AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-052 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:
* AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Support Phase 4 “Five and Dime” Ground Terminal Effort * JAMSAT Symposium 2016 in Tokyo on March 5 - 6 * Japanese Ham Radio Satellite Launched * HORYU-4 2.4GHz Received * New AO7 Distance Record * ARISS Information Sessions * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-052.01 ANS-052 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 052.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE February 21, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-052.01
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AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Support Phase 4 “Five and Dime” Ground Terminal Effort
Established less than 1 year ago, AMSAT’s all-volunteer Phase 4 Ground Terminal team has made significant strides in developing an ensemble of solutions to support the so-called “Five and Dime” (5 GHz and 10 GHz) strategy AMSAT has embraced for microwave satellite projects. Prompting the effort is the planned launch of a geosynchronous military satellite in the 2018 timeframe, which could play host to an Amateur Radio payload operating on the two microwave band. The overarching project, which also includes a complementary Phase 4 Space team, is exploring new territory and innovative solutions, and it’s seeking volunteers from among the technically savvy within the Amateur Radio community.
“We’re going to make it as awesome as possible,” Ground Station team lead Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, told ARRL. The project not only would support the Phase 4B geosynchronous launch but provide solutions for the Phase 3E high-Earth orbit satellite, and receiver support for AMSAT’s entry into the NASA Cube Quest Challenge, which would go to the moon.
Thompson said the compelling technical reason for using 5 GHz and 10 GHz is the ability to use high-bandwidth modes on those bands. In addition, “the 5 and 10 GHz bands are popular elsewhere, and other projects are embracing this band complement,” she noted. Another advantage would be to raise Amateur Radio’s profile on the two bands and perhaps “shake things up” there for terrestrial use. “The 5 and 10 GHz bands are a compromise that’s working really, really well,” Thompson said.
The US Air Force will control the geosynchronous satellite. Virginia Tech, Millennium Space Systems (MSS), FEMA, various clubs as well as AMSAT and ARRL are partners in or are supporting the project. A formal memorandum of understanding is pending.
Cognitive Radios “We’re currently exploring the Amateur Radio implementation of a very advanced and exciting open standard called DVB-S2X for the downlink,” Thompson explained, noting it offers a variety of modulation and coding. Earth stations will use their individual radios, transmitting a digital signal — probably something called Offset QPSK (O-PSK) — directly to the satellite, with each getting its own channel in a frequency division, multiple access (FDMA) scheme. “This is an elegant way to design an efficient and advanced communication system and allows technical volunteers to experiment with the basics of cognitive radio — radio that can sense the environment and adapt to take full advantage of the capabilities the hardware offers,” she said.
Groundsats and a “Big Honking SDR” Phase 4 radios will be designed to work not just with the impending geosynchronous satellite but through terrestrial microwave “Groundsats,” which, Thompson said, “are essentially satellite simulators that let you test and use the radio terrestrially.” Phase 4 radio designs also could be configured to use modulation schemes that are better able to deal with terrestrial multipath.
Amateur Radio Access Points (ARAPs) — essentially signal aggregators — would allow legacy radios, FM hand-held transceivers, or emergency traffic providers to use the satellite from any point where an ARAP can be deployed, packaging the input for uplink to the satellite. Hams within ARAP range would be able to use the Five and Dime terrestrial network just as if they were operating through a satellite.
“The Groundsat, which is doing the same job as the satellite payload, has a big honking SDR on it,” Thompson said. Groundsat equipment has arrived and is in use in San Diego, North Texas, and at Virginia Tech, and Groundsat development is under way at those sites. A fourth site would be at Morgan State University in Maryland.
Doing It on the Cheap “Five and Dime” also reflects the project’s economics. AMSAT Board Member and Virginia Tech Research Professor Bob McGwier, N4HY, recently explained on the AMSAT-BB that the Ground Team’s work is “an effort to design an inexpensive ground terminal for amateurs that would cost tens of thousands of dollars commercially, for as much under $1000 as we can get it.” In contrast to the Space Team’s work, which, he said, is taking place “under the cloak of ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations),” the Ground Team’s SDR is “completely open source, open specification” and “easily reprogrammed to do many different kinds of missions just by changing the software.”
