ANS-335 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

30 Nov 2019


      AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-335
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation 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 commun-
icating 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.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
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In this edition:
* AMSAT Fox Leaderboard Will Show Monthly Leaders
* AMSAT Will Be at Superstition Superfest Hamfest
* Electron Booster on the Pad for Rocket Lab’s 10th Mission
* FCC Seeks to Clear Radio Amateurs Out of 3.4 GHz
* WRC-19 Final Report: Small Satellites and the 1240-1300 MHz Band
* AMSAT Auction Celebrating 45th Birthday of AO-7 Raises $480
* Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-335.01
ANS-335 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 335.01
...
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2019 Dec 01
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-335.01
AMSAT Fox Leaderboard Will Show Monthly Leaders
Starting from Nov. 26, the AMSAT Fox Telemetry leaderboard will now
show MONTHLY totals. The top stations will be those that have submit-
ted the most telemetry in the last 30 days. The old style leaderboard
can be accessed by clicking "All-time Leaderboard" to see totals since
the launch of Fox-1A. To see more than the top 10 stations, click on
"Show all ground stations" to see everyone.
The leaderboard has also been updated to show PSK frames decoded along-
side FSK frames. DUV and Highspeed are both counted but are not shown
separately on the totals page.
HuskySat-1 is now at the ISS on the Cygnus. We expect it to be boosted
to its target orbit in the new year. It will transmit BPSK telemetry
continuously on 70cm, so dig out that 435Mhz antenna and make sure it
works! Fox-1E will follow in the (hopefully near) future and will also
transmit PSK on 70cm.
As with previous spacecraft, the telemetry collected is sent to our
University Partners who fly experiments and help make these missions
possible. Please collect and forward telemetry if you can.
The link to the leaderboard is: https://www.amsat.org/tlm/
If there are questions, contact Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ via email:
g0kla <at> arrl.net
(ANS thanks Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ for the above information)
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The digital download version of the 2019 edition of
     Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a
        DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store.  Get yours today!
           https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started
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AMSAT Will Be at Superstition Superfest Hamfest
AMSAT will be at the Superstition Amateur Radio Club's "Superstition
Superfest" hamfest on the morning of Saturday, December 7, 2019. The
hamfest will be in the southwest parking lot of Mesa Community College,
located on the east side of Dobson Road between Southern Avenue and
US-60 exit 177 in Mesa, Arizona. More information about the hamfest is
available at: http://superstitionsuperfest.org/
WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating
satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on a pass that morning, please
call and be a part of a demonstration. The hamfest site is in grid
DM43, in Arizona's Maricopa County. QSOs made during the hamfest will
be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on
request (please e-mail WD9EWK directly at patrick <at> wd9ewk.net with
the QSO details).
[ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, for the above information]
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Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA
Are you over 70-1/2 years of age and need to meet your IRA's Required
Minimum Distribution for 2019? Consider making a donation to AMSAT!
Under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, individuals
over 70-1/2 years of age may make direct transfers of up to $100,000
per year from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity without
increasing their taxable income. Consult your tax advisor or
accountant to make certain you are eligible.
AMSAT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific
organization whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and
operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to
encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. AMSAT's federal tax ID
is 52-0888529.
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Electron Booster on the Pad for Rocket Lab’s 10th Mission
Rocket Lab has announced that its next mission will launch multiple
microsatellites in a rideshare mission representing five different
countries. The launch window for Rocket Lab’s tenth flight, will open
November 25, New Zealand time, and take place from Rocket Lab Launch
Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.
Onboard this rideshare mission are six spacecraft comprised of 5cm
PocketQube microsatellites from satellite manufacturer and mission
management provider Alba Orbital. Two of these satellites include
downlinks in the UHF amateur radio band.
TRSI is a PocketQube for technology demostration. Its main objective
is to show which functionality can be achieved with dimensions of
5cm x 5cm x 5cm. It carries two experiments that are connected to
the amateur-satellite service.
+ First is a waterfall experiment which will show an image in the
  waterfall diagram by hopping the frequency within its transmission
  band (image-type beacon).
+ The second experiment is to analyze RF reception capabilities from
  LEO with a novel detector receiver and a small patch antenna. It
  was designed to test if small satellite receivers which don´t need
  deployable antennas are feasible. The received signal´s envelope
  will be sampled and forwarded using UHF in MFSK for signal ana-
  lysis. During the experiment phase the satellite will also perform
  as an amateur CW repeater, providing additional RX strength indi-
  cation; eg. CW morse signals will be re-sent in MFSK, showing the
  RX amplitude in dBm. A downlink on 437.075 MHz has been coordinated.
