ANS December 2015

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ANS-361 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 26 Dec '15

26 Dec '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-361 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: * Fox-1Cliff and -1D Matching Contribution Offer * AMSAT SKN on OSCAR 2016 This Week * ARISS Celebrates 15 Years of School Contact * AMSAT Awards * EO-79 Transponder Activation * NASA Commercial Crew Program 2016 Children's Artwork Calendar SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.01 ANS-340 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. December 27, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-361.01 Fox-1Cliff and -1D Matching Contribution Offer Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to AMSAT members and satellite enthusiasts everywhere! In this season of giving, we’ve had a generous offer for matching funds up to $1,000 for those that contribute to the Fox-1Cliff and -1D crowdsourcing campaign at https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6pz92/ab/561Zd between now and December 31st. Make your donation twice as valuable by taking advantage of this opportunity and contributing before the end of the year, and help AMSAT fund the launch of the next two satellites in the Fox-1 series. Slated for launch in 2016 on the inaugural Spaceflight SHERPA mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, Fox-1Cliff and -1D carry university experiments from Pennsylvania State-Erie, Vanderbilt, University of Iowa, cameras provided by Virginia Tech, as well as amateur radio voice repeaters capable of U/V or L/V operation. Donations of $100 or more are eligible for a special AMSAT Fox challenge coin, and $1,000 or more qualifies for a plaque with an actual solar panel cover from Fox-1Cliff or -1D. (We’ve nearly exhausted our coin supply and are waiting on resupply from the mint. Plaques will be distributed sometime after spacecraft integration. Please be patient for delivery of either premium.) AMSAT is a 501-(c)-(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization of amateur radio operators whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to AMSAT to help underwrite the development and launch expenses of our Fox satellite program. Donors wishing to provide additional matching funds please contact Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA at ko4ma(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SKN on OSCAR 2016 This Week You are cordially invited to participate in Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2016, sponsored by AMSAT for all radio amateurs throughout the world. Operate CW through any amateur satellite from 0001 through 2400 UTC on 1 January 2016, using a manual, non-electronic key. Note that bugs are now allowed, as they are in similar ARRL and SKCC events. There is no need to send in a log, but please nominate someone you worked for Best Fist. Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you heard, just of those you worked. Send your nomination to w2rs(a)amsat.org.. A list of those nominated will be published in early February. This year’s event is being held in memory of Ben Stevenson, W2BXA (1914-2011). Licensed since 1929, Ben was one of the world’s top DXers on both HF and satellites. He led the DXCC Honor Roll for many years, and among his many awards were Satellite DXCC No. 1 and post-war Worked All Zones No. 1. Founding president of the North Jersey DX Association, Ben shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with one and all. [ANS thanks Ray, W2RS, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Celebrates 15 Years of School Contacts 15 years ago today, on December 21, 2000, students at Burbank School in Burbank Illinois, U.S.A. lined us and readied themselves for a very historic event---the first school contact with the crew on the International Space Station. ARISS mentor and radio operator Charlie Sufana, AJ9N and his team of volunteers had aptly prepared the students, teachers and the public in attendance for their historic contact. As AOS approached, Charlie began calling NA1SS. Soon, Expedition 1 Commander Bill "Shep" Shepherd, KD5CDL answered back and the students immediately began asking Shep their questions. The rest is history. Burbank school teacher, Rita Wright, who later became KC9CDL, continues to be active in ARISS as a volunteer. Rita's 2004 AMSAT Symposium paper, "Remember, We're Pioneers!" chronicles the Burbank school's journey to the first ARISS contact and beyond. You are invited to download the paper at https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8cmd0eu9y0imsz/REMEMBER--Burbank%20School.pdf?dl… With this historic event in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers from the ARISS operations team for their outstanding, long term support to ARISS. These folks---our mentors, telebridge operators and operations leaders---are the foundation of ARISS. They have made nearly 1000 ARISS contacts successful since Burbank, 15 years ago. Without them, the goals of ARISS: inspiration, exploration, education and experimentation, could