Posted: Sun Sep 11, 1988 3:48 AM GMT Msg: MGII-3730-9051 From: VRIP To: IS Subj: ANS.254 SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-254.01 AMSAT Weekend News Part 1 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 254.01 FROM WA2LQQ WARWICK, NY September 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT SPACE OPERATIONS AO-13 operations continue normally. The current operating schedule should remain in effect until September 21. After that, a new schedule will be installed which will reflect the spacecraft attitude change which commences September 19. The reorientation should take only a few orbits to complete. This will be the first seasonally-related attitude change for AO-13. AO-10 is out of service for an indeterminate period due to poor sun angles. RS-11 will be operating Tuesday thru Friday on Mode KA and weekends on Mode A. There is no RS-10 operation currently. ENGINEERING TESTS AO-13 was out of service Friday, September 9, for special Mode L radar survey tests. The tests showed a consistent AGC level of about -8 dB. This is in conflict with earlier data which showed a marked difference in AGC level related to antenna pointing. Additional tests may now have to be scheduled to resolve the ambiguity. The Mode L AGC survey began on Friday September 9 at MA 10 ran for 24 hours says DB2OS. Data was recorded in the IHU K-Block every 2 MA ticks. The AO-13 Mode S beacon tests performed this past week have been highly successful according to Bill McCaa, K0RZ. Bill says with the exception of the actual beacon frequency, all was as expected. The signal strength and power consumption and all other values were nominal. The beacon was first heard near apogee on Tuesday, September 6. Al Ward, WB5LUA calibrated the frequency as 2400.644 MHz. Several stations report hearing the Mode S PSK beacon 6 to 16 dB above the noise K0RZ says. Others in the U.S. who heard the beacon included WB0QIY and WA3ETD. All were using 4 foot dish antennas and had LNA noise figures at least 1.0 dB, it was reported. According to DB2OS, the Mode-S beacon was first manually activated on Monday, September 5 from 1223 UTC to 1248 UTC for an initial electrical check-out. When telemetry values showed the unit was electrically sound, an automatic software routine was installed in the IHU. The routine turns Mode-S on every apogee MA 123 to MA 134. Due to the power consumption of this transponder, Mode J must be off during Mode S beacon operation. The first Mode S beacon reception report from Europe comes from DK2ZF who says he first heard the beacon at 2103 UTC on September 8 using a 1.2m dish. The first Mode S transponder test is scheduled for September 17 when the satellite will be configured as follows: Mode B on, Mode S on, Mode S beacon off and Mode S squelch off. On September 18 the satellite will be configured with Mode B on, Mode S on, Mode S beacon on, Mode S squelch on and squelch high off. These tests will run between MA 123 and 134. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-254.02 AMSAT Weekend News Part 2 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 254.02 FROM WA2LQQ WARWICK, NY September 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT OPERATING ACTIVITIES AND USER INTERESTS A new dial-up voice space news service has just been placed on line. Called SPACHL, the Space Activities Hot Line carries the very latest news on amateur radio satellite operations, related radio nets and general world space activities. The 5 minute recorded announcement carries details of times and frequencies. It might be a good idea to record the bulletin since it goes by pretty fast. The number to call is 914-986-3875. SPACHL will be available 24 hours per day. Bulletins will be updated frequently to insure you get the latest scoop on what's happening. The AMSAT 20 meter international net will be simulcast on Mode B Sunday, September 11 beginning at 1900 UTC. Downlink frequency will be 145.960 MHz. A Mode B satellite net will meet on Saturday, September 17 at 0000 UTC, 145.960 MHz. That's Friday evening in the U.S. K.O. Learner, K9PVW, says the next edition of the Space Education Net will be held on Saturday, September 17. The Mode B session will begin at 1815 UTC. The Mode L session is rescheduled to 1930 UTC to allow for Mode S testing which will begin at about 2020 UTC. Andy MacAllister, WA5ZIB, says the first trial run of the ZRO test will be held September 24. For a free ZRO brochure, send WA5ZIB a business sized SASE with 45 cents postage. Send to Andy MacAllister, WA5ZIB, 14714 Knightsway, Houston TX 77083. Because of Mode S testing, the 75 meter East Coast Net simulcast next Tuesday, September 14 must be cancelled. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-254.03 AMSAT Weekend News Part 3 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 254.03 FROM WA2LQQ WARWICK, NY September 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT CONFERENCES OF INTEREST TO AMSAT MEMBERS The Second Annual Small Satellite conference will be held at Utah State University, Logan Utah, September 18 thru 21. Contact Larry Riley at 801-750-1696. For packet radio enthusiasts, next weekend will see the fourth packet symposium held in Barrie, Ontario, Canada September 17. Contact Jack Holden, VE3EP, in Barrie for further information. The 7th ARRL Amateur Radio Computer Networking conference will be held October 1 at the Applied Physics Lab of Johns Hopkins near Laurel, Maryland. Contact Mary Weinberg at ARRL HQ, 203-666-1541, for details. The 4th Annual Midwest Space Development Conference will be held in Dayton Ohio, September 30 through October 2. The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn on I-675 across from Wright State University. For further information, call 513-873-3232. Planning for AMSAT's 6th Space Symposium is proceeding well according to organizer Byron Lindsey, W4BIW. This year's event will be held at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Hotel November 11, 12 and 13. The event is being co-hosted by AMSAT and the Atlanta Radio Club. Hotel reservations at the Marriott may be made by calling 404-766-7900. Ask for the space symposium discount rate. Discount airline fares may be obtained by calling the GIT Travel Agency at 800-228-1777. More information will follow in subsequent bulletins. Meanwhile, you may contact W4BIW in Decatur for further information. WORLD SPACE NEWS SUMMARY In world space news, the commander of the problem-plagued Soyuz TM-5 mission to the Soviet Mir Space Station now says the reentry problems they encountered Wednesday were his fault. He says procedural errors complicated what should have been a simple manual override of a computer software problem. The two Cosmonauts, one Russian and one Afghan guest Cosmonaut, returned safely to the launch site in Kazakstan on their third attempt. There were fears during their 25 hour ordeal that they might be marooned in space. One U.S. space analyst says the blunder is the result of poor training and the fact that the mission was rescheduled a year earlier than planned in order to get the Afghan Cosmonaut into orbit before the pullout of Russian troops from Afghanistan was complete. Another private U.S. source said that was untrue since the mission commander, Colonel Vladimir Lyakhov, was among the most experienced Cosmonauts and was clearly one of the best people to have cope with the technical problem which occurred. In other Soviet space activity news, sources say the ambitious Phobos 1 mission to Mars launched July 7 is in deep trouble. Apparently a technician loaded a faulty software program last week. This caused Phobos 1 to lose its sun-seeking ability and thus became disoriented. As a result, it cannot be commanded and its solar panels are not towards the sun. The batteries are being drained. Director of the Space Research Institute in Moscow, Roald Sagdeyev, told the western press it would take a miracle to save the mission. Phobos 2 is doing well however. The failure of Phobos 1 and the Soyuz debacle earlier in the week together have tarnished the Soviet space programs which had until this week taken on a rare luster in leading a charmed life for the last three years the Moscow correspondent for the New York Times says. Meanwhile, U.S. Astronauts inspected the Shuttle Discovery and the launch facility at Cape Canaveral Thursday. They practiced emergency egress procedures and checked out their new space suits. Launch could come before the end of the month. NASA is expected to fix the launch date within a week. AMSAT radio nets are planned to cover the launch when it does occur. ATVers in the Bay Area will be treated to full mission video on two different ATV repeaters according to Mike Scott, N6GOZ. The ATV transmissions will be on the Mount Diablo and Black Mountain ATV repeaters. Contact N6GOZ or N6IIU for details. The Goddard Amateur Radio Club plans to cover the launch with extensive nets on HF and links on AO-13 as well. Watch for details in next week's bulletins. NASA this week said the shuttle launch of the Hubble Space Telescope will be pushed back eight months from June 1989 to February 1990. Additionally, the ASTRO-1, mission on which Ron Parise, WA4SIR, will fly, has been delayed four months. ASTRO-1 is now scheduled for March 1990. Two key planetary probes will be launched on schedule since they have a narrow window of opportunity. Magellan, intended to map Venus, will be launched next April. Galileo, a Jupiter survey, is scheduled for launch in October 1989. The delays were attributed to the shortage of rocket fuel caused by the massive explosion last May of a factory in Nevada NASA said. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-254.04 AMSAT Weekend News Part 4 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 254.04 FROM WA2LQQ WARWICK, NY September 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT SHORT BURSTS AMSAT has re-instituted its traditional orbit sponsor program for support of operations by satellite users. AMSAT HQ has the details: 301-589-6062. First Day Club certificate requests continue to arrive. All certificates will be mailed out by September 30. The AMSAT frequency guides are being mailed to all eligible donors. Mike Parisey, WD0GML, says his BBS system is now operational on 2400 as well as 1200 and 300 baud. He also now has a tracking program up and running on the board. The BBS system is located near St.Louis and is assuming the traffic load from the W0RPK BBS which will be phased out by September 15. Reach the WD0GML BBS at 315-447-3003. Jeff Kelly, KT2K, Ed O'Grady, KC2ZF and Tom Larson, N1CHM, are teaming to produce a series of space activity video news bulletins. A parallel project will develop video tutorial for teaching newcomers the ropes of using OSCARs. The first product is expected in October. Distribution of AMSAT bulletins via packet radio on AO-13 will begin on a trial basis shortly. Initially FSK will be used. Later PSK will be added. Finally, FSK will be phased out. The operating schedule will be announced shortly. In answer to many questions regarding the "Official AMSAT day" number seen in the AO-13 telemetry, DB2OS explains that day 0 is defined as January 1, 1978. That makes January 1, 1988, day 3652. Thus, September 10, 1988, the 254th day of the year is AMSAT day 3906. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-254.05 AO-13 and FO-12 Ops Sked HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 254.05 FROM WA2LQQ WARWICK, NY September 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT Here is the AO-13 operating schedule currently in use. This schedule will remain in effect until September 21 when a new schedule will be implemented. Deviations from this schedule may occur to facilitate important engineering tests. Revised Operating Schedule: V3.2 10Sep88 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Mode | From | Thru | Remarks | Duration | | |(Inclus)| (Inclus)| | MA Minutes| |========|========|=========|==================================== | Off | MA 241 | MA 002 | Solar eclipse window | 18 48.3 | | Mode B | MA 003 | MA 099 | | 97 260.2 | | Mode L | MA 100 | MA 150 | Mode JL optional | 51 136.8 | | Mode B | MA 151 | MA 240 | | 90 241.4 | | Mode S | MA 123 | MA 134 | Beacon; Xpndr 9/17,18| 12 32.2 | | RUDAK | | | Testing; ops pending | | +--------------------------------------------------+------------| Mode S beacon will run concurrent with Mode L but, for power budget reasons, will cause Mode J to be turned off during Mode S beacon operations. The omni antennas are enabled from MA 224 thru 032. Based on estimates by G3RUH, AO-13's attitude as of 10 September was BLON=182.8 and BLAT=-1.8. James says the rate of change of the Bahn Coordinates due to natural movements of the orbit is BLON +0.0 deg/day and BLAT -0.1 deg/day. On or about 19 September, the attitude will be changed to BLON=210 and BLAT=+5 to respond to seasonal sun angle changes says DB2OS. Here is the FO-12 operating schedule for September as provided by JARL. Mode Beginning Date Time JA 10 Sep 0543 D 12 0150 JD* 14 0000 JD 14 0610 DI 15 0516 JD 17 0124 DI 18 0435 JD 21 0355 DI 22 0301 JD 24 0314 DI 25 0220 JA 27 0234 D 28 Sep 0140 *On September 14 from 0000 to 0204, telemetry acquisition will be done every 2 seconds and the mailbox function will be disabled. A QSL card will be sent to those submitting telemetry data. Send to JARL HQ, 1-14-2 Sugamo, Toshimo-ku, Tokyo 170, Japan. JD = Digital mode JA = Analog mode D = All systems off DI = Systems off except CPU and memory The transponders will be off at other times. The actual operating schedule may change due to unexpected situations such as variations in available power. Mode JA Beacon: 435.795 MHz. Mode JD Beacon: 435.910 MHz.