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[jamsat-news:1226] ANS 051


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 051

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 be presented in Portland, Maine
- October 27-29, 2000 - at the 18th Space Symposium and
AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting. More information is available at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sympos00.html.

Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org

(or)

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 (AMSAT-NE)
* AMSAT Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-EDU)

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 Dawn Cummings,
K1TQY and former ARRL Circulation Manager Lorry Evans, KA1KQY.

Women Radio Operators of New England President Dawn Cummings,
K1TQY, of Keene, New Hampshire died February 2nd, reportedly after
suffering a heart attack. She was 52. Cummings was an avid traffic
handler and the Region One net manager, was active in SKYWARN,
ARES and the Quarter Century Wireless Association.

Former ARRL Circulation Manager Lorraine Evans, KA1KQY, of Flagler
Beach, Florida died recently at the age of 71, following a short illness.
Evans retired in 1986 after more than 16 years of service at the ARRL
Headquarters.

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.01
STENSAT RELEASED

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-051.01

StenSat has been released by the OPAL 'mother ship' but the ARRL is
reporting that little or nothing has been heard from the Amateur Radio
picosat, raising fears that it has malfunctioned. StenSat was one of two
picosats released February 10th by OPAL -- Stanford University's
Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher. The other was the JAK payload.

Since the deployment, stations monitoring StenSat's 436.625 MHz
downlink have heard only very weak signals, or nothing at all.
According to Hank, N4AFL, StenSat may be operating in an "abnormal
mode." The picosat was supposed to transmit a CW identifier and packet
telemetry after deployment, but neither have been heard. N4AFL is
speculating that the satellite might be operating in FM transponder mode,
telling ANS that "during testing of StenSat we made some late changes
to the audio mixer that feeds the AX.25 and CW telemetry from the
controller unit to the transmitter." N4AFL thinks it may be possible that
this circuit has failed and that no telemetry is being transmitted and an
un-modulated carrier is being transmitted instead. To test this theory
N4AFL is requesting that stations try to place StenSat into voice
transponder mode by issuing a DTMF command and then transmitting
a modulated uplink signal.

The DTMF command for placing StenSat into transponder (repeater)
mode is:    #6676326

Cliff, K7RR, reported hearing his transmissions repeated through the
satellite recently, but signals were weak and the audio distorted.

The StenSat group is asking amateurs to continue monitoring the
downlink and send any reports (via e-mail) to:

hheidt@erols.com

More information is available on the StenSat Web site at:

http://users.erols.com/hheidt/

[ANS thanks the ARRL and Hank Heidt, N4AFL, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.02
ISS UPDATE

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-051.02

The International Space Station continues to operate in good working
order - now in its fifteenth month in orbit.

Flight controllers continue to manage electrical power through the
batteries inside the Zarya module, recharging four of the six on-board
power plants. Battery 1, which has experienced some problems, will
be replaced by Shuttle astronauts later this year on the next mission to
ISS.

Space Shuttle and ISS managers discussed the option of flying a
maintenance mission to the Station prior to the upcoming launch of the
Zvezda module. At the request of the ISS program, shuttle managers
approved an option of scheduling the next shuttle mission to the ISS
Station no earlier than April 13, 2000 (prior to the Zvezda launch), to
perform maintenance tasks on the Zarya and Unity modules.

The Kurs automatic docking system was tested twice recently without
problems in an effort to verify that the system is ready to support the
rendezvous with the Zvezda service module this summer. The Kurs
system is the Russian automatic docking system located inside Zarya
used to rendezvous with the service module for precise docking.

NASA managers also approved Shuttle mission STS-106 as the flight
which will follow the launch of the service module. Seven crewmembers
will spend a week docked to the ISS, loading supplies in the new
Zvezda module and activating some of its systems.

The International Space Station is in an orbit of 240 by 226 statute miles.
Since the launch of Zarya in 1998, the ISS has completed more than
7,105 orbits.

Space Station viewing opportunities worldwide are available on the
Internet at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

[ANS thanks NASA for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.03
STS-99 MISSION CONTINUES

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-051.03

With six astronauts on board, shuttle Endeavour continues with the
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Despite a problem with a small
nitrogen thruster on the end of the 200-foot-long mast, both the
C-band and X-band radar continue to perform as expected, and the
thruster problem has had no impact on mapping operations.

