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[jamsat-news:825] * SpaceNews 11-May-98 *



SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0511
* SpaceNews 11-May-98 *


BID: $SPC0511


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


			   MONDAY MAY 11, 1998


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


* STS-91 ORBITAL DATA *
=======================
Ken Ernandes, N2WWD, has uploaded STS-91 initial nominal orbital data to
the AMSAT Web page at:

	http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/orbit.html

STS-91 is the last scheduled Mir docking mission.

As always, the AMSAT Web page is updated typically four (4) times per day
during the mission with actual orbital data.  Ken's personal Web site
<http://www.mindspring.com/~n2wwd> is usually updated in parallel with the
AMSAT site and can be used as a backup in the event that the AMSAT site is
busy and running slowly.

A full set of STS-91 nominal mission vectors will be uploaded to the AMSAT
Web and FTP sites in the near future.

[Info via Ken Ernandes, N2WWD]


* 70-CM BAND THREAT *
=====================
The FCC has put on notice for public comment a petition filed by the
Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) seeking, among other things,
"immediate....reallocation of 420-430 MHz, paired with 440-450 MHz, from
Federal use to PMRS [Private Mobile Radio Service]".

The petition notes that land mobile already has access to 420-430 MHz in
three cities along the Canadian border (the result of a move by Canada at   
the time of WARC-79 to reallocate that part of the band from amateur to   
land mobile).  The petition makes brief reference to expected "reduction
in military use of this band" and to Wind Profiler use of 449 MHz, which
according to LMCC "should be discouraged or at least minimized, in favor   
of higher frequency operation (e.g. 915 MHz), if reallocation to PMRS is
considered."

The petition notes that "The band is generally popular with radio amateurs,
currently on a secondary basis, with repeater use in 440-450 MHz and
satellite links and amateur television in 430-440 MHz" and says, "Amateur   
applications in the 420-430/440-450 MHz should remain secondary to PMRS."

The LMCC is a loose affiliation of organizations with interests in (mostly
private) land mobile communications.

The comment deadline is 1998-Jun-01.  Again, this is only a petition; the
FCC itself has taken no position on the matter.

[Info via Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML -- ARRL First Vice President]

 
* W9ODI SK *
============
It is with great sadness that the death of Charles (Chuck) Parmelee, W9ODI,
is reported.  Chuck died on 1998-May-04.  He had serious surgery in December
but made good progress until about tow weeks ago.  Chuck was a longtime
supporter of AMSAT and was very active on both digital and analog satellites,
especially FO-20 and FO-29.  He will be sadly missed by his many amateur
radio friends.

Chcuk's wife Evelyn and son Dan would be pleased to receive cards at Chuck's
callbook address or via email (dparmelee@midwest.idsonline.com). 

[Info via Ron Long, W8GUS]


* SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS *
==========================
The 16th Annual Meeting and Space Symposium will be held 1998-October-16
through 18 at the Park Inn International in Vicksburg Mississippi.  This
is the 2nd call to authors who wish to present papers at the Symposium
that will be printed in the Proceedings.  The subject matter of the papers
should be topics of interest to the amateur radio satellite service. 

Key dates in calling for and submitting papers are as follows.  One page
abstracts are due no later than 1998-Jun-01.  Authors will be advised by
e-mail or postal mail shortly after 1998-Jun-15 regarding whether their
paper has been accepted or not.  Abstracts may be sent to w5xx@magnolia.net
or to Malcolm Keown, W5XX, 14 Lake Circle Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39180.  If
you do send an abstact by e-mail, it might be wise to send a follow-up
postal-mail copy since things do get lost in cyberspace.

Proceedings of the Symposium will be printed by the ARRL and made available
at and after the meeting.  Also, if you do not wish to present a paper, but
have a topic of interest, please submit the topic and perhaps arrangements
can be made for a presentation. 

Information regarding Vicksburg area attractions and details on arrangements
for the 16th Space Symposium and AMSAT Annual Meeting can be found at:

	http://pages.prodigy.com/DXHF93A

[Info via Eddie Pettis, N5JGK (n5jgk@amsat.org)]


* MIREX NEWS *
==============
It looks as if Murphy hit the Mir APRS test again.  Hours before the test
was to begin, Mir's TNC experienced an undeturmined problem.  The test then
was then extended for an additional 3 days to end on 1998-Apr-30 at 2300 Z.
This extended time was only for school participation.  According to Bob
Bruininga, WB4APR, there were many schools across the USA and Africa.
For more information see:

	http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html

Thanks to Bob, and all the other volunteers who helped make this test happen!

There will be another School test in the very near future.  However, this
will be a "school" test only, and will happen with very little notice.
This will also test the "readiness" of Amateur Radio Operators.

MIREX has been informed that Andy Thomas requests that stations don't send
packets while he is on voice.  It is suggested that groundstations monitor
145.985 MHz on the passes to see if Andy is on voice before tring to connect
to Mir (R0MIR-1) on packet.  The "common-sense" rule is to LISTEN before
transmitting to Mir.

Remember that messages sent to R0MIR-1 are intended for the crew.  Out
of common courtesy, please wait until users of R0MIR-1 disconnect before
attempting connections with R0MIR-1.  And do not attempt to digipeat
via Mir if the Mir BBS is in use by a groundstation.

Last week's issue of SpaceNews was uploaded to Mir for the benefit of
Andy Thomas and his fellow crewmates.

[Info via Scott, WA6LIE]


* SPECIAL EVENT PLANNED *
=========================
Grand Valley State University is planning a special event operation to
celebrate the National Science Olympiad.  The event will take place on
1998-May-15 and 16 between 1300 and 2100 UTC, and take place on 7.290,
14.265, 21.365, 28.365 MHz.  VHF frequencies, packet radio, and satellite
frequencies will be announced.

For further information, see:

	http://www2.gvsu.edu/~w8gvu/event.html

or email:

	w8gvu@river.it.gvsu.edu

[Info via W8GVU]


* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John,
KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below:
 
WWW       : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/
PACKET    : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET  : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net
SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19, KITSAT-OSCAR-25


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/EX

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