AMSAT NEWS SERVICE<br /><br />ANS-187<br /><br />ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North <br />America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on <br />the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who <br />share an active interest in designing, building, launching and <br />communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.<br /><br />In this edition:<br />* "OPPORTUNITY" MARS EXPLORATION ROVER TARGETED FOR LAUNCH JULY 6 <br />* CubeSat Orbital Status<br />* OSCAR-11 REPORT<br />* Astronaut Interview via IRLP <br />* HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A NEW URL FOR MAREX<br />* Russian Satellite 'Mozhayets' Service Life Extended by Six Months<br /><br /> <br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.01<br />"OPPORTUNITY" MARS EXPLORATION ROVER TARGETED FOR LAUNCH JULY 6 <br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.01 From AMSAT HQ<br />SILVER SPRING, MD. July 6, 2003<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-187.01<br /><br />The second of two Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, is <br />rescheduled for launch on Sunday, July 6 at 10:43:16 p.m. EDT. <br />Liftoff will occur aboard the Boeing Delta II Heavy launch vehicle<br />from Pad B at Space Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force <br />Station. A second launch opportunity exists at 11:26:02 p.m. EDT, <br />if necessary. Should launch be delayed by 24 hours, two launch <br />times are also available on Monday at 10:35:23 p.m. and 11:18:15 <br />p.m. EDT. The window of the planetary launch period extends through<br /> July 15.<br /><br />Opportunity will reach Mars on Jan. 25, 2004. Together the two MER<br />rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, seek to determine the history of <br />climate and water at two sites on Mars where conditions may once <br />have been favorable to life. The rovers are identical. Each rover <br />carries five scientific instruments including a panoramic camera <br />and microscope, plus a rock abrasion tool that will grind away the outer <br />surfaces of rocks to expose their interiors for examination. The <br />rovers each weigh approximately 400 pounds. They will navigate them<br />selves around obstacles as they drive across the Martian surface, <br />traveling up to about 130 feet each Martian day. Each rover's <br />prime mission is planned to last three months on Mars.<br /><br /><br />"NASA Direct!" webcast coverage of the launch will begin at 8:30 <br />p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 6. <br />For more information on the MER-B/Opportunity web activities, <br />go to <
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/merb/index.htm><br /><br /><br />[ANS thanks NASA News, for the above information.]<br /><br />/EX<br /> <br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.02<br />CubeSat Orbital Status<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.02 From AMSAT HQ<br />SILVER SPRING, MD. July 6, 2003<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-187.02<br /><br />Below is the summary of orbital status of each objects on the MOM <br />Launch.<br /><br />NORAD have consolidated their observation data and now uses 27xxx <br />object catalog number:<br /><br />Comments and suggestions welcome.<br /><br />Freddy Pranajaya<br />Manager, CanX and NLS Programs<br />University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies<br />4925 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON M3H-5T6, Canada<br />416-667-7890 MCC<br /><br />Latest Estimates at 07/03/2003 12:00 EST:<br />27840 - BREEZE<br />27841 - MIMOSA<br />27842 - NLS-1 sub-group<br />27843 - MOST<br />27844 - Cute-1<br />27845 - QuakeSat<br />27846 - NLS-1 sub-group<br />27847 - **UNCONFIRMED** Possibly XI-IV<br />27848 - **UNCONFIRMED**<br />NORAD-MH will be re-scanning the sky to confirm 27843, 27847, <br />27848 and to collect fresh observation data on each objects.<br /><br /><br />[ANS thanks Freddy Pranajaya, for the above information.]<br /><br />/EX<br /> <br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.03<br />OSCAR-11 REPORT 02 July 2003<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.03 From AMSAT HQ<br />SILVER SPRING, MD. July 6, 2003<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-187.03<br /><br />During the period 21 May to 01 July 2003 the 145.826 MHz. beacon <br />has been heard transmitting continuous ASCII telemetry from 31 May <br />to 09 June, and from 21 June to 30 June. During this period good <br />signals have been received. Telemetry transmissions are expected to<br /> resume around 12 July for about 9 - 10 days.