ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

8 Mar 2020


      AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-068
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:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* Welcome Back XW-2D
* PSAT3 Launch CANCELED
* AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
* The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe
* Replacing the International Space Station?
* FO-29 Operational Schedule
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-068.01
ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 068.01
...
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 Mar 08
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-068.01
Welcome Back XW-2D
XW-2D has come back from its apparent issues and is back in action. No
official report for the satellite owner, but reports from operators all
over the world have shown the satellite is back in operation:
Frequency:
UPLINK LSB 435.210 MHz to 435.230 MHZ
DOWNLINK USB 145.860 MHz to 145.880 MHZ
Make sure to post your reception reports for all satellites at
https://www.amsat.org/status/
[ANS thanks Hasan Schiers, N0AN, for the above information]
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PSAT3 Launch CANCELED
Four days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the launch has been
canceled.
The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE:
https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html
The challenge (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver
a rocket with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and
where they would launch from.  And then to do it again only 30 days
later. We were on the second launch.
But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch provider was scrubbed at
T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch window (and DARPA
challenge deadline) had passed.  Therefore the CHALLENGE is over, there
was no winner, and we lost the launch.
So, if anyone hears of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup
replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html
[ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above information]
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AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique
opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM,
linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit.
AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to
5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc-
ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio.
The $85 registration fee includes:
• Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced
  amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most
  accomplished AMSAT operators.
• Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi-
  tion ($15 value)
• One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value)
• Pizza Buffet Lunch
• Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub
  and Eatery in Fairborn.
Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds,
no cancellations.
Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at
https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for
the above information]
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The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 committee is al-
ready actively participating in the regulatory work taking place in
the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administra-
tions (CEPT) to consider coexistence between the secondary amateur and
amateur satellite services and the primary radio navigation satellite
service, in the 1.2 GHz band. The principal issue is Europe's Galileo
system of global navigation satellites.
The Galileo services are delivered in a number of bands and one occu-
pies the 1260-1300 MHz band. The Galileo team has witnessed interfer-
ence from amateur TV transmissions which resulted in station shut down
and has experienced interference from high power EME operations too.
Work is at an early stage and the IARU will continue to try tp mini-
mise the impact on amateur operations however it is likely that some
changes will be necessary to the way we use the band.
The topic is closely related to the agenda of the next World Radio-
communication Conference coming up in 2013 (WRC-23) at which represen-
tatives of the United Nations countries who are members of the Inter-
national Telecommunication Union will agree on coordinated radio regu-
lations.
For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/tcrdm4j
[ANS thanks Jacques Verleijen, ON4AVJ, and the IARU Region 1 Newsletter
for the above information]
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Replacing the International Space Station?
Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), humanity has managed to
maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low Earth orbit for just shy of
20 years. But as the saying goes, what goes up must eventually come
down. The ISS is at too low of an altitude to remain in orbit indef-
initely, and core modules of the structure are already operating years
beyond their original design lifetimes. As difficult a decision as it
might be for the countries involved, in the not too distant future the
$150 billion orbiting outpost will have to be abandoned.
Naturally there’s some debate as to how far off that day is. NASA of-
ficially plans to support the Station until at least 2024, and an ex-
tension to 2028 or 2030 is considered very likely. However, one commer-
cial partner is betting on a longer-term future. Axiom has been select-
ed by NASA to develop a new habitable module for the U.S. side of the
Station by 2024.
While the agreement technically only covers a single module, Axiom
hasn’t been shy about their plans going forward. Once that first module
is installed and operational, they plan on getting NASA approval to
launch several new modules branching off of it. Ultimately, they hope
that their “wing” of the ISS can be detached and become its own inde-
pendent commercial station by the end of the decade.
Read the full article at https://bit.ly/39tsc6V
[ANS thanks Hackaday 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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FO-29 Operational Schedule
The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the
transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and
time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time.
The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control)
operates.
[Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)]
March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40
March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25
March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15
March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00
March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05
March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50
March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40
Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the
transmitter may be turned on for a short time.
[ANS thanks JARL for the above information.]
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ARISS News
An International Space Station (ISS) school contact with an Australian
school on 13 March will be audible in USA! The ISS will be over North
America at the time, and the Australians will link to it by land line
"Telebridge" via a U.S. amateur radio station.
The contact will be with the Australian Air League - South Australia
Wing, Parafield, South Australia, but via Telebridge Station K6DUE in
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to
be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA.
The contact is scheduled at 08:56 UTC with downlink signals from ISS
heard above Maryland and nearby areas on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM.
[ANS thanks Rudy Parisio, IW2BSF, and Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the
ARISS Operation Team, 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 Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15
AMSAT will be supporting the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club
during the ScienceCity science fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and
Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the University of Arizona campus in
Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is supported by several
organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction with the
Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend. More
information about ScienceCity is available at:
http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/
Information about the K7UAZ radio club is available at:
http://k7uaz.com/
The K7UAZ radio club will have a booth in the "Science of Everyday
Life" area at ScienceCity. This booth will showcase different facets
of amateur radio, including amateur satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly
other call signs, should be heard during demonstrations of satellite
operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you hear us, please call
and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of Arizona campus
is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be determined
by the call sign used for QSOs. WD9EWK will upload to Logbook of the
World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please e-mail
Patrick the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get a card).
K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted on
QRZ.com.
During the weekend, the @WD9EWK Twitter account will be used to post
updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can view these
updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account at:
http://twitter.com/WD9EWK
[ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, AMSAT Board Member, for the
 above information]
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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club
meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
Current schedule:
March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
     (see above)
March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN
March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ
March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ
March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA
May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services 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
- Shorts
Mar 14-15  DN26/36  KC7JPC  Linears (and possibly FM)
- K7U ROVE March 7-8, 2020
Casey KI7UNJ and Kel KI7UXT will be operating as K7U from CN93,
CN94, DN03, DN04 a CN92. Details are posted on QRZ
https://www.qrz.com/db/k7u  Updates from the road on their individual
Twitter feeds:  https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and
 https://twitter.com/KI7UXT
- Big Bend National Park (DL88)  March 16-17, 2020
Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend
National Park to put grid DL88 on the air.  Details will be added
here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep
an eye on their individual Twitter feeds:  https://twitter.com/ad0dx,
 https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5
- #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020
David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically
activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21.  This is actually down a
ide road from "The Loneliest Road in America."  Hardly any hams even
live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it.  On the
way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all
of:  DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18.  Going home Sunday,
March 22, he will try to visit them again.  This will be on FM
satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there
but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above information.]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has completed frequency
  coordination HSU-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat to be released from the ISS
  sometime in the coming year. The satellite will include capability of
  a camera image dowlinked by Slow Scan Television (SSTV). The camera
  will take a photograph of the Earth at image pixel size 320x240. The
  photograph taken will then be converted into analog SSTV signal, and
  sent by FM-SSTV downlink on 437.280 MHz. This be part of the
  satellite's main mission, test of a three-axis attitude control
  system. More info at shorturl.at/dizP0 and shorturl.at/puNW7
  (ANS thanks IARU and AMSAT-UK for the above information)
+ The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) reports that a number of ama-
  teur radio events planned for March have been cancelled as a result
  of coronavirus warnings. JARL, in line with government policy, has
  requested that all events scheduled for the next two weeks be can-
  celed or postponed for the time being. Also, Dayton Hamvention offi-
  cials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) sit-
  uation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 – 17 event
  nears, but they’re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue.
  (ANS thanks Southgate ARC and ARRL for the above information)
+ SpaceX-20, a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International
  Space Station launched at 0449 GMT Saturday from Cape Canaveral’s
  Complex 40 launch pad. The mission carrying, as a primary payload,
  the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS is the foundational
  element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. If all
  goes according to plan, the Dragon cargo capsule will dock with the
  space station on Monday, 9 March.
  (ANS thanks SpaceflightNow 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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ
ki7unj at amsat dot org

KI7UNJ Tucker

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