April 2021 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

ND9M/mm - FL09 -> FL16
by Clary, James T (Jim) 13 Apr '21

13 Apr '21

My ship will be leaving EM90 tomorrow (4/13) to head for the western Pacific. We'll probably hit FL09 around 14/0000Z (maybe a little earlier). This is a working trip for me, but I'm planning to be on the XW-2A/D/F and AO-27. I'm having a heck of a time hearing the RS-44 downlink, so I'll plan on being on that bird's two passes tomorrow evening, but on CW. The voyage plan has us in FL15 or FL16 late afternoon (LT) on the 14th and into FL25 that evening. We'll turn south shortly after that. Thanks to Hector/W5CBF, Curt/K7ZOO, and Fernando/KF7R for their help with SatPC32. R/Jim Clary, EO USNS Sgt William R Button Tel: 850-549-0275, ext 4 E-mail: james.t.clary.ctr(a)button.navy.mil<mailto:james.t.clary.ctr@button.navy.mil> E-mail: reo(a)button.navy.mil E-mail: button.comm(a)ashore.msc.navy.smil.mil<mailto:button.comm@ashore.msc.navy.smil.mil> E-mail: james.t.clary.ctr(a)button.navy.smil.mil<mailto:james.t.clary.ctr@button.navy.smil.mil>

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-04-12 20:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 12 Apr '21

12 Apr '21

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-04-12 20:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Winmalee Public School, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover KI5BKC (***) Contact is go for: Tue 2021-04-20 08:28:39 UTC 81 deg (***) Exp. 64 now on orbit (***) Welcome aboard! (***) Oleg Novitskiy Pyotr Dubrov Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP ************************************************************************************************************* The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. **************************************************************************************************************************************** ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements at https://www.ariss.org/ The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools **************************************************************************************************************************************** Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2021-04-12 20:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2021-04-07 16:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARISS Contact Applications (United States) New Proposal Window is February 15th, 2021 to March 31st, 2021 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is March 31st, 2021. Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on February 25th, 2021 at 8 PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2021.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. 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 ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Sergey RV3DR with 148 Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 140 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1436. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1369. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 63 now on orbit Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Sergey Ryzhikov Sergey Kud-Sverchkov SpaceX-Crew 1 on orbit Victor Glover KI5BKC Mike Hopkins KF5LJG Soichi Noguchi KD5TVP Shannon Walker KD5DXB Exp. 64 now on orbit (***) Oleg Novitskiy Pyotr Dubrov Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for April 11
by Mark Johns, K0JM 11 Apr '21

