AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-100
ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS 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.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor@amsat.org
In this edition: * ARISSat-1 to Help Celebrate Gagarin Flight Anniversary * Adding doppler files for the ISS ARRISSsat-1 Activation * AMSAT at National Air and Space Museum's Space Day * Satellite Shorts from all over * ARISS Recent School Contacts * AMSAT Awards * New OSCAR Numbers
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.01 ARISSat-1 to Help Celebrate Gagarin Flight Anniversary
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.01
ARISSat-1 to Help Celebrate Gagarin Flight Anniversary ARISSat-1 transmissions from the ISS will be used to help celebrate man's 50th year in space. Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space on 12 April 1961. Fifty years later on 12 April 2011 the Russians will have a nationwide commemoration of this historic event. The ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V satellite on board the ISS and awaiting deployment in late July of 2011 will be turned on and transmit during the celebration period. The transmissions will begin on Monday 11 April 2011 at 14:30 UTC and continue until 10:30 UTC on 13 April 2011. Due to the fact that the solar panels are covered, the satellite will be powered only by the onboard battery. The satellite will run in low power mode. This means that the transmissions will cycle ON/OFF. They will be On for 40-60 seconds and Off for 2 minutes. The FM transmissions on 145.95 MHz will contain an ID for the satellite, call sign RS01S, international greeting messages, spoken telemetry values and SSTV images. There will also be CW transmitted on 145.919 MHz and SSB BPSK-1000 telemetry data on 145.920 MHz. ARISSatTLM software can be used with a computer soundcard to tune, receive, demodulate, decode and display the telemetry values if tuned correctly. The transponder will not be active during this event. AMSAT will issue commemorative certificates to those receiving the transmissions and sending an email to gagarin@arissat1.org or yuri@arissat1.org with your name or group, a description of what you heard and the UTC time you heard it. Recording the Battery voltage values and the UTC time you received them will be especially helpful. One of the messages will be a conversation between Yuri Gagarin and ground control. The ARISS team is working to get the D-700 aboard the ISS to also transmit the FM signals on 437.550 MHz.
[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.02 Adding doppler files for the ISS ARRISSsat-1 Activation
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.02
SATPC32 DOPPLER.SQF Data for ARISSat-1 Special Event
Alan, WA4SCA has worked out the ARISSat-1 data to add to the SATPC32 tracking software for the April 11 - April 13 activation aboard the ISS.
Alan wrote, "If you are going to be listening for ARISSat-1 and use SATPC32, you will be using the ISS for antenna tracking, but you will need to add a few modes in the DOPPLER.SQF file for the ISS."
ISS,145918.5,0,USB,,,0,0,BPSK/CW-2 ISS,145950.0,0,FM,,,0,0,VOICE/SSTV ISS,145938.5,0,USB,,,0,0,CW-1
If you use a name other than ISS, such as Zarya, then substitute that so SATPC32 will know what you mean.
These new ARISSat modes will appear along with all the "real" ISS modes. The FM frequencies should be good, and the SSB modes as usual will need a little tweaking. Assuming your rig is calibrated, you should be at least close enough to hear the short transmit periods.
[ANS thanks Alan, WA4SCA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.03 AMSAT at National Air and Space Museum's Space Day
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.03
AMSAT at National Air and Space Museum's Space Day
Dave Taylor, W8AAS says that, "The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has invited AMSAT to organize displays and activities at Space Day to be held on Saturday, 7 May from 10:30 to 3:00 at the Air & Space Museum on the National Mall."
Dave would like to hear from anyone who has space-related amateur radio artifacts, posters, activities or anything else they'd like to display. Also needed volunteers who can staff our tables (either all day or any part), help with setup and tear down, and various other tasks.
There are always lots of interesting exhibits to visit and visitors to talk with, so attending is fun and it helps promote ham radio.
ARISS will have various flight-type hardware on hand and also expects a radio contact with ISS.
To sign up contact Dave via e-mail: w8aas@amsat.org
[ANS thanks Dave Taylor, W8AAS for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.04 Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.04
2011 AMSAT Space Symposium Announced
The 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held in San Jose, CA at the Wyndham San Jose Nov 4th - 6th, 2011. The AMSAT Board meeting will be at the same hotel on Thursday and Friday 3 & 4 November. The hotel rate will be $79 +taxes and offers free Wi Fi, parking and airport shuttle. Mark your calendars and plan to attend this exciting and informative event.
