[jamsat-news:2042] ANS-135 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-135

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.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat.org

In this edition:
* Other AMSAT activities at Dayton
* Dayton AMSAT Forum
* New TlmEcho Version
* Orbital Debri Report
* ARISS Status - 13 May 2005


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.01
Other AMSAT Activities at Dayton

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.01

AMSAT members who are in Dayton on Thursday evening, 19 MAY, are invited
to attend Fourth Annual Pizza地担uds get together at Marion痴 Pizza in
Beavercreek starting at 1830.  Details are available on the AMSAT web
site (www.amsat.org) under Dayton Hamvention.  Contact Dave Misek,,
N8NPX at n8npx@arrl.net for more information and to let Dave know how
many people will be in your group.  Directions to the restaurant are
available on the AMSAT Website
(www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/Dayton2005).

Don稚 forget the AMSAT dinner on Friday evening, 20 MAY, at the Amber
Rose Restaurant in old North Dayton, which is the same location that
we致e used for the past nine years. Doors open at 1800 (happy hour) with
dinner served at 1930.  Cost including tax and tip (but not including
cash bar) is $27.00.  Former Astronaut Dr. Tony England, W0ORE will be
our after dinner speaker.  Reservations are required.  Contact Nancy
Makley, kc8gyw@amsat.org.  Confirmations will be sent via e-mail.
Directions to the restaurant will be available at the AMSAT booth.  For
GPS/APRS users, the restaurant痴 location in degrees/decimal minutes is:

N 39 46.915
W 084 9.557
Maidenhead Grid Square EM79ws

[ANS thanks Barry, WD4ASW for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.02
Dayton AMSAT Forum

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.02

The AMSAT Forum is scheduled on Saturday from 0815-0945 in Forum Room 1.
The following presentations are scheduled:

Barry Baines, WD4ASW    Forum Moderator
 -Rick Hambly, W2GPS    "AMSAT's Vision and Mission"
 -Jim Sanford, WB4GCS   "Eagle Project Update"
 -Sam Jewell, G4DDK     "An Update on SSETI Express -
                         Student/AMSAT-UK Satellite"
 -Frank Bauer, KA3HDO   "ARISS Upate"

[ANS thanks Barry, WD4ASW for the above information]


/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.03
New TlmEcho Version

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 12, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.03

Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 16:19:44 -0500
An updated version of TlmEcho is now available.  Also, a new
"echocoef.csv" is available.  The updated program includes some work on
the Telemetry screen layouts, and a new feature that allows the layout
of your Telemetry windows to be saved and automatically loaded the next
time you run the program.  The new Coefficients CSV file has the limits
edited to provide a better (cleaner) view of the satellites telemetry
parameters.

You can download a replacement program (the EXE version) and the
Coefficients file from my personal Web Site or the Amsat Web Site.  The
full installation version, if it is your first time using TlmEcho, is
available from the Amsat Site.

My Web Site is at http://www.graceba.net/~mkmk518/, select the
"Telemetry" button on the left column for the page.  You can also get a
copy of the Telemetry Specification for Echo which details each
Telemetry Channel on the
Satellite.

The Amsat Web Site is at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php,
select the AO-51 Project Page link for all the Telemetry related downloads.


[ANS thanks KE4AZN for the above information]

/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.04
Orbital Debri Report

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 14, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.04

Subject: Report of May 5 meeting with FCC RE orbital debris
Date: Sat, 07 May 2005 00:47:02 -0400
The FCC called AMSAT in for a formal meeting May 4 to discuss
AMSAT's petition for reconsideration of the Commission's
Second Report and Order in the Mitigation of Orbital Debris.
A summary of the meeting is now published on the FCC ECFS
website.  See http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi
(Enter 02-54 in Box 1, leave everything else blank).


[ANS thanks Perry, W3PK, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.05
ISS Status - 13 May 2005

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 14, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.05


*International Space Station Status Report #05-25*
*3 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 13, 2005*
*Expedition 11 Crew*

Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John
Phillips continued routine maintenance and science experiments aboard
the International Space Station this week as they wrapped up their first
month in space.

The crew began the week observing Victory Day the Russian holiday that
this year marked the 60th anniversary of the end of fighting in the
Soviet Union during World War II. The rest of the week kept Krikalev and
Phillips busy with maintenance and research activities.

