AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-053

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:

* Satellite News From AMSAT-India * AMSAT Awards * KiwiSAT News from New Zealand * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status Report for the Week of February 16, 2009

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-053.01 Satellite News From AMSAT-India

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 053.01

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

February 22, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-053.01

AMSAT-India Project Manager for the U/V HAMSAT-II Linear Transponder project, Prathap Kumar, VU2POP provided technical details of this new Amateur Radio transponder in the February, 2009 issue of the AMSAT- India Newsletter:

Type: Linear (Mode B) Transponder Uplink: 434-438 MHz PLL controlled 50 KHz steps. Downlink: 144-146 MHz PLL controlled 25 KHz steps. IF: 21.4 MHz RF Power: 1-3 Watts PEP. Bandwidth: 50 KHz Communication: CW/SSB/FM Dimensions: 165mm x 115mm x 30mm Power supply: 12V @400mA, 20V@50mA for PA

Photos and other news in the AMSAT-India Newsletter can be found on-line at: http://www.amsatindia.org/Newsletter

In other amateur satellite news from India word has been received that Anna University in Chennai, India is working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop a micro-satellite named ANUSAT.

This satellite will be a cube 600mm on each side. The Amateur Radio payload is planned to include a digital store and forward mode with a VHF uplink and UHF down link operating in the amateur frequency bands. Telemetry downlink from the primary scientific payloads is planned to be transmitted around 137 MHz using PCM/FSK/AM at 256 bits/sec. Additional information can be found on-line at: http://beswaminathan.googlepages.com/anusat - and - http://beswaminathan.googlepages.com/Anusat.pdf

Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL along with Ralph Wallio, W0RPK provided information of the next ISRO launch which will carry Amateur Radio satellites:

Launch : 25Apr2009 (Maybe postponed) Vehicle: PSLV C12 Site : ISRO Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota India Main Payload: Oceansat-2

Satellite Country Downlink Mode ----------- ----------- -------- ------------------ BeeSat Germany 436.000 GMSK 9600/4800bps UWE-2 Germany 437.385 CW, AFSK ITU-pSat Turkey 437.325 CW, High speed TLM SwissCube-1 Switzerland 437.505 CW, AFSK 1200bps

Additional information can be found at: http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/CubeSat.htm http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/finished.asp?order=sat

[ANS thanks AMSAT-India, Mineo JE9PEL, and Ralph W0RPK for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-053.02 AMSAT Awards

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 053.02

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

February 22, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-053.02

AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce KK5DO reported the past few weeks have been real busy for AMSAT Awards.

We have a lot of new satellite operators to welcome to the hobby. These have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club: + John Hengel, W0JPH + Andrew Schmidt, N2FTR + Tom Deeble, KA6SIP + Robert Warshel, KG6MGE + Harry Strahlendorf, KC2OJN + Bruce Pendleton, KD8DQ + Rodney Waln, KC0ZHF

The following have earned the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award: + Peter Nintzel, KB9ZLK #480 + Douglas Anoman, KC9MLN #481 + Gary Lockhart, AB3ID #482

The following have earned the AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award: + Douglas Anoman, KC9MLN #US130

The following have upgraded their AMSAT W4AMI Satellitie Communication Achievement Award: + Wilse Morgan, WX7P from 1,000 to 2,000 + Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK from 3,000 to 4,000

Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK earned the AMSAT W4AMI 5,000 Satellite Communication Achievement Award #21.

To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-053.03 KiwiSAT News from New Zealand

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 053.03

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

February 22, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-053.03

The KiwiSAT linear flight transponder is now "on air" in New Zealand from the Whangaparaoa area with beam antennas pointing South. It features:

Transponder: Inverting type (Orbital Doppler shift compensation) Transmit Power: 2 Watts PEP. Beacon frequency: 145.885 MHz Uplink: 435.265 to 435.235 MHZ LSB Down link: 145.850 to 145.880 MHz USB

The team says they are currently looking to ISC Kosmatras for a DNEPR launch in mid to late 2009. Full details can found on-line at: http://www.kiwisat.org.nz/index.html

[ANS thanks the KiwiSAT team for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-053.04 Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 053.04

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

February 22, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-053.04

+ From Japan Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reports that PRISM satellite team at Tokyo University have seen first light with the Wide Angle Camera. Data from this first test will be used to calibrate the camera and future photos are expected to be less overexposed. This picture was taken when the PRISM satellite was over Hokkaido, Japan. The first photograph can be at: http://tinyurl.com/ag7way

+ A video re-creation of the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 Collision can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/ap3ydx (UniverseToday.com)

