SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.01 STS-56 HAMVENTION READY TO FLY HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.01 KA5HDO Provides Details About The STS-56 SAREX Mission With the Space Shuttle Discovery ready for launch 06-APR-93, radio amateurs around the world are looking forward to another exciting Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) mission this week. One outstanding feature about this particular SAREX mission is the fact that ALL the astronauts flying on STS-56 are licensed radio amateurs! The crew for this mission includes Ken Cameron (KB5AWP), Ken Cockrell (KB5UAH), Mike Foale (KB5UAC), Ellen Ochoa (KB5TZZ), and Steve Oswald (KB5YSR). This eight day mission, with its orbital inclination of 57 degrees, will provide many excellent opportunities for earth-bound hams from northern Canada to Punta Arenas to make a SAREX contact. This will be the eighth mission that the SAREX payload has flown. For STS-56, the SAREX payload configuration has been set up to include 2M FM voice, Slow Scan TV (SSTV), 2M packet, and Amateur TV (ATV). The following is the list of frequencies that the STS-56 crew will use during this mission. Please note the regions where these frequencies are used. SAREX Frequencies Shuttle Downlink Shuttle Uplink Frequencies 2M FM Voice Frequencies U.S., Africa, 145.550 MHz 144.950 MHz South America, 145.550 144.970 & Asia 145.550 144.910 Europe 145.550 MHz 144.950 MHz 145.550 144.750 145.550 144.700 AT NO TIME, SHOULD YOU EVER TRANSMIT ON THE SAREX DOWNLINK FREQUENCY OF 145.550 MHz. The packet uplink frequency will be 144.490 MHz and the downlink frequency will again be 145.550 MHz. The astronauts wish to remind those on the ground to wait until the Shuttle Discovery is a few degrees above the horizon so that you can hear the operator announce which uplink frequency is being used. At no time will the crew of STS-56 favor any particular frequency so your chance of making a connact will be based on the "luck of the draw." The primary callsign to be used for the 2M FM voice contacts will be that of Ken Cameron (KB5AWP). The callsign for the packet station will be W5RRR-1 which many will recognize as the the callsign for the Johnson Spaceflight Center's (JSC) radio club of W5RRR. Likewise, the callsign to be used during SSTV operations will be W5RRR/S. The ATV contacts will only be made on prearranged schedules. [The ANS would like to thank Frank Bauer (KA3HDO) of the SAREX Working Group for this bulletin item.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.02 INFORMATION SOURCES DURING STS-56 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.02 AMSAT, ARRL, WA3NAN, W5RRR To Provide Up-To-The-Minute Information During the STS-56 SAREX mission radio amateurs can get up-to-the-minute information about the SAREX operations from the AMSAT News Service (ANS) bulletins and the many weekly AMSAT HF and VHF nets around the world. Also, the Goddard Amateur Radio Club in Greenbelt, MD will re-broadcast the shuttle voice audio as it has done on past SAREX missions. Included in these broadcasts will be the latest keplerian element set so that radio amateurs can predict Acquision-of-Signal (AOS) and Loss-of-Signal (LOS) times for STS-56. Likewise, the John Spaceflight Center (JSC) radio club, W5RRR, will also be a source for SAREX information. The following is the list of HF and VHF frequencies that radio amateurs can tune in on to find out the latest status of STS-56. GSFC ARC WA3NAN Planned HF Operating Frequencies For SAREX Bulletins 3.860 MHz 7.185 MHz [Note: If you live in the Greenbelt, MD 14.295 Mhz 21.395 MHz or Washington, DC area, you can listen 28.650 Mhz to WA3NAN re-broadcast on 147.450 MHz.] JSC ARC W5RRR Planned HF Operating Frequencies For SAREX Bulletins 7.225 MHz 28.650 MHz [Note: If you live in the Houston, TX 14.280 Mhz area, you can listen W5RRR's shuttle 21.395 Mhz re-broadcast on 146.640 MHz.] Also, the ARRL's station ,W1AW, will provide SAREX mission bulletins and keplerian elements during its daily bulletin broadcasts. See this months QST for information on the times and frequencies for W1AW's bulletin broadcasts. If you would like to find out about the technical details of the various scientific payloads on this particular shuttle mission, you are invited to call into the JSC landline BBS. To connect to the JSC BBS, use 1200 baud with 8 bits, no parity, and one stop bit, (8-N-1 1200 baud), and dial (713) 483-2500 then type 62511. [The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to thank Frank Bauer (KA3HDO) for this bulletin item.