AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-229
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org.
In this edition:
* 7 weeks Until Symposium * Satellite Road Trip * 2014 AMSAT Symposium Trips, Social Events, and Tours * 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium Papers Due Septmeber 15 * Dnepr Launch Planned for October * SUWS VHF/UHF/Microwave WebSDR moves to new site * LUSAT-1 alive at night! * OSCAR NEWS 207 from AMSAT-UK * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-229.01 ANS-229 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 229.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE August 17, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-229.01
7 weeks Until Symposium
Charm City Space Symposium 32nd Space Symposium and Annual Meeting October 10-12, 2014 Baltimore, Maryland
* Board of Directors meeting on October 9 and morning of October 10. * Technical presentations on satellite design/operating begin the afternoon of October 10 and continue October 11. * Meet AMSAT Officers and Board members. * Meet and greet fellow satellite operators. * Satellites on display. * Annual general meeting afternoon of October 10.
* Saturday evening annual banquet with door prizes. * Sunday morning Area Coordinator's breakfast. * Sunday ARISS Operations Team meeting. * Sunday and Monday tours.
Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton -- Baltimore - BWI Airport 890 Elkridge Landing Rd, Linthicum, Maryland, 21090 Phone: 410-859-8400
Ask For: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Group or use the Code: RAS AMSAT Special Room Rate--$99.00 per night $10 Breakfast Buffet Coupons--Full Hot and Cold Breakfast*
FREE Parking FREE WiFi Free Airport and Close-in Transportation Easy Train/Light Rail Service to Baltimore Inner Harbor & D.C. Metro Walking distance to National Electronics Museum
Special Guest Presentations
*Purchase at check-in
A registration form for the Symposium and all events may be downloaded at http://tinyurl.com/ANS208-SymposiumRegistration
Online registration is available through the AMSAT Store http://tinyurl.com/ANS208-OnlineRegistration
[ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information]
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Satellite Road Trip
Ron, N8RO says he started on a vacation road trip on Saturday August 16, 2014. He plans satellite operation only on SO-50 & FO-29. He will attempt to be on one morning and one evening pass of the satellites, but it's a vacation and nothing is set in stone. He plans to return home around September 20, 2014.
The trip will be divided into three phases:
+ The first phase will include TX, NM, AZ and CA. The first stop will be in DM62 and ending up in CM87 on August 26, 2014.
+ The second phase of the trip will start in AK, BP52, on August 27, 2014 and will end in CN89 on September 6, 2014. A major portion of this part of the trip will be aboard a cruise ship and if he is permitted to operate as N8RO/MM he will only be on SO-50 with a HT and a whip antenna, so contacts may be difficult.
+ The final portion of the trip will start on September 8, 2014 and will include CA, NV, UT, CO, NM & TX starting again in CN89 and ending in EM00.
[ANS thanks Ron Oldham, N8RO for the above information]
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2014 AMSAT Symposium Trips, Social Events, and Tours
We will have two "working" events scheduled Sunday morning (October 12)-the Area Coordinators Breakfast and the ARISS Operations Team Meeting.
Similar to last year's symposium, two opportunities for tours are planned for the 2014 Space Symposium:
1) On Sunday October 12 (Afternoon), several Small Group/Light Rail tours are being planned. Symposium participants can choose one of the following tours: Baltimore Inner Harbor Tour (including the Aquarium), the B&O Railroad Museum, Edgar Allen Poe House or the National Electronics Museum.
2) On Columbus Day, Monday October 13 we will take a bus to the Washington Dulles airport area to tour the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. Udvar-Hazy is a phenomenal museum with hundreds of aircraft and spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, an SR-71, Enola Gay, and many others. The plan is to leave the hotel at 9 am and return around 4 pm.
In order to get maximum benefit from all the holiday weekend events, the symposium committee suggests that symposium participants consider scheduling their airline flights for no earlier than 6 pm on Monday October 13.
Online registration is available through the AMSAT Store http://tinyurl.com/ANS208-OnlineRegistration
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
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2014 AMSAT Space Symposium Papers Due Septmeber 15
The 2014 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium will be held on the weekend of October 10-12, 2014, at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), Baltimore, Maryland. (See information above)
Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, but no later than August 1. The final copy must be submitted by September 15 for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv at amsat.org
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
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Dnepr Launch Planned for October
According to an ITAR-TASS report the launch of a Russian-Ukrainian conversion rocket Dnepr (RS-20) with Japanese satellites, should take place in early October from the Orenburg region, southern Urals.
On Wednesday, August 13, when asked by ITAR-TASS whether the plans had not been affected by Japanese sanctions against Russia a source in the Russian Military Industrial Commission said "The launch is scheduled for the beginning of October. There have been no cancellations so far".
