Ham Radio/Ham Radio CD-ROM (Emerald Software) (1995).ISO/news/amsat049/amsat049.txt

Text File | 1989-02-21 | 17.7 KB | 376 lines

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*                                                                        *
*    THIS IS THE WD0GML-AMSAT-ST.LOUIS BBS 24HR 7DAY AT [phone]    *
*                            300/1200/2400 BAUD                          *
*                         Mike Parisey WD0GML SYSOP                      *
*                         Norm Newman NZ0Z Co-SYSOP                      *
*                                                                        *
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SB ALL @ AMSAT   $ANS-049.01
10M SATELLITE DOWNLINK QRM

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1989
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

10 Meter Downlink Passband Being "QRM'ed" By FM Stations

In recent months there has been a growing awareness among OSCAR
satellite users that the 10 Meter downlink spectrum of 29.300-29.500
MHz is being disrupted by 10 Meter FM stations.  All radio amateurs are
reminded that this spectrum has been set aside by international
agreement for use as a downlink passband for Mode A satellites, eg., RS
10/11.  By operating within this spectrum, 10 Meter FM stations
"wipe-out" a considerable portion of the downlink spectrum and render
it useless for RS 10/11 satellite users.  All RS 10/11 users who do
encounter this situation should politely remind the QRM'ing station
about the vital role this portion of the 10 Meter spectrum plays in the
Amateur Satellite Service.  Amateurs not involved in using OSCAR
satellites are requested to honor this "gentlemen's agreement" and
avoid using 29.300-29.500 MHz.

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT   $ANS-049.02
N8IWJ RECOGNIZED BY ARRL & TEACHERS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1989
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

N8IWJ Is Recognized By ARRL And Fellow Teachers For SKITREK Efforts

Rich Ensign, N8IWJ, AMSAT-NA Science Education Advisor, was recently
recognized by the ARRL Board of Directors for the outstanding job he
did in bringing the world of amateur radio into school class rooms last
year.  Rich produced the AMSAT Teachers Guide: "Exploring The High
Arctic From Your Classroom"; teachers from all around the world used it
as a guide in teaching lessons about the North Pole.  With the help of
amateur radio operators, thousands of school children heard the
DIGITALKER aboard UOSAT-OSCAR-11 as it "spoke the position" of the
ki-trekers as they made their way across the North Pole.  In addition
to the the Teachers Guide, Rich also generated a weekly progress report
on the status of the trekers and he made sure that the reports arrived
in a timely manner to teachers who were involved in this program.  The
ARRL Board of Directors recently recognized Rich for his efforts in
this endeavor.  Also, Rich's colleges have likewise recognized him --
he was voted "Teacher Of The Year" at Crestwood Highschool in Dearborn
Heights, MI.  AMSAT-NA congratulates Rich and feels the recognition he
has recieved is very much deserved.

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT   $ANS-049.03
U4MIR COMES TO LIFE!

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1989
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

U4MIR COMES TO LIFE!

Stations around the world have been reporting hearing and working
U4MIR.  According to Hans, ZS6AKV, stations in southern Africa worked
the new MIR station as early as Thursday, Feb. 9.  Pat, G3IOR, worked
U4MIR on Friday the 10th.  By Saturday, Feb. 11, many stations in
eastern Canada and in Europe were reporting contacts, including Bill,
VE3EFX, and his XYL, VE3HIR.  W2RS had one at 19:38 UTC on Sunday, Feb.
12, and another the same day at 21:13 UTC.

VE3EFX reports that the new operator's name is Alexander.  His English
is quite poor and he does seem to be having some trouble with call
signs.  But he is trying, so please speak slowly and distinctly,
sticking to standard ICAO phonetics.  Most of these contacts, including
those of W2RS, were made on 145.550 MHz simplex.  Alexander also seems
to be using 145.650 MHz as a secondary frequency; several simplex
contacts were made there as well.  So far at least, Alexander seems to
be keeping the same general hours as did Musa, U2MIR, in that most
contacts are being made at about 19:00 UTC or later, in the period
between the cosmonauts' dinner hour and lights-out.  Mir's operations
schedule is on Moscow time, which is three hours ahead of UTC.

