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December 2014
- 3 participants
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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
1
7
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-355
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:
* Worked All USA Grids Via Satellite - #488 for Doug Papay, KD8CAO
* Opportunities to Help at AMSAT User Services
* 73 on 73 Award #4 - EA5TT
* Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, Reflects on Her First ARISS Contact
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-355.01
ANS-355 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 355.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE December 21, 2014
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-355.01
Worked All USA Grids Via Satellite - #488 for Doug Papay, KD8CAO
Congratulations to Doug Papay, KD8CAO for working grid #488 of the
488 USA grids. Doug worked N2COP/p, in FM13, for his final grid. The
contact was via SO-50 and was logged on 15/Dec/2014 @ 1252Z.
For his efforts he has been granted GRID MASTER award # 2.
In a recent AMSAT-BB email exchange with Damon Runion WA4HFN, Doug
said of his accomplishment, "...it certainly would not have been
possible without the help of the many individuals that went to extra
effort to activate so many rare grids. These include those who
recently helped put the last 30 or so girds in the log: my father
K8YSE, Tom KA6SIP, Denny WB8K, Bill N2COP, Ron N8RO, Craig KL4E, Ed
WA7ETH, Steven KF7SLV, Wyatt AC0RA, and Clayton W5PFG. Special
recognition goes to my father K8YSE, Jim ND9M, Patrick WD9EWK, and
Ted AA5CK for having been major contributors over the years to this
accomplishment. I'm sure there are may more that I have not
mentioned, and so I'm thankful for every effort, every contact is
appreciated!
"I also want to thank Rick WA4NVM for the heads-up via text from my
father K8YSE about FM13 on Sunday morning--while I missed Bill N2COP
that day, this head's-up gave the motivation to be at the radio on
Monday morning, and sure enough Bill was there and the contact was
logged. Without these guys watching out for me I would have missed
the grid yet again. (Thanks Rick!)."
The Star Comm Group sponsors the Grid Master Award. To qualify for
this award you must make a satellite contact with all 488 grids in
the U.S. and get confirmation. Send your information to Ricky, WA4NVM
or Damon, WA4HFN. All Star Comm Group awards are free, they only ask
that you make a donation to AMSAT NA.
Grid Master Award #1 was awarded to Doug's father, John Papay, K8YSE.
More information on the Grid Master and other Star Comm Group awards
can be found at:
http://www.starcommgroup.org/
[ANS thanks the Star Comm Group and Doug KD8CAO for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Opportunities to Help at AMSAT User Services
AMSAT's User Services Department is recruiting for several volunteer
positions to augment our dedicated and elite staff! The User Services
Department provides support in several areas including:
+ AMSAT News Service
+ The AMSAT Journal magazine
+ AMSAT's web presence at www.amsat.org
The AMSAT News Service
-----------------------
We need two or more volunteers to step forward who can dedicate time
on a rotating shift of news editors. The AMSAT News Service (ANS)
sends out a weekly news bulletin of everything of interest to amateur
radio in space.
The entire ANS crew (currently 3 editors) helps round up the news
and each ANS editor takes a week as editor to compile the week's ANS
bulletins. We'll get you into the bulletin rotation and you'll take
your turn as the ANS editor this week.
The AMSAT Journal Magazine
--------------------------
We need two or more volunteers who can help compile one of AMSAT's
key membership benefits ... The AMSAT Journal Magazine. An assistant
editor is needed to help our existing team of editors (currently 3)
to locate articles and establish contact with potential authors. All
you need is an eye for articles of interest to amateur radio in
space. You'll compile input from AMSAT HQ, volunteer authors, and
amateur radio news sources into articles for publication in our bi-
monthly magazine.
We also need one volunteer who is capable of assuming the position
of editor-in-chief of the AMSAT Journal. You'll help develop article
sources and using AMSAT provided software and templates compile the
32-page magazine for six issues per year. Our publishing system is
the Adobe InDesign CS6 package. This can be learned quickly by any
computer literate ham. InDesign is MS-Word on steroids.
