****************************************************************************** * AMSAT NA News Service Bulletins * * NEWS304 31Oct87 * * [ Copyright 1987 by AMSAT NA, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ] * * [ Permission is granted for unlimited redistribution by electronic or ] * * [ other means provided credit is given to AMSAT NA News Service (ANS). ] * * [ Edited for AMSAT NA by WA2LQQ. ] * * [ (N)=New story; (U)=Updated story; (R)=Reprieved story ] * * [ This edition was forwarded by the W0RPK-AMSAT Bulletin Board System ] * * [ operating on 515-961-3325 24-hours Ralph Wallio, W0RPK SYSOP ] * ****************************************************************************** Headlines: 1.(N) Plans Call For AO-10 Return By Mid-November 2.(N) Transpolar Skitrek May Reckon Its Position Using SARSAT/COSPAS/UoSAT 3.(N) Annual Meeting and Space Symposium Next Weekend 4.(U) Records Fall In Wake of Greenbank EME Activity 5.(R) African Near-Disaster Underscores Packet Project Urgency 6.(R) Net Schedule Revised With Transition to "Standard Time" 7.(R) IAF Meets In UK; UoSAT Scored Hit In Exhibition 8.(R) FO-12 Schedule 9.(U) Short Bursts News in brief: 1. Spacecraft controllers are confident AO-10 can be released for service in the next few weeks. Caution to avoid the anticipated long eclipses is urged on all would-be satellite users. 2. The UoSAT OSCAR 11 Digitalker experiment may play a vital role in Project Nordski Comm, a project to provide navigational information to a team skiing across the North Pole late this winter. 3. The AMSAT Annual meeting and Space Symposium are on tap for next weekend. Several hundred satellite aficionadoes from across the nation are expected. Astronaut Tony England, W0ORE, will be the featured speaker and special guest. 4. Returning to Greenbank after 4 years, a group of Amateurs have apparently shattered records in the ARRL-EME weekend contest. 5. A freak weather condition in southern Africa dramatically demonstrates an urgent need for improved communications. Using packet radio techniques developed by Amateurs, a solution to averting calamity is at hand. 6. AMSAT nets have made their regular transition to the winter schedule. 7. Two members of the Surrey UoSAT team gave papers at an international meeting held in England recently. The UoSAT-2 engineering model was a star attraction in the exhibition hall. 8. Fuji OSCAR 12 appears to be back on schedule and performing well. A new operating schedule is anticipated soon. ****************************************************************************** 1.(N) Plans Call For AO-10 Return By Mid-November Chances are excellent AMSAT OSCAR 10 will be released for general use in a few weeks according to the satellite command team. Tests conducted by VK5AGR on October 25 suggest the satellite is in relatively good condition. AO-10 has been unavailable for use since early August. It was pulled from service at that time when sagging sun angles reduced available power to critical levels. Now, however, sun angles are improving as predicted and it appears it will be released for general use in mid-November, two weeks ahead of the earlier estimates. Observation reports by W6WNK and others say AO-10 has been heard with strong signals in late October. The satellite had been turned on for a routine status check. Evaluation of the satellite's condition has been accomplished in the last week by VK5AGR, ZL1AOX and DB2OS. Based on their analysis, AO-10's battery is in good condition and the Mode B transponder is functioning normally. However, they caution that jumping the gun, that is, using the satellite prior to its release in mid-November could seriously jeopardize the spacecraft. All users are strongly encouraged to await the official release date. That date has now tentatively been set at November 16. A further caution has been issued by the command team. Graham, VK5AGR, speaking for the command team, asserts that during the next few months, when solar illumination is greater than 75%, AO-10 will be experiencing solar eclipses up to 99 minutes every orbit. For example, on November 16, AO-10 will be in solar eclipse from 0657 to 0824 UTC. This period corresponds to MA 74 to MA 106 or 87 minutes in length. In order to avoid damage to the battery, users must studiously avoid using the satellite while it's in eclipse. This had been the case previously but the eclipses then tended to occur around perigee. In the next few months, however, very long