AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-234
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:
In this edition: * Election Reminder * ARRISSat-1 Update * Symposium Call for Papers * AO-51 Update * ARISS STATUS * Satellite Shorts
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-234.01 Election Reminder
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 234.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 22, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-234.01
Just another nag that the AMSAT election for members of the Board of Directors is in progress. The end of the summer, and the start of school is upon us. Still, if you haven't gotten around to it, take a few minutes to vote. The deadline will be here in a month. Obviously it is important as a member to vote, but it is also important for Board members to receive your input in this way.
73s,
Alan Biddle WA4SCA AMSAT Corporate Secretary
[ANS Thanks Alan, WA4SCA, for the above information] /EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-234.02 ARISSat-1 Update
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 234.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 22, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-234.02
ARISSat-1 update We are now manifested on Progress 41P to get ARISSat to the ISS. The current timeline has the launch in January 2011. Four ARISSat satellites have been assembled in Orlando. The two Russian flight units are assembled, electronics are undergoing operational tests, software is close to being the final version and we expect to have the satellite complete and ready for vibration tests next week. We don't have a date for the vibration test yet, but are working to get one in the next few weeks. NASA has been very instrumental in getting us an export license, arranging for transportation to Russia and helping clarify how the satellite will be attached to the Progress vessel. We plan on shipping the two satellites to Russia in September, to give them time to install the Kursk experiment, test their battery with the satellite and do additional tests before shipping to Baikonur for launch. Gould, WA4SXM AMSAT ARISSat-1 Project Manager
[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-234.03 Symposium Call for Papers
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 234.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 22, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-234.03
Reminder: Symposium Call For Papers Deadline is Coming
It's already August 1 and the September 1 deadline of the call for papers for the 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting is approaching faster than ever! The abstracts and some completed papers have arrived - thank you. For everyone else - we need to get busier ... please!
The abstract for your paper does not require any special format. Simply send an e-mail to the Proceedings Editor, K9JKM with the basic information: Author Name, Callsign, and a few sentences that describe your proposed topic. I'll be looking forward to receiving your abstracts in my in-box at [email protected].
The Symposium Committee invites proposals for:
+ Papers for publication in the Proceedings
+ Symposium Presentations
+ Poster Presentations
+ Equipment and Operating Demonstrations
These can be on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by September 1, 2010 for inclusion in the printed proceedings.
To help you prepare your paper the Symposium Committee has posted an author's guide on the AMSAT.org web page: http://tinyurl.com/2djjnmx
The 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held October 8 - 10 at the Chicago/Elk Grove Holiday Inn which is near O'Hare Airport.
[ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-234.04 AO-51 Update
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 234.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 22, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-234.04
Eclipses Cause Short Term Changes to AO-51 Schedule
AO-51 Command Team member, Mark N8MH noted this week that AO-51 is still in eclipses until the last week of August. The satellite will be back in 100% sun until the end of December after this time. That means the Command Team should be able keep AO-51 transmitting all the time. In fact, they will need to do this in order to keep temp- eratures down!
In recent days the Command Team had to resort to shutting down the voice repeater in order to grab some telemetry files from the bird. This was very important as we are nearing the end of the eclipse period and was a unique opportunity to collect good data for current use and for future reference for AO-51 Operations.
Recently AO-51 has been automatically turning itself OFF and back ON because of the power budget. Users see this more often as it first comes out of eclipse and as it begins to enter eclipse. The Command Team will continue to fine tune this, but the goal is to keep AO-51 transmitting when there is enough power--without having the bird shutdown until manually commanded back ON by one of the command team members.
Starting January 2011, we won't see much of a break from the eclipse periods for a long, long time (there is one short window of full sun, but it's about 2 weeks long in late Feb/early March 2011). The com- mand team has been using the recent eclipse period to learn how to become more efficient in the use of the power management code on board. This allows us to get the most "bang for the buck" out of the available power. It's pretty complex and versatile. We've learned a tremen- dous amount this eclipse period, but still have more to learn in the future.
[ANS thanks AO-51 Command Team member, Mark N8MH for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-234.05 ARISS Status Report
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 234.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-234.05
1. Upcoming School Contact
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with the DaVinci Science Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Center has integrated this activity into its Summer Camp Program for 2010. Students have learned about space through lessons from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Education Office and Astronaut Terry Hart is expected to give presentations. The Delaware-Lehigh Amateur Radio Club has provided instruction on Amateur Radio, how it works, what it is and its uses, how the ARISS radio systems work, the international ham radio team, satellite tracking, radio wave propagation and the organizations that sponsor ARISS. The club will also provide VHF demonstrations and multi-media presentations to the group which will enhance the center's 200 hands-on exhibits that promote the understanding of science and technology. Due to ISS Problems, This has been postponed, however, keep informed as this can change before this ANS is published.
2. QST Covers ARISS
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) September issue of QST carried an item in the "Inside HQ" column about how NASA ISS crew members participated in one or more ARISS educational activities per week during the first half of 2010. The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000.
3. ISS Ham Debrief Scheduled
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session has been scheduled with Expedition 22/23 astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP on Tuesday, August 17. The feedback provided on the radio system and school contacts will help the ARISS program update its operations.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-234.06 Satellite Shorts
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 234.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 22, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-234.06
SA-AMSAT Reports Plans for Sumbandilasat SO-67 Return to Service
South Africa AMSAT (SA-AMSAT) is slowly adding additional operational time for Sumbandilasat SO-67. On their web page they report that the ground control station will start slowly with the amateur payload and observe if the satellite remains stable and then gradually add more operating time. The current SO-67 schedule for operations over South Africa and Europe can be found on their web page at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/
The PTT of the transmitter now STAYS ON for the duration of the payload activation (i.e. 15 min), regardless of a valid "transponder" tone received. Please leave a 3 second gap between overs.
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AMSAT Awards
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says congratulations are in order for these stations earning AMSAT awards during July and August.
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO.
George Jounakros, K2KVI Johnathon Ballard, KI4UKF Stephen Ponder, N5WBI Bob Herrell, AJ5C Jason Brisco, N5NBJ
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award. Stephen Rish, K8SAR #516
The following have earned the South Africa AMSAT Communications Achievement Award John Neeley, W6ZKH #US148
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org
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Japan's Venus Mission Getting Close
The mission that launched UNITEC-1, Amateur Radio's first inter- planetary probe, the Venus Climate Orbiter also known as Akatsuki remains healthy and is nearing the planet. The 5.8 GHz amateur radio beacon from UNITEC-1 was last heard only two days outbound from Earth.
Akatsuki, bristling with cameras, will circle the exotic planet's equator in an elliptical orbit for at least 2 years, monitoring the atmosphere at different altitudes using various wavelengths (IR, UV, and visible). With this data and data from the spacecraft's radio dish, scientists will reconstruct a 3D model of the atmosphere's structure and dynamics.
The instruments will also scrutinize the planet's surface for volcanic activity. In addition, Akatsuki's Lightning and Airglow Camera will hunt for lightning in order to settle a longstanding debate about how is Venusian lightning generated in a dry atmosphere?
The full story can be found on-line at NASA Science News http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/16aug_vco/
[ANS thanks Everyone 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