<br /><br />I am indebted to Jeff KB2M and Ron VK5AKJ who monitored the <br />satellite while I was on holiday, during part of this period. Ron <br />also provided some night time telemetry, during a solar eclipse, <br />which gave useful information about the state of the battery. Many<br />thanks Jeff & Ron, for your help.<br /><br />The internal temperatures have continued to fall. Usually they <br />change by the same amount, however during this period the battery,<br />telemetry electronics, and command decoder have decreased by 3.2C,<br /> 1.8C and 4.6C respectively. The temperatures are now -0.4C, <br />-0.8C, and +2.6C respectively. The temperatures are expected to <br />continue to fall slowly as the solar eclipse times lengthen, <br />reaching a minimum in the Summer, and then increase in the Autumn.<br />The solar eclipse times should be shorter than last year,resulting<br />in higher temperatures in 2003.<br /><br />The battery voltage observed during daylight passes has decreased.<br />Observations have varied between 13.5 and 12.3 volts, with an <br />average value of 13.0 volts.<br /><br />Examination of the magnetometer telemetry shows that the satellite<br />is now rotating very slowly ie. the spin period is very long. <br />Accurate determination of the spin period is very difficult when <br />the spin period exceeds the time of a pass. However, approximate <br />periods of 1000 to 1500 seconds have been measured. The direction <br />of rotation appears to have reversed. The slow spin rate has also<br />caused some uneven heating of the external surfaces, and <br />temperatures up to 45C have been observed.<br /><br />Users of OSCAR-11 should note that the date in the telemetry is <br />advanced by three days. The time is advanced by 18.5 minutes, and<br />this error is increasing by about one minute per year.<br /><br />OSCAR-11 now operates in a default mode, controlled by the watch-<br />dog timer. The satellite transmits continuous ASCII telemetry for<br />about 8 - 9 days on 145.826 MHz., followed by about 10 - 12 days <br />of silence. These times appear to be somewhat variable, and this <br />regular sequence might be interrupted by ground control.<br /><br />The mode-S beacon is ON continuously, even when the VHF beacon is<br />OFF, nominally transmitting an unmodulated carrier on 2401.5 MHz.<br />There is however a VERY low level of AFSK modulation, (now a <br />constant 1200 Hz. audio tone), which has been detected on strong <br />signals. Telemetry indicates that the beacon has partially failed,<br />and is delivering half power. This beacon is a useful test source<br />for those testing mode-S converters, as an alternative to OSCAR-40.<br />However the signals are very weak, and there is a lot of Doppler. <br />Users should also note that the polarization of OSCAR-11 is LHC. <br />Even if you can't hear OSCAR-11, your equipment may still be OK <br />for OSCAR-40. Any reports of reception on 2401.5 MHz. would be most<br />welcome. Please e-mail g3cwv@amsat.org.<br /><br />The 435.025 MHz. beacon is normally OFF. It can only be heard on <br />the very rare occasions when the satellite is being commanded by <br />ground control, ie. within range of Guildford, UK. When the 435 <br />beacon is transmitting, the 145 beacon is normally OFF. The data <br />transmitted is mainly binary.<br /><br />Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting my web site.<br /><br />The web site contains details about using a soundcard for data<br />capture, and also details about using hardware demodulators. <br />There is software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry<br />and WOD. There is an archive of raw data for analysis, which is <br />continually being expanded, as new data is captured. Originally <br />this was for WOD, but it is now being expanded to include ASCII <br />telemetry. At the present time the telemetry covers 1996 to April <br />2003. I will add other years as time permits. In parallel there <br />is a news archive which provides an overview of the state of the <br />satellite, at the times when the telemetry was captured.<br /><br />If anyone out there can provide any data, particularly for the 1984<br />to 1993 years, this would be most appreciated. Please e-mail me<br />with details. However please DO NOT SEND ANY FILES, before further<br />discussion.<br /><br />Also included are some audio files, examples of each type of data<br />transmitted by OSCAR-11, each one plays for about ten seconds. <br />There are also examples of mode-S reception. All the audio files <br />are zipped, so that they can be played off-line. These should help<br />listeners identify the various types of data, and give an indication<br />of the signal quality required for successful decoding.<br /><br />The URL is -<br /><br />