AMSAT's Web Presence
--------------------
Help is needed on the front to locate and publish up to date content
for the AMSAT web. We publish late breaking news of amateur radio in
space. We also publish reference information to help operate on the
satellites ...
software, radios, antennas, operating techniques. Web content
containing late-breaking operating news and reliable operator tips
currently has several gaps needing to be filled. Our WordPress
environment makes the web display easy but you'll be spending your
volunteer time on the content. This is a job for 5 or more volunteers
and needs to be filled immediately!
AMSAT also is looking for a webmaster who will assume responsibility
for the display of all content in a WordPress environment. The basic
framework is in place but can definitely stand to be fine tuned and
made into a world class display of amateur radio in space. For most
hams on-line www.amsat.org is our "front door" and we are looking for
the most capable help on this important user interface!
Our team is the "voice of AMSAT". News, operator tips, and
membership benefits are important products for AMSAT User Services.
For questions or to volunteer please contact AMSAT's Vice President
of User Services, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM at k9jkm(a)amsat.org
[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President of User Services, JoAnne Maenpaa,
K9JKM for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
73 on 73 Award #4 - EA5TT
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, who is sponsoring the award for contacts made
via the AO-73 (FUNcube-1) amateur radio satellite, recently
recognized Manuel D. Ruiz Carrasco, EA5TT, for becoming the fourth
recipient of the 73 on 73 Award. He submitted a list of 73 stations
worked via AO-73 between September 1, 2014 and December 8, 2014.
The award aims to promote activity on AO-73. The requirements are
straight-forward:
1. Work 73 unique stations on AO-73.
2. Contacts must be made on or after September 1, 2014.
3. There are no geographic restrictions on your operating location.
There will be no cost for this award (donations to AMSAT-UK and
AMSAT-NA's Fox program are encouraged though).
No QSL cards are required. When you complete the requirements, email
your log extract including the callsign of each station worked, time
GMT, and date to n8hm(a)arrl.net as well as the address where you'd
like the award certificate sent.
Congratulations Manuel!
[ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information]]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, Reflects on Her First ARISS Contact
In her blog shared 16 Dec 2014, Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF,
reflects on her first ever ARISS school contact with twenty students
from Elena di Savoia in Bari and "Alessandro Volta" in Bitonto. In
her comments she thanks the "army of volunteers in many countires"
who make the contacts possible and how impressed she was with the
quality of all the questions that "showed a great interest and
knowledge in science and technology..."
"Yesterday I had my first HAM radio contact with school pupils. A
big hello to the students of the schools 'Elena di Savoia' in Bari
and 'Alessandro Volta' in Bitonto! It was fun talking to you and
thanks for the great questions!
Amateur radio contacts between astronauts and school kids have a
long tradition on ISS, thanks to a little army of volunteers in many
countries who work with the local schools not only on the day of
contact, but also in the weeks and months leading up to the event:
they teach students about radio technology and about space, to get
them ready and hopefully excited about the event.
>From my side, I only needed to be ready on the proper channel at the
proper time: it is very important, because we need direct line-of-
sight with the amateur radio station on the ground and the pass is
only about ten minutes long. A couple of minutes before the expected
acquisition-of-signal time, I started making calls to check if
someone was already picking me up. Eventually I picked up a call from
the ground station and sure enough, we started our conversation. I
heard them loud and clear, which positively surprised me: somehow I
expected signal quality not to be as good. I hope they had the same
quality on the other side.
On such contacts, there's no time for small talk and formalities: in
less than ten minutes, we had to make sure that the 20 students who
were lined up to ask their question got their chance. So here I was,
ready to go. And here came the first question - are you ready? Here's
it is:
'It is known that people become taller when they are in space. What
happens to bio-molecules? Is there any alteration in the tertiary
structure of proteins?'
