October 2014 - ANS - mailman.amsat.org

ANS-215 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 27 Dec '14

27 Dec '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-215 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * July/August 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready and at the Print Shop * AMSAT ARRL Centennial Videos Added to www.AMSAT.org * AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium Videos Now Available * Enhanced FUNcube-1 Dashboard App now available * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-215.01 ANS-215 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 215.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE August 3, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-215.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- July/August 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready and at the Print Shop JoAnne, K9JKM reports that the July/August 2014 AMSAT Journal has been sent to the print shop. Look for your copy in your mailbox in a couple of weeks depending on the post office. Thanks to all of our contributors and Editors: Bernhard, VA6BMJ; Douglas, KA2UPW/5; James, K3JPH for their help getting this issue ready. In this issue you will find ... + AMSAT Announcements: Call for 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium Papers + Apogee View by Barry Baines - WD4ASW + Fox-1C to Launch on Spaceflight's SHERPA in 3Q 2015 + Get Ready for Fox-1 Hamfest Handout + AMSAT at ARRL Centennial Celebration in Hartford + Board of Directors Meeting Minutes and 2014 AMSAT BOD Election Notice by Alan Biddle - WA4SCA + AMSAT at Dayton 2014 by Keith Baker - KB1SF/VA3KSF + AMSAT Engineering 2014 - Virtual Teamwork by Jerry Buxton - N0JY + AMSAT at Ham-Com 2014 + New President's Club Donor Drive Announcement + Star Comm Group Satellite Operating Awards by Damon Runion - WA4HFN + June 19 DNEPR Launch Lofts 37 Satellites + AMSAT Field Day 2014 by Bruce Paige - KK5DO + UKube-1 With FUNcube-2 Transponder Aboard Launched on July 8 by Graham Shirville - G3VZV A color preview of the cover page has been posted to the AMSAT North America Facebook page. The AMSAT Journal welcomes all your input about Amateur Radio in space. We'll do all the final formatting and layout for you. All we need are your article in text, MS-Word, or OpenOffice format. Please send photos separately as JPG or BMP files in as high resolution as possible. We have a writer's guide posted at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1709 -and-feel free to contact the editor directly with your questions. Sample articles from previous issues are posted at: http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=2074 The AMSAT Journal is sent to all members bi-monthly. We report on all aspects of Amateur Radio in space including launches, equipment, operating techniques, antennas, activities, and membership news. Not yet a member? You can find out how to join at: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1095 Please send your articles, photos, and news to journal(a)amsat.org or k9jkm(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Journal Editor Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT ARRL Centennial Videos Added to www.AMSAT.org The following are videos of Patrick WD9EWK demonstrating working satellites during the ARRL Centennial. Two of the 3 use audio Patrick recorded, with a slideshow complete with pictures and descriptions of the audio and other stuff related to AMSAT at Hartford. This is a slideshow from the AO-7 demonstration Patrick gave, after our training seminar wrapped up on the Thursday of that weekend (17 July): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5TjXbuLv5s This is a slideshow from the NA1SS contact on Saturday (19 July) morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoFbhPXsUx0 This is an actual video from the AO-7 demonstration at the end of the convention on Saturday (19 July). Thanks Peter W2JV for running the camera for this video!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHd91H_t88o See the AMSAT Presentations at the 2014 ARRL Centennial webpage: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=2914 [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium Videos Now Available Thanks to the hard work of volunteers from the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) videos of the presentations given to the AMSAT- UK International Space Colloquium held in Guildford on July 26-27, 2014 are now available to view online or download to your PC. Links to the presentation videos, PDF’s of the slides and the schedule are at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2014/presentation-videos/ You can also access them by following these steps: • Go to http://www.batc.tv/ • Click on the ‘Film Archive’ icon • Select ‘AMSATUK 2014? from the Category drop down menu • Click on ‘Select Category’ • Select the video you wish to watch from the Stream drop down menu • Click on ‘Select Stream’ • Click the play icon ‘>’ on the player • Clicking on the icon to the left of the player volume control will give you full screen display. • To download the video file to your PC right-click on the ‘Click Here’ link under the player. AMSAT-UK publishes