eclipses occur well after perigee. Here is the tentative AO-10 operating schedule for the balance of 1987. This schedule is subject to change if the satellite is subject to excessively high loading or by its use during eclipses. (Tentative) AMSAT OSCAR 10 Transponder Operating Schedule ========================================================= +---------------------+--------------------------------+ | Time Frame (1987) | Mode B Operating Times in MA | +---------------------+--------------------------------+ | Nov 16 thru Nov 23 | 0 thru 59 and 131 thru 255 | | Nov 24 thru Nov 30 | 0 thru 69 and 141 thru 255 | | Dec 01 thru Dec 07 | 0 thru 89 and 161 thru 255 | | Dec 08 thru Dec 14 | 0 thru 99 and 171 thru 255 | | Dec 15 thru Dec 21 | 0 thru 109 and 191 thru 255 | | Dec 22 thru Dec 28 | 0 thru 119 and 201 thru 255 | | Dec 29 thru Jan 04 | 0 thru 139 and 221 thru 255 | +---------------------+--------------------------------+ If sum, then, unless plans change at the last minute, AO-10 will be available for use beginning November 16, UTC, on the schedule just announced. Please do not use the satellite prior to that time. Unauthorized use prior to November 16 may jeopardize the schedule and postpone the satellite's availability if additional recovery time is required. When released for general use, please insure your operations are in close accord with the official operating schedule. Stay in close contact with official news sources so you are aware of the latest operating conditions and schedule changes if any. And, as always, please insure you use the lowest uplink power levels so as to insure satellite health as well as good communications. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [Following table not suitable for voice nets] AO-10's eclipse schedule for the next two months is as follows (computed by DB2OS) AO-10 Eclipses +-------------+----------+----------------+ | 1987 | Sunangle | Eclipse-Data | | Date | Illumin. | MA MA Dura.| | Mondays | SA ILL% | in out Min.| +-------------+----------+----------------+ |1987 Nov 9 |-51 64 | 61 93 86 | |1987 Nov 16 |-44 73 | 74 106 88 | |1987 Nov 23 |-36 80 | 86 119 90 | |1987 Nov 30 |-29 87 | 100 134 93 | |1987 Dec 7 |-22 93 | 114 149 96 | |1987 Dec 14 |-15 96 | 127 164 99 | |1987 Dec 21 | -8 99 | 141 178 101 | |1987 Dec 28 | -1 100 | 153 190 99 | +-------------+----------+----------------+ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2.(N) Transpolar Skitrek May Reckon Its Position Using SARSAT/COSPAS/UoSAT A combination of space resources may be put to use in support of a joint Canadian-Soviet polar expedition early next year. Currently under discussion is Project Nordski Comm, a plan whereby the polar expedition team will be tracked by a fleet of international satellites and their position reported back to them by UoSAT OSCAR 11's Digitalker experiment. Departing in February from Cape Arktichesky in the USSR, the Transpolar Skitrek expeditionary team will ski across the North Pole arriving at the Cape of Columbia near Ellesmere Island, Canada 90 to 100 days later. Leonid Labutin, UA3CR, is the chief radio operator of the project. Leo will work from one of the support camps to provide radio communications. The team will carry two Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT). These emit specially coded beacon signals in the 406 MHz range. The signals are picked up by satellites in the international SARSAT/COSPAS program. By analyzing the Doppler shift of the transponded signals, ground personnel can determine the ELT location to within a few miles or better. There are about 6 SARSAT/COSPAS-equipped satellites in operation today. It is believed COSMOS 1861, which carries RS-10/11, also has a SARSAT/COSPAS transponder aboard. SARSAT stands for Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System. COSPAS is a Russian abbreviation for Space System for Search of Vehicles in Distress. The addition of direct position feedback to the expeditionary team is the novel part of the plans for the project. If arrangements can be completed and approved by the appropriate authorities, the expeditionary team's position, as determined by the SARSAT/COSPAS Mission Control Center, will be automatically relayed by Telex to the University of Surrey in England. From there the position will be encoded in software which programs the UO-11 Digitalker. Several times per orbit, Digitalker would announce the team's position in plain English. The team would listen for UO-11 