SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS029
ARLS029 SAREX voice and packet
 
ZCZC AS73  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 029  ARLS029
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT  September 15, 1994
To all radio amateurs
 
SB SPACE ARL ARLS029
ARLS029 SAREX voice and packet
 
Shuttle Voice and Packet QSOs
 
NASA Mission Control reports that the Space Shuttle Discovery
continues to perform without any system problems at an altitude of
140 nautical miles. Astronauts Carl Meade and Mark Lee are preparing
today for Friday's untethered spacewalk.
 
Earlier this week, mission managers gave the go ahead to extend the
mission an extra day after evaluating electrical power usage thus
far. The latest margins showed electrical power consumption is
running below pre-flight predictions to provide enough hydrogen and
oxygen to permit an extra day of science data. The STS-64 mission
now is scheduled to conclude with a landing September 19 in the
early afternoon.
 
This mission has proven to be very successful for the Shuttle
Amateur Radio EXperiment payload. Already, 9 of 10 scheduled schools
have made successful ham radio contacts with the shuttle crew. The
SAREX Working Group has also received dozens of reports from radio
amateurs and the crew that general voice QSOs are being made. Please
remember that the astronauts are not awake around the clock. Their 8
hour sleep period ends at 1022 UTC on 9/16 and 9/17 and at 0952 UTC
on 9/18. Also, as has been reported since the beginning of this
flight, shuttle power conservation measures, required to support the
extra day of flight, have resulted in no packet radio operation to
date. It is still hoped that the packet system will be turned on
later in the flight. SAREX is currently functioning in configuration
B, which means the handheld SAREX transceiver is being operated by
battery. The SAREX team will keep you posted of any changes. Please
remember to listen on the downlink frequency, 145.55 MHz, for packet
activity before sending packet connects to the space shuttle.
 
The crew uses separate receive and transmit frequencies. Please do
not transmit on the shuttle's downlink frequency. The shuttle's
worldwide SAREX downlink frequency is 145.55 MHz. Stations may
transmit to the shuttle on FM voice at 144.91, 144.93, 144.95,
144.97 and 144.99 MHz. In Europe, stations use 144.70, 144.75 and
144.80 MHz. The crew call signs are KB5SIW, KC5HBS and KC5HBR. The
worldwide packet uplink frequency is 144.49 MHz. The packet call
sign is W5RRR-1.
 
Amateurs should transmit only when the shuttle is within range for a
contact and you can hear the shuttle's downlink signal. The
following represents the latest Keplerian Elements as generated by
Ron Parise, WA4SIR, at the Goddard Space Flight Center and checked
by Gil Carman, WA5NOM, at the Johnson Space Center.
 
STS-64
1 23251U 94059A   94258.03631399 0.00002177  10701-4  73754-5 0   219
2 23251  57.0069 200.5903 0010110 266.8542  93.1385 16.06008884   838
 
Satellite: STS-64
Catalog number: 23251
Epoch time:      94258.03631399         (15 SEP 94   00:52:17.53 UTC)
Element set:     GSFC-021
Inclination:       57.0069 deg
RA of node:       200.5903 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-64
Eccentricity:    0.0010110                  Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:   266.8542 deg
Mean anomaly:      93.1385 deg
Mean motion:   16.06008884 rev/day      Semi-major Axis: 6635.9469 Km
Decay rate:       0.22E-04 rev/day2    Apogee  Alt:        264.27 Km
Epoch rev:              83              Perigee Alt:        250.85 Km
 
Thanks to Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO of the SAREX Working Group and NASA
Spacelink for the preceding information.
NNNN
/EX