an newsletter, OSCAR News, that is full of Amateur Satellite information. A sample issue of OSCAR News can be downloaded here. Join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Enhanced FUNcube-1 Dashboard App now available AThis weekend saw the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium take place and Jim Heck G3WGM and Ciaran Morgan M0XTD together gave a presentation on the FUNcube-1 CubeSat mission. The presentation included the announcement of a new version of the FUNcube-1 Dashboard. This has greatly improved decoding performance for weak signals – especially for Dongle users. Additionally the Dashboard can now activate the Bias-T pre-amp power from the Dongle. The new version can now be downloaded and the guidance notes have been updated to provide full information about it. All users are encouraged to install this new version to improve their system performance and further increase the amount of data being captured in the Warehouse. Reports will be very welcome on the FUNcube forum http://forum.funcube.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=195 Dashboard App – Telemetry Decoder http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/ Data Warehouse – Telemetry Archive http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Iformation about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). * Saturday, 2 August 2014 – Fairbanks Hamfest in Fairbanks AK * Friday through Sunday, 12-14 September 2014 – ARRL Southwestern Division Convention 2014 in San Diego CA (near Montgomery Field and I- 805/CA-163 interchange) * Saturday, 8 November 2014 – Tucson Hamfest 2014 in Marana AZ (along I-10 west frontage road, east of exit 236) * Saturday, 6 December 2014 – Superstition Superfest 2014 in Mesa AZ (Mesa Community College, Dobson Road between Southern Avenue & US- 60 exit 177) * Saturday, 10 January 2015 – Thunderbird Hamfest in Phoenix AZ (43rd Avenue, between Greenway and Bell Roads) * Friday and Saturday, 20-21 February 2015 – Yuma Hamfest in Yuma AZ (Yuma County Fairgrounds, 32nd Street between Pacific Avenue & Avenue 3E, south of I-8 exit 3) [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Upcoming Contacts * A direct contact via 8J3AK with students at Amino Kita Elementary School, Kyotango, Japan is scheduled for Wed 2014-08-06 10:25:43 UTC 68 deg. Amino Kita Elementary School was opened on April 1, 1983. Our school is located at the northernmost tip of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. We have 244 students now, who all study hard and pursue sports actively. Our school is surrounded by a rich, natural environment. The location of our school is recognized as a part of Quasi-National Park and the National Geo Park. It is also only 100 meters away from the beach. Students in the 6th grade swim one kilometer in the sea every year. During the current season, summer, a lot of lights from squid fishing boats can be seen in the sea at night. Maybe you can see them from the ISS? Our school has beautiful grounds covered with green grass. At recess, our students play in the grounds full of energy. There are straight hallways more than 100 meters long in our school. They are sometimes used in our arithmetic classes to learn how to measure distance. The members of our space club will ask you some questions today. These questions were thought of by all of the students. It is a new club that began this year. They are studying the stars and moon, and practicing English hard so that they can make contact with you. All of the people in our school are really looking forward to getting in touch with the astronauts in the ISS. Latest News * A telebridge contact with Scouts at Space Jam 8, Rantoul Airport & Chanute Aerospace Museum, Rantoul IL, USA was successfu on Sat 2014-08-02 12:23:19 UTC 60 deg via W6SRJ in Santa Rosa, CA, USA. ARISS reports "The contact Space Jam 8 just had a very successful contact with Greg. We had 24 questions answered that were on the list plus 2 extra ones for a total of 26. I only heard one very very very brief change in signal strength but Greg was rock solid through the entire pass. He actually called W6SRJ first. The Space Jam 8 group was heading off to their next project of the day, launching a balloon with ham radio on board. They also reported that there was at least 1 TV station there." SpaceJam 8 provided the following information - Greetings to all stations from the participants and volunteers of Space Jam 8 in Rantoul, Illinois. Though primarily a weekend Scouting and STEM education event, we are open to all interested youth. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Venturing Crews from 22 states and this year Canada have come together in an educational and fun format to learn more about the life skills that will prepare them for the increasingly complex technological future. While it is well known that Scouting teaches pioneering skills like camping and wilderness survival, the new pioneers and wilderness are in outer space and we are working hard at 44 technology oriented Merit Badges and activities, plus some fun things like the Duct Tape Merit Badge and experiencing 1/3 gravity. Talking to the astronauts on the ISS is an unforgettable part of the experience at Space Jam and that's next on our list. We will not know for many years whether one of these youths becomes an astronaut themselves but it is certain that they are all part of tomorrow's leaders. Find more information about Space Jam at http://spacejamboree.com/pages/about. * A telebridge contact with students participating in the ESA 2014 Space Camp, Rossall School, Fleetwood, United Kingdom was successful Tue 2014-07-29 14:01:13 UTC 53 deg via W6SRJ. Audio on Echolink and Web stream was transmitted. This annual camp is organized by the ESA Space Camp Committee takes place in a different European country each summer for 2 weeks. This year the camp takes place between 27 July and 10 August where 185 young space explorers aged 8 to 17 will meet each other in the UK at Rossall School. The children come from the following ESA establishments (UK, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands and Germany). This will be the 20th Space Camp organized by ESA. This year the children will also be involved in celebrating this milestone with marking 50 years of ESA. Children, their parents and educators from the area will join the ESA campers on this special celebration day. Rossall is a boarding school situated on a beautiful 160-acre site, there is plenty of room for extensive sports and cultural facilities, including a swimming pool, squash and tennis courts, as well as a fitness room and a climbing wall. The ESC 2014 program will feature a balanced mix of sports such as flag rugby, life-guarding, kayaking and martial arts. The theme for camp will be ‘Reach for the Stars!’ Well-equipped IT labs, classrooms and an on-site planetarium will be instrumental in setting up a space education program that will keep the children motivated with new and exciting hands-on activities and educational tasks involving space- related themes, as well as learning about the culture of the host country. As with all ESA Space Camps, there will be specific emphasis placed on socialization and respect among the participants. We hope to make the camp a really unique experience for juniors and teenagers who are in the process of becoming citizens of a multicultural society. * On July 25, 2014, A direct contact via RZ9WWB with students participating in Gagarin From Space at Vii Youth Rally Of Radio Amateurs In Bashkiria, Ufa,Russia was successful 2014-07-25 21:38 UTC. [ANS thanks ARISS and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over * $248 Billion for Manufacture and Launch of 1,155 Satellites Over Next Decade According to Euroconsult's newly released research report, Satellites to be Built and Launched, 115 satellites will be launched on average yearly over the next decade (2014-2023). In comparison with last year's forecast, the number of satellites is stable while market value is growing, thus translating the growing economic importance of the sector, for both governments and commercial satellite companies. Governments all over the world will be responsible for more than 75% of the $248 billion in revenues expected from the manufacturing and launch of these 1,155 satellites. Governments' dominance of the space industry continues to increase as established space countries replace and expand their in-orbit satellite systems and more countries acquire their first operational satellite systems, usually for communications and broadcasting or for Earth observation and imagery intelligence. Nearly 90% of the government market value will remain concentrated in the 10 countries with an established space industry, but growth in the government market will derive from new satellite systems in 35 nascent space countries, creating a market of $2 billion on average per year to be provided principally by foreign suppliers as local industry capabilities develop simultaneously. According to Rachel Villain, Principal Advisor at Euroconsult and editor of the report, "governments in established space countries continue to drive innovation for satellite systems with benefits to local industries and the foreign governments to which they export." In the commercial space sector, Euroconsult anticipates a total of 350 satellites to be launched over the decade, most of which will be for the replacement of capacity existing in-orbit. These satellites will be equally divided between the geostationary orbit (GEO) and lower altitude orbits (MEO and LEO); 83% of market value remains concentrated in the geostationary orbit, the destination of 300+ satellites operated by 30 commercial companies for communications and broadcasting services. Still, the constellations to be launched in non-geostationary orbits for communications services and Earth observation imagery should represent a market of $1 billion per year on average over the decade. Technology advances in satellite payloads and higher competition in launch services allow the continuous improvement of CAPEX efficiency of commercial GEO satellites for communications and broadcasting services. Electric propulsion will definitively be part of the economic equation, even if only five all-electric commercial satellites are now under construction. [ANS thanks spacemart.com for the above information] * US aerospace firm outlines New Zealand-based space program A United States aerospace company is aiming