+ Winter is turning to spring in Mars' southern hemisphere. Photos taken by the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/bwu4wv. An entertaining video named "Springtime on Mars 2020" is on-line at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiGH9QNiU0 (via UniverseToday.com)

+ The second repeater aboard AO-51 (Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM /Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM) remains ready for use by the K5D Desecheo Island 2009 DXpedition when the satellite is within range of the island (near Puerto Rico). When AO-51 is not within range of Desecheo Island this repeater is open for general use following the QRP guidelines. The transmitter power on both repeaters is ~800 mW. If you use circular polarization on the UHF downlink 435.150 is LHCP, and 435.300 is RHCP. Watch the blog at http://www.kp5.us/ for hints at satellite operation and other operating plans.

+ Registration is now open for the 35th Eastern VHF/UHF Conference on on April 17-19, 2009 in Enfield, Ct. Papers for the Proceedings are due March 10, 2009. More info at: http://www.newsvhf.com/vhfconf.html

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-053.05 ARISS Status Report for the Week of February 16, 2009

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 053.05

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

February 22, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-053.05

1. School Contacts

An ARISS contact was completed with South Park Elementary Center in South Park, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, February 17 via telebridge station K6DUE in Maryland. Students participated in a contest to determine which questions will be asked of astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. They learned about astronauts, shuttles and NASA and created posters or wrote essays (depending on grade level) about space related topics.

Salluit Schools in Salluit, Quebec, Canada completed an ARISS contact on Thursday, February 19 via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Approximately 400 students from Kindergarten through Secondary are enrolled in the schools located in a remote North-West Quebec Inuit community. Teachers have included space related topics in their curri- culum. All students have created artwork for the event and have sub- mitted questions to ask the astronaut. During morning announcements, a "cool space fact of the day" has been announced daily.

An ARISS contact with Erie Planetarium in Erie, Pennsylvania took place on Saturday, February 21 via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The Planetarium offers astronomy programs, interactive stations and science experiments throughout the year.

2. Italian Students Contact ISS

On Tuesday, February 10, students from Istituto Comprensivo Pietra- santa1-Scuola Secondaria 1° Grado "Padre Eugenio Barsanti" partici- pated in a successful ARISS contact. Students posed 12 questions to Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, in front of an audience of 350. Contact video was streamed live on the Web and was seen in 14 countries and in more than 36 different towns around the world. Local television stations and newspapers covered the event. Video of the contact has been posted to the OndaForte TV Web site. See: http://www.ondaforte.tv/eventi/ariss_school_contact/index.php

3. Greek Contact Successful

On Wednesday, February 11, an ARISS contact took place with students from Alexandroupolis School of Special Education and 11th Alexandrou- polis Primary School in Greece. Students asked 20 questions of Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE, in front of an audience of approximately 200. Another 700 students from four schools listened to the contact in the garden. A representative of the Greek Minister of Telecommunications and the Director of Education of Evros also attended. Three television stations, two radio stations and newspapers covered the event.

4. ARISS Presentation at MACUL Conference

The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) will host its 33rd annual conference in Detroit, Michigan on March 18-20. MACUL aims to bring educators together to share knowledge about edu- cational uses of computers and technology. ARISS member Steve Michalski, KB9UPS, will participate in the conference and give a talk on the ARISS program, showing clips of the Martin Luther King Academy (Mount Clemens, Michigan) ARISS contact which took place in September 2007. The MACUL conference draws 3,000 educators annually.

5. Photos of German Contact Posted

Städtisches Gymnasium Herzogenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany participated in an ARISS contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, on Saturday, February 7. Photos of the contact have been posted on the Web. See: http://picasaweb.google.de/Rueliman/ARISSContact?feat=directlink#

6. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published two ARISS news items in its March 2009 issue of QST.

Under "Media Hits" (page 12) is an item on the Ohio Department of Edu- cation Web story about the September 2008 ARISS contact with students at the Challenger Learning Center of Lucas County in Toledo. Also listed is the Ann Arbor Chronicle article about the Ann Arbor, Michigan Hands On Museum contact.

The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000.

7. ARISS Member Dieter Schliemann Dies

ARISS team member Dieter Schliemann, KX4Y, passed away on Monday, February 9. Dieter had been responsible for coordinating and expanding the educational outreach of ARISS through the use of Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) with Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) and EchoLink. As his health deteriorated, Dieter continued his support, making sure that others would carry on in his absence. He will be sorely missed. Dieter was a member of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). ARRL posted an article on his contributions: https://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/02/12/10647/?nc=1

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information]

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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. And, with that keep in mind that you know you are getting older if you and your teeth don't sleep together.

73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org