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[jamsat-news:1655] ANS 027


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 027

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.

This edition of ANS is dedicated to the memory of Bob Cross, W0RAC,
of St.Paul Park, Minnesota, who was recently laid to rest, one day before
his 44th birthday. Bob was involved with the South Washington County
ARES group, Dakota County ARES and the South East Metro Amateur
Radio Club. Bob will be greatly missed by his many friends in Amateur
Radio. [ANS thanks MN eSignals for this information]

ANS salutes Larry LeKashman, W2IOP/W2AD, former President of
ElectroVoice; manager at RCA, Lafayette and Bogen and an early
CQ editor. W2IOP is among the inaugural group of 50 inductees into
the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. [ANS thanks CQ Amateur Radio
magazine, published by CQ Communications, Inc. for this information]

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.01
JANUARY 2002 PRESIDENT'S LETTER

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.01

Several times each year ANS will feature information from AMSAT-NA
President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH. This feature is known as the
President's Letter. The following is the January 2002 installment:

The holiday season has come and gone and during this time the
AMSAT-NA Board of Directors has been busy looking at an exciting
new proposal for a satellite.

As many of you are aware, our membership is comprised of people from
all walks of life, including those who earn their living designing and
building satellites. A company who builds satellites - with AMSAT-NA
members as senior officers - approached the Board with a proposal to
build a microsatellite in conjunction with AMSAT. This microsatellite,
based on a design with several receivers and high power transmitters
will enable users to:

* communicate using analog voice through the satellite on several VHF
  uplink and UHF downlink channels simultaneously. Operation will be
  similar to AO-27 and UO-14 - but with handheld QRP power!

* communicate using 9600-baud digital store-and-forward data, similar
  to UO-22 and KO-25

* communicate using APRS 9600-baud packet data, in either a digipeat
  or store-and-forward mode

* repeat 1200-baud AFSK APRS packet data through the satellite's
  analog repeater

* experiment with PSK-31 operation (28 MHz up/70-cm down)

* uplink voice or data on 23-cm, 2-meters or 10-meters with a 70-cm
  downlink

* receive up to 56K-baud digital transmissions using a UHF downlink

* receive spacecraft telemetry and bulletins

* experiment with various, simple, low gain antennas

There is also room on board for one or two secondary payloads. This
is quite a lot for a small satellite, but with shrinking electronic
components it is possible to get so much more into a small space.
Personally, I am very excited by this opportunity, which the BOD has
accepted in principle. We anticipate that the satellite will be designed,
constructed, and undergo all its tests in 2002-2003, and be ready for
launch in late 2003. A suitable launch has not yet been defined,
however, there are several opportunities that are being investigated.

It is important to note that during the development of this bird, the
design of the Eagle satellite project will continue. Eagle, being a larger
satellite (and to be launched into GTO) will take longer to design and
build. Currently, we hope that Eagle will be launched sometime in 2004,
and we are still negotiating launch requirements.

As you can see AMSAT-NA has a full agenda for the next few years, and
we are making every effort to meet the operating requirements of our
members as well as the expectations of the designers and builders. Your
support of these programs is essential, and financially absolutely
necessary.

We now have more than 30 members of the President's Club and are
looking for many more to be able to keep this exciting work going. Are
you able to participate at any one of the three President's Club levels, or
send regular donations to the AMSAT-NA office?

Now for a few special notes:

My congratulations to Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and the excellent work
done with PCSat. Bob and his group have worked very hard on this
project and it is always a pleasure to see such outstanding results, and
a satellite usable by so many of us.

Also, my congratulations go to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and the ARISS
Working Group who developed and built the new antennas that are being
deployed on the International Space Station. Much of the construction
work was done by Lou McFadin, W5DID, in the AMSAT-NA lab in
Orlando. These new antennas will provide enhanced communications
with ISS, a good example of your AMSAT-NA dollars at work!

Finally, another thank you to the AO-40 command team who very
successfully operated the onboard GPS system, providing NASA with
very interesting data from AO-40. This was the first time that data has
been received from a satellite outside of the GPS ring. Yet another first
for Amateur Radio! My congratulations to Stacey Mills, W4SM, Jim
White, WD0E, Bdale Garbee KB0G, and Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, who
were all involved in the AMSAT-NA part of this operation.

See you on the birds!
 
