AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-270
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(a)amsat.org
**********************************************************************
* 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
* Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport *
* Details - http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php *
**********************************************************************
In this edition:
* Two Weeks and Counting to 2009 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium
* ARISSat-1 Structure Drawings Available on AMSAT Web
* SumbandilaSat Reaches Orbit - Awaiting Commissioning
* Four New University Cubesats in Orbit and Heard on 70cm
* College Night on Satellites Coming October 1-2
* Satellite Operators Sought for Shortwave Broadcast Interview
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.01
Two Weeks and Counting to 2009 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.01
Co-Chairs, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer remind you that
the 2009 AMSAT Symposium is rapidly approaching! And we hope
you can join us, especially given that there are some low-cost
airfares out there for those of us in the US.
We have an outstanding venue this year at the Four Points Sheraton
at the BWI Airport. Your symposium committee recently did a walk
through of this facility. The accommodations and meeting rooms are
superb. Frank said, "I do a lot of traveling and I must say that
the rooms are absolutely beautiful. You will definitely get a
substantial bang for your buck (or Euro, etc.) at this symposium.
And planned 40th Anniversary celebratory events will be truly
memorable".
+ Free internet in the rooms and in the conference facility
+ Free parking
+ All AMSAT member get free admittance to the 40th Anniversary Party
Friday Evening---food, cake, meet 'n greet, eyeball QSOs.
+ Beautiful flat screen televisions in each room
+ Great Banquet Speaker--- Martin Collins, Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum Curator, Space History Museum, "Making
the Space Age, the First 50 years"
+ High-Caliber paper presentations on recent Satellite Developments
and satellite operations
+ Poster Session with Satellite, University, and ARISS activities.
+ An AMSAT 40th anniversary retrospective is included
+ IARU Satellite Forum
+ ARISS Operations Team Meeting---ARISS team members and new volunteers
are welcome to attend
+ Great prizes from major ham radio manufacturers
Full details are available on-line:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php
The Symposium Schedule and list of presentations has been posted.
You can now register online for the 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting: http://www.amsat-na.com/store2/SymposiumReg2009.php
Online registration will disappear on October 5th so do not wait
too long!
Our guest speaker is Dr. Martin Collins from the the Smithsonian
Air and Space Museum. He will talk on "Making the Space Age: The
First Fifty Years".
Follow the links from the Symposium page to book your room at the
hotel. An 800 number is also available. When booking your room let
the operator know that you are with the Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation for the special rates. (They don't seem to know about
AMSAT.) Please be advised that the cut-off date for the AMSAT block
at the Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport is September 28th. Getting
our meeting rooms for free is dependant on the number of room nights
we secure. So, PLEASE make your room reservations as soon as possible.
Contact Mark Steiner, K3MS (k3ms(a)amsat.org) if you are interested in
preparing a poster display. Mark needs the following information by
Tuesday, Oct. 6 regarding what you will need for your display:
+ Square footage of floor space
+ Number of tables (to be provided by hotel)
+ If a power drop is needed
+ Any other special needs
[ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.02
ARISSat-1 Structure Drawings Available on AMSAT Web
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.02
Drawings of the ARISSat-1 structure are available on the AMSAT
web site. Bob Davis, KF4KSS and team have done an outstanding
job designing this structure around the existing modules for
SuitSat-2.
There will be a full scale model of ARISSat-1 at the Symposium
as well as working hardware. Bob expects to start cutting metal
for the structure next week.
[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.03
SumbandilaSat Reaches Orbit - Awaiting Commissioning
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.03
South Africa's SumbandilaSat satellite is now in orbit after a
successful liftoff aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan on September 16. The main payload is a multi-spectral
imager, but the satellite also carries an Amateur Radio component
consisting of a 2 meter/70 cm FM repeater.
After SumbandilaSat is fully commissioned, the repeater will be
activated with an uplink at 145.880 MHz and a downlink at 435.350
MHz; there will also be a voice beacon at 435.300 MHz. The
transponder mode will be controlled by a CTCSS tone on the uplink
frequency. The CTCSS tone frequencies have yet to be announced.
