SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS004
ARLS004 New Amateur Radio satellite in orbit

ZCZC AS04  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 004  ARLS004
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington, CT  May 5, 2005
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS004
ARLS004 New Amateur Radio satellite in orbit

HAMSAT (or VUsat) is the latest Amateur Radio satellite in orbit. It
is India's first.

"We congratulate all who have worked for the hamsat and its
successful launch," said Sandip Shah, VU3SXE, AMSAT-India's
treasurer, who was at the control center in Bangalore, India, for
the May 5 launch. The satellite went aloft from the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota.

Going into space with the 42.5 kg HAMSAT was the primary
payload--the 1560 kg Indian remote sensing satellite, CARTOSAT-1.
The spacecraft were placed into polar sun synchronous orbits at an
altitude of 632 x 621 km with an equatorial inclination of 97.8
degrees.

HAMSAT will provide two new linear mode U/V transponders for SSB and
CW use only. Only one transponder will be active at any given time.
AMSAT-India indicates the UHF uplink will be in the 435.35 MHz
range, while the VHF downlink will be in the 145.90 MHz range.
Details are not yet available.

Dutch graduate student William Leijenaar, PE1RAH, who designed one
of the transponders aboard HAMSAT, saw the PSLV-C6 vehicle carry the
satellite skyward from SDSC SHAR. "It was very interesting to see
how my radio finally went into space," he said afterward. "It is the
best ham radio experience in my life." Leijenaar said reports he'd
received indicated that the onboard computer was showing the
batteries and solar panels working normally. "We just are a few days
away from 'CQ CQ HAMSAT' QSOs," he said.

The satellite has not yet been given an OSCAR designation. There's
more information on the AMSAT-India Web site,
http://www.amsatindia.com/hamsat.htm .
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