Author: SM0TGU

Frsta kontakten med Echo har nu gjorts. Telemtri har tagits emot p 435.150 MHz och sndaren lmnas p med en uteffekt p 0.3 watt. Det r allts fritt fram att lyssna!

First contact with Echo was at 1452 UTC on 29 June 2004. After collecting a bit of TLM the 435.150 MHz transmitter was turned off at 1500 UTC. The preliminary keps were observed to be pretty close. The first look at ECHO s
telemetry shows things are looking good. The battery was fully charged and the panels were delivering about 950 ma, which is fine. The panels were supporting the transmitter power adequately at about 2.3W output. The bird appears to be tumbling as expected. Internal temperatures are around
10C which is also as expected.

On the second pass the loading of software began and good progress was made. Telemetry continues to look very good. While fades clearly indicated we continue to tumble (as expected), at 2.2 Watts output we were able to make good bits without difficulty. Rather than turn the TX off at the end of that pass, based on a very good looking power system, the power was turned down to about 0.3 Watts.

The hour between passes was spent closely examining the captured telemetry and comparing it to pre-launch testing, as well as tweaking the keps a bit. At the start of the next pass the power will be turned back up and loading
the housekeeping software, a task which will continue on the evening passes tonight, will resume. The TX has been left on at about 0.3W.

If you record telemetry please send the CSV files to ke4azn@amsat.org.

Please do not transmit to Echo until checkout and commissioning has been completed and the satellite is made available for general use. Unexpected uplinks may cause delays in verifying the proper operation of ECHO and delay
the opening of the transponders to general use.
[ANS thanks Jim, WD0E, for the above information]

Klla: ANS

Senaste nytt om Echo:

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 180.01 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 28, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-180.01

Below are the prelaunch elements for Echo, based on the predicted launch on 29 June. The launch site is the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Epoch time is based on the Dnepr s Orbit Insertion Time.

UTC Epoch 6/29/2004 06:45:15.06
Inc 98.25582
RAAN 250.8905
Ecc .00001139
MA 261.417
Arg Per 275.47233
MM 14.4091

Echo First Communication Events

Plans call for Command Stations to begin working Echo with the morning passes over the US on 29 June. The first communication attempt with Echo will be on the pass over the eastern US, at approximately 1452 UTC, continuing with the next two passes over the US as well. The transmitter on Echo will not be turned on for a complete orbit until it is established that the bird is operating normally and that the power system is working properly. The transmitter will be shut off before the end of the pass
window over the US. Transmission may also be intermittent over the US as we work with the Satellite. The hope is to leave the TX0 transmitter on for complete orbits starting as early as 0200 UTC on 30 June.

The callsigns for Echo s Pacsat Broadcast Protocol Digital system are:

Broadcast: PCAB-11
BBS: PCAB-12

Telemetry Submission Email Address

Until the ECHO Telemetry archive system is up and running please submit your CSV telemetry files received with TlmEcho to the following email address.
ke4azn@amsat.org

Once the archive system is up and running details will be published on how to submit and also download telemetry from Echo.

Check ANS for future bulletins as we progress with commissioning of Echo.

Klla: ANS 180

Kl. 06.30 UTC idag den 29/6 kom d Echo upp tillsammans med 7 andra satelliter. Satelliterna placerades i bana 30 minuter efter start. Hr kommer den officiella notisen frn ANS:

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 181.01 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 29, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-181.01

Chuck Green, N0ADI, reported by phone from the Baikonur Cosmodrome that the launch of AMSAT Echo and the other satellites occurred on time at 6/29/2004 0630 UTC. He watched the rocket climb out and said it appeared to be flying straight and true. A second phone call from Chuck 18 minutes later confirmed that the launch carrying AMSAT OSCAR Echo was successful and that all spacecraft had separated successfully.

Chuck was assisted in the final integration and checkout process at Baikonur by the team from SpaceQuest which included Dr. Dino Lorenzini KC4YMG, Mark Kanawati N4TPY, and Lyle Johnson KK7P. The SpaceQuest team members are also AMSAT members and volunteers.

A first attempt to turn on Echo will be made during its pass over the US at about 1430 UTC. Initial transmissions will be short, just enough to gather some telemetry and analyze the performance of the power system. Those first
downlink signals will be on 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 bps.

The correct callsigns for Echo s Pacsat Broadcast Protocol Digital system are:

Broadcast: PACB-11
BBS: PACB-12

The callsigns reported in ANS-180.01 were incorrect.

A telemetry decode program, TLMEcho, is available for those who would like to view and report data from Echo. It may be downloaded from http://web.infoave.net/~mkmk518/echo.htm

If you record telemetry please send the CSV files to ke4azn@amsat.org. A database for all telemetry has been established and will be tested over the next few days. When testing is complete it will be made available for
direct upload of telemetry files as well as queries on any and all data.

Please do not transmit to Echo until checkout and commissioning has been completed and the satellite is made available for general use.

[ANS thanks Chuck, N0ADI, and Jim, WD0E, for the above information]

Klla:

Mike Kingery, KE4AZN provided the following information on the initial commissioning for ECHO following launch. Currently, the launch is planned for 29 June 2004 at approximately 0630 UTC.

The transmitter will not turn on until commanded from the ground. The plan is that ECHO will be allowed to stabilize and outgas for approximately 10 hours. The first communication attempt will take place during the evening of 29 June, during the first pass over the Eastern US if launched as scheduled. TX0, on 435.155 MHz, will be commanded on and will be running 9k6 baud Pacsat Protocol. After some initial health and status checks, the transmitter will be commanded off before the end of
the pass.

The latest prelaunch element set for ECHO is:

ECHO
1 99999U 99999B 04015.44385708 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00013
2 99999 098.2700 042.0000 0072000 180.0000 226.0000 14.40910000000006

AMSAT News Service will be providing regular updates on the commissioning of ECHO to include Special Bulletins when warranted.

——————-
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 179.03 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 27, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-179.03

AMSAT now has available the new book, Echo – Operation, Development and Specifications written by G. Gould Smith, WA4SXM. The donation price is $15 for US, $17 for Canada and $19 elsewhere. Please remember that payment must be in US dollars. Ordering can be done by:

+ Email (martha@amsat.org) with Visa or MasterCard. Please include name, address, card number and expiration date

+ Telephone (1-888-322-6728 or 301-589-6062) with Visa or MasterCard

+ Fax (301-608-3410) Include the same information as email

+ Postal Mail – AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave, #600, Silver Spring MD 20910. You can pay by charge card, check or money order. Include your name and mailing address.

Klla: ANS 179