SumbandilaSat was sponsored by the Department of Science and
Technology and was built at SunSpace in cooperation with the
Stellenbosch University.
SumbandilaSat has responded by returning its first telemetry.
Testing now involves a period of payload qualification to verify
operation of each subsystem. This may require 3 months before the
satellite continues with the remainder of its mission and opens
for general use.
Pieter, ZS1PK/M0PAK provided additional feedback, "Please note that
the Amateur payload will probably not be switched on straight after
launch. Commissioning is most likely to be performed from Stellenbosch
South Africa only. Telemetry will only be heard while in contact with
the groundstation and NOT on the amateur frequencies. There are a
number of hams involved in the project so rest assured the amateur
payload will be supported as soon as practical and safe."
[ANS thanks SA-AMSAT, ARRL, and Pieter ZS1PK/M0PAK for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.04
Four New University Cubesats in Orbit and Heard on 70cm
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.04
This week India successfully launched seven satellites on its PSLV-C14
misson. The primary payload was OceanSat-2 but also included six other
satellites. Four of the satellites are CubeSats in the ISILaunch01, a
cluster launch of the following with downlinks in the 70cm amateur radio
band: BEESAT, ITUpSAT1, SwissCube, and UWE-2
NAME CALL BEACON DOWNLINK
--------- ------- ------------------- -------------------------------
BEESAT DP0BEE 436.000 MHz 0.1W CW 436.000 MHz 0.5W 4800/9600 GMSK
UWE-2 437.385 MHz 0.5W 1200 AFSK
9600 FSK
ITUpSAT1 437.325 MHz 0.1W CW 437.325 MHz 1.0W 19200 GFSK
SwissCube HB9EG 437.505 MHz 0.1W CW 437.505 MHz 1.0W 1200 FSK
BeeSat is a pico satellite project of the Technical University of
Berlin. The main objective of BeeSat is the on orbit verification
of newly developed micro reaction wheels for pico satellite appli-
cations. Their web page is at:
http://www.raumfahrttechnik.tu-berlin.de/menue/forschung/projekte/beesat/v-m
enue2/news/
The UWE-2 team encourages all radio amateurs to send us the received
signals to uwe-2(a)informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. Their web page is at:
http://www7.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/research/space_exploration/projek
te/cubesat/uwe-2/
ITUpSAT1 is the first student-made satellite of Turkey. Their web
page is at: http://usl.itu.edu.tr/
SwissCube is the first satellite entirely built in Switzerland by
students from different universities under the supervision of the
Space Center EPFL. More than 180 students participated in the ad-
venture from EPFL, from the university of Neuchatel, from the HES-SO
(Sion, Yverdon, Fribourg, St-Immer, Le Locle), and from the FHNW
(Brugg-Windisch). The main objective is educational and also includes
a small telescope which will allow to obtain images of the nightglow,
a luminescence phenomena occurring at 100 km of height above the
Earth surface. Their web page is at: http://swisscube.epfl.ch/
A replay of the PSLV-C14 launch video can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h69XGgHXMS0&feature=player_embedded#t=16http://archangelo.net/misc/sat/new/sep09/pslvc14/view.htm
Signal reports have been received from amateur radio operators around
the world. Recordings of the beacon signals can be heard at:
http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~bklofas/PSLV/
2-Line Keplerian elements user for the satellites can use the
following for a starting point:
ITUPSAT1
1 35934U 09051D 09266.99498802 .00000364 00000-0 10000-3 0 34
2 35934 098.3432 001.6766 0010433 256.9573 103.1084 14.52588677 111
SWISSCUBE
1 35932U 09051B 09266.92637809 .00000360 00000-0 10000-3 0 33
2 35932 098.3362 001.6263 0006692 285.2589 074.8063 14.52095115 95
BEESAT
1 35933U 09051C 09267.20165191 .00000365 00000-0 10000-3 0 42
2 35933 098.3316 001.8957 0004681 307.1077 052.9887 14.52667744 138
UWE-2
1 35935U 09051E 09267.47761234 .00001929 00000-0 48744-3 0 46
2 35935 098.3417 002.1786 0006949 283.1563 076.8911 14.52112524 176
[ANS thanks the CubeSat teams for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.05
College Night on Satellites Coming October 1-2
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.05
It's time for another College Satellite night! Expect to hear
many Oscar capable NA college club stations on the air Thursday
evening Oct. 1st-2nd (NA local times) from 22:00 UTC to 0500 UTC
for this special event.
