September 2024 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Question on the LVB Tracker
by David Jordan 05 Sep '24

05 Sep '24

I've owned an LVB Tracker for several years, but I've lost the instruction manual. I've searched the internet, but haven't had any luck locating a copy online. Does anyone know where I can acquire a copy or can send me a digital copy of the manual?It would be much appreciated. Dave, AA4KN

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FUNcube Ground Station Registration
by David Johnson 05 Sep '24

05 Sep '24

Hi FC1 is now nearly 11 years old and is operating in low power telemetry mode with the transponder, in order to manage the battery capacity. We still encourage ground stations to attempt reception of the telemetry. If you have lost your registration details for your groundsation please email operations(a)funcube.org.uk Please watch http://data.funcube.org.uk for updates and the new user interface. 73 Dave, G4DPZ On behalf of the FUNcube team Sent from my iPhone

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FUNcube Data Warehouse Update
by g4dpz 05 Sep '24

05 Sep '24

Hi, A quick update to say that we are now successfully storing real time, whole orbit data and fitter messages in the warehouse after the move to the new Virtual Machine. The warehouse was shut down on the 13st August and the first packet in the new warehouse was on 3rd September. During which time we have collected 5382 packets. Our thanks to the following for their assistance in bringing the warehouse back to life: +-------------------------+---------+ | site_id | number since launch | +-------------------------+---------+ | HB9MFL | 1624220 | | KC0BMF | 1339679 | | VK5HI | 1180437 | | WA7FWF | 1140029 | | G4BIP | 1009421 | | TUDelft | 954781 | | VK5GU | 692255 | | Goonhilly_Earth_Station | 609095 | | f1grr | 455176 | | VA3ROM | 365554 | | DF7SC | 357147 | | K4OZS | 304554 | | n8mh | 184494 | | DL9DAK | 167271 | | PA3WEG | 39911 | | n1miw | 21131 | | JJ1WTK | 4904 | +-------------------------+---------+ We will continue to work on the UI over the next two days and it is likely that we will restore the ability to download WOD. 73 Dave, G4DPZ On behalf of the FUNcube Team

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2024-09-03 18:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 03 Sep '24

03 Sep '24

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2024-09-03 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Instituto de Aplicação Fernando Rodrigues da Silveira (CAp-UERJ) and The State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, direct via PY1AX The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS 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 crewmember is Sunita Williams KD5PLB (***) The ARISS mentor is VE3TBD Contact is go for: Fri 2024-09-13 17:25:47 UTC 49 deg (***) The crossband repeater continues to be active. If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. 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 2024-09-03 18:00 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 2024-08-30 17:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf ####################################################################################################################################### Comments on making general contacts I have been seeing a lot of traffic on Facebook and I suspect on other social media sites with people asking why they are not hearing the crew make general contacts. First off the crew is very busy on the ISS and they simply may not have the time to just pick up the microphone and talk. Also, one needs to be aware of their normal daily schedule. I have listed below the constraints that we at ARISS have to follow in order to schedule the school contacts. Hopefully this will help you better schedule your opportunities. Typical daily schedule Wakeup to Workday start= 1.5 hours Workday start to Workday end=12 hours Workday end to Sleep= 2 hours Sleep to wakeup= 8.5 hours The crew's usual waking period is 07:30 – 19:30 UTC. The most common times to find a crew member making casual periods are about one hour after waking up and about an hour before sleeping, when they have personal time. They're usually free most of the weekend, as well. SSTV events are not that often. So please check out https://www.ariss.org/ for the latest information or watch for the ARISS announcements. And don’t forget that the packet system is sometimes active. Check the status at https://www.ariss.org/ or http://www.issfanclub.eu to see if the packet system is active or not. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. 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 **************************************************************************************************************************************** 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) Call for Proposals The next proposal window for US schools and educational organizations to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS opens July 8, 2024 for contacts to be scheduled for January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025. This proposal window is due to ARISS by September 6, 2024 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time (Sept. 7, 2024, 06:59 UTC). (***) 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 July 22, 2024, at 7 PM ET (23:00 UTC). The Zoom link to sign up is: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErf-ihrDktG9OphYxAjfz7nbONV0YcwY… (***) Find more information and proposal instructions, visit the ARISS-USA website at: https://ariss-usa.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact-in-the-usa/ 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 is back on board but awaiting re-installation. 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 congratulates the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Sergey RV3DR with 242 Francesco IKØWGF with 154 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 153 Gaston ON4WF with 124 Steve VE3TBD with 121 Peter IN3GHZ with 120 **************************************************************************** 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 1764. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1655. 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, FXØISS, GB1SS, 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. 70 on orbit Oleg Kononenko Nikolay Chub Exp. 71 on orbit Tracy E. Caldwell Dyson SpaceX Crew-8 on orbit Matthew Dominick KCØTOR Mike Barratt KD5MIJ Jeanette Epps KF5QNU Aleksandr Grebyonkin RZ3DSE Boeing CFT on orbit Sunita Williams KD5PLB Barry Wilmore **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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FUNcube Data Warehouse Upload
by David Johnson 03 Sep '24