I almost fell off my chair... well, if I had had a chair. (Wonder what
a good equivalent of this expression would be in weightlessness... any
suggestions?)
Where are the good old question about space food and the space
toilet? Jokes apart, I was really impressed with all the questions:
they showed a great interest and knowledge in science and technology
and gave me great hope for our future generations of scientists and
engineers. Keep up the great work, girls and boys!"
Cristoforetti's adventures in space can be followed at
https://plus.google.com/+SamanthaCristoforetti/posts
[ANS thanks Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF for the above information]
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ARISS News
+ A Successful contact was made between ELENA DI SAVOIA, BARI AND
ALESSANDRO VOLTA, BITONTO, Italy and Astronaut Samantha
Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF using callsign IR0ISS. The contact began
Monday 15 December 2014 at 1518 UTC and lasted about nine and a half
minutes. Contact was direct via IZ7EVR.
ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF.
The Alessandro Volta school teaches communications, social-history,
mathematics, science and technology in different contexts: life,
study, job. In addition it fosters useful competence, allowing
students to access continuous innovations through 3 specializations:
Mechanics and Mechatronics, IT and Telecommunications, Electronics
and Electro-technics.
ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF proposed to Radio Contact
Coordinator Mr. Michele Mallardi IZ7EVR to set up a direct contact,
with the support by IK1SLD back-up ground station, and this was
accepted. The event took place in Elena di Savoia school, where an
audience of more than 200 students, visitors (including some Italian
Air Force officers) and Media (2 TV, 2 newspapers) participated at
contact site, and about 200 at both schools. Total of more than 400
people.
Before the contact, Mrs. Rosa Tagliamonte by ASI (Italian Space
Agency) presented the Cristoforetti mission and the Italian
contribution to the International Space Station. Mr. Michele Mallardi
IZ7EVR presented ARISS and explained how a contact with the ISS is
performed via Ham Radio.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Yekaterinburg, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS
Contact is a go for Sun 2014-12-21 11:55 UTC (primary) or Sun 2014-
12-21 13:00 UTC (backup)
Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS
Contact is a go for Thu 2014-12-24 TBD UTC
Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS
Contact is a go for Fri 2014-12-25 TBD UTC
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Revised Tracking Utilites for DESAPTCH and Shin-en2
The spacecrafts, DESAPTCH and Shin-en2 are still alive.
Masahiro Sanada JI1IZR has recently revised the predict tracking
utilites for the extension of the data range.
The new versions can be obtained from:
http://ji1izr.air-nifty.com/ham_satellite/2014/12/artsat2-desp-11.html
[ANS thanks Masahiro,JI1IZR for the above information]
+ Radio ham helps ESA with tracking widget
Thanks to radio amateur Chip Sufitchi N2YO the European Space
Agency's new satellite tracking widgets are live
The tracking widgets are fed with the latest orbital tracks for ESA
missions, or missions with significant ESA participation. The
default track shows the ISS.
Track ESA missions
http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/track-esa-missions/
ESA tracking widgets are powered by
http://www.n2yo.com/
[ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information]
+ In Liue of the recent SSTV transmissions from the International
Space Station, everyone is reminded that information is available by
visiting the ARISS SSTV Blogspot.
http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/
Also, the full set of archived SSTV images are located at:
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php
Those that receive images can upload to the above link. The best of
the best uploads may make it to the blog.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/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
1
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AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-348
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:
* SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station
* Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
* OSCAR Number for DESPATCH
* UWE-3 CubeSat Update
* Send your code into space with astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-348.01
ANS-348 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 348.01
From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD.
December 14, 2014
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-348.01
SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station
The Russian ARISS team members plan to activate SSTV from the ISS on
Thursday December 18 and Saturday December 20, 2014.
Expected SSTV mode will be PD180 on 145.800 MHz with 3 minute off
periods between transmissions. A total of 12 different photos will be
sent during the operational period.