Processing of the huge amount of data gathered by Endeavour -enough
to fill about 13,500 CDs if all goes according to plan- will result in maps
30 times more accurate than the best global data available now. The
maps also will be of unprecedented uniformity as Endeavour gathers
mapping data at the rate of 40,000 square miles of land each minute.

Endeavour's crew and flight controllers continue troubleshooting a small
problem with a nitrogen thruster mounted at the tip of the radar's outboard
antenna. Although gaseous nitrogen propellant is flowing, little or no
thrust
is being produced. Without the thruster on the antenna, crewmembers
have to fire the orbiter's thrusters more than expected.

Mission Control also told the astronauts that the EarthKAM aboard
Endeavour has successfully transmitted over 2,000 images for middle
school students across the U.S. EarthKAM, mounted in the overhead
starboard window of Endeavour's aft flight deck, lets middle school
students take pictures of the Earth. They use interactive web pages
to select photos.

As this edition of ANS was being prepared, Endeavour continued to
function well.

[ANS thanks NASA for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.04
ANS IN BRIEF

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-051.04

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

** Canada and Australia could follow the U.S. in reducing the Morse code
examination requirement to 5-wpm for full HF access. Radio Amateurs of
Canada announced plans to ask Industry Canada to eliminate that
country's 12-wpm Morse requirement. The Wireless Institute of Australia
reports it's seriously considering whether to push regulatory authorities to
reduce the maximum Morse code license test speed 5-wpm. -ARRL

** Jerry, K5OE, reports an interesting URL -- ideas for homebrew satellite
communication hardware. On the site are pictures of antennas by
VK5ZAI, VK1JED, K0SU, and XE1MEX. K5OE will be posting photos of
other homebrew satellite equipment as well. Check out the Homebrew
Amateur Satellite Equipment Picture Album at:
http://users.aol.com/homebrewpics. -Jerry, K5OE

** Peter, DB2OS, tells ANS that thumbnails and other photo images from
the transportation of Phase 3-D to Kourou can now be viewed at the
following URL: http://www.amsat-dl.org/p3dkru/. -Peter, DB2OS

** KK5YY, was active recently from the Miami Hamboree and thanks the
many stations that made the effort to contact KK5YY during the satellite
demonstrations. -Jerry, KK5YY

** Surrey Satellite Technology Limited recently announced the
appointment of Dr. Joe Carey as a non-executive director. Dr. Carey
brings wide experience in the biotechnology industry and will be
instrumental in developing new strategies to maximize existing
resources and create new business opportunities for Surrey.
-AMSAT BB

** KG8OC reports the Michigan AMSAT information web page has
been updated, including a facelift with a totally new look. It should
make it easier to view the information. Take a peak at:
http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc/index.html. -Tim, KG8OC

** The 3rd annual North American High Speed Meteor Scatter contest,
sponsored by the Western States Weak Signal Society, will take place
April 29th through May 7th. -WSWSS

** As the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft settles
into orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, scientists at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center are preparing to take full advantage of its suite of
instruments to participate in the first detailed study of an asteroid.
-SpaceDaily

--ANS BULLETIN END---

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-051.05

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
Semi-operational, beacon only.

RADIO SPORT   RS-13
Uplink   21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink   145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink  29.460 to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink  145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon   29.458 MHz
Robot Uplink  145.840 MHz
Robot Downlink  29.504 MHz
Operational, in mode-KA with a 10-meter downlink
and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink.

Mike, N1JEZ, reports he worked Dan, OK1DIG, via RS-13 with very low
elevation (< 2 deg) at the time. "I heard Dan well after the bird went
over the horizon," reports N1JEZ. OK1DIG reports sub-horizon contacts
via RS-13 with K0BLT, N1JEZ, NA2AA and WL7BQM.

AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page:

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)
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)
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. John, K6YK, reports
that CX6DD has been active.

Tony, AB2C, has been active on AO-10 using the Hellschreiber mode.

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
Operational, mode J.

Tony, W7EWC, tells ANS he plans to be active on AO-27 from the
Bahamas as W7EWC/C6A during the entire month of March.

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 AO-27 operations (at):

http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html

Chuck, KM4NZ, recently reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on 02/12/2000).
TEPR 4 is 22  TEPR 5 is 58

[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for
AO-27 information]

SUNSAT   SO-35
Operational. SunSat has been in mode-B (FM) using an uplink
of 436.291 MHz (+/- doppler) and a 145.825 MHz downlink.

SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SunSat stands for
Stellenbosch University Satellite and takes it name from the South
African university whose students constructed the payload.

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.
The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems.

Peter, G4AJG/4S7PE, will be in Sri Lanka for the next three weekends
and the SunSat team is making the satellite available for Peter's
operations from that area.

There will be a satellite special event station on February 26, 2000
under direction of the Moorabbin District Radio Club in Australia.
Two successive passes of SunSat will be available for this event.
The SunSat team will consider other special events. Send a detailed
e-mail request to:  SAAMSAT@intekom.co.za

The announced SunSat schedule is as follows (all times are UTC):

February 19/20th
Japan 23:53 to 00:07
Sri Lanka  03:06 to 03:20
RSA  07:54 to 08:08
Europe  06:37 to 06:51

February 25/26th
Australia special event  22:51 to 23:05
Australia special event  00:30 to 00:44
Sri Lanka   04:04 to 04:18
RSA parrot repeater 07:13 to 07:27

February 27th
Japan    00:12 to 00:26
Sri Lanka   03:24 to 03:38
RSA parrot repeater 08:12 to 08:26
USA    15:12 to 15:26

March 4th
Sri Lanka   02:43 to 02:57
RSA    07:31 to 07:45
Europe    07:54 to 08:08
USA    14:30 to 14:44

March 5th
Sri Lanka   03:42 to 03:56
RSA    06:51 to 07:05
Europe    07:14 to 07:28
South America   13:33 to 13:47

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  145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB
Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously.

JAS-1b (FO-20) was launched in February 1990 and continues
to function quite well. Ron, VE7VVW, reports that the footprints
of both FO-20 and FO-29 have covered parts of Western Europe
recently.

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]

JAS-2   FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink  145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB
Operational, rotated with digital mode and digi-talker.

JAS-2 was successfully launched on August 17, 1996, by an H-II launch
vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center.

Digital Mode JD
Uplink  145.850  145.870  145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Digitalker 435.910 MHz
Operational, rotated with analog mode and digi-talker.

Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29,
addressing analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy
e-mail Mike at:          kf4fdj@amsat.org

Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the FO-29 operational schedule
(announced by the JARL) is as follows:

through February 21st          JA
February 22 - 27th              JD1200 mailbox
February 28 - March 5th     JA

Mineo, JE9PEL, has updated his FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis
program. The software will automatically analyze all digital
telemetry from the satellite such as current, voltage and temperature.

The JE9PEL FO-29/software update is available at:

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-051.06

KITSAT   KO-23
Uplink  145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM
Operational.

AA7KC reports KO-23 is operational again, returning to service on
February 16th. Jim reports KO-23 is performing well with excellent
downlink efficiency. 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.

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

KITSAT   KO-25
Uplink  145.980 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM
Operational.

Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational with good data throughput.

[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
Operational.

Chris Jackson, G7UPN, reports to ANS that UO-22 has now entered full
sunlight and the temperatures have increased considerably. Controllers
have turned the satellite upside down to point the critical systems to cold
space. This has reduced the temperature on various systems (such as
the batteries) by between 5 and 10 degrees. The unfortunate by-product
of this is that the downlink is now quite weak.

The satellite will remain in full sunlight until late March, when
controllers
will turn it back 'over' again. According to G7UPN "over the next few
years this situation will become worse as the no eclipse periods become
longer."

Only the 145.900 MHz receiver is usable for communications at the
moment.

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
Operational.

Clive Wallis, G3CWV, reports that during the period of 15-January to
15-February good signals have been received from the 145 MHz
beacon. The battery voltage during daylight passes has dropped
slightly. The average value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of
13.6 to 14.1 volts. The internal temperatures have decreased slightly.
They are now 5.0C and 3.2C for battery and telemetry electronics
respectively. A WOD survey dated (January 6th) has been transmitted.
The mode-S beacon is on and transmitting an unmodulated carrier.
The beacon is a useful test source for testing mode-S converters prior
to the launch of P3-D.