College clubs are getting priority on the QRP AO-51 repeater that
night (uplink: 145.880 MHz FM. downlink: 435.150 MHz FM). Please
work each college station but afford them the ability to take calls
and make as many QSOs as possible.
Club stations will also be on other birds so make as many contacts
if you can, on each bird. We have encouraged college stations to QSL
all the stations they work during the event as we (either through
AMSAT or a college group) are planning on creating an award for
working college club stations on satellite.
Make sure to e-mail or call as many hams that you know associated
with college ham radio clubs so that they will know about this special
event and get on the air - usage and NA-wide involvement is important.
While we are focusing on North American activity let me know of interest
and participation from other parts of the globe, e-mail Dr. Jay Garlitz,
AA4FL off-list at jgarlitz(a)ufl.edu.
[ANS thanks Gator ARC Faculty Advisor at UF, Dr. Jay Garlitz, AA4FL
for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.06
Satellite Operators Sought for Shortwave Broadcast Interview
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.06
Ted Randall, host of the shortwave broadcast QSO Radio Show, invites
satellite operators who are interested in coming on show and talking
about your personal experiences in satellite communication. Ted re-
quests, "I would like someone who can take an entry level approach
in that we have a lot of new and young hams listening. If you could
have someone join in me in an informal telephone interview please
contact me."
The QSO Radio Show is heard on WBCQ 7415 KHz Tuesdays 5-7 PM EDT or
2100-2300 UT; and on WRMI Radio Miami International 9955 KHz Sundays
from 1-3 AM EDT or 0500-0700 UTC.
Ted's web page is at: http://www.tedrandall.com and you can e-mail
Ted Randall at tedrandall(a)kaij.us
[ANS thanks Ted Randall for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 27, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270.07
+ Hams like science. Follow these links for fun and interesting
scientific articles and videos of space:
Images from the newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/multimedia/ero/index.html
A simulated flyover of Mars using images from the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter and Spirit Rover:
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/09/23/columbia-hills-flyover-2-0-awesome-m
eridiani-panoramas/
A video discussing a mission to the oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/09/nasa-worlds-space-powers-target
s-jupiters-europa-.html
Video of the Shuttle piggyback ride back to Florida:
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/09/21/spectacular-videos-of-shuttle-piggyb
ack-flight/
Video of NASA Wallops Island launch:
http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast/
Watch the ARES-1X rocket built in 6 minutes (time lapse)
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/09/23/build-the-ares-i-x-in-less-than-six-
minutes/
Cassini views of Saturn, its rings, and moons during equinox:
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/cassini_equinox/cassini_equinox_slideshow.
html
+ Congratulations to Omar, XE1AO, for achieving Satellite VUCC
#182 and to George, WA5KHB, for confirming 225 Grids for his
VUCC!
+ Henk, PA3GUO has created a video showing the ISS passing over the
Netherlands along with sounds and decoded signals of the digital
APRS signals at: http://www.vimeo.com/6657880
+ A helpful page for configuring your TM-D700 rig for operating with
with spacecraft can be found at: http://www.aj3u.com/tm-d700-tips/
+ Congratulations to Mark, N8MH on his successful AO-51 demonstration
via the QRP repeater to the JARS club. He worked WA4SCA, KB1RVT,
KB0RZD, N3TL, AA5UK, KB1PVH, and KD8CAO
+ Remember to tune in on Thursday evenings, October 1, 15, 29 at 8pm
eastern time will be the sessions of the Hudson Valley Satellite net.
You can check in via radio if you are in range of the Mt. Beacon ARC
repeater on 146.970 (PL 100.0) or via echolink on the N2EYH-L node.
