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[jamsat-news:1263] ANS 114
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 114
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. The 2000 Symposium Chairman
is George Caswell Sr., W1ME.
More information is available at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/symposium
(or from) w1me@amsat.org
Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:
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)
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 John Tucker, G5TU.
John will be missed. He was a long time member and friend of AMSAT
and an active satellite operator for many years. He passed away
recently.
Please note: Because of the Easter holiday observed by ANS Editor
NN0DJ, this edition of ANS is an abbreviated release.
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-114.01
ATLANTIS SET TO LAUNCH TO ISS
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 114.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 23, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-114.01
NASA began the countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis (on
mission STS-101) last Friday, April 21st, at the T-43 hour mark. This
flight marks the 3rd Shuttle flight to the International Space Station.
The ship is set to fly at 4:15 p.m. April 24th from Kennedy Space Center.
No Amateur Radio operation is scheduled during this flight.
Once in space, the shuttle is to dock at the International Space Station
so the crew can drop off supplies, make repairs and carry out a
spacewalk to prepare the outpost for future modules.
At ANS broadcast time the countdown was proceeding smoothly toward
Monday afternoon's launch of Atlantis. Air Force meteorologists are
calling for good weather on Monday, with only a 30% chance of
unacceptable weather conditions. Good weather is also forecast for
the abort landing sites.
[ANS thanks NASA and Florida Today for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-114.02
ANS IN BRIEF
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 114.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 23, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-114.02
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
** Directors of the SETI Institute and radio astronomers from the
University of California have unveiled the beginnings of what should
become one of the world's most powerful radio telescopes. The Rapid
Prototyping Array (RPA) will serve as a testbed for design of the
revolutionary One-Hectare Telescope. The prototype will blaze the
technological trail for linking hundreds or perhaps thousands of small
radio dishes. The final array will be knitted together to create a unified
instrument that can observe dozens of different celestial objects
simultaneously. -S&T
** Western Europe's 129th Ariane rocket recently put into orbit a
communications satellite for U.S. operator PanAmSat after a textbook
launch from equatorial French Guiana. Twenty-one minutes after launch,
space officials said the Galaxy IVR satellite separated from the rocket.
The satellite will provide television, Internet and data transmission
services throughout the U.S. and parts of the Caribbean.
-Florida Today/ANS
** The Hubble Space Telescope marks its 10th year in orbit on Monday.
Launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on April 24,
1990, astronauts released the telescope on the following day.
-Florida Today
** A Hollywood movie featuring Amateur Radio is due out soon. Called
'Frequency' - ham clubs all over the country are going to set up portable
stations at local theatres to promote our hobby. This is a once in a
life time opportunity to show our stuff. HF, VHF, Satellites, ATV, SSTV,
Packet, APRS... what a field day! "See ya in the parking lot."
-Bob, WB4APR
** Some doorstep astronomy from ANS: If you live at a mid-northern
latitude face west after dark this week and look very high. Two stars will
be there, Pollux and Castor, lined up nearly horizontally. Pollux is the
slightly brighter one, on the left. They appear separated by about
three finger-widths at arm's length. Pollux and Castor form the heads
of the Gemini constellation twins, which are made of fainter stars;
the twins are currently standing upright. To the lower left of Pollux and
Castor is brighter Procyon. Look even farther to their lower right
for bright Capella. -S&T
--ANS BULLETIN END---
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-114.03
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 114.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 23, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-114.03
MIR SPACE STATION
AMSAT's Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reported that two cosmonauts
--Sergei Zalyotin and Alexandr Kaleri-- have arrived on the Russian Mir
space station. Several news agencies (including CNN) also reported the
April 4th launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the successful
docking with Mir.
Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station is apparently back on
line -- currently in limited fashion.
Mike, WB8ERJ, reports receiving an SSTV picture recently from the Mir.