to make New Zealand one of the exclusive group of countries with a space program by promising a revolutionary new satellite-carrying rocket for a fraction of the current satellite launch costs. Rocket Lab announced Tuesday that it had developed a light- weight, carbon-composite rocket, named Electron, at its Auckland plant and hoped to offer small satellite launches for less than 5 million U.S. dollars, compared with a current average price of 133 million U.S. dollars. The company, which has received research and development funding from the government, was being backed by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, Rocket Lab founder and New Zealander Peter Beck said in a statement. The lead-time for businesses to launch a satellite would be cut from years to just weeks and the company already had commercial commitments for 30 launches, said Beck. At 18 meters in length, 1 meter in diameter and weighing more than 10 tones, Electron would be the first vehicle of its class capable of delivering payloads up to 100 kg into low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 160 km. Businesses faced a severe barrier in launching satellites as rockets had remained prohibitively large and expensive, despite the trend for satellites to become smaller, more capable and more affordable, he said. "Along with benefits for commercial enterprises, cheaper and faster space access has the potential to lead to more accurate weather prediction, global high speed Internet access, as well as real-time monitoring of the impacts of human development," said Beck. New Zealand was in an ideal launch position for a variety of different types of orbits and plans were underway to build a space port at several potential locations. Powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene, Electron would have a lift- off mass of 10,500 kg and a possible top speed of 27,500 km per hour. [ANS thanks space-travel.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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-292 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS-US Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 * Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! * Russian 'Smart' Mini-Satellites to Go Into Orbit in 2016 * UKSA announces CubeSat payload opportunity * 4M (Manfred Memorial Moon Mission) * Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational Use * HamTV Bulletin #15 * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.01 ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 292.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 19, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-292.01 ARISS-US Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 You are encouraged to share the following "Message to US Educators" with teachers, administrators and leaders at your local schools, museums, science centers and scouting organizations. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window October 17 - December 15, 2014 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between May 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. THE DEADLINE TO SUMBIT A PROPOSAL IS DECEMBER 15, 2014. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students and educators to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in contact dates and times. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA. More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl dot org. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. * Design * Implementation - CubeSat platform * Estimated timeline * Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units * Launch - how does it get to orbit * Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Russian 'Smart' Mini-Satellites to Go Into Orbit in 2016 The first group of Russian "smart" mini-satellites should be launched into orbit in 2016, Mikhail Sonkin, the Deputy Governor of Russia's Tomsk Region, said Wednesday. "The signing of an agreement on the creation of an association to carry out projects in the sphere of the development of groups of miniature satellites is in progress...The launch [of the satellites] is planned for 2016," Sonkin, who is responsible for the scientific and educational complex and innovation policy in the region, said at the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow. A number of Russian universities and space industry companies are expected to join the association, which will work on creating software to control groups of mini-satellites and improve their interaction with each other. According to Sonkin, members of the association, which will include Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) and Tomsk State University (TSU), will also be working on developing new materials for the space industry and on establishing communication networks in remote areas. Last month, Chairman of the Presidium of the Tomsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Psakhie announced that Russian scientists were planning to create unique mini-satellites capable of group interaction. The satellites, similar to CubeSat developed in the United States, would be able to self-educate and repair each other without leaving the Earth's orbit. Source: RIA Novosti [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UKSA announces CubeSat payload opportunity The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has announced an opportunity to fly payloads on the 3U CubeSat AlSat-1N. AlSat-Nano is primarily an education programme, its top level objective is to teach Algerian students how to design, build and operate a 3U CubeSat. The programme involves a number of Algerian graduate students who will be hosted at the Surrey Space Centre (University of Surrey) and focuses on the development of the CubeSat as a hands-on learning exercise for the students, to demonstrate the practical implementation of this type of low cost space technology. As well as the practical element of the programme there will be a focus on research modules around the use of low cost nano-satellite technologies and applications in developing nations such as Algeria, which would help to create sustainable growth and have practical uses such as earthresource management (agriculture, water), atmospheric monitoring, and disaster management. The design and build of the nano-satellite will take place at Surrey Space Centre. Final assembly, integration and verification will take place at the ASAL satellite development facility in Oran, Algeria. Operations will be carried out from Oran also. The bus will be built using hardware sourced from UK suppliers and the CubeSat will also carry payloads which will be supplied by the UK CubeSat community. These payloads will be selected in a competitive process following an Announcement of Flight Opportunity which will be issued in December 2014. The precise interface specifications will be developed during the first trimester of the project to be integrated in the Announcement of Opportunity, however it is foreseen that a maximum volume of 1U (10cm x 10cm x 10cm) and maximum mass of 1kg will be available for payloads. The selection of the payloads will be carried out in early 2015 via a selection panel. Payloads must be ready for functional testing and integration by September 2015. Launch will be in Q2 2016. Because of the educational and collaborative nature of the programme there are two further specific points that should be noted: * Payload providers must be actively engaged in all programme reviews and an active participant in the consortium * Payload providers must be willing to share payload data with the programme for research purposes, and to receive interpreted payload data via the ASAL ground segment in Oran, Algeria Submissions should be sent to Ryan King, UK Space Agency - ryan.king(a)ukspaceagency.bis.gsi.gov.uk with 'AlSat-Nano RFI' as the subject line. The deadline for responses is 12 noon, November 14th 2014. Submissions received after this time will not be read. RFI PDF http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-AlSat-Nano-Info UK Space Agency Announcement http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-alsat-nano-payload [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4M (Manfred Memorial Moon Mission) 4M or Manfred Memorial Moon Mission is a mission dedicated to LuxSpace founder, Prof. Manfred Fuchs, who died early this year. The mission is a lunar flyby of a spacecraft that is attached to the last stage of a Chinese Long March 3C rocket. The launch is scheduled for October 23, 2014 at 1800 UTC. Beijing plans to launch a Lunar spacecraft on a journey lasting 196 hours that should take it around the Moon before returning and re- entering the Earth's atmosphere. It will carry a 14 kg payload known as 4M-LXS which was developed at LuxSpace. The 4M-LXS amateur radio payload will transmit on 145.980 MHz +/- 2.9kHz (-40°C to +125°C), Doppler max: -2200Hz, +1000Hz. The continuous transmissions will start 4670s (77.8 minutes) after launch (-0, +600s). Five successive 1 minute sequences are sent during the 5 minutes cycle. The digital mode JT65B will be used, this can be decoded by radio amateurs using the free WJST software, there will also be 'human readable' tone transmissions. See the transmit sequence description on page 14 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment available at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/lxs-4m-eme2014-a4-v3.pdf During the lunar flyby, the range will be 399,636 km at the most and the distance to the Moon will be between 12,000 and 24,000 km depending on the final injection vector. The transmitter produces 1.5 watts to a simple Monopole antenna which should give a Signal to Noise ratio ( S/N) comparable to amateur moon bounce (EME) signals at the Earth's surface. LuxSpace encourages radio amateurs around the world to receive the transmissions and send in data. There will be a number of Experiments and Contests with prizes to the winners in each experiment and category. Details are given on page 19 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment. A Java client will be made available to automatically send the WSJT ALL.TXT and the decoded.txt files to a central database. The orbiter is one of the test models for Beijing's new lunar probe Chang'e-5, which will be tasked with landing on the moon, collecting samples and returning to Earth. The launch is aimed at testing the technologies that are vital for the success of Chang'e-5. The orbiter will be