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[jamsat-news:1336] ANS 268
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 268
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 Symposium Chairman is
George Caswell Sr., W1ME.
The 2000 Symposium will include once top-secret details about
intelligence gathering methods used during the early years of the Cold
War. The Saturday banquet speaker will be Cargill Hall, chief historian
of the National Reconnaissance Office. He will discuss (for the first time
in public) overhead reconnaissance along with a history of CIA-NRO
activities.
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
ANS is dedicated to the memory of Gherman Titov, the second man
to orbit the Earth and a towering hero of the Soviet-American space
race. He did recently at age 65.
ANS is also dedicated to the memory of past ANS editor 'BJ' Arts,
WT0N, and to the memory of long-time AMSAT supporter Werner
Haas, DJ5KQ.
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.01
AMSAT-NA PRESIDENT TO STEP DOWN IN OCTOBER
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-268.01
In a surprise announcement last week, AMSAT-NA President
Keith Baker, KB1SF, announced that he will not seek re-election
to that office when his current term expires at the upcoming
AMSAT Annual Meetings to be held in Portland, Maine in October.
"It's been a great ride," Keith told ANS upon making the announcement.
"But, I have always believed that members of volunteer
organizations should strive to rise from the ranks to serve in some
official capacity for a brief time. And, unless there is pressing need
for their continued service, they should also strive equally hard to
eventually return to those same ranks when their terms expire in
order to give someone else a chance to lead," he said.
When his current term of office expires in October, Keith will have
served in the AMSAT-NA senior leadership for a total of six years, two
of those as the organization's President. He assumed the office of
Executive Vice President in October, 1994 soon after his retirement
from the U.S. Air Force and his election as a member of the
AMSAT-NA Board of Directors.
KB1SF assumed his current position as President of AMSAT-NA in
October, 1998.
Baker also noted that his personal corporate consulting and training
business along with a second, highly successful family enterprise were
now taking a significant amount of his available spare time. "Any way
you cut it, the Presidency of AMSAT is a full time job," he said, "and
we need a President who can give it their full attention every day of the
week, not to mention someone who can also bring some new ideas and
a fresh face to the President's chair," Keith said.
Baker added, however, that he plans to still remain very active as a
member of AMSAT's Board of Directors. Citing his recent re-election to
another term on the Board, Keith said, "Our members believe I still have
something positive to contribute to the organization as a member of our
Board of Directors. I'm grateful for their continued show of support, and I
will certainly do everything I can to be worthy of their continued trust,"
Keith said.
In discussing AMSAT's future, Baker noted that, "We are indeed fortunate
that Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, our current Executive Vice President, has
now agreed to serve us as our President come October, and Ray Soifer,
W2RS, has also agreed to step (back) into the Executive Vice President's
shoes at the same time."
"At my direction over the past few months, both of these individuals have
been taking an expanding role in the day-to-day operation of the
Corporation.
Needless to say, they have risen to the challenge and have been doing an
exceptional job," Keith said. "While my vote is only one of seven on our
Board, I will strongly recommend that each of these superb individuals be
elected to now 'officially' continue serving AMSAT in the respective posts,"
he concluded.
[ANS thanks Keith Baker, KB1SF, for the information that went into this
bulletin]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.02
PHASE 3D LAUNCH UPDATE
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-268.02
The final preparation of AMSAT's Phase 3D satellite continues to
proceed "on target" according to AMSAT-DL Executive Vice President
Peter Guelzow, DB2OS.
Launch Team member Chuck Green, N0ADI, provided ANS with
a detailed review of what has happened to date. In Chuck's words:
"The P3D launch campaign team has been working hard since the first
members arrived on September 9, 2000. Team members arrive just
before activity involving their specialty starts. Because P3D is such a
complex satellite, a lot of work is involved in checking it all out and
getting it ready to launch.
The first thing each person must do is to obtain a badge which also
contains a magnetic key allowing entrance to the areas they are
authorized for. Next is safety training for everyone. Among the things
we were taught is to always park our cars by backing into the parking
space, leave the windows up and the keys in the ignition.