not be achieved. Their guidance, mentoring and presentations, before, during and after the contact were crucial in achieving these goals. Thank you all!! As the ARISS team prepares for 2016, with many schools in the queue, prepared, ready and waiting for their upcoming contacts, ARISS is gearing up for another historic event---our 1000th school contact. Wow! 1000 ARISS contacts!! To celebrate this historic event, I would ask those that know of an ARISS student that has graduated and is now in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field to please have them share their story with us. Please pass this along to others and have them send their stories to me at ka3hdo at verizon.net or to our web master at ariss at arrl.org. We would like to compile these for our space agency customers and to share the stories with the amateur radio community. [ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Here are our newest award recipients and end of the year finale. Happy Holidays and Good DX to all AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA John Pate, W1XQ Mission Bay ARC, KM3RKI Jim Leahy, N0VVV ------ AMSAT Communication Achievement Award Fernando Ramirez-Ferrer, NP4JV #568 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Clayton Coleman, W5PFG #172 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Frank Westphal, K6FW #84 1,000 contacts John Papay, K8YSE/7 #85 1,000 contacts ------ AMSAT South Africa Communication Achievement Award Fernando Ramirez-Ferrer, NP4JV #US196 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com/awards.html Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- EO-79 Transponder Activation On December 21, 2015 at 1038 UT, the EO-79 transponder was turned on for a prolonged period. The FUNcube transponder subsystem on QB50p1 (EO-79) had been provided by AMSAT- UK and AMSAT-NL and is a similar subsystem as on FUNcube-1, but without the telemetry downlink circuitry. The current software running on EO-79 does experience occasional reboots. When these reboots happen, the transponder is automatically turned off and will have to be turned back on by a command station. The FUNcube team has selected a few command stations to do so, but be advised the transponder may be off. TLEs: AMSAT keps name: EO-79 Celestrak keps Name: QB50P1 Celestrak file: cubesat.txt NORAD # 40025 COSPAR designator 2014-033-R Frequencies: *Uplink:* 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB [See note below] *Downlink:* 145.935-145.965 MHz USB EO-79 has been set to only beacon the normal AX.25 beacon every 30 seconds instead of 10 seconds. The beacon frequency is 145.815 MHz and consists of AX.25 frames on BPSK. More details about the downlink can be found on the ISIS Ham Radio page at http://isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html We kindly request you to share your experiences with the AMSAT Bulletin Board so everyone can benefit from operating tips and tricks, as well as being up-to-date on the status. We would also welcome any observation related to the transponder behaviour when the AX.25 beacon comes on. Just like FUNcube-1, the crystal oscillator circuits exhibit drift with temperature. This means manual tuning will probably work best. Mike Seguin N1JEZ notes: I found my downlink after setting my uplink +12 kHz from published spec SatPC32 tracking software Doppler SQF information used by Peter VK4NBL: EO-79,145950,435063,USB,LSB,REV,0,0 EO-79,145814.8,435070,CW,TELEMETRY,0,0 Lastly, the commanding team will not be available over Christmas, so the current activations are planned from today until Thursday 24th and from Monday 28th until Thursday 31st [ANS thanks Wouter, PA3WEG, and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Commercial Crew Program 2016 Children's Artwork Calendar Some of the best works of art come from children who are only limited by their imaginations, like the more than 150 young explorers from across the country who submitted artwork depicting human spaceflight as they see it. Sixteen masterpieces were chosen to be included in the NASA Commercial Crew Program 2016 Children's Artwork Calendar, which is now available for download in PDF format, at http://go.nasa.gov/1NVTww4. We offer a huge "thank you!" to all the explorers, ranging in age from four to 12, who submitted their work and hope that everyone will enjoy and use this calendar next year. [ANS thanks the NASA Commercial Crew Program 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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ANS-354 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 19 Dec '15