73,

Robin Haighton, VE3FRH
AMSAT-NA President

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.02
17th AMSAT-UK COLLOQUIUM ANNOUNCED

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.02

The 17th AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be held at Surrey University,
Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, July 26-28, 2002.

AMSAT-UK invites speakers to submit papers about Amateur Radio
space and associated activities, both for the event and for the
Proceedings document to be published following the event.

Authors are asked to present the papers themselves, but event
organizers also welcome un-presented papers.

Offers of Papers should be submitted as soon as possible; the final
date for full documents to be received is mid-June 2002 in order that
the Proceedings document is available to participants.

Submissions should be sent to Richard, G3RWL, via the following
routes:

Internet e-mail:  	g3rwl@amsat.org

Terrestrial mail: 		R W L Limebear, G3RWL
                  		60 Willow Road
                  		Enfield EN1 3NQ
                  			United Kingdom

AMSAT-UK also invites anyone with requests for program topics to
submit them to G3RWL. Invitations for any papers on specific subjects
will be included in any future call. Additionally, AMSAT-UK will also be
running sessions specifically for beginners to Amateur Radio satellite
operating.

[ANS thanks Richard Limebear, G3RWL, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.03
NEW VERSION OF PREDICT AVAILABLE

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.03

John, KD2BD, informed ANS that he has released the latest version
of his PREDICT tracking software (for Linux operating systems). This
new version is available from the AMSAT-NA web site.

In the new release (version 2.1.5):

* a command-line switch was added to permit an alternate network port
  to be specified when running PREDICT in the server mode. This
  flexibility permits multiple instances of PREDICT to run in a server
  mode on a single host without interaction.

* a command-line switch was added to permit a set of orbital predictions
  for a single pass to be generated by PREDICT and obtained solely
  through the command line.

* a modified script to download Keplerian element data from the
  Celestrak.com web site has been added.

In addition to these and several other changes, the program
documentation was also updated.

Further information is available at:

http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html

[ANS thanks John Magliacane, KD2BD, for this information and his
excellent work in this area]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.04
MYSTERY SATELLITE IDENTIFIED

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.04

A mystery satellite transmitting AFSK, frequency modulated, CW on
144.100 MHz for several days has been identified as MAROC-TUBSAT,
an Earth-sensing spacecraft owned by the Royal Center for Remote
Sensing, a Moroccan government agency.

The satellite was placed into a polar orbit by a Russian launcher on
December 10, 2001.

Upon being informed of the interference being caused to amateur
operations, Professor Udo Renner informed Norbert Notthoff, DF5DP,
(of the German national radio society DARC), that the 144.100 MHz
transmitter had been turned off immediately.

MAROC-TUBSAT also has a downlink at 436.075 MHz, which is on
over North Africa and Europe when the control stations in Rabat and
Berlin are active. It has not been heard elsewhere.

Talks are continuing. In addition, IARU Satellite Adviser Hans van de
Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, has written to the Moroccan national radio
society (ARRAM) to ask for more information from their side.

[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.05
ANS IN BRIEF

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.05

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

** An exploding star may have destroyed part of the Earth's protective
ozone layer over 2 million years ago, devastating some forms of ancient
marine life, according to a new theory. The new theory brings together
clues from several different fields of research, including paleontology,
geology and astronomy. -SpaceDaily

** The 2001 AMSAT Symposium awards included a presentation to
James Miller, G3RUH, for all the hours of work he put into AO-40 during
the recovery operations. His skill as a satellite controller greatly aided in
the understanding of the satellite's problems and in finding solutions that
resulted in recovery of many of the spacecraft's systems. -ANS

** The Earth may have had an oxygen-rich atmosphere as long ago as
three billion years and possibly even earlier. Leading geologists have
challenged long-held ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere became
enriched with oxygen, and pushes the likely date for formation of an
atmosphere (resembling today's) far back into the early history of the
planet. -SpaceDaily

** A new Queensland distance record on 24 GHz was established
recently over a 72.8 Km path. VK3ZQB, VK4ZHL, VK3XPD and
VK5DK were involved. Signals strengths up to 5x5 after initial
optimization with typical daytime QSB was reported. -ARNewsline.