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.03 STS-56 INITIAL ORBITAL ELEMENTS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.03 Preliminary STS-56 Keplerian Elements The planned launch date for STS-56 has now been set for 6-APR-93 at 05:32 UTC. The following elements should be used assuming that the STS-56 launch is on time. STS-56 1 00056U 93 96.29075346 .00055200 00000-0 16200-3 0 56 2 00056 57.0020 177.4323 0011289 286.7156 73.2672 15.91759473 20 Satellite: STS-56 Catalog number: 00056 Epoch time: 93096.29075346 = (6-APR-93 06:58:41.10 UTC) Element set: JSC-005 Inclination: 57.0020 deg RA of node: 177.4323 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-56 Eccentricity: .0011289 Prelaunch Keplerian Elements Arg of perigee: 286.7156 deg Launch: 6-APR-93 05:32 UTC Mean anomaly: 73.2672 deg Mean motion: 15.91759473 rev/day G.L. Carman Decay rate: 5.52000e-04 rev/day*2 NASA Johnson Space Center Epoch rev: 2 [The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to thank Gill Carman for this set of keplerian elements for STS-56.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.04 STS-56 QSL INFORMATION HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.04 STS-56 QSL Information All radio amateurs and short-wave listeners (SWL) are invited to send their signal reports and QSL cards to the following address for this STS-56 SAREX mission. QSL Info: Send you QSL or Listeners Report to: STS-56 QSL c/o Vienna Wireless Society P.O. Box 418 Vienna, VA 22183 Please include a self-addressed-stamped-envelope. Non-US stations should include the appropriate number of IRCs with your QSL. Report should include callsign, whether worked/heard, date, UTC time, mode, frequency, and QSO number for packet connects. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.05 AMSAT OPS NET SCHEDULE HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.05 AMSAT Operations Net Schedule AMSAT Operations Nets are planned for the following times. Mode B Nets are conducted on an AO-13 on a downlink frequency of 145.950 MHz and Mode J/L on a downlink of 435.970 MHz. Date UTC Mode Phs NCS Alt NCS 10-Apr-93 2230 B 86 N7NQM W5IU 19-Apr-93 0130 B 95 WB6LLO WA5ZIB 24-Apr-93 1730 B 65 WA5ZIB WJ9F Any stations with information on current events would be most welcome. Also, those interested in discussing technical issues or who have questions about any particular aspect of OSCAR statellite operations are encouraged to join the OPS Nets. In the unlikely event that either the Net Control Station (NCS) or the alternate do not call on frequency, any participant is invited to act as the NCS. ************************************** Slow Scan Television on AO-13 SSTV sessions will be held on UTC Saturdays and Sundays: Mode J Downlink 435.980 MHz Mode B after J Downlink 145.960 MHz OPS NETS will take priority, look for SSTV activity immediately after the net. SSTVer's are invited to join the Net to make schedules at other times if desired. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.06 POSSIBLE RS-15 KEP SET HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.06 N3KVQ Works UP A Possible RS-15 Keplerian Element Set In AMSAT News Service Bulletin (ANS) ANS-326.03 of 21-NOV-1992, Pat Gowen (G3IOR) provided some details about the upcoming RS-15 mission. RS-15 will be a Mode A transponder on board a Russian satellite. The circular orbit of this satellite is planned to be of 2300 KM altitude and orbital inclination of 63 degrees. The launch should occur between February and April 1993. RS-15 will be at more than twice the altitude of RS-10. The advantages of a higher orbit are longer pass times, wider areas of coverage, and less Doppler shift. The primary disadvatage is that the increased distance between the satellite and users may require more transmission power and/or beam antennas. The orbital elements below are based upon the expected orbit parameters given by G3IOR. The launch was assumed to take place from Plesestk at 12:00 UTC on 1-APR-93 (no, this is not an April Fool's Day joke). Note that the epoch is for the ascending node of the initial orbit, not for launch time. Satellite RS-15 Catalog Number 99999 Epoch 93 91.56986454 04/01/93 13:40:36 UTC Element Set 0 Inclination 63.0000 Deg RAAN 319.9261 Deg