Space News Flash !
May 04

Amsat News: May 04,1999


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE	 
ANS 122	 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.01 
UOSAT-12 HEALTHY 
 
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.01 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-122.01 
 
UoSAT-12, -amateur radio's newest satellite- has successfully 
completed almost two weeks in space. The satellite carries a number of 
imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode 
L/S transponders. 
 
The operations team at the Surrey Space Mission Control Center report 
to ANS that on-board software has stopped the tumbling of the satellite 
after release from the launcher. The momentum wheel on the bird was 
also tested and confirmed as operational. UoSAT-12 is now in a 3-axis 
stabilized Earth pointing mode. 
 
The first images of Earth from the four remote sensing CCD cameras 
on-board the mini-satellite have been successfully received. The first 
image from the 10-meter resolution panchromatic camera was taken 
over Texas and later downloaded for evaluation. The image showed 
good detail, confirming camera function and focus. After adjusting the 
camera, a second image over London was captured. 
 
Recently a panchromatic image and a 32-meter single-band image 
from one of the two multi-spectral cameras were captured 
simultaneously over Los Angeles, clearly showing airport runways, 
housing, dockyards and freeways. 
 
UoSAT-12 also carries a wide-angle color CCD imager for 
meteorological imaging and this has been used regularly during the past 
week for Earth cloud cover monitoring. The data from the imaging CCD 
cameras are compressed on-board the spacecraft prior to transmission 
to the ground. Very highly-compressed, quick-look 'thumbnail' images 
are also available and enable ground operators to assess the image 
quality and content prior to downloading the full image. 
 
Spacecraft operators are now refining the camera settings through a 
series of continuing test images and the first images for release are 
expected soon. In addition, opening the transponders aboard the satellite 
for general amateur use is being planned - along with official OSCAR 
number designation. 
 
[ANS thanks Chris G7UPN / ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey, for 
this information] 
 
/EX 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.02 
SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS 
 
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.02 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-122.02 
 
As announced previously by ANS, recent and future development 
in amateur radio satellites will be presented in San Diego, California 
--October 8-11, 1999-- at the 17th Space Symposium and 
AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting. 
 
This is the second call to authors who wish to present papers at 
the Symposium. Presentations will also be printed in the official 
Proceedings document. You do not need to be a member of AMSAT-NA 
to present a paper or attend the Symposium. 
 
The subject matter should be topics of interest to the Amateur Radio 
satellite service. One page abstracts are due and should be submitted 
as soon as possible for consideration. Other key dates for submitting 
papers are as follows: 
 
June 01, 1999     - authors will be advised if accepted 
August 01, 1999  - camera ready copy of accepted papers due 
 
Abstracts should be sent to Symposium chair Duane Naugle, KO6BT, 
via email at: 
 
[email protected]   (or via terrestrial mail to) 
 
Duane Naugle, KO6BT 
4111 Nemaha Drive 
San Diego, California 92117-4522 
                                              USA 
 
Proceedings of the Symposium will be printed by the ARRL and made 
available at and immediately after the event. If authors do not wish to 
present a paper but have a topic of interest, please submit the topic and 
arrangements may be made for a stand-in presenter. 
 
Receipt of submissions will be confirmed. 
 
Additional information may be found at http://www.amsat.org 
 
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Symposium chair Duane Naugle, KO6BT, 
for this information] 
 
/EX 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.03 
ISS STATUS 
 
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.03 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-122.03 
 
The second planned power test aboard the International Space Station 
was completed recently setting the stage for the arrival of the Shuttle 
Discovery on May 22nd, the first logistics flight carrying hardware and 
supplies to the outpost. 
 
ISS also celebrated its fifth month in orbit. 
 
Evaluation testing -also known as 'characterization' testing- of the 
station's two high-gain antenna was underway when communication was 
lost through the Early Communications System (ECS). The loss of 
communication is under evaluation, but a faulty transmitter box may be 
the culprit. A spare transmitter is already aboard the station and other 
spares are planned for delivery. In the meantime, communication and 
command is being conducted in the primary mode by Russian ground 
stations. 
 
Space Shuttle Discovery rolled to its seaside launch pad earlier this 
week in preparation for the first flight of the year to visit the station. 
The transport of Discovery to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space 
Center in Florida sets the stage to deliver supplies that will be used by 
the first astronauts and cosmonauts to live on the outpost. 
 
