April 2014 - ANS - mailman.amsat.org

ANS-114 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT-NA Is Moving!
by JoAnne Maenpaa 24 Apr '14

24 Apr '14

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-114.01 ANS-114 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT-NA Is Moving! AMSAT News Service Bulletin 114.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 24, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-114.01 After 30 years in the same location, AMSAT-NA is moving to a new office. The office will be closed Friday, 25 April, and will reopen Friday, 2 May. During the move, our e-mail will be operational, however responses will be delayed. Purchases through the AMSAT Store may be made normally, but they will not be processed until the move is completed. Our new street address will be: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT-NA) 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895 For those visiting, we are about 5 miles north of the old office, outside I-495, the Capital Beltway. During the move, we are changing some phone numbers. After the new office opens, the new numbers will be: >From the US call toll free: (888) 322-6728 (Unchanged) >From all other locations call: (301) 822-4376 FAX: (301) 822-4371 The deterioration of the current building has been discussed in the AMSAT Journal Apogee View. Martha Saragovitz and the rest of the office team have gone to great lengths to minimize disruptions under very trying, uncomfortable, and sometimes unsafe circumstances in the old office. Finally, the county authorities ordered the building closed. It will take some time to get the new office fully up and running. However, the improvements in building facilities and especially safety will be worth it. If you are in the area after the move, give us a call, and come by and visit. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above information] /EX --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com

1 0

ANS-005
by Joe Spier 20 Apr '14

20 Apr '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-005 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: * NASA Digital Learning Network Special Opportunity * Winter Issue of AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Available * Hillbilly Tracking for Low Earth Orbit Satellites * High Resolution Data available on FUNcube Data Warehouse * Call for Papers for the AMSAT-SA Space Symposium * OPDX Interview With ND9M.VQ9JC Diego Garcia * AMSAT Representatives Requested for Vienna Wireless Society Hamfest * ARISS News - TBD * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-005.01 ANS-005 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 005.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 5, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-005.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Digital Learning Network Special Opportunity ***Special Opportunity*** Would you like to have your class participate in an interactive webcast with an astronaut? NASA invites students and teachers to an inside look at America's Spaceport at 2:30pm ET on January 31st. Four schools (target audience grades 5-9) will have the special opportunity to connect directly and ask questions of astronaut and Director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center Bob Cabana. Learn about his education and training, living and working in space, and the future of space exploration. All other schools may participate by watching the web stream athttp://dln.nasa.gov. Email rachel.b.power(a)nasa.gov for more information. [ANS thanks NASA for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Issue of AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Available E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the PDF of the Winter edition of the OSCAR News magazine here (as well as previous 2013 and 2012 issues). The paper edition should be posted to members soon. In this issue • FUNcube-1 Operations Report • FunCube Dongle Pro+ V2.0 on Shortwave • The Fun-Loop • Space Science at Someries Junior School • A newcomers view of satellite operating • UKube-1, ESEO, QB50pc1 – Update • Low Cost DVB-S Receivers Suitable For HAMTV • HAMTV Reception • FUNcube-1 – The Launch – A Personal Account • IET/RSGB Joint Meeting • $50SAT a low cost amateur radio satellite • Shorts The AMSAT-UK Membership year lasts for 12 months starting on January 1 each year. Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in amateur radio satellites or space activities, including the International Space Station (ISS). E-members of AMSAT-UK are able to download OSCAR News as a convenient PDF that can be read on laptops, tablets or smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Join as an E-member at Electronic (PDF) E-membership There are two rates for the paper edition to cover the extra postage costs: UK Rest of the World (Overseas) [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hillbilly Tracking for Low Earth Orbit Satellites In a video, Travis Goodspeed KK4VCZ describes his Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite tracking system to the 30th Chaos Computer Congress which took place December 27-30, 2013 at the Congress Center Hamburg in Germany. The YouTube description reads: Satellites in Low Earth Orbit have tons of nifty signals, but they move quickly though the sky and are difficult to track with fine accuracy. This lecture describes a remotely operable satellite tracking system that the author built from a Navy-surplus Inmarsat dish in Southern Appalachia. The entire system is controlled through a Postgres database, fed by various daemons spread across multiple machines. So when I click on a satellite on my laptop or cellphone, it runs “UPDATE