03 Sep '24

The FUNcube data warehouse is collecting data. If you are still experiencing errors. Please back up the session to a bin file, stop and start the dashboard and load the bin file. Then restart again if the upload works. It could be that because if the IP change, the dashboard still has the old IP cached. Dave, G4DPZ

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FUNcube Data Warehouse Ingesting Packets
by g4dpz 03 Sep '24

03 Sep '24

Hi, The FUNcube Data Warehouse is now successfully ingesting packets from the FUNcube Dashboards. Our thanks to all those that left their dashboards connected during the outage. If you collected any bin files during the past 5 days they can be uploaded too. Next step to migrate the user interface. 73 Dave, G4DPZ On behalf of the FUNcube Team

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Back issues (paper) of AMSAT Journal, QST, QEX available
by Burns Fisher 02 Sep '24

02 Sep '24

Hi, A silent key friend's wife asked me if anyone might be interested in some back issues of AMSAT Journal, QST, and QEX. She says they go back to the early 2000s. I did check and all of these pubs are available digitally, but right now, only to 2011 for QST, 2012 for QEX and 2014 for the Journal. These are all in Nashua, NH. If you want some and are distant, we can figure out what to do. If nearby, we can meet somewhere/sometime. If you are interested, please let me know by email (burns(a)fisher.cc) Thanks and 73, Burns WB1FJ

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VUCC Satellite Standing September 2024
by Jon Goering 01 Sep '24

01 Sep '24

VUCC Satellite Standing September 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------ VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for August 01, 2024 to September 01, 2024. ------------------------------------------------------------ WC7V 1575 1611 DL5GAC 1413 1576 DL2GRC 1426 1501 N8RO 1461 1490 N9EAT 1029 1127 K9UO 1001 1030 EA2AA 954 982 KQ4DO 906 952 JL1SAM 804 905 JG6CDH 734 777 HB9AOF 725 743 KC4CJ 650 702 N3CAL 653 686 IK7FMQ 626 651 SA0UNX New 617 N5EKO 581 599 KH6WI 400 530 N9ZTS 400 501 PA7RA 409 495 N8URE (FM19) 430 450 W9FF 400 450 JI5USJ 355 425 W3VHF 250 406 JO4JKL 188 401 N8HRZ 298 337 W0PR 276 327 N4QWF 255 325 AA0K 200 253 DF5SF New 217 9A2GA New 202 NK0S 167 169 XE2/CO6LAR New 129 NC0Q New 108 AE5AU New 101 4A2MAX New 100 ------------------------------------------------------------ Congratulations to the new VUCC Satellite holders. NC0Q is first VUCC Satellite holder from EN11 9A2GA is first VUCC Satellite holder from JN75 73 Jon N7AZ DXCC Satellite has still not been updated since May

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ANS-245 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark Johns, K0JM 01 Sep '24