+ Jan, PE0SAT has copied FO-29 over Europe. He has posted audio and
data at:
Here is a recording of the CW telemetry and the data below.
http://www.ham.vgnet.nl/downloads/FO-29-CW-19-09-2009_2344CEST.mp3http://www.ham.vgnet.nl/images/FO-29-CW-19-09-2009-2355CEST.jpg
+ Listen for Paul, 2E1EUB to be active on the satellites from Scotland
as 2M1EUB/P starting October 10 for approximately 14 days. Paul will
try for as many satellites as possible including AO-7.
+ Adrian, AA5UK, will be operating again from Ibiza, Spain (IOTA EU-004,
Balearic Islands) Grid: JM09tb as: EA6/AA5UK from Oct. 14 - 29th.
Satellite activity is planned for the FM and SSB satellites. Adrian
will be posting regular satellite schedules via the AMSAT BB. Sked
requests are welcome and encouraged; please email him via his email
address located at QRZ.com. QSL via home call: Direct, bureau, LOTW
or eQSL.
+ Andrew, VK4TEC operates a satellite status display showing latest
data received from ISS, PCSAT, AO-51, with manual entries of addi-
tional satellites. See: http://vk4tec.no-ip.org/sat_status/
+ Congratulations to Astronaut Tracy Caldwell for passing her amateur
radio license exam. She has been issued the callsign, KF5DBF. Caldwell
is scheduled to fly with Expedition 23 in April 2010.
[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. And with that
please be on the look out for plumbers who may have a multi-fauceted
personality.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-263
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(a)amsat.org
**********************************************************************
* 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
* Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport *
* Details - http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php *
**********************************************************************
In this edition:
* 2 birds from Baikonur
* AMSAT BOD Election Results
* D-Star frequencies in the Netherlands
* Satellite shorts from all over
* ARISS Status - 7 September 2009
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-263.01
2 Birds from Baikonur
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 263.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 20, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-263.01
This afternoon (9/17/09) 2 satellites were launched (7 Total)
>From Baikonur. Now 2 new satellites in LEO from the Russian spaceport
At Baikonur. Soyouz-2 Meteor-M1 + Micro Sat The successful Launch was
at 16:50 UTC. The 2 satellite names were Tatiana 2(Universitetsky 2)
and Sumbandila.
Early KEPS:
OBJECT A
1 35865U 09049A 09260.72535468 -.00000045 00000-0 00000+0 0 19
2 35865 098.7998 310.8940 0003181 081.7658 278.3815 14.21921862 02
OBJECT B
1 35866U 09049B 09260.72535165 -.00000045 00000-0 00000+0 0 14
2 35866 098.8001 310.8933 0004653 076.4712 283.6810 14.22237596 07
No Common Name Found
1 35867U 09049C 09260.85958581 -.00000070 00000-0 00000+0 0 18
2 35867 097.3797 310.9290 0009122 293.6396 066.4184 15.22762759 26
No Common Name Found
1 35868U 09049D 09260.86607314 .00000176 00000-0 10000-3 0 16
2 35868 098.8024 311.0440 0005631 070.8773 289.3019 14.22029752 21
No Common Name Found
1 35869U 09049E 09260.86607314 .00000176 00000-0 10000-3 0 17
2 35869 098.7979 311.0434 0006030 075.3794 284.7577 14.21983327 24
Check the AMSAT-BB for updated info.
[ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information and sends our
congratulations and best wishes for a successful mission]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-263.02
AMSAT BOD Election Results
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 263.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 20, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-263.02
The following are the results of the
AMSAT 2009 Board of Directors'
Election:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW - 600 votes
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA- 547
Bill Ress, N6GHZ - 545
Alan Biddle, WA4SCA - 516
Tony Monteiro, AA2TX - 505 (First Alternate)
There were 720 Ballots cast
--
73- Martha
[ANS thanks Martha, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-263.03
D-Star frequencies in the Netherlands.
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 263.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 20, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-263.03
D-Star frequencies in the Netherlands.
Abraham van den Berg, PB0AOK - VERON's VHF manager, clarified the
D-Star issue in the Netherlands. VERON is the Dutch IARU society.