Thanks, Gould, WA4SXM
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K5OE Plans Maritime Mobile FM Satellite Operation This Week
Jerry, K5OE will operate on the FM amateur radio satellites while maritime mobile aboard the Carnival Ecstasy from late on 11-April till early on 16 April (CDT).
Jerry writes, "This is a family holiday but I will work as many FM satellite passes as our hectic schedule allows. This trip crosses grids between Galveston and Yucatan/Cozumel and I expect to be the most active on 12 April and 15 April (days at sea). Per IARP rules I will be signing HP/K5OE/MM while at sea and XE/K5OE/P while in Mexico."
No QSLs are needed: Just send Jerry an email request with your QSO date/time and he will confirm and send a QSL. Please wait until 18 April to send requests for a QSL card to (k5oe at amsat dot org).
Jerry notes special thanks are in order for Allen, N5AFV, for his excellent, detailed how-to guides: http://www.qsl.net/n5afv/cruise.html and to the AO-51 command team for leaving AO-51 in mode V/U.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Hudson Valley Net
To all, The next "HV Satcom"Net is Thursday April 14 (8PM; EDT; - 4 UTC)on the 146.97 MHz. repeater, w an echolink node of "N2EYH-L" (Repeater Pl;100 - 600 to Xmit), & all wel- come! More info :www.hvsatcom.org (E-Mail:wa2aqh@amsat.org) or (Mt.Beacon ARC: www.wr2abb.org/home/ 73,.Stu (WA2BSS)(Director;MBARC)
------------------------------------------------------------------ N4S Special Event Station from Puerto Rico
Angel L Santana-Diaz, WP3GW announced a Special Events station N4S operating from Puerto Rico to commemorate the 50 years of the First Man in Space: Russian pilot Yuri Gagarin who in April 12, 1961 was the first human being to go into space on an 108 minute flight, and the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia Sunday morning on April 12th, 1981, known as mission STS-1, opening what is called the Shuttle era.
The Special Event callsign N4S will be on the air to remember these two events: one which changed the course of history, and the other helped expand our knowledge of the space sciences and in the con- struction of the International Space Station (ISS).
The Special Event will be active on the HF bands from 10 to 80 meters on SSB. The KP4IA-R (145.370 Mhz) and the simplex frequency 147.480 Mhz will be used for local contacts in Puerto Rico. A special electronic certificate will be issued for this occasion. For information go to http://www.qrz.com/db/wp3gw or write to wp3gw@arrl.net
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KAZAKHSTAN, SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS 50 years of manned spaceflight is the 50th anniversary of the first flight of Yuri Gagarin. Besides of other events (contest, awards, etc) there will be two special event stations active from the cosmodrome in Baikonur. R50YG (Yuri Gagarin) and R50SK (Sergej Korolev) will be QRV from Apr 6-14. Both stations will take part in the "Gagarin Cup 2011" contest and count as an additional multiplier in this contest. Furthermore there will be also the special callsign R50KEDR (KEDR was the callsign of Yuri Gagarin during his flight) activated from the launch site of Yuri Gagarin on Apr 12 from 0507 until 0655 UTC. This is the same time like the 108 minutes of Gagarin's first flight.
[ANS thanks the DXNL DX Newsletter, Issue 1722 - Apr 6, 2011 for the above information]
[ANS thanks everyone for all of the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.05 ARISS Recent School Contacts
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.05
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report April 4, 2011
1. Recent ARISS Contacts
Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas participated in an ARISS contact with ISS astronaut Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH on Tuesday, March 29. Students researched and studied the topic of space travel to prepare their questions and were able to get 13 answered before the ISS went over the horizon. The students used the high school's own satellite tracking station for the contact. MyFOXAustin.com posted a story on the event: http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/top_stories/Lehman-HS-Students-Tal-to-Astrona uts-20110329-ktbcw
On Wednesday, March 30, students from Canterbury High School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada took part in an ARISS contact with astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA on the ISS. Approximately 450 students and administrators attended the event and listened as Nespoli handled 10 questions from the students. The contact was included in the Grades 9 and 10 curricula covering Earth and Space Science, Scientific Investigation Skills and Career Exploration. The Ottawa Citizen ran an article on the contact. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Canterbury+students+enjoy+this+world +conversation/4533084/story.html
An ARISS contact was held on Saturday, April 2 between on-orbit astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA and students from Istituto Tecnico Industriale Statale
"Leonardo da Vinci" and Istituto Comprensivo Scolastico "G. Tedeschi," Pratola Peligna, Italy. Students from both schools posed 23 questions to the astronaut over two ISS passes. The contact highlighted the telecommunications curriculum, and was supported by local radio amateurs. The event was attended by over 100 people including regional and local media representatives.
