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[jamsat-news:541] ANS-138 WEEKLY BULLETINS


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SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-138.01
KB5HBR TO BE ACTIVE ON MIR

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 138.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 18, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-138.01

Ham-astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, took off on the space shuttle
Atlantis Thursday, May 15, to swap places with colleague Jerry
Linenger, KB5HBR, aboard the Russian Mir space station.  Foale was
one of several hams aboard Atlantis for the STS-84 mission, the
sixth docking with Mir.  He is scheduled to remain aboard Mir until
September.

Other hams on the STS-84 crew include Commander Charles Precourt,
KB5YSQ, and Mission Specialists Edward Lu, KC5WKJ, Carlos Noriega,
KC5WKK, and Jean-Francois Clervoy, KC5WKG.  The Atlantis is carrying
badly needed replacement equipment for the Mir space station,
including a new oxygen-generation unit.

During the STS-84 pre-flight press conference, Foale talked about
ham radio and his stay aboard Mir.  Foale said he took his ham radio
exam in preparation for the STS-56 shuttle mission.  ''My commander
then (Ken Cameron, KB5AWP) was a pretty serious radio ham, and he
encouraged the whole crew to do it,'' Foale said.  ''Since then, I've
enjoyed taking part in those activities, and I do look forward very
much to using the ham radio on the Mir throughout my stay there to
talk to anybody who can speak to me in either English, American, or
Russian.''

Foale said he's open to talk about anything and with anybody. ''I
really enjoy having slightly longer contacts than just the brief
collections of QSOs we do on shuttle.  As a long-duration crew
member, I'm hoping that (hams) will allow me to talk longer with
them, so I can have some contact with them and their countries and
understand the people's conditions where they live as I fly over
them.''

NASA says its Shuttle Web will provide continuous audio and video
coverage of the STS-84 shuttle-Mir mission in a second test of the
latest technology for streaming video over the Internet.  Links to
the video stream are available on the NASA Shuttle Web,
http://shuttle.nasa.gov.

[ANS thanks the ARRL for this report.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-138.02
PRE-WRC-97 TALKS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 138.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 18, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-138.02

The ITU Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) for WRC 97 has just
concluded two weeks of deliberations in Geneva, Switzerland.  The
work of CPM has resulted in the preparation of a 250+ page book of
combined technical output from the various ITU study groups as well
as the concerns of the member states.

Issues of special interest to radio amateurs that were taken up in
preparation for WRC 97 included the possibility of additional
frequency allocations to the Mobile Satellite Service operating
below 1 GHz--familiar to hams as ''the little LEO issue.''  No
specific frequencies have been identified in the CPM report for
reallocation.  Although the report does address a number of sharing
possibilities, it makes no mention of sharing with the Amateur
Service.  In addition, a new concept of ''broad allocations'' was
introduced.  If adopted, this concept would result in individual
nations being able to identify and allocate frequencies from a broad
pool of service allocations.  This concept, being quite new and
unstudied, only resulted in a call for future studies by the ITU.
However, it will be watched closely by radio amateurs as it might
have the potential of representing a threat to our bands.  It is
likely that any such studies will be prolonged over a multi-year
period.

Of course, the work of WRC 97 will be guided by specific proposals
submitted by individual nations.  At present, countries have not yet
finalized nor submitted their proposals.  Until they do, the amateur
community will not be able to accurately assess the threats to our
bands for this conference.

Unfortunately, the Little LEOs are not the only new service
searching for spectrum.  One newcomer is the Earth Exploration
Satellite Service's use of synthetic aperture radar (EESS active)
for a system of spaceborne sensors designed to collect information
about environmental issues and other similar data.  A variety of
frequencies is being sought, possibly including 430 to 440 MHz. The
amateur and amateur satellite service status in this band is
somewhat complex, varying by ITU Region and even by individual
country.  So far, studies of sharing possibilities between the
amateur and EESS (active) have not shown them to be compatible
because of the interference level experienced when the two classes
of stations are within line of sight.

There is also a type of EESS (active) which would make use of 1215
to 1300 MHz which is of concern to amateurs.  Studies here show
compatibility with some types of services but still represent a
potential source of interference to amateur operations.

Over the next 90 days, the various member countries of ITU
interested in seeking specific allocations for these services at WRC
97 will be making proposals for the work of the conference.

The ARRL--as the spokesman for Amateur Radio in the US--is actively
participating in the work of the relevant ITU bodies on these
matters along with the IARU.

[ANS thanks the ARRL for this report.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-138.03
FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 138.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 18, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-138.03

The 12th AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be held at Surrey University, Guildford,
Surrey, U.K., from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th July 1997. This year's event
will comprise three days of technical and operational matters only; there
will be NO "political" subjects.