IARU Frequency Coordination information has been posted at:
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=649
FossaSat-1 PocketQube by AMSAT-EA which has a 5x5x5cm structure and
a total mass of 250 grams. Radio link testing features a new experi-
mental RF chirp modulation called LoRa which greatly improves the link
budget reducing the power consumed and reduces the cost of receivers.
The output power from the transmitter required for the correct recep-
tion during a pass is also very low at well under 100mW, being spread
spectrum at such low power it poses no interference risk. It operates
at a considerable level below the noise level of other systems and
would cause no interference to weak narrowband signals.
Students & amateurs will be able to receive telemetry from the satel-
lite with inexpensive hardware, expanding & promoting the amateur sat-
ellite community with youth. Uplink challenges will also be carried
out with rewards for amateurs.
The mission is completely open source with all information regarding
the design of the satellite & how to decode its information clearly
laid out & hosted by AMSAT-EA. The site will provide decoding soft-
ware for SDR use in order to allow anyone to decode LoRa using common
existing hardware & host software for users to submit telemetry data,
making all data public and rewarding users with certificates & awards.
The UHF downlink plans on using FSK RTTY 45 BAUD ITA2, 100mW 183hz
Shift and LoRa 125kHz, Chirp Spread Spectrum Modulation, 180 bps,
100mW. A downlink on 436.700 MHz has been coordinated.
IARU Frequency Coordination information has been posted at:
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=652
A commercial payload on board is ALE-2 from a Tokyo-based company
creating microsatellites that simulate meteor particles. See
http://star-ale.com/en/news/317/2019/01/04/ for more information.
Rocket Labs mission web page can be found at:
https://tinyurl.com/y672rjj5
[ANS thanks Rocket Labs, IARU, AMSAT-EA, TRSI, and Alba Orbital
for the above information]
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Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
         25% of the purchase price of each product goes
           towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
             https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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FCC Seeks to Clear Radio Amateurs Out of 3.4 GHz
At its December 12 open meeting, the FCC will consider adopting a No-
tice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to remove the amateur
radio 9-centimeter allocation at 3.3 – 3.5 GHz. ARRL plans to comment
in opposition to the proposed action. According to an FCC “Fact Sheet,”
the proceeding WT Docket 19-348, “Facilitating Shared Use in the 3.1 –
3.55 GHz Band,” is a follow-on from the MOBILE NOW Act, approved by the
115th Congress, which requires the FCC and the US Department of Comm-
erce to make available new spectrum for mobile and fixed wireless broad-
band use. It also requires the FCC to work with the National Telecom-
munications and Information Administration (NTIA) to evaluate whether
commercial wireless services and federal incumbents could share spec-
trum between 3.1 and 3.55 GHz. NTIA manages spectrum allocated to fed-
eral government users.
“This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would propose to remove the exist-
ing non-federal allocations in the 3.3 – 3.55 GHz band as a step to-
wards potential future shared use between federal incumbents and com-
mercial users,” the FCC Fact Sheet explains. “By taking the initial
step needed to clear the band of allocations for non-federal incum-
bents, the Commission furthers its continued efforts to make more mid-
band spectrum potentially available to support next generation wireless
networks — consistent with the mandate of the MOBILE NOW [Making Oppor-
tunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless
Obstacles to Wireless] Act.”
The NPRM proposes to clear the 3.3 – 3.55 GHz band of existing non-fed-
eral users by removing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur
allocations [emphasis added] in the 3.3 – 3.55 GHz band and to relocate
incumbent non-federal users out of the band. The FCC would seek comment
on relocation options and “transition mechanisms” for incumbent non-
federal users, either to the 3.1 – 3.3 GHz band or to other frequencies,
and on how to ensure that non-federal secondary operations in the 3.1–
3.3 GHz band will continue to protect federal radar systems.
Regarding the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Service allocations, the
FCC NPRM asks whether existing amateur spectrum in other bands might
support operations currently conducted in the 3.3 – 3.5 GHz band. The
3.40 – 3.41 GHz segment is designated for amateur satellite communica-
tion. “We seek comment on the extent to which the band is used for
this purpose, whether existing satellites can operate on other amateur
satellite bands, and on an appropriate timeframe for terminating these
operations in this band,” the FCC NPRM says.