01 Sep '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-245 In this edition: * Seven Cubesats Deploy From ISS * AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End — FINAL NOTICE! * Japanese Company Takes First Step Toward Removing Space Junk * Halibut Electronics Releases New EggNOGS Kit for Satellite Antennas * UNNE-1 and MARIA-G Launch Delayed Until 2025 * Paul D. Graveline, K1YUB, Silent Key * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * AMSAT Ambassador Activities * Satellite Shorts From All Over 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 [at] amsat.org <http://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/ ANS-245 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation DATE: 2024 Sept 01 *The 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 25-26, 2024* *DoubleTree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida. Click Here to Register Now <https://launch.amsat.org/event-5833792>* *Rooms can be reserved at https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/radioamateursatellite/ <https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/radioamateursatellite/>* *If you’re interested in presenting or submitting a paper, see the Call for Papers webpage <https://www.amsat.org/2024-symposium/call-for-papers-2024/>* Seven Cubesats Deploy From ISS Seven CubeSats deployed from Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on Thursday, August 29. According to the IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination, six of these satellites, CosmoGirl-Sat, SaganSat0, SAKURA, Binar2, Binar3 and Binar4, operate on the amateur bands. Three of them carry APRS digipeaters operating on the world-wide APRS frequency of 145.825 MHz. *Image by Cosmo Girls Amateur Radio Club* *CosmoGirl-Sat* 145.825MHz, 437.120MHz APRS VHF, callsign JS1YOI CW, 4k8 GMSK UHF A 1U cubesat built by Cosmo Girls Amateur Radio Club, a group of Japanese women established under the theme of “Getting closer to the universe.” The satellite also carries a high-resolution camera for earth imaging, as well as a short message UHF store-and-forward system. *SaganSat0* 145.825MHz, 437.050MH APRS VHF GMSK 4k8, CW UHF A 1U cubesat built by students at various high schools in the Saga Prefecture of Japan. The satellite also carries an infrared camera and gamma ray detector. *SAKURA* 145.825MHz, 437.375MHz APRS VHF GMSK 4k8 UHF A 1U cubesat built by the Chiba Institute of Technology, a university in Narashino, Japan. The satellite also carries experiments designed to monitor sunspots and solar flares, as well as to assess environmental damage on earth. *Binar-2* 437.700MHz, *Binar-3* 437.850MHz, *Binar-4* 437.925MHz CW, OQPSK 100/38.4kbps, GFSK 19.2/9.6/1.2kbps Three cubesats built by Curtin University in Australia designed to test radiation shielding materials and modeling of re-entry data from LEO. Info from 7 CubeSats were deployed from “Kibo” on Thursday, August 29, 2024. https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/biz-lab/news/detail/004129.html <https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/biz-lab/news/detail/004121.html> [ANS thanks Masa Arai, JN1GKZ, for the above information.] ------------------------------ *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!* *Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help* *Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/* <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> ------------------------------ AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End — FINAL NOTICE! A long-standing member service, the AMSAT Mail Alias Service was scheduled to end on August 31, 2024, but a day or two of grace period has been added. Members should understand that the email alias service, the news and bulletin board subscription lists and the membership portal are three separate systems. *Persons using the Mail Alias Service should immediately migrate to a different email account so they do not lose receipt of personal emails. Notify your friends and business accounts of the change.* *Persons wishing to continue to receive AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins and AMSAT-BB posts or official messages from AMSAT itself should update their subscription addresses at *https://mailman.amsat.org/ *Members are especially asked to make sure they are NOT using a callsign(a)amsat.org <callsign(a)amsat.org> as their registered email address in the AMSAT membership portal. Members can easily change their registered member email address by logging into the portal and updating their profile at *https://mailman.amsat.org/. A mail alias on AMSAT.ORG permitted people to send an email to members without knowing their actual internet email address. They just needed to know their amateur radio callsign. Unfortunately, the unchecked rise in domain name hacking and email account high-jacking has made it impossible to sustain this service at a cost-effective level. The number of callsign(a)amsat.org email accounts that had been hijacked and converted to zombie spam accounts over the years had led many internet service providers and gateway centers to ban all @ amsat.org email addresses, including those business accounts of AMSAT officers and officials. The tireless efforts of AMSAT’s all volunteer IT staff has worked for years to repair much of the damage, but AMSAT still get complaints from members who are not getting their personal emails, ANS bulletins or AMSAT-BB posts because of persistent delivery problems. It has come to the point where the AMSAT volunteer IT staff can no longer keep up with the maintenance requirements to keep the alias mail list clean and to work with email gateways to remove blocks. And, after considerable investigation into alternative paid email services, AMSAT leadership decided that the money required to keep an email alias system alive would be better spent on building and flying satellites for its members. [ANS thanks the AMSAT