SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0207 * SpaceNews 07-Feb-94 * BID: $SPC0207 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY FEBRUARY 7, 1994 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution. * STS-60 SAREX MISSION BEGINS * =============================== The Space Shuttle Discovery made a spectacular, historic, on-time liftoff at 12:30 UTC on 03-Feb-94 from the Kennedy Space Center. Discovery's launch marks the first joint U.S.-Russian Space Shuttle Flight. This will be the first of several joint missions planned in preparation for the development of the international Space Station. Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, was one of the six crew members on board this Shuttle flight. His fellow American crew mates include Commander Charlie Bolden, KE4IQB, Pilot Ken Reightler, and Mission Specialists Jan Davis, Ron Sega, KC5ETH, and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The primary payloads on-board Discovery are the Wake Shield Facility, which will be deployed and retrieved during the flight and the Spacehab facility. Of particular interest to Radio Amateurs is the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) secondary payload. The following Keplerian Elements for STS-60 are provided by Ron Parise, WA4SIR, at the Goddard Space Flight Center: STS-60 1 22977U 94006A 94 35.13981770 0.00000202 00000-0 58718-5 0 37 2 22977 56.9857 213.2731 0008535 263.0773 96.9324 15.72145611 115 Satellite: STS-60 Catalog number: 22977 Epoch time: 94035.13981770 (04 FEB 94 03:21:20.25 UTC) Element set: GSFC-003 Inclination: 56.9857 deg RA of node: 213.2731 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-60 Eccentricity: 0.0008535 Keplerian Elements Arg of perigee: 263.0773 deg Mean anomaly: 96.9324 deg Mean motion: 15.72145611 rev/day Semi-major Axis: 6730.8981 Km Decay rate: 0.20E-05 rev/day^2 Apogee Alt: 358.25 Km Epoch rev: 11 Perigee Alt: 346.77 Km NOTE: This element set is based on NORAD element set # 003. The spacecraft has been propagated to the next ascending node, and the orbit number has been adjusted to bring it into agreement with the NASA numbering convention. [Info via Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO of the SAREX Working Group] * AMSAT NET ON GALAXY 3 * ========================= To all interested satellite users, experiments are underway that uplink the Houston Area Amsat Net, heard locally on the 147.100 MHz FM repeater, on Galaxy 3, Channel 17, (Shop-At-Home Channel) on a 5.8 MHz subcarrier. This net is carried in real-time on Tuesday evening, from approximately 10:00 PM Local Time (CST) until completion at approximately 10:30 - 10:45 PM. This is an experiment but could be continued on a regular basis if interest is sufficient. Please send reports of your reception and your comments to: davidsonc@tcd.jsc.nasa.gov via Internet, or you may call (713) 483-0078 during business hours, or during the uplink period at (713) 595-2393 and ask for Craig Davidson, WD5BDX. * NEWS FROM JAPAN * =================== NASDA's first H-II rocket was launched at 07:20 (JST=UTC+9h) on 04-Feb-94. The H-II is designed to serve as NASDA's main space transportation system in the 1990's to meet the demand for larger satellite launches at a lower cost and still maintain a high degree of reliability. It is capable of sending a single two ton class payload or multiple payload totaling two tons onto geostationary orbit. The H-II is a two-stage rocket equipped with two large solid rocket boosters (SRBs) on the first stage for thrust augmentation. Principal specifications of the H-II: Overall length: 50 Diameter: 4 Total mass: 260t (payload not included) Guidance system: Strapped-down inertial guidance system Shape: Blunt-cone shape, Nose radius 1.35m, Diameter 3.40m, Height 1.46m Weight: Approx. 865kg at launch, Approx. 761kg at re-entry [Info via Yoshiro Yamada] * MIR MUSIC REQUEST * ===================== Ongoing contacts on 145.550 MHz are taking place between the cosmonauts of the Russian Mir space station and a few hams in Israel, mainly 4X4LF Shlomo on Packet, and Mark 4Z4KX, a native-Russian speaker, on voice. When Mir is overhead, one may often hear Mark and one of the cosmonauts chatting away. Followers of Israeli popular music know well the name Ofra Haza, a singer who has made a name for herself, especially in Europe. Nonetheless, Mark 4Z4KX was rather surprised when Cosmonaut Alexander Serebrov, R0MIR, on one of his overhead QSO's with him, asked Mark to send greetings to Ofra! Alexander related that he's a fan of hers, and asked Mark to see if he could get a cassette of hers for him. No problem! As the ham connection goes, 4Z4XC Yair Haza is Ofra's brother, and promised to procure her latest CD, which will have to be transcribed to cassette, as all they have on board the Mir is a cassette machine. [Info via Shlomo, 4X4LF@4X4LI.ISR.MDLE] * FO-20 OPERATION SCHEDULE * ============================ The FO-20 operation schedule is follows. Analog transponder and digital transponder will be ON for a week respectively as they were since last December. Analog mode: 09-Feb-94 07:15 UTC-to-16-Feb-94 07:40 UTC 23-Feb-94 08:05 UTC-to-02-Mar-94 06:40 UTC 09-Mar-94 07:05 UTC-to-16-Mar-94 07:30 UTC 23-Mar-94 07:52 UTC-to-30-Mar-94 08:15 UTC Digital mode: Unless otherwise noted above. [Info via Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK] * THANKS! * =========== Thanks to all those who sent messages of appreciation regarding SpaceNews, especially: 9V1XO GM2ASU LX2LA N2JUX VK5THA N9VEM KF0QS * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the following paths: FAX :1-908-747-7107 PACKET :KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET:kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com -or- kd2bd@amsat.org MAIL: John A. Magliacane, KD2BD Department of Engineering and Technology Advanced Technology Center Brookdale Community College Lincroft, NJ 07738 <=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=> /EX