The rocket will orbit five Japanese satellites, including four micro ones. "The satellites will be brought to Russia on August 20," the source said, adding that this year's third Dnepr launch was scheduled for December.
The Dnepr rocket conversion programme was initiated in the 1990s by the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to convert RS-20 Voyevoda ICBMs for civilian uses.
Dnepr rockets are launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and the Yasny Launch Site of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces in the Orenburg region under a joint project commenced by Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
The Dnepr rocket is a three-stage liquid-engine vehicle. Its takeoff mass is 210 tones. The first two stages are the regular stages of the RS-20 rocket and have not been changed. The third stage has been worked on to improve its flight control system.
The rocket is injected from an RS-20 silo by propellant gases. Its engine turns on after the whole vehicle has come out of the silo. The rocket is made by the Ukrainian company Yuzhmash in Dnepropetrovsk.
Source ITAR-TASS http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/744861
The five satellites are understood to be: * ASNARO 1 * ChubuSat 1 * Hodoyoshi 1 * QSAT-EOS * Tsubame
[ANS thanks ITAR-TASS and AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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SUWS VHF/UHF/Microwave WebSDR moves to new site
The Southampton University Wireless Society SUWS VHF/UHF/Microwave WebSDR has now moved to its new site in Farnham.
You can use the free online SUWS Web Software Defined Radio (WebSDR) from your PC or Laptop to receive the International Space Station (ISS) and the many amateur radio satellites transmitting in the 144- 146 MHz or 435-438 MHz bands.
The WebSDR also provides reception of High Altitude Balloons in the 434 MHz band and coverage of the microwave 10368-10370 MHz band.
Martin Ehrenfried G8JNJ has equipped the SUWS WebSDR with omni- direction helix antennas for both 144-146 MHz and 432-438 MHz which have proved effective for both high altitude balloon and satellite reception.
The SUWS WebSDR is located at Farnham not far from London, 51.3 N 1.15 W, listen to it at http://websdr.suws.org.uk/
Martin says this about the special satellite antennas "I had been experimenting with single turn 'twisted halo' design, and decided to try stacking them to see if I could achieve more gain. Modelling suggested that a stretched 3 turn helix with a helix circumference of approx 1/2 wave length and an overall length of 1/2 wave at 70cm, and fed with a gamma match at the centre would offer reasonable gain, an omni-directional pattern and mixed polarisation."
Full details of the antennas are available at http://g8jnj.webs.com/currentprojects.htm
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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LUSAT-1 alive at night!
Pedro, LU7ABF, reported to the AMSAT-BB, "We knew that our LUSAT start transmitting again a couple of years ago, but only when illuminated by sun, and was not heard during the night.
On the occasion of testing the application http://amsat.org.ar/sat.htm saw there was a nightly pass, which was tried to listen.
Without much hope tuned 437.125 MHz, surprised to hear the usual strong 900mW continuous carrier +/- Doppler, but this time after 22 minutes of being LUSAT in the dark.
Commenting locally, several other hams also tried and received LUSAT.
It's almost a miracle that after almost 25 years, LUSAT vintage Ni- Cd batteries can receive and hold charge.
It seems LUSAT is willing to greet hams on his 'Silver Jubilee' due next Jan-22 thru continuing talking with us from space after its more than 128,000 orbits.
The LO-19, next to Oscar-7 and UO-11 is one of the most long-lived active amateur satellites.
We have included short report and audio on http://amsat.org.ar/?f=z , Amsat-LU logs.
More information on LUSAT (although in Spanish) on http://lusat.org.ar
Reports welcomed at info at amsat.org.ar
[ANS thanks Pedro, LU7ABF, for the above information]
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OSCAR NEWS 207 from AMSAT-UK
The Editors of OSCAR NEWS are starting the preparation of the next edition - #207.
We would welcome any articles for this edition which need to be submitted before the end of August!
Long or short articles about technical, operational or historical matters are all equally welcome.
Exciting and/or amusing photographs would also be appreciated.
Many thanks in advance for your support
[ANS thanks Graham G3VZV and Jim G3WGM for the above information]
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ARISS News
+ A Successful contact was made between Amino Kita Elementary School, Kyotango, Japan and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-08-06 10:25 UTC UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8J3AK. ARISS Mentor was 7M3TJZ.
+ A Successful contact was made between Canada Science and Technology Museum Summer Day Camps, Ottawa, ON, Canada and Astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO using callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2014- 08-13 17:18 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was VE3TBD.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Zuni Hills Elementary School, Sun City, AZ, telebridge via K6DUE Contact is a go for: Fri 2014-08-22 17:47:05 UTC
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
Help AMSAT launch Fox-1C satellite in 2015! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6pz92
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
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/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.
73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org