Hello, AMSAT-BB!
The following stations are in the log from yesterday's operations in DM05/DM06. The QSOs are uploaded to LotW:
SO-50 at 01:00Z:
AA5PK
W0DHB
KJ6WNS
KK6OTJ
KG5CCI
W7JPI -- Hi, Leo!
NX9B
N8HM -- Awesome that we made it, Paul!
N8XQM -- At something like 3 degrees. Always wait until the very end of the pass!
Please let me know if you have any trouble claiming the QSLs from both grids.
73!
-- bag
Bryan KL7CN/W6
Sorry you are having trouble with SO-50 ...
Use TWO sat pass data sources as you work it. JUST IN CASE one is not set up
properly with your geographical area ... or the wrong time of day.
And make sure the Keplerian data is current on whatever you use.
There's a widget on my SAT SKEDS page that shows you where SO-50 is live -
http://www.work-sat.com
Also on the home page is the frequency programming chart for SO-50, FOX-1A, and
the ISS.
Let me know if any of this helps!!!
Clint K6LCS
909-241-7666 - cell
I could use some help here. For the third time this week, I've gone outside during what was supposed to be a nice high pass of SO-50, pointed my Arrow in (what I think is) the right direction and I hear nothing. Just now, I was supposed to have a max elevation of 80 degrees at EM79. Should have been an easy one. But I hear nothing.
In the past I've had QSOs on SO-50 with some of you, so you know I know how to point the antenna and use the radios.
Does anyone else use the Pass Predictions on the AMSAT page? That's what I've been using, but it's starting to seem like the satellite isn't where the prediction says it is.
I'd really appreciate some replies on this one. If other folks are finding the AMSAT Prediction Page for SO-50 to be correct, then I'll know it's me and I'll check all my radios and connections one more time.Thank you.
Steve Kristoff AI9IN
skristof(a)etczone.com
The donut hole is a problem... With two more APRS satellites to launch
this year, we need -more- Omni Satgates with *lower* antennas. The
vertical omni 1/4 or 3/4 wave satgate vertical antenna needs to be as low
as possible (to minimize the donut hole null and to reduce lightening
risk) while still seeing sky above 30 degrees.
See: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html
Once I deliver the last of these next two transponders, I hope to build
such a satgate with a D7 HT and document its performance. I can place the
HT at the base of the antenna with near zero coax, and being low, it is
not vulnerable to lightening compared to surrounding structures.
Bob, WB4APR
-----Original Message-----
From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
kb2m(a)arrl.net
Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2015 10:02 AM
To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org
Subject: [amsat-bb] the donut effect
Is there anyway to get any APRS client to not Igate a packet with a path
of ARISS in it. I run a satgate here in NJ and the donut effect is causing
problems for several hams in the area that can't get a packet Igated after
it is digi'd by the ISS because it's a dup. My Igate hears the first
packet direct that then causes the ISS digi'd packet to be a dup. It
would seem to be a simple thing to set a filter to ignore a path of
ARISS, and accept everything else. I would think that this would fix the
problem of people who want to run Igates, but don't because of this. I
recently moved to Florida for the winter and had to shut my igate down in
NJ for this reason. Also, I noticed when down there that there is a lack
of satgates along the eastcoast. ISS,PSAT, and PCSAT are hearing stations
fine but no satgate's available until the bird's footprint move well
inland.
73 Jeff kb2m
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to
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Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Well, someone with time to burn might want to check all these numbers.
Today I am getting inconsistent results and probably because to make a 9'
ground plane at 2m with good segment sizes, I need more than the 500 point
limit in EZNEC.
Also, to cover the USA with omni satgates with good gain above 25 degrees
will need almost 9 times as many satgates compared to the number with full
AZ/EL OSCAR arrays. But then the omni satgates are 10? Times simpler...
(just your HT while you are not actually using it)...
At this point we need to simply see what a 1/4 wave over a large ground
plane can actually HEAR. It is easy to just run it for days and see how
many PSAT packets are received per 24 hours. And then compare antennas
based on that number. If a 1/4 wave can hear down to 25 degrees, then there
is no need for the higher 3/4 wave gain at higher angles. Anyway, a great
opportunity for study.
-----Original Message-----
The gain of the 3/4 wave vertical is a real winner over the basic 1/4 wave
vertical for OMNI Satgates with no moving parts optimized for high elevation
gain above 30 deg. Low elevations are simply covered by more SATgates....