Also at its December 12 meeting, the FCC will consider another NPRM in
WT Docket 19-138 that would “take a fresh and comprehensive look” at
the rules for the 5.9 GHz band and propose, among other things, to make
the lower 45 MHz of the band available for unlicensed operations and
to permit “Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything” (C-V2X) operations in the
upper 20 MHz of the band. The FCC is not proposing to delete or other-
wise amend the amateur allocation, and it would continue as a secon-
dary allocation, but the primary allocation for 5.850 – 5.925 GHz
would change.
The amateur radio 5-centimeter allocation is 5650.0 – 5925.0 MHz, and
the NPRM, if approved, would address the top 75 MHz of that amateur
secondary band. While no changes are proposed to the amateur alloca-
tion, anticipated more intensive use by primary users could restrict
secondary amateur use.
The band 5.850–5.925 GHz has been reserved for use by dedicated short-
range communications (DSRC), a service in the intelligent transporta-
tion system (ITS) designed to enable vehicle-related communications,
the FCC said in a Fact Sheet in WT Docket 19-138. “The Commission ini-
tiates this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to take a fresh and compre-
hensive look at the 5.9 GHz band rules and propose appropriate changes
to ensure the spectrum supports its highest and best use.” ARRL also
will file comments opposing any changes affecting the 5-centimeter
amateur allocation.
Both draft FCC proposals are subject to change prior to a vote at the
December 12 FCC meeting, and there will be opportunity to file com-
ments and reply comments on the final proposals after they are re-
leased.
[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information]
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WRC-19 Final Report: Small Satellites and the 1240-1300 MHz Band
In the final week, the meetings at WRC-19 have been running until 3 in
the morning in an attempt to get the work completed.
The RSGB have released their WRC-19 report covering small satellites
and also the Amateur 1240-1300 MHz band.
The report notes “A lesson from the process indicates how difficult it
may be in future to achieve any upgrade to other amateur allocations.”
Read the RSGB Small Satellites and 23cm report at
https://tinyurl.com/vjfho66
Friday, November 22 saw WRC-19 conclude its month long biggest ever
conference. Many of the 3,300 delegates had started to travel home
even before the release of the ‘Provisional Final Acts’ and closing
ceremony.
The ITU website has released the provisional acts as a huge 567-page
PDF document—a tribute to the the hardworking editorial and transla-
tion teams at the conference. These provisional acts are due to come
into force on January 1, 2021, so no early changes are currently ex-
pected in practice.
Read the RSGB WRC-19 Final report at https://tinyurl.com/qjw9kvd
WRC-19 Provisional Final Acts – a 567 page document - is available at
https://tinyurl.com/tyzfvl3
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
   and 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/
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AMSAT Auction Celebrating 45th Birthday of AO-7 Raises $480
The auctions for a set of gold-plated AO-7 cufflinks and a 50th
Anniversary AMSAT lab coat recently concluded and raised $480 to help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space. Thank you to all of the bidders for
participating in the auctions!
If you missed out on the auctions, but still want to help out, please
consider donating or purchasing items from the AMSAT store at
www.amsat.org today!