19 Dec '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-354 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: * Special Membership Offer for Fox-1A launch expiring December 31 * 17 US Schools Move Forward Into the Next Stage of ARISS Selection * ARISS Commemorative Event Update * SA AMSAT Kletskous Cubesat Invites School Experiments to Fly to Space * Slow Scan TV Image Sent Through AO-85 * Yuri, UT1FG/MM, Itinerary During Trip Up the St. Lawrence River * Unscheduled Spacewalk Likely on Monday * SME-SAT video * Look Up and Spot the Station! Learn More With STEM on Station * NASA's Digital Learning Network Seeking Participants for International Event * Now Accepting Applications for NASA Summer Internships * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-354.01 ANS-354 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 354.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. December 20, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-354.01 Special Membership Offer for Fox-1A launch expiring December 31 We've welcomed dozens of new members since the AO-85 launch with our offer of "Getting Started With The Amateur Satellites" as a free PDF with membership in AMSAT, but this offer will come to an end on December 31st, 2015. Point your browser to http://store.amsat.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=32 and help AMSAT keep amateur radio in space, and get a free e-book as a thank you. >From http://www.amsat.org/?p=4591 AMSAT's Fox-1A is set to launch as part of the GRACE (Government Rideshare Advanced Concepts Experiment) auxillary payload on the NROL- 55 mission October 8, 2015 from Vandenburg AFB on an Atlas V vehicle. More details will be released when made available from our launch provider. NRO has released this factsheet about the mission: http://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2015/10/GRACE_CubeSat_FactSheet.pdf General information on Fox-1A is available in the downloadable AMSAT Fox Operating Guide http://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2015/05/FoxOperatingGuide_May2015_Hi.pdf (Editor's Note: The above two links were truncated to in order to fit required editorial format standards. Please copy and paste complete link, without spaces, into your browser of choice to view the information) FoxTelem software for decoding and submitting telemetry has been made available for download at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4532 As part of the preparations for the launch and activation of this new satellite, AMSAT is making our "Getting Started With The Amateur Satellites" book available for a limited time as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The 132 page book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store (http://store.amsat.org/catalog/) and selecting any membership option. While there, check out our other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, AMSAT shirts, hats, and other swag. Thank you, and see you soon on Fox-1A! [ANS thanks Drew KO4MA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 US Schools Move Forward Into the Next Stage of ARISS Selection Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), US managing partners of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), are pleased to announce the schools/organizations selections for the second half of 2016. A total of 17 of the submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward into the next stage of planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS during the July through December period of 2016. This is a significant step in ARISS' continuing effort to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities and raise their awareness of space exploration, space communications and related areas of study and career possibilities. The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for these US host organizations during the July - December 2016 time period. These 17 schools/organizations must now complete an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once theirequipment plan is approved by the ARISS technical team, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities offered by NASA. The schools and organizations are: Boca Raton Christian School Boca Raton, FL The Children's Museum of Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN Frontiers of Flight Museum's "Moon Day 2016" Dallas, TX Howell L. Watkins Middle School Palm Beach Gardens, FL iSPACE Cincinnati, OH John Glenn Middle School Maplewood, MN Kopernik Observatory &Science Center Vestal, NY Lawrence Public Library Lawrence, KS Museum of Innovation and Science Schenectady, NY Northland Preparatory Academy Flagstaff, AZ Peoria Riverfront Museum Peoria, IL University of Nebraska's Peter Kiewit Institute Omaha, NE South Street School Danbury, CT Space Jam 10 Rantoul, IL United Space School Seabrook, TX U.S. Space & Rocket Center Huntsville, AL World Genesis Foundation (WGF) Goodyear, AZ Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, and other international space agencies and international amateur radio organizations around the world. The primary purpose of ARISS is to organize scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers from amateur radio clubs and coordination from the ARISS team, the ISS crew members speak directly with large group audiences in a variety of public forums such as school assemblies, science centers and museums, Scout camporees, jamborees and space camps, where students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies and Amateur Radio. Find more information at www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org