AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-303
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
In this edition:
* AMSAT Symposium This Weekend
* Symposium Registration & Banquet Reservations Deadline
* AMSAT Awards Announcement
* Speaker and Presentation List Added to AMSAT Symposium
Schedule
* PW-Sat to Launch in January
* NASA ELaNa III Cubesat Launch Orbits Cubesats
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* SatPC32 Version 12.8b Available
* ARISS Status - 24 October 2011
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.01
AMSAT Symposium This Weekend
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.01
This year's Symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the launch
of the first amateur radio satellite into space. The Symposium
is being held in San Jose, CA on November 4 thru November 6
which is the home of Project OSCAR, the organization that
built amateur radio's first satellite. As part of our
commemoration, the ARRL is bringing an OSCAR 1 prototype which
has been refurbished to help highlight this significant
milestone. Our banquet speaker, Lance Ginner, K6GSJ was a
member of the team that built OSCAR 1; he subsequently was
involved with a number of follow-on amateur radio satellite
projects. Lance's presentation promises to be a fascinating
look at the early days of amateur radio in space as well as
perhaps some lessons learned.
The Symposium is an excellent opportunity to learn about the
success of ARISSat-1 as well as AMSAT's latest project, Fox
and the steps that we're taking to continue to keep amateur
radio in space. There are some excellent presentations
scheduled that will cover the gamut from satellite engineering
to satellite operations to education outreach.
This year's "Proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting", which is provided to every Symposium attendee
contains 21 papers and is over 250 pages in length. While not
all papers will be presented, there are also several
presentations scheduled to be presented where the material was
not finished in time for publication.
Along with the outstanding materials presented, Symposium
offers a great opportunity to meet the AMSAT leadership (the
Board of Directors members as well as Senior Officers), other
satellite enthusiasts, and interact with our volunteers who
are involved with our engineering projects. Symposium is both
a presentation/educational opportunity as well as a social
event.
If you haven't yet registered for this year's Symposium,
please consider joining us. Details on the Symposium and
registering can be found at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2011/index.php
The last time that AMSAT held a Symposium in California was in
2006; this may be the best chance for AMSAT members and
others living on the West Coast to participate in a Symposium
and have direct interaction with the AMSAT leadership for some
time. Hopefully, those of you living in the Bay Area will
take full advantage of this opportunity. Alan Bowker, WA6DNR
and his team have done a great job preparing for an
outstanding weekend in San Jose.
See ya in San Jose!
Barry Baines, WD4ASW
President-AMSAT
[ANS thanks Barry, WD4ASW, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.02
Symposium Registration & Banquet Reservations Deadline
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.02
This is a reminder that on Monday October 31, 2011, the
on-line registration for the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting will close. Also, a count is needed for the
Annual Banquet. If you are planning to attend the meeting
and/or attend the Banquet, please register as soon as
possible. After Monday, you will need to register at the
hotel.
[ANS thanks AMSAT HQ for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.03
AMSAT Awards Announcement
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.03
AMSAT Awards Announcement
AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says
that
congratulations are in order for the latest AMSAT Awards
recipients:
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators
Club for making their first satellite QSO:
Stephen Licht, WF2S
Jay Hitchcock, KI6WZU
Costantino Montella, IK8YSS
Jackson Wilson, KF5LOQ
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement
Award:
Clayton Coleman, W5PFG #542
Csaba-Zoltan Kertesz, YO6PIB #543
Yanko Yankov, NX9G #544
Jackson Wilson, KF5LOQ #545
The following have earned the South Africa Satellite
Communications Achievement Award:
Clayton Coleman, W5PFG #US171
Csaba-Zoltan Kertesz, YO6PIB #US172
Yanko Yankov, NX9G #US173
Jackson Wilson, KF5LOQ #US174
The following have earned their Robert W. Barbee, Jr. W4AMI
Award:
Branko Martincic, 9A3ST #74
The following have earned their Robert W. Barbee, Jr. W4AMI
5000 Award:
Gale McDaniel, KB0RZB #28
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.04
Speaker and Presentation List Added to AMSAT Symposium
Schedule
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.04
Speaker and Presentation List Added to AMSAT Symposium
Schedule
AMSAT's 2011 Space Symposium is quickly approaching. It will
be
held on Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 6th in
San
Jose, CA.
This year commemorates the 50th anniversary of the launch of
OSCAR 1. Many events are planned to celebrate our 50 years of
keeping amateur radio in space. The original OSCAR 1 prototype
has been refurbished by the ARRL Lab. It will be on display
and
transmitting. Our Banquet Speaker is Lance Ginner, K6GSJ who
was
on the OSCAR 1 development team.