Amsat-UK invite authors to submit papers, about amateur radio space and
associated activities, for this event and for the "Proceedings" document
which will be published at the same time. We normally prefer authors to
present the papers themselves rather than having someone else read them in
the authors' absence, but we also welcome "unpresented" papers for the
document.

Abstracts of Papers should be submitted as soon as possible; the final date
for full documents is 15 June 1997 in order that the "Proceedings" document
be available to participants.
Submissions should be sent *ONLY* to G3RWL, via the following routes:
Internet e-mail:  g3rwl@amsat.org
Packet Radio:     G3RWL @ GB7HSN.#32.GBR.EU
Satellite:        AO16/19/22/23/25
Terrestrial mail: R W L Limebear G3RWL
                  60 Willow Road
                  Enfield EN1 3NQ
                  United Kingdom.
Information about the Colloquium is available on the World Wide Web pages
at the University of Surrey on:
http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/CSER/UOSAT/amateur/colloq97.html

NOTE. SEND ALL OTHER INQUIRIES ABOUT COLLOQUIUM-97 TO 
THE AMSAT-UK OFFICE: AMSAT-UK
LONDON E12 5EQ

[ANS thanks R W L Limebear, G3RWL, for this news.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-138.04
ROCKOON LAUNCHES SUCCESSFULLY

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 138.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 18, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-138.04

The HALO team met at the launch site in Hampstead, NC in the wee hours
of Sunday morning, May 11th. It was very cold (frost collected on the
equipment) with absolutely no wind. Perfect conditions for a balloon
flight!
As the rocket crew tested out the payload and command electronics and 
fueled the rocket with nitrous oxide, the balloon crew unfurled the 
delicate plastic envelope on the protective ground tarp, attached the 
Kjome launcher and started the inflation process. 

 As the sun poked up above the horizon, and with just 30 minutes to
go before our FAA launch window closed, we ran across 2 nearly empty tanks
of helium. Concerned that we would not have enough helium in the balloon
to lift the rocket payload, we searched Hampstead and nearby Topsail Beach
for helium (not an easy task early on Saturday morning). It turned out the
local Food Lion store had two tanks they used for party balloons and sold
them to us. This saved the day and allowed us to achieve final flight lift.
The rocket crew lifted the payload and stretched the lines tight, the fill
tube on the balloon was tied off and the call to the FAA went out for 
imminent lift off. With just 5 minutes to go before the deadline, we 
released the balloon at 6:59 am EDT and the rockoon headed up smoothly 
into the still morning sky on its way to the stratosphere.

 Spectacular color video of the balloon and the side of the rocket
launch tube could be seen in the command tent. The rocket video was
viewable
on another monitor, but little could be seen due to the protective plastic
wrap around the gondola.

 The GPS telemetry downlinked via packet radio in APRS format started
to get weak after the rockoon exceeded 23,000 feet. The signal faded 
completely into the noise and we unable to record any more usable position 
and altitude reports from that point onward. We think that the internal 
antenna for the packet transmitter put most of the radio signal up and 
down, but very little signal made it towards the horizon as the payload 
headed out nearly 120 miles out over the Atlantic.

 At 8:21 am, we  calculated the estimated altitude of the
rockoon based on the ascent rate to be around 60,000 feet. Bill Brown said,
"Since we are now above 49,000 feet, the barometric rocket safety switches 
are now armed and the rocket can be fired at anytime." Of course, we were 
hoping to reach at least 100,000 feet before firing off the rocket. 
Just 30 seconds later, Brow happened to be looking at the video of the 
balloon envelope and thought that the balloon looked pretty full. Just
then,
one of the seams tore wide open, dumped out all of the helium and the 
balloon just folded up into a long streamer of plastic! As the rocket and 
gondola dropped rapidly, Brown shouted out to Ed KE4ROC, "Fire that rocket 
NOW!". We had just over a minute to issue the fire command before the 
safety switch disarmed the rocket at 49,000 feet.

 Ed keyed down the 2 meter transmitter and anxiously entered the firing
code via touchtones. Nothing happened...He tried another time...nothing...
and then a third (we had only seconds left before the safeties cut in). 
All of a sudden there was a bright flash and a cloud of smoke and the 
rocket leaped out of the gondola and off towards space. Bits of plastic 
tape and the plastic covering shredded off and fluttered past the camera 
view as the gondola continued its rapid descent. Miraculously, the camera 
had survived the rocket exhaust blast and continued to work flawlessly 
until the gondola splashed into the Atlantic Ocean. 

They were treated to flashes of video from the rocket for about 30 seconds
showing tantalizing views of the curve of the Earth. Since the rocket was
spinning around, the ATV signal fluttered in and out and made it difficult
to lock onto a good picture. After that, the video signal ceased and the
rocket parachuted down into the Atlantic. We estimate our peak altitude
at 38 nautical miles. Both the gondola and the rocket splashed down about
120 miles east of the launchsite and 50 miles from the nearest land. Since
the GPS signals were unavailable, we were unable to direct the chase boat
to an accurate splashdown location. The rocket and gondola were very small
straws in an extremely large haystack and as a result, the chase boat did
not recover the payloads.