launched into Lunar Transfer Orbit (LTO) then will perform a flyby around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere after 196 hours (9 days). The orbiter arrived by air in Xichang, Sichuan on Sunday, August 10 and was then transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The integration of the LX0OHB-4M amateur radio payload was completed on Sunday night, October 12 and is now ready to launch The onboard clock has been adjusted to start JT65B (145.980 MHz) at the UTC minute +/-1 second. It is likely to drift during the mission, and manual offset introduction will be required after a week or so. The launch date is October 23 at 1800 UTC. Beginning of transmission of 4M will start between 1917 UTC and 1927 UTC. Refer to the provided maps and animations links in the blog section (see also older messages) to determine your visibility. Alternatively, use the 'tracking' section where you can compute your tracking elements by introducing your geographic coordinates. The table can be copied/pasted into a text file. As the apparent movement will be close (and closer) to the one one of the Moon, manual pointing is easy but for the largest arrays. The link budget is quite tight, but the first hours should give comfortable signals. QSB is to be expected. As JT65B is used: please remind those not yet too familiar with it that the receiver must not be tuned during the transmission. A dedicated webpage is being written to detail the procedure. A dedicated java application is also available to automatically transmit the decoded messages to the 4M website and ease the data collection. (Thanks to LSE Space). Alternatively, you can also send the decoded messages by eMail, sending the ALL.txt file. For those not wishing to use JT65B, please record the signals (11025s/s, 8or 16 bits, mono), taking care not to saturate the recording and NO MP3 please. SpectrumLab is an excellent choice, although some may wish to use simpler recording software. You can imagine that the team is quite eager to receive the first reports, so, do not hesitate to mail immediately, send decoded messages or even phone or text me at +352 661 678 986. Our friends of IC CMalaga are also quite eager to receive the results of their radiation dosimeter experiment. Basic rules of the contest have been delineated in the blog section. Complete rules will be published soon. Stay tuned on our website or Facebook page. The following is a tentative set of orbital elements that should remain valid from the launch to at least up to the October 27 when using usual classical and simple tracking software which does not integrate Moon. 1 99999U 14298.79728009 .00000066 00000-0 00000-0 0 00006 2 99999 030.6553 295.6956 9746689 147.2577 071.9585 00.10600338000010 The following set is to be used after the flyby from October 28 onwards 1 99999U 14301.79728009 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00009 2 99999 049.9434 067.2017 6639865 045.9865 124.5019 00.06612018000010 Details on receiving signals from the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) can be found at http://moon.luxspace.lu/receiving-4m/ Ghislain Ruy LX2RG Email ruy(a)luxspace.lu with "4M Amateur" in the subject Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) http://moon.luxspace.lu/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LuxSpaceSarl The launch will be broadcast by CNTV/CCTV: http://www.cntv.cn/ or http://english.cntv.cn/ or http://english.cntv.cn/live/p2p/index.shtml Information animations and some JT65B test files at http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-Animations AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK [ANS thanks LuxSpace.lu, AMSAT-UK and Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational Use NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions and museums to request space shuttle thermal protective tiles and other special items offered on a first-come, first-served basis while quantities last. Organizations previously allocated thermal protective tiles may request an additional three tiles. There will be a nominal shipping fee that must be paid online with a credit card. To make a request for special items online, visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-ShuttleTiles. Questions about this opportunity should be directed to GSAXcessHelp(a)gsa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Oct. 16, 2014 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HamTV Bulletin #15 Ham Video reception with low gain antenna. Tonino Giagnacovo IZ8YRR did an experiment with a low gain antenna during the Ham Video commissioning. Tonino wrote an article about this experiment, which was published in Radio Rivista, the magazine of ARI, Associazione Radioamatori Italiani, the Italian IARU society. Tonino translated his article in English. It is now available on the ARISS-Europe website: www.ariss-eu.org Please see left column. Thanks to Tonino for making his article available in English. 