. -SpaceDaily

--ANS BULLETIN END---

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-217.04
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 217.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 05, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-217.04

Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40
Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher
from Kourou, French Guiana. 
Status: Currently, the U/L-1 to S-2 passbands are active.

AO-40 experimental transponder operation started on May 05, 2001 at
approximately 08:00 UTC when the U-band and L1-band uplinks were
connected to the S-2 transmitter passband downlink via the Matrix
switch.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL and the ARRL for this information]

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:                    145.800 MHz
TNC callsign                                 NOCALL

ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis.
ARISS is made up of delegates from major national Amateur Radio
organizations, including AMSAT.

Status: Operational. Voice contacts with ISS have been made recently.
The ISS packet station is available for UI packets (APRS or UI QSL).
The mailbox and keyboard are currently disabled. Please see the packet
section of the ARISS web page before attempting to first work ISS on
packet.

The ARISS-US team delivered a new packet module to NASA. This new
packet module is expected to correct several of the problems that have
been observed on the current ARISS packet system. Expedition-3
astronaut Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, is planning to make the
packet module change-out early in his ISS tour of duty (in August).

The ISS daily crew schedule (which gives an idea when crew members
have free time and may be available for Amateur Radio operations) can
be found at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/2001/may/index.html

U.S. callsign:                  NA1SS
Russian callsigns:          RS0ISS, RZ3DZR

The QSL routes for W/VE stations working NA1SS aboard the
International Space Station:

U.S. stations:              	Margie Bourgoin KB1DCO
                                    	Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2) QSL
                                    	ARRL, 225 Main Street
                                    	Newington, Connecticut 06111

Canadian stations:      	Radio Amateurs of Canada
                                    	Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2) QSL
                                    	720 Belfast Road, Suite 217
                                    	Ottawa, Ontario K1G 0Z5

European stations:	AMSAT-France
16, rue de la Vallee
91360 Epinay sur Orge, France

A self-addressed, stamped envelope is required to get a QSL in return.
The ARISS international group has not yet finalized a QSL card design.
It will be a few months before cards become available. More information
about the project can be found on the ARISS web site at:

http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov

[ANS thanks ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, for this
information]

RADIO SPORT RS-12
Uplink                           145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink                       29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon                         29.408 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: RS-12 was re-activated in mode-A on January 1, 2001

The latest information on 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

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for RS-12 information]

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 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

[ANS thanks Dave Guimont, WB6LLO, for this information]

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 heard and worked 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 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

TEPR states on AO-27 were reset on March 24, 2001 as follows:

TEPR 4 is 38 / TEPR 5 is 78 (TEPR 5 is now 20 minutes long)

[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, features UO-14 information on the Michigan AMSAT
web site -- point your web browser to the following URL:

http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-14 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

Tak, JA2PKI, reported FO-20 control station operators believe that the
UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the transponder. The
controller monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the batteries from
over discharge.

[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

Last reported, the JARL FO-29 command station announced the
operation schedule of FO-29 through October 2001 - is mode JA

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]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-217.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 217.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 05, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-217.05

TIUNGSAT-1
Uplink               145.850 or 145.925 MHz 9600-baud FSK
Downlink           437.325 MHz
Broadcast callsign  	MYSAT3-11
BBS                        	MYSAT3-12

Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Operational at
38k4-baud FSK

Chris, G7UPN, tells ANS that TiungSat-1 has been operating at a data
rate of 38k4. Data recovery at 38k4 is reported to be extremely good with
efficiencies near 100%. The output power is at 8-watts "which should
provide a very good downlink," said Chris, adding "the downside is that
with the high power transmitter operating, the power budget is negative
so we can't support continuous operation."

According to G7UPN, TiungSat-1 now requires the Amateur Radio
station to switch the downlink 'on' when the satellite comes into range.
The way this works is for the ground station software to send a request
to the spacecraft to switch the downlink on. The spacecraft receives this
request and checks the battery voltage to see if it can support the
operation, and if it can it will activate the downlink.

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

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

KITSAT KO-25
Uplink               145.980 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           436.500 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign         HL02-11
BBS                             HL02-12

Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Operational

Jim, AA7KC, informed ANS that KO-25 returned to service on July 12th.
AA7KC last reported downlink efficiency to be in the 50% range with
light traffic.

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

UOSAT UO-22
Uplink               145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600-baud FSK
Downlink           435.120 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign        UOSAT5-11
BBS                             	UOSAT5-12

Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Non-operational

Chris, G7UPN, reported that UO-22 has been closed for amateur
activity for a short duration while command stations assess the
state of the RAM disk. Over the past few weeks there have been
increasing difficulties downloading larger files from the spacecraft.
The store and forward communications system was reloaded
recently and it is hoped that that this will fix the problem. Once the
problem has been assessed and resolved the BBS will be reopened.

UO-22 has been operating at 100% since the last reload in
November 1999.

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 information and
Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for 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

Clive, G3CWV, reported to ANS that during the period 09-June to
14-July there have been three noteworthy events with OSCAR 11.

First, reports of unusually strong mode-S beacon reception were
received from VK5HI and G4SDG. A possible explanation for these
strong signals might be that the fault which has caused low output
power for many years, may be intermittent, perhaps triggered by the
lower battery voltages which are currently occurring. Ground control
have confirmed that the S-band beacon has the same modulation as
the 145 MHz beacon, but the modulation level is very low.

Secondly, the rate at which the SEU counter increments has
approximately doubled, to about 390 counts per day.  Decoding the
SEU binary telemetry shows regular memory failure at locations 3EC0
and 37B1. Less frequent faults at locations 1873 and 18F3 have also
been recorded. The failure of 3EC0 started around 12-May 2001.
Location 37B1 failed in August 1994. Unfortunately the presence of
permanent memory failures masks the occurrence of less frequent
random memory failures, which could be observed before the 1994
failure.