Pat, G3IOR, reports that a new crew will be going up in April, and is
receiving Amateur Radio instruction on the ground.  We look forward to
more Amateur operation from the spacecraft as time goes on.  No new QSL
information has been received, so until further notice cards should
probably still go via Boris Stepanov, UW3AX, P.O. Box 679, Moscow
107207, USSR.

Please continue to report any information concerning MIR to AMSAT Net
Control Stations so that it may be passed on to others.

[We would like to thank Ray, W2RS, for compiling this information and
making it available to the AMSAT-NA News Service.]

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT   $ANS-049.04
SEN 019 SCHEDULE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD FEBRUARY 18, 1989
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

Space Education Net Schedule (SEN019)

The next session of the Space Education Net (SEN) has been scheduled
for Saturday, February 25, 1989.  The Mode B session will run from
15:00 to 16:00 UTC.  The downlink frequency will be 145.960 MHz.  No
Mode L session has been scheduled because of the lack of a Mode L Net
Control Station.

Slow Scan TV will be transmitted for approximately the first 10 minutes
of the bulletins on 145.965 MHz.  After the SEN bulletins, an informal
SSTV net will convene on the SSTV downlink frequency of 145.965 MHz.

Additional Net Control Stations are needed, particularly those which
have Mode L capability.  Also, stations who can act as NCS for the SEN
and who are located on the west coast of the US are especially needed.
If you would like to assist the SEN in this important position please
volunteer today.  Contact K.O. Learner, K9PVW, at P.O. Box 5006,
Kokomo, IN 46904 or via packet @KD9QB with your SEN questions or
comments or to volunteer to assist the SEN. Check-ins and particip-
ants are invited for both net sessions.

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT  $ANS-049.05
Short Bursts

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 049.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD FEBUARY 18, 1989
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

Short Bursts

All AO-13 satellite users are invited to participate in the next ZRO
Test and earn "endorsement stickers" by copying test signals sent by
WA5ZIB on a downlink frequency of 145.840 MHz.  All test signals
consist of CW code groups sent at 10 WPM.  There will be no voice
operation with the ZRO Test Control Station.  The following dates have
choosen for participant convenience and fairness:

     Saturday February 25, 1989  at  15:00 UTC
     Saturday March     4, 1989  at  07:00 UTC

If there are any changes to the above list of ZRO Test Times, those
changes will be announced immediately.  If you would like to receive
your copy of the ZRO Test brochure, send a s.a.s.e with two units of
postage to: Andy MacAllister, WA5ZIB, 14714 Knightsway Dr., Houston, TX
77083.

OSCAR satellite enthusiasts are reminded of the new AMSAT
"Novice/Technican" Net every Sunday at 19:00 UTC at 28.460 MHz.  This
weekly net is conducted by Vinne, WB2YGA. This Net is intended for
helping beginners get started on OSCAR satellites.  WB2YGA reported for
his first session of this "Novice/Technican" Net that he had over
twenty check-in!  Vinnie requests that those looking for him on Sundays
at 19:00 UTC consider the effect that QRM will have on his start-up
frequency -- look around 28.460 MHz. All newcomers and "old pro's" are
welcomed to join help make this an informative Net for all.

/EX

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
THE FOLLOWING ADDED BY WD0GML-AMSAT-ST.LOUIS [phone] 24hr 7day
300/1200/2400 baud. This section may have additions through the week!

U4MIR CONTINUES ACTIVE:

U4MIR continues to be very active.  On Friday, Feb. 17, he came
up on four passes over North America, 17249 through 17252,
working stations rapid-fire on 145.55 MHz FM simplex.  He was
worked here at times ranging from 1533 to 2017 UTC.  Contacts
generally consist of a simple exchange of call signs, with an
occasional "please repeat" or "dos vedaniya" thrown in.