The 2011 Symposium Schedule has been posted and includes:
Thursday, November 3
0800 - 1200 AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting open to all AMSAT
members
1300 - 1800 AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting open to all AMSAT
members
1930 - 2200 AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting open to all AMSAT
members
2011 Symposium Presentation Schedule
All times are PST
Friday 4 Nov 2011
1:00 PM Introduction
1:10 PM Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO "Frequency Allocation for
Government-funded CubeSats:NSF Paves the Way"
1:40 PM Nick Pugh, K5QXJ "How to Light the Candle"
2:10 PM Michael Safyan, KJ6MVL "NASA Ames PhoneSat"
2:40 PM David Palmer, KB5WIA "A Satellite-Portable
Backpacking Trip to Rare California Grid Square CM79
3:00 PM Break
3:10 PM Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV "SA AMSAT CuveSat
Project 'KLETSKous' "
3:40 PM Bob Davis, KF4KSS "Orbital Elements and Magnetic
Tumble in Excel"
4:00 PM Alexander J Harvilchuck, N3NP "2010-2011 AMSAT
NextGen Program Satellite Report"
4:30 PM Jan King, VK4GEY/W3GEY "Australis-OSCAR-5
5:00 PM Adjourn
Saturday 5 Nov 2011
8:00 AM Introduction
8:10 AM Lou McFadin, W5DID "Fabrication, Integration and
Testing of ARISSat-1"
8:30 AM Gould Smith, WA4SXM "ARISSat-1 in Flight"
9:00 AM Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW/5 "Decoding Satellite
Telemetry form ARISSat-1"
9:20 AM Steven Bible, N7HPR "ARISSat-1 Operational
Survey"
9:50 AM Break
10:00 AM Gould Smith, WA4SXM "ARISSat-1 Post Mortem"
10:30 AM Tony Monteiro, AA2TX "Space Radiation and Fox
Program"
10:50 AM Barry Baines, WD4ASW "The Importance of
Educational Outreach for AMSAT"
11:20 AM Tony Monteiro, AA2TX "AMSAT Fox-1 Systems
Overview"
12:00 AM Lunch Break
1:00 PM Bob Davis, KF4KSS "Fox 1 Mechanical Design"
1:30 PM Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV "Turning University
CubeSats into amateur radio satellites"
2:00 PM Bob Davis, KF4KSS "Fox 1 Thermal Design"
2:30 PM Sawson Taheri, KG6NUB "OSCAR Zero from a Satellite
Operator's Perspective"
3:00 PM Break
3:20 PM AMSAT Annual Meeting
5:00 PM Adjourn
[ANS thanks the 2011 Symposium Committee for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.05
PW-Sat to Launch in January
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.05
PW-Sat to Launch in January
This week AMSAT-UK web site carried the announcement that
PW-Sat,a 1U CubeSat to be launched on the first VEGA flight in
January,will carry a 145 to 435 MHz Amateur Radio transponder.
The single channel transponder will operate in a similar way
to AO-16.
The uplink on 145.900 MHz will be FM and the downlink on
435.020MHz will use the BPSK telemetry beacon transmitter to
produce Double Sideband (DSB) that can be received on an SSB
radio.
PW-Sat will be launched into a 300 by 1450km 69.5 degree orbit
and may be expected to have a lifetime of about 2 years before
re-entry. It was built by students of Warsaw University of
Technology in cooperation with the Space Research Centre and
will be Poland's first satellite.
The development and construction of this satellite, students
worked with two research groups - Astronautical Students
(Faculty MEiL)and Space Engineering Student (Faculty EITI).
Tutor from the
beginning of the project was prof. Assoc. inz. Piotr Wolanski
MEiL department.
The main objective of the project is education of students in
the preparation, construction and use of artificial
satellites. Specific objectives are:
+ Testing the system to develop flexible solar generation.
+ Study the deacceleration of a satellite, which will increase
the resistance and its rapid descent from orbit.
+ Testing of satellite communication system including the
Technical University of Warsaw, Gdynia Maritime Academy and
the Centre for Astronomy them. Nicolaus Copernicus Academy of
Sciences.
PW-Sat has five modes of operation:
1. Receive only mode - no downlink
2. Beacon CW mode - Downlink On-Off Keying (OOK) CW (1kHz) 12
WPM on 435.020 MHz
3. Beacon BPSK mode - Downlink BPSK (3 kHz) 1200 bps AX25 (1
frame on 20 sec) on 435.020 MHz
4. Control communication mode. Downlink BPSK (3 kHz) 1200 bps
AX25 on 435.020 MHz
5. Voice Repeater mode (aka 'AO16' mode) - Uplink145.900MHz
FM(15 kHz) Downlink 435.020MHz DSB (3 kHz)
For more information on PW-Sat in Google English see
http://tinyurl.com/CubeSatPW-Sat
IARU Amateur satellite frequency co-ordination panel pages
hosted by AMSAT-UK http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/
The AMSAT-UK article can be found on their web site at:
http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/10/21/pw-sat-to-launch-in-january
/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.06
NASA ELaNa III Cubesat Launch Orbits Cubesats
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.06
NASA ELaNa III Cubesat Launch Orbits Cubesats
NASA launched five small research satellites, or CubeSats, for
four
universities on October 28 from Vandenberg AFB. This will be
the 3rd
installment of the Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa)
miss-
ions. The CubeSats are manifested as auxiliary payloads on the
Delta II launch vehicle for NASA's NPOESS Preparatory Project
(NPP)
mission.
The ELaNa III Cubesat Launch included RAX-2, MCubed, E1P,and
AubieSat
are all trackable by most OSCAR stations. As of press time
signals
from Aubiesat-1, E1P and RAX-2 had been received.
A video with live commentary describing the computer graphics
of
the NPP Second Stage Burn 3 and CubeSats Deployment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FFLmERz
duUY
The ElaNa CubeSat Media Briefing with Roland Coelho, WH7BE can
be
viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcjM2GhMD-E&feature=player_embe
dded
The initial Keplerian Elements:
http://gs.engin.umich.edu/predictions/tle_elana3.txt.
AubieSat-1 is designed to transmit with a power of about 800
milli-
watts on a frequency of 437.475 MHz, plus or minus Doppler
correc-
tion. The beacon signal, along with telemetry, will be sent
using
A1A continuous wave Morse code at 20 words per minute.
Additional
telemetry from the on board science experiment will use CW
trans-
missions up to 60 WPM.
AubieSat-1 Telemetry Format
---------------------------
For all transmissions, arbitrary digits represent digits in
base 10,
capital R denotes a decimal point, and FFFF is in hexadecimal.