target SET name=’Voyager 1?;” and the motor daemon then begins to track the new target while the prediction daemon maintains accurate estimates of its position in the sky. Additional daemons take spectral prints or software-defined radio recordings of the targeted object for later review. There is a description of the system on Travis Goodspeed’s Blog at http://travisgoodspeed.blogspot.co.uk/ Other 30c3 videos available at http://www.youtube.com/user/albertveli/videos 30th Chaos Computer Congress https://events.ccc.de/congress/2013/wiki/Main_Page [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- High Resolution Data available on FUNcube Data Warehouse As promised, we are making the FUNcube-1 (AO-73) CubeSat High Resolution Data available for download from the Data Warehouse. It contains Hi-Res data generated every hour, on the hour for the 60 minutes preceding the extract. Please note that unlike the Whole Orbit Data, the Hi-Res data may be incomplete (have significant gaps) because of a lack of ground stations on the ground track. Now that we have the WOD and Hi-Res extracts working, we are going to move on to the RealTime extract. Please provide any feedback on the FUNcube forum. 73 and Happy New Year, Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube-1 High Resolution Data https://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/highres.html?satelliteId=2 Data Warehouse – Telemetry Archive https://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ Dashboard App – Telemetry Decoder http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Papers for the AMSAT-SA Space Symposium SA AMSAT has announced that its annual Space Communication symposium will be held on Saturday 24 May 2014 at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria. Proposals for papers are now called for. Submit a brief overview of the planned paper by 15 March 2014 to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za. Authors will be advised of the acceptance of their paper by 31 March. The final written paper will be requited by 30 April and PowerPoint presentation by 15 May. Please also include a short CV and a photograph of your self. Registration for the symposium will open on 1 February. Follow details of www.amsatsa.org.za. [ANS thanks SARL News for Sunday, December 29, 2013 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- OPDX Interview With ND9M.VQ9JC Diego Garcia (Here is an interview from the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin with Jim Clary, ND9M, known for his amateur radio and amateur satellite operation from Diego Garcia, and maritime mobile operation. - ANS Ed.) VQ9, CHAGOS (Update). Last week we reported that Jim, ND9M, is once again active as VQ9JC from Diego Garcia. Jim informed OPDX that he arrived on the island a month ago, but he had to get his license renewed; it expired a couple days before he landed. Jim states, "Normally, I get it renewed within one business day, but this time there was an administrative hiccup that led to a month- long delay. The British military officer in charge of the island - called the 'Brit Rep' - was new to his post here. He read all the can's and cannot's of the job, and the legal info about issuing ham licenses says that tickets are signed by the Territorial Commissioner who's back in the U.K. The Brit Rep finally got the official word last week that issuing authority was delegated to the local office, and my license was signed the next day. This was the first time in the 15 years I've been coming here that anything like that had happened. In fact, licensing had been so smooth here that in 2008, I walked in to the Brit Rep's office without an appointment and left 45 minutes later with not only a signed renewal for my regular VQ9JC license but also a special temporary license for my VQ98JC operation. I wonder if anyone else can claim receiving two licenses fully authorized with- out previous notice that fast! Anyway, I'm still operating Field Day style from the covered picnic table at the park which has AC power and dozens of gecko lizards chasing the bugs. The table is about 30 feet from the wall of the jungle, and this weekend I'll try to thread a 135-foot OCF dipole through all the trees in the jungle so that I can not only leave the antenna up but also have multi-band capability. If I hoist the antenna where it can be seen, I would stand a very good chance of it being quickly removed as the 150 pound fishing line that I use to secure the antenna and the copper wire are both precious commo- dities here. The OCF dipole doesn't work on 15m, 30m, or 60m, even with a match- box, so I'll put up separate dipoles for 15 and 30 and feed those two and the OCF to a switch. I don't know yet if I'll put up a 60m dipole. The 80m OCF is going to be a big enough project just to get it hoisted to only 25 feet; the jungle's pretty thick! I'll also be putting up a 20m dipole and maybe a 30m dipole as well on the ship. Obviously, I sign /MM during any contacts made from the ship as I did earlier this year. Contacts with me as /MM aren't valid for DXCC of course, but SKCC ops can count them if my ship's QTH is near the island. The rig is an FT-857D. I'll be running 100 watts most of the time, but I'm expecting to do some QRP work from here too. Most of my oper- ating will be CW as usual (with a cootie most times), but I'll be on SSB occasionally. Also, I'm a rookie when it comes to digital comms, but I'm hoping to get my Rigblaster and FLDigi software configured to do some PSK and RTTY work. While on board the ship, I use an Icom IC-760 that I have set up in my service shop. I feed the coax through a helicopter control center that's directly above my shop. My shipboard antennas are about 115 feet above