When calling U4MIR, best results will be had if you keep calls
short, listen frequently and stick to standard ICAO phonetics.
He seems to understand those readily although his English is
fragmentary at best.  As with other manned spacecraft, use of the
latest Keplerian elements is generally necessary because of the
rapidly-changing orbit.  A directional antenna also helps to hear
the spacecraft through other callers, as well as immproving your
own signal in U4MIR's receiver.

Good luck.

                                  73, Ray, W2RS
/EX

OSCAR-10 Operations:

There appears to be some confusion amongst potential users of AO-10's trans-
ponder as to whether or not they are allowed to use the transponder after the
15th of February 1989. Therefore, after consulting with Ian Ashley, ZL1AOX (who
has been unable to monitor AO-10 due to work commitments) I have uploaded the
following K & L blocks to AO-13's beacon which are transmitted at 400 baud PSK.
I have also loaded a similar message for transmission on AO-13's Beacon by RTTY
and CW. Hopefully these messages will clarify the situation.

K de VK5AGR 17Feb89 2005utc QST: Please note that AO-10's trans-
ponder is available for use whenever in view. However, please DO
NOT USE the transponder when FMing occurs. AO-10 is not affected
by eclipses until April 1989 but the solar illumination is drop-
ping every day. The estimate of AO-10's attitude (extrapolating
from the last known attitude before the IHU failed in December
1986) on 20Feb89 is LON 70 degrees LAT -27 degrees which equates
to a solar illumination of 60%. When the solar illumination L>

L de VK5AGR 17Feb89 2005utc QST: drops below 70% AO-10's trans-
ponder will support only moderate usage. I would expect that by
the end of February AO-10 will once again go 'dormant' until
about the end of the first week of May when the estimated solar
illumination will be greater than 60%. The estimate of AO-10's
attitude on 08May89 is LON 63 degrees and LAT -26.4 degrees
which equates to a solar illumination of 64%. Please feel free
to use AO-10's transponder until signals are FMing. 73s Graham

READ MY LIPS-NO MORE HYPE:

A plea to prospective authors of articles for the popular Amateur
magazines about forthcoming satellites: Please, guys, no more hype!!
(I have not read anyone's MICROSAT article, so no one should take this
personally).

Not too many years ago, AMSAT ran a series of fund-raising ads which
trumpeted loudly that "Phase III would be the equivalent of a new
band!"  Well, when we finally got AO-10, there was a launch accident,
the inclination was much lower than expected, an antenna was bent or
broken and it was a new band, all right, if you didn't mind limited
access time and weak signals.  AMSAT lost more credibility with the
general Amateur community over those impossible-to-fulfill early
promises than over anything we've ever done before or since.  The
letdown in the VHF/UHF world in the first few weeks of AO-10's
operation will never be forgotten by anyone who lived through it.

Then, there was FO-12 and the battery problem, not to mention the fact
that most hams had been led to believe that they could access Mode JD
with a standard TNC-2.  Sure, they could, if they had a special modem
that to this day is available only in kit form.

Dare I mention AO-13 and the "squint angle" problem that means that
its maximum effective range is a good deal less than that of AO-10?
What about Mode J that was featured in pre-launch publicity and that
many Amateurs are now told not to use?

Dear reader, I am not complaining about the satellites.  They
represent the best that their designers and builders could have done
under the circumstances.  Ours is an experimental, not an operational,
service, and all of the above spacecraft were successful experiments
from which we have learned things that will help us in the future.

Rather, my complaint is about the pre-launch publicity that was based
on the designers' hopes and specifications rather than on the actual
post-launch performance.  As I have illustrated above, we have often
misled people about what our products could do for them.  We did that
with the best of intentions, but the "product liability" we now face
is a great deal of skepticism about anything in the way of publicity
that comes out with our name on it.  Believe me, some of that will
come back to bite us on the no-code issue.

In an ideal world, I would suggest holding up publication of
user-tutorial articles until after satellites are up and running.  In
this day of 3-5 year useful spacecraft lives, we can afford the luxury
of a few months at the outset to see that we get the story straight.
Such a policy would not make editors and publishers love us, but I'd
rather that their readers learn to trust us again.