Eccentricity 0.0000000 Argument of Perigee 0.0000 Deg Mean Anomaly 0.0000 Deg Mean Motion 10.73887719 Rev/Day Drag2 0.00000000 Rev/Day^2 Epoch Revolution 1 Semimajor Axis 8678.14 KM Precession 1.5375 Deg West/Day Period 134.09 Min Apogee 2300.00 KM 1429.15 SM 1241.90 Nm Perigee 2300.00 KM 1429.15 SM 1241.90 Nm These elements were generated using OrbiTrack, a Macintosh computer satellite tracking program. To create orbital elements, the user selects the launch site and time, sets the inclination and apogee/perigee of the desired orbit, then issues the Calculate Orbit command to compute the rest of the parameters. Apart from the information that G3IOR supplied in the previous ANS bulletin, no details about RS-15 have appeared in the Western literature. Please forward information about this upcoming mission and any questions about this bulletin to Walter Daniel (N3KVQ) via n3kvq@amsat.org (Internet) or N3KVQ@KA3RFE.MD.USA.NA (Packet). /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.07 COMMAND ERROR FOILS DOHOP HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.07 Command Error Foils Dual-Hop Experiment Between AO-21 & RS-10 G0NKA and G3IOR advise that due to an apparent error at the Russian military station GCC which commands RS-14/AO-21's "host" spacecraft, INFORMATOR-1, that the Dual-Hop test which had been scheduled for 28-MAR-93 did not take place. The command station turned on the satellite's 2M CW beacon but Mode-B Transponder #2 was not enabled as had been planned. Several G stations, including G4CUO and G3IOR, were heard in the USA around the times originally scheduled for Dual-Hop, but these were transmitting on 2M directly through RS-10. Theirs was an accomplishment nonetheless, since RS-10 was slightly below the horizon in the UK when their downlink signals were heard in the US. Additional Dual-Hop tests are planned in the coming months. [The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to Ray Soifer (W2RS) for this bulletin item.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-093.08 WEEKLY OSCAR STATUS REPORTS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 093.08 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD APRIL 3, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-093.08 Weekly OSCAR Status Reports: 03-APR-93 AO-13: L QST *** AO-13 TRANSPONDER SCHEDULE *** 1993 Mar 22 - May 10 Mode-B : MA 0 to MA 90 ! Mode-BS : MA 90 to MA 120 !<- Mode-S Transponder;Mode-B Transponder is ON Mode-S : MA 120 to MA 130 !<- Mode-S Transponder;Mode-B Transponder is OFF Mode-LS : MA 130 to MA 135 !<- Mode-S Beacon + Mode-L Transponder Mode-JL : MA 135 to MA 150 ! Blon/Blat 180/0 Mode-B : MA 150 to MA 256 ! Move S/C attitude to 210/0 on 10-May-93 Please don't uplink to the Mode-B transponder during MA 120-130. Your uplink transmissions will interfere with Mode-S users. Inorder to further encour- age Mode-S enthusiasts and the use of the AO-13's Mode-S transponder, Mode- S is now ON for an additional 30 MA units, i.e. MA 90 to MA 135. During MA 90-120 you will have to endure the coupling from Mode-B users operating at 145.880-145.920 MHz. Either work between them, or use their signals as test signals. MA 120-130 is a Mode-S transponder exclusive (plus Mode-B beacon). MA 130-135 is Mode-S beacon (plus Mode-L transponder). [G3RUH/VK5AGR/DB2OS] FO-20: The FO-20 ground control station, JJ1ZUT, announced that FO-20 operational schedule during April is follows: Analog Mode Operation: 07-APR-93 09:52 UTC <---> 08-APR-93 10:12 UTC 21-APR-93 10:45 UTC <---> 22-APR-93 11:00 UTC High Speed Telemetry Collection Mode Of Operation: 12-APR-93 11:30 UTC <---> 19-APR-93 11:53 UTC During the high speed telemetry collection period, FO-20's mailbox BBS is closed, however, FO-20 is available as a digipeater. The digital mode will be in operation unless otherwise noted above. [Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK/3] AO-16: Operating normally. [WH6I] LO-19: Operating normally. [WH6I] UO-22: Operating normally. Recent image file is up. [WH6I] KO-23: Operating normally. There are currently 4 images. [WH6I] RS-12: RS-12 is operating normally. There is not much activity on the day passes. It should be noted that the CW ROBOT on 29.453 MHz is back in operation for the first time in many months. [VE6AMB] MIR: N9CXA and W5GEL report recent contacts with R2MIR, Alexander, on 2M FM voice on a downlink frequency of 145.550 MHz. [N9CXA & W5GEL] /EX