Basic Beacon 20wpm (for 20 sec total)
Every 1 min (Unless AS-1 is in outreach mode)
HI HI DE KI4NQO AUBIESAT 1 VB 3R68 SK (Beacon includes battery
voltage)
Outreach Beacon 20 wpm (for 75 sec total)
Every 5 min (Only when AS-1 is placed in outreach mode)
HI HI DE KI4NQO AUBIESAT 1BT (Initialize transmission)
FFFF BT (Minutes since deployment)
01 VB 3R68 TB 39R2 BT (Battery voltage and
temperature)
02 P1 3R68 P2 3R68 BT (Solar Panels 1 & 2 Max Power)
EOT DE KI4NQO 73 SK (End of Transmission)
AubieSat-1 Pass Report Form
--------------------------
Help the AubieSat-1 Team! Please fill out the following form
and
email a copy to aubiesat1data(a)gmail.com
Name / Call sign of HAM operator reporting:
Time and date of pass (UTC):
Your Geographical Location:
(City, State, Country)
Your Latitude and Longitude:
Signal fading cycle time: (For one complete rotation in
seconds)
Copy of Transmission Received:
(Please post a verbatim copy here of any transmission from
AS-1
that you receive including these telemetry values if copied:)
+ Minutes Since Deployment
+ Battery Voltage (VB)
+ Battery Temperature (TB)
+ Solar Panel 1 Max Power (P1)
+ Solar Panel 2 Max Power (P2)
Notes/Observations:
Please direct any questions to: aubiesat1(a)gmail.com
Thank you for your assistance!
Frequency and Modulation Summary of the CubeSat Launch:
-------------------------------------------------------
Satellite: AubieSat-1
Downlink Freq: 437.475 MHz
EIRP: .708W
Modulation Scheme: Interrupted Continuous Wave (IWC)
Protocol: Morse Code
Baud Rate: 20wpm
http://space.auburn.edu/
Satellite: RAX-2
Downlink Freq: 437.345 MHz
Modulation Scheme: GMSK
Baud Rate: 9600
http://rax.engin.umich.edu/
Satellite: M-Cubed
Downlink Freq: 437.485MHz
EIRP: < 1W
Modulation Scheme: FSK
Protocol: AX.25
Baud Rate: 9600
http://umcubed.org/
Satellite: Explorer-1[PRIME] Flight Unit 2
Downlink Freq: 437.505 MHz
EIRP: -0.7dBW
Modulation Scheme: Non-Coherent FSK
Protocol: KISS Custom
Baud Rate: 1200
http://ssel.montana.edu/e1p/
DICE (non-amateur payload):
http://www.sdl.usu.edu/programs/dice
Explorer-1[PRIME]
[ANS thanks the AubieSat-1 Team at Auburn University for the
above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Congratulations to Steve Belter, N9IP on attaining his ARRL
Satellite VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) certificate #223.
+ The ARISS store at http://www.cafepress.com/ariss has been
updated with new products.
+ What did the three astronauts do on the ISS this past week?
You
can watch the video update from NASA on the research and
activi-
ties on the International Space Station for October 17-21,
2011,
including updates on the upcoming Progress and Soyuz
launches at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yAYqf5E
6qIY
+ Watch the video of the October 21 debut lift off of a
Russian
Soyuz rocket from the edge of the Amazon jungle at the
Guiana
Space Center in French Guiana as it successfully carried the
first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites to space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c750fdZ
R6Mg
+ Roland Zurmely, PY4ZBZ, copied the full spectrum of signals
from
ARISSat with an SDR-IQ (and homemade VHF/HFconverter) and
Spectra-
Vue. The frequencies listed are the transmitted by
satellite, and
Doppler effectis clearly visible in the received signals,
with
higher frequencies at the beginning and lower at the end of
the
pass. The noise generated by linear transponder and the
return of
the transmission that I did in the UHF uplink are clearly
visible.
The CW-2 signal close to the 1kBPSK telemetry signalcan also
be
seen, as well as FM transmissions, switching between voice
and
SSTV. Please see: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/arissat.htm#o
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.08
SatPC32 Version 12.8b Available
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.08
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.08
SatPC32 version 12.8b is available for download at
http://www.dk1tb.de/downloadeng.htm
The main SatPC32 program window now displays more information
such as the date of the Keplerian elements file in use.
Before upgrading your SatPC32 installation, be sure to use the
new program (in the ZIP file) to backup your user
configuration. The upgrade erases all previous user
configurations, but the new program will restore your
configurations after upgrading.
The download is a demo version that requires users to enter
their lat/lon each time the program is started. To make the
program fully functional, enter your existing registration
code or purchase a registration code from the AMSAT web site:
http://www.amsat-na.com/store/category.php?c=Software
DK1TB, the author of SatPC32 has donated the software to
AMSAT. All sales of SatPC32 are used to support AMSAT.
Here are the changes described in the What's New file:
1. SatPC32, SatPC32ISS, Wisat32 and SuM now support rotor
control of the
M2 RC-2800 rotor system.
2. The CAT control functions of SatPC32, SatPC32ISS and
Wisat32 have been expanded. The programs now provide CAT
control of the new Icom transceiver IC-9100.
3. The main windows of SatPC32 and SatPC32ISS have been
slightly changed to make them clearer. With window size W3 the
world map can be stretched (only SatPC32).
4. The accuracy of the rotor positions can now be adjusted for
the particular rotor controller. SatPC32 therefore can output
the rotor positions with 0, 1 or 2 decimals. Corrections of
the antenna positions can automatically be saved. In previous
versions that had to be done manually.