IT Team for the above information] ------------------------------ Japanese Company Takes First Step Toward Removing Space Junk There are more than 2,000 mostly intact dead rockets circling the Earth, but until this year, no one ever launched a satellite to go see what one looked like after many years of tumbling around the planet. In February, a Japanese company named Astroscale sent a small satellite into low-Earth orbit on top of a Rocket Lab launcher. A couple of months later, Astroscale’s ADRAS-J (Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan) spacecraft completed its pursuit of a Japanese rocket stuck in orbit for more than 15 years. ADRAS-J photographed the upper stage of an H-IIA rocket from a range of several hundred meters and then backed away. This was the first publicly released image of space debris captured from another spacecraft using rendezvous and proximity operations. *Astroscale’s ADRAS-J spacecraft captured these views of the H-IIA rocket upper stage on July 15. [Credit: Astroscale]* Since then, Astroscale has pulled off more complex maneuvers around the H-IIA upper stage, which hasn’t been controlled since it deployed a Japanese climate research satellite in January 2009. Astroscale attempted to complete a 360-degree fly-around of the H-IIA rocket last month, but the spacecraft triggered an autonomous abort one-third through the maneuver after detecting an attitude anomaly. ADRAS-J is the first mission to approach a piece of space debris, which comes with more challenges. The H-IIA upper stage lacks laser reflectors and targeting aids that would help an approaching spacecraft navigate its way closer. A few years ago, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) cinched a public-private partnership with Astroscale to demonstrate technologies the private sector could use to remove large pieces of space debris littering low-Earth orbit. The same robotic technologies could also apply to satellite servicing or refueling missions. With more financial assistance from JAXA, Astroscale is developing a follow-on mission called ADRAS-J2 to dock with the same H-IIA rocket visited by the ongoing mission, then steer it on a trajectory to reenter the atmosphere. Astroscale hopes a successful demonstration of this capability on the ADRAS-J2 mission will lead to more contracts from commercial or government operators to remote large pieces of space junk from orbit. An H-IIA upper stage similar to the one visited by Astroscale’s demo mission broke apart in 2019, creating more than 70 new debris fragments in low-Earth orbit. A predicted close flyby by one of the pieces from the H-IIA upper stage prompted the International Space Station to fire its engines to move out of its path in 2020. [ANS thanks Ars Technica for the above information. Read the full article at https://bit.ly/4cFO0vW.] ------------------------------ *Need new satellite antennas?* *Purchase 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/ <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/>* ------------------------------ Halibut Electronics Releases New EggNOGS Kit for Satellite Antennas Halibut Electronics has announced the release of its latest product, the EggNOGS kit, designed to facilitate the construction of Egg Beater antennas. This kit is aimed at amateur radio enthusiasts and satellite operators who wish to enhance their communication capabilities, particularly with the SatNOGS network. Priced at $79.00, EggNOGS is available for purchase through Halibut Electronics’ website at https://electronics.halibut.com/product/eggnogs/. The EggNOGS kit is engineered to address the complexity of building Egg Beater antennas, which are known for their use in satellite communications. The kit includes a range of specialized components that are not typically available at local hardware stores. These components feature a band-specific phasing board that creates a 90-degree phase shift, a critical element in the construction of effective quadrature-fed antennas. *The parts kit. [Credit: Halibut Electronics]* Currently, the EggNOGS kit supports several frequency bands: 137.5MHz, 145.9MHz, 388.0MHz, 401.0MHz, and 436.5MHz. However, due to high demand, the kits for the 137.5MHz and 145.9MHz bands are temporarily out of stock and are expected to be back in inventory by August 28th. Customers can place back orders for these bands in the interim. The EggNOGS kit is designed to be versatile, compatible with various types of quadrature-fed antennas beyond just Egg Beaters. It can be used with turnstiles, helicals, and other balanced VHF/UHF antennas. Additionally, it works with any radio system, including low-power transmitters, making it a flexible option for a range of communication needs. *Antenna closeup [Credit: Halibut Electronics]* The kit includes essential parts such as circuit boards for signal routing and phasing, a common mode current choke, and stainless steel mounting hardware. Builders will need to source additional materials, such as a section of PVC pipe and materials for the aerial loops and ground plane, from local hardware stores. The default feed point connector is SMA, but there is an option to upgrade to BNC or Type-F connectors. The EggNOGS kit is capable of handling moderate transmit power, with the upper limit still being determined but expected to range between 15W and 50W. The kit is confirmed to handle up to 10W without issues. Halibut Electronics invites feedback from users who may need phasing boards for additional frequencies not currently offered, with the possibility of expanding the product line based on customer demand. [ANS thanks Halibut Electronics, for the above information] ------------------------------ UNNE-1 and MARIA-G Launch Delayed Until 2025 Due to the significant damage to the RFA’s One launcher stage during the static firing test at SaxaVord’s spaceport in the Shetland Islands, Scotland (UK) on August 19th, AMSAT-EA’s UNNE-1 and MARIA-G