on 145.825 MHz on miniature VHF transceivers they carry and thus obtain vital information on their current position. AMSAT has played an interesting historical role in the evolution of SARSAT/COSPAS. AMSAT OSCAR 7 was employed as a proof of concept for SARSAT in December 1975. Using AO-7's Mode A transponder, signals from AO-7 received at the Goddard Space Flight center proved a low power uplink could provide sufficiently accurate tracking information with an estimated 3 to 6 km potential. The SARSAT/COSPAS program now consists of spacecraft provided by the United States and the Soviet Union. They, together with Canada and France founded the system. Today more than a dozen nations participate in the program. Officials credit SARSAT/COSPAS with having saved more than 1,000 lives to date. AMSAT has plans to initiate a radio sport competition using the SARSAT/COSPAS system as a model. The objective will be to illustrate the technique and provide a valuable educational tool in a sport context. The competition would challenge participants to locate a hidden transmitter via satellite using Doppler shift analysis techniques similar to those employed by the SARSAT/COSPAS Mission Control Centers. A 1988 kickoff is planned for this project. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3.(N) Annual Meeting and Space Symposium Next Weekend The 1987 AMSAT Annual Meeting and 5th Annual Space Symposium are on tap for the weekend of November 6-8 in the Detroit suburb of Southfield. A full program of technical papers featuring experts from around the world is planned. Papers covering many aspects of current and future programs will be presented. Featured speaker is Astronaut Dr. Tony England, W0ORE. The Annual Meeting and banquet will be held Saturday evening. The newly elected members of the Board of Directors will be introduced. Banquet prizes include antennas, preamps, computer interfaces and much more. The meeting will be held at the Southfield Hilton Hotel north of Detroit. The main event is on Saturday with additional activities planned for Sunday. A hospitality gathering will be held at the Hilton Friday night. Two meter talk-in will be on WB8VTW: 147.16 +600. Last minute registration may be obtainable by calling AMSAT HQ: 301-589-6062. See ASR #160 for additional details. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 4.(U) Records Fall In Wake of Greenbank EME Activity Preliminary reports suggest a number of significant records were established during the EME weekend of 17-18 October. In one of the highlights of the ARRL-sponsored event, a group of Amateurs including AMSAT's Tom Clark, W3IWI, operated the 140 foot polar mount dish at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Greenbank, West Virginia. One record which seems to have been established is a new mark for the best-ever 13 cm DX. According to ZL1AOX, a Wellington station, ZL2AQE, worked the Greenbank station via the moon using 5 to 6 watts and a 4 meter dish. If sustained, this would be a new world's record for 2.4 GHz. A one way 10 GHz link between Greenbank and I4BER in Italy was achieved. Signals received at I4BER from Greenbank were about 40 dB out of the noise according to W3IWI. The return link was not successful due to the TWT at Greenbank swamping their receiver. A preliminary QSO count has about ninety 70 cm EME QSOs, eighteen 23 cm QSOs and eleven 13 cm QSOs. Many stations garnered their first EME contact on this occasion. Several comment the Greenbank signal off the moon was the strongest ever heard on EME. A more detailed report will be made available as soon as possible. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5.(R) African Near-Disaster Underscores Packet Project Urgency The potential value of Amateur Radio-derived communications technology in a desperate emergency situation has again been vividly demonstrated. This time the scene unfolded in the rural mountainous southern African Kingdom of Lesotho. Recently, Lesotho was struck by the worst snow and rain storms in living memory. Villages and farms in the rugged mountain areas were cut off from supplies and lost virtually all communication with the outside world. But packet radio techniques may provide a long term solution for the beleaguered population. A pilot packet project calls for the establishment of a number of packet stations in a network. The network will be linked to the ZS6SAT PBBS in Johannesburg. From there a gateway to the UoSAT OSCAR 11 DCE and FO12 