and www.arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS, The ARRL and AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Commemorative Event Update ARISS is celebrating its 15th anniversary of continuous operations on the ISS. On November 13, 2000 the crew conducted their first ham radio contacts on ISS and then on December 21, 2000 ARISS conducted their first school contact with the Burbank School in Burbank, Illinois. An SSTV commemoration of these historic events is in the planning for December 26 and 27. The transmission mode will be PD120 instead of the P180 mode used in the past. This will allow for more pictures to be transmitted per pass. ARISS is also investigating the possibility of a repeat of the event in January. Pictures for transmission are currently under review and will be images that commemorate 15 years of school contacts using Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. Please note that the event, and any ARISS event, is dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and are subject to change at any time. While preparations are being finalized please check for new and the most current information on the AMSAT.org and ARISS.org web sites and the AMSAT-BB for the latest information on this event and others that ARISS plans to conduct over the next few months [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SA AMSAT Kletskous Cubesat Invites School Experiments to Fly to Space SA AMSAT is inviting Southern African leaners and school science groups to take their next science project into space on the first amateur radio satellite being designed and built by radio amateurs in South Africa. Named Kletskous (Afrikaans for Chatterbox) the CubeSat will carry a linear transponder for communication between amateurs, school science projects and a telemetry system. Kletskous measures 10x10x10 cm and will be powered by solar panels. Because of the small size, any science project to be considered for inclusion in the satellite has to be small and consume the minimum of power. The selected projects will be incorporated on one of the main printed circuit boards and connected to the telemetry system. This means that participants in the science projects will be able to download their own telemetry and evaluate how their project is performing and analysing the data collected inspace. The telemetry stream will also be made available on the SA AMSAT web pages giving access to the data to learners on the tablets and laptops. The mission of the new satellite is to give radio amateurs and educational institutions in Southern Africa easy access to a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite on as many of the available passes as possible and thus stimulate interest and activity in space, satellites and amateur radio. A secondary mission is to fly scientific payloads proposed and designed by learners or school science groups. Kletskous will be using the two metre and 70 cm amateur bands. The uplink is on 70 cm, and the downlink on 2 m. A linear transponder with a bandwidth of 20 kHz is utilised for both FM and SSB. A sub- carrier for a telemetry downlink will be included. For command and control purposes a separate 70 cm frequency will be used. Currently frequencies in the 435.100 to 435.140 MHz range are considered for the uplink and 145.860 to 145.980 MHz for the downlink. The above architecture will ensure that the transponder is accessible for general use while the satellite is being commanded and controlled by the ground station. School science payloads are being encouraged that measure things happening in space such the temperature inside or outside the satellite, sounds in space, radiation particle count and many more. Develop the project on a breadboard and test it on the bench, develop software for the project and then write up a proposal with as much information as possible. Include information about yourself or your group, include any photographs and contact details such as telephone number, email address, and physical location. Email the proposal to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za The closing date for proposal is 31 March 2016. Depending on the type and scope of the proposal, SA AMSAT will make the final decision and advise all entrants by 30 April 2016. Theentrants of the successful project or projects will be invited to make a short presentation at the 2016 SA AMSAT Space Symposium on 28 May 2016 planned to be held at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria. The SA AMSAT CubeSat project is funded by donations. To contribute or participate in the project see the SA AMSAT web page at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ [ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Slow Scan TV Image Sent Through AO-85 On December 13 Brazilian radio amateur Roland, PY4ZBZ, received an SSTV image sent in Robot 36 via AO-85. AMSAT Vice President for Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said "I can tell you that in South America, they are having some fun, and that our analog-to-digital to analog IHU processing of the audio seems to work