It is "untrue" that the Dutch administration is thinking about
D-Star repeaters operating in the 437-438 MHz band.
Presently, the amateur service in the Netherlands and neighbouring
countries suffers from harmful interference, caused by what can be
seen as a regrettable implementation of the Radiolocation service in
the 438-440 MHz band.
For that reason, usage of D-Star repeaters with output frequencies in
the upper 2 MHz part of the Region 1 70cm band, is hampered.
To solve this problem, recently the Dutch D-Star community came up
with a proposal to plan the output frequencies of D-Star repeaters
just below 438MHz and has asked VERON to support this proposal.
VERON has decided not to do so, due to incompatibility between the
amateur service and amateur-satellite service. Moreover, the proposal
deviates significantly from the IARU-R1 band plan.
In the meantime VERON has made an alternative proposition to amend
the Dutch national frequency plan in such a way, that it fully
complies with article 5 RR, the European Common Allocation table, as
well as the IARU-R1 band plan.
Thank you Bram, for this clarification.
Gaston Bertels - ON4WF
IARU Region 1 ARSPEX WG chairman
[ANS thanks Gaston, ON4WF for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-263.04
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 263.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 20, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-263.04
Item A:
A group of new volunteers are investigating alternative
methods for adding content to the AMSAT web site.
I have my own list, but I would like to hear from people
that have suggestions on what pages should be addressed
first and any new content that they would find helpful.
Send these to Gould wa4sxm at amsat.org
Item B:
The 2009 AMSAT Symposium is rapidly approaching! And we hope you can join
us..especially given that there are some low-cost airfares out there for
those of us in the US.
We have an outstanding venue this year at the Four Points Sheraton at the
BWI Airport. Your symposium committee recently did a walkthrough of this
facility. The accommodations and meeting rooms are superb. I do a lot of
traveling and I must say that the rooms are absolutely beautiful. You will
definitely get a substantial bang for your buck (or Euro, etc) at this
symposium. And planned 40th Anniversary celebratory events will be truly
memorable.
Time is running out ! The cut-off date for hotel reservations for the AMSAT
Symposium is 9/23/09. The Hotel is the Four Points Sheraton BWI Airport.
The phone number is 410-691-9827. The group name is Radio Amateur. Come
help us celebrate our 40th Anniversary!
For planning purposes,
the BoD meeting starts Thursday morning and runs until noon Friday. The
symposium starts at 1 pm Friday and runs until noon Sunday. The AMSAT
annual meeting with be Saturday afternoon. And there will be an ARISS ops
meeting (all are invited) on Sunday. The 40th anniversary celebration is
Friday night and the Banquet is Saturday night.
And there is a lot of "free stuff" and amenities at this
symposium..so a great deal of bang for your buck.
For example:
Free internet in the rooms and in the conference facility
Free parking
All AMSAT member get free admittance to the 40th Anniversary Party Friday
Evening---food, cake, etc.
Beautiful flat screen televisions in each room
Great Banquet Speaker--- Martin Collins, Smithsonian Institution National
Air and Space Museum Curator, Space History Museum, "Making the Space Age,
the First 50 years"
High-Caliber paper presentations on recent Satellite Developments and
satellite operations
Poster Session with Satellite, University, and ARISS activities presented.
An AMSAT 40th anniversary retrospective is included
IARU Satellite Forum
ARISS Operations Team Meeting---ARISS team members and new volunteers are
welcome to attend
Great prizes from major ham radio manufacturers
So we'd love to see you in "Charm City"-Baltimore Maryland..for the
symposium presentations, 40th anniversary celebrations, poster sessions, and
BoD meeting.