Finally, the Z-axis magnetorquer counter reached its limit of 1024 on
23-June. This has stopped further active attitude control. The satellite's
attitude is now controlled solely by the passive gravity boom gradient.
Prior to this the spin control had been working well, with periods in range
from 338 to 343 seconds.

Reliable signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The
battery voltage observed during daylight passes is unchanged with
average value observed at 13.4 - with a range of 13.0 to 13.5 volts.
The internal temperatures have continued to decrease by a further
one degree C and are now at -1.2C and -2.6C for battery and telemetry
electronics respectively. The WOD survey of channels 1, 2, 3, 61
(X, Z, Y magnetometers and status) dated 24-March, has been
transmitted.

OSCAR-11 hardware generated time in the ASCII telemetry is now
15.5 minutes ahead of UTC, and the date is three days advanced.
Unfortunately these errors cannot be corrected.

The operating schedule is 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 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]

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
Broadcast Callsign:       PACSAT-11
BBS                               PACSAT-12

Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater command is on.

A new WOD collection of current graphics along with general
Information and telemetry samples can be found at:

www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information]

UoSAT-12 UO-36
Uplink               145.960 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           437.025 MHz 437.400 MHz
Broadcast Callsign         UO121-11
BBS                                UO121-12

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
Broadcast Callsign         ITMSAT-11
BBS                                ITMSAT-12

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-217.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 217.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 05, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-217.06

THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL
AT THIS TIME:

TMSAT-1 TO-31
Uplink               145.925 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           436.925 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Broadcast Callsign:        TMSAT1-11
BBS                                TMSAT1-12 

Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Status: Non-operational, no data downlinked
since December 18, 2000.

Chris G7UPN, (UoSAT operations manager) reports the
following to ANS:

The TO-31 downlink will be off over most areas, with the exception of
Europe and Thailand. This is required to allow control stations to
recondition the battery with minimum power drain.

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]

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)
Broadcast Callsign         LUSAT-11
BBS                                LUSAT-12
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French
Guiana. Status: Beacon only. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry
channels and one status channel on 437.126 MHz. No BBS service is
available. The digipeater is not active.

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Fri Jul 13 21:53:51 2001
CW-Code: avt aba av6 abn au6 a6v ttu aee
 5V-reg.:   4.89 V      8.5V-reg:   8.68 V
 10V-Bat:  10.94 V      10V-Curr:  114.1 mA
 TX-Pwr :  0.899 W      TX-Temp.:  -0.46 ?C
 +Z-Sol.:   0.30 V      Box-Temp:   3.56 ?C

CW-Code: avt aba av6 abn aub a6u ttu aee
 5V-reg.:   4.89 V      8.5V-reg:   8.68 V
 10V-Bat:  10.94 V      10V-Curr:  113.4 mA
 TX-Pwr :  0.899 W      TX-Temp.:  -0.46 ?C
 +Z-Sol.:   0.30 V      Box-Temp:   3.20 ?C

General information and decode values of
CW telemetry can find it in:
www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu/lo19

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]

SO-41  SAUDISAT-1A

Uplink               to be released
Downlink           437.075 MHz 
Broadcast Callsign         SASAT1-11
BBS                                SASAT1-12

Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown, this satellite
has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional
information.

When/if operational, 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.

SO-42  SAUDISAT-1B
Uplink               to be released
Downlink           436.775 MHz
Broadcast Callsign         SASAT2-11
BBS                                SASAT2-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown, this satellite
has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional
information.

When/if operational, 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.

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: Non-operational

The SunSat team released the following statement, dated
February 1, 2001:

We regret to announce that the last communication with SunSat from our
ground station at the Electronic Systems Laboratory at Stellenbosch
University took place recently. We are certain, after having performed
several tests since the last contact, that an irreversible, physical failure
has occurred on the satellite. It is therefore unlikely that we will have
any further contact with SunSat, apart from the occasional visual sighting
by telescope!

When it was operational the SunSat package included 1200 and 9600
baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater
system in addition to Mode B/J operation with two VHF and two UHF
transmit-receive systems.

For more information on SunSat visit the following URL:

http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za 

[ANS thanks Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, for this information]

RADIO SPORT RS-13
Uplink                           21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink                       145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon                         145.860 MHz

Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: non-operational (last operational in mode-T)

RS-12 was re-activated in January 2001. Prior to this switch RS-13 was
operational (mode T), but was apparently turned off following the recent
RS-12 switch.

The latest information on 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

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information]

KITSAT KO-23
Uplink               145.900 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           435.170 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign         HLO1-11
BBS                                HLO1-12
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, reported that KO-23's downlink transmitter continues in
non-operational status. Jim says that KO-23 shows some signs of trying
to recover, but no useful data has been downlinked. The duration of this
status is unpredictable. No data has been received since
October 28, 2000.

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/was underway.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ,
for KO-23 status information]

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.

[ANS has no further information]

PANSAT PO-34
Uplink/downlink frequency (listed on the PanSat web site) 436.500 MHz
Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery. Status: Unknown

The satellite is not available for general uplink transmissions.

The Naval Postgraduate School developed PanSat. 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).

[ANS has no further information]

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.

[ANS has no further information]

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.

[ANS has no further information]

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://seds.uah.edu/projects/sedsat/sedsat.htm

[ANS has no further information]

/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

----
Via the ans mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe ans" to Majordomo@amsat.org