** ESA will hold talks with NASA soon to discuss the International Space
Station. ESA's representatives will press home Europe's concern that
deep-spending cuts could imperil the ISS's core mission as a scientific
platform in orbit. -SpaceDaily

** The 6th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference will take place
April 26-27, 2001 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The conference promises to
be an interesting and exciting event with presentations from
accomplished VHF enthusiasts from several parts of the country.
Registration, program details, hotel and travel information can be found
at < www.svhfs.org >. -ARNewsline

** A new study finds that climate warming over the next century will bring
potential flooding in winter, as a result of increased stream-flow
throughout California. The study also finds less water to be available
during the summer months. -SpaceDaily

--ANS BULLETIN END---

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-027.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.06

Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40
Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher
from Kourou, French Guiana.
Status: Currently, the U/L-1 to S-2 passband is active at times.
Uplink    	U-band    435.550 - 435.800 MHz CW/SSB
                  	L1-band  1269.250 - 1269.500 MHz CW/SSB
                  	L2-band  1268.325 - 1268.575 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink  	2401.225 - 2401.475 MHz CW/SSB

AO-40 experimental transponder operation started on May 05, 2001 at
approximately 08:00 UTC when the U-band and L1-band uplinks were
connected to the S-2 transmitter passband downlink via the Matrix
switch. Some 58 DXCC countries were QRV on AO-40 in 2001.

AO-40 command station operator Stacey Mills, W4SM, tells ANS that
on orbit 563, AO-40's IHU-2 computer was turned on and primed to
take images early in orbit 564.

When the IHU-2 is on, it controls the middle beacon but also listens to
the IHU-1. Software is loaded into the IHU-2 to parrot the IHU-1's
telemetry (with a one-block delay) until the images are ready to be
downloaded; the IHU-2 then switches to outputting D-blocks.

When the IHU-2 is in 'parrot' mode the only way to easily tell that it
is actually (re)generating the IHU-1 telemetry is to note that the IHU-2
is 'on' in the status window of the telemetry program.

Sometime around perigee 563/564 (presumably when passing through
radiation), the IHU-2 computer crashed. This caused it to repeatedly spit
out a diagnostic block with a sync-vector present, but with telemetry
that was nothing more than gibberish.

The IHU-2 (when on) is currently running in cache mode for speed and
because it does not have active EDAC software - it crashes about 1 in 5
perigees. However, unlike the IHU-1, it controls no critical functions and
is easily reloaded from onboard ROM in a matter of seconds.

Because the picture "window" was about to pass during the orbit, the
IHU-2 computer was simply turned off, instantly giving command of the
middle beacon back to the IHU-1, which was running normally in the
background.

In addition to W4SM, Paul, VP9MU, told ANS that the number of
telemetry capture submissions to the archive has fallen off
severely over the last few months. Paul suggests that if stations are
capturing telemetry from AO-40, please send a copy of the data to the
AO-40 archive at: < ao40-archive@amsat.org >.

For the current transponder-operating schedule visit:

http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL and the ARRL for this information]

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/ARISS
Worldwide packet uplink:  145.990 MHz
Region 1 voice uplink:       145.200 MHz
Region 2/3 voice uplink:    144.490 MHz
Worldwide downlink:         145.800 MHz
TNC callsign                       NOCALL

ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis.
ARISS is made up of delegates from major national Amateur Radio
organizations, including AMSAT.

Status: Operational.

The ISS packet station (normally) available for UI packets. The mailbox
and keyboard is currently disabled. Please see the packet section of
the ARISS web page before attempting to first work ISS on packet.

The ISS gained a new HF antenna (last Friday), as the antenna, a
flexible-tape design, was installed.

Upcoming student contacts are scheduled with Butte High School in
Montana; Deep Creek Elementary School in Oregon; Quogue Union
Free School and Vestal Senior High School in New York; Kursk
Technical University in Russia; Harrogate Ladies College in the United
Kingdom and the Zeehan Primary School in Australia.

NASA information on the ISS station can be found at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/

The ISS daily crew schedule (which gives an idea when crew members
have free time and may be available for Amateur Radio operations) can
be found at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/2001/may/index.html

A detailed breakdown of the antenna installation with some great
pictures and diagrams (depicting the entire ISS ham system including
antenna's) can be downloaded at:

http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/EVAs/amsat01.pdf

U.S. callsign:                  NA1SS
Russian callsigns:           RS0ISS, RZ3DZR

The QSL routes for W/VE stations working NA1SS aboard the
International Space Station:

U.S. stations (a SASE is required to get a QSL in return):
Margie Bourgoin, KC1DCO
Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2, 3) QSL
ARRL, 225 Main Street
Newington, Connecticut 06111

