AMSAT UK MONTHLEY SATELLITE REPORT:

As compiled by PAUL 2E1EUB.Inclusions to be included in this monthly report to reach me by the 25th of each month please, at: 2E1EUB@AMSAT.ORG.  This report can also be found at www.amsatuk.org and on packet Radio

or may be heard live on 3.780mhz +/- QRM  on the last Sunday of each month.

AO-51 ECHO

Status: operational//

modes l/s and v/s working well, but takes some tracking! still problems with the qrm level on mode v uplink. Reports welcome from stations using the digital side of ao51. Some improvements have been made after studying the latest data! PLEASE NOTE: The bbs call sign has now been changed to: PECHO-12 and the broadcast call is :PECHO-11
Echo Operating Schedule for may

28 Apr
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS)
Uplink: 145.860 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital
Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital

1 May to 3 May
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS)
Uplink: 145.860 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital
Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital

4 May (rescheduled from April)
FM Repeater, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM

5 May to 10 May
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS)
Uplink: 145.860 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital
Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital

11 May
Voice relay, V SSB/U FM         (NEW MODE)
Uplink: 145.880 mhz USB
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM

12 May to 17 May
FM Repeater, V/U, High Power Mode
Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM

18 May
PSK31/narrowband data modes, V SSB/U FM     (NEW MODE)
Uplink: 145.860 mhz USB
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM

19 May to 24 May (in support of Dayton demos)
FM Repeater, V/S
Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, No PL Tone
Downlink 2401.200 mhz FM

25 May
38k4 Digital Downlink, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS)
Uplink: 145.860 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital
Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM, 38k4 PBP Digital

26 May to 31 May
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
Downlink 435.300 mhz FM
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS)
Uplink: 145.860 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital
Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) - ARISS

Status: Operational

Current Mode: Packet

Digipeater: Active

Russian callsigns RS0ISS, RZ3DZR

USA callsign NA1SS

Packet station mailbox callsign RS0ISS-11

Packet station keyboard callsign RS0ISS-3

ARISS Status

April 18, 2005

 New Hampshire School Contact Successful
On Wednesday, April 13, Maple Avenue Elementary School, in Goffstown, New Hampshire, had a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. Students asked twenty questions in front of an audience of two hundred students, teachers, parents, and six local dignitaries. Three newspapers and a television documentary producer were in attendance to cover the event.

Echolink was also used for this contact. The audio transmission from a webcast was fed into the AMSAT and EDU_NET servers. Twenty-one connections were made, and stations from the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, Holland, Slovakia, and Switzerland listened in.

 California School Contact Successful
Fort Ross Elementary School is a small school with an enrolment of 50 students, located in Cazadero, California, a remote area ninety miles north of San Francisco. On Friday, April 15, the children experienced a successful contact with the ISS. The students were able to ask Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, 15 questions before the space station went over the horizon. Approximately 85 people attended the event including a reporter from the local weekly north coast newspaper, the Independent Coast Observer.

 ARRL Article on Flory Contact
On April 8, Flory Academy, a NASA Explorer School, spoke to the ISS via amateur radio. ARRL covered the contact in an article entitled, “School Community Cooperation, Student Activities Enhance Space QSO Experience.” See: <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/13/2/?nc=1>

 ARRL Article on New Crew Aboard the ISS
On April 15, the ARRL ran a web story on the new crew aboard the ISS. “Three radio amateurs on their way to International Space Station,” may be found at: <http://www.arrl.org/>

 ARISS School Receives Award
Sonoran Sky Elementary School, KA7SKY, received a Satellite Communicators Club Award from AMSAT NA. The school had an ARISS contact with Expedition 8’s Mike Foale, KB5UAC, on April 5, 2004. Congratulations Sonoran Sky!

 Maple Avenue Elementary Rescheduled
Maple Avenue Elementary School, in Goffstown, New Hampshire, which was scheduled for a contact on April 5, experienced some technical difficulties, and the students were unable to speak to the ISS. The contact has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 13 at 15:46 UTC.

 Upcoming School Contacts
Schulhaus Feld 1 in Richterswil, Switzerland is slated for a contact with Leroy Chiao on Friday, April 15, at 08:57 UTC.

Fort Ross Elementary School, in Cazadero, California has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, April 15 at 18:07 UTC.

Two ARISS contacts have been scheduled with ESA Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, as follows:

Istituto Tecnico Industriale Liceo scientifico Tecnologico “G. Marconi” in Civitavecchia, Italy and Ist.Tecn.Comm.Einaudi-Mattei & Ist.Statale Istr. Sup. Malignani In in Palmanova, Italy will share a contact with the ISS, as they are linked via Skype (internet telephony). The students from each institute will take turns asking questions. The event is scheduled for April 18 at 08:45 UTC.