will be provided. A potential linkup with the future VITA-PACSAT is contemplated as well in a later version when the network is transitioned to non-Amateur frequencies for regular operational use. The first steps in implementing the network are already being taken. The first digipeater in the link between Lesotho and Johannesburg will go into operation within the next few weeks. The second digipeater will most likely be installed before the end of the year. The UO-11 DCE gateway is under development and should be in operation by year's end. The South African part of the project is being financed by SA AMSAT. A fund raising campaign is under way to obtain various system components. The Canadian International Development Research Council is considering financing the Lesotho portion of the network. Canadian George Hunt, operating in Lesotho as 7P8DL, is the catalyst for the project. He is receiving engineering and other support from the SA AMSAT organization under the leadership of ZS6AKV. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 6.(R) Net Schedule Revised With Transition to "Standard Time" AMSAT nets returned to their winter schedule beginning the weekend of 24-25 October concurrent with the change from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time in the U.S. In accord with prior practice, all local and regional nets maintain local time. That is, a net beginning at 20:00 Daylight Time now begins at 20:00 Standard Time. However, nets serving an international community maintain the same UTC time. For example, the AMSAT 20 meter International Net continues to be heard at 1900 UTC Sundays on 14.282 MHz. This means it is heard one hour earlier, local time, in the U.S. where Daylight Time had been in place. Similarly, the AMSAT South Pacific Net continues to be heard at 22:00 UTC on 14.282 MHz on Saturdays. The AMSAT 75 meter East Coast Net reverts to its former one hour format beginning Tuesday evening, 27 October. The adverse propagation conditions which caused its expansion to two hours last year have now largely mitigated. Henceforth, this net begins at 21:00 EST on 3840 kHz. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 7.(R) IAF Meets In UK; UoSAT Scored Hit In Exhibition The 38th Meeting of the International Astronautics Federation was held in Brighton (UK) the week of October 12. Several hundred delegates from virtually all countries attended. Associated with the meeting was an impressive exhibition with exhibitors from aerospace organizations large and small worldwide. One of the most interesting exhibits was a model of the MIR space station at the Soviet stand. The University of Surrey exhibited the engineering model of the UoSAT-2 spacecraft accompanied by a replica of the UoS groundstation and a display showing the range of spacecraft engineering activities undertaken at UoS. Much interest was shown throughout the week in UoSAT and its capabilities. Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, presented a paper on cost-effective spacecraft engineering and Craig Underwood presented a paper on the role of satellites in education. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 8.(R) FO-12 Schedule FO-12 will operate: From To Date Time Date Time Mode ============================ November 02 11:23 03 10:30 JD 04 11:37 05 10:43 JD 07 08:55 08 10:02 JD The transponders will be off at others times. The schedule may be changed at any time due to unexpected power situations. A new operating schedule for FO-12 is pending release by JARL. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 9.(U) Short Bursts The main UoSAT command station at the University of Surrey, England, was taken off the air in early October when a devastating storm raked the United Kingdom. Hundred mile an hour winds, the most severe in three centuries, did their worst as UoSAT's famous antenna arrays were launched into an indeterminate trajectory. UoSAT operations were carried forth from the home QTH of G3YJO whilst repairs were undertaken at the University. All was back in order by late October and normal UoSAT commanding has resumed at the main station. *** Arianespace intends to launch its next mission, V-20, in the second half of November. If this is accomplished and the V-21 launch is accomplished in January as scheduled, AMSAT's Phase 3C, manifested aboard V-22, could be launched as early as February of next year. ******************************************************************************* END