Radio
Sputnik RS10/RS11
Satellite
Summary
RS-10/11
Name: Radio Sputnik (RS) 10/11
NASA Catalog Number: 18129
Launched: June 23, 1987
Primary Spacecraft: COSMOS 1861 - Russian Navigation Satellite
Orbit: Polar LEO (Low Earth Orbit) - 1000 km altitude
Period: 105 Minutes
Modes: K, T, A, KT, KA
Beacons: 29.357 and 29.403 MHz
Features:
-
Linear Communications Transponders
-
Robot autotransponder
Linear Transponder:
-
Mode A Uplink: 145.860 - 145.900 MHz
-
Mode A Downlink: 29.360 - 29.400 MHz
-
Robot Uplink: 145.820 MHz
-
Robot Downlink: 29.357 or 29.403 MHz (Beacon frequencies)
Status: Non-Operational
-
Non-operational since May 1997, one month before
its 10th birthday.
-
RS-10 has failed to respond to commands.
Description
RS-10/11
RS10/11 rides piggyback on a primary spacecraft - the COSMOS series of
navigation satellites. Each satellite has two radio amateur transponders
onboard. Only one is switched on at a time. For a number of technical
reasons, command problems, interference and the like, they cannot be switched
to other modes. So for the immediate future they will continue in their
present configuration. RS-11 will remain switched off and in standby mode.
Both satellites have a 40 kHz wide linear transponder allowing for CW
and SSB contacts. One unique feature of both these satellites is the ROBOT
autotransponder. These autotransponders make it possible to carry on a
CW telegraphy contact with the ROBOT computer carried on the spacecraft.
Upon calling the satellite on the ROBOT uplink frequency, the computer
will return with a short message and issue a QSO number.
For a more detailed description of these satellites, read John Magliacane's,
KD2BD, Spotlight On: RS10/RS11 and RS12/RS13
originally published in The AMSAT
Journal.
References
-
Vern Riportella, "New Russian Satellite Sparks Surge of Interest,"
QST,
Nov 1987, p. 66.
-
Keith Bergland, "Decoding RS-12/13 Telemetry," The AMSAT Journal,
Vol.15, No. 1, Jan/Feb 1992, p. 13.
-
John Magliacane, "Spotlight on RS10/RS11 and RS12/RS13,"
The
AMSAT Journal, Vol. 15, No. 4, Jul/Aug 1992, p. 17.
-
Steve Ford, "Working the EasySats", QST, Sep 1992, p. 30.
-
Gould Smith, Beginners
Guide to the RS Satellites, AMSAT.
-
Martin Davidoff, The
Satellite Experimenter's Handbook, 2nd edition, The American Radio
Relay League, Newington, CT., 1990.
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Last update January 31, 1999 - N7HPR