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer
2009 Symposium Co-Chairs
[ANS thanks Frank and Janet for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-263.05
ARISS Statuts - 14 September 2009
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 263.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 14, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-263.05
1. Upcoming School Contacts
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact was accomplished for Liberty Middle School in Camas,
Washington on Tuesday, September 15 at 20:25 UTC. Telebridge
station ON4ISS in Belgium will facilitate the contact. For twenty
years, Liberty's sixth grade students have actively participated as
"astronauts in training" as they completed an eight week training
course that culminated with a flight in the school's space station,
Alpha-Z 2000. Computers, with software written by a local parent,
linked the students to Mission Control with voice communication and
security cameras allowed teachers to observe how the astronauts were
progressing on their mission. One of the school's space station
modules has been named in honor of Mike Barratt, who attended Camas
Public Schools. The ARISS contact will be integrated into these
activities.
Euro Space Center (ESC) in Transinne, Belgium contacted
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) on
Wednesday, September 16 at 07:12 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in
California. ESC is recognized by the educational ministries.
It is both a Space Expo open to the public and a Space Camp.
The Space Camp provides children with space training and is
operational year round.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact was held for Delta Researchers Schools, Dutch
Ministry of Education on Friday, September 18 at 15:55 UTC via
telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. This is an ESA event
from Space Expo, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact has been scheduled for Vrij Technisch Instituut Sint-Lucas
in Oudenaarde, Oost - Vlaanderen, Belgium on Tuesday, September
22 at 13:47 UTC. Students have learned about Earth rotation,
orbit speed, time zones, satellites, weather forecasts and
geostationary versus polar satellites. The antennas which
will be used for the contact as well as a UPS device have
been constructed by the students themselves.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact has been scheduled for the HMS Beagle Project in
Parati, Brazil on Tuesday, September 22 at 18:20 UTC via
ground station K6DUE in Maryland, USA. The project (which
aims to rebuild the ship that carried Darwin around the world)
and NASA have signed an International Space Act Agreement,
with Mike Barratt as the initiator and main connection on the
NASA side of the project. The project will unite ISS astronaut
photography with ocean surface water and other biological and
physical samples taken by the crew of the new Beagle.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact has been scheduled for Cedarview Middle School in
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Thursday, September 24 at 19:07 UTC.
Students have learned about the ISS through videos, the
internet and guest speakers.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact has been scheduled for Garfield Elementary School in
Boise, Idaho on Thursday, September 24 at 20:34 UTC via
telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Students will visit
the NASA Exploration Experience traveling exhibit on display
at the Idaho Historical Museum and will learn about space
exploration and its benefits.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact has been scheduled for Houya Elementary School in
Nishitokyo, Japan on Saturday, September 26 at 09:28 UTC.
Students have learned about amateur radio, space science and
the global cooperation involved with running the ISS.
2. ARISS Contact with Atheneum Students Successful
On Thursday, September 10, students attending Atheneum
Middenschool Keerbergen in Keerbergen, Belgium experienced
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact
with Frank De Winne, ON1DWN on the ISS. Telebridge station
W6SRJ in California provided the connection. An audience of
approximately 30 people observed the students as their twenty
questions were answered.
3. De Winne Particpates in ARISS Contact During UNICEF Event
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact took place between UNICEF Belgium at the Euro Space
Center in Transinne, Belgium and Frank De Winne, ON1DWN,
UNICEF's goodwill ambassador. The contact occurred on Thursday,
September 10 via station LU1CGB in Argentina. UNICEF Belgium is
running a campaign called WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) to
make students aware of how important water is for humans. Some
of the students participating in the campaign were given the
opportunity to travel to the center to speak with the Expedition
20 astronaut. Eighteen questions were answered.
4. ARISS Contact with Tokyo Denki University
On Saturday, September 12, an Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between students attending
Tokyo Denki University High/Junior High School in Koganei, Tokyo,
Japan and Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ on the ISS. Thirty people
gathered and listened as eighteen questions were asked and
answered. The school has a radio club and recruits new members
each year. Students study for their licenses, learn how to make
radio contacts and learn about space and the ISS.
5. Astronaut Training Status
Astronauts Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI and Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP
participated in Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) training sessions on Wednesday, September 9. They spoke
with children from the Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta,
Canada. The training sessions were terrestrial-based amateur
radio contacts using ARISS equivalent equipment. Audio was
available on the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP).