The next ISS component and the first full Russian contribution to the ISS 
program was rolled out of its testing plant recently. A certificate of flight 
readiness was signed signaling the official handover of the Service 
Module from RSC Energia Corporation to the launch processing team at 
the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will be shipped by rail to the 
launch site from its initial manufacturing plant at the Krunichev State 
Research and Production Company. The official launch date will be 
determined once the module reaches Baikonur and assessments can be 
made on the remaining testing to be done. 
 
The International Space Station remains in good health in an orbit with a 
high point of 252 statute miles and a low point of 238 statute miles, 
circling the Earth once approximately every 92 minutes. The station has 
completed 2,504 orbits of Earth since its launch. 
 
[ANS thanks NASA and the Johnson Space Center for this information] 
 
/EX 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.04 
ANS IN BRIEF 
 
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.04 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-122.04 
 
ANS news in brief this week includes the following: 
 
** AMSAT Net of the week: Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex VHF Net. 
This net meets each Wednesday on the 147.140 MHz area repeater. 
NCS stations include KG5OA, WA5VKS, W5IU and WA5QGD. 
 
** The May/June AMSAT journal will feature a 30th AMSAT Anniversary 
Interview'. ANS reminds amateurs that an AMSAT-NA membership 
includes the AMSAT journal. This issue will be in the mail shortly. 
-Russ, K5NRK 
 
** The Dayton Hamvention AMSAT Dinner list includes N9AVG, KB1SF, 
WA1QXR, WD4ASW, WS4Z, WU4W, K5NRK, N3KHK, W3FUO, K8YMI, 
WA1QXR, W9XA, KH6GJV, WA1STO, KE6EAQ, K6ZWB, AC6VJ, 
KA0SNL, NP2L, AC6VJ, W5IU, W5NI, K5SXK and N3MUZ! -ANS 
 
** The Young Ham of the Year Award will honor the Amateur Radio 
related achievements of those hams age 18 or younger. In addition to a 
trip to the 1998 Huntsville Hamfest, the winner will also spend a week in 
SpaceCamp Huntsville. Full details, rules and a nominating form are 
available at http://www.arnewsline.org. Bill, WA6ITF 
 
** NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is celebrating it's 40th 
anniversary with a special event operation from club station 
WA3NAN. Operation will take place on 40, 20 and 15-meters. 
-Ron, WA4SIR 
 
** An Earth-imaging satellite never arrived in orbit recently and probably 
burned up while falling through the atmosphere, officials confirmed. 
Engineers say the 1,400-pound payload fairing enclosing the Ikonos-1 
spacecraft atop the Lockheed Martin Athena-2 rocket failed to separate 
as planned, following launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. 
-Florida Today 
 
** Why should Europe invest in space? These and many other questions 
are explored in the second report drawn up by ESA's Long Term Space 
Policy Committee (LTSPC). The report will give ESA's Member States a 
framework for long-term strategic thinking and decisions on space 
activities. -ESA 
 
** Russian officials still have not made a final commitment to de-orbit Mir, 
as they look for a private-sector benefactor willing to pay the estimated 
$250 million needed annually to keep Mir in orbit and operating. A final 
decision on whether to keep Mir aloft or begin preparations to bring it 
down this fall through a controlled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere is 
expected very soon. -Florida Today 
 
** NASA has announced a contract award to Lockheed Martin 
Astronautics to launch the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) satellite on an 
Athena rocket. Launch is scheduled for August 2000 from a launch pad 
located on Kodiak Island, Alaska. This will be the first launch to low Earth 
orbit from the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation's new 
commercial launch facility. The VCL satellite is designed to precisely 
measure the Earth's vegetation coverage, vegetation depth (or canopy) 
and topography. -NASA 
 
** After 22 trips into space, Spacelab - Europe's first step into human 
spaceflight - has returned to Europe. Recently, NASA officially handed 
the space laboratory over to ESA at a ceremony at the Bremen airport in 
Germany. The laboratory, to be housed in a special exhibition hall at the 
airport, will be the foundation stone for Space Academy Bremen, a new 
educational venture. -ESA 
 
** NASA's Space Shuttle fleet soars toward the 21st century with a host 
of enhancements that make today's Shuttle safer, more capable and less 
expensive to fly than ever before. The new systems improve crew/orbiter 
interaction with the easy-to-read, graphic portrayals of key flight 
indicators like attitude-display and Mach-speed. In addition, NASA's 
space shuttle launches are a sold-out show this year as all the launch 
complex passes have been distributed. -NASA 
 
** Arianespace is putting up "wonderful day-by-day info on launch 
preparations for AR-504," says W8GUS. AR-504 is scheduled for a 
mid-June launch. Visit the ESA launch site at the following URL: 
http://www.arianespace.com/english/orbit_504log.html. -Ron, W8GUS. 
 
** Flight controllers for NASA's Mars Global Surveyor mission are 
continuing to work toward isolating what caused a hinge on the 
spacecraft's high-gain telecommunications antenna to stop moving last 
week. Engineers received the results of a test they conducted that 
moved the hinge one-half of a degree from side to side. The information 
from the spacecraft shows that the hinge moves freely in one direction, 
but it's motion appears to be obstructed in the opposite direction. The 
spacecraft remains in good health and the science instruments are 
turned off while engineers continue to define the hinge. -NASA/JPL 
 
/EX 
 
--ANS BULLETIN END--- 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.05 
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1 
 
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.05 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT 
 
MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater 
Uplink		435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz 
Downlink  	437.950 MHz FM 
Seldom-operational. No operation in 1999 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 
Seldom-operational. No operation in 1999 has been observed. 
 
MIR PERSONAL MESSAGE SYSTEM (PMS) 
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 baud AFSK 
Semi-operational. 
 
The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612+ V 8.1 TNC. The 
commands are similar to most PBBS and BBS systems. 
 
AMSAT-France announced that Air Force General Jean-Pierre Haignere 
has been given a personal amateur radio callsign to use aboard the Mir 
space station - FX0STB. The QSL manager for FX0STB is: 
 
Radio Club F5KAM 
QSL manager MIR 
22 rue Bansac 
63000 Clermont Ferrand 
France 
 
Mike, HR1MWM, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras - reports a 2-meter FM 
Mir voice contact with Jean-Paul, FX0STB. 
 
Scott, WA6LIE, has a set of instructions on how to work the Mir space 
station. Copies are available from Scott by e-mail at: 
 
[email protected] (or by packet) wa6lie@wa6lie.#wcca.ca.usa.noam 
 
[ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir 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 
Last reported to be semi-operational, beacon only. 
 
RADIO SPORT   RS-13 
Uplink     	  21.260 to  21.300 MHz CW/SSB 
Uplink          	145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB 
Downlink          	  29.460 to  29.500 MHz CW/SSB 
Downlink        	145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB 
Beacon           	  29.504 MHz 
Robot Uplink     	  21.140 MHz*   Robot Downlink  29.458 MHz 
Operational. Last reported in mode KA with a 10-meter downlink 
and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink. 
 
* Andy, G0SFJ, tells ANS the RS-13 robot uplink may have moved to 
145 MHz (from 15-meters). G0SFJ reports RS-13 is currently sending 
'CQ CQ de RS-13 QRU 145840 kHz'. 
 
Mike, KD9KC, reports working W8JOM and K5TVC via RS-13. Jerry, 
K5OE, has been active on the satellite. 
 
RS-12/13 command is now in the hands of Alex Papkov, in 
Kaluga City, Russia. 
 
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) 
Semi-operational, mode A, using a 2-meter uplink and a 10-meter 
downlink. 
 
The 29.380 MHz SSB 'meeting frequency' used by most RS-15 
operators is showing good results. 
 
Dave, WB6LLO, reports he has prepared a "quick and dirty" set of 
operating instructions for RS-15 at the following URL: 
 
http://users.aol.com/dguimont/sat.txt 
 
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. 
 