11 Apr '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-101 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ In this edition: * ARISS-USA Now a Non-profit Organization * Contests On QO-100 Allowed In Time For Yuri Gagarin Contest * Fun While It Lasted, Falcon 9 Telemetry Now Encrypted * AMSAT SA Call For Papers * NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 8, 2021 * Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 April 11 ARISS-USA Now a Non-profit Organization ARISS-USA, a Maryland not-for-profit corporation, is now recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scientific, and educational organization. ARISS-USA is the US segment of the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) international working group. With this IRS determination, donations to ARISS-USA become tax-deductible in the US, retroactive to the ARISS-USA incorporation on May 21, 2020. This change in status allows ARISS-USA to solicit donations and grants. As a new entity, ARISS-USA will continue to promote student involvement with the astronauts on the International Space Station via amateur radio. Working with educational organizations, ARISS provides exciting opportunities to inspire, engage and educate our next generation of space explorers through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities and content. ARISS-USA Executive Director, Frank Bauer, commented, “The educational scope and reach of what ARISS accomplishes has grown significantly since our beginnings in 1996. We are actively working to extend student’s reach even further. This, through the pursuit of potential student opportunities on human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit, as part of our Amateur Radio Exploration (AREx) Program. First AREx destination: the Moon!” ARISS-USA continues its collaborative work with ARISS International and US sponsors, partners, and interest groups. The ARISS-USA TEAM remains deeply indebted to its partners ARRL and AMSAT, who enabled the birth of ARISS, and to its steadfast sponsors, NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab (INL). Gifts from those wishing to support ARISS-USA goals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and can be made by going to the ARISS website: www.ariss.org The ARISS-USA team thanks its sustaining donors for their continuing support! (ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, of ARISS PR for the above information) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Join the 2021 President's Club! Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin. This gold finished coin comes with Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag Donate today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ You won't want to miss it! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Contests On QO-100 Allowed In Time For Yuri Gagarin Contest AMSAT-DL announced, on April 4, the opening of the QO-100 NB satellite transponder to general contest operation in the upper mixed-mode range. QO-100 is a Qatari satellite, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 15, 2018. It operates at 26° East longitude along a geostationary orbit, which means that the satellite's footprint covers Europe, Africa, and Asia, but excludes North America and most of South America. This weekend (April 10-11) will see the Yuri Gagarin contest. The contest area on the QO-100 geostationary satellite NB transponder for both CW and SSB is: Uplink area 2400.370 – 2400.490 MHz Downlink area 10489.870 – 10489.990 MHz Of course, the usual QO-100 NB transponder guidelines also apply here. Therefore, the bandwidth should still be limited to 2.7 kHz and the transmitting power should be reduced to the necessary level, i.e. only as much power as necessary should be used. Read the AMSAT-DL announcement at https://amsat-dl.org/en/contests-on-qo-100-allowed/ The Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2021 is dedicated to the memory of Yuri Gagarin, who realized the first human flight to space, on April 12, 1961. It runs from 2100 GMT on April 10 until 2100 GMT on April 11, 2021, and the categories include: • SAT Single operator – Satellite QSOs • SAT-GS Single operator – Geostationary Satellite QSOs Contest rules are at http://gc.qst.ru/en/section/32 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Fun While It Lasted, Falcon 9 Telemetry Now Encrypted A few weeks back Hackaday reported that Reddit users [derekcz] and [Xerbot] had managed to receive the 2232.5 MHz telemetry downlink from a Falcon 9 upper stage and pull out some interesting plain-text strings. With further software fiddling, the vehicle’s video streams were decoded, resulting in some absolutely breathtaking shots of the rocket and its payload from low Earth orbit. Unfortunately, it looks like those heady days are now over, as [derekcz] reports the downlink from the latest Falcon 9 mission was nothing but unintelligible noise. Since the hardware and software haven’t changed on his side, the only logical conclusion is that SpaceX wasn’t too happy about radio amateurs listening in on their rocket and decided to employ some form of encryption. [ANS thanks Hackaday.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA Call For Papers AMSAT SA has announced the date for the 2021 Space Symposium. In view of the continuing uncertainty about the Covid - 19 pandemic the conference will be a virtual event on the BlueJeans platform. The date is Saturday 10 July 2021 starting at 08:00 UTC. The theme of the symposium is "Unlocking Amateur Space Technology." The symposium will focus on amateur satellites, weak signal communication, space weather and allied sciences. SARL has issued a first call for paper proposals. Prospective authors are invited to submit proposals in the form of a brief description of the subject to be covered in their paper by no later than 15 May 2021. Submit proposals in word format to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za. Authors will be advised on 20 May of the acceptance of their paper. The final paper will be required by 30 June 2021. [ANS thanks SARL and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter NASA is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 11, for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. To mark a month of Ingenuity flights, the agency will host several events to bring people along for the ride. A livestream confirming Ingenuity's first flight is targeted to begin around 3:30 a.m. EDT (07:30z) Monday, April 12, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website, and will livestream on multiple agency social media platforms, including the JPL YouTube, and Facebook channels. Ingenuity arrived at Mars' Jezero Crater Feb. 18, attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover. The helicopter is a technology demonstration with a planned test flight duration of up to 31 days (30 Mars days, or sols). The rover will provide support during flight operations, taking images, collecting environmental data, and hosting the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth. The flight date may shift as engineers work on the deployments, preflight checks, and vehicle positioning of both Perseverance and Ingenuity. Timing for events will be updated as needed, and the latest schedule will be available on the helicopter's Watch Online webpage: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Watch-Online [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 8, 2021 The following satellites have been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: GuaraniSat-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47931 (per Celestrak) KSU-CubeSat - NORAD Cat ID 47954 (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) DIY-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47963. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) SMOG - NORAD Cat ID 47964. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) The following satellites have been removed from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: TISAT - NORAD Cat ID 36799 JUGNU - NORAD Cat ID 37839 AO-71 - NORAD Cat ID 37854 HORYU-2 - NORAD Cat ID 38340 BEESAT-3 - NORAD Cat ID 39135 BEESAT-2 - NORAD Cat ID 39136 TRITON-1 - NORAD Cat ID 39427 DUCHIFAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 40021 NANOSATCBR1 - NORAD Cat ID 40024 ANTELSAT - NORAD Cat ID 40034 VELOX-1 - NORAD Cat ID 40057 DAURIA DX 1 - NORAD Cat ID 40071 CHUBUSAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 40300 QSAT-EOS - NORAD Cat ID 40301 GRIFEX - NORAD Cat ID 40379 DEORBITSAIL - NORAD Cat ID 40719 NUDT-PHONESAT - NORAD Cat ID 40900 LQSat - NORAD Cat ID 40958 OUFTI-1 - NORAD Cat ID 41458 Swayam - NORAD Cat ID 41607 AlSat 1N - NORAD Cat ID 41789 ScatSat - NORAD Cat ID 41790 Pegasus-1 - NORAD Cat ID 41846 UCLSat - NORAD Cat ID 42765 LituanicaSAT 2- NORAD Cat ID 42768 The above objects are inactive and have been removed. If you think a satellite is still active contact Ray Hoad, WA5QGD on AMSAT-BB. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28. The back-to-back crew rotations will make for a busy month on the orbiting research complex, and multiple instances when ARISS operation will be suspended during crew operations. Preparations for the arrival of the fresh crew members are already underway on the space station. The first step was relocation of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship to a new docking port on the space station April 5. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, commander of the Crew Dragon “Resilience” spaceship, was joined by crewmates Victor Glover, KI5BKC, Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, for the fully automated 45-minute relocation maneuver. The Dragon astronauts, who launched Nov. 15 as part of SpaceX’s “Crew-1” mission, were aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and suited up for re-entry, just in case the capsule had trouble linking up with the new docking port and needed to return to Earth. Next was the launch of a Russian Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft with commander Oleg Novitskiy, cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP. The Soyuz crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, April 9 at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT). The crew on the space station will temporarily swell to 10 people until the outgoing Soyuz MS-17 crew departs the research lab one week later. Undocking of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with commander Sergey Ryzhikov, flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, is scheduled for 9:33 p.m. EDT on April 16 (0133z on April 17). The Soyuz capsule is scheduled to parachute to a landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 12:56 a.m. EDT (0456 GMT) on April 17. Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and Rubins launched Oct. 14 from Baikonur. Their return to Earth on April 17 will wrap up a 185-day mission. With the Soyuz crew rotation complete, SpaceX and NASA will be cleared to launch the second operational Crew Dragon mission to the space station on April 22. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, pilot Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and French-born European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, will fly on the Crew-2 mission. Assuming the Crew-2 mission takes off April 22, Kimbrough and his crewmates will reach the space station for an automated docking at 5:29 a.m. EDT (0929 GMT) on April 23. Their arrival will start a five-day handover with the Crew-1 astronauts, when the space station will briefly host 11 crew members. The Crew-1 astronauts are scheduled to board their Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and undock from the space station April 28 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT). The Crew Dragon capsule will fire its Draco thrusters to target a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida at 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT) the same day. [ANS thanks Stephen Clark of Spacefilight Now for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Recent ARISS contacts: The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, conducted a telebridge via IK1SLD on Tuesday, April 6. Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, was the astronaut. The contact was successful. Gagarin From Space performed an amateur radio session with NILAK DOSAAF Llc in Kaluga, Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, Russia, direct contact via RK3X on April 6. Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov participated. The contact was successful. Gagarin From Space conducted a radio amateur session with students of the St. Petersburg school, St. Petersburg, Russia, direct via R1AIT on April 7. The contact was successful. Upcoming contacts: TBD The latest information on the operation mode of the ARISS modules can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations WY7AA: April 17th – May 2 EM86 vacation style FM and SSB. I will have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there. Major Roves: CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for … 04/26 - Livonia, Michigan 05/18 - Puget Sound 05/26 - South New Jersey 06/01 - University of Arizona 06/09 - San Jose 06/15 - East Massachusetts 10/21 - Conejo Valley CA … and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up! Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor http://www.work-sat.com k6lcs AT work-sat DOT info (909) 999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + LightCube, an educational mission by Arizona State University, Tempe, to allow a CubeSat in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to be easily operable by members of the general public, has been approved by NASA as one of the 12th CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) projects for 2022-2025. The LightCube CubeSat will provide a platform that increases the number of individuals who can participate in space activities. Specifically, anyone with appropriate amateur radio licensing within their jurisdiction and commercial radio equipment available for purchase for less than fifty dollars will be able to telecommand LightCube. The LightCube CubeSat will respond with a flash visible to the naked eye of the commander. In the process of operating LightCube, the user will inevitably learn important science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in areas such as telecommunications, spacecraft design, atmospheric and climate science, and orbital mechanics. (ANS thanks NASA, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, Harry Bloomberg, W3YJ, and Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, for the above information.) + Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU and an AMSAT Ambassador published an article in the Institution of Engineers Mauritius (IEM) Journal, March 2021, to promoted HAM radio satellite operation worldwide, as the paper was circulated in all affiliated Engineers association globally but the focus was on the regional operation. The link to obtain the document is https://bit.ly/3uHFFCv or go to https://www.iemauritius.com and register to download the March 21 edition of the Journal. (ANS thanks Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, for the above information.) + GOES-T, NOAA’s latest generation geosynchronous satellite, recently completed vibration, vacuum, and acoustic testing ahead of its December launch. GOES-T packs upgraded traditional weather observation instruments (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WQAwQ0SGkc for a video intro), including the 16 channel ABI imager (up from 5 channels on the previous generation) with 0.5km - 2km resolution (4x the previous gen). This generation also includes a Geostationary Lightning Mapper, the first lightning mapping system flown in geostationary orbit, which should increase lead time for severe storm warnings and decrease false positives. See https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/glm.html for an overview of the system. (ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information.) + SpaceX launched 60 more of the company's Starlink Internet communications satellites into orbit from Florida on Wednesday, April 7. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the spacecraft lifted off as planned at 12:34 p.m. EDT (16:34z). SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster for the rocket by landing it on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellites deployed to their intended orbit a little more than an hour after launch. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information.) + A rather fascinating disassembly and analysis of the digital clock from a Soyuz spacecraft can be found at http://www.righto.com/2020/01/inside-digital-clock-from-soyuz.html The mid-1980s vintage clock was judged to be 8 to 10 years behind U.S. space technology of the time, with more that 100 integrated circuits on ten circuit boards. (ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information.) + Open Research Institute has posted several new YouTube videos updating their work. See https://www.openresearch.institute/ for links. (ANS thanks AMSAT Board Member Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, for the above information.) + AO-91 remains operational in COR or "repeater mode." Reminder: Please use only in sunlight and do not use while in eclipse (which "generally" means, if it's dark at your local QTH do not use!). Remember that the current status of most operational satellites can be found at https://www.amsat.org/status/ (ANS thanks AMSAT Board and Fox Command Team Member Mark Hammond, N8MH, 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 additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store. 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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Possible "Rover" Operation from DM76 and possibly from DM 86
by hamdan＠ix.netcom.com 11 Apr '21

