Amsat P3D Launch Set for November 14

QST de W1AW
Space Bulletin 013 ARLS013
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT
October 19, 2000
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS013
ARLS013 Phase 3D Now Set to Launch November 14

The next-generation Phase 3D Amateur Radio satellite is scheduled to go into space Tuesday, November 14, from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Launch agency Arianespace announced the revised launch date for the Ariane 5 Flight 135 this week. The launch was delayed from a tentative October 31 window.

AMSAT-DL Executive Vice President Peter Guelzow, DB2OS--who's heading up the Phase 3D launch campaign--says Phase 3D is ''ready to fly'' and has passed all of its pre-launch inspections, testing, and preparation.

AMSAT News Service reports that Phase 3D was being moved into the final assembly building at the European Spaceport, where it will remain ''on hold'' until the launch date. Once the other Flight 135 payloads arrive, all will be mated to the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. In addition to Phase 3D, the Ariane 5 will attempt to orbit the PanAmSat PAS 1R communications satellite and two British Space Technology Research Vehicle microsatellites, STRV 1C and STRV 1D.

Phase 3D will be the largest Amateur Radio payload ever put into space. Once launched, Phase 3D will be nudged by its onboard thrusters into an elliptical orbit that will put it some 2500 miles from Earth at its nearest point, and nearly 30,000 miles at its farthest.

For more information, visit the AMSAT-NA Web site, http://www.amsat.org/.

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