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/<br /><br />If you place this bulletin on a terrestrial packet network, please<br />use the bulletin identifier $BID:U2RPT86.CWV, to prevent <br />duplication.<br /><br />[ANS thanks Clive, G3CWV, for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /> <br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.04<br />Astronaut Interview via IRLP <br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.04 From AMSAT HQ<br />SILVER SPRING, MD. July 6, 2003<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-187.04<br /><br />On July 3 at 11:30 am CDT JSC will conduct the third test of <br />Distant Learning outreach using Amateur Radio and the Internet to <br />have children interview JSC professionals. This test was organized<br />with the Christa McAuliffe Challenger Learning Center and supported<br />by the JSC Amateur Radio Club. <br /><br />The Internet Radio Linking Project will be used to support a live <br />interview between Astronaut Barbara Morgan and campers from the <br />Charles River Creative Arts Program (CRCAP). Barbara, who will be <br />operating from the Johnson Space Center ARC (W5RRR) will spend 30 <br />minutes answering questions from the children who will be using <br />the Amateur Radio facilities of the Massachusetts Emergency<br />Management Agency (MEMA) beginning at 1645 UTC. The event is <br />organized between the JSC Distant Learning Outreach Program and the<br />Christa McAuliffe Challenger Learning Center, Framingham State <br />College, Framingham, MA. <br /><br />This event represents the third test of the IRLP in support of the<br />JSC Distant Learning Program. Thus far it has proved to be an <br />effective means of distributing interviews between NASA <br />Professionals and children across North America. <br /><br />[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.05<br />HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A NEW URL FOR MAREX<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.05 From AMSAT HQ<br />SILVER SPRING, MD. July 6, 2003<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-187.05<br /><br />MAREX finally has a brand new home in cyberspace at
www.marexmg.org.<br />You may recall that back in April the old URL was highjacked and <br />lost. The good news is, that MAREX is now MAREXMG Inc. And again <br />the new URL is
www.marexmg.org (MAREX) <br /><br />[ANS thanks Amateur Radio Newsline for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.06<br />Russian Satellite 'Mozhayets' Service Life Extended by Six Months<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.06 From AMSAT HQ<br />SILVER SPRING, MD. July 6, 2003<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-187.06<br /><br />Moscow ITAR-TASS in Russian 0330 GMT 12 Jun 03...<br /><br />St Petersburg, 12 June: The service life of the Mozhayets <br />satellite, which belongs to the Mozhayskiy Space Military Academy,<br />has been extended until November 2003, academy deputy head Maj-Gen<br />Vyacheslav Fateyev said at an international conference on high <br />technology, innovation and investment held in St Petersburg under<br />the aegis of the Russian Economy Ministry. The Mozhayets satellite,<br />used for educational and communication purposes, was made by the <br />students and the faculty of the Mozhayskiy academy on the basis of<br />a decommissioned military appliance within the framework of a <br />conversion project. On 28 November 2002 it was sent into orbit <br />along with the foreign Alsat communication satellite by a Space <br />Troops' rocket carrier from the launch site in Plesetsk.<br /> Mozhayets is currently used for training purposes by academy<br />students, and as a transmitter for GLONASS global navigation<br />system. The satellite was to have been ditched at the end of May, <br />but it's service life was extended as, according to telemetric<br />information, all the satellite's systems were working normally.<br /> Mozhayets is the first space vehicle owned by a higher educational<br />establishment, Gen Fateyev said. It marks the start of an era of<br />space research for Russian universities. Another satellite of the <br />same series recently has been sent to Plesetsk. The Mozhayets<br />pilot project has laid the foundation for the inter-university<br />Miniaturization in Space programme.<br /><br />[ANS thanks Max, M3RGO, for the above information]<br /><br />/EX
