SB SAREX @ AMSAT $STS-78.022
STS-78 SAREX Bulletin #22

Silver Spring, Maryland USA
July 1, 1996 @ 20:00 UTC

Reports continue to roll in from amateurs contacting Columbia crew
members during the STS-78 Life and Microgravity Sciences (LMS)
mission.

Michael Schlabach, KB7YVM, of West Linn, Oregon writes: "WOW!!!  Best
signal from Columbia at my QTH was 5x8.  Susan (KC7NHZ) reported my
signal was 5x3. ...Susan mentioned that she was from the Portland area
and commented that it looked like the weather was good down here.  I
commented that it was sunny, 70 degrees F and a beautiful day.  Susan
mentioned that it was beautiful where she was as well, but I was making
her jealous (if you can imagine that!).  ...In spite of the excitement
I tried to keep the conversation short.  Susan was little help in that
regard, as she talked excitedly about the Pacific Northwest and
meticulously made sure that she captured the appropriate QSL information.
I could really tell that she had a ton of energy and enjoyed what she
was doing."

Michael added, "I thank all of the people involved in making SAREX a
reality, and the Shuttle crew members who take the time in their
frantic schedules to talk with earthbound amateurs."

Columbia continues to operate flawlessly, circling the Earth once every
90 minutes at an altitude of 168 statute miles.

Here is the latest orbital element set from AMSAT member Gil Carman,
WA5NOM, in Houston:

STS-78
1 23931U 96036A   96183.52115392  .00220198  00000-0  34305-3 0  9133
2 23931  39.0132 296.8440 0005913 345.1471  14.9372 16.03543755  1763

Satellite: STS-78
Catalog number: 23931
Epoch time:      96183.52115392    =    (01-Jul-96   12:30:27.69 UTC)
Element set:     913
Inclination:       39.0132 deg
RA of node:       296.8440 deg            Space Shuttle Flight STS-78
Eccentricity:     .0005913               Keplerian element set JSC-913
Arg of perigee:   345.1471 deg           from NASA flight Day 11 vector
Mean anomaly:      14.9372 deg
Mean motion:   16.03543755 rev/day                Gil Carman
Decay rate:    2.20198e-03 rev/day^2       NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev:             176
Checksum:              303


Submitted by (Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ for) Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO for the
SAREX Working Group

/EX