5. The tool 'DataBackup' has been added. The tool allows users
to save the SatPC32 program data via mouse click and to
restore them if necessary. After the program has been
configured for the user's equipment the settings should be
saved with 'DataBackup'. If problems occur later, the program
can easily restore the working configuration.
6. The rotor interfaces IF-100, FODTrack, RifPC and KCT
require the kerneldriver IOPort.SYS to be installed. Since it
is a 32-bit driver it will not work on 64-bit Windows systems.
On such systems the driver can cause error messages.To prevent
such messages the driver can now optionally be deactivated.
7. SuM now outputs a DDE string with azimuth and elevation,
that can be evaluated by client programs. Some demo files show
how to program and configure the client.
[ANS thanks Wayne Estes W9AE for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-303.09
ARISS Status - 24 October 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 303.09
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 30, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-303.09
1. Upcoming School Contacts
Cherry Creek School District, Centennial, Colorado for an
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact on Thursday, October 27 at 17:09 UTC via telebridge
station IK1SLD in Italy was successful. A radio technology
curriculum will be provided to students in the gifted and
talented program, "Inside Out" to get them interested in
amateur radio. The class will cover topics from radio
propagation to UTC time and space. A guest speaker will talk
about meteor scatter as well. Lesson plan objectives are to
understand: measuring systems, general awareness of time on
the body, orbits, science experiments, intervals, sleep, and
communications.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact was scheduled for Space Laboratory, Herzliya Science
Centre, Herzliya, Israel on Friday, October 28 at 11:25 UTC.
The contact was successful and will be incorporated into
lessons covering the space environment, orbital mechanics,
satellite design and radio communications.
2. ARISS Contact with Seiryo Elementary
Seiryo Elementary School, Seto, Aichi, Japan experienced a
successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact on Tuesday, October 18.
The contact highlighted a science curriculum covering
electricity, space and technology.
3. ZST Students Contact ISS
On Friday, October 21, an Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between students
attending Zespol Szkol Technicznych in Rybnicka, Slask, Poland
and on-orbit astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG. Approximately 65
students, teachers, parents, guests and media attended the
event and listened as Fossum fielded 19 questions posed by the
students. The SP9PKS radio club members worked with the youth
to prepare them for the contact. Lesson plans included the
construction of radio equipment and contacts via LEO (Low
Earth Orbit) satellites. Two newspapers and four broadcast
radio stations covered the contact: Dziennik Zachodni and
Wiadomoci Powiatowe newspapers, Radio Zet, Radio Zote
Przeboje, Tok FM, Antyradio, and local station Radio Fest.
4. ARISS International Team Meeting, October 28-29
The ARISS International Face-to-Face Meeting will be held this
Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 at the Space Center
Houston in Houston, Texas. The team will come together to
share regional reports as well as status reports from the
program's other committees including education, operations and
hardware.
5. ARISS International Team Teleconference Held
The monthly ARISS International teleconference was held on
Tuesday, October 18. The upcoming face-to-face meeting was
discussed, among other topics. Minutes have been posted:
http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2011-10-18.htm
6. Astronaut Training Status
On October 18 Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX was given an ARISS refresher
course to prepare him for his upcoming flight with Expedition
29 in November. Joe Acaba, KE5DAR participated in a preflight
session the same day. He plans to fly with Expedition 31 in
March 2012.
7. ARISS Recognized by NASA Associate Administrator for
Education
In a recent communication of FY2011 accomplishments to the
NASA education community, NASA Associate Administrator for
Education Leland Melvin highlighted the accomplishments of
ARISS:
"10,743 curious students and 778 motivated educators
participated in direct communication with International Space
Station (ISS) crews via the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS), sparking their interest in STEM."
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
Nb2f at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-296
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
In this edition:
* AMSAT Symposium Weekend Quickly Approaching
* FO-29 Eclipse Undervoltage Stops Operation
* 4C1JPG Satellite Operation From 2011 Pan-American Games
* FP DXpedition Plans Satellite Operation
* AubieSat-1 Launch Includes Four Additional Satellites
* Prospero to be reactivated on 137.560 MHz
* SatPC32 Version 12.8b Available
* ARISS Status - 17 October 2011
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.01
AMSAT Symposium Weekend Quickly Approaching
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.01
Time is quickly approaching for the upcoming AMSAT Symposium to be
held November
4-6. This year's Symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the
first amateur radio satellite into space. The Symposium is being held in San
Jose, CA which is the home of Project OSCAR, the organization that
built amateur
radio's first satellite. As part of our commemoration, the ARRL is bringing an
OSCAR 1 prototype which has been refurbished to help highlight this
significant
milestone. Our banquet speaker, Lance Ginner, K6GSJ was a member of the team
that built OSCAR 1; he subsequently was involved with a number of follow-on
amateur radio satellite projects. Lance's presentation promises to be a
fascinating look at the early days of amateur radio in space as well as perhaps
some lessons learned.
Along with recognizing this significant milestone, the Symposium is
an excellent
opportunity to learn about the success of ARISSat-1 as well as AMSAT's latest
project, Fox and the steps that we're taking to continue to keep amateur radio
in space. There are some excellent presentations scheduled that will cover the
gamut from satellite engineering to satellite operations to education
outreach.
This year's "Proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and Annual Meeting",
which is provided to every Symposium attendee contains 21 papers and
is over 250
pages in length. While not all papers will be
presented, there are also several presentations scheduled to be presented where
the material was not finished in time for publication.
