[amsat-bb] AO-16 currently silent and resting 11:15UTC 5May2008

[Mark L. Hammond]

Hello all,

The weekend presented a chance to gather some telemetry on AO-16. The telemetry looks nominal.  Recently, the satellite seems to go silent on a nearly daily basis.  Increasing eclipse periods remain a likely explanation, but we remain open to other explanations at this point.  

To this end, I have turned AO-16 OFF for a few days to rest and ensure that its batteries will be given a chance to become fully charged.  Following its several day rest period, we'll try to conduct more tests to better determine what type of operations that AO-16 is currently able to support.  

Please do not transmit to AO-16 until further notice.

73 on behalf of the command team (and Happy Cinco de Mayo!),

Mark L. Hammond  [N8MH]