Much activity on the satellite with many stations reporting very good 
signals from AO-10. Jerry, K5OE, tells ANS that the satellite is at signal 
levels from last January. Andy, W5ACM, tells the Houston AMSAT Net 
that "AO-10 is alive!" Peter, VE7AHX, reports working GB1IMD and 
IY0TC, commemorating International Marconi Day. K5OE, reports 
working T98LWT on AO-10 with "strong signals and easy copy" (QSL via 
PE1LWT). Hardy, DC8TS/KC2DMA and Mike, N1JEZ, report working 
T98CHR (QSL via PA2CHR). John, K6YK, reports ZL2VAL, 9V1UV and 
UA0AET have been active on AO-10. N1JEZ copied several SSTV 
images from HB9JOI and KD1EH. Tony, AB2CJ, has been active on 
SSTV a Robot 36 mode. 
 
On April 26, 1999 Peter, KD7MW, and Frank, DL6DBN, completed a 
2-way PSK31 QSO via OSCAR 10 using the G3PLX software. They 
believe this is the first documented PSK31 contact by satellite. 
 
Masa, JN1GKZ, reports his web page shows the current AO-10 spin 
period and spin rate (by measuring the beacon with FFTDSP software). 
The JN1GKZ web site can be found at the following URL: 
 
http://www.din.or.jp/~m-arai/ao10/beacone.htm 
 
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. 
 
Paul, KC7QFS, was active May 1st from the BSA Scout-A-Rama in Utah 
using the special event call sign N7N. QSL's should be sent with a SASE 
to KC7IHZ. 
 
AO-27 has again been seeing very heavy use especially during the 
weekends. 
 
The TEPR (Timed Eclipse Power Regulation) states on AO-27 were 
reset by Chuck, KM4NZ, on 13-April-99. They currently are: 
 
TEPR 4 is 34 and TEPR 5 is 70. 
 
[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for 
AO-27 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. 
 
Tony, AB2CJ, has been transmitting SSTV via FO-20. 
 
Bruce, KK5DO, has posted pictures of JARL Headquarters and the 
FO-20/29 Command Station on his web site. They were taken during 
a recent visit. Visit the site using the following URL: 
 
http://www.amsatnet.com/jarl.html 
 
[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 
Semi-operational, rotated with digital mode and digi-talker. 
 
Digital Mode JD 
Uplink     	145.850  145.870  145.910 MHz FM 
Downlink   	435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK 
Digitalker 	435.910 MHz 
Semi-operational, rotated with analog mode and digi-talker. 
 
Kazu, JJ1WTK, reported to ANS that the new operational 
schedule announced by the JARL is as follows: 
 
through May 10 	Digitalker 
May 10 - May 17 	JA 
May 17 - May 24 	JD1200 
May 24 - May 31	JA 
 
Mike, N1JEZ, confirms digitalker operation currently on FO-29.  
 
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports] 
 
/EX 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.06 
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2 
 
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.06 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT 
BID: $ANS-122.06 
 
KITSAT   KO-25 
Uplink		145.980 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK 
Downlink 	436.500 MHz FM 
Operational. 
 
Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is performing well with good downlink 
efficiency. 
 
[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. 
 
Carol, W9HGI, reports UO-22 is performing within acceptable limits. 
W9HGI operates the West Coast Packet Satellite Gateway (WSPG) for 
the Worldwide Packet Network (WPN). 
 
More information on the satellite is available at the following URL: 
 
http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/ 
 
[ANS thanks Carol Byers, W9HGI and 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. 
 
Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting the G3CWV web 
site. The site contains details of the hardware and some software for 
capturing OSCAR-11 data and decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD. 
There is also an archive of raw data (mainly WOD) for analysis, which is 
continually expanded as new data is captured. Audio files are also 
included with examples of each type of data transmitted by the satellite 
(each one plays for about ten seconds). Examples of mode-S reception 
can also be found at the site. All the audio files are zipped so that they 
can be played off-line. The URL is: 
 
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ 
 
[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information] 
 
PACSAT   AO-16 
Uplink     145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM  
               using 1200 baud Manchester FSK 
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK 
Mode-S Beacon   2401.1428 MHz  
Operating normally with the exception of the mode-S beacon, 
which is currently off. 
 
