SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.01 STS-55/SAREX MISSION SCRUBBED HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.01 WA4SIR Provides Details About The STS-55 Launch Abort The following is an excerpt from a message sent to the schools and members involved in the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) from Ron Parise (WA4SIR) about the STS-55 main engine "shut-down" 3 seconds before launch. "At 9:51 AM this morning just 3 seconds prior to launch, the Columbia's on-board computers performed an automatic shutdown of it's three main engines. Preliminary analysis of the telemetry data obtained during the ignition sequence points to a faulty helium purge valve which should have closed prior to the fuel and oxidizer valves being opened. The vehicle was then safed by thelaunch control team and flight crew. To help you under- stand what actually happened let me give you a little background of the sequence of events which occur within the last 8 seconds of the count-down. At 6.8 seconds before launch (T - 6.8 sec) the general purpose computers (GPC's) start the ignition sequence for the 3 liquid fuel main engines. It takes a few seconds for them to ignite and start producing thrust. The computers give the engines until T - 3 sec to reach 90% of their thrust. At that time if their are any indications of any difficulty with any of the 3 engines then the computers will shut them all down and abort the launch. If the engines are all performing normally then the 2 solid rocket boosters are ignited at T - 0. Since the solid rocket boosters cannot be turned off once they are ignited, the computers spend the last three seconds making sure everything is exactly right before starting them. The shuttle system performed exactly as it was designed to do. It detected a problem with the number 3 main engine, and aborted the countdown at T - 3 sec just as it was supposed to." A definitive launch date for STS-55 has not been set. This problem will most likely take on the order of 2-4 weeks to resolve. Since STS-56 uses a different launch pad, launch for this mission is still scheduled for April 7. Please watch the AMSAT News Service (ANS) for any further information concerning STS-55 and STS-56. [The ANS would like to thank Frank Bauer (KA3HDO) of the SAREX Working Group and Ron Parise (WA4SIR) for this bulletin item.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.02 FIRST CUT ARSENE ELEMENT SET HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.02 N3FKV Provides A "First-Cut" ARSENE Orbital Element Set At the risk of being considered presumptious, here is an element set for ARSENE, derived from the tenative orbital plans published in the RACE report last January. To wit: Period = 17.5 Hr, Apogee = 36,000 KM, Perigee = 20,000 KM. This orbital element set does not have any relation to real time. Its purpose is to show orbital geometry only. It is quite interesting to run out over several days and see the coverage. The "Orbit-View" projection in InstantTrack is particularly helpful in under- standing the dynamics of this proposed OSCAR satellite scheduled to be launched in late May. Satellite: Arsene Catalog number: 00000 Epoch time: 93000.00000000 Element set: N3FKV-notional Inclination: 0.0 deg RA of node: 0.0 deg Eccentricity: 0.24 Arg of perigee: 0.0 deg Mean anomaly: 0.0 deg Mean motion: 1.371430 rev/day Decay rate: 0.0 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 1 [The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to thank Dick Campbell (N3FKV) for this bulletin item.] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.03 INSTANT TRACK UTILITIES: PART I HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.03 KB5MU Has Released A Series Of Utility Programs For InstantTrack: Part I Paul Williamson (KB5MU) has just released a collection of small programs that may be useful to InstantTrack users. Most of the files on the Utilities Diskette are ready to use and can just be copied into the InstantTrack directory of your hard disk (usually C:\IT). Most of the programs come with two text files. A .DOC file which contains the general documentation for the program, and a .UPD file contains the wish list, bug list, and update history for the program. To get started with one of the programs on the disk, you just read the .DOC file for that program using a text editor. You can also print the DOC file out if you wish. Some of the programs also come with a .ZIP file which contains the source code for that program. If you're not a programmer or are not interested in modifying the program, you can safely ignore or delete the .ZIP files. A short description of each of the programs follows: ITPASS - InstantTrack Satellite Pass Table Generator - ITPASS outputs a table of upcoming satellite passes, giving AOS and LOS times and the maximum elevation angle for each pass. You can specify which satellite(s) you want and how many passes to display. You can tell ITPASS to ignore short passes or low passes, or both. You can use ITPASS interactively to get a quick look at today's satellite passes. ITPASS is also designed to work with other programs to help automatically schedule your station operations. ITSORT - An InstantTrack Keplerian Element Database Arranger - One thing that's missing from InstantTrack is a way to move satellites around in the database. ITSORT works with your familiar text editor to let you manipulate the order of InstantTrack's Keplerian Element database to suit you. It makes it easy to add, delete, sort, or rearrange satellites in the database however you like. You just run ITSORT, and it creates a text file for you to edit. Once you have the satellites arranged the way you want them in the text file, you run ITSORT again to incorporate the changes into the InstantTrack database. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.04 INSTANT TRACK UTILITIES: PART II HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.04 KB5MU Has Released A Series Of Utility Programs For Instant Track: Part II ITSTAMP - InstantTrack Timestamped Logfile Annotator - ITSTAMP is for people who are trying to analyze any kind of satellite-related log file. If you have any kind of data in an ASCII table with timestamps, and you would like to know the azimuth, elevation, and range to the satellite for each of the data points in your file, ITSTAMP is for you. DISPANG - Display OrbitDRV Antenna Angles on Screen - If you run InstantTrack's OrbitDRV or OrbitNCP programs to drive your Kansas City Tracker (or compatible), even while not running InstantTrack itself, you may find DISPANG a convenient addition to your setup. After you install DISPANG, you'll see the azimuth and elevation of your antennas displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the computer's text screen, while you run other programs undisturbed. Versions for color and monochrome displays are provided, along with assembly language source code for your edification. IPMDRV - KCT-compatible RotorDRV for WB5IPM Controller - In the May 1987 issue of QEX, the ARRL Experimenter's Exchange, Frank Perkins (WB5IPM) described a very simple interface for computer control of antenna rotators. The file IPMDRV.ZIP on this diskette contains software drivers for the WB5IPM interface hardware. These drivers are compatible with InstantTrack and with OrbitDRV. Thanks to Courtney Duncan (N5BF) for donating these drivers. The drivers also come with assembly language source code, and can be used as an example if you need to create InstantTrack-compatible drivers for your own custom hardware. Kansas City Tracker Information - Two files on the diskette contain technical information about the Kansas City Tracker. DRVSVC.DOC, provided by Brooks Van Pelt (KB2CST) specifies the defined software interface between tracking programs like InstantTrack and the KCT drivers. (See INTSPEC.TXT from your InstantTrack distribution diskette for information about which ones InstantTrack uses.) KCTHW.TXT contains some notes on exactly what hardware is on the KCT/T circuit board, in case you want to write some custom software for it. KISS2ASC - KISS Packet Logfile to ASCII Logfile Converter - If you're active on the digital satellites, you've probably had to deal with KISS log files. A KISS log file is a binary log of every packet your TNC received during the session. Because KISS logs are binary, it can be difficult to see what's in them. KISS2ASC allows you to convert the contents of a KISS log file to readable ASCII, so you can see just what is in the log file. KISSFILT - KISS Packet Logfile Filter - KISSFILT is another tool for dealing with KISS log files. It allows you to selectively keep or discard KISS packets from the log file, based on criteria such as the to and from callsigns in the packets. If you like to save telemetry logs, you can use KISSFILT to remove all the other chatter from your KISS logs to save space. For more information on how you can obtain these utility programs to accompany InstantTrack, contact the AMSAT-NA office for information on the availability of the InstantTrack Utilities diskette. Our thanks to Paul for his effort in making these programs available to us. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.05 AMSAT OPS NET SCHEDULE HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.05 AMSAT Operations Net Schedule AMSAT Operations Nets are planned for the following times. Mode B Nets are conducted on 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 3-Apr-93 2130 B 150 VE2LVC W9ODI 10-Apr-93 2230 B 86 N7NQM W5IU 19-Apr-93 0130 B 95 WB6LLO WA5ZIB 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-086.06 PHASE-3D PROGRESS REPORT HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.06 Phase-3D Design Effort Proceeding AMSAT Engineering Vice President Dick Jansson (WD4FAB) announces that, following the Orlando meeting, the Phase-3D design effort has been proceeding nicely. The basic design is that which has been discussed since the meeting - a hexagonal cylinder with dimensions of 2240 mm (7.3 feet) across the points and 1120 mm (3.7 feet) across each face. The height is 675 mm (2.2 feet). Two of the faces will accommodate about half the spacecraft's compliment of solar cells. The remainder will be mounted on unfolding panels. Total weight of the satellite will be 400 kg (880 lbs). The high gain antennas will be mounted on the top, along with the motor nozzle. Initial concern that the nozzle might impair the operation of the antennas has been alleviated through computer modeling. An additional consideration, heat from the nozzle, is not expected to present a significant problem in the design of the antennas. The reason the antennas were relocated to the nozzle side of the spacecraft is because additional height is available -- greatly facilitating antenna design. A great deal of WD4FAB's effort, since the meeting, has been spent on structural and thermal analysis. This has led to confirmation of the general design for the cylindrical launch adaptor in which Phase 3D will ride, and a conceptual layout of the routing of heat pipes needed to cool the sunlit side of the spacecraft as well as remove heat from the high power transmitter modules. Also analyzed was the three point separation mount which will support the satellite inside the cylindrical adaptor section. Dick now feels that these subjects are now well enough in hand to permit him to concentrate on producing specific structural design drawings. These will be used in the construction of an engineering model by mid-summer. The schedule calls for that to be followed by the fabrication of flight spaceframe beginning this fall and completed during the spring of 1994. Keep tuned for more Phase-3D progress. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.07 WEEKLY OSCAR STATUS REPORTS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 086.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD MARCH 27, 1993 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-086.07 Weekly OSCAR Status Reports: 27-MAR-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 Mode-B transponder during MA 120-130. Your uplink transmissions will interfere with Mode-S users. Inorder to further encourage 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 Mode-S transponder exclusive (plus Mode-B beacon). MA 130-135 is Mode-S beacon (plus Mode-L transponder). [G3RUH/VK5AGR/DB2OS] MIR: According to Sergey (RV3DR), the Mir Space QSL Manager, hams saw the following message coming from the Mir spacestation packet station: **HELLO HAM,s !!!*** You can listen voice MSG space orbital station "MIR" on 145,55 MHz at 20 and 21 MARCH. Will work digital voice memory microphone. Inventor - DL2MDE Voice MSG repeat every 3 min. Best 73 RV3DR Sergey -Space QSL manager Later, in a message from Leo (UA3CR), he sent the following signal report from Moscow about the voice message: "Just a few minutes ago at 12:27 UTC I heard Digi-Voice message downloaded from MIR Space Station. The [message was] very strong and readable signals in Moscow! The system is working OK! Congratulation to Cosmonauts and German engineers! de Leo ua3cr@rk3kp." [UA3CR/RV3DR] /EX