very well at SSTV frequencies!" Buxton told ARRL. "I don't know who uplinked the signal, but it was a ground-satellite-ground contact, nothing that originated on AO-85." Buxton went on to state that the transmission was "a very good demonstration of the capability of the FM repeater on the Fox-1 series satellites." The FM satellite uplink is at 435.170 MHz (67 Hz CTCSS tone required). The downlink is at 145.978 MHz. Both frequencies are subject to Doppler shift. Whereas is it not recommended to use satellites to transmit SSTV images this personal experiment by South American hams didn't seem to interfere with any other transmissions. AMSAT VP of Operations Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA stated "At some point we will set up a period to try it over the US, but until then please refrain from repeating this experiment." [ANS thanks AMSAT, Jerry, N0JY, and Drew KO4MA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UT1FG/MM Itinerary During Trip Up the St. Lawrence River Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is heading up to the St. Lawrence and Montreal and will visit two ports there. He has shared a list of grids that he will likely travel through. Some of these grids have not been previously activated, however, keep in mind that not every grid will be workable due to the timing of the available satellite passes. He may be in some of these grids for a very short time. FL17 FL18 FL28 FL29 FM20 FM30 FM31 FM32 FM42 FM43 FM53 FM54 FM55 FM56 FM66 FM67 FM68 FM78 FM79 FM89 FN80 FN81 FN82 FN83 FN93 FN94 FN95 GN05 GN06 GN07 FN97 FN98 FN88 FN89 FN79 FN69 FN58 FN57 FN47 FN46 FN36 FN35 The ship is the Barnacle, a vessel on which he has previously sailed. [ANS thanks John K8YSE for the above iformation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Unscheduled Spacewalk Likely on Monday Impacts that the amateur radio on the ISS will not return to service until after the EVA. The International Space Station’s mission managers are preparing for a likely unplanned spacewalk by Astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra no earlier than Monday, Dec. 21. Late Wednesday, the Mobile Transporter rail car on the station’s truss was being moved by robotic flight controllers at Mission Control, Houston, to a different worksite near the center of the truss for payload operations when it stopped moving. The cause of the stall is being evaluated, but experts believe it may be related to a stuck brake handle, said ISS Mission Integration and Operations Manager Kenny Todd. Flight controllers had planned to move the transporter away from the center of the truss to worksite 2. The cause of the stall that halted its movement just four inches (10 centimeters) away from where it began is still being evaluated. Progress 62 is scheduled to launch at 3:44 a.m. EST Monday, and dock on Wednesday to the Pirs docking compartment at 5:31 a.m. Wednesday. The ISS Mission Management Team met Friday morning and is targeting Monday for the spacewalk, but will meet again in a readiness review Sunday morning. Managers could elect to press ahead for Monday, or take an extra day and conduct the spacewalk Tuesday. ISS Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA will conduct the spacewalk. It will be the 191st spacewalk in support of space station assembly and maintenance, the third in Kelly’s career and the second for Kopra. Kelly will be designated Extravehicular Activity crew member 1 (EV1) wearing the suit bearing the red stripes, and Kopra will be Extravehicular Activity crew member 2 (EV2) wearing the suit with no stripes. A start time for the spacewalk either Monday or Tuesday has not yet been set, but NASA TV coverage will begin 90 minutes prior to the start of the spacewalk. For amateur radio enthusiats should note that the EVA impacts the use of the amateur radio which will likely not return to service until after the EVA. [ANS thanks blogs.nasa.gov for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SME-SAT video The Surrey Space Centre in Guildford has released a ‘Softstack’ Integration time-lapse video of the SME-SAT CubeSat. The mission objectives are: A: Outreach – The satellite will provide beacons for which amateur satellite users and ham radio users will be able to receive. B: Space qualification and performance characterisation of sensors. • High performance COTS Gyroscopes (x3). • High precision MEMS accelerometers. • 2 Aperture Star Camera, At a later point in the mission these will be used in conjunction with the ADCS to characterise the closed loop performance of the sensors. C: Performance characterisation of Nano-Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) for agility. The mission is equipped with 4-Nano-CMGs in a pyramid configuration for ADCS. This part of the mission will evaluate the performance of this system on the ADCS and agility of the satellite. D: Space qualification and performance characterisation of the EPS The EPS for this mission has heritage from the Delfi-C3 and other missions and includes additional improvements to be demonstrated on this mission. E: Smart Thermal Radiation Devices (STRD