73, Gaston Bertels - ON4WF ARISS-Europe chairman [ANS thanks Gaston ON4WF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News ARISS-US is Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 See lead story above or visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact + A Successful contact was made between Team Sky and Rocket (NPO Sora-To-Rocket-Dan), Aichi, Japan and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-10-09 09:00 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8J2YSM. ARISS Mentor was 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between Pilton Bluecoat School, Barnstaple, United Kingdom and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-10-08 10:08 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was MØXTD. + A Successful contact was made between Indiana Area School District, Indiana, PA, USA and Astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO using callsign NA1SS/IRØISS. The contact began 2014-10-17 16:41 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was AJ9N. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule >From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 931. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 909. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS The successful school list has been updated as of 2014-10-10 06:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 Exp. 40/41 on orbit Maxim Suraev Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Exp. 41/42 on orbit Barry Wilmore Alexander Samokutyayev Elena Serova [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Yes, it is rocket science... a nasty place to ride... Bob Bruninga WB4APR offers the following link of interest. To see the violence that a cubesat has to go through, here is a test we did today on a power supply board. http://aprs.org/psat/Vibe-coil-test1724.MOV (1 meg file) It failed even before we got to the 22G requirement! [ANS thanks Bob WB4APR for the above information] + Why radio hams should consider 3D printing Mike Grauer, Jr, KE7DBX, asks radio amateurs to think about how 3D printers can be used in home construction He says: As a member of the ham radio community, I have always been fascinated by the maker mindset which has existed since the early days of radio. From making radio equipment from scratch, to kits and even modifying commercially available equipment, the maker movement and radio go hand in hand. The 3D printing community shares many traits with the ham radio movement. At the heart of it all is making, creating and inventing. And just like ham radio operators, those involved with 3D printing are constantly learning new technical skills that can be used in other areas of our lives. Read the full story at http://www.inside3dp.com/ham-operators-consider-3d-printing/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + New Website For Indian Amateur Satellite Organization Posted by our UK friends on Southgate ... The Indian amateur satellite organisation have launched a new website The site describes two projects which AMSAT-India is currently working on, a 435/145 MHz linear transponder and a 435 MHz CubeSat communication sub system. Some back issues of the AMSAT-India newsletter are available for download. Web http://amsatindia.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-290 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
by E.Mike McCardel 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-290 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-290.01 ANS-290 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 290.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 17, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-290.01 Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. * Design * Implementation - CubeSat platform * Estimated timeline * Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units * Launch - how does it get to orbit * Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This Special ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-285 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 12 Oct '14

12 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-285 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Officer Appointments * Challenge Coin Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations * 6th European CubeSat Symposium * ARISS News * NASA Invites Public to Send Your Name to Mars – Starting on Orion’s 1st Flight SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-285.01 ANS-285 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 285.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. October 12, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-285.01 AMSAT Officer Appointments The following Officers of AMSAT-NA for 2014-2015 were appointed by the Board of Directors at their annual meeting held in Baltimore, MD. President Barry Baines WD4ASW Executive Vice President Open VP Human Space Flight Frank Bauer KA3HDO VP Engineering Jerry Buxton N0JY VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA VP User Services JoAnne Maenpaa K9JKM VP Educational Relations E. Mike McCardel KC8YLD VP Marketing Open Secretary Alan Biddle WA4SCA Treasurer Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF Manager Martha Saragovitz [ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge Coin Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations AMSAT is excited to announce that a new premium collectable is now available for qualifying donations to the Fox satellite program. AMSAT has