[ANS thanks Bill Brown, WB8ELK), for this information.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-138.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 138.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 18, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-138.05

MIR: 
(New frequencies implemented 1 January 1997:
Uplink 145.2 MHz FM Downlink  145.8 MHz FM) 
Note, the above split is used for both packet and voice operation.
ANS has received information that states that all
amateur activity from MIR  has been suspended until
further notice.

SAFEX, MIR 70cm Repeater
(Uplink 435.750 MHz FM, Downlink 437.950 MHz FM, 
Subaudible tone 141.3 Hz)
ANS has received information that states that all
amateur activity from MIR  has been suspended until
further notice.

RS-10
(Uplink 145.865-145.905 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.36-29.4 MHz CW/SSB) 
RS-10 is operational.

RS-12
(Uplink 21.21-21.25 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.41-29.45 MHz or
145.91-145.95 Mhz CW/SSB) 
Signals on RS-12 in North America during May and June (almost 
exclusively daylight passes) are weakened by increased ionospheric 
activity which is keeping 15m active during the daylight hours.  
This makes it especially important for the 'old timers' to warn the 
newcomers on RS-12 to set their uplink frequency and leave it alone to 
prevent sweeping across the 15m band and QRM-ing the terrestrial QSOs 
in progress
[ANS thanks Dick Montgomery, N3DV, for this update.]

RS-15
(Uplink 145.858-145.898 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.354-29.394 MHz CW/SSB) 
Be aware that RS-15 has battery charging problems. When the satellite is
in the dark it has low output power..
[ANS thanks Geoff Perry  for this report.]
(Hint: If SSB doesn't work for you, try CW. CW is very easy
to hear on the downlink!)

RS-16
RS-16's 70 cm, 435.504 Mhz beacon on RS-16 operational. 
RS16 had no beacons active on 10 meters ,2 meters .
[ANS thanks Kip Pettersson, SM1TDX, for this report.]

FO-20 
(Uplink 145.9-146.0 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9
MHz CW/USB) 
Operating normally. Strong downlink signal.

KO-23 
(Uplink 145.85, 145.9 MHz FM, Downlink 435.175 MHz FM,
9600 Baud FSK.) 
KO-23 operating normally.

KO-25
(Uplink 145.980 MHz FM, Downlink 436.5 MHz FM,
9600 Baud FSK.)
KO-25 operating normally.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for his reports on
KO-25 and KO-23.]
 
AO-27
(Uplink 145.85 MHz FM, Downlink: 
 436.792 MHz FM (As of April 1, 1997) 
 Operating normally. The satellite continuous working 
excellently over.

Current AO-27 schedule information can be found at
 www.umbra.com

  Tepr 4 = 32 counts   16 Minutes
  Tepr 5 = 66 counts   18 Minutes

AO-27 Will turn on Every pass 16 Minutes after entering the sun and will 
stay on for 18 minutes.  This corrects the early shut off that has been 
going on for the passed few weeks.

Northern Stations will see the satellite turn on after AOS for the next 
week or so.  This is due to the TEPR states being calculated for a while 
from now instead of Today.  So the schedule will be drifting into a better 
state.  This gives us a longing time before the schedule gets out of whack.

Thanks goes out to the Alternate Control Station KM4NZ/N1XAU for the use 
of their station via the Internet for Controlling the satellite.  With 
new software that lets me control the satellite at remote sights, He hopes 
to be able to keep the TEPR Schedule more up to date.
[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op, and Miguel A.
Menendez, EA1BCU, for this update.]

FO-29 
Voice/CW
(Uplink 145.9-146.0 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9 MHz CW/USB) 
Digital
(Uplink 145.85, 145.87, 145.910 MHz FM, Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud 
BPSK)
The latest FO-29 Schedule can be found at.
http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~jr1nvu/eindex.html
1997 May 16(Fri)  01:35z JA
         23(Fri)  00:29z JD 1200bps PSK MailBox
         30(Fri)  01:07z JD 9600bps FSK MailBox
     June 6(Fri)  08:25z JA
         13(Fri)  00:39z JD 1200bps PSK MailBox
         20(Fri)  09:41z JD 9600bps FSK MailBox
         27(Fri)  00:11z JA
     July 4(Fri)  09:13z JD Digi-talker
          8(Fri)  09:06z JA
 [ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-138.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 138.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 18, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-138.06

AO-10
 (Uplink 435.030-435.18 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 145.975-145.825 MHz 
CW/USB) 
AO-10 has been FM'ing and downlink signals have been
very weak.

