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April 2014
- 4 participants
- 4 discussions
25 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
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]
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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]
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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
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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
EMike McCardel, KC8YLD
kc8yld at amsat dot org
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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
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