Along with the outstanding materials presented, Symposium offers a great
opportunity to meet the AMSAT leadership (the Board of Directors
members as well
as Senior Officers), other satellite enthusiasts, and interact with our
volunteers who are involved with our engineering projects. Symposium is both a
presentation/educational opportunity as well as a social event.
If you haven't yet registered for this year's Symposium, please
consider joining
us. Details on the Symposium and registering can be found at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2011/index.php
Please note that deadline for taking advantage of the block or rooms that AMSAT
has reserved expires on October 24, so time is indeed running out for making
your arrangements. The last time that AMSAT held a Symposium in California was
in 2006; this may be the best chance for AMSAT members and others
living on the
West Coast to participate in a Symposium and have direct interaction with the
AMSAT leadership for some time. Hopefully, those of you living in
the Bay Area
will take full advantage of this opportunity. Alan Bowker, WA6DNR and his team
have done a great job preparing for an outstanding weekend in San Jose.
See ya in San Jose!
Barry Baines, WD4ASW
President-AMSAT
[ANS thanks Barry, WD4ASW, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.02
FO-29 Eclipse Undervoltage Stops Operation
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.02
Information has been received that the FO-29 analog repeater is
currently off the air. The eclipse periods have increased to the
point exceeding 27% shadowing which causes an undervoltage fault
to shut down the satellite.
The FO-29 control station sent commands to reactivate the satellite
during daytime passes over Japan between October 8-10. Also at the
present time the control station was experiencing computer hardware
problems which slowed progress.
[ANS thanks Mineo, JE9PEL, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.03
4C1JPG Satellite Operation From 2011 Pan-American Games
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.03
Members of the "Radio Experimentadores de Occidente" radio club
XE1TD will use the special Mexican call 4C1JPG during the 2011
Pan-American Games, currently taking place in Guadalajara. 4C1JPG
("Juegos Panamericanos Guadalajara", the Spanish translation of
the event in that Mexican city) will be on 160m through 6m, as
well as the satelltes through 30 October 2011.
QSL cards will be available, as well as electronic confirmations in
both LOTW and eQSL. More information about 4C1JPG, including the
Mexican address of the 4C1JPG QSL manager, is available at:
http://www.qrz.com/db/4C1JPG
QSL via LoTW, by the Bureau or direct to XE1GZU: Luis Zepeda
Hernandez, P.O. Box 5-273, Guadalajara, Jalisco 45042, Mexico.
[ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1032 for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.04
FP DXpedition Plans Satellite Operation
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.04
FP - Eric, KV1J and Jack, KV1E will be active as FP/KV1J and FP/KV1E from
Miquelon Island (NA-032) from 25 October to 1 November. Plans are to
operate SSB
and RTTY, with some CW and PSK31, on 160-10 meters, plus 6m "if indications of
openings". FP/KV1J will take part in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest (SOAB
HP). QSL via
home calls,direct or bureau, and LoTW, Information on satellite
activity and and
other details can be found at www.kv1j.com/fp/october11.html
AO-51 (if available), AO-27, SO-50, SO-67, and HO-68. All FM mode, V/U.
ANS thanks 425 DX NEWS DX Newsletter for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.05
AubieSat-1 Launch Includes Four Additional Satellites
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.05
The launch of Auburn University's AubieSat-1 satellite has been rescheduled to
28 October 2011 due to problems found during the system integration of the
primary mission. A hydraulic system leak was detected and the cause
was found to
be a small crack in a hydraulic tube. A replacement tube was manufactured,
installed, and retested. Also, a flexible fabric collar connecting two engine
system exhaust ducts was found to be damaged following pressurized
leak testing.
The damaged
fabric collar is being removed and replaced.
EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS
Spacecraft: NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Oct. 28, 2011
Launch Window: 2:48:01 a.m. - 2:57:11 a.m. PDT (9 min., 10 sec.)
Orbital Altitude: 512 miles
Note: This is the launch vehicle for AubieSat-1 and 4 other microsatellites
Satellite: AubieSat-1
Downlink Freq: 437.475 MHz
EIRP: .708W
Modulation Scheme: Interrupted Continuous Wave (IWC)
Protocol: Morse Code
Baud Rate: 20wpm
Satellite: DICE
Downlink Freq: 465 MHz
EIRP: -4.51dBW
Modulation Scheme: OQPSK
Protocol: CCSDS
Baud Rate: Modulation data rate 1.5 megabit,
Actual Tx bit rate 3.0 megabit
Satellite: RAX-2
Downlink Freq: 437.345 MHz
Modulation Scheme: GMSK
Baud Rate: 9600
Satellite: M-Cubed (1)
Downlink Freq: 437.485MHz
EIRP: < 1W
Modulation Scheme: FSK
Protocol: AX.25
Baud Rate: 9600
Satellite: Explorer-1[PRIME] Flight Unit 2
Downlink Freq: 437.505 MHz
EIRP: -0.7dBW
Modulation Scheme: Non-Coherent FSK
Protocol: KISS Custom
Baud Rate: 1200
Additional spacecraft information can be found on the satellite
websites listed below:
M-Cubed:
http://umcubed.org/
DICE:
http://www.sdl.usu.edu/programs/dice
Explorer-1[PRIME]
http://ssel.montana.edu/e1p/
RAX-2:
http://rax.engin.umich.edu/
AubieSat-1:
http://space.auburn.edu/
AubieSat-1 is designed to transmit with a power of about 800 milliwatts on a
frequency of 437.475 MHz, plus or minus Doppler correction. The beacon signal,
along with telemetry, will be sent using A1A continuous wave Morse code at 20
words per minute. Additional telemetry from the on board science
experiment will
use CW transmissions up to 60 WPM.