Stacey Mills, W4SM, reports that the chances of
damaging AO-10 by uplinking during "FM'ing" are probably
remote.  The caution mainly stems from a theoretical consideration.
AO-10's latching relays are set to the omni antenna and the transponder is
on in Mode-B configuration.  This all turns out to be perfect since we
can't control the attitude, etc.  Each time there's a power spike the
chance exists that the IHU could have a "seizure" and blurt out a pulse to
switch the antennas to higain, switch the transponder off or whatever.  Of
course these spikes occur every time we come out of eclipse, but the idea
is to do what we can to minimize the number of power spikes.  Occasionally
spikes have "activated" the IHU in the past and caused the beacon to send
out nonsensical data rather than the current constant carrier for short
periods of time. ..and it isn't clear when AO-10 switched to the omni
antenna,
[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, for this report.]

OSCAR-11
(Downlink 145.825 MHz. FM, 1200 Baud PSK. Beacon 2401.500 MHz..)
Operating normally.
During the period 16-April  to  14-May  reliable  signals  have  been
received  from the 145.826 MHz. beacon. The UHF beacon on 435.025 was
also heard on Wednesday April 30 at 15:40 UTC, when the satellite was
being commanded by ground control.  Binary WOD  continued  after  the
satellite had been switched back to 145 MHz.
Telemetry  nominal.   The  battery  voltage  has recently improved to
around 13.9 volts, and the internal temperatures  have  continued  to
fall,  due  to  solar  eclipses.   The  battery  temperature is now 4
degrees C, or 18 degree below the full sunlight condition.

Three AMSAT bulletins by Richard G3RWL have  been  uploaded.   Topics
have  included the UNAMSAT failure, RS-16 news, shuttle and MIR news.
Bulletins always include current Keplerian elements for OSCAR-11, and
often for satellites featured in the bulletin.

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

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT) 
(Uplink 145.9, 145.92, 145.94, 145.86 MHz FM, Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 
1200 Baud PSK. Beacon 2401.1428 Mhz.)

Russ Platt WJ9F, AO-16 Command Team , reports the digipeater on AO-16 has 
been on for the last couple of months.  In regards to the 2.4 GHz 
transmitter,  it does continue to work although WJ9F has not been leaving 
it on for an entire orbit due to its high current load on the 10 v bus.
The battery charging scheme on the micros is managed during  sunlight
by adjusting the RCPSK transmitter power up or down to charge and
not overcharge the batteries since we have no way to turn the solar
cells off.  The S-band transmitter does not have the ability to vary
its output so it is a high current draw throughout the orbit.  In the
past during Experimenters Days when we have turned on the S-Band
transmitter I had to scale back the output of the RCPSK transmitter
to levels that were difficult to receive and even with these low levels
the onboard software will still turn off the S-band TX if the Battery
voltage drops too low, which it did..
[ANS thanks Russ Platt WJ9F, AO-16 Command Team  for this report.]

Graphic information about WOD/Telemetry values can be found at:
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/ao16.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]

DO-17(DOVE)
( Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK.
Beacon 2401.220 MHz.)
.[ANS thanks Jim white, WD0E, DO-17 Command Team, for this news.]

WEBERSAT (WO-18) 
(Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK AX.25.)
Webersat (WO-18) is currently in MBL mode after a system 
crash. The satellite appears to be in good condition broadcasting 
MBL telemetry.
[ANS thanks Tommy Davis, IK3WVJ,  for this report.]

LUSAT-OSCAR-19 
(Uplink 1200 bps Manchester FSK Uplinks:
145.84, 145.86, 145.88, 145.9 MHz FM, Downlink 437.1528 MHz SSB, 
1200 bps RC-BPSK.)
Graphic and general information about Telemetry values can be found at:
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/lo19.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]

IO-26 ( ITAMSAT)
(Uplink 145.875, 145.9, 145.925, 145.95MHz FM, Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB, 
1200 Baud PSK.)
IO-26 controllers report that the spacecraft is now in IHT mode.  The new
ROBOT software is under currently undergoing tests.  The beacon reports
that the digipeater is OFF and that the ROBOT is undergoing tests.
Controllers ask that groundstations please do not transmit on any of
the satellite's uplink frequencies for the time being.
[ANS thanks Daniele Piercarlo, IK2XRO, ITMSAT Command Station for this 
report.]

[Please send your Satellite or News reports to ANS Editor B.J. Arts, WT0N, 
via e-mail, at bjarts@the-bridge.net or to wt0n@amsat.org]

/EX

BJ Arts  
Amateur callsign: WT0N  
ARMY MARS callsign: AAR5EL
Grid Sqaure EN-37
Hibbing, Minnesota. U.S.A. 
e-mail bjarts@the-bridge.net or wt0n@amsat.org
Amsat News Service Bulletin Editor