The crew continued using the treadmill for exercise this week as
engineers closely monitored data from the exercise sessions. However,
after a broken restraint cable was found during a routine inspection
today, the crew was asked to use other exercise equipment for the time
being.

The treadmill stopped working for a time last Friday when a circuit
breaker tripped inside the device. During a routine monthly inspection
today, Phillips reported a broken restraint cable on the treadmill痴
gyroscope. The treadmill, which is specially outfitted to isolate the
vibrations caused by exercise from the rest of the Station, is equipped
with a gyroscope to maintain the system痴 stability.

Engineers will analyze photos of the restraint cable to determine if it
can cause problems with the treadmill痴 operation. Other exercise
equipment aboard that is available to the crew includes two stationary
bicycles.

The Station痴 atmosphere was pressurized with oxygen from the ISS
Progress 17 vehicle痴 reserve tanks once again this week. The Station's
Elektron oxygen generation system, which can convert water into oxygen
for the air onboard, is not operating. Russian engineers plan to send a
new electronics box for the system on a Progress supply ship that will
arrive in June.

Plentiful supplies of oxygen remain available aboard the Station from
multiple sources. In total, oxygen supplies already aboard the Station
coupled with those that are planned to be delivered by upcoming cargo
craft could sustain the crew for at least the rest of this year, without
use of the Elektron.

Through next week, the remaining oxygen supplies aboard the currently
docked Progress will be used. Once those are depleted, Solid Fuel Oxygen
Generation canisters may be used. 84 such canisters are aboard. Those
canisters alone could supply the crew for at least 42 days if necessary.
A large quantity of oxygen, enough to supply the crew for nearly 100
days, also is stored in tanks on the Quest airlock aboard the Station.

The Progress spacecraft now docked to the Station, Progress 17, will
undock at about 3:10 p.m. CDT June 15. ISS Progress 18 is scheduled to
launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 6:09 p.m. CDT June
16 and dock to Station on at 7:10 p.m. CDT June 18. The Station痴
altitude was boosted on Wednesday to line up its orbit for the arrival
of the new cargo craft. The Station痴 orbit was raised by 1.5 miles at
the perigee, or portion closest to Earth, to 226.1 by 214.2 statute
miles. The new Progress also is planned to deliver even more oxygen
supplies. Another Progress craft is planned to arrive at the Station in
late August.

This week, both crewmembers worked on preparing excess equipment for
return on the Space Shuttle Discovery in July on the STS-114 Return to
Flight mission. They also performed routine maintenance on ventilation
and life support systems in the Russian segment and verified a VHF radio
communications link used during Shuttle rendezvous operations. Krikalev
continued work throughout the Russian modules with audits of various
supplies and equipment.

Phillipswork focused on some of the laptop computers aboard. He
refreshed a Portable Computer System (PCS) laptop by deleting and then
reloading information on the hard drive, which recovered its corrupted
hard drive to serve as a backup. The PCS laptops are used by the crew to
monitor the Caution and Warning system and manage the Station operating
modes and the Command and Control System. Two required PCS computers are
functional onboard with three additional hard drives now available as
spares.

Phillips also worked with three Station Support Computers (SSCs) that
were experiencing problems booting up. After the troubleshooting, two of
the computers turned on, but the screens remained blank. They can be
used for routing data in applications where a computer monitor is not
necessary. The third laptop did not boot up and engineers are working on
further troubleshooting procedures. There are enough operating computers
available onboard for the crew to access e-mail, perform word processing
and view the daily schedule of activities. Phillips also replaced an old
battery in the laptop computer used at the Robotics Work Station that
controls the Station robotic arm, Canadarm2. Serving as the NASA Station
Science Officer, Phillips began participating in the 笛ournalsexperiment after completing his orientation to Station life. The
investigation records crew members' perceptions though the mission to
obtain information to assist in the design of future spacecraft.
Phillips also prepared for his first session next week with the
Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight (FOOT) experiment. For
the experiment, he will wear an instrumented garment called the Lower
Extremity Monitoring Suit (LEMS) and shoes with force sensor attached.
The experiment records 12 hours of data to help researchers better
understand forces imposed on the lower body and muscle activity in
weightlessness.

Information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future
launch dates, as well as Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on
the Earth, is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[ANS Thanks Arthur, N1ORC, for this info)

/EX

73,
This weeks ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
See you in Dayton
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