[ANS thanks Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above
information]
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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
MAOU Lyceum No. 39, Nizhny Tagil, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Skvortsov
Contact is go for: 2011-11-30 14:15 UTC
Council Rock High School South, Holland, Pa., direct via KC3NGG
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA
Contact is go for: Thu 2019-12-05 17:56:31 UTC 71 deg
B. Pascal Institute - Public School, Rome, Italy, direct via IKØMGA
and Istituto Comprensivo Lipari “S. Lucia”, Lipari, Italy, direct via
ID9GKS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP
Contact is go for: Sat 2019-12-07 11:44:00 UTC 45 deg
For more information, the ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS operation team, for the above
information]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
   radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
         be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
  Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
Nunavut, Canada (ER60) November 11 - December 6, 2019
The Eureka Amateur Radio Club, VY0ERC, will be on station, the Polar
Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, November 6th through Dec-
ember 11th.  They have some house keeping duties to perform on arrival
and just before they leave, not to mention that it's wicked cold up
there (-25 to -35C not counting windchill), so keep an eye on the
VY0ERC twitter feed for announcements on when they plan to step out-
side: https://twitter.com/vy0erc
Key West (EL94) December 3-6, 2019
Tanner, W9TWJ, will be vacationing in Key West December 3rd - 6th. Key
word is vacation, but he will jump on some FM satellite passes to act-
ivate EL94 for those that need it or just want to chat. Watch Tanner's
Twitter feed for further announcements: https://twitter.com/twjones85
Key West (EL94) December 3-6, 2019
Tanner, W9TWJ, will be vacationing in Key West December 3rd – 6th. Key
word is vacation, but he will jump on some FM satellite passes to ac-
tivate EL94 for those that need it or just want to chat. Watch Tanner’s
Twitter feed for further announcements: https://twitter.com/twjones85
Hawaii (BK19, BK28, BK29, BL20) December 21-28, 2019
Alex, N7AGF, is heading back to Hawaii over Christmas. This will be a
holiday-style activation, with special empahasis on the grid that got
away - BK28. Keep an eye on Alex's Twitter feed for further announce-
ments: https://twitter.com/N7AGF
Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP - User Services, for the
above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ NASA's "Ride to Station" App and Educator Guide equips educators with
  simple tools and knowledge to take a fun, interactive app and turn it
  into a powerful, educational tool for students of all ages! The in-
  teractive app gives an overview of the complexities involved in get-
  ting to and conducting research aboard the International Space Sta-
  tion. The app is also challenging and fun! The Commercial Crew Pro-
  gram focuses on working with NASA’s two partners Boeing and SpaceX
  to create American commercial capabilities to safely send humans to
  and from the International Space Station. For more information see:
  https://tinyurl.com/vj9gyfr
  (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)
+ Rovers and some multiop VHF/UHF contest stations will be interested
  in the future Down East Microwave DEM V/U Xverter. This device covers
  ALL 5 OF THE AMATEUR BANDS between 144 MHz and 1.2 GHz. According to
  the preliminary information from the manufacturer: "All frequencies
  convert to/from 28 MHz. The transmit output level is approximately 1
  watt and will exhibit a 2 dB noise figure with greater than 15 dB
  gain on all bands. The Transverter will also contain an AUX RF port
  that will be configured as an additional 2M port for connection to a
  higher frequency transverter such as our future DEM MICRO-VERTER con-
  taining 4 additional higher bands of operation."
  (ANS thanks Pete Heins, N6ZE, the Pacific NorthWest VHF Society, and
  www.downeastmicrowave.com for the above information)
+ Rocket Lab has partnered with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) to
  be the sole provider of ground station services for the Electron
  launch vehicle and Photon satellite bus customers. KSAT’s KSATlite
  ground network is designed and optimized for small satellite systems,
  providing  Photon customers with downlink and uplink capabilities in
  UHF, S-band, X-band, and Ka-band across a global ground station net-
  work of over 200 antennas that supports 50,000 contacts per month.
  (ANS thanks SatMagazine.com for the above information)
+ NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) will be testing an improved waveform
  on the 48-MHz Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (TDRWP) from
  Monday, November 25 through Sunday, December 2. The purpose of the
  test is to improve the instrument’s resolution and still operate with-
  in the assigned bandwidth. NASA is requesting the amateur radio com-
  munity to report via email to ksc-tdrwptest@mail.nasa.gov any detect-
  ed emissions in the 50 – 54 MHz band dur  ing that period. Include
  the date, time, location, frequency, and any other pertinent informa-
  tion (such as IQ files of the signal for evaluation) that might as-
  sist NASA in assessing potential impacts to the amateur radio comm-
  unity.
  (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information)
+ NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 12:51 p.m. EST
  Wednesday, Dec. 4, for the launch of its 19th resupply mission to
  the International Space Station under contract with the agency. Live
  coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website Tues-
  day, Dec. 3, with prelaunch events. The Dragon spacecraft, which will
  launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Sta-
  tion in Florida, will be filled with supplies and payloads, includ-
  ing critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than
  250 science investigations and technology demonstrations that will
  occur during Expeditions 61 and 62.
  (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)
+ Jerri Ellsworth, AI6TK, who was the AMSAT/TAPR guest speaker at Day-
  ton in 2018, was featured as a "technology visionary" by the New York
  Times in an article first published in October, but highlighted once
  again in a series wrap-up on Nov. 26. Those who have a N.Y. Times
  online account can access the story at https://tinyurl.com/tmkhqaq
+ ANS wishes a happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend (or what remains of
  it) to all U.S. satellite operators!
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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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor,
K0JM at amsat dot org

Mark D. Johns

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