11 Apr '21

Dear Folks: In a couple of weeks, I am leaving for the summer to work as a seasonal ranger for the National Park Service at Capulin Volcano National Monument. The only ham equipment I am taking with me is that which is suitable for portable operation, i.e., an Elecraft K2 with a Buddipole, and I have an Alinco DJ-G5T with an Arrow Antenna. Capulin is located either in DM 76 or DM 86 (more likely the former) as it really is in an isolated spot. I've made several thousand satellite QSO's over the years but only one using the HT with the Arrow. Most of the time, I've used my FT-736R (recently replaced by an IC 9700 to M2 CP antennas on the roof with preamps). If I get on the birds using this setup, I'll be confined to (considering the current lineup of FM birds) SO-50, AO-27 and maybe AO-91 (if it keeps operating in daylight). I have a few questions that I'm hoping that you can help me with. 1) I am assuming that DM76 and DM 86 are desireable grids? I certainly don't have them. 2) I know a lot of portable operators record their passes for logging purposes later. Is the voice memo recorder on my iPhone sufficiently sensitive, particularly to pick up both ends of the QSO? 3) I have been uploading to LOTW for several years now. How accurate does the time entered into the log have to be to ensure a mutual confirmation on LOTW? In other words, do I have to have it within +/- 5 minutes? I'm just thinking that I won't be able to be very precise with the time of a QSO if I'm relying on a recording. 4) Are there any other suggestions people might have for me given my planned setup? I would try and announce my presence prior to a pass via this board, but my internet access (I'll be living in the park) will be spotty. Thanks for any help and advice you can give me. 73 de Bernie, KF0QS

