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[jamsat-news:713] ANS-341 WEEKLY BULLETINS


BJ Arts, WT0N Amsat News Service editor 
Daniel (Dan)  James, NN0DJ,
Amsat News Service Assistant Bulletin editor

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-341.01
ISS CREWS NAMED

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 07, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-341.01

NASA recently named the first team members to live and work aboard the 
International Space Station, and four crew members already hold ham
tickets. In addition, several of the crew members are studying for their
licenses. 

The first crew will consist of American astronaut William M. Shepherd,
as the expedition commander. Shepherd is currently studying for his
ticket. He'll be accompanied by Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and
Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. The crew is training for an early 1999 launch
and a planned five-month mission on the ISS. 

The second crew, headed by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev, R3MIR, will 
include US astronauts Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, and James S. Voss, who's 
indicated an interest in getting his ham ticket.

No licensed hams are among the third crew, which will be headed by
astronaut Kenneth Bowersox and will include Russian crewmates Vladimir
Dezhurov and Mikahil Turin. Bowersox also has said he'd like to get his
ham license.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko will head the fourth crew. US
astronauts Carl Walz, KC5TIE, and Daniel Bursch will accompany him.

AMSAT-NA's VP of Manned Space, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, reports that the
international team developing the ISS ham radio station is now working hard
to incorporate a transportable ham station for ISS, and deliver this
equipment to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for flight
certification in June, 1998. Initially, ISS crews will inhabit the service 
module, which will include a ham radio antenna, with ham gear scheduled to 
be delivered aboard the STS-96 shuttle flight. Microsat/repeater payloads 
are tentatively scheduled to arrive in early 2002, expanding ham radio 
capability aboard the station.

Stay tuned to ANS for more information on ham radio's planned
presence on ISS as it develops.

[ANS thanks the ARRL, NASA and Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for 
this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-341.02
PHASE 3D UPDATE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 07, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-341.02

Phase 3D Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, recently visited the 
Phase 3D Integration Lab in Orlando for a top-to-bottom review of 
Phase 3D's status. The Phase 3D satellite was to have been aboard 
the Ariane 502 flight October 30, but ESA's revision of launch 
environments, and the consequent structural modifications to the
satellite's spaceframe made it impossible for Phase 3D to meet the 
502 flight schedule.

According to AMSAT-NA President Bill Tynan, W3XO, the structural work
is now essentially complete and the crew at the Orlando Lab are beginning 
to re-install electronic modules and other equipment which had to be 
removed so that the structural work could proceed. Following this tests 
will be conducted to confirm satisfactory interoperability of all of the 
Satellite's various sub-systems and then environmental testing will take
place. 

Tynan further stated that he doesn't expect any new information concerning
a launch date and vehicle for Phase 3D until well after European space
authorities determine the root cause of the early engine shutdown that took
place on the recent Ariane 502 flight. 

Keith Baker, KB1SF, AMSAT-NA's Executive Vice President noted that
according to the original schedule, the next Ariane 5 vehicle (503) is due
to lift off in May, 1998, for the final qualification flight of the Ariane
5 program. The first Ariane 5 commercial launch (L504) is currently
planned for the second half of 1998.

[ANS thanks Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, Keith Baker, KB1SF, and Bill Tynan, W3XO,
 for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-341.03
DOVE QSL UPDATE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 07, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-341.03

Jim White, WD0E, reports strong requests for Dove (DO-17) QSL cards.
To receive a DOVE QSL, receiving stations need to send a request
indicating the date, time and frequency the satellite was received. Jim
reports that it is not necessary to send a breakdown of the satellite
telemetry or a printout of received data. Include a self addressed
stamped envelope (SASE) or an addressed envelope with an International
Reply Coupon (IRC) with your request. Reception reports should be sent
to; 

Dianne White N0IZO
45777 Rampart Road
Parker, Colorado 80138-4316
USA

Jim also notes that for those stations that would like to decode the
DO-17 data, several programs are available to decode the telemetry from 
DOVE. Some shareware decoders can be found on Compuserve and 
America On Line. Also the decoder TLMDCII, which includes an extensive 
.DOC file of information about Microsat telemetry (including DOVE), is 
available from AMSAT-NA.

[ANS thanks Jim White, WD0E, for this update]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-341.04
KB5YSQ TO COMMAND SHUTTLE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 07, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-341.04

NASA has announced that astronaut Charles Precourt will command 
the final space shuttle/MIR docking mission scheduled for May of 1998.
Precourt holds the amateur call KB5YSQ.

The May mission, designated as STS-91, will be aboard the shuttle
Discovery. Precourt has visited the Russian space station twice before.
NASA also announced that the flight crew will include Wendy Lawrence,
KC5KII. 

The May mission will retrieve US astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF, from 
the MIR station. Thomas is scheduled to travel to MIR in January.