The European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), is slated for a contact via telebridge station NN1SS on April 20 at 12:39 UTC.

 ARRL Article on Science Discovery Center Contact
An ARISS contact was scheduled for Pecan Creek Elementary School through the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. Students spoke to astronaut Leroy Chiao, asking him 17 questions about life in space. ARRL ran an article covering the March 29 contact entitled, “Texas Youngsters Log 170th ARISS School Group QSO.” See: <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/06/1/?nc=1>

 ARISS Chairman to Present at Dayton Hamvention 2005
ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, will speak at the Dayton Hamvention 2005, which is being held in Dayton, Ohio on May 20 - 22. He will present, "Human Spaceflight Update (ARISS & Future Exploration Initiatives)," at the AMSAT Forum. To view the schedule of events, see:
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-%20new/articles/Dayton2005/>

 New Russian QSL Card
The Russians have printed a limited number of new radio contact confirmation (QSL) cards which have pictures of each of the 10 Expedition crews on one side and a list of the callsigns on the other. Once Expedition 11 is safely on board the ISS, a new batch will be printed, which will include the photo of the new crew, as well. To view the card, see: <http://qsl.ru/portfolio/rs0iss.htm>

For more information about the International Space Station...

·         ARISS North America <http://www.rac.ca/ariss/>

 ARISS International Meeting, 2005
The next ARISS International Face to Face Meeting will be held at the University of Surrey in Guildford, Surrey, U.K. on Monday and Tuesday, August 1-2, 2005. It will follow the AMSAT-UK Colloquium (Friday, July 29 - Sunday, July 31.) Initial information concerning these meetings can be found on the AMSAT-UK website. See: <http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php>

AO-7 AMSAT OSCAR 7

Status: Semi-operational in sunlight.

Return to active status: June 21,2002

Emily, W0EEC has created a website to allow the users of AO-7 to record contacts, observations and use of the satellite more effectively at:

http://www.emilyshouse.com/experthams/ao7/main.php

This includes the ability to log contacts.

Mostly in mode B, ! with dx stations heard regularly,with some qrm on the 2m down link. But still plenty of traffic, showing that the old mode b transponder is  much liked and rated. Tending to disappear or change modes part way through passes, perhaps due to poor solar lock.?

AO-27 AMRAD   *******

Status: semi Operational( OFF!)

Evening time uk/europe,FM repeater on first part off each pass.

The latest information on AO-27  can be found at:

http://www.ao27.org

An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web

site,

April 14th, 2005 UTC

Flight Software is now running on AO-27. The watchdogs have been changed to keep better tabs on the state of the batteries. We are performing on-orbit checkout and we hope the Analogue repeater will be back in operation soon. Right now, the schedule is running and downloading telemetry. If you have a 1200 baud AFSK TNC and can receive the data please help us by downloading the software and sending us the data files. 
April 10th, 2005 UTC

After nearly two weeks of trying, control-operators for AO-27 were finally able to issue commands to AO-27. The satellite is now running off the boot loader that is programmed in to the ROM. In this mode analogue operations is not possible. The first attempts to upload flight software ran into problems. We are evaluating the logs from the attempts and are trying to work out a plan for uploading the flight software.

The uploading of the flight software is not something that has had to be done much in the life of AO-27. It was last uploaded in March 2003 to switch to the TOPR way of scheduling. Before that it was uploaded in Sept 2000 after the satellite rebooted for unknown causes. The upload before that one was in December of 1993. Only 3 uploads have been done in the last 11 years.

It will take some time and a lot of work to get it back to operation status. We can't answer any questions as to when it will be back in operation.

FO-29 JAS-2

Status: Operational

working well, with strong downlink signals at times.

Voice/CW Mode JA

Please send the reception reports to lab2@jarl.or.jp . Please use the

subject line: 'FO-29reception report'.

SO-50 SAUDISAT-1C

Status: Operational.

Uplink: 145.850 MHz

There have been unconfirmed reports on the amsat-bb emailer that So-50 has

shifted downlink frequency as much as 5khz up.

To switch the transmitter on, you need to send a CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz. and then ctcss of 67hz to keep the bird open: its nice to see a bit more traffic on this bird this month.!

UO-11 OSCAR-11…semi operational:

During the period 10 March to 18 April 2005 reliable signals have been received from the 145.826 MHz. beacon, transmitting continuous ASCII telemetry from 18 March to 27 March and from 07 April to 17 April.  At times signals have been weaker than usual, and subject to local interference (QRN), which has been stronger than usual. The beacon operates under control of the watchdog timer. Observations have indicated that the cycle is approximately 10.3 days ON followed by 10.4 days OFF. Assuming that this cycle continues, the beacon should switch ON around 27/28 April.