Canadian stations:
Radio Amateurs of Canada
Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2, 3) QSL
720 Belfast Road, Suite 217
Ottawa, Ontario KEG 0Z5

European stations (a SASE and 2 IRC's are required to get
                               a QSL in return).
AMSAT-France
14 bis, rue des Gourlis
92500 Rueil Malmaison
France

[ANS thanks Will Marchant, KC6ROL, and Jean-Louis Rault, F6AGR,
for this information]

RADIO SPORT RS-12
Uplink                           145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink                       29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon                         29.408 MHz
Robot		            29.454 MHz (145.831 MHz uplink)
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: RS-12 was re-activated in mode-A on January 1, 2001

The latest information on 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

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for RS-12 information]

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 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

[ANS thanks Dave Guimont, WB6LLO, for this information]

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 heard and worked 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.

Periodically, AO-27's 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, with updates by Ray, W2RS. 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 TEPR AO-27 operations (at):

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

On December 9, 2001 Chuck, KM4NZ, reset the TEPR states on AO-27
as follows:  	TEPR 4 - 19
              	TEPR 5 - 59

[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, features UO-14 information on the Michigan AMSAT
web site - point your web browser to the following URL:

http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc

Ray, W2RS, has revised the AO-27 FAQ on < www.amsat.org > to
include information on UO-14.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-14 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

Tak, JA2PKI, reported FO-20 control station operators believe that the
UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the transponder. The
controller monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the batteries from
over discharge.

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

JAS-2 FO-29
Launched: August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the Tanegashima
Space Center in Japan. Status: Operational

Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink  		145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink           435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB

Digital Mode JD
Uplink               145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink           435.910 MHz 1200-baud BPSK or 9600-baud FSK
Callsign             8J1JCS
Digitalker           435.910 MHz

Last reported, the JARL FO-29 command station announced the
operation schedule of FO-29 as mode JA through March 2002.

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-027.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.07

PCSat
Uplink/downlink    145.827 MHz 1200 baud AX-25 AFSK via PCSAT-1
Aux/Uplink            435.250 MHz 9600 baud via PCSAT-2 (off)
APRS Downlink    144.390 MHz (Region 2)
Launched: September 30, 2001 aboard an Athena-1 rocket from the
Kodiak, Alaska launch complex. Status: Operational

Bob, WB4APR, reports PCSat entered full sun for the period of
January 7-21, 2001. During this time there was enough power to
keep the GPS system turned on worldwide, allowing PCSat to be
the first satellite to report its own exact position directly to all users
for immediate display on their APRS maps.

As the first in what is hoped to be a constellation of future Amateur
Radio satellites doing dumb digipeating to mobile users, PCSat
planned to use the digipeater alias of APRSAT and encourage its
use on all such space digipeaters. Since this mission can also be
supported by the existing ISS digipeater as well, PCSat has
temporarily dropped the APRSAT alias and added NOCALL to its
alias list (to be compatible with the ISS) so that mobile users do
not have to re-configure between ISS and PCSat passes.

PCSat is a 1200-baud APRS digipeater designed for use by
stations using hand-held or mobile transceivers. Downlinks feed a
central web site < http://pcsat.aprs.org >. The APRS-equipped
PCSat was built by midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy
under the guidance of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR.

PCSat was recently featured on the DSL Reports web site, (a site
dedicated to broadband technology) and on CNN's space news.
In addition, a nice article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about
PCSat occupied over three columns.

For more information, visit the PCSat web site at:

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

[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for PCSat information]

TIUNGSAT-1
Uplink               145.850 or 145.925 MHz 9600-baud FSK
Downlink           437.325 MHz
Broadcast callsign  	MYSAT3-11
BBS                        	MYSAT3-12

Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Operational at
38k4-baud FSK

TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to
commercial land and weather imaging payloads offers FM and FSK
Amateur Radio communication.

TiungSat-1, named after the mynah bird of Malaysia, was developed as
a collaborative effort between the Malaysian government and Surrey
Satellite Technology Ltd.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this information]

UOSAT UO-22
Uplink               145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600-baud FSK
Downlink           435.120 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign	UOSAT5-11
BBS                             	UOSAT5-12
Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Operational

Jim, AA7KC, reports UO-22 is operational. Downlink efficiency is
in the 70% range.