An internet Echolink conference group is also planned to begin one-half hour
prior to launch and continue until about 30 minutes after confirmation of the
first receipt of signals from the satellite. Information on the conference
groups title will be distributed nearer to the launch for interested stations.
Auburn's famous battle cry, "War Eagle," will be heard from space October 28
when it is transmitted to earth from a student-built satellite known as
"AubieSat-1." Auburn University's web page includes a video about
their mission:
http://ocm.auburn.edu/featured_story/aubiesat.html
Long-time AMSAT Member John Klingelhoeffer, WB4LNM serves as the Technical
Advisor in Auburn University's Student Space Program.
[ANS thanks the AubieSat-1 Team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.06
Prospero to be reactivated on 137.560 MHz
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.06
Attempts are being made to reactivate Prospero, the United Kingdom's
first satellite launched on a UK-built rocket, Black Arrow, on
October 28, 197 and it is hoped Amateur Radio operators will be able to
hear the signals.
Roger Duthie M0RJA provides details of tests to be carried out over
the next two weeks:
Some of you may have heard that a team in the UK are trying to recontact an old
British launched satellite for the anniversary of its launch (28th October
1971).
We've been given a licence to transmit and will be testing our reengineered
ground-segment in the next fortnight. The passes we are going to
concentrate on
will be as far out west as possible, as to minimise QRM from
Europe. Earth is a
lot more EM noisy than it was in 1971.
If anyone wants to try and tune in to the downlink, you can help ID
any response
we get from the old bird. To avoid interference the downlink is only planned to
be active when the satellite is in range of the United Kingdom. The passes are
summarised here:
https://public.sheet.zoho.com/public/rjaduthie/prospero-passes-in-the-next-
fortnight
There are other passes, though these are the ones which are out west.
We'll see how we do.
Roger J A Duthie M0RJA
Email: rjad at mssl.ucl.ac.uk
Prospero real-time oribtal tracking page
http://www.vk3ukf.com/Space/GadgetSatProspero.htm
Audio recordings of the 0.3 watt phase modulated signal with 2048
bit/s PCM from
Prospero on 137.560 MHz can be heard on the Sounds from Space site of Matthias
Bopp DD1US:
http://www.dd1us.de/spacesounds%204.html
Experiments on the Prospero satellite
http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/09/08/experiments-on-the-prospero-satellite/
Plan to revive 1970s UK satellite on 137.560 MHz
http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/09/05/1970s-uk-satellite-to-be-revived/
[ANS thanks Roger, M0RJA, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.07
SatPC32 Version 12.8b Available
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.07
SatPC32 version 12.8b is available for download at
http://www.dk1tb.de/downloadeng.htm
The main SatPC32 program window now displays more information such as
the date of the Keplerian elements file in use.
Before upgrading your SatPC32 installation, be sure to use the new
program (in the ZIP file) to backup your user configuration. The
upgrade erases all previous user configurations, but the new program
will restore your configurations after upgrading.
The download is a demo version that requires users to enter their
lat/lon each time the program is started. To make the program fully
functional, enter your existing registration code or purchase a
registration code from the AMSAT web site:
http://www.amsat-na.com/store/category.php?c=Software
DK1TB, the author of SatPC32 has donated the software to AMSAT. All
sales of SatPC32 are used to support AMSAT.
Here are the changes described in the What's New file:
1. SatPC32, SatPC32ISS, Wisat32 and SuM now support rotor control of the
M2 RC-2800 rotor system.
2. The CAT control functions of SatPC32, SatPC32ISS and Wisat32 have
been expanded. The programs now provide CAT control of the new Icom
transceiver IC-9100.
3. The main windows of SatPC32 and SatPC32ISS have been slightly changed
to make them clearer. With window size W3 the world map can be stretched
(only SatPC32).
4. The accuracy of the rotor positions can now be adjusted for the
particular rotor controller. SatPC32 therefore can output the rotor
positions with 0, 1 or 2 decimals. Corrections of the antenna positions
can automatically be saved. In previous versions that had to be done
manually.
5. The tool 'DataBackup' has been added. The tool allows users to save
the SatPC32 program data via mouse click and to restore them if
necessary. After the program has been configured for the user's
equipment the settings should be saved with 'DataBackup'. If problems
occur later, the program can easily restore the working configuration.
6. The rotor interfaces IF-100, FODTrack, RifPC and KCT require the
kerneldriver IOPort.SYS to be installed. Since it is a 32-bit driver it
will not work on 64-bit Windows systems. On such systems the driver can
cause error messages.To prevent such messages the driver can now
optionally be deactivated.
7. SuM now outputs a DDE string with azimuth and elevation, that can be
evaluated by client programs. Some demo files show how to program and
configure the client.
[ANS thanks Wayne Estes W9AE for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-296.08
ARISS Status - 17 October 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 296.08
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 23, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-296.08
1. Italian Students Hook Up with Astronaut Mike Fossum via ARISS
Students from Istituto Superiore "G. Curcio," Ispica, Italy participated in an
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday,
October 14 via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Mike Fossum, KF5AQG
answered 14 questions posed to him by the youth. He talked about what
it is like
to live in space, the problems encountered while working in
microgravity and the
experiments being conducted on the Space Station. The contact was integrated
into the science curriculum covering astronomy.
2. Amateur Radio Club Contacts ISS
On Saturday, October 15, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact was held between the Amateur Radio Morioka Club located in
Morioka, Japan and Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW on the ISS. Seventeen students were
able to ask questions of the astronaut during the radio connection. Student
participants were those who went through difficult times after the tsunami
devastation on March 11.