Start time would be around 14:20 UTC on December 18 and 12:40 UTC on
December 20. The transmissions should terminate around 21:30 UTC each
day.
For ongoing information visit the ARISS SSTV Blogspot
http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/
Also, the full set of archived SSTV images are located at:
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php
Those that receive images can upload to the above link. The best of
the best uploads may make it to the blog.
SpaceX CRS-55 will be launching this week and delays in the launch could
adjust SSTV operational times.
[ANS Thanks Gaston ON4WF, ARISS-Europe chairman, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Istituto Tecnico Statale Economico e Tecnologico "Elena di Savoia" -- "
Piero Calamandrei", Bari, Italy, direct via IZ7EVR and State Technical
Institute of Technology Alessandro Volta, Bitonto, Italy, direct via IZ7EVR
Contact is presently scheduled to be with IRØISS
Contact is a go for: Mon 2014-12-15 15:18:40 UTC 44 deg
Yekaterinburg, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS
Contact is a go for Sun 2014-12-21 11:55 UTC (primary) or Sun 2014-12-21
13:00 UTC (backup)
Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS
Contact is a go for Thu 2014-12-24 TBD UTC
Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS
Contact is a go for Fri 2014-12-25 TBD UTC
ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts.
ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send
your reports to aj9n at amsat.org or aj9n at aol.com.
For US schools, just a reminder that proposals for hosting an ARISS
contact are due December 15, 2014.
[ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
OSCAR Number for DESPATCH
Prof. Akihiro Kubota of the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan has informed
AMSAT-NA of the successful launch on December 3 of deep space probe
DESPATCH.
One important mission for DESPATCH is an experiment in what is called
"cooperative diversity communication." In this experiment, an attempt
will be
made to collect signals from the spacecraft received not only at the ground
station in Tokyo, but also at many ham radio stations around the world.
This is
in order to reconstruct the original data from the spacecraft.
Reception of such weak signals to reconstruct data from the spacecraft will
require the expertise of exceptionally skilled ham operators. The
builders are
thereby providing a rare opportunity to receive radio signals
transmitted by a
spacecraft in deep space, and ask for cooperation radio amateurs around the
world in the project.
Initially, it was expected that the spacecraft would last only a few
days but
now it appears that this assessment was pessimistic with a longer life now
expected..
Since DESPATCH appears to have met all of the requirements for an OSCAR
number,
including IARU coordination, I hereby with the authority vested in me be
the
AMSAT-NA President, do confer on DESPATCH, the OSCAR number Fuji OSCAR
81 or
FO-81.
I use the Fuji designation in recognition of the long history of
contributions
the Japanese have made to Amateur Radio satellites.
I trust that Fuji OSCAR-81's mission will be successful and much
valuable date
collected.
73,
William (Bill) Tynan, W3XO
OSCAR Number Administrator
Further information about the Cooperative Data Reconstruction project
can be
found at the link below.
http://despatch.artsat.jp/en/Cooperative_Data_Reconstruction
[ANS thanks Bill, W3XO, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
UWE-3 CubeSat Update
UWE-3 was launched with FUNcube-1 on November 21, 2013, the team says
they will
now be temporarily ending operations.
Today, more than one year after launch, there will be a temporary end of
operations caused by the end of funding.
However, UWE-3 is in a very good health condition with fully charged
batteries
and operations may be continued depending on future research plans.
Without any reception from ground, UWE-3 will carry out a warm reset
every four
days and switch regularly between the redundant on-board processors and
radios.
Therefore, UWE-3 will switch back to its nominal frequency of 437.385 MHz.
Nevertheless we appreciate the extensive support we received from the HAM
amateurs in the past and hope that also in the future the status of
UWE-3 will
be monitored with your support, like you did so many times in the past
year.
Thank you so much for the very helpful cooperation in this respect!