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 information
and Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for 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

During the period 15-December through 14-January good signals
have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The internal
temperatures have been fairly static with no particular trends observed.
These temperatures are now 5.6 and 4.0 C for battery and telemetry
electronics respectively. The battery voltage observed during daylight
passes is unchanged. The average value observed was 13.8 volts with
a range of 13.5 to 14.1 volts. The rate at which the SEU counter
increments has continued to increase from 516 to 771 counts per day.
The spin period has drifted between 179 and 247 seconds. Attitude is
controlled solely by the gravity boom gradient (as the Z-axis
magnetorquer counter has reached saturation (1024). Ground control
action is awaited to reset the magnetorquer pulse counters.

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)
 
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]

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
Broadcast Callsign:        PACSAT-11
BBS                               PACSAT-12

Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater command is on.

Happy birthday to AO-16!

Telemetry is as follows:

uptime is 712/18:17:31.  Time is Fri Jan 25 22:00:37 2002
+10V Bus        10.400 V  	+Z Array Temp   -0.002 D
+X (RX) Temp     4.839 D  	RX Temp         15.731 D
Bat 1 V          1.248 V  Bat 2 V          1.238 V
Bat 3 V          1.245 V  Bat 4 V          1.264 V
Bat 5 V          1.263 V  Bat 6 V          1.254 V
Bat 7 V          1.249 V  Bat 8 V          1.272 V
Bat 1 Temp      10.890 D  Bat 2 Temp      10.285 D
Baseplt Temp    10.285 D  PSK TX RF Out    1.607 W
+Y Array Temp  -11.499 D  PSK TX HPA Tmp   7.260 D

Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.441 Ifb= 0.193 I+10V= 0.265
TX:1009 BCR:1E PWRC:36D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:A7

A WOD collection of current graphics along with general information
and telemetry samples can be found at:

www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information]

ITAMSAT IO-26
Uplink               145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM (1200-baud)
Downlink           435.822 MHz SSB
Broadcast Callsign         ITMSAT-11
BBS                                ITMSAT-12

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-027.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 027.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 27, 2002
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-027.08

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

KITSAT KO-23
Uplink               145.900 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           435.170 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign         HLO1-11
BBS                                HLO1-12
Launched: August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Non-operational.

Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter continues in a
non-operational status.

[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
Broadcast Callsign  	HL02-11
BBS                         	HL02-12

Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Non-operational

Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-25 is not operating. The downlink
transmitter is off and there has been no downlinked data since
January 4, 2002. AA7KC recently confirmed KO-25's non-operating
status again, after reports that KO-25 was operating again were
received by ANS.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this information]

UoSAT-12 UO-36
Uplink               145.960 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           437.025 MHz 437.400 MHz
Broadcast Callsign         UO121-11
BBS                                UO121-12

Launched: April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown

UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward
communications and mode L/S transponders.

Paul, KB2SHU, tells ANS that UO-36 has not been operational (over
North America) since late July. In addition, Sangat, 9M2SS, reports he
has not copied UO-36 since July 30th.

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
UO-36 information]

TMSAT-1 TO-31
Uplink               145.925 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink           436.925 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Broadcast Callsign:        TMSAT1-11
BBS                                TMSAT1-12 

Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Status: Non-operational, no data downlinked
since December 18, 2000.

Chris G7UPN, (UoSAT operations manager) reports the
following to ANS:

The TO-31 downlink will be off over most areas, with the exception of
Europe and Thailand.

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]

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)
Broadcast Callsign         LUSAT-11
BBS                                LUSAT-12
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French
Guiana. Status: Beacon only. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry
channels and one status channel on 437.126 MHz. No BBS service is
available. The digipeater is not active.

Happy birthday LO-19!

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Jan 25 20:58:00 2002

LUSAT HIHI 60
CW-Code: ava abv aav adb at4 ab6 ttu aae
5V-reg.:   4.85 V      8.5V-reg:   6.44 V
10V-Bat:  11.07 V      10V-Curr:  123.2 mA
TX-Pwr :  0.977 W      TX-Temp.:   7.68 ?C
+Z-Sol.:   0.30 V      Box-Temp:  11.39 ?C

CW-Code: ava abv aa4 adb ate abe ttu aee
5V-reg.:   4.85 V      8.5V-reg:   8.68 V
10V-Bat:  11.07 V      10V-Curr:  122.5 mA
TX-Pwr :  0.977 W      TX-Temp.:   7.33 ?C
+Z-Sol.:   0.30 V      Box-Temp:  11.04 ?C