the water line. I don't have internet connectivity when I'm at my operating QTH on the island, so I obviously can't help with real-time QSY requests or the ever present 'EU PSE' when I'm calling for NA & SA stations." OPDX asked Jim about the status of the club station, possibly using a special VQ prefix for 2014, activity on the satellites and if he would attend the 2014 Dayton HamVention, and he replied, "Yeah, the ham club station is gone forever unfortunately. The log periodic has been grounded and dismantled, and everything in the shack has been turned back over to the Navy. I'm here six months out of the year of course, but once Larry, VQ9LA left three years ago, there was no one reliably present during my off times. When the Navy's MWR office personnel made a routine visit, they found nobody there since I was Stateside, so they decided that the club was no longer in use and took what they thought were appropriate steps. By the time I got back to the island and worked my way up the chain of command, the deal had been sealed. And yes, I'm working the satellites out here although there aren't many ops to work. I'll be on the birds when I get home again next year. I don't know yet if my XYL Cori (KK4CGA) and I will be at Dayton this coming May or not. We're hoping to go to New England for the ARRL Centennial in July, and we'll likely do only one trip. My assignment schedule has me returning to the ship a few days before the national convention, and I'm trying to work things out with the guy that's here when I'm off ship for him to stay a little longer so that I can attend. He hasn't given me a firm answer yet though. My plan for 2014 is to get VQ94JC issued for sometime during the second half of the year. The local licensing office has no require- ments toward my getting a ticket other than having one already issued by the FCC. My US license expires in April, and the FCC won't enable the renewing process until 90 days before the expir- ation date, so I have to wait until early January to do that. If I can get the renewed license here - actually just a scanned copy will do and my XYL will send that - I can turn that over to the local office, and they should issue me the short-term ticket. Emphasis on special. It's all legal of course, but the folks in that office are all British military who typically do one-year tours here before being re-assigned, so I can never assume that the next person will cooperate. I'm optimistic though as I've already had 7 VQ9xJC licenses plus the VQ975FOC ticket earlier this year, so the precedent's pretty well established. When I started doing the VQ9xJC bit in 2007, I did it just for fun and I thought the WPX chasers would like it. I really didn't expect to still be doing it after so many years. Now I'm looking ahead at rounding out the decade of annual special callsigns and thinking about what special prefix variation to initiate after the 10th one!" QSL via ND9M. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1143 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Representatives Requested for Vienna Wireless Society Hamfest Jack Welch, coordinator for the Vienna Wireless Society Hamfest, in Northern Virginia is seeking AMSAT-related representatives, who would like to either do a classroom presentation or a parking lot demo during their winterfest this February. The event is on Feb 23rd in Annadale, VA. It will be held at the Northern Virginia Community College. They have a classroom and seminar room available for 30-60 minute presentations. Also available are parking lots, some for parking, some for tailgating, that have a pretty good view of the horizon for demos. If you are available to help pleae contact AMSAT Director-Field Operations, Patrick Stoddard, WE9EWK, at wd9ewk(a)amsat.org or Jack Welch, AI4SV, dhakajack at gmail dot com Our hamfest info is at: http://www.viennawireless.org/winterfest.php [ANS thanks Jack Welch AI4SV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Uncoming ARISS contact with Zespel Szkel Technicznych, Ostriw Wielkopolski, Poland An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Zesp?l Szk?l Technicznych, Ostr?w Wielkopolski, Poland on 08 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:43 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and SP3POW. The contact should be audible over Poland and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. The Centre of Technical Schools in Ostrew Wielkopolski is a school which educates future electronics and mechatronics engineers, computer scientists and renewable energy specialists. Our school has been cooperating with Polish universities, electronic and mechatronic industrial plants and schools in Germany and the UK, what brings very good results. Thanks to the participation in the ARISS program our school has partnered with the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Our students participate in various forms of extra-curricular activities which develop their passions and interests. As a result, they have created many interesting electronic and mechatronic devices. For example, some of the recent constructions include fpv plane, a qudrocopter, a stratospheric balloon capsule, some amateur radio equipment and many more. Currently, the school has 800 students aged 16 - 19 years. The Center of Technical Schools has invited its younger mates (students 13 - 15 years old) from Junior High School No. 1 named of Polish Nobel laureates in Ostr?w Wielkopolski and 10 - 12 year-old students from Pope John Paul II Primary School in Lamki so that they all can participate in the ARISS program. Preparations for the ARISS contact began in late 2011. A series of amateur radio classes were carried out so that students could learn the rules of work on the radio. It was a very interesting experience to carry out radio communications through amateur radio satellites and to take photos from NOAA satellites. In addition, we monitored other radio signals from the space. Most emotions were from the radio contact with the ISS in the APRS system and from listening to ARISS contacts of other schools in Poland and Europe. The schools participating in the ARISS program organized a series of events to promote various fields of science, particularly those that are the most relevant for the development of astronautics. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What scientific experiments are carried out on the space station at present? 2. How does the magnetic needle work in space? 3. How do you handle different illnesses? 4. How would a pendulum clock work on board of the ISS? 5. Was there anything that surprised or impressed you during your stay in space? 6. What was the largest mammal (except for humans) which was on the ISS? 7. How do flying insects behave in zero gravity? 8. Do you know how many centimeters your body lengthened in weightlessness? 9. Is it easy to use a pen or a fountain pen on the space station? 10. Do you think that time in space passes faster? 11. How do you observe and explore the Moon? 12. What or how did you feel when you saw the Earth from space for the first time? 13. Does Kirobo work well and fulfill its mission on the ISS? 14. Is it hard to get used to weightlessness? 15. Is it possible to be able to breed crystals in weightlessness? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Sign up for the SAREX maillist at http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Berkeley Middle School, Williamsburg, VA, direct via K4RC Wed, 08Jan2014, 18:33 UTC ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on- board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada). [ ANS thanks David, AA4KN for the above update] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from all over SkyCube 2meter highly reflective balloon The empty gray box shown at the top of the satellite model is the container that holds SkyCube's balloon. We will command the ballon to inflate 90 days into the mission. Most CubeSats are far too small to see from the ground, but SkyCube will be an exception. The satellite will carry a tightly-packed balloon, made of 0.35-mil (9 µm) low-density polyethylene, coated with highly reflective titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder. During the final phase of the mission, the balloon will be inflated with a 4- gram CO2 cartridge, and expand to a diameter of nearly 7 feet (2 m). This will make SkyCube brightly visible to millions of people on the ground as it passes over the Earth's twilight regions. SkyCube's balloon serves another purpose. Once it inflates, SkyCube's orbit will decay rapidly due to atmospheric drag. Less than two weeks after balloon inflation, SkyCube will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly. The balloon lets SkyCube end its mission cleanly, and avoid becoming space debris that could harmfully impact future missions. SkyCube's balloon was developed by Global Western, an experienced supplier of aerostats for NASA, JPL, and others with unique high-altitude ballooning needs. Further details are available in SkyCube's Orbital Debris Assesment Report (ODAR), required by NASA and approved with our FCC license, above. [ANS thanks Kevin Fetter and the Seesat-l mailing list for the above short] 2M Scotland Listen for Paul Robinson, 2E1EUB/2M1EUB/P operating portable from Scotland beginning on 4 January for 7 days. Paul plans to be active on the satellites via AO7, AO73, VO52, FO29 and SO50. His operations will be from his van, holiday style. Paul says that on this trip he will only be in NE Scotland this time. [ANS thanks Paul, 2E1EUB/2M1EUB/Pfor the above short] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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 5

ANS-103 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-103 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: * March/April 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready * NASA, SpaceX Officials Continue Preparations for 14 April Launch * KickSat CubeSat to Deploy Smallest Earth-Orbiting Satellites * AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention - 2nd call for volunteers * N8PK appears with students in YouTube video * ISS HamTV moves to 2369 MHz * FUNcube/AO-73 Transponder plans for the future * Upcoming AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-103.01 ANS-103 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 103.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. DATE April 13, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-103.01 March/April 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready The March/April 2014 AMSAT Journal is completed. It is on its way to the print shop and then to your mailbox. Here is what you will find in this issue: + AMSAT Announcements: Straight Key Night on OSCAR Results Steve Coy, K8UD Joins the AMSAT Board of Directors + Apogee View by Barry Baines, WD4ASW + G. Gould Smith, WA4SXM - Thank You for Your 25 Years of Accomplishment + 2014 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Notice by Alan Biddle, AMSAT Corporate Secretary, WA4SCA + Anthony "Tony" J. Monteiro, AA2TX Silent Key + Upcoming Amateur Radio Cubesats: The Flood Has Arrived by Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO + W5PFG/P: Observations from a roving operator by Clayton Coleman, W5PFG + Fox-1 Telemetry Coding and Modulation Design by Phil Karn, KA9Q; Paul Williamson, KB5MU; Michelle Thompson, W5NYV + AMSAT Field Day Announcement + Meet Jerry Buxton, N0JY AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering + AMSAT Field Operations Group Updates Events by Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK + AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes by Alan Biddle, AMSAT Corporate Secretary, WA4SCA Please send your operating information, articles, and photos to the AMSAT Journal mailbox: journal(a)amsat.org. Our editors are looking forward to working with you to get your items published! [ANS thanks the AMSAT Journal Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA, SpaceX Officials Continue Preparations for 14 April Launch NASA and SpaceX officials decided this morning to continue preparations for launch of a commercial resupply run to the International Space Station on Monday after a computer failed aboard the complex Friday, but managers will meet again Sunday morning to make a final decision on whether to proceed with the launch. The failed computer, called a multiplexer-demultiplexer, or MDM, provides redundancy for the space station's mobile transporter, part of the outpost's robotics system that allows the Canadian-built robot arm to move along the lab's truss backbone. The robot arm will be used to grapple the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft when it arrives at the space station. In a statement issued Saturday, NASA said the Canadian-built robot arm has other backup capabilities not affected by the failed computer. NASA says the failed MDM is known as "EXT-2" and measures 10.5 x 14.9 x 16.4 inches and weighs 50.8 pounds. The computer failed during a routine health check of the device, according to NASA. "Station program officials, flight controllers and teams of engineers are working to determine whether there is any risk to launching the SpaceX cargo craft Monday," the statement said. "They will evaluate whether the station has enough redundancy to permit the launch to proceed." NASA says a separate team is planning a contingency spacewalk to replace the failed computer box, but no date for the spacewalk has been set. [ANS thanks Spaceflightnow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- KickSat CubeSat to Deploy Smallest Earth-Orbiting Satellites When the third SpaceX ISS resupply mission launches on April 14 from Cape Canaveral, it will carry the 3U KickSat CubeSat into orbit. NASA TV is scheduled to broadcast the launch live. If all goes according to plan, KickSat, in turn, will release 200 "Sprite" satellites -- each about the size of a small cracker -- into orbit. They will become the smallest Earth-orbiting satellites ever. Zac Manchester, KD2BHC -- a Cornell University PhD student in aerospace engineering -- is heading up the project, which was funded via Kickstarter. "Our goal is to dramatically lower the cost of spaceflight, making it easy enough and affordable enough for anyone to explore space," the KickSat project website proclaims. "We can do this by shrinking the size and mass of the spacecraft, allowing many to be launched together." The tiny Sprite spacecraft will be single-function, short-lifespan units operating on 437 MHz. Each is essentially a double-sided printed circuit board measuring 3.5 cm × 3.5 cm, incorporating a microcontroller or two, radio, and solar cells. Each can carry single- chip sensors, such as thermometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers. All Sprites operate on the same frequency -- 437.240 MHz -- and use Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Transmitters run 10 mW output of minimum shift keying (MSK) modulated binary data, with each data bit modulated as a 511 bit pseudo-random number (PRN) sequence (The ITU emission designator is 50K0G1D). Andy Thomas, G0SFJ, points out that the Sprites will only operate when in sunlight. "Characteristically they have a 60 kHz bandwidth, and so narrowband receivers are not of any use to receive them," he explained in a tutorial that describes plans for a simple Earth station. "Therefore, the receiver of choice is a software defined receiver." When KickSat reaches orbit, it will perform a "de-tumble" maneuver and establish communication with Cornell University's ground station. After everything has been checked out, the spacecraft will be put in a sun-pointing attitude and spun up to maintain that attitude. Then a command signal from the ground will trigger deployment, and the Sprites will be released as free-flying spacecraft. The Cornell ground station in Ithaca, New York, will monitor telemetry and sensor measurements from the individual Sprites, with assistance from several other Amateur Radio ground stations around the world. Due to their low orbit, the Sprites will have short lifetimes, perhaps as long as six weeks in a best-case scenario but possibly a lot shorter, depending on atmospheric conditions. KickSat is being planned as a technology demonstration mission for the Sprite spacecraft. It's being launched through NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) program. The KickSat project was founded in 2011 by members of the Space Systems Design Studio at Cornell University and is an outgrowth small spacecraft research that has been conducted there since 2007. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention - 2nd call for volunteers The Dayton Hamvention is less than five weeks away! It is time to be creating your shopping list and making your travel plans. If you can stay for more than a day and you want to stay with at the AMSAT hotel, contact Martha ASAP. Last year, we had 41 people assist with the AMSAT booth at the Dayton. We've had a good response so far to our call for volunteers, but we could really use another 10-15 people. The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun. Meet or renew acquaintances, exchange operating tips, and find out what antennas, software and equipment other AMSAT members use. We currently expect all of the AMSAT senior officers and 6 of the 7 board members to be there too. The 2014 Hamvention is May 16-18. Would you consider helping AMSAT at Dayton this year? If you're an experienced operator, great! We can use you and your experience. If you've never operated a satellite before, but want to learn more, that's OK. We can use your help too. Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please send an e-mail to Steve, n9ip at amsat dot org if you can help. Thank you! [ANS thanks Steve N9IP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- N8PK appears with students in YouTube video Pat Kilroy, N8PK makes a brief appearance in a recently released video on YouTube. In it, he is working with a couple of his students working the AMSAT satellites as practice for future NASA engineers. They get a whole minute of the seven-minute limelight starting at about the 2:07 mark. And get a little chuckle at the tail end during our thank you's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AbG1ZiVi5Y That video was shot, at the same time the follwing was recorded, last summer and released last fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TQufCcxLkc [ANS thanks Pat N8PK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISS HamTV moves to 2369 MHz The Digital Amateur TV (DATV) station in the Columbus module of the International Space Station has changed frequency to 2369 MHz Presently, Ham Video is transmitting permanently a "blank" image and no audio in configuration 5: * ARISS antenna 43 * Frequency 2369 MHz * Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php Participants using the Tutioune receiving software can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see: http://www.vivadatv.org/ Reports are available at http://www.vivadatv.org/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=294&p=785#p785 Thank you for your participation to the Ham Video testing campaign. [ANS thanks Gaston Bertels, ON4WF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNcube/AO-73 Transponder plans for the future Following the 48 hour test last weekend, we have concluded that the battery temp does reduce slightly during full time transponder mode, but only by a degree C or so; it remains within specification. Hence we have decided in future to switch the satellite into 'forced eclipse mode', ie full time transponder and low power beacon at weekends. The aim is tosignificantly increase the availability of the transponder to radio amateurs. We will continue with this plan until further notice. We plan to switch to full time transponder mode during the first suitable pass over the UK on Friday evenings, normally between 19:30 and 22:30 UTC. If for some reason this is not possible, then the switch will be done on the first suitable pass on Saturday, normally between 09:30 and 12:00 UTC. We plan to switch the full time transponder mode off during a suitable pass on Sunday evenings (UK time), which normally occur between 1930 and 22:30 UTC. Again, if this is not possible the switch off will be made on Monday mornings, approx. 09:30 to 12:00 UTC. Do PLEASE NOTE that this schedule is totally reliant on the availability of command stations, who will do their very best to ensure it is maintained. We will not normally announce successful full time transponder mode on/off commands, but if it proves not possible to make one of them, then we will make a note here and on the FUNcube web site at www.funcube.org.uk/news. So please do enjoy the transponder, and use it any time you hear it on. We are always pleased to hear of your activity, so either leave a comment on the website, or email g3wgm -at- amsat.org. A recent QSO made by Paulo PV8DX can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMVetMKnCMQ Thanks for the report, Paulo! [ANS thanks Jim G3WGM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming AMSAT Events Information 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). Monday, 28 April 2014 - presentation at Franklin County Amateur Radio Club meeting in Greenfield MA by Barry Baines WD4ASW (AMSAT President) Saturday, 3 May 2014 - Cochise Amateur Radio Association's Larry Warren Hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ (southeast of Tucson) - AMSAT will have a table at this hamfest, and satellite demonstrations are planned. Friday through Sunday, 16-18 May 2014 - Dayton Hamvention AMSAT will have their usualy booth set-up with a sales area, display of Engineering and Education activities, outside satellite demonstrations and will present anAMSAT Forum. Set-up is Thursday 15 May 2014. Saturday, 7 June 2014 - Kachina Amateur Radio Club's White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ (eastern Arizona, south of US-60/AZ-77/AZ-260) - AMSAT will have a table at this hamfest, and satellite demonstrations are planned. Friday and Saturday, 13-14 June 2014 - Ham-Com in Plano TX (north of Dallas) Thursday through Sunday, 17-20 July 2014 - ARRL Centennial Convention in Hartford CT. AMSAT will host a day-long Satellite Workshop on Thursday, and have a booth at the convention along with an AMSAT Forum and demonstrations throughout the convention. Saturday and Sunday, 30-31 August 2014 - Shelby Hamfest in Shelby NC (west of Gastonia and Charlotte) - Barry Baines WD4ASW (AMSAT President) will host an AMSAT Forum on Saturday of this weekend Friday through Sunday, 12-14 September 2014 - ARRL Southwestern Division Convention 2014 in San Diego CA (north of the city center, near Montgomery Field airport & I-805/CA-163 interchange) - AMSAT will have a booth at this convention, there will be on-air demonstrations using satellites throughout the convention, and a presentation on amateur satellites and AMSAT AMSAT maintains and updated list of known upcoming events at http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=218 [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Due to Koichi Wakata's, KC5ZTA, increased work load beginning 2014- 03-11, ARISS has had to move 3 schools back to our long term waiting list. We hope to get to them in the fall of 2014. There are also several other schools that are on the list for possible postponement to the fall. >From 2014-05-12 to 2014-06-15, ARISS will be going into a period of no contacts as there will be no hams onboard. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + GNURadio Code and other stuff for setting up a Sprite ground station https://github.com/zacinaction/kicksat-groundstation [ANS thanks Zac Manchester KD2BHC for the above information] + KickSat Technical Summary http://www.bis-space.com/2013/03/09/9301/kicksat-technical-summary [ANS thanks Andrew Vaudin and The British Interplanetary Society for the above information] + Funcube's Jim Heck talks to Tx Factor about Transponder tests Project Manager Jim Heck G3WGM has given an exclusive audio interview to the TX Factor's Bob McCreadie, G0FGX which explains what the tests were all about. Will these tests lead to more time being made available to amateurs wanting to communicate via the satellite? Listen to the interview at www.txfactor.co.uk (click on the link under 'TX Factor Exclusive!') [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + SatMagazine and MilsatMagazine now online April edition of SatMagazine is now online http://www.satmagazine.com/download.php March edition of MilsatMagazine in now online http://www.satmagazine.com/download.php Free Satnews Subscriptions Satnews allows you to choose which of our free services you wish to receive. Our news coverage includes all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry. We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. http://www.satnews.com/register_new.php [ANS thanks ANS Editors for the above information] + Make a #GlobalSelfie with NASA on Earth Day NASA invites you -- and everyone else on the planet -- to take part in a worldwide celebration of Earth Day this year with the agency's #GlobalSelfie event. The year 2014 is a big one for NASA Earth science. Five NASA missions designed to gather critical data about our home planet are launching to space this year. NASA is marking this big year for Earth science with a campaign called Earth Right Now, and as part of this campaign the agency is asking for your help this Earth Day, April 22. While NASA satellites constantly look at Earth from space, on Earth Day we're asking you to step outside and take a picture of yourself wherever you are on Earth. Then post it to social media using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. See details at http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/globalselfie/#.U0gmGfldWSo [ANS thanks 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, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-096 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 05 Apr '14

05 Apr '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-096 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: * Memorial Service for Anthony "Tony" J. Monteiro, AA2TX (SK) Scheduled * W1AW/4 VA Young Operator Award * Dayton Hotel Reservations * Jerry Buxton, N0JY selected as AMSAT's VP-Engineering * Steve Coy, K8UD joins the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors * ARTSAT Project INVADER satellite Receives an OSCAR Number * AMSAT Awards SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-096.01 ANS-082 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 096.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 6, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-096.01 Memorial Service for Anthony "Tony" J. Monteiro, AA2TX (SK) Scheduled AMSAT has been received word from the family of Tony Monteiro, AA2TX that a service for Tony will be held on Saturday, April 26th at 4:00 PM at the North Parish of North Andover Unitarian Universalist Church, 190 Academy Road, North Andover, MA 01845. During the service there will be an opportunities for people to share their "Tony stories". For individuals wishing to share their stories via e-mail, they should be sent to remembertony2014(a)gmail.com They will be read at the service. AMSAT VP-Engineering and BoD member Tony Monteiro of North Andover, MA passed away on March 26, 2014 at age 55 from cancer. A special ANS Bulletin was released on March 28th which alerted amateurs around the world of Tony's passing. [ANS thanks Martha at the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- W1AW/4 VA Young Operator Award When the W1AW/4 VA operates the birds on April 8, 10. and 11, K4AMG will offer a special certificate four young ham radio operators 19 and under. This certificate will be free. To qualify for this certificate just send your QSL card to: W1AW/4 VA / K4AMG Memorial Amateur Radio Club 721 Wood Duck Lane Chesapeake, VA 23323 Contact info will be W1AW/4 VA K4AMG. If you want you may email your picture operating your SAT station for the K4AMG.org home page This is a free bonus for young hams. We will be honored to send you this free certificate prepared by our WEB MASTER WA9KFB. To receive your W1AW/4 VA credit in the ARRL 100th Celebration follow the standard ARRL procedures. [ANS thanks Rich, W4BUE, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dayton Hotel Reservations This year, AMSAT has reserved a block of rooms for the Dayton Hamvention at the Fairborn Country Inns and Suites at a special group rate. These rooms will