When the beacon resumed its transmissions on 07 April, the time stamp in the telemetry was 5.5 minutes fast, ie it had lost approximately 15 minutes since the previous transmission. By April 13 the onboard clock was just five seconds fast, and it has stabilised at that value.  Previously the clock had been gaining one minute per year during the last 21 years. Investigations into the behaviour of the +Y axis solar array, suggest that this unit has partially failed. Last year it had been delivering half current for many months. On December 26th a sudden jump in current was noticed. Since then current in the +Y axis has only been observed on only three occasions this year. Two of these occurred early in the year, immediately after the beacon switched ON, the other on 12 April.

The next few months will be a challenging time for OSCAR-11, when the solar eclipses start. Since the last eclipse there has been the partial failure of the +Y array, and an unidentified additional current drain on the main 14 volt power bus. This might cause problems if the battery voltage falls below the threshold level of the electronics, perhaps requiring ground control commands to restart the system.

The internal temperatures have varied randomly, up and down by about three degrees C.  They are unchanged at 14C, 13C and 20C for the battery, telemetry electronics and command decoder respectively.  At the present time the satellite is in full sunlight, and therefore temperature changes are caused by changes in attitude, and spin rate. The hot external surfaces will cause some nearby internal parts to warm up faster than others. A Solar eclipse predictions indicate that the continuous sunlight will continue until the end of April, when eclipses will start.

The battery voltage has varied between 11.9 and 13.4 volts.  The average voltage was 12.6 volts, similar to the last report.

The period of rotation about the Z axis had been determined from the solar array currents.  Values of between 115 and 800 seconds have been observed.On three occasions it was not possible to measure the spin period, owing to the unusual attitude of the satellite.

Users of OSCAR-11 should note that the date in the telemetry is now advanced by FOUR days.

The satellite transmits continuous ASCII telemetry for approximately 10.3 days on 145.826 MHz., followed by 10.4 days of silence. This regularsequence might be interrupted by ground control, at any time. At the present time the mode-S beacon 2401.5 MHz. and the UHFbeacon 453.025 MHz. are both OFF.

AO-16 PACSat

Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater command is on and open for

APRS user

Broadcast Callsign: PACSAT-11

BBS: PACSAT-12

GO-32 TECHSAT-1B

Status: Operational

Roni, 4Z7DFC, reports:

 Techsat1b BBS's is back ..but still having problems...looks like it may be off again?

Uplink freq. ; 145.859, 145.890, 1269.800

More information of GO-32 can be found at:

http://www.iarc.org/techsat/techsat.html

NO-44 PCSAT 1

Status: Operational

PCSat is a 1200-baud APRS digipeater

http://pcsat.aprs.org

The APRS-equipped PCSat was built by midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy

Dear Members of AMSAT, I am very sad to report that Ron Broadbent MBE G3AAJ passed away in hospital early in the morning on Sunday 24th April of a heart attack following a fall the previous week in which he broke his leg. Ron, known as 'Mr AMSAT-UK' to many around the world was the Hon. Sec. of AMSAT-UK between 1978 and 1994 and built the society into a vibrant and respected organisation serving radio amateurs not only in the UK but worldwide. His energy and robust character was a driving force in AMSAT-UK, as well as the RSGB and IARU, and perhaps particularly at the annual AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium which he helped found and then organised for many years. Ron believed passionately in the principles of amateur radio as a hobby and his commitment and effort given willingly over many years and supported by his wife, Beryl, were greatly appreciated by amateurs worldwide. Not one to suffer fools gladly, Ron's sometimes gruff exterior hid a deeply generous personality and one who was always ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work rather than just talk. He will be sadly missed and we send our condolences and sympathy to Beryl and the family. We have lost one of amateur radio's real characters and a gentlemen. Martin Sweeting G3YJO

SSETI Express Progress Update
During the last week, the completed modules have been fitted to the spaceframe and the wiring harness and integration completed. The satellite was moved on Wednesday to an anechoic chamber for EMC testing to ensure that the emissions from the satellites electronics, the 3W UHF transmitter and the S Band TX meet the spectral requirements of the launch agency and SSTL.

Several new pictures showing the rapid progress over the last 2 weeks have been uploaded to the SSETI Website. These include detailed shots of the S Band unit now wired to the antennas, cold gas propulsion and some taken inside the anechoic chamber.
<http://sseti.gte.tuwien.ac.at/WSW4/express5.php>

PCSAT2 Arrives at the Launch Pad
PCSAT2, which had previously been stowed in the Space Shuttle Discovery, arrived at Launch Complex 39B on 07 April 2005. PCSAT2 is now standing by ready to be launched on the first Space Shuttle return-to-flight mission.