CW-Code: ava abv aae adb at6 abe ttu aee
5V-reg.:   4.85 V      8.5V-reg:   8.68 V
10V-Bat:  11.07 V      10V-Curr:  122.5 mA
TX-Pwr :  0.977 W      TX-Temp.:   6.97 ?C
 +Z-Sol.:   0.30 V      Box-Temp:  10.68 ?C

General information and telemetry samples can be found at:

www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu

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

SO-41  SAUDISAT-1A
Uplink               to be released
Downlink           437.075 MHz 
Broadcast Callsign         SASAT1-11
BBS                                SASAT1-12

Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown, this satellite
has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional
information.

When/if operational, SaudiSat-1A will operate as 9600-baud digital
store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability.
One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by
the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.

SO-42  SAUDISAT-1B
Uplink               to be released
Downlink           436.775 MHz
Broadcast Callsign         SASAT2-11
BBS                                SASAT2-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown, this satellite
has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional
information.

When/if operational, SaudiSat-1B will operate as 9600-baud digital
store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability.
One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by
the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.

SUNSAT SO-35
Mode J Uplink:               145.825 MHz FM
Mode J Downlink:           436.250 MHz FM

Mode B Uplink:               436.291 MHz FM
Mode B Downlink:          145.825 MHz FM

Launched: February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California. Status: Non-operational

The SunSat team released the following statement, dated
February 1, 2001:

We regret to announce that the last communication with SunSat from our
ground station at the Electronic Systems Laboratory at Stellenbosch
University took place recently. We are certain, after having performed
several tests since the last contact, that an irreversible, physical failure
has occurred on the satellite. It is therefore unlikely that we will have
any further contact with SunSat, apart from the occasional visual sighting
by telescope!

When it was operational the SunSat package included 1200 and 9600
baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater
system in addition to Mode B/J operation with two VHF and two UHF
transmit-receive systems.

For more information on SunSat visit the following URL:

http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za 

[ANS thanks Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, for this information]

RADIO SPORT RS-13
Uplink                           21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink                       145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon                         145.860 MHz

Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: non-operational (last operational in mode-T)

RS-12 was re-activated in January 2001. Prior to this switch RS-13 was
operational (mode T), but was apparently turned off following the recent
RS-12 switch.

The latest information on 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

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information]

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: Semi-operational.

Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30
seconds (the GO-32 beacon sends one short telemetry status
transmission of 44 bytes) and upon request the complete telemetry
buffer.

[ANS has no further information]

PANSAT PO-34
Uplink/downlink frequency (listed on the PanSat web site) 436.500 MHz
Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery. Status: Unknown

The satellite is not available for general uplink transmissions.

The Naval Postgraduate School developed PanSat. At the time of
launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were to
be available to Amateur Radio operators 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 (the story written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).

[ANS has no further information]

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.

[ANS has no further information]

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.

[ANS has no further information]

SEDSAT-1 SO-33
Downlink           437.910 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Launched: October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral,
Florida. Status: Semi-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://seds.uah.edu/projects/sedsat/sedsat.htm

[ANS has no further information]

/EX

ANS is released worldwide via the AMSAT ANS e-mail reflector and a
live radiocast on the AMSAT-NA 20-meter net held each Sunday on
14.282 MHz. Pre-net operations start at 18:00 UTC, with current ANS
bulletins transmitted to the eastern U.S. at 19:00 UTC and to the western
U.S. at 19:30 UTC.

Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org <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)
* AMSAT K-12 Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-K12)

A daily digest version is available for each list.

To subscribe, or for more list information, visit the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org/amsat/listserv/menu.html

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT-NA offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors
to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits.
Initially, there will two levels for donations - Gold and Silver.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT-NA Office.

AMSAT-NA has developed a on-line volunteer survey, designed
to identify the interests and skills of those who may be available to
directly help in efforts to develop the amateur satellite program. The
survey is designed to be completed and returned on-line, and takes
only a few minutes to fill out. To request the survey, simply send an
e-mail request to:

volunteer@amsat.org

ANS would like to thank Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, ANS principal satellite
investigator, for helping provide current satellite information.

ANS is always dedicated to the memory of past ANS editor 'BJ'
Arts, WT0N, and to the memory of long-time AMSAT supporters
Werner Haas, DJ5KQ, and Dennis Kitchen, G0FCL.

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

/EX

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