be handled through the AMSAT office, rather then directly with the hotel. Preference will be given to those volunteering for a significant time for the AMSAT Booth operations. While the cutoff date for group rate reservations is April 24th, 2014, most of the rooms in our block have already been taken. If you want a room at the special AMSAT rate, call Martha ASAP (As Soon As Possible)! The hotel is conveniently located, with a good light breakfast. Many of the AMSAT officers and others who are active in AMSAT will be staying there. You can catch up on old friendships, and bend people's ear. It is also a great place to catch a ride to and from the Hara Arena and other venues from those who have driven or rented vehicles. Please CALL the office to give Martha your name and credit card number. From the US call toll free at (888) 322-6728. From all other locations call (301) 589-6062. [ANS thanks Steve, N9IP, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jerry Buxton, N0JY selected as AMSAT's VP-Engineering In a special AMSAT Board of Directors meeting held via GoToMeeting on Tuesday, April 1st, the board unanimously approved the selection of Jerry Buxton, N0JY of Granbury, TX as AMSAT VP-Engineering. Jerry replaces Tony Monteiro, AA2TX who passed away on March 26th. Given the significance of completing Fox-1 for delivery on time later this year, the Board recognized that the Fox Program must continue under leadership that is focused on completing AMSAT's latest satellite. Selecting a new VP-Engineering is an important step towards maintaining the momentum that was developed under Tony's leadership and to avoid creating an engineering leadership vacuum as work continues on the satellite. The Engineering Team deserves to have the new leadership identified in order to be in position to make the appropriate engineering decisions. AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW notes, "Jerry is well qualified to become our new VP-Engineering. His overall knowledge of the Fox-1 program as Systems Engineer under Tony Monteiro coupled with his professional experience in managing complex technical projects will put AMSAT's engineering programs in good hands. Just as important, his management experience and ability to lead engineering teams is critical as our volunteers work hard to deliver the satellite to Cal Poly later this year." Jerry has been involved with the AMSAT Fox-1 Project as Systems Engineer since September 2011. Recently retired following a 39 year career with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway, he spent the last 13 years of his career working with the railroad's train dispatching systems. These systems are used to control train traffic over approximately 32,000 miles of track, in a manner similar to air traffic control. Jerry served as project manager as well as participating in the design and development of safety-critical train routing and movement instruction systems, and positive train separation technology. He successfully implemented several mission critical systems in his role as Senior Manager, Network Control Systems and was awarded "Employee of the Year" along with others involved in the Train Management and Dispatch System Project, in 2006. Jerry became involved in amateur radio satellites with AO-7 and joined AMSAT in April 1983. He currently holds an Extra Class License and is also licensed in Colombia, S.A. as HK5JY. An active amateur, Jerry was number 3 in the world for the number of telemetry frames copied from ARISSat-1. He is also active on terrestrial HF through 1.2 GHz. "My promotion to Vice President, Engineering is both a humbling honor and a great challenge", notes Jerry. "Tony did much of the work and built an excellent Team of hard working volunteers to design and build AMSAT-NA's first CubeSat. I have every confidence that the Fox-1 Team will complete and deliver a reliable satellite that will reflect well on Tony's legacy." The March/April issue of AMSAT JOURNAL will have more information concerning AMSAT's new VP-Engineering. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Coy, K8UD joins the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Steve Coy, K8UD of Beavercreek, OH has assumed the seat on the AMSAT Board of Directors formerly held by Tony Monteiro, AA2TX. Steve was originally elected by the AMSAT membership as a Board 'alternate' in the 2013 BoD election and will hold a voting seat through the next BoD election that takes place later this summer. [ANS thanks Martha at the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARTSAT Project INVADER satellite Receives an OSCAR Number The following was received from Bill Tynan, W3XO, AMSAT-NA OSCAR Number Administrator. The ARTSAT Project, INVADER satellite meets all of the qualifications necessary to receive an OSCAR number. I therefore designate the ARTSAT Project INVADER satellite, Cubesat OSCAR-77 or CO-77. Thus CO-77 joins the earlier Japanese cubesats such as XI-IX(CO-57), XI-V(CO-58), Cute-I(CO-55), SEEDS-II(CO-66). Congratulations to you and the entire ARTSAT team for the launch and operation of Amateur Radio satellite, CO-77. May its mission be a successful one. [ANS thanks Bill, W3XO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO. Alan Ehrenberg, N9EDV Benjamin Gaston, KV4RH Scott Medbury, KD5FBA Doug Birky, KB8M Richard Manderski, W2SKI Eric Stapleton, VA7TU The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award. Richard Manderski, W2SKI, #562 The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award. Richard Manderski, W2SKI, #US190 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com/awards.html ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, 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