6.AMSAT Symposium, ARISS Ops Meeting to be Held in October
The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) Symposium will
be held on Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11 at the
Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport
in Maryland. An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) presentation will be given and a demo of ARISSat-1 is
planned. An ARISS Operations team meeting will be held following
the symposium on Sunday, October 11.
7.ARISS Presentation Given at Great Lakes Division Symposium
The 2009 Great Lakes Division Symposium was held in Findlay,
Ohio on Saturday September 12, followed by the Findlay Hamfest
on September 13. A presentation on the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program was given at the
symposium by ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
nb2f at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-249
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(a)amsat.org
**********************************************************************
* 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
* Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport *
* Details - http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php *
**********************************************************************
In this edition:
* AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due September 15
* Only One Month Until the AMSAT Space Symposium
* FO-29 Recovery Efforts Continue
* AO-7 DX Reports
* Silent Key: Packet Satellite Pioneer Den Connors, KD2S
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* ESA Astronaut Answers Your Questions From Space
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.01
AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due September 15
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.01
The deadline for returning the gold "corrected" ballot to the AMSAT
office is September 15th. If you need biographical information on
the candidates, it can be found on the AMSAT website.
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.02
Only One Month Until the AMSAT Space Symposium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.02
Co-Chairs, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer remind you that
the 2009 AMSAT Symposium is rapidly approaching! And we hope
you can join us, especially given that there are some low-cost
airfares out there for those of us in the US.
We have an outstanding venue this year at the Four Points Sheraton
at the BWI Airport. Your symposium committee recently did a walk
through of this facility. The accommodations and meeting rooms are
superb. Frank said, "I do a lot of traveling and I must say that
the rooms are absolutely beautiful. You will definitely get a
substantial bang for your buck (or Euro, etc.) at this symposium.
And planned 40th Anniversary celebratory events will be truly
memorable".
So we'd love to see you in "Charm City"-Baltimore Maryland..for the
symposium presentations, 40th anniversary celebrations, poster ses-
sions, ARISS Operations Team Meeting, and AMSAT BoD meeting.
Full details are available on-line:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php
You can now register online for the 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting: http://www.amsat-na.com/store2/SymposiumReg2009.php
Online registration will disappear on October 5th so do not wait
too long!
Our guest speaker is Dr. Martin Collins from the the Smithsonian
Air and Space Museum. He will talk on "Making the Space Age: The
First Fifty Years".
Follow the links from the Symposium page to book your room at the
hotel. An 800 number is also available. When booking your room let
the operator know that you are with the Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation for the special rates. (They don't seem to know about
AMSAT.)
[ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.03
FO-29 Recovery Efforts Continue
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.03
Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reported that recovery efforts continue for
the FO-29 satellite. Partial CW telemetry from FO-29 was received
by Luciano, PY5LF, "during the orbit 64384 of FO29 I heard and
decoded the telemetry for only 3 times then the satellite turned
off." At the present time the ground control team continues to
analyze telemetry and are continuing attempts to restore the
satellite while it is over Japan.
The latest information can be found on Mineo's web page at:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/fo29rest.htm
[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.04
AO-7 DX Reports
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.04
Piraja, PS8RF reported more transatlantic DX via AO-7 from Brazil.
During the orbit number 59094 of AO-7 (MODE B - 20:14:21 UTC -
21/08/2009) I could hear Andre, ZS2ACP calling CQ and giving a signal
report to another station here in Brazil (PY5LF). Unfortunately I
could not find the uplink, was prepared, but I missed the time to call
it. Despite the weather have been enough I could not hear me. The AO-7
in spite of 35 years continues to bring surprises to the satellite
community. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMa0zz5v4k
Piraja also noted another AO-7 milestone. Joe, K3SZH has reached
10,000 contacts via AO-7. Congratulations Joe!
[ANS thanks Piraja, PS8RF for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.05
Silent Key: Packet Satellite Pioneer Den Connors, KD2S
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.05
Tom Clark, K3IO noted, "It is with much sadness that I report the
passing of Den Connors, KD2S. Den passed on after a year long fight
to conquer lymphoma."