“We welcome any interested technical volunteers to apply to the technical volunteer program at AMSAT and become part of the team,” Thompson said. To volunteer for the Phase 4 Ground Team, provide your contact information on AMSAT’s Engineering Team contact form. Thompson’s weekly “Phase4” engineering updates are available via YouTube. Additional development documentation is posted on GitHub.
[ANS thanks the ARRL and Michelle Thompson, W5NYV for the above information]
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JAMSAT Symposium 2016 in Tokyo on March 5 - 6
JAMSAT Symposium 2016 will be held on March 5th PM and 6th AM in Tokyo at Conference Room 2(CR2) in Miraikan (The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation).
Please see http://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/ for location and access details.
Day 1 is mainly for "JAS-1 30 Years Anniversary". Day 2 is mainly for technology development for satellites. If you are interested in it, or want to join the dinner party, please contact [email protected]
Time Title Presenter Call Sign March 5 14:30 - 14:35 "Welcome" Mikio Mouri JA3GEP 14:35 - 16:10 "JAS-1 30 Years Anniversary" Toshiyuki Kondou Eng. Mgr., JARL, JR1NVU 16:20 - 17:30 "Joy of Satellite Communications" Eiji Nakamura, JA1CPA 18:00 - 20:00 Dinner at Sky View Lounge (Restaurant)
March 6 9:30 - 10:00 "Report from AMSAT-DL"(by Skype) Peter Guelzow, DB2OS 10:10 - 10:40 "Report on EsHailSat-2/Phase-4A" AMSAT-Qatar Mohamed bin Jabor Althani, A71EY 10:40 - 11:20 "Development of Phase-4 Ground Station" Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ 11:30 - 12:10 "Development of JAMSAT Mode-J Transponder", Kan Fukai, JH1CEP 12:10 - 12:50 "USB Mini Tuner" Hiroshi Matsumoto, JA1SYK 12:50 - 13:20 "New Regulation on Spurious Emission" Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ
[ANS thanks Mikio Mouri, JA3GEP for the above information]
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Japanese Ham Radio Satellite Launched
Yasutaka Narusawa JR2XEA posted on the AMSAT-BB: Feb. 17 17:45JST(08:45UTC), ChubuSat-2 and ChubuSat-3 has been launched on the H-IIA F30 launch vehicle. After separation, both satellites start transmitting beacon message. I hope you receive our message and report to us, thank you.
https://www.frontier.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/chubusat/chubusat_satellite2.htm... https://www.frontier.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/chubusat/chubusat_satellite3.htm...
Yasutaka Narusawa JR2XEA provides the following information on ChubuSat-2/3:
Nagoya University(NU) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries(MHI) developed 50kg microsatellite ChubuSat-2(NU) and ChubuSat-3(MHI). These satellites have amateur VHF receiver and amateur UHF transmitter, and will be launched on Feb. 12 2016 from Tanegashima, Japan. Komaki Amateur SATCOM Club operates these satellites from Komaki, Japan.
After the satellite separation, each satellite will transmit UHF CW beacon message including battery voltage etc. which is very important information for our initial and critical operation. So we are very happy if you receive the CW beacon message and report to us email: [email protected]
In following web site, we show the information(frequency, format, TLE, etc.) about ChubuSat-2 and ChubuSat-3. If we have your report, we will show your report in this page. https://www.frontier.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/chubusat/chubusat_satellite2.htm...
Both satellite will provide the message exchange service. After the on-orbit checkout of the satellite(maybe one month after launch), you can use this service, sending your message with VHF uplink, then your message is written to the on-board memory. By sending inquiry message, anyone can read your message with UHF downlink.
ChubuSat-2 Satellite Uplink: 145.815 MHz FSK 1200bps Downlink: 437.100 MHz GMSK 9600bps and CW
ChubuSat-3 Satellite Uplink: 145.840 MHz FSK 1200bps Downlink: 437.425 MHz GMSK 9600bps and CW
The uplink/downlink format will be uploaded in above web site.