Our activities are mostly in the satellite preparation area, where we
have an office space and where daily meetings with our launch
provider are held.
After the administrative things were taken care of, our satellite and
SBS crates were brought from where they had been stored to the
integration facilities we were assigned. The boxes were put into an
airlock where we unpacked everything, placed the satellite on a
rotisserie and moved it into the clean room where it could be
prepared for flight.
There are always a few last minute things to be adjusted. The last
module constructed was the LASER transmitter. It's box cover has
a very special memorial for Werner Haas, DJ5KQ. Werner spent
many of the last years of his life working on P3D.
Interface cables for connecting to P3D just prior to launch were
fabricated and the 400 N engine was installed. Power was applied
to the satellite and the ability to communicate with it was verified.
Next, leak testing of the satellite fuel system was successfully
completed. This was followed by a complete checkout of the
various transmitters, receivers, experiments, and support functions
of the satellite.
There are not many hams in Kourou. They do have a local club
but no repeater system. A repeater was brought from Germany
and installed at the local club station. Hand-held radios have
proven to be quite useful for our team to communicate with
around the launch facility.
Some of us were given a tour of the block house before receiving
additional safety training necessary for access to the Final Assembly
Building (BAF). The BAF is no small building. This is where the
ready-to-go rocket is brought in and the package of satellites is
placed on top after the satellites are prepared in other rooms of this
building."
More later,
73, Chuck Green, N0ADI
P3D's latest status report from the launch site shows RF testing has
been completed with all systems working well. The thermal blankets
have been applied. Application of thermal materials on P3D's solar
panels are progressing well and nearly completed. The solar panel
simulators have been disconnected and P3D is now kept 'alive' by
a umbilical charging system. The next tasks are to close out the
equipment bays and install P3D's solar panels.
The launch team has established an Internet web site that includes
photographs of the team preparing the satellite. The visit the site,
point your browser to:
http://www.amsat-dl.org/launch/
There is also a link to the photo page from the AMSAT-NA web site.
As ANS distributed P3D status information through special bulletins
placed on the AMSAT-NA reflectors, the AMSAT bulletin board
received several e-mails from satellite operators around the
world. "I would like to thank the crew for the hard work being
put in on P3D," said Joe, KA0YOS. Jeff, N9AVG, liked the
web link showing operations from the launch site - "very nice
job with the pictures from Kourou," he said. "Go team go,"
echoed Bronson, N1ZAQ. Jim, W5VZF, added "please pass
along my very best to the launch team and thank them for
their time and effort."
Stay tuned to ANS for additional bulletins from AMSAT, the
official source for information on the Phase 3D Launch.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-OH and AMSAT-NA for this
information and congratulates the launch team on their
outstanding work]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.03
ATLANTIS RETURNS HOME
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-268.03
Gliding through a moonlit sky, space shuttle Atlantis returned home
last Wednesday from the newly furnished International Space Station,
soon to be home to a permanent crew. Amateur Radio operators
around the world followed the flight closely.
Within moments of Atlantis' touchdown, the clocks in Mission Control
began counting backward toward the next launch. In one of NASA's
faster turnarounds, Discovery is scheduled to blast off October 5th with
new space station parts.
The Atlantis mission included a week of docked operations aboard the
International Space Station. In the three tons of equipment and supplies
left behind were a toilet, exercise machines, laptop computers and
Amateur Radio equipment.
The ARISS initial station gear is now temporarily stored aboard the
Functional Cargo Block module and will use an existing antenna that
will be adapted to support 2-meter FM voice and packet. As ANS
earlier reported, the ARISS equipment will get a more-permanent home
aboard the Service Module in 2001, along with VHF and UHF antennas.