Den was TAPR's first president, overseeing the transition from a
local Tucson club into the multi-national TAPR. He was a major
sponsor of the adoption of AX.25 as the amateur packet standard.
Under his lead, TAPR introduced the TNC-1 and then later the TNC-2.
Den worked with Tom to define an amateur store-and-forward packet
radio satellite which morphed into the AO16, IO-26, AO-27, and
MO-30 Microsats.
73, Den -- you will be missed by all your friends!
[ANS thanks Tom Clark, K3IO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.06
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.06
+ The dates of the 2010 AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be the weekend of
July 30 to August 1, 2010. The location will be the same as in 2009,
the Holiday Inn, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. (G3WGM)
+ Please collect and send telemetry data you receive on 145.825 from
the Pollux and Castor satellites to ande(a)juno.nrl.navy.mil. There
was a laser ranging experiment this weekend from Maui to illuminate
the retroreflectors on both satellites. If you include your address
you can receive a QSL card. (KD4HBO)
+ Photos of the night time launch of STS-128 can be viewed on-line:
From 200 miles north on Jekyll Island, GA see: http://bit.ly/4uBi3N
The view from Orlando can be seen at http://www.mydrive.ch/en. The
username is plethra2. The guest password is aa4kn_1. They are found
in the STS-128 folder.
+ Listen for Tom, KB9BIT as he activates the far western part of the
Oklahoma Panhandle between September 12 - 19 (grids DM86 and DM87)
To get your QSL card e-mail Tom at kb9bit(a)arrl.net or tmlask(a)att.net
with the details of the QSO.
+ Congratulations and a hearty well-done to Clint, K6LCS on his very
successful "How to Work Ham Sats With Your HT" presentation to the
Moreno Valley (CA) Amateur Radio Association. Clint says, "They were,
indeed, properly impressed!" Listen for Clint's upcoming demos on:
September 11 - EchoLink/IRLP via K0GQ
September 17 - Conejo Valley ARC
October 5 - WARA (Fullerton) meeting
October 17 - Victor Valley ARC's JOTA
+ West Coast USA stations worked Hawaii via AO-51 on September 4.
Ron, W6ZQ operated from Kauai in grid BL02. Robert, NH7WN from
Honolulu (BL11) was also on the same pass. Patrick, WD9EWK said
he was able to work W6ZQ at just under 2 degrees elevation and
got NH7WN at just over 3 degrees elevation.
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.07
ESA Astronaut Answers Your Questions From Space
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 6, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.07
This week Space Daily carried a story dateline September 3, from
Paris, France about a new way to contact the International Space
Station.
How do you wash your clothes in space? How does food stay fresh if
there is no fridge on the ISS? ESA's Frank De Winne is answering
these, and many more of your questions, right now, from space.
Is there something you always wanted to know about being an astro-
naut? Or you are just curious about living and working in space?
Well, now is the time to ask. Instead of searching the Internet,
you can ask an ESA astronaut directly. Frank De Winne, on the
International Space Station, is keen to answer your questions
personally via ESA's YouTube channel.
Questions answered so far have been "Will you exercise a lot on
your bike?", "What medical conditions would stop you becoming an
astronaut?", "Will Europe have its own Space Shuttle in the future?"
and "Do you use washing powder for washing clothes in space?"
Frank is answering questions from space fans all over Europe, and he
will greet you in English, French or Dutch in your personal video
response.
All you have to do is record your question using a webcam, video
camera or mobile phone, and post it on ESA"s YouTube channel. Each
week, Frank posts his responses to your questions on the site,
directly from space.
Frank is part way through his six-month mission on the International
Space Station. Later in his mission, he will also become the first
European commander of the ISS.
Have a go, it could be your question answered next!
Record and upload your questions to ESA"s YouTube channel as a
'Video Response' to De Winne's video message which can viewed at this
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okpNcG3vu_E
(ed. note: Frank's amateur radio callsign is ON1DWN.)
[ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com 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. And with that
please keep in mind when wondering how important feed line loss is in
your antenna installation that ancient wisdom reminds us about the
man who digs his well at a distance from the tent soon laments when
his wife's mustache catches fire.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org