New: If we can get the angle down to 25 degrees then still need 9 times
more stations)
1/4 wave with radials: -2 at 30 and -6 at 60 ==> Basically a dipole
pattern
3/4 wave with radials: +2 at 30 and -1 at 60 ==> 4 to 5 dB better, 2 dBi
max
3/4 wave w 3' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +1 at 60 ==> 5 to 7 dB better, 3.3 dBi
max
3/4 wave w 6' gndpln: +2 at 30 and +3 at 70 ==> 4 to 9 dB better, 5.5 dBi
max
3/4 wave w 9' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +3 at 65 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 5.3 dBi
max
3/4 wave perfect gnd: +3 at 30 and +3 at 68 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 6.9 dBi
max
Even the 3/4 vertical with just the four 19" radials gives a huge 4 to 5 dB
improvement over a classic ground plane for omni satellite SATgate work.
Also, this antenna does not need to be high. Just see sky above 30 deg. In
fact, is better to be low to reduce terrestrial QRM.
Notice too that the Lilenblatt, eggbeaters, and all other "omni"s that try
to keep their gain down on the horizon, are equally as poor as the 1/4 wave
vertical at these higher elevations. This is OK for strong satellits like
the ISS with 5 to 10 watts, but abisimal when all that gain on the horizon
is completely wasted when you cannot hear the satellite anyway because it is
6 to 10 dB farther away! The result is these "omni's" give up the 4 to 9 dB
at higher elevations where the satellite is much stronger.
Ill eventually put all this on the Omni SATGATE page:
http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html
Summary: The 3/4 wave vertical makes it so you CAN hear LEO satellites 5 to
9 dB better when they are closer and does this by giving up on hearing
them when they are so far away you can't hear them anyway!
THE BIG QUESTION though is What is the lowest elevation angle at which an
OMNI can hear PSAT?
Bob, WB4APR
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Bruninga [mailto:[email protected]]
Subject: RE: [aprssig] APRS Satgate Antenna page
> One question,what constitutes a large ground plane?
> Is it 12"or 12'? Is it a multiple of the vertical whip?
Good question. Most people think that four 1/4 wave radials make a ground
plane. But if you model a 1/4 wave vertical over 1/4 wave radials, all you
get is the exact pattern of a DIPOLE. The radials are just providing a
"groundplane" to complete the electrical part of the antenna and give a good
match. They do not affect the pattern at all.
I modeled verticals over 6' or larger ground planes and only found that you
get the added "reflection" gain when the ground plane starts getting that
big or more. I wish I had time to use EZNEC to show the added gain
(skyward) versus the size of the ground plane. And how "radials" (above
actual ground) have nothing to do with the "pattern".
SO, the bigger the better. It should be worth 2 to 3 dB if you could make
it very large...
This is the page in question:
http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html
Bob, WB4aPR
On 6/19/2015 3:57 PM, Robert Bruninga via aprssig wrote:
> Subject: APRS Satgate Antenna page
>
> Since the ideal APRS Satellite IGate OMNI antenna is exactly the
> opposite of the typical terrestrial IGaate antenna, I prepared the
> following WEB page:
>
> http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html
>
> It shows how a vertical ¼ or ¾ wave VHF omni equals the performance of
> a full OSCAR class array (over half the sky) but does it with no
> moving parts.
> It makes up for the weak-signal horizon part of the sky by there
> simply being more omni-IGates. The APRS-IS cloud with all of its
> IGates is probably one of the largest spatially distributed satellite
> receiver system in the world (?).
>
> But with people used to the 10W transmitter on the ISS, just a few
> IGates can capture just about every packet from the ISS horizon to
> horizon on a whip. But with the 14 dB weaker signal from PSAT, we
> need more SatGates to make up for their smaller skyprint. For the USA
> we need more than a dozen such Omni-SATgates.
>
> To see the significance of the weaker downlink from PSAT, look at the
> successful IGates on the http://pcsat.aprs.org page compared to the IGates
> that hear the ISS packets on http://ariss.net Both are listening on
> 145.825 and passing along every packet they hear. But only TRACKING
> IGates or good vertical gain satgates hear PSAT. And since we want
> these running 24/7/365, we do NOT expect people wearing out motors
> when an omni will do fine (if we have enough).
>
> The page also shows how every SATgate with a HIGH and terrestrial type
> antenna actually creates a DEADZONE around it, effectively blocking
> any nearby user heaerd direct from appearing on any of the APRS-IS
> cloud satellite web pages. Hence, Omni-satgate antennas should be low
> to everything surrounding it w hile still seeing the sky above 30 degrees.
>
> If your TH-D7 HT is just sitting there, not in use 99% of the time,
> then just hook it to a vertical whip and let it be an IGate. With the
> low antenna it will also probably be safe from all weather lightening too.
> Put
> the UHF side on 435.350 and turn up the speaker. When PSAT PSK31
> comes into view, you can watch the PSK31 activity as a bonus!
>
> Bob, WB4APR
> _______________________________________________
> aprssig mailing list
> aprssig(a)tapr.org
> http://www.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig
http://sunskie.com/0lf1g2t3r4w5q6z7x8p9o.php
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.Karan Fama
Is there anyway to get any APRS client to not Igate a packet with a path of
ARISS in it. I run a satgate here in NJ and the donut effect is causing
problems for several hams in the area that can't get a packet Igated after
it is digi'd by the ISS because it's a dup. My Igate hears the first packet
direct that then causes the ISS digi'd packet to be a dup. It would seem to
be a simple thing to set a filter to ignore a path of ARISS, and accept
everything else. I would think that this would fix the problem of people who
want to run Igates, but don't because of this. I recently moved to Florida
for the winter and had to shut my igate down in NJ for this reason. Also, I
noticed when down there that there is a lack of satgates along the
eastcoast. ISS,PSAT, and PCSAT are hearing stations fine but no satgate's
available until the bird's footprint move well inland.
73 Jeff kb2m
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-179
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
In this edition:
* AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites
* Brazilian CubeSat NanosatC-Br 1 Team Requests Reception Reports
* FUNcube-1 / AO-73 Glitch and Commanded Reboot
* Kletskous Development News From the SA AMSAT Symposium
* North Texas Moon Day Event Annouced
* AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-179.01
ANS-179 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 179.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE June 28, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-179.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites
It’s that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American
Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout,
practice
for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!”. The event
takes
place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2015 the
event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 27,
2015 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 28, 2015. Those who set up prior to
1800
UTC on June 28 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation
via the
amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event.
If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellite SaudiSat-Oscar-50 for
your
AMSAT Field Day focus … don’t … unless you are simply hoping to make one
contact for the ARRL rules bonus points. The congestion on FM LEO satellites
was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use
to one-
QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You
will
be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be
allowed one
digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet
satellite (if operational).
Click for document:
http://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015FieldDay.pdf
See:
http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=216
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Brazilian CubeSat NanosatC-Br 1 Team Requests Reception Reports
Edson, PY2SDR requests fellow amateur satellite operators listen for a
downlink signal from NanosatC-Br 1, the first Brazilian cubesat. NanosatC-Br
1 was launched on a Dnepr rocket from Dombarovsky near Yasny in 2014.
The 1U CubeSat carries an ISIS U/V transceiver with 1200 bps FM AX.25 UHF
command uplink and a 9600 bps BPSK downlink on 145.865 MHz.
NanosatC-BR1, is experiencing battery issues for the last several months and
it now seldom emits a beacon in CW. For some time, Paulo PV8DX, was able to
detect a beacon signal when the satellite was over the Caribbean sea during
daylight. But now, no more signals have been detected.
Edson would like to request assistance from hams in the northern hemisphere
to see if NanosatC-BR1 is still transmitting any signals. Any help will be
much appreciated.
[ANS thanks Edson, PY2SDR for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNcube-1 / AO-73 Glitch and Commanded Reboot
On Sunday, June 21, there was an anomaly on FUNcube-1 that required the
reboot
of the satellite’s MCU (Microcontroller).
After a bus freeze, the databus watchdog did kick in as expected and
rebooted
the satellite. However, we did need to command the satellite back on to
automatic mode. When we did so on the 20:00 UTC pass, it came back up in
the
correct mode.
We envisage to switch back to autonomous mode either tonight or tomorrow
morning local time. FUNcube is still happy and healthy. This is the 4th
reboot
since launch, of which one was intentional. Thanks for your reports and
concerns.
On behalf of the whole team best 73s,
Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG
FUNcube team
FUNcube-1 (AO-73) Telemetry:
• Dashboard App
http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/
• Data Warehouse Archive
http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/
• Whole orbit data
http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/wod.html?satelliteId=2.
[ANS thanks the FUNcube Team and AMSAT-UK for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Kletskous Development News From the SA AMSAT Symposium
At the SA AMSAT Symposium pre-conference Engineering meeting held on Friday
evening on June 19, 2015, members of the SA AMSAT CubeSat team reached some
decisions about the development and launch of the South African Kletskous
amateur radio satellite. During the past few years, various options and
subsystems have been experimented with.
The team has now set the launch date of Kletskous at July 2017 with the
first flight model to be ready by February 2016 for testing after which
final integration will start. This requires that various module designs are
locked down and built by October 2015. It is planned to have all the modules
wired together in a breadboard configuration for testing the interoperation
of the various subunits by December 2015. Some modules are at a more
advanced stage than others, but in the next few months, the team expect to
catch up and meet the deadline for the first breadboard test.
Frik Wolff, ZS6FZ, the League's technical manager, has joined the team and
is working on solar panels and stabilization issues. Francois Oberholzer, an
honors student at Stellenbosch University, is working on improving the
weight/strength relationship of the space frame, a project that is part of
his thesis. Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL, as programme manager and the person
responsible for documentation, will support the project manager, Hannes
Coetzee, ZS6BZP.
There are many opportunities for radio amateurs to join the engineering
team. If you have a particular expertise or passion to add value to the
KLETSKOUS project, please discuss your participation with Hannes Coetzee or
any of the team members and send your details to saamsat(a)intekom.co,za.
The SA AMSAT website is at:
http//www.amsatsa.org.za/
See SARL
http://www.sarl.org.za/
KLETSkous
http://www.amsatsa.org.za/KLETSkous.htm
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the SARL weekly news in English 2015-6-20 for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
North Texas Moon Day Event Annouced
A great opportunity to showcase Amateur Radio and especially Amateur Radio
in space to the general public will be held on Saturday, July 18th at the
Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, TX. In commutation of the anniversary
of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the museum has celebrated "Moon Day" for the
last number of years as a STEM outreach specializing in astronomy, space
science and space flight past and future.
This year the Moon Day organizers decided to theme the day around the
International Space Station. They applied for and were granted an ARISS
scheduled contact to become part of the event. Keith Pugh, W5IU is serving
as ARISS mentor for the event and is working diligently on setting up all
the details of this "Telebridge" contact. The museum is sponsoring an "Ask
a question of an astronaut" contest with details at
http://www.flightmuseum.com/iss-expedition-crew-43-question/
General details can be found at
http://www.flightmuseum.com/moon-day-2015/
If you know young people interested in astronomy and space
science/exploration,
have them check out the links and see if they submit a question to be used
during the ARISS contact. Deadline for entry is June 30th.
In years past, several of us have participated in Moon Day activities by
manning an AMSAT table showing off Amateur Radio in space and even doing
some on-air contacts for and with interested participants.
Keith will be very busy all morning setting up and preparing for the ARISS
contact and has several individuals working with him on that. I have
volunteered to help staff an AMSAT display table but need additional
volunteers to assist with the table and also to be available to make Amateur
Satellite contacts and demonstrations as the sats allow. Please contact
Keith w5iu(a)swbell.net or myself Tom Schuessler, n5hyp(a)arrl.net to volunteer
to help at least part of the day or the whole 10A-5P duration and tell us
what you can "Bring to the table" as it were.
Help us to support the Museum's ARISS contact and also to put a bug in the
ears of many event goers about the fun and challenge of Amateur Radio
Satellites.
[ANS thanks Tom Schuessler, N5HYP for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT Events
Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around
the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where
AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working
amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with
AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations,
forums, and/or demonstrations).
*Thursday, 9 July 2015 – presentation for the Escondido Amateur Radio
Society in Escondido CA
*Friday and Saturday, 7-8 August 2015 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX
*Saturday and Sunday, 22-23 August 2015 – Boxboro Hamfest and ARRL
New England Convention in Boxborough MA
*Saturday and Sunday, 5-6 September - ARRL Roanoke Division Convention
Shelby, NC Hamfest, AMSAT Forum scheduled for Saturday
*Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 2015, AMSAT Symposium in
Dayton OH (Dayton Crown Plaza)
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
Successful Contact
Universidad Tecnológica de Chile INACAP sede Temuco, Temuco, Chile, via
telebridge W6SRJ ccontact was successful: Fri 2015-06-26 18:41:26 UTC
with ARISS Russian Team
Upcoming ARISS Contacts
Tulsa Community College, NE Campus, Tulsa, OK, direct via WD5AGO
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS/RSØISS or
RSØISS/OR4ISS
The scheduled astronaut is ARISS Russian Team
Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-07-01 15:46:28 UTC
ARISS does not anticipate any voice contacts from the ISS during this
weekend's Field Day. But you never know, so please listen in case they
are on
the air. Packet will probably be operational.
Watch
http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html
for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled.
[ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
* Satellite Grid Operation in Progress
GRID SQUARES TO BE ACTIVATED (Satellite Op). Ron, N8RO, announced that
he will be on a road trip during the period June 22nd and July 4th. He
plans to operate portable from EM50, EM84, EM99, FN13, FM28, FM04, EL79,
EL49 and possibly other grids along the way. Ron will operate on SO-50
and FO-29.
{ANS thanks the DX Newsletter - DXNL 1942 - June 24, 2015 for the above
information]
* Inventors hope to launch 'backyard satellites' to fill gap in Australian
space exploration
Stuart McAndrew is making history from a backyard shed in suburban Perth.
The IT worker is building a satellite capable of being launched into
space and
taking pictures of Earth.
Australia is the only OECD nation without a dedicated space agency, and Mr
McAndrew is one of a growing number of Australians turning to homemade space
exploration to fill the gap.
He has designed the satellite PocketQube, a Rubik's cube-sized box with
antennas, solar panels and electronics.
It is made from mostly off-the-shelf items, including aluminium from the
local
hardware shop, a tape measure and electronics bought over the internet.
Mr McAndrew believes it is the first of its kind in Australia. He has been
working on the project for two years.
"Australia has been lagging behind in recent times," he said. "We were
one of
the first countries to send an amateur satellite to space and then we
dropped
the ball.
"The PocketQube gives us an opportunity to set that straight and it (will)
hopefully inspire other people to continue on this path and build a bigger
space industry for Australia."
Radical change described as 'Space 2.0'
Commercial satellites weigh hundreds or even thousands of kilograms and cost
millions of dollars to launch.
In comparison, nano-satellites can be made for as little as $1,000 and weigh
between one and 10 kilograms.
Mr McAndrew's creation is even smaller, weighing less than 200 grams.
But how an earth do you get it into space?
It takes a lot of planning and a very expensive taxi ride on a much larger
space craft.
"The actual launch cost for a pocket cube is around $30,000," Mr
McAndrew said.
"That's a bit out of my reach so I'm looking to crowd source funding to help
me get my satellite into space."
About 80 nano-satellites were launched in 2013, while 132 went up in 2014.
It is estimated a further 500 will be in orbit by the end of this year.
The University of NSW is sending its own small satellites into space as part
of a global project.
Andrew Dempster, head of the university's Australian Centre for Space
Engineering Research, said the industry was going through a period of
"radical
change".
"Cubesats are creating this idea that people describe as Space 2.0," he
said.
"People like Stuart or universities like us can get relatively easy
access to
space and it means you can develop space capability without a space agency."
Mr Dempster said Australia's lack of a space program was concerning.
"For many years we've been receiving some of our data for free — we get our
our weather data from Japan; some of our remote sensing data we get from
Europe
and the US," he said.
"The problem is that's going to come to an end.
"Budgets are being restricted around the world; NASA's budget in
particular is
declining.
"So someone needs to be asking the question: what happens next?
"We're going to be left with our trousers down if we don't have a way of
providing the data we've become addicted to."
Inventors hope to 'unlock access to space'
Mr Dempster is hoping the rise of nano-satellites will encourage young
Australians to study science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and
put space on the agenda for a new generation.
"If you want to get young kids into science and so on, the things that do it
for them are dinosaurs and space," he said.
"The emergence of cubesats mean we can have our students working on
something
that will actually be launched into space, which attracts good quality
students
and very motivated people."
The expense and logistics of launching small satellites into space remains a
key problem.
An Australian organisation called the Delta-V Space Hub was formed last year
to solve it.
Tim Parsons is the head of Delta-V.
"There's no dedicated launcher for small spacecraft so typically we have to
piggyback off larger space launchers," he said.
"That means you have to deliver your spacecraft up to a year before the
launch
and hope it doesn't go brown on the pad.
"Those are the biggest limitations right now: the frequency of launch
opportunities and how much time you need to get everything prepared."
Delta-V is working with the NSW Government, universities and start-up
companies to help people develop ideas and get their inventions into space.
"Our first step is really just to fly an aircraft that other people can put
(their satellites) onto, so essentially a rideshare model," he said.
"By doing that first model we will essentially unlock access to space."
Call to lower cost for launch certificate
For Mr McAndrew, the backyard inventor, there are still a few barriers to
overcome. He must first test his satellite before obtaining a launch
certificate from the Australian Government, which costs $10,000.
The fee is reduced to just $100 for educational and scientific institutions.
Mr McAndrew wants the Commonwealth to ease those financial requirements in
recognition of the industry's potential.
He is still hopeful of securing a place for his satellite onboard an Italian
spacecraft set to launch late next year.
"Space has always been seen as this pinnacle of engineering and it's not
necessarily the case," he said.
"I can't wait for the day when I see the rocket launch into space with my
satellite on board."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/backyard-satellite-fills-australian-
space-research-hole/6563614
[ANS thanks Australian Broadcast Co. News for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Joe Spier, K6WAO
k6wao at amsat dot org
