Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!houxm!mhuxa!mhuxi!mhuxt!eagle!karn From: karn@eagle.UUCP Newsgroups: net.ham-radio Subject: Oscar-10 update Message-ID: <1017@eagle.UUCP> Date: Wed, 22-Jun-83 15:50:31 EDT Article-I.D.: eagle.1017 Posted: Wed Jun 22 15:50:31 1983 Date-Received: Fri, 24-Jun-83 10:43:02 EDT Lines: 28 Things continue to improve more rapidly than expected aboard Amsat-Oscar-10. The sun angle is coming down so rapidly that the sun sensor pulses are expected back by Friday. Battery temperatures are now spending much of their time above 0 C. In addition, the combined effects of spin axis and orbit plane precession appear to be moving the spin axis toward the orientation it will need for the first motor firing! Once the sun pulses are back, it will then be possible to command the onboard computer to do spinup and attitude maneuvers for the first firing. The General Beacon is now on full time, since the solar array currents have come up enough to support it. Some initial ranging has been done, but not enough to well determine the orbit yet. We're continuing to use elements provided by NORAD last week but they seem to be slightly off. A special software routine was written to dwell on a single solar array in order to determine the spin rate - approximately 6.2 RPM and apparently INCREASING by itself. The current orbit has been analyzed and there is no need to worry over the short term (1 month) about orbit decay. In short, we seem to have "pulled a TDRS" (to coin a phrase); the satellite is surviving like a real cat, always landing on its feet. Phil Karn