Telemetry is as follows: 
 
Time is Sat May 01 23:19:49 1999 uptime is 1686/17:41:17 
+10V Bus        10.350 V  	RC PSK TX Out    0.310 W 
RC PSK BP Temp  -5.448 D  	RC PSK HPA Tmp  -3.027 D 
+Y Array Temp  -24.811 D  	PSK TX HPA Tmp  -5.448 D 
+Z Array Temp  -16.339 D  	Baseplt Temp     3.024 D 
 
Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.306 Ifb= 0.161 I+10V= 0.159 
TX:0109 BCR:1E PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:E8 
 
General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at: 
 
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu 
 
A complete collection of WOD graphics corresponding to the 
year of 1998 can be found at: 
 
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod1998.zip 
 
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information] 
 
LUSAT   LO-19 
Uplink 	  145.84 145.86 145.88 145.90 MHz FM 
               using 1200 baud Manchester FSK 
Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK 
Currently semi-operational. 
 
No BBS service - EA1BCU and ANS have not received any 
updated information for several months. The digipeater is active. 
 
Telemetry is as follows: 
 
Time is Sat May 01 23:19:49 1999 uptime is 1686/17:41:17 
+10V Bus        10.350 V  	RC PSK TX Out    0.310 W 
RC PSK BP Temp  -5.448 D  	RC PSK HPA Tmp  -3.027 D 
+Y Array Temp  -24.811 D  	PSK TX HPA Tmp  -5.448 D 
+Z Array Temp  -16.339 D  	Baseplt Temp     3.024 D 
 
Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.306 Ifb= 0.161 I+10V= 0.159 
TX:0109 BCR:1E PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:E8 
 
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] 
 
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: 
 
www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp 
 
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for TO-31 status 
information] 
 
PANSAT   PO-34 
Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established. 
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. 
 
PanSat, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School, was launched 
from the shuttle Discovery during STS-95. PanSat spread-spectrum 
digital transponders will be available to amateur radio operators in the 
near future along with software to utilize this technology. 
 
Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, PanSat Project Manager recommends 
'The ARRL Spread Spectrum Sourcebook' as a good place to start in 
understanding the spread-spectrum scheme. 
 
For more information, visit the official PanSat web site at: 
 
http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/ 
 
[ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information] 
 
SUNSAT   SO-35 
Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established. 
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. 
 
Hans, ZS5AKV, reports that SunSat is still in the initial test stages and 
the command team will provide more information as it becomes 
available. General amateur radio service is planned for the near future. 
 
SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from 
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SunSat stands for 
Stellenbosch University Satellite and takes it name from the South 
African university whose students constructed the payload. 
 
The SunSat package includes 1200 and 9600 baud digital 
store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system 
that will be used primarily for educational demonstrations. 
The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems. 
 
For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL: 
 
http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za 
 
[ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information] 
 
/EX 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.07 
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3 
 
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 122.07 FROM AMSAT HQ 
SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 02, 1999 
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT 
BID: $ANS-122.07 
 
THE FOLLOWING SATELLITES ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE 
NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME: 
 
RS-16 
The 435 MHz beacon (only) is operational. 
 
Attempts to command the mode A transponder 'on' have been 
unsuccessful to date. No additional information is available at this time. 
 
DOVE   DO-17 
Downlinks      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. 
 
ITAMSAT   IO-26 
Uplink   	145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM 1200 baud 
Downlink 	435.822 MHz SSB 
Unknown status. ANS has not received any recent updates concerning 
the status of IO-26. No additional information is available at this time. 
 
TECHSAT-1B   GO-32 
Downlink 	435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry framed so 
that a TNC in KISS mode will decode it 
Unknown status. ANS has not received any recent updates concerning 
the current status of GO-32. 
 
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/ 
 
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. 
 
Recovery efforts have been unsuccessful. 
 
SedSat-1, signifying Students for the Exploration and Development of 
Space Satellite number one, was successfully launched and placed in 
orbit on Saturday, October 24, 1998. 
 
For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at the 
following URL:  
 
http://www.seds.org/sedsat 
 
No additional information is available at this time. 
 
KITSAT   KO-23 
Uplink   	145.900 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK 
Downlink 	435.175 MHz FM 
Not operational. The downlink transmitter has not been operational for 
any normal communication for several months. 
 
ANS has learned (from HL0ENJ) that satellite downlink telemetry shows 
one of KO-23's battery cells to be very unstable. 
 
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, 
for KO-23 status information] 
 
/EX 
 
--ANS END--- 


May 04,1999