Horyu-4 downlink 437.375 MHz & 2400.300 MHz 1k2 AFSK,9k6 GMSK, S_BPSK, CW http://kitsat.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/horyu4WEB/horyu4.html http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=434 https://www.facebook.com/Horyu-4-Arc-Event-Generator-and-Investigation- Satellite-780188535364868/
[ANS thanks Yasutaka Narusawa JR2XEA, and AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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HORYU-4 2.4GHz received
I heard 2.4GHz signal many times in this orbit. The spurious signal will be heard lower than about 56kHz from the nominal frequency, it may sound rather strongly. The followings are the image that I received this real signal and spurious signal. At the 2400.244 MHz, I heard the clear and stable sound of them. Perhaps it might not be a spurious signal. This deviation signal might be the real signal of HORYU-4 2.4GHz.
05:22-05:34 UTC, 20 Feb 2016, Ele 40 WS-S-E, 2400.300MHz 100kbps BPSK 07:03-07:16 UTC, 20 Feb 2016, Ele 45 W-S-SE, 2400.244MHz 100kbps BPSK
http://www.dropbox.com/s/yg41q64m69dnitc/60220hr4.wav?dl=0 http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/hor4ch23.htm#ghz http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/60220hr1.png http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/60220hr2.png http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/60220hr3.png http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/60220hr4.png
[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]
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New AO7 Distance Record
Satellite Friends and Colleagues,
I wanted to share with everyone that on February 10th, at 2009UTC I made a scheduled contact with Eduardo, PY2RN, using AO-7 Mode B, from 'Shinnal Mountain' just west of Little Rock, Arkansas. My 10 digit grid locator for the contact was EM34ST20SC, and Eduardo's station is located at GG66LW77JQ in Vinhedo/SP, Brazil. Using the http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html website for reference, this equates to 8030.895 km which we believe to be a new record for AO-7 Mode B. I've been extremely busy this past week, but I had a few folks request that I share a little background behind the contact, so here we go.
Back on January 24th, I was on an AO-7(B) pass looking for Gustavo, PT9BM. While not a record distance, Gustavo's QTH is just shy of 7500km away from me, so I was up on my mountain, specifically in a spot with great a great southeastern view of the Horizon. As the bird came into view, while scanning the passband, I heard Eduardo, PY2RN, calling CQ. I tried to answer him, but his signal disappeared quickly after that, and I went ahead and had a great QSO with Gustavo, and didn't think anything else of it until later that night when I decided to look up the station I had heard. To my astonishment, Eduardo was 8030km away, which was way beyond the theoretical range AO-7, even with elevation assistance. I promptly emailed Eduardo and we both agreed to try and make a contact, even though the math said it shouldn't be possible.
At this point the random luck that had let me hear Eduardo on the 24th seemed to elude us. We attempted contacts on the 26th, 28th, and 30th all to no avail. After recalculating windows, our next shot was on February 8th. WinListen (from Sat32pc) calculated a 3 second window on the 8th, followed by 5 seconds on the 10th. The day of the 8th came, and we prepared for the attempt. Murphy once again seemed to haunt us though, as we successfully heard the calls and grids of each other, but strong CW QRM was hitting the bird so hard that the intelligibility was low and, more importantly, neither of us had a camera running. We decided to not count the QSO due to these reasons. The good news was though, we both heard each other (the first time that had happened) and our frequency coordination was spot on. We knew it could be done, we just needed a little luck.