PCSAT2 will use the same dual redundant AX.25 command and control system as used on PCsat (NO-44) offering 8 on/off commands, 5 telemetry channels and a serial port for the solar cell experiment telemetry. It also supports the Digital Comms Relay support of the PCsat/APRS mission. The packet uplink is on 145.825 MHz and the default downlinks are in the 435 MHz band to avoid any possible interference with existing ARISS missions. PCSAT2 will have quad redundant transmit inhibits for EVA safety issues, thus, it is also easy to turn off to avoid any issues with other UHF ARISS experiments that may be activated in the future. Also, the mission lifetime of PCSAT2 is only 1 year, because it is a sample-return mission, thus terminating any long term conflicts in spectrum management.

The PCSAT2 mission is intended as an opportunity to augment existing ARISS communications experiments with an external autonomous communications payload. In this regard, it has several potential uses:

* A UI-Digipeater to help ease congestion on the currently shared ARISS PMS (Packet Mail system)

* A PSK-31 transponder for multi-user communications to improve accessibility for schools and ARISS outreach programs.

* An FM Voice repeater for full duplex crew communications to facilitate crew-to-school ARISS contacts.

* Routine Telemetry on the spacecraft systems

For more information and pictures visit the PCSAT2 website at
<http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html>

Hamsat (vusat) due for launch 5.may,if all goes well the transponder should be open for use a few days later:
FM OPS on Linear Transponder
FM operation on a linear transponder not good practice

The possibility of FM operation through the linear transponders on board the soon-to-be-launched VUSAT was announced recently by AMSAT-India. The Advisory Panel to the IARU Satellite Advisor, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, considered this during its regular Echolink consultative meeting last weekend. The group pointed out that FM is an inefficient use of spectrum and power and recommended strongly that FM should not be used on linear transponders. In many countries with large amateur communities, FM on a linear transponder is a totally unacceptable mode of operation and discouraged at all times.

The IARU Satellite Advisor and the Panel have suggested to AMSAT India not to publish FM as a user option for the linear transponder, and to discourage the use of FM through these transponders, especially in countries with large amateur populations.
HAMSAT frequencies: ------------------- Indian transponder: Uplink : 435.225MHz to 435.275MHz LSB/CW Downlink: 145.875MHz to 145.925MHz USB/CW Beacom : 145.940MHz continue carrier signal Dutch transponder: Uplink : 435.225MHz to 435.275MHz LSB/CW Downlink: 145.875MHz to 145.925MHz USB/CW Beacon : 145.860MHz 12WPM with CW message

AO 40 NEWS:
VK5HI  reports during the period 0310 to 0320 UTC (orbit 1541) he observed the following.

Prior to issuing the command sequence we tune around the beacon frequency, taking note of the "noise spectrum". No variance in amplitude detected, just clean white noise. At 0310, commenced sending a 12 block sequence, 3 * (Reset,Tx-Off,Reset,Tx-On).

At the completion of the sequence, again tuned around the beacon frequency, and noted a noise peak of 4 to 5 db, in the vicinity of expected beacon frequency. The width of this peak was about 5 kHz. Listened to it for about 15 seconds and then sent a Reset, Tx-Off command and the noise peak disappeared, approximately 2 seconds after the Tx-Off block was completed.

Completed my session with a number of Aux-Batt commands, but did not attempt the Tx again. Range was nominally 12000/15000 kilometres during command period. Was using my last calibrated uplink frequency.

This tends to suggest that the IHU and L Band Rx are operational. Bus voltage insufficient to open that damn relay. Considering SA=-72, the remaining cells are holding up well. Hope this makes your day, like it has mine.

Colin Hurst, VK5HI

SPACE SHUTTLE:

Discovery has arrived at launch pad 39B .Stacked with its pristine orange fuel tank and white solid rocketboosters, the slightly worn but refurbished obiter crept forward undera blue sky dotted with white clouds, easing in and out of sunlight thatmade it gleam."This is truly a historic day for NASA and the space program, to get usback flying again and get us back supporting the International SpaceStation"It's a great sight to see Discovery rolling out to the launch pad,"Eileen Collins said after a morning packed with re-entry and landingsimulations at Johnson space centreDiscovery's launch window, which extends from May 15 to June 3."If everything went exactly as we had planned, we actually could launchon the 15th," said shuttle program manager Bill Parsons, (STOP PRESS LAUNCH DATE PUT BACK)

 Paul . 2E1EUB. (AMSAT UK 6236)