commissioned a unique challenge coin for donors who have contributed at the $100 level or higher. This challenge coin is shaped as an isometric view of a Fox-1 CubeSat, complete with details such as the stowed UHF antenna, solar cells, and camera lens viewport. Struck in 3mm thick brass, plated with antique silver, and finished in bright enamel, the coin is scaled to be approximately 1:4 scale, or 1 inch along each of the six sides. The reverse has the AMSAT Fox logo. Coins will also be made available to qualifying donors that have contributed since the Fox-1C announcement on July 18, 2014 upon request. Donations may be made via the AMSAT website, via the FundRazr crowdsourcing app at http://fnd.us/c/6pz92/sh/561Zd, or via the AMSAT office at (888) 322-6728. The Fox program is designed to provide a platform for university experiments in space, as well as provide FM repeater capability for radio amateurs worldwide. Fox-1A and 1C are set to launch in 2015, and Fox-1B (also known as RadFXSat) is awaiting NASA ELANA launch assignment. Further information on the Fox project can be found at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1113. You may donate here via PayPal. Donations will be marked specifically for Fox-1C. Note that PayPal usually allows you to donate with a credit card, even if you do not have a PayPal account. However, PayPal requirements differ depending on your country. We have no control over this issue. [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th European CubeSat Symposium The 6th European CubeSat Symposium will take place from October 14-16, 2014 at Estavayer-le-Lac in Switzerland. The Symposium has attracted more than 100 abstracts submitted from 31 different countries. Von Karman Institute and Swiss Space Systems are proud to support the CubeSat community by coorganising this leading CubeSat event in Europe, for the first time in Switzerland. Von Karman Institute continues to act as the coordinator of the World’s most ambitious CubeSat Project QB50, whereas Swiss Space Systems is designing an innovative launcher specifically for small satellites to bring the launch costs to 25% of today’s market value. The symposium abstracts are available at https://www.cubesatsymposium.eu/download/BookOfAbstracts_6th_European_Cubes… posium_2014.pdf 6th European CubeSat Symposium https://www.cubesatsymposium.eu/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News The Winter Gardens Primary School, Canvey Island, United Kingdom and Pilton Bluecoat School, Barnstaple, United Kingdom, telebridge via W6SRJ Contact was successful on Wednesday 2014-10-08 at 10:08:49 UTC. Team Sky and Rocket (NPO Sora-To-Rocket-Dan), Kariya, Aichi, Japan, is scheduled for a direct contact via 8J2YSM,Thursday 2014-10-09 09:00:05 UTC. Indiana Area School District, Indiana, PA, is scheduled for a telebridge contact via IK1SLD on Friday, 2014-10-17 16:41:45 UTC. ARISS is requesting listener reports for the above contacts. Due to issues with the Kenwood radio that are not fully understood at present, the Ericsson radio is going to be used for these contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. ************************************** From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Invites Public to Send Your Name to Mars – Starting on Orion’s First Flight by Ken Kremer on October 8, 2014 http://www.universetoday.com/115123/nasa-invites-public-to-send-your-name-t… mars-starting-on-orions-first-flight/ NASA invites you to send your name to Mars via the first Orion test flight in December 2014. Deadline for submissions is Oct 31, 2014. Join over 170,000 others! See link below. Credit: NASA Here’s your chance to participate in NASA’s ‘Journey to Mars’ and the first flight of the new Orion spacecraft that will eventually transport humans to the Red Planet. NASA invites you to send your name to Mars. And the adventure starts via the first Orion test flight dubbed Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) scheduled for blastoff on December 4, 2014 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. This week NASA announced that the public can submit their names for inclusion on a dime-sized microchip that will travel on spacecraft voyaging to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including Mars. Join over 170,000 others who have already signed up in just the first few hours! Since the Orion EFT-1 mission is set to launch in less than two months, the deadline to submit your name is soon: Oct 31, 2014. “NASA is pushing the boundaries of exploration and working hard to send people to Mars in the future,” said Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager, in a NASA statement. “When we set foot on the Red Planet, we’ll be exploring for all of humanity. Flying these names will enable people to be part of our journey.” How can you sign up to fly on Orion EFT-1? Is there a certificate? NASA has made it easy to sign up and you can also print out an elegant looking ‘Boarding Pass’ Click on this weblink posted online by NASA today: http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/orion-first-flight/ [ANS thanks Universe Today and NASA 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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