UEW-3 News
http://www7.informatik.uni-
wuerzburg.de/forschung/space_exploration/projects/uwe_3/uwe_3_news/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Send your code into space with astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI
Leading UK space organisations have joined forces with UK Astronaut Tim
Peake
KG5BVI and Raspberry Pi to offer students a chance to devise and code
their own
apps or experiment to run in space. Two Raspberry Pi computers are
planned to be
flown to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Tim's 6 month
mission
and both will be connected to a new "Astro Pi" board, loaded with a host of
sensors and gadgets.
Launched December 10 at an event held by the UK Space Agency, the Astro Pi
competition will be officially opened at the BETT conference (January
21-24) and
will be open to all primary and secondary school aged children who are
resident
in the United Kingdom. The competition will be supported by a comprehensive
suite of teaching resources that are being developed by ESERO-UK and
Raspberry
Pi.
During his mission to the ISS, Tim Peake KG5BVI plans to deploy the
Astro Pi
computers in a number of different locations on board the ISS. He will
then load
up the winning code whilst in orbit, set them running, collect the data
generated and then download this to Earth where it will be distributed
to the
winning teams.
Speaking at the Astro Pi launch event, Dr David Parker, Chief Executive
of the
UK Space Agency, also revealed that the UK Space Agency has been given a £2
million programme, as part of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, to support
further outreach activities around Tim's mission, particularly to help
inspire
interest in STEM subjects.
Tim Peake KG5BVI said I'm really excited about this project, born out of
the
cooperation among UK industries and institutions. There is huge scope
for fun
science and useful data gathering using the Astro Pi sensors on board the
International Space Station. This competition offers a unique chance for
young
people to learn core computing skills that will be extremely useful in
their
future. It's going to be a lot of fun!
To help students on their way in developing their code, five inspirational
themes have been devised to stimulate creativity and scientific
thinking. The
themes are Spacecraft Sensors, Satellite Imaging, Space Measurements, Data
Fusion and Space Radiation.
In the primary school age category, teams will be asked to devise and
describe
an original idea for an experiment or application which can be conducted
on the
Astro Pi by Tim during his mission. The two best submissions will get the
opportunity to work with the Astro Pi team to interpret their ideas and
the team
at the Raspberry Pi Foundation will then code them ready for flight on
the ISS.
In the secondary school age group, the competition will be run across
three age
categories, one for each of Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 (in England and Wales,
and
their equivalent ages in Scotland and Northern Ireland). In the first
phase,
competitors can submit their ideas for experiments and applications. At
least
the best 50 submissions in each age category will win a Raspberry Pi
computer
and an Astro Pi board on which to code their idea. In phase 2, all teams
will
develop code based on their original concept and two winning teams will be
selected in each age category. The winning teams' code will be readied for
flight by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and CGI.
As well as having their code uploaded to the ISS, all winning teams will
each
receive a class set of Raspberry Pi and Astro Pi boards, meet the Astro
Pi team
and participate in a winners event during Tim's flight.
In addition to the main prizes, each of the UK space companies
supporting the
project have offered a prize. These prizes will be awarded to the best
submission associated with each of the themes, across the age ranges.
ESERO-UK and Raspberry Pi are developing a comprehensive suite of teaching
resources to link to the curriculum and assist teachers of STEM subjects in
engaging their students in the competition. As well as explaining how to
use and
write code for the Astro Pi and its sensors, the resources will provide a
context for the Astro Pi in the curriculum and link to teaching subjects
and
areas.
The first two resources of the series are available now in the National
STEM
Centre eLibrary and the rest will follow.
Launching the Astro Pi computers, and consequently the successful
implementation
and completion of this competition is subject to nominal progress
through the
ESA integration programme and operations on-board the ISS.
BBC TV News: Astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI invites Raspberry Pi challenge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30415207
Astro Pi: Your code in space http://astro-pi.org/
[ANS thanks the UK Space Agency 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
1
0