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
Currently semi-operational. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry
channels and one status channel. Currently, no BBS service is available.
The digipeater is 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/

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Sun Feb 20 12:22:40 2000 uptime is 568/22:39:23
+10V Bus 11.125 V  RC PSK TX Out 0.659 W
Total Array C= 0.157 Bat Ch Cur= 0.042 Ifb= 0.037 I+10V= 0.120
TX:017 BCR:88 PWRC:62D BT:3C WC: 0

General information and telemetry samples can be found at:

http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/lo19.htm

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for LO-19 status information]

PACSAT   AO-16
Uplink  145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM
                         using 1200 baud Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.025 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK
Mode-S Beacon 2401.1428 MHz
Semi-operational.

Russ Platt, WJ9F, of the AO-16 Command Team tells ANS the
437.025 MHz transmitter has been turned off and the S-band
transmitter is now on. The satellite is back in a PHT (PACSAT
Housekeeping Task) mode. This task manages the battery charging
during sunlit periods and manages the decay during eclipse periods. It
also includes safeguards to protect the batteries. WJ9F will be running
Whole Orbit Data surveys to watch the batteries during the S-band only
operation. Russ is also reloading the software to bring the file server
back on line.

Stay tuned to ANS for further updates.

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Sun Feb 20 12:13:08 2000 uptime is 007/08:43:58
+10V Bus 9.900 V  +Z Array V 25.268 V
Bat 1 V 1.122 V  Bat 2 V 1.177 V
Bat 3 V 1.170 V  Bat 4 V 1.224 V
Bat 5 V 1.131 V  Bat 6 V 1.183 V
Bat 7 V 1.167 V  Bat 8 V 1.223 V
Array V 23.944 V  +5V Bus 4.905 V
PSK TX RF Out 0.714 W
Total Array C= 0.076 Bat Ch Cur=-0.035 Ifb= 0.043 I+10V= 0.086
TX:1006 BCR:49 PWRC:26B BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:31

General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at:

http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu

A complete collection of WOD graphics corresponding to the
year of 1998 can be found at:

http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod1998.zip

[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
Operational.

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
Downlink 437.025   437.400 MHz

UoSAT-12 was successfully launched on April 21, 1999 from the
Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome. UO-36 carries a number of imaging
payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S
transponders.

The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.

S-band high speed downlink commissioning continues at rates
between 128kb/s and 1Mb/s. The S-band downlink frequency has
not been announced.

UO-36 has been transmitting 9600-baud FSK telemetry framed in a
VLSI format using a downlink frequency of 437.400 MHz. Chris,
G7UPN, reports UO-36 is also (at times) testing on 437.025 MHz at a
baud rate of 38,400 (38k4). Currently, this downlink is switched on over
Europe. Due to the limited power on UO-36, it is not possible to have
this downlink on permanently over all areas.

Presently the BBS is still closed.

The VK5HI viewer shareware 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
Semi-operational, digipeater function is 'on'.

IO-26 was launched on the September 26, 1993.

Alberto, I2KBD, reports IO-26 has been opened to APRS use.

[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this
information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-051.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 051.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 20, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-051.07

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

TECHSAT-1B   GO-32
Downlink  435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry
Updated status. Shlomo, 4X1AS, tells ANS that efforts are underway
to bring GO-32 on line.

Stay tuned to ANS for further information.

The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the
Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998.

Last reported, the satellite does not have a continuos beacon, but does
transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for a continuous 3
seconds in length), on 435.225 MHz.

The TechSat team has constructed a home page about TechSat.
To view the site, point your web browser to:

http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/

PANSAT   PO-34
Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established.
The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.

PanSat, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School, was launched
from the shuttle Discovery during STS-95. PanSat spread-spectrum
digital transponders will be available to amateur radio operators in the
near future along with software to utilize this technology.

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 (written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).

[ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information]

MIR SPACE STATION
Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station came to a close on
August 28, 1999 as the crew returned to Earth, leaving the station
unmanned. Mir is in a stable orbit with only essential systems running.
All Amateur Radio activities have ceased.

Current Amateur Radio equipment aboard Mir includes:

MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater
Uplink  435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
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
Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed.

MIR PERSONAL MESSAGE SYSTEM (PMS)
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK
Not operational.

DOVE   DO-17
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK
2401.220 MHz
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
Non-operational.

WO-18 is 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
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and
recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.

SedSat-1, signifying Students for the Exploration and Development of
Space Satellite number one, was successfully launched and placed in
orbit on Saturday, October 24, 1998.

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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