tiles) SME-SAT is equipped with a number of STRD tiles on the outside faces of the satellite for passive thermal management of the internal structure. F: Flux Gate Magnetometer The mission contains a scientific grade miniaturized flux gate magnetometer that sits on the end of a deployable boom to improve the performance of the sensor. This payload will be switched into the ADCS for evaluation of performance during parts of the mission but is not the primary magnetometer for ADCS. G: GPS SME-SAT also contains an experimental GPS system that will be switched into the ADCS loop at stages in the orbit to evaluate the performance of the system. The IARU coordinated frequency for the satellite’s 9k6 RC-BPSK AX.25 downlink is 437.150 MHz. More information here http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ssc/research/onboarddata/smesat/index.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Look Up and Spot the Station! Learn More With STEM on Station The International Space Station orbits 250 miles above Earth and travels about 17,500 miles per hour. The space station is visible in the night sky and looks like a fast-moving plane, but it is dozens of times higher than any airplane and travels thousands of miles an hour faster. Learn more about how you can spot the space station and other ways you can bring the station into your classroom by visiting NASA's STEM on Station website. While you are there, stop by and learn more about the yearlong mission and how it is helping us on our #JourneytoMars. Opportunities, resources and more await at this space-station-focused site! To check out the website, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education/STEMstation. [ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 17, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA's Digital Learning Network Seeking Participants for International Event In February 2016, NASA's Digital Learning Network is teaming up with The Royal Institution and Faraday Studios for a series of Google Hangout events in connection with British astronaut Tim Peake's mission to the International Space Station. The live hourlong events will include selected classrooms from the United Kingdom and the U.S. These classes will pose questions to Dr. Kevin Fong (author of "Extreme Medicine"), Dr. Steven Jacobs (Mr. Wizard) and NASA experts. The events will be broadcast live on YouTube. The DLN currently is seeking U.S. middle and high schools (grades 5- 12) that would be interested in participating in these events interactively with our U.K. partners. Schools, if selected, would be required to conduct a test call in early January with a representative of the DLN to confirm participation. If you would like to have your school considered, please contact Caryn Long at caryn.long(a)nasa.gov. Inquiries must be received no later than Dec. 21, 2015. For more information about the lecture series, visit http://www.nasa.gov/dln/opportunities/. To learn more about NASA's Digital Learning Network, visit http://www.nasa.gov/dln. [ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 17, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Now Accepting Applications for NASA Summer Internships Now is your chance to apply for exciting hands-on summer internship opportunities available at all NASA centers. High school, undergraduate and graduate students are needed to help NASA scientists and engineers with ongoing scientific and engineering research, technology development and spaceflight operations activities. Internship opportunities also exist in nontechnical areas such as communications, budget, procurement, education and human resources. NASA internships are stipend-paid and offer students mentor-directed, degree-related, real-time tasks. If you think you have what it takes to be part of NASA's Journey to Mars, please visit https://intern.nasa.gov today to apply or to learn more about the numerous opportunities available to you. The deadline for summer applications is March 1, 2016! Please submit inquiries about the NASA Internships, Fellowships, and Scholarships One Stop Shopping Initiative, or NIFS OSSI, via https://intern.nasa.gov/oic/. [ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 17, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Look for SSTV image downlinks to commemorate ARISS' 15 years of school contacts on the ISS on December 26 and 27 (subject to change) See related story above. An EVA that needs to be scheduled to fix a problem with the mobile transporter cart, will most likely mean that the the amateur radio on the ISS will remail off until after after the EVA. http://tinyurl.com/ANS354-ISS-EVA [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Fox-1A Operating Guide - updated with post launch information. A Hi- resolution PDF for hard copy printing is available. http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=2144 Hamfest brochure introducing AMSAT - trifold, print double-sided http://tinyurl.com/ANS354-AMSAT-Trifold [ANS thanks JoAnne K9JKM for the above information] + New ISS SSTV Video and "ISS SSTV Reception Hints" webpage To help promote the tentative December 26th International Space Station Slow Scan TV event (and others that are planned over the next year) John Brier, KG4AKV, made a new video of an ISS SSTV reception that he filmed last April. He also made an extensive webpage with information, resources, and hints on receiving ISS SSTV events, including the upcoming ones. Video: My First Perfect ISS SSTV Image! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7to9uX1sWC4 Webpage: ISS SSTV Reception Hints https://spacecomms.wordpress.com/iss-sstv-reception-hints/ + NASA Commercial Crew Program 2016 Children's Artwork Calendar Some of the best works of art come from children who are only limited by their imaginations, like the more than 150 young explorers from across the country who submitted artwork depicting human spaceflight as they see it. Sixteen masterpieces were chosen to be included in the NASA Commercial Crew Program 2016 Children's Artwork Calendar, which is now available for download in PDF format, at http://go.nasa.gov/1NVTww4. We offer a huge "thank you!" to all the explorers, ranging in age from four to 12, who submitted their work and hope that everyone will enjoy and use this calendar next year. [ANS thanks the NASA Commercial Crew Program 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

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ANS-347 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 12 Dec '15

12 Dec '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-347 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: * Upcoming ARISS Commemorative SSTV Event mid to late December * STMSat-1 has made it to the Space Station * ATVQ Magazine Documents Mir SSTV History * Commemorative ANZAC Operations Include Satellite Activation * UK students to have direct contact with astronaut Tim Peake during Principia mission * NASA TV to cover launch of Tim Peake KG5BVI * WRC-15: Amateur Bands Unsuitable for Non-Amateur Satellites * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-347.01 ANS-347 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 347.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 13, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-347.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Commemorative SSTV Event mid to late December On November 13, 2000 the crew conducted their first ham radio contacts on ISS and on December 21, 2000 ARISS conducted their first school contact with the Burbank School in Burbank, Illinois. An SSTV commemoration of these historic events is tentatively planned for mid to late December. It is possible that the transmission mode will be P120 instead of the P180 mode used in the past. This would allow for more pictures to be transmitted per pass. More information at http://www.ariss.org/ when available [ANS thanks ARISS & Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- STMSat-1 has made it to the ISS Cygnus cargo vessel carrying STMSat-1 has made it to the space station! At 6:19am Wednesday morning, the Space Station robotic arm grasped the ORB-4 cargo element and mated it to the ISS. The ISS will be it's home until on or about February 15th. On or about that day, the STMSat-1 will be launched with other CubeSats via a pea pod ejector and launched into low earth orbit. At that point, the timer starts for the programmed deployment of the antennas, the solar array, and the earth observation camera. Godspeed STMSat-1. Please open the link below for additional information on the events of the day. http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/12/09/u-s-resupply-of-space-station- successfully-resumes/ http://jewelbots.tumblr.com/post/134465599599/how-did-400-grade-school- students-built-a [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK & Spaceflightnow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ATVQ Magazine Documents Mir SSTV History December 12 marked the 17th anniversary of the beginning of the MIR SSTV Station which was active in sending pictures over a period of about 2 years and 4 months. For those interested in this historical event and would like more background information, the Spring, 2015 issue of the Amateur Television Quarterly Magazine (ATVQ), has an article, "How Did Mir SSTV come into Existence?" Back issue copies of ATVQ and cyber copies of the article are available on-line at http://www.atvquarterly.com/ or by contacting ATVQ via e-mail at WA6SVT(a)aol.com. [ANS thanks Farrell Winder, W8ZCF, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Commemorative ANZAC Operations Include Satellite Activation The ANZAC 100 program has entered its "last hurrah" phase, with plenty of on air action now as ANZAC-suffixed callsigns commemorate the departure from Gallipoli on December 20, 1915. The multi-mode event by VI3ANZAC is in full swing, headed by Tony Hambling VK3VTH. In honor of the Royal Australian Navy Bridge Train, a large team lead by Mike Charteris VK4QS is being heard through VI4ANZAC. In the west VI6ANZAC organized by Chris Grice VK6PII has members of the Ham College. The major operations are this weekend at the RAAF Museum Bull Creek in the Cobra Helicopter