_                    
                                                         |_|                   
      V   V   SSSS   OOO   PPPP                 \__      |_|      __/          
      V   V  S      O   O  P   P                   --____/ \____--             
      V   V   SSS   O   O  PPPP                    _ _ _ --- _ _ _             
       V V       S  O   O  P                      |_|_|_|  @|_|_|_|            
        V    SSSS    OOO   P                             o-o                   
                                                          /                    
      ***  N    E    W    S  ***                        <)                     
 

USUDA TRACKING STATION

Construction of the 10 m tracking station at Usuda is continuing smoothly. The site of the 10 m will be several hundred metres further up the hill from the Usuda 64m. Operation of the tracking station will be conducted from the existing Usuda buildings. The foundations and base for the antenna are already in position, and the poles for the power cables from the main site have also been put in place. The 15.3 GHz up-linked reference signal to the satellite is transmitted from the operations centre to the tracking dish via optical fibre, and the down-linked 14.2 GHz signal is transmitted back to the main buildings for recording in the same manner. RF circuitry tests of the optical fibre at Ku band will be carried out at Usuda next week.

EXPRESS LAUNCH

Preparations are continuing on schedule for the launch of the EXPRESS satellite on the 15th of January, 1995. After five days in orbit, the spacecraft will re-enter the atmosphere, landing on the Woomera range in South Australia. EXPRESS, a Japanese-German collaboration, will be the last launch with the M-3SII rocket. Modifications to the launcher to enable M-V rockets to be launched will begin soon after the EXPRESS launch.

B IS FOR...

Bou-nen-kai, or "forgetting-the-past-year party"! The VSOP team held their bounenkai at Mitaka earlier this week, and celebrated the achievements of the past year: integration testing of the MUSES-B satellite, correlator progress, M-V rocket development etc. B is also for blood-type, and it is a common belief or superstition in Japan that ones personality is governed by ones blood type. The distribution of blood types in Japan is roughly 40% A, 30% O, 20% B and 10% AB. A quick poll at the bounenkai revealed, however, a strong contingent of B-types, leading one person to quip "So that's why the satellite is called muses-B!" The VSOP team is hoping next year will see the addition of some new blood - of any type - to the (presently under-staffed) project: details of fellowships will be advertised from time to time in future issues of the VSOP news.

NEXT ISSUE

This will be the last VSOP news for 1994. The first issue for 1995 will be distributed in the first weeks of January. Seasons Greetings from the VSOP team!

 
 
       Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi