March 2018 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Late notice FO-29 0227Z and perhaps AO-92
by Adrian Engele 05 Mar '18

05 Mar '18

Folks, Made it to Little Cayman and had to contend with a Windows update at DSL speed (like watching paint dry) which corrupted my Wi-Fi adapter. Got that fixed now. I will try to get on the FO-29 pass at 0227Z. Please note I am inland I have some trees at AOS and LOS on my end. Against my better judgement I will try to jump into AO-92 fray after the FO-29 pass. I will be signing ZF2AE/ZF8, please use this call for LOTW from Little Cayman. I will try to get on tomorrow afternoon and evening after diving in the morning. 73, Adrian AA5UK ZF2AE/ZF8

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St Barts expedition April 18
by Jim White 05 Mar '18

05 Mar '18

FJ, St. Barthelemy AI5P, N0KV, W0ZA and WD0E plan to operate from Pointe Milou, St. Barthelemy Island (IOTA NA-146/Grid Square FK87) from April 19-27. Operation will be on 80-10 meters (SSB/CW/RTTY) with satellite operation by WD0E. Conditions may largely limit most activity to 20 meters and down. Operating 160 meters is being considered; however, no antenna option is yet finalized. Satellite operation will take place on several satellites. A satellite and pass schedule will be announced on the AMSAT-bb in advance. Equipment includes three Elecraft K3's and two 500 watt Elecraft amps. Antennas include a SteppIR crank IR vertical for 80-10 meters, a folding hexbeam by Folding Antennas (Germany) on 20-10 meters, LPDA's on 20 and 17 meters and verticals on 30 and 40 meters. Operation will be as continuous as conditions warrant. The Colorado operators have decided to use FJ/N0KV as their callsign while AI5P will be active as FJ/AI5P. FJ/N0KV logs will be updated to LOTW while Rick's logs (FJ/AI5P) will not since he continues to be an analog guy with an actual key and pen/paper log. Paper QSLs will be available from both N0KV and AI5P direct and via the bureau. Further: For satellite operation we plan to be on as many passes of as many satellites as possible focusing on the evening hours. Equipment will be an IC 910 and Arrow. On Montserrat in 2015 we were on FO-29 only. For St. Barts we will also operate some FM satellites. We will assemble a pass plan before we go and post it to this -bb. We will stick to that plan as much as possible but of course conditions may cause us adjust on the fly. The operating location has good visibility to the horizon from about the NW through N and E to the SE. Other directions are somewhat obscured. QSLs handled as written above.

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Parkside Middle School, San Bruno, CA
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 05 Mar '18

05 Mar '18

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Parkside Middle School, San Bruno, CA on 07 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:05 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and K6PVJ The contact should be audible over the state of California and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Parkside Middle School has a diverse student population of almost 900 students, grades 6 through 8 with more than 20 languages spoken, including Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Pacific Islanders. Ours is an economically disadvantaged district in an otherwise affluent area. 4 out of Every 10 Students Receive Free or Reduced Lunch. Our science and math teachers and students are very excited about hosting an ARISS contact. One special characteristic of our school district is a STEM magnet program in one of our grade schools. The students from that school help carry a great enthusiasm for STEM and the maker movement into the middle school and share it with the student population at large. Our science curricula include atmosphere, include layers, and weather, biology including the effects of gravity versus micro-gravity, climate, coding and robotics in an after school program, history with how the constellations and planets got their names, geography including land forms and tectonics, soil and erosion, making model lunar rovers, exploring re-entry for orbital launch vehicles, making and launching rockets, and a number of activities around waves, including sound and radio. We have established contacts with the local print, radio and televisions stations, as well as a social media community of more than 1,000 active participants. We'll have a sequence of events, with press releases and online reminders building up to the event. We will also engage our local cable channel and our very active Next-door communities. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How does being in space affect your body's overall health? 2. What is it like when you see spacecraft launch from earth and how does the spacecraft attach to the space station? Is it like a jet way for a plane? 3. What does it feel like after you've been in space with no gravity and you are back on earth? 4. Do you become light headed in space? 5. Is it common to have to fix things on the space station, either on the inside or the outside of the station. 6. Do you have to wear special shoes inside the space station? What are they like? 7. When the falcon heavy launch carrying the Tesla that SpaceX launched into space have you seen the Tesla yet? 8. What is it like to live without gravity? What is the worst part? What is the best part? 9. Is space food good or bad? Is drinking water like blowing then eating bubbles? 10. Do you get TV and internet in space? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Az-El rotator needed
by Butch 05 Mar '18

05 Mar '18

Our middle school has received approval from NASA to proceed with a cube sat launch. In preparation for that, I would like to set up a ground station for tracking satellites. I have everything but an Az-El rotator and would like to have one that would interface with SatPC32. If you have any rotators (dead or alive) that you no longer need, we will gladly accept donations or ?? Thanks, Butch Alline K8KO

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CQ from Grand Cayman FO-29 03/05 @ 0136UTC pass
by Adrian Engele 04 Mar '18

04 Mar '18

Hi OM's Busy day here exploring the islands and consuming way too much food at brunch. I saw an earlier FO-29 pass at 23:52Z that would have been great to South America and I am sorry I won't be available for that pass due to prior commitments. I will try to make the FO-29 pass at 0136UTC. I have noticed I have trouble with the first 1/3 of the pass getting in due to heavy load on the bird. So please be patient. We had a nice pile up going last night and I think I was able to catch most folks. If you missed me don't worry more opportunities from Little Cayman starting the 6th through 10th. Not sure yet about the 5th. I have not had time yet to transcribe the recordings yet to load to LOTW. Please be patient, remember I am on vacation!! Satellite operations comes second. 73, Adrian AA5UK - ZF2AE

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ANS-063 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 03 Mar '18

03 Mar '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-063 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: * VP9, BERMUDA on Satellites * GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 Selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative * Rare Grid Rover Activation Planned on Pacific Coast * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 2018 * Satellite 101 Wiki Released by IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project * Rules for AMSAT Awards updated * BIRDS-2 CubeSat Constellation Includes 145.825 MHz Digipeater * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-063.01 ANS-063 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 063.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE MARCH 4, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-063.01 VP9, BERMUDA on Satellites VP9, BERMUDA. Chris, KG6CIH, will be active as KG6CIH/VP9 from Bermuda (NA-005) between March 8-12th. Activity will be holiday style in addition to also checking out the island. He will be splitting radio time with a friend (David/WH6DSN was mentioned by another source). They will be focused on SSB operations on the main bands (80/40/20 meters, 15 meters if pro- pagation is good, 160m if antenna works), and maybe some satellite contacts too. QSL will primarily be via LoTW, but if they get enough contacts, they will consider printing up special cards. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1353 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 Selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative On March 2, 2018, NASA announced the ninth round of selections for the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). The first two AMSAT GOLF CubeSats, GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1, were among the 21 missions recommended for selection. AMSAT must negotiate and execute a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with NASA for each project to finalize selection. NASA anticipates a sufficient number of launch opportunities but does not guarantee that all recommended payloads will be launched. GOLF-TEE (Technology Evaluation Environment) will serve as a rapidly deployable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits. AMSAT Vice-President Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said “The GOLF-TEE project tees off the next phase of our CubeSat program. GOLF-TEE provides AMSAT hardware and knowledge for Attitude Determination and Control (ADAC) capability and the opportunity to develop a 3U spaceframe with deployable solar panels that can be used in LEO or HEO missions, two of the major systems required in future GOLF and HEO missions.” Ragnarok Industries developed the attitude control system for the Lunar Heimdallr 6U CubeSat, a NASA Cube Quest Challenge finalist. GOLF-TEE provides the opportunity for rapid deployment and on orbit testing of the AMSAT’s Advanced Satellite Communications and Exploration of New Technology (ASCENT) program’s technology, including radiation tolerant transponder and Integrated Housekeeping Unit (IHU) technologies that will lead the way for low cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems that can function in the MEO and HEO radiation environments. GOLF-TEE will also carry a Fox-1E design V/u linear transponder and RadFx (Radiation Effects) experiment for Vanderbilt University. GOLF-TEE and the GOLF program will provide for the development of “Five and Dime” Field-Programmable Gate Array Software Defined Radio (FPGA SDR) transponders for use on a variety of missions and orbits. The target date for launch of GOLF-TEE is 4Q 2019. GOLF-1 will serve as a follow-on mission, also to LEO. Launch is targeted for 2020-2021. GOLF-1 will require a de-orbiting plan that is in compliance with NASA's NPR 8715.6 NASA Procedural Requirements for Limiting Orbital Debris in order to be manifested on a launch, due to the high altitude AMSAT has requested. Please consider a donation to the AMSAT GOLF program for development, construction, and testing of the GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 CubeSats. Donate at https://goo.gl/GJ2Utb Checks may be mailed to AMSAT, 10605 Concord St. #304, Kensington, MD 20895-2526. [ANS thanks Paul, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Rare Grid Rover Activation Planned on Pacific Coast Heads up AMSAT enthusiasts. Billy Blue, KM6NJL, plans to head to Humboldt County, California March 16-19. Billy says, "Depending on schedule and terrain and activities I'm going to try to work from CM89, CN70, CN80, CN71 and CN81 or the borders of these grids. Unfortunately I won't be heading further east." [ANS thanks Billy Blue, KM6NJL, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 2018 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period February 1, 2018 through February 28, 2018. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! February: Short Month -- Fewer endorsements CALL 1Feb18 1Mar18 WA4NVM 1450 1488 WC7V 1158 1159 AA5PK 996 1012 K4FEG 841 878 N4UFO 700 715 K6FW 661 703 K0FFY 173 260 VE6SWC 173 173 K5IX 100 125 G0ABI 115 116 AB1OC 115 (NEW VUCC) PU8RFL 101 (NEW VUCC) If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for February 1, 2018. and March 1, 2018. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron, W5RKN, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite 101 Wiki Released by IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project Members of the Pratham satellite team, the first student satellite of IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project (IITBSSP), have created the Satellite 101 Wiki as a part of a social goal of spreading knowledge and enthusiasm related to satellite and space technology among various aspiring students and universities across the globe. The Wiki discusses: + Starting a Student Satellite Project - Building the Team - Planning the mission and finalizing the Payload - Obtaining the required Infrastructure + Subsystems within a Satellite - Payload Subsystem - Communications Subsystem - Electrical Subsystem - Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem - Mechanical Subsystem Access the Satellite 101 Wiki at: http://www.aero.iitb.ac.in/satelliteWiki/index.php/Satellite_101 [ANS thanks the IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Rules for AMSAT Awards updated A few months ago we added Washington, DC counting the same as a state. Today, we continued to align our awards with the ARRL. Our rules stated contacts had to be made within 25 miles or 40 kilometers from your home location. We have now amended the rules to read within 50 miles or 80 kilometers. This should be more beneficial for those that have moved to a new QTH. [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- BIRDS-2 CubeSat Constellation Includes 145.825 MHz Digipeater The BIRDS-2 CubeSat constellation developed at Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology includes three 1U CubeSats: + BHUTAN-1 + MAYA-1 + UiTMSAT-1 All CubeSats in BIRDS-2 constellation have identical designs and utilize the same radio frequencies. They are planned for release from the ISS together in 2018. The primary mission of BIRDS-2 CubeSat constellation is to provide digital message relay service to the amateur radio community by means of an APRS digipeater onboard. The APRS digipeater onboard BIRDS-2 CubeSats will use 145.825 MHz for both receive and transmit. 145.825MHz is a standard frequency used by other satellites such as ARISS and LAPAN-A2. Another mission of the BIRDS-2 CubeSat constellation is to demon- strate a store-and-forward (S&F) system. In this mission, a goal is to investigate technical challenges through experiments on appropriate data format, multiple access scheme, file-handling protocol while complying with limited operational time and power constraints. Another interesting application of BIRDS-2 CubeSat S&F system is for the satellites to collect data from remote ground sensors, store them onboard and download them to the different BIRDS-2 ground stations network. Further, students of Kyushu Institute of Technology will use BIRDS-2 CubeSat constellation to enhance research and experiment in the fields of single latch-up event detection, magnetic field measurements using a COTS anisotropic magnetometer, and flight testing of a COTS GPS chip which can be used for future CubeSat missions if proven effective. Students will also explore a passive attitude stabilization mechanism consisting of magnets and hysteresis dampers for proper orientation of camera on a CubeSat. All measurements and image data will be shared with the public on BIRDS-2 project website. Moveover, BIRDS-2 CubeSat constellation will expand amateur radio communication experiment on the operation of CubeSat constellation via a network of UHF/VHF amateur radio ground stations (started in BIRDS-1 CubeSat constellation project). All the above missions are envisioned to promote awareness of amateur radio communication and amateur satellites among the general public and students, especially in the participating nations of BIRDS-2 Project: Bhutan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Japan. Planning a deployment from the ISS in 2018. The IARU has coordinated a downlink frequency of 437.375 MHz and for APRS uplink/downlink 145.825 MHz. The IARU detailed pages are as noted: BHUTAN-1 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=562 MAYA-1 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=563 UiTMSAT-1 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=564 An article in the Bhutan press is posted at: http://www.kuenselonline.com/bhutan-1-expected-to-be-in-space-by-may/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, kuenselonline.com, and the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Congratulations on achieving a distance of 7649 km via AO-7 QSO by F6HTJ (JN12) and K4FEG (EM55) near Memphis, Tennessee. The frequency was 145930.0. (Via F6HJT) + The Eureka Amateur Radio Club, VY0ERC, is located at 79 degrees 59 min North, 85 degrees 56 min West on Ellesmere Island (IOTA NA-008). M0NPT recorded a video of G0ABI and G7SVF working VY0ERC via AO-91: https://youtu.be/oOiV-iEZhX4 (AMSAT-UK on Twitter) + 2017 Space Symposium - Corey Shields KB9JHU - Intro to SATNOGS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsKJX4WgCn0 (via AMSAT Twitter) + Congratulations on achieving a distance of 5,479 km via AO-91 QSO by Sam, N3ROY (FM29) and Jose, EB1AO (IN52) in Spain at 1530 Z on March 1. (via N3ROY) + A group of Ham Radio operators from Southern Mexico will be operating the special event "Spring Equinox" with the call 6E3MAYA from March 17th. to 21th. The activity will be 80 to 6 meters in SSB, CW, Satellite and Digital Modes. QSL via XE3N. (Twitter via Daily DX and XE3N) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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, Lee McLamb, KT4TZ kt4tz at amsat dot org

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Cayman Calling: FO29 at 0238Z tonight
by Adrian Engele 03 Mar '18

03 Mar '18

Folks, I have had a very busy schedule. I was operating HF dall day yesterday. I will try to get on the 0238Z FO29 pass this evening. EK99hi.Sorry if I am weak, hard to compete when many other stations are QRO, only running 5W on this end. Not sure yet about Sunday schedule as of yet, YL comes first. Again very busy schedule. FM satellite passes are not lining up with my vacation schedule so far. Stay tuned, perhaps next week. 73, Adrian AA5UK ZF2AETwitter @ZF2AE Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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ANS-061 ANS Special Bulletin GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 Selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative
by Lee McLamb 02 Mar '18

02 Mar '18

AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-061.01 ANS-061 GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 Selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative AMSAT News Service Bulletin 061.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE MAARCH 2, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-061.01 On March 2, 2018, NASA announced the ninth round of selections for the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). The first two AMSAT GOLF CubeSats, GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1, were among the 21 missions recommended for selection. AMSAT must negotiate and execute a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with NASA for each project to finalize selection. NASA anticipates a sufficient number of launch opportunities but does not guarantee that all recommended payloads will be launched. GOLF-TEE (Technology Evaluation Environment) will serve as a rapidly deployable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits. AMSAT Vice-President Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said “The GOLF-TEE project tees off the next phase of our CubeSat program. GOLF-TEE provides AMSAT hardware and knowledge for Attitude Determination and Control (ADAC) capability and the opportunity to develop a 3U spaceframe with deployable solar panels that can be used in LEO or HEO missions, two of the major systems required in future GOLF and HEO missions.” Ragnarok Industries developed the attitude control system for the Lunar Heimdallr 6U CubeSat, a NASA Cube Quest Challenge finalist. GOLF-TEE provides the opportunity for rapid deployment and on orbit testing of the AMSAT’s Advanced Satellite Communications and Exploration of New Technology (ASCENT) program’s technology, including radiation tolerant transponder and Integrated Housekeeping Unit (IHU) technologies that will lead the way for low cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems that can function in the MEO and HEO radiation environments. GOLF-TEE will also carry a Fox-1E design V/u linear transponder and RadFx (Radiation Effects) experiment for Vanderbilt University. GOLF-TEE and the GOLF program will provide for the development of “Five and Dime” Field-Programmable Gate Array Software Defined Radio (FPGA SDR) transponders for use on a variety of missions and orbits. The target date for launch of GOLF-TEE is 4Q 2019. GOLF-1 will serve as a follow-on mission, also to LEO. Launch is targeted for 2020-2021. GOLF-1 will require a de-orbiting plan that is in compliance with NASA's NPR 8715.6 NASA Procedural Requirements for Limiting Orbital Debris in order to be manifested on a launch, due to the high altitude AMSAT has requested. Please consider a donation to the AMSAT GOLF program for development, construction, and testing of the GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 CubeSats. Donate at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id= STK27W4G9RMLC. Checks may be mailed to AMSAT, 10605 Concord St. #304, Kensington, MD 20895-2526. [ANS thanks Paul, N8HM, for the above information] /EX

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AO73 mode change
by Graham Shirville 02 Mar '18

02 Mar '18

Hi All, Just to advise that AO73/FUNcube-1 is now in amateur mode with the transponder active for the weekend. Have fun... 73 Graham G3VZV

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K2BSA/5 on AO-91 this Saturday
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 01 Mar '18

01 Mar '18

I will be holding a Radio Merit Badge class for our local Scout district this coming Saturday, March 3rd and will activate K2BSA/5 in EM12 for the AO-91 pass starting at 19:18Z. These satellite contacts prove to be quite exciting and enlightening for the Scouts. Please help me crack the satellite traffic and give K2BSA/5 a call. Tom Schuessler, N5HYP EM12ms

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