3. Astronaut Participates in JOTA
Astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG participated in the Jamboree on the Air (JOTA)
event. Fossum, a scoutmaster, spoke with scouts from several states
on Saturday,
October 15.
4. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers McFadin Interview
On October 14, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1783 included a story about an
interview with Lou McFadin, W5DID in which he talks about his work at NASA,
amateur radio and ham radio experiments in space. "Names in the News: Lew
McFadin W5DID Interviewed by DXCoffee" may be viewed here:
ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
5. Astronaut Training Status
Two astronaut training sessions are planned for October 18. Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX
will take part in a refresher course and Joe Acaba, KE5DAR is scheduled for a
preflight session. Burbank is slated to fly with Expedition 29 in
November 2011
and Acaba plans to fly with Expedition 31 in March 2012.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-275
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
In this edition:
* Lance Ginner, K6GSJ 2011 AMSAT Symposium Banquet Speaker
* OSCAR 1 Prototype Will Be Operating at the 2011 Symposium
* Auburn University AubieSat-1 Scheduled for Launch from Vandenberg
* K6LCS Satellite Presentation at the Anchorage Hamfest
* ARISS Status - 26 September 2011
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-275.01
Lance Ginner, K6GSJ 2011 AMSAT Symposium Banquet Speaker
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 275.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 2, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-275.01
AMSAT is privileged to have Lance Ginner, K6GSJ as our banquet
speaker. As AMSAT and the amateur radio community celebrate the
50th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 1 (placed in orbit on
12 DEC 61), we look forward to Lance's remarks about how OSCAR 1
was developed and the impact of amateur radio satellites on his
professional career. We will hear about the personal, technical,
political, and security issues regarding the early OSCARs.
First licensed in 1954 at the age of 16, Lance started his amateur
career as a novice (KN6GSJ) and quickly upgraded to become K6GSJ,
the same general class license he holds today. Following his grad-
uation from college in 1959, he joined Lockheed Missiles and Space
Division in Sunnyvale, CA.
While at Lockheed, Lance became involved with Chuck Towns, K6LFH
and others in Project Oscar and helped build OSCAR 1 (Launched on
12 DEC 61) and OSCAR 2 (Launched on 2 JUN 62) and test and integrate
those spacecraft to the Discoverer host vehicle. OSCAR 1 became one
of the first free flying 'secondary payloads' to be flown into space.
Lance's involvement with amateur radio spacecraft continued with his
work with OSCAR 3, OSCAR 4, OSCAR 5 (the first for the newly formed
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation in 1970), OSCAR 6, OSCAR 7, and
OSCAR 8.
Lance's involvement with the early OSCAR satellites continued with
AMSAT, working with Jan King, W3GEY (AMSAT VP-Engineering), Perry
Klein, W3PK (AMSAT's first President), and Dick Daniels, W4PUJ
(AMSAT Propulsion).
You are invited to read more of Lance's career as one of Amateur Radio
in Space pioneers on the 2011 Symposium web page:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2011/BanquetSpeaker.php
[ANS thanks the 2011 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-275.02
OSCAR 1 Prototype Will Be Operating at the 2011 Symposium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 275.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 2, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-275.02
The AMSAT 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held on Friday,
November 4th through Sunday, November 6th at the Windham Hotel
in San Jose, California. This year's Symposium coincides the cele-
bration of the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1.
Symposium Banquet Speaker and OSCAR 1 developer Lance Ginner, K6GSJ
provided Bob Allison, WB1GCM of ARRL's Technical Lab and his team
with technical advice to help getting the satellite operational
again. Bob will also be at the Symposium and will give a brief talk
on the refurbishment process.
The refurbished OSCAR-1 was on display at the ARRL exhibit area at
the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. We look forward to having the OSCAR 1
prototype on display during the AMSAT Symposium as well as hear the
CW transmissions (now managed by a PIC controller) in the 145 MHz
band.
Additionally, the AMSAT News Service will re-run the weekly Project
OSCAR Newsletters to commemorate the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1.
During the November/December 2011 time frame you will be able to share
the excitement of the launch campaign that started it all 50 years
ago.
Watch for the re-publication of the Project OSCAR Newsletters in the
AMSAT Journal. The Newsletters were hand-typed back in 1961. Thanks
to Don Ferguson, KD6IRE for scanning the original documents announ-
cing OSCAR 1.
[ANS thanks the 2011 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-275.03
Auburn University AubieSat-1 Scheduled for Launch from Vandenberg
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 275.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 2, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-275.03
JM Wersinger, PhD, KI4YAU, Professor Emeritus and Director of Auburn
University Student Space Program in Alabama wrote this week, "We fer-
vently request your assistance in receiving transmissions from an up-
coming satellite, AubieSat-1, immediately after its launch from Van-
denberg AFB, California, 25 October 2011 at 9:52 UTC. AubieSat-1 (AS-1)
is an undergraduate - built CubeSat satellite developed by Auburn Uni-
versity.
AS-1 is designed to transmit with a power of about 800 milliwatts on a
frequency of 437.475 MHz, plus or minus Doppler correction. The beacon
signal, along with telemetry, will be sent using A1A continuous wave
Morse code at 20 words per minute. Additional telemetry from the on
board science experiment will use CW transmissions up to 60 WPM.