[ANS thanks ARISS, NASA, the ARRL, Roy Neal, K6DUE, Steven Bible,
N7HPR, and Florida Today for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.04
AMSAT-NA ELECTION RESULTS
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-268.04
AMSAT-NA Executive Secretary Martha Sargovitz informed ANS of
the following results of the 2000 AMSAT Board of Directors election:
Keith Baker, KB1SF - 1,070 votes
Tom Clark, W3IWI - 1,064 votes
Andy MacAllister, W5ACM - 769 votes
Bruce Paige, KK5DO - 487 votes
Mike Gilchrist, KF4FDJ - 424 votes
KB1SF, W3IWI and W5ACM will begin serving their 2-year terms
at the AMSAT-NA BOD meeting Sunday, October 29, 2000. KK5DO
will serve as the alternate and KF4FDJ will serve as second alternate
until the next official election.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Executive Secretary Martha Sargovitz for
this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-258.05
ANS IN BRIEF
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-268.05
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
** A new satellite that will improve weather forecasting and monitor
environmental events around the world soared into space recently
after a picture-perfect launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA-L spacecraft,
lifted off aboard an Air Force-launched Titan II rocket. -SpaceDaily
** NASA has stopped working on its planned mission to Pluto,
indefinitely delaying a trip to the solar system's only unexplored planet
while engineers try to design a less expensive spacecraft. The delay of
the Pluto Express resulted from spiraling costs in the Outer Planets
Program according to NASA. -Florida Today
** Amateur Radio satellite operators with an itch to fly into space and half
a million dollars to spare may soon be able to buy a spaceship in kit form.
Once assembled, the craft, called the Kitten, will take you and two friends
200 kilometer's up at a top speed of Mach 4. It's not quite Earth orbit, but
close! --SpaceDaily
** AMSAT's Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reports that he will be happy to
check QSL cards for several ARRL awards, including VUCC, WAS,
(even 5BWAS) at the upcoming AMSAT Symposium in Portland.
-AMSAT BB
--ANS BULLETIN END---
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-268.06
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/ARISS
Uplink to be released
Downlink to be released
ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis
Status: Non-operational
The ARISS initial station gear is now temporarily stowed aboard the
Functional Cargo Block module of ISS. The initial station will use an
existing antenna that will be adapted to support 2-meter FM voice and
packet. The ARISS equipment will get a more-permanent home aboard
the Service Module in 2001, along with VHF and UHF antennas. Plans
call for amateur TV, both slow scan and fast scan ATV, a digipeater and
relay stations.
Planning for the deployment and use of the ham system aboard ISS has
been an international effort coordinated by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center. The effort began in 1996 with the formation of the
Amateur Radio International Space Station organization. ARISS is made
up of delegates from major national amateur radio organizations,
including AMSAT.
More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site
at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
[ANS thanks the ARISS team for this information]
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 146.00 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.458 MHz
Robot Uplink 145.840 MHz
Robot Downlink 29.504 MHz
Launched February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian
Cosmos C launcher
Status: Operational, in mode-KA with a 10-meter
downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink.
More information about RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the
AC5DK RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at:
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)
Launched December 26, 1994 from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: 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)
Launched June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: 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.
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
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Operational, mode J.
Software upgrades to AO-27 have been completed.
Periodically, over the next several months, the analog repeater will be
turned off for a few days at a time, to enable ground controllers to gather
Whole Orbital Data (WOD), to verify the health of the satellite.
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 current TEPR settings are:
TEPR 4: 36 TEPR 5: 72
The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an
explanation of TEPR AO-27 operations (at):
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html
[ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information]
UO-14
Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Operational, mode J.
Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information site
to include 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
Mode J Uplink: 145.825 MHz FM
Mode J Downlink: 436.250 MHz FM
Launched February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
Status: Operational.
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 in addition
to Mode J operation. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF
transmit-receive systems.
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 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Launched February 07, 1990 by an H1 launcher from the
Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
Status: Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously.
Several satellite operators have reported problems with FO-20's
transponder. Mike, N1JEZ, told ANS that he believes the loss of signal
is a combination of two factors. First, battery age and an increase in FM
traffic due to operators unaware of the band plan. Mike reports he
routinely hears FM signals on the transponder.
Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators now believe
that the UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the
transponder. The UVC monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the
batteries from over discharge. Tak notes that FO-20, launched in 1990,
is now over 10 years old.
Tony, AB2CJ, reports solid copy from FO-20 on a recent pass.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]
JAS-2 FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Launched August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the
Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
Status: Operational.
Digital Mode JD
Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Digitalker 435.910 MHz
Status: Operational.
The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following
operation schedule of FO-29:
through September 24 - JA
Sept. 25-Oct. 1 - JD1200 mailbox operation
October 2-6 - JA
Oct. 7- Nov. 5 - Digi-talker (except mode JA every Wednesday)
Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29,
addressing the analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy
e-mail Mike at: kf4fdj@amsat.org.
Mineo, JE9PEL, has a FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program that
will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite (such as
current, voltage and temperature). The JE9PEL FO-29/shareware is
available at the following URL:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-268.06
KITSAT KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational with good downlink efficiency
and with moderate traffic. Jim says that interesting graphic files and
space shuttle information has been available recently.
[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
Launched July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports UO-22 operational with heavy SatGate traffic.
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
Launched March 1, 1984 by a Delta-Thor rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
Status: Operational.
OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday in space on March 1, 2000.
During the period 15-August to 16-September 2000 good signals have
been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The battery voltage observed
during daylight passes has continued to increase. The internal
temperatures have increased by 2.6C during the month. This rise in
temperature is expected to continue until the end of the year as the
solar eclipse times become shorter.
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)
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational. The CW beacon is sending
eight
telemetry channels and one status channel.
No BBS
service is available. The digipeater is not
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 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.96 MHz FM
(using 1200 baud Manchester FSK)
Downlink 437.025 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK)
Mode-S Beacon 2401.1428 MHz
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana.
Status: Semi-operational.
Russ, WJ9F, reported the S-band transmitter is off. The VHF uplink and the
UHF PSK transmitter are operational (TX power at 1.5 watts). The
digipeater command is on.
A WOD collection of satellite 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)
Launched July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from
the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports TO-31 operational with downlink efficiencies near
the 100% point.
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
Launched April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from
the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Unknown (unofficially in full sunlight illumination)
UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward
communications and mode L/S transponders.
NASA has demonstrated on UO-36 the ability to use standard Internet
protocols to communicate with an orbiting spacecraft (just like any node
on the Internet). NASA has been developing this project by working with
the commercial payload aboard UoSAT-12.
The BBS is open, although uploading and downloading may be
disabled at times.
The VK5HI viewer shareware for UO-36 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
Launched September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater function is on and
open
for APRS users.
[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for
IO-26 information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-268.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 268.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-268.07
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
Launched August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Non-operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter was operational on
9/14/2000, but has been off since that date.
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]
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
Launched February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian
Cosmos C launcher
Status: Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has
been observed.
TECHSAT-1B GO-32
Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry
Launched July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Non-operational.
Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line,
however, no information has been received by ANS (the last
report was dated November 1999).
Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every
30 seconds (for a continuous 3 seconds in length) on 435.225 MHz.
The TechSat team has 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
Launched October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery
Status: Unknown.
The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.
PanSat was developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. 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 (the story written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).
[ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information]
MIR SPACE STATION
145.985 MHz (FM) voice and SSTV (Robot 36 Mode)
Launched February 18, 1986
Status: Unmanned.
Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the
onboard Amateur Radio equipment has been turned off. Several
news agencies have reported that Mir in now on 'autopilot'.
Stay tuned to ANS for further details.
MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone of 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Status: 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
Status: 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
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: 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)
Launched January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from
Kourou, French Guiana
Status: Non-operational.
WO-18 was last 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)
Launched October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from
Cape Canaveral in Florida
Status: Non-operational.
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and
the image and transponder recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.
SedSat-1 signifies Students for the Exploration and Development of
Space (satellite number one).
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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