March 2013 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Update On Dragon Malfunction
by B J 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

According to: http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/005/status.html one thruster pod is operating but there's no word if any of the remaining 3 can be used. Apparently at least 3 need to be good in order for Dragon to approach the ISS. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
by Daniel Schultz 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

Exactly my point. Lots of people can build a one-of-a-kind design using parts that they pulled out of a university dumpster, especially if they have the machine shop resources of a university department at their disposal. For undergraduate students, there might be some educational value in building their own rotor, especially if it uses time that would otherwise be spent partying in Georgetown on a Saturday night. But we were talking about the "average ham", using an "average homeowner's" workbench, designing and building a workable rotor system as an alternative to paying $700 for a commercially made rotor, and sharing that design with other hams who want to save a few hundred bucks by building their own. I am all in favor of that, but I find that there is a practical limit on how many active projects I can have open at any one time. 73 Dan N8FGV ------ Original Message ------ Received: Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:54:00 PM EST From: Samudra Haque <samudra.haque(a)gmail.com> To: Daniel Schultz <n8fgv(a)usa.net>Cc: Amsat-bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems > I would like to clarify: this antenna project is going to be handled by > others ham operators who have contacted me. Where possible, I am > contributing some hardware/mechanical parts that I have in stock. The work > for the antenna is not for my Ph.D program. As I mentioned, it is for the > K3GWU project which will go on in parallel, and there are others at GWU who > will be involved. I have donated a lot of equipment to the K3GWU station, > and that can go on to connect with an antenna when ready. > > On the other hand, the ECE dept and MAE dept has resources (motors, gears) > that they want to throw away ... and that they *have* to junk at some time > after 5-10 years. >

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Interplanetary CubeSats
by Trevor . 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

Interesting article on interplanetary CubeSats, see See http://www.amsat-uk.org/?p=13475 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Possible Problems With Dragon
by B J 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

The launch went smoothly and the spacecraft successfully separated from the second stage. However, there appear to be difficulties with its thrusters: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/005/status.html 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Latest satellite identifications from Space Track
by Alan 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

Here is the latest from Space Track of the object-satellite pairings. 73s, Alan WA4SCA Satellite number and name changes, hot of the presses! JSpOC has named the following satellites: 39086 - SARAL 39087 - AAUSAT3 39088 - SAPPHIRE 39089 - NEOSSAT 39090 - STRAND 1 39091 - CANX 3A (BRITE-ASRA) 39092 - CANX 3B (UNIBRITE) 39093 - PSLV R/B 39094 - PSLV DEB Due to catalog requirements, which requires payloads to be listed prior to the rocket body and another launch debris, objects 39086, 39087, 39092, 39093, and 39094 had to be shifted to be placed in proper sequence. Elsets were shifted as follows: 39086 was moved to 39093 (PSLV R/B) 39087 was moved to 39094 (PSLV DEB) 39092 was moved to 39086 (SARAL) 39093 was moved to 39087 (AAUSAT3) 39094 was moved to 39092 (CANX 3B)

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Sites With Live Video Feed Of SpaceX Launch
by B J 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/005/status.html 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ Do33FL

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Re: STRaND1 silent during 03:25Z pass
by Hector, CO6CBF 01 Mar '13

01 Mar '13

Hello Ken and all, During the 1 Mar 0019z pass, telemetry from STRaND-1 on 437.568 MHz was received in EL92sd. The beacon has a great signal! 73! Hector, CO6CBF EL92sd -----Mensaje original----- De: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] En nombre de Ken Swaggart Enviado el: jueves, 28 de febrero de 2013 22:45 Para: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Asunto: [amsat-bb] STRaND1 silent during 03:25Z pass During the 1 Mar 03:25Z to 03:39Z pass over the Western US nothing was heard from STRaND1 on 437.568 MHz. (During the previous pass at 01:45Z telemetry was received.) 73, Ken, W7KKE CN75xa _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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STRaND1 back on
by Ken Swaggart 28 Feb '13

28 Feb '13

During the 1 Mar 0505-0514Z low elevation pass over the Pacific, STRaND1 appeared to be transmitting normal telemetry again. 73, Ken, W7KKE CN75xa

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STRaND1 silent during 03:25Z pass
by Ken Swaggart 28 Feb '13

28 Feb '13

During the 1 Mar 03:25Z to 03:39Z pass over the Western US nothing was heard from STRaND1 on 437.568 MHz. (During the previous pass at 01:45Z telemetry was received.) 73, Ken, W7KKE CN75xa

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Re: Fwd: UPDATE: 28375 AMSAT ECHO Close Approach Notification
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Feb '13

28 Feb '13

Swapping paint at up to 2x orbital velocity might get interesting. BTW it is a piece of Chinese Fengyun 1-C debris. Sent from my iPhone On Feb 28, 2013, at 7:58 PM, Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com> wrote: > As we used to say, JIMMINY CRICKETS! In the vacuum of space you could hear that squealing by! > > > On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 7:35 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> wrote: >> Another close one, even if AO51 is no longer operational. >> >> 73, Drew KO4MA >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> Begin forwarded message: >> >> > >> > The United States Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) has updated a >> > predicted conjunction between AMSAT ECHO (SCC# 28375) and SCC# 32170. >> > >> > Primary Object: AMSAT ECHO (SCC# 28375) >> > Secondary Object: SCC# 32170 >> > Time of Closest Approach: 01 MAR 2013 03:46 UTC >> > >> > Overall miss distance: 36 meters >> > Radial (dU) miss distance: -36 meters >> > In-Track (dV) miss distance: 3 meters >> > Cross-track (dW) miss distance: -6 meters >> > >> > Primary Radial Error (U): 10 meters >> > Primary In-Track Error (U): 34 meters >> > Primary Cross-track Error (U): 16 meters >> > >> > Secondary Radial Error (U): 29 meters >> > Secondary In-Track Error (U): 115 meters >> > Secondary Cross-Track Error (U): 52 meters >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > -- > Bob McGwier > Owner and Technical Director, Allied Communication, LLC > Facebook: N4HYBob > ARS: N4HY > Faculty Advisor Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn. (K4KDJ)

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