[ANS thanks NASA and the ARRL for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-341.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 07, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-341.05

MIR  
Dave Wolf has stated that powering up the radio is "On his
List" and it is hoped that Mir will be back on the air soon.

As part of ongoing frequency experiments to improve Amateur Radio
operations on board MIR, and to better understand how these frequencies 
will be effective on the International Space Station, MIR will begin a
2-phase frequency experiment beginning December 1, 1997 and ending on May 
31, 1997.

For phase 1, a 70cm/2m crosslink experiment will operate for a 3 month
period from December 1, 1997 up to March 1, 1998. 

On December 1, 1997 the MIR operating frequencies will change to:

Uplink: 437.850 MHz           Downlink: 145.800 MHz

Phase 2 of this experiment will use a 2 meter-only set of uplink and
downlink frequencies. This phase of the experiment will begin on 
March 1, 1998 and will also be of 3 months duration.
[ANS thanks the MIREX  team for this information]

SAFEX, MIR 70cm Repeater  (Uplink 435.750 MHz FM, Downlink 437.950 MHz
FM, subaudible tone 141.3 Hz)
The SAFEX activity very intermittent.
[ANS thanks the MIREX  team for this information]

RS-10
(Uplink 145.865-145.905 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.36-29.4 MHz CW/SSB)
Not operational at this time.

RS-12
(Uplink, 145.91-145.95 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.41-29.45 MHz)
Operational, now in mode A. 

RS-15
(Uplink 145.858-145.898 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.354-29.394 MHz CW/SSB) 
Operational. 

RS-16
Transponder information on RS-16.    
                     Uplink = 145.915  - 145.948 MHz
                     Downlink =   29.415  -   29.448 MHz
                     Beacons =    29.408 and 29.451 MHz
                     Pwr 29 MHz Down = 1.2 W /4 W

                     Beacon 1 = 435.504 MHz
                     Beacon 2 = 435.548 MHz
                     Pwr 435 MHz Beacons = 1.6 W

RS-17
Operational. 145.820 MHz
Sputnik RS-17 is still going strong. Its 250 mw beacon has been head
around the world. Sputnik has a tentative life expectancy of 3-6 weeks on 
batteries. There are no solar panels on Sputnik. Since it was launched on 
November 3, 1997, it is expected to last until the December time frame 
( your actual mileage will vary). Attitude
Sputnik is now flying ahead and BELOW the Mir Space Station.

QSL Information is as follows:

Sergej Samburov           (or)            FR5KJ Radio Club
PO Box 73                                 College Jules Reydellet
Kaliningrad - 10 City                     103 Rue de la Republique
Moscow Area 10470                         97 489 Saint Denis Cedex
          Russia                          Reunion Island , France
[ANS thanks the MIREX  team for this information]

AO-10
(Uplink 435.030-435.18 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 145.975-145.825 MHz
CW/USB)
Operational. Stacey Mills, W4SM, would appreciate any perigee
observations of AO-10's beacon or transponder during the next several
weeks until conditions begin to improve. If his orientation figures are
correct, AO-10 should be down to a solar angle of -84 degs with only 11%
illumination. Send reports to w4sm@amsat.org
[ANS  thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, for this report]

AO-27
(Uplink 145.85 MHz FM, Downlink 436.792  MHz FM)
Operational with lots of activity including QRP stations heard over
North America. The control ops have programmed AO-27 to start earlier in 
its pass.
[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op, for this update]

FO-20
(Uplink 145.9-146.0 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9 MHz CW/USB)
Operational. FO-20  in mode JA continuously.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]

FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
(Uplink 145.9-146.0 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9 MHz CW/USB)
Digital Mode JD
(Uplink 145.85, 145.87, 145.910 MHz FM, Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600
baud BPSK)
Operational. FO-29 was in JA mode on December 5th, 1997.
5 Dec. JA
12 Dec. 08:11z  JD 9600
19 Dec. 08:49z  Digi-talker
26 Dec. 07:42z  JA
9 Jan.  07:14z  JD 1200
16 Jan. 07:52z  JD 9600
23 Jan. 08:30z  JA
30 Jan. 07:24z  JD 1200

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report.]
/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-341.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 07, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-341.06

KO-23
(Uplink 145.85, 145.9 MHz FM, Downlink 435.175 MHz FM,
9600 Baud FSK)
KO-23 downlink efficiency is near zero percent.

Stacey Mills, W4SM, has estimated the keps show that KO-23 will not 
experience an eclipses again until December 12th. During the orbits of 
that day, eclipses rapidly increase in duration from 2 to 11 minutes. 
Eclipse length will then continue to increase, peaking at 35 minutes per
orbit in the December 28th thru January 4th time period. Eclipse length 
will then begin slowly decreasing again. KO-23's download efficiency 
has dropped dramatically due to the increasing heat and its affects on 
the signal deviation.
[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, and Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC,
for this report]
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 this report]

OSCAR-11
(Downlink 145.825 MHz. FM, 1200 Baud PSK. Beacon 2401.500 MHz)
Operating normally. During the period of October 14th through November
16th this satellite has continued to provide good signals on its 145.826
MHz beacon.

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)

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

The mode-S beacon is ON, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but
telemetry indicates that it has partially failed, and delivering half
power. This beacon is a useful test source for those testing mode-S
converters, prior to the launch of P3-D. It is considerably weaker
than DOVE, which should be used for initial testing. Any reports of
reception on 2401.00 MHz would be most welcome. Please e-mail reception
reports to g3cwv@amsat.org.

The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally OFF. However it can sometimes be
heard when the satellite is being commanded by ground control, (i.e.
within range of Guildford, UK). When the 435 beacon is transmitting,
the 145 beacon is normally OFF. The data transmitted is mainly
binary.

OSCAR-11 users are welcome to visit the G3CWV web site. It contains 
some software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry and the
WOD survey. There is an archive of raw data (mainly WOD) for analysis, 
which is continually being expanded, as new data is captured. 
The URL is -  http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
[ANS thanks  Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information]

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)
(Uplink 145.9, 145.92, 145.94, 145.86 MHz FM, 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK.
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz.)
Operating normally.
Uptime is 1175/05:55:02. Time is Sat Dec 06 11:22:49 1997
Bat 1 Temp 9.680 D
Bat 2 Temp 4.839 D Baseplt Temp 5.444 D
RC PSK BP Temp 1.209 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 1.814 D
+Y Array Temp 1.814 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 0.603 D
+Z Array Temp 6.654 D
RC PSK TX Out 0.599 W

Total Array C= 0.435 Bat Ch Cur=-0.046 Ifb= 0.024 I+10V= 0.358
TX:010C BCR:84 PWRC:59F BT: A WC:25 EDAC:23

Information about telemetry values and WOD files can be found at
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/wod.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)
DOVE transmits on 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz. It is presently 
sending 1200 baud AX.25 (standard packet) ASCII telemetry about 
every minute on two meters. On S band it transmits PSK flags 
continuously and also the same data as is sent on 2 meters. 
[ANS thanks Jim White, WD0E, for this update]

WEBERSAT (WO-18)
(Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK AX.25)
No report available at this time.

LUSAT-OSCAR-19
(Uplink 1200 bps Manchester FSK Uplinks: 145.84, 145.86, 145.88, 
145.90 MHz FM, Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK.)
Operating normally.
uptime is 899/20:55:24. Time is Sat Dec 06 11:00:34 1997
Bat 1 Temp 2.374 D
Bat 2 Temp 6.301 D Baseplt Temp 1.813 D
RC PSK BP Temp -1.552 D RC PSK HPA Tmp -0.991 D
+Y Array Temp 0.131 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -2.113 D
+Z Array Temp -7.722 D
RC PSK TX Out 0.847 W

Total Array C= 0.379 Bat Ch Cur= 0.058 Ifb=-0.006 I+10V= 0.233
TX:019 BCR:80 PWRC:36E BT:3C WC: 0

General information and telemetry samples can be found at:
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/lo19.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

UO-22
(Uplink: 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM. Downlink 435.120 MHz FM
9600 Baud FSK)
UO-22 is operating normally.
Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, has reloaded the Store and Forward
communications task on the UO-22 On-Board Computer. This task includes
incremental checksums which should make uploading slightly faster.
In the old task, once an upload was complete, the spacecraft had to
perform the checksum on the complete file. Depending on the file
length, this could take quite a long time. With the new task, the
checksum is computed on the fly - while the data is actually being
uploaded. Thus there is no need to recompile at the end of the
transfer and this checksum delay is then removed.
However, all files that were started before Chris loaded the task 
will receive a corrupt body checksum error when the upload is completed.
If anyone gets persistent body checksum errors while uploading files to
UO-22 would they please let Chris Jackson know as soon as possible
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Ground station and 
Operations Manager of UO-22, for this report]

IO-26 ( ITAMSAT)
Uplink 145.875, 145.900, 145.925, 145.950 MHz FM, Downlink 435.822 MHz
SSB, 1200 Baud PSK)
IY2SAT-1>AMSAT <UI>:
 12th November 1997 
All sub-systems are OK.
Loading in progress.
Please don't tx on uplink. Stay tuned for further news!
Best wishes from the ITAMSAT team.
[ANS thanks Daniele, IK2XRO, and Piercarlo, IW2EGC,
ITMSAT Command Station for this report]

[Please send your Satellite or News reports to ANS Editor BJ 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 Square EN-37mk
Hibbing, Minnesota. U.S.A. 
e-mail bjarts@the-bridge.net or wt0n@amsat.org
Amsat News Service Bulletin Editor