satellites launch will be delayed. They were originally planned for launch on September 30th, and now it is not expected before 2025. Video of the BBC’s coverage of the incident is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgEn6-8ekJQ UNNE-1 and MARIA-G are both based on the currently orbiting HADES-D (SO-121) hardware, providing a repeater service for voice and data communications in FM and FSK-derived modes. They have been designed and built by AMSAT-EA together with private sector companies and with the collaboration of Universities and educational centres. Both satellites will offer licensed radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to make FM and FSK QSOs, including FT modes, such as FT-4 and FT-8, or AX.25/APRS. The satellites will also transmit telemetry with their status, voice messages and CW. UNNE-1 includes an Arduino-based board with software from Nebrija University of Madrid. The students have developed a small decoding game with a space story as a background. The satellite sends a clue each week in its FSK telemetry so that radio amateurs can solve the challenge. This game will be detailed on the AMSAT EA website and on the Nebrija University one. MARIA-G also includes two CW reception games/challenges implemented by students from the María Guerrero high school in Collado Villalba, also from the region of Madrid. One of the games consists of receiving the coordinates of a significant place on Earth (for example a city, a monument…) and the other about receiving a code that will correspond to a question about Science. Both games will have a dedicated web page. MARIA-G also includes a small experiment, developed by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft research center in Germany. It consists of a proof of concept for the transmission of a TS-UNB waveform from a low Earth orbit. Therefore, it will transmit a TS-UNB message according to the ETSI-TS-103-357 standard. It is intended solely as a research and development project with no commercial intention. The ITU modulation classification would be 100K W2DWW but the bandwidth will be reduced. The operation of this experiment will be carried out by AMSAT-EA. The UNNE-1 and MARIA-G satellites are part of the Erminaz mission, a joint effort of AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-EA and LibreSpace Foundation, each organization flying its own satellites and using LibreSpace’s PicoBus deployer. The mission management with the German Space Agency (DLR) and the launcher (RFA), as well as with the UK authorities, has been carried out jointly, with AMSAT DL leading it. [ANS thanks Felix Páez, EA4GQS, AMSAT EA, for the above information.] ------------------------------ Paul D. Graveline, K1YUB, Silent Key With heavy hearts, AMSAT and The AMSAT Journal mourn the passing of Journal assistant editor, Paul D. Graveline, K1YUB, on August 19, 2024. Paul served as an assistant editor for the past seven years, starting with the July/August 2017 issue. In addition to his editing and authoring contributions to the Journal, Paul also served as an active member of the CubeSatSim Educational Materials Team for AMSAT’s Educational Relations program. Here is how Paul described his ham radio exploits: “Like many future hams in the 1960s, I became interested in radio by listening to shortwave stations on my grandfather’s old huge Philco radio. “In 1960, I got a Hallicrafters S120 short wave receiver for Christmas, and I was hooked. A year later, K1DEN got me interested in ham radio. I was issued KN1YUB as a novice, and in 1963, I upgraded to General and K1YUB, which I still use today. Most of my ham operating has been using CW. “By 1973, I passed my Advanced and Extra which required 20 wpm skills. “In the 1980s, I worked and taught Novice and General license courses at Tufts Radio in Medford, MA. My time at Tufts included numerous ham conventions from Denver to Clearwater. “Along with K1TW, I helped reestablish the shortwave focused Boston Area DXers which met on the third Friday of every month. Nearly 35 years later, we still do! “More recently, I have been spending time in activities to support ham radio. “For a number of years, I’ve been an Assistant Editor for The AMSAT Journal as well as being engaged, along with KU2Y, KD2XS , KK6NOW and WD6DRI, on an AMSAT project developing the CubeSat Simulator as a learning tool. “I began following the space weather bulletins from Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW, better known as “The Space Weather Woman,” a few years back and now am a member of her steering committee, as well as being the Coordinator for her new Super Community project with the objective of sharing space weather knowledge across stakeholder communities like Aurora Chasers and Ham Radio operators. I did a cover story of Dr. Skov in The AMSAT Journal.” Paul’s good humor, dedication, enthusiasm and many contributions to AMSAT and the larger amateur radio community will be greatly missed. [ANS thanks Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK, AMSAT Journal Editor-in-Chief, 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 <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear>* ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. No changes have been announced for this week. [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager 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. Would your group like to have an ARISS contact? Here are some upcoming deadlines for be aware of: For U.S. contacts, proposals are due by 6-Sept. Contacts would be in the first half of 2025. For Europe, Africa, and the Middle East applications are due by 27-October for second half of 2025. See https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html for details. *COMPLETED:* Fasta Villa Eucaristica School, Cordoba City, Argentina, direct via LU1HKO The ISS callsign was presently scheduled to be NA1SS The crewmember was Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU. The ARISS mentor was VE3TBD. Contact was successful: Fri 2024-08-30 15:29:39 UTC 42 degrees maximum elevation. Congratulations to the Fasta Villa Eucaristica School students, Jeanette, mentor VE3TBD, and ground station LU1HKO! Livestream URL was provided to ARISS https://youtube.com/live/2oQkA6vqdu4?feature=share The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system is also active (145.825 MHz up & down). The HamTV system (2395 MHz down), and the SSTV system (145.800 MHz down) are both currently STOWED and not in operation. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. 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. 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 [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations Tom, KB5FHK, will be heading home to Mississippi on Labor Day weekend. His main focus is EM41. He already posted a couple of passes on hams.at. Mitch, AD0HJ, will be heading up to Fargo/Grand Forks over Labor Day weekend “for some more gridline fun.” Look for him to activate EN06 EN07 EN08 EN16 EN17 EN18 on RS-44. Pass schedule is available on hams.at. Zach, K8ZRY, will be doing a POTA activation on the EN83/EN84 gridline over the Labor Day holiday. Pass schedule is available on hams.at. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] ------------------------------ AMSAT Ambassador Activities AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. September 7, 2024 *Greater Louisville Hamfest* Shepherdsville, KY AMSAT Forum and Information Table W4FCL October 5, 2024 *North Star Radio Convention* Hennepin Technical College (North Campus) Brooklyn Park, Minn. https://conv2023.tcfmc.org/ AMSAT Forum and Information Table KØJM and ADØHJ October 5th, 2024 *Central Kentucky Hamfest* – Highlands Baptist Church 2032 Parallel Road Lexington, KY 40502 https://www.facebook.com/w9khz/ AMSAT and Educational Satellites Forum and Information Table AI4SR and W4FCL October 5, 2024 *Radio Society of Tucson* Calvary Tucson Church 7811 E. Speedway Tucson, AZ https://k7rst.club/2024/07/tucson-autumn-ham-fest-2024/ N1UW October 18-20, 2024 *Pacificon 2024, ARRL Pacific Division Conference* San Ramon, CA WUØI October 25-27, 2004 *AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting* Double Tree Rocky Point Waterfront Hotel Tampa Bay, FL November 2-3, 2024 *Stone Mountain Hamfest, ARRL State Convention* Stone Mountain, GA K4RGK November 9, 2024 *Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club* Marana Middle School 11285 West Grier Rd. Marana, AZ 85653 https://www.tucsonhamradio.org/copy-of-hamfest-2022 N1UW February 20-22, 2025 *Yuma HAMCON* Yuma, AZ N1UW [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The FUNcube Data Warehouse will be going off line on Saturday, August 31, as it transitions to a new server. The service may be down for about three days as the team has to migrate the large amount of data collected over 11 years and ensure that the service is running correctly. The dashboards will catch up if they are left connected, once the service comes on line. The team will probably turn on the collection service before the UI so that there is not to much data loss. (ANS thanks Dave Johnson, G4DPZ, of the FUNcube Team for the above information.) + NASA will return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, KD5PLB, aboard the spacecraft, the agency announced last week. The uncrewed return allows NASA and Boeing to continue gathering testing data on Starliner during its upcoming flight home, while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew. Wilmore and Williams, who flew to the International Space Station in June aboard NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, have been busy supporting station research, maintenance, and Starliner system testing and data analysis, among other activities. They will continue their work formally as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025, and will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information.) + NASA astronaut Nick Hague, KG5TMV, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, KJ5CMN, and Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE, previously announced as crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future mission. The updated crew complement follows NASA’s decision to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed and launch Crew-9 with two unoccupied seats. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, KD5PLB, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information.) + The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), and its administrator Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), have created SuperKnova, an online educational platform that provides inclusive, equitable access to radio technology learning and training. Thanks to a generous grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), learners can now enroll in two self-paced courses to learn the fundamentals of radio communications. The Technician Amateur Radio License and EMS Course introduces learners to the electromagnetic spectrum using amateur (ham) radio as a vehicle. (ANS thanks the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for the above information.) + Alick Gardiner, 2E0HDV, has undertaken a “retro radio” project to utilize the APRS packet digipeater aboard the International Space Station with equipment dating back to the 1980s! Alick documents how he resurrected a Commodore 64 computer and a 30+ year old AEA PK-232 “Pakratt” TNC in his blog at http://www.alickgardiner.com/c64-packet-radio/ (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Alick Gardiner, 2E0HDV, for the above information.) ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * 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. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM mjohns [at] amsat.org

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