Finally, on February 10th, we got a bit of a break. We had already determined that 5 seconds was simply not enough time to do a proper "QSL thanks for the grid, have a great day" type of chat, so we both agreed to simply repeat 'your call / my call / grid / report' rapidly, much in the same way a digital or contest contact is made. At 2009UTC, both stations cleanly heard the others call and grid, completing the contact. It was extremely rapid, and very weak, but clear. Eduardo's side of the QSO turned out way better than mine did, and he has uploaded a recording of it to YouTube here: https://youtu.be/pTGSlaY7K7A
After all my work towards low-elevation contacts from mountain-tops, I think this is approaching the limits of what can be done on AO-7. This was by far the hardest sked I've ever attempted, and with the contact window measured in mere seconds, it leaves absolutely no room for error. Had I not heard Eduardo's call at random on the attempt with Gustavo, I doubt I would have even pursued this as something that was possible. That said, wow.. what a rush
Big thanks to Eduardo, PY2RN, for humoring my obsession with making ultra long-distance QSOs on the birds, and for sticking with it until we finally made it work. Good DX my friend. Also thanks to Gustavo (PT9BM) for persuading me to point my arrow to the South, and Drew (KO4MA) for acting as a spotter during one of the passes to see just how far apart we were from each other. Appreciate it guys.
If anyone has any questions or comments, I'm happy to field them. Until then, catch you on the birds! 73!
Signed, Dave, KG5CCI
Dave, KG5CCI also posted on the AMSAT-BB that he was using an "Alaskan" Arrow ( 4 elements on 2m, 10 elements on 70cm) held by hand, running 10' pieces of LMR-240 into an Icom 821h, manually tuned. "Everything is run from a LiFePo4 battery, and I pretty much exclusively operate portable mountain-top with unobstructed horizon views in the direction I'm planning to work", reported Dave.
Also on the AMSAT-BB Eduardo, PY2RN wrote that he used: "RX: Funcube pro plus + SDR# V.1430 (with great NB capabilities) + Yagi-Uda 11el CP + Mirage KP-2 pre-amp. TX: TS-2000x + Yagi-Uda 20el CP Tracked by Satellite Tracking embedded into SDR-RADIO V2 software suite + GS-232/G-5400 Coax: RFS RGC213 15m long And a clear view to my N/NW bound which allows to hear a little after sat LOS most of times. Put together again an old P3 sat setup sitting in storage for many years, just added the SDR fun to it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTGSlaY7K7A&feature=youtu.be http://www.arrl.org/news/arkansas-vhfer-claims-mathematically-impossible-ao-... mode-b-distance-record http://www.amsat.org/?p=4997
[ANS thanks Dave, KG5CCI, Eduardo, PY2RN, the ARRL, and the AMSAT-BB for the above information]
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ARISS Information Sessions
Host a Real-Time Conversation With Crew Members Aboard the International Space Station
ARISS-US is now accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact between Jan. 1 - June 30, 2017. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS-US is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. Proposals are due April 15, 2016.
Using amateur radio, students can ask astronauts questions about life in space and other space-related topics. Students fully engage in the ARISS contact by helping set up an amateur radio ground station at the school and then using that station to talk directly with a crew member on the International Space Station for approximately 10 minutes. ARISS provides experienced mentors and relies on local amateur radio volunteers to help organizations obtain the technology required to host this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students.
Informational Sessions ----------------------
To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS program coordinator will offer hourlong online information sessions. These are designed to provide more information regarding U.S. ARISS contacts and the proposal process, and offer an opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session is not required, it is strongly encouraged.
Informational sessions will be offered Feb. 29, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST and March 10, 2016, at 7 p.m. EST.
Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS ([email protected]) to sign up for an information session.
For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact.
ARISS-US is offered through a partnership between NASA; the American Radio Relay League, or ARRL; and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, or AMSAT. ARISS was created and is managed by an international working group, including several countries in Europe as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and the USA.
Questions about this opportunity should be emailed to [email protected].
[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Feb. 18, 2016 for the above information]
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AMSAT Events
Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations).
