[amsat-bb:67299] AO-40 Update, 2003-04-13

["Stacey E. Mills" <w4sm@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Pictures taken today confirm that we have now reached ALON / ALAT = 51 / 
20.  Magnetorquing has been turned off and we have begun drifting "down" in 
ALON under the influence of the so-called mystery effect ( due to momentum 
wheel magnets interacting with earth's magnetic field ).  Drift rate will 
be approximately -18.2 degs / week  at the current spin rate.  This will 
place us on the "other side of the sun" in approximately 4 weeks, when we 
can decrease ALAT and begin chasing the sun back to 0/0.

The solar angles will begin increasing rapidly as we move backward and the 
passbands will be turned off within a few days until conditions 
improve.  The beacon will remain on continuously.

--- W4SM for the AO-40 Command Team



-- 
  _______________________________________________________________________
  Stacey E. Mills, W4SM    WWW:    http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/ham1.html
   Charlottesville, VA     PGP key: http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/key
  _______________________________________________________________________

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