It can be viewed at: http://www.qsl.net/wb8erj/mir-pix2.htm. Allen, N2YAC,
also reported Mir SSTV signals (as did VK5ZAI and WAØÚBL). Doug,
VK3TRD, reports a QSO with Mir recently on 145.985 MHz.
Stay tuned to ANS for further details.
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.
Ron, KA2HZO, reports that he and KB3CWS had a successful two way
SlowScan contact via RS-13 (Robot 36) recently. Ron has also been
experimenting with the Scottie 1 SSTV mode.
More information about RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the
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
PP8EB, FY1DW and LU4HE have been active from South America.
WP4LBK and NP2L were heard from the Caribbean. John also reports
that many European stations have been active.
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.
An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA
web site. Ray, W2RS, recently updated the information. 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, reset the TEPR states on AO-27
(on 03/19/2000). TEPR 4 is 28 - TEPR 5 is 64
[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for
AO-27 information]
UO-14
Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Operational, mode J.
UO-14 was launched in January 1990.
Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information Site
with UO-14 information, point your web browser to the following URL:
http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information]
SUNSAT SO-35
Uplink 436.291 MHz FM
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM
Operational, mode B.
SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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.
Due to an improvement in its power budget, SunSat's mode-B FM
repeater will now also be enabled on most weekday evenings
(except Monday). A schedule of the active passes can be found at:
http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za/ham1.htm
GPS data is currently collected on Mondays. It takes as much as
twelve hours to fully recover the state of charge after these
experiments.
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. Tony, AB2CJ,
reports a QSO with Mark, KB3CWS, using the Hellshcreiber mode
(via FO-20). Tony says "the print was 100%." Ron, KA2HZO, also
reports working KB3CWS for his first Hellshcreiber contact.
OZ1MY reports that FO-20's beacon recently has a smaller signal
then he normally sees. AMSAT-UK net regulars G8ATE and G7RVM
both report very weak beacon signals or even no beacon heard during
recent passes.
[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:
April 21-May 7th - 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-114.04
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 114.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 23, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-114.04
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 high downlink efficiency.
AA7KC reports that digital traffic is low to moderate.
[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 continues in 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.
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.
OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday on March 1, 2000.
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.
Users should note that the date in the hardware generated ASCII
telemetry is now advanced by 3 days and the other dates (which
are generated by software) are advanced by 1 day. Ground control
may be able to correct the software generated dates, but not the
hardware generated date.
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/
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, WJ9F, reports ground stations are currently running memory
test software on the satellite. In addition to the memory testing, the
spacecraft spin rate around the vertical (Z) axis has created a less
than ideal condition for battery charging. The spin rate evaluation
confirms a rate of 1 revolution every 18 minutes. Power output
is low due to this spin rate.
Normally, the S-band transmitter is off. Recently, WJ9F reported the
S-Band transmitter (2401.143 MHz) was powered on for a short
time. A Whole Orbit Data survey was conducted during this operation.
Nando, CX6DD, reports good signals from the S-band downlink of
AO-16. He also reports his modem "had a hard time tuning the
receiver due to the tremendous doppler!"
A new WOD collection of current graphics (dated 02/26/2000)
can be found at:
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu
[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
Uplink 145.960 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 437.025 MHz 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 BBS is open, although uploading (and the downlink) may be
disabled at times.
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, the 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-114.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 114.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 23, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-107.05
THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE
NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME:
KITSAT KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM
Non-operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 is (again) non-operational. The downlink
transmitter is off, with the last received data received on 4/13/2000 at
04:10 UTC. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23
control team) that part of the problem with recent non-operation
has been the power budget aboard the satellite.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ,
for KO-23 status information]
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
Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed.
TECHSAT-1B GO-32
Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry
Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line,
however no additional information has been received by ANS
(the last report was dated November 1999).
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 never been released.
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) on October 29, 1998.
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 (written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).
[ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information]
MIR SPACE STATION
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.
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
image and transponder 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.
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://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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