Based on the pre-launch orbital data provided by NASA, AS-1 will acti-
vate after deployment at 12:21 UTC, 25 October 2011. At that time,
the sub-satellite point will be at 34.52 S latitude and 1.52 W longi-
tude over the South Atlantic Ocean. Our predictions are that the first
flights over the contiguous United States will begin as shown in the
following table:
Orbit AOS Elevation LOS General Locale
----- --------- ---------- -------- ------------
3 15:54 UTC >50 deg 16:01 UTC New York
4 17:28 UTC >26 deg 17:35 UTC Texas
5 19:07 UTC >48 deg 19:14 UTC California
This information will be updated should there be launch scrubs or per-
formance changes in the launch, and additional information will be
available upon request for specific locations. Reception reports with
data contents are welcomed to the following email addresses:
wersijp at auburn dot edu and tam0013 at auburn dot edu
An internet Echolink conference group is also planned to begin one-half
hour prior to launch and continue until about 30 minutes after confir-
mation of the first receipt of signals from the satellite. Information
on the conference groups title will be distributed nearer to the launch
for interested stations.
Please email wersijp at auburn dot edu if you require additional infor-
mation and can assist in the reception and tracking
of AubieSat-1.
Long-time AMSAT Member John Klingelhoeffer, WB4LNM serves as the Tech-
nical Advisor in Auburn University's Student Space Program.
[ANS thanks Professor Wersinger, KI4YAU at Auburn University for the
above information].
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-275.04
K6LCS Satellite Presentation at the Anchorage Hamfest
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 275.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 2, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-275.04
Craig Bledsoe, KL4E of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club (AARC) noted
their September 17 Hamfest featured a first ever remotely-delivered
keynote presentation by Clint Bradford, K6LCS.
In order to facilitate this full-duplex two-way video Skype conference
between Clint's studio in Riverside, California and the Anchorage Ham-
fest a team of hams assembled the technology to make this happen.
Led by Rich Gillin, AL4S, and Eric Thompson, N6SPP, the team installed
an AT&T active remote phased-array WiMax antenna at the hamfest and
aimed it towards the AT&T Alascom headquarters on Government Hill many
miles away. The resultant broadband signal enabled Clint to present
over a hundred PowerPoint slides through a laptop computer and projec-
tion system while his audio was delivered via a Skype connection. Two
way internet video streaming allowed the audience to see Clint and he
was able to see the crowd at the Hamfest.
Clint delivered a fascinating look across the spectrum of amateur sat-
ellite operations. From the earliest days of the first OSCAR satellites
first launched over a half-century ago to the organization of AMSAT and
today's comprehensive international efforts to get the latest amateur
technologies into outer space, his presentation covered it all.
Clint also taught the basics, showing step-by-step how a beginning ham
can use a simple handheld radio and antenna to work the satellites with
great success.
In addition to all of the on-line satellite discussions, the AARC also
conducted real-life satellite QSOs from the hamfest before and after
Clint's presentation. Using AO-27, SO-50, and AO51 the host operators
N6SPP and KL4E worked over a dozen amateur satellite stations in three
countries. Then a number of guest operators who were attending the
Hamfest got on board as well. Several visiting hams made their first
satellite QSOs that day - and they were thrilled!
All-in-all everyone had a great time at the Anchorage Amateur Radio
Club Hamfest, and many visitors said that they thoroughly enjoyed
Clint's presentation.
Clint's satellite pages can be found at: http://www.work-sat.com
[ANS thanks Craig Bledsoe, KL4E of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club
for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-275.05
ARISS Status - 26 September 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 275.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 2, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-275.05
1. First ARISS Contact for Louisiana
On Thursday, September 22, the first Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) contact to be held in Louisiana took place between students
attending Kiroli Elementary School in West Monroe and Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW
on the ISS. Approximately 500 students were on hand for the event.
Representatives from the school board, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
and the media were also present. The contact was a featured activity held in
conjunction with a well developed education plan covering space and
communications. The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) will open its
observatory in an upcoming month to Kiroli Elementary to allow students to view
various celestial bodies and events, as well as the planets and stars
within our
solar system. Contact information and links to articles, video and audio may be
found on this Web site: http://www.cs.ulm.edu/~pdw/KiroliARISS/
2. ARISS International Team Teleconference Held
The ARISS monthly teleconference was held on Tuesday, September 20. Among the
agenda items discussed were the upcoming Houston face-to-face meeting and the
HamTV project that ESA plans to support through a contract with Kayser-Italia.
The Project Selection and Use committee will discuss HamTV and a second Kenwood
radio for the Columbus module once the proposals are submitted. Minutes have
been posted. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2011-09-20.htm
3. Astronaut Training Status
Three simulated ARISS contacts were held on Wednesday, September 21. Chris
Hadfield, KC5RNJ/VA3OOG spoke with youth at the Euro Space Camp in Belgium.
Kevin Ford, KF5GPP contacted the Manhattan Challenger Learning Center (CLC) and
Tom Marshburn, KE5HOC answered questions from students at the CLC of
Indianapolis. The training sessions were terrestrial-based amateur radio
contacts using ARISS equivalent equipment that will prepare the astronauts for
participation in ARISS contacts during their upcoming missions on the ISS. Ford
is slated to launch with Expedition 33 in September 2012 and Hadfield and
Marshburn are scheduled to fly with Expedition 34 in November 2012.
4. EE Times - ARISSat Blog
On September 17, a new entry was made to the EE (Electronic Engineering) Times
"Chips in Space" blog about amateur radio satellite ARISSat-1. This week the
blog covers the project's lessons learned. See:
http://eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4227392/Chips-in-Space--Lessons-
learned--Part-1
5. World Radio Magazine Covers ARISSat-1
The World Radio Magazine October 2011 issue featured an article about
ARISSat-1.
To view the story, "Amateur Satellites: A Bumpy Ride for ARISSat-1 on
its Way to
Space," see: http://www.worldradiomagazine.com/
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org