When that ideal is not possible, let's everyone who writes these
things go through his manuscript with a tough eye and take out
anything that even so much as smells like a promise of performance.
Sure, fewer people will be "motivated" to read the article that way.
But, I'd rather they be motivated to trust AMSAT in the future.  Then,
after the spacecraft has been tested in orbit, we can run a second
article about how good it is.

Note that I have observed my own rule; I waited at least several
billion years before publishing my QST article about Oscar Zero.

                                   73, Ray, W2RS

MICROSAT ORBIT TUTORIAL:

AMSAT will be launching Microsat spacecraft on an Ariane 4 from Kourou, French
Guiana, a French department in South America.  This is the large space
facility designed by the European Space Agency and operated for Arianespace,
its commercial arm.  Our satellites will be secondary payloads with the
SPOT-2 satellite. This is a French earth resources satellites with a high
resolution camera on board capable of resolutions down to a few meters.
We will sit on a  shelf just below the main payload along with UOSAT-D and E.
The SPOT launch is to put a payload into a sun synchronous orbit.  This is a
familiar orbit to early OSCARs.  Indeed, UO-9 and UO-11 were both launched
into sun synchronous orbits on a Delta launcher from Vandenburg AFB.  These
satellites still operate.  This is a nearly polar orbit and has the nice
feature that gives it some predictability.  The earth is not a perfect
sphere and thus it perturbs the orbit of spacecraft from their initial
one.  If you use these perturbations to your advantage, you can almost
achieve a fly over of your spacecraft at the same time everyday.  This
particular launch gives us a 10:30 AM-PM sun synchronous orbit.  This means
that the best pass of each day will occur around 1030 in the morning and
evening LOCAL time everyday.  It will vary some, but the average time for the
best orbit will be around this time.  As it flies over the US, it will be
traveling essentially South to North or vice versa.  See the table below
for a listing of the orbital elements for this satellite.  These elements
are good only if the satellite is launched on June 15, 1989.  There is an easy
modification to make to this orbital element set valid for any launch date.
You will have the elements no matter when the launch takes place.  The only
caveat is that the launcher must perform the insertion as planned!  Nothing
changes with the exception of the right ascension of the ascending node
(RAAN) and the date (not the time).  RAAN is the longitude of the place on
on the orbital plane on the celestial sphere coordinate system where the orbit
crosses the earth's equator going from south to north.  As the earth revolves
about the sun, this number must change in a predictable way to maintain the
overhead passes occuring in a fashion that is synchronous with the sun.




Elements for a 06/15/89 launch


Epoch

06/15/89  014213 UTC    (time of launch)
        Inclination     98.7376 deg

RAAN

240.17746 deg   (changes with day of launch)

Eccentricity
0.001338

Arg. of Peri.
108.2 deg

Mean Anomaly
257.5 deg

Mean Mot.
14.19889

Drag

0.0000001



RAAN = 77.50451 + 0.98561228 T degrees

where T is the number of days between 01/01/50 at 0h UTC and the date of
the launch.

This will be a night time launch.  The valves on the first stage are
scheduled to be opened at 014213 UTC .  The launch window is a short ten
minutes.  It might be possible that this vehicle and the satellites will
be visible from the east coast of the United States during its ascent.
In central New Jersey, the spacecraft is above the horizon and in the sunlight
while the sun is more than ten degrees below the horizon for us on the ground.
It will be dark during part of the ascent and during seperation of the
satellites.  It will get up to thirty degrees above the horizon in NJ. The
satellite will higher above the horizon and it will be darker in New England.
Seperation is to occur while the satellites are not far from overhead on St.
Pierre et Miquelon (Canada).  It will be worth looking at to see if you
can see the third stage and the satellites.  We will also be able to hear from
the satellites soon after launch rather than having an agonizing delay of
hours wondering if `we made it.'

Excerpted from an upcoming article in QST by KO5I and N4HY