R 131200Z OCT 2006
FM NNN0ASA VA
TO NNN0ALL
INFO ZEN/AAA9A AZ
ZEN/AGA3C IL
BT
UNCLAS
SUBJ: CHNAVMARCORMARS INFO BCST 48-06 - MARSCOM SATELLITE
1. BOB, NNN0APR, HEAD OF THE NAVAL ACADEMY SATELLITE LAB, HAS
INFORMED ME THAT MARSCOM, THE NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS SATELLITE, IS AT
THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AWAITING LAUNCH ON THE NEXT SHUTTLE ON ABOUT
5 DEC 2006. AT THAT TIME WE WILL HAVE OUR OWN SATELLITE IN ORBIT. WE
HAVE A LITTLE OVER 50 DAYS TO DEVELOP A CADRE OF NAVMARCORMARS
OPERATORS AND GROUND STATIONS. MORE INFO (INCLUDING A COUNTDOWN TO
LAUNCH) IS AVAILABLE AT (ALL LOWER CASE):
  HTTP://WWW.EW.USNA.EDU/(TILDE)BRUNINGA/MARSCOM.HTML
2. MARSCOM WILL BE DIFFICULT TO HEAR AND TO CONTROL DUE TO USING HF
SSB FOR THE DOWNLINK AND THE DOPPLER SHIFT. THE DOWNLINK TRANSMITTER
TURNED OUT TO HAVE AN EFFECTIVE RADIATED POWER (ERP) OF UNDER 100
MILLIWATTS INSTEAD OF THE DESIRED 2 WATTS. WE ASSUME A 10 METER BEAM
WILL BE NEEDED FOR THE COMMAND STATIONS. THE NAVAL ACADEMY HAS NO
SUCH COMMAND STATIONS AT THIS TIME ... SO, WE NEED NAVMARCORMARS
STATIONS THAT HAVE 148 MHZ FM UPLINK AND SSB 10M DOWNLINK, AND A 1200
BAUD TNC CONNECTED TO EACH.
3. MARSCOM, BECAUSE OF ITS LOW EARTH ORBIT, WILL DE-ORBIT IN UNDER
SIX MONTHS. WE WILL NEED TO FIRM UP OUR PLANS ON WHAT WE WANT TO
ACCOMPLISH DURING ITS 6-MONTH LIFE. THE NAVAL ACADEMY WILL BE
CONTROLLING A TOTAL OF FOUR SATELLITES ALL LAUNCHED AT ABOUT THE SAME
TIME ON THE SHUTTLE AND AN ATLAS. THEY ASK THAT MARS VOLUNTEERS ACT
AS MARSCOM GROUND STATIONS, NET-CONTROL OPERATORS AND MISSION
PLANNERS.
4. BECAUSE OF THE SHUTTLE PROGRAM DELAYS, IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME
SINCE I INITIALLY REQUESTED VOLUNTEERS FOR THIS PROGRAM. THEREFORE, I
AM SOLICITING VOLUNTEERS ANEW TO TAKE ON THE ROLES LISTED ABOVE.
EXPERIENCE WITH SATELLITES IS DESIRED, BUT NOT MANDATORY. THE LOW ERP
ON THE HF DOWNLINK WILL MAKE THIS A REAL CHALLENGE. VOLUNTEERS ARE
NEEDED ACROSS THE COUNTRY BECAUSE OF THE ANTICIPATED SMALL FOOTPRINT
OF THE MARSCOM SATELLITE.
5. TO VOLUNTEER, PLEASE SUBMIT A REQUEST BY MARS MESSAGE TO YOUR
STATE DIRECTOR, INFO YOUR REGION AND AREA DIRECTOR AND NNN0ASA VA. BE
SURE TO INCLUDE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF YOUR SATELLITE EXPERIENCE.
6. NAVMARCORMARS: PROUDLY SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE.
BT
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