2. ARRL Covers Ham Astronauts
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) posted a story in its March 31 ARRL Letter about two astronauts who recently earned their ham licenses. "Two Astronauts Get Their Ham Ticket" may be found here: http://www.arrl.org/news/two-astronauts-get-their-ham-ticket
3. AMSAT Posts News on ARISSat, Hamvention
On April 3, AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) posted ARISS-related
items in its News Service bulletin (ANS-093). The first story covered the anticipated activation of ARISSat-1 which will occur over April 11 - 13 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first space flight.
Another story was about the upcoming Dayton Hamvention on May 20 - 22 which will feature an ARISSat prototype and will be attended by astronaut Doug Wheelock. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2011/000498.html
4. NASA Article on ARISS Telebridge Station
NASA wrote an article about Sacred Hearts Academy, an all-girls school in Hawaii that has a telebridge station which can be used to link schools with the ISS astronauts during ARISS contacts. ARISS members Dick Flagg and Nancy Rocheleau were interviewed for the story that talks about ARISS and other NASA programs in which the girls are involved. The story, "A Heart-to-Heart Talk" has been posted to the NASA web site. See: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/a-heart-to-heart-talk_prt.htm
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.06 AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.06
AMSAT Awards
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says that congratulations are in order for the AMSAT Awards issued in the last month or so.
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO:
Joseph Patrick, K4XZ Scott Rights, N6PG Dave McFadden, VE3ECV Rene Bourrassa, VE2SUD Paul-Ernest Plante, VE2DBX Joe Lemieux, VE3EUS Claudio Ferrari, IK1YRC Robert Foster, KD0JLN
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award:
Branko Martincic, 9A3ST #533 Pozdrawiam Mariusz, SQ9MES #534
The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award: Gerry Krebs, N0JE #159
The following have earned the AMSAT Century Award: Doug Papay, KD8CAO #41
The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement award: Branko Martincic, 9A3ST #US165
The following have earned their Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award.
Jim Bennett, KE4KOL #68 Loren Rasmussen, K7CWQ #69 Jim Adams, K0BAM #70 Bill Dzurilla, NZ5N #71
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-100.07 New OSCAR Numbers
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 100.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-100.07
University of Texas FASTRAC Satellites Receive OSCAR Numbers
OSCAR Number Administrator, William A. (Bill) Tynan, W3XO issued this notice in regards to OSCAR number assignment to the two University of Texas FASTRAC satellites.
"I have received word from Thomas M Campbel through Andy MacAllister, W5ACM that the two FASTRAC satellites developed by the University of Texas Satellite Design Laboratory, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department have been confirmed as separated and functioning. Further, I am informed by Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, that these two spacecraft have been coordinated through IARU and meet the other requirements for issuance of OSCAR numbers.
Therefore I congratulate Sebastian Muñoz Toro and all on the FASTRAC team for building testing and launching these two satellites; and by the authority vested in me by the AMSAT-NA President, I hereby issue FASTRAC OSCAR-69 or FO-69 to FASTRAC 1 and FASTRAC OSCAR-70 to FASTRAC 2.
AMSAT-NA is pleased to welcome FO-69 and FO-70 into the family of Amateur Radio satellites. We are hopeful that they will fulfill their intended mission of furthering education and increasing interest in the Amateur Radio space program."
73 and best wishes,
William A. (Bill) Tynan, W3XO OSCAR Number Administrator
[ANS thanks Bill Tynan, W3XO 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 Office.
73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org