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tle for fees sat
by Nick Pugh 11 Apr '21

11 Apr '21

I am looking for the tle for fees sat NASA # 99738 tnx nick

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M2 LEO Pack 70CM antenna polarization
by Don Solberg 10 Apr '21

10 Apr '21

I am assembling my new LEO pack, and the instruction manual for the 2M antenna tells you that you can change from RHCP to LHCP by repositioning the driven element and phase line. The 70CM antenna however does not have this ability explained in the manual. I have asked this question of M2 but haven't heard back yet. If possible, I would like to have the 2M antenna configured for RHCP and the 70CM for LHCP to minimize any desensing. The antennas will be up about 80 ft on top of my tower, so I would like to get this configured correctly the first time so I don't have to bring the tower down. Does anyone have any experience changing the polarization on the M2 70CM antenna in the LEO Pack? 73, Don K9AQ

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Problem with wispdde
by sjdevience＠gmail.com 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

Wispdde is misbehaving, and I'm looking for advice about whether it can be fixed, or whether I should give up with it and try gpredict. I'm trying to control two SDR radios via orbitron and wisp on Windows 10. The receive radio is run with sdr#, with a cat control client providing bidirectional control from wisp. So wisp/orbitron tracks the doppler, and I can click on the waterfall to select a frequency, which then gets sent back to wisp as the new RX frequency. That by itself seems to be working, although it's kind of slow to respond. The uplink frequency from wisp gets sent to another radio via cat control. That by itself also works. The problem is when I use it all together. When I start out wisp, it all works, with the correct uplink sent to the TX radio and the downlink sent to the RX radio. However, after the very first frequency update, wisp puts in an uplink frequency in the same band as the downlink! So for example for RS-44, I start with 145.939 and 435.668, but then it changed to 435.668 in both uplink and downlink. Has anyone else seen this behavior? -Stephen DeVience N8URE

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M2 LEO pack - which polarization to use
by Don Solberg 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

In the past I saw a lot of discussion on if it was better to use RHCP or LHCP, but today most of the LEO satellites use linear polarization. I may be mistaken but the only LEO satellite that I know of that uses circular polarization is SO50, which uses LHCP for the 70 cm downlink. I am in the process of replacing a dual band linear antenna with the M2 LEO pack. I was thinking about setting the 70 cm antenna for LHCP and the 2M antenna for RHCP. This would maximize the downlink from SO50 but also give me a lot of attenuation between 2M and 70 CM which would help with desense. I have a desense problem with my current Cushcraft antenna, even with a diplexer as a desense filter. For the LEO pack antennas I will not be using M2's aluminum boom, but instead have a 12 ft fiberglass boom. Am I missing something or is this the "best" way to go? Most of my operation is thru the linear SSB band birds. 73, Don K9AQ

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AO-91 still operating 9 April 21
by Mark L. Hammond 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

Hi All, Tweeted this a bit ago, copied here now. AO-91 remains operational in COR or "repeater mode." Reminder: Please use only in sunlight and do not use while in eclipse (which "generally" means, if it's dark at your local QTH do not use!). 1245utc 9 April 21 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station

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SCS PTC-IIex on FalconSat-3
by Bill Erhardt 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

Howdy gang, Happy to report that I built a cable for My FT-847 6 pin connector to my SCS PTC-IIex connection and copied and sent to FalconSat-3. I mainly used my SCS modem for Winlink and after some reading it also does Packet at 300 1200 9600 and 19200. Pinout on the Yaesu has a 1200 and 9600 so I wired both. Packet speed is changed in the Yaesu FT-847 Menu #23. I tested 1200 on ISS simplex with UISS/ SGATE and FalconSAT FULL Duplex Satellite Mode with TX on 145.840 and downlink on 435.100. What is nice is SATPC now changes the Doppler and and Pacsat Ground station is much happier. I used my Kenwood D-710GA in full duplex but I had to hook up the antennas every time I got on Falcon Sat then back to my FT-847. I also tested my Signalink with the 9600 baud full duplex on the FT-847 and got it working correctly. To wrap it up it will be nice not changing antennas any more and I am going to try the early Falconsat in the morning to see if it will run totally automated !! Having way to much fun Bill K7MT DN46 Helena, Mt.

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