*Friday, 4 March 2016 – presentation for the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long Beach meeting in Signal Hill CA
*Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 March 2016 – ScienceCity science fair, on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson AZ
*Saturday, 19 March 2016 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Spring Hamfest 2016 in Scottsdale AZ
*Saturday, 26 March 2016 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ
*Friday through Sunday, 29 April-1 May 2016 - ARRL Nevada State Convention in Las Vegas NV
*Saturday, 7 May 2016 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ
*Saturday, 4 June 2016 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
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ARISS News
Successful Contacts
Oasis Academy Brightstowe, Bristol, UK, direct via GB1OAB The ISS callsign was scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut was Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact was successful: Fri 2016-02-19 14:23:23 UTC 78 deg
Tim answered on the second call and we proceeded to to get 19 complete questions answered. Ham TV came in from Goonhilly and we had over four and a half minutes lock from our mobile 1.2m dish mounted on a Land Rover. Once we had video, I asked Tim to give us a wave, which he did with the biggest grin I seen from him yet. In the room for the contact, we had over 260i people present with somewhere near 500+ in the hall next - numbers will be verified shortly. In terms of media, we had BBC and ITV Bristol TV and radio BBC and ITV for the West Country, TV BBC (National) The One Show - they have recorded a piece that will feature in build ups all next week and the contact will be featured on the show on Friday 26th February.
UAH Space Hardware Club, Huntsville, Alabama, direct via K4UAH The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut was Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact was successful: Fri 2016-02-19 17:20:14 UTC 72 deg
UAH SHC was successful with 18 questions answered. Very noisy at start but full quieting once beyond question 3. 73 round completed. All are very excited and happy!
The Space Hardware Club at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is an engineering club of students that builds balloon payloads, satellites and rockets outside of their regular classes. The club has been working on this contact for over a year. After deciding to focus on 8th grade students, we reached out to Discovery Middle School, Westlawn Middle School, and the Tennessee Valley Homeschool 4-H group – all from the northern Alabama area. The students from Westlawn have been part of Project Lead The Way for 2 years now and have been exposed to robotics, modeling, and 3d printing. The students from the homeschool group all have a passion for STEM, a love of learning and being challenged, and are bubbling with excitement for this opportunity of a lifetime. There are two STEM II classes from Discovery Middle School that routinely rise to the expectations of their accelerated STEM focused curriculum. By the time of the contact, the students will have learned about the ISS, the astronauts and some of the experiments aboard, and amateur radio. All of the students and club members involved are passionate about this opportunity, and thank you for your time.
Upcoming Contacts
Istituto Sobrero, Casale Monferrato, Italy, direct via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Thu 2016-02-25 09:10:55 UTC 40 deg
Norwich Schools, Norwich/East Anglia, UK, direct via GB2CNS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-02-26 14:43:39 UTC 29 deg
Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled.
[ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
NASA Invites Public to Send Artwork to an Asteroid
NASA is calling all space enthusiasts to send their artistic endeavors on a journey aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. This will be the first U.S. mission to collect a sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth for study.
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch in September and travel to the asteroid Bennu. The #WeTheExplorers campaign invites the public to take part in this mission by expressing, through art, how the mission’s spirit of exploration is reflected in their own lives. Submitted works of art will be saved on a chip on the spacecraft. The spacecraft already carries a chip with more than 442,000 names submitted through the 2014 “Messages to Bennu” campaign.
“The development of the spacecraft and instruments has been a hugely creative process, where ultimately the canvas is the machined metal and composites preparing for launch in September,” said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It is fitting that this endeavor can inspire the public to express their creativity to be carried by OSIRIS-REx into space.”
A submission may take the form of a sketch, photograph, graphic, poem, song, short video or other creative or artistic expression that reflects what it means to be an explorer. Submissions will be accepted via Twitter and Instagram until March 20. For details on how to include your submission on the mission to Bennu, go to:
http://www.asteroidmission.org/WeTheExplorers
“Space exploration is an inherently creative activity,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “We are inviting the world to join us on this great adventure by placing their art work on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, where it will stay in space for millennia.”
The spacecraft will voyage to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of at least 60 grams (2.1 ounces) and return it to Earth for study. Scientists expect Bennu may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of the water and organic molecules that may have made their way to Earth.
Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. The University of Arizona, Tucson leads the science team and observation planning and processing. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is building the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
For more information on OSIRIS-Rex, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
[ANS thanks NASA 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, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org