display, and next weekend at the Ham College new shack in a scout hall. Chris VK6PII advises that VI6ANZAC will be on HF using SSB and sometimes CW, and plans to activate an FM satellite as well. While VI8ANZAC is now on air, and is to finish at the Charles Darwin National Park with Stuie VK8NSB and Rowan VK8RD, heard on HF using SSB & CW. More details of each of these events are on the WIA website, wia.org.au On next week's broadcast we will conclude with the special closing address from the WIA President, Phil Wait VK2ASD. That is expected to talk about the significance of the ANZAC legend, and the highly successful WIA ANZAC 100 program that began with pre-cursors at Queenscliff, Darwin and Albany. These have been 50 events in the past eight months, joined by commemorative callsigns in Turkey and Belgium. Now the ANZAC-suffixed callsigns "last hurrah" on air until December 20, are working the world. [ANS thanks the VK1WIA-news from the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UK students to have direct contact with astronaut Tim Peake during Principia mission Working with the UK Space Agency, ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) is giving a number of UK schools the opportunity to speak directly to Tim Peake, the first British ESA astronaut, during his mission on board the International Space Station (ISS). This will enable live interaction between pupils and Tim and is anticipated to be one of the highlights of the Principia STEM outreach program. During his 6 month mission to the ISS, starting in December 2015, Tim will be undertaking a wide range of science experiments, some of which have been designed by students from around the UK. Additionally he has committed to take part in a large range of educational outreach activities with schools and colleges around the country. Jeremy Curtis, Head of Education at the UK Space Agency, said: “Both Tim’s space mission and amateur radio have the power to inspire young people and encourage them into STEM subjects. By bringing them together we can boost their reach and give young people around the UK the chance to be involved in a space mission and a hands-on project that will teach them new skills.” The pre-arranged schools contacts will take place between January and April 2016 and students will be able to put a number of questions directly to Tim using amateur radio VHF and UHF radio equipment specially installed at the school for the occasion. The 3.8 meter dish owned by Satellite Applications Catapult is being loaned to the project to track the ISS and will ensure real time video will be available during the schools’ contacts scheduled for early next year. The dish is almost in the shadow of the 29 meter dish “Arthur” built in 1962 to receive the first transatlantic television signals from the Telstar-1 spacecraft. For Tim Peake’s mission, the ARISS team of licensed UK Radio Amateurs is planning a world first by also receiving live video from the ISS during the contact. Using the HamTV transmitter, which has recently been commissioned on board the ISS, Tim will be the first astronaut to use this equipment during a two way schools contact. As well as building a vehicle based receive system, which will be installed at the school on the day of the contact, the team recently visited Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall to commission a dish to receive the 2.4 GHz HamTV transmissions from the ISS. During the contact at the schools the ARISS team will be providing information displays on the ISS position and have webcams showing both the local and Goonhilly dishes as they track the ISS. The hosting schools will be organizing presentations and displays before and after the contact and the ARISS team will be providing a live web cast of all the day’s events including the actual contact with Tim Peake. The live event webcast will be hosted by the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) on their web streaming service at https://principia.ariss.org/live/ The ARISS program is designed to maximize the impact of the Principia Mission outreach activities. It will directly engage students with media and communication technologies with the goal of inspiring them to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. UK Space Agency Principia site https://principia.org.uk/ School Shortlist for Tim Peake Space Station Contact http://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/14/school-shortlist-tim-peake-iss/ NASA TV to cover launch of Tim Peake KG5BVI http://amsat-uk.org/2015/12/08/nasa-tv-to-cover-launch-of-tim-peake-kg5bvi/ [ANS thanks UK Space Agency, ARISS, & AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA TV to cover launch of Tim Peake KG5BVI The next three crew members bound for the International Space Station are set to launch on Tuesday, December 15. NASA Television will provide full coverage of the launch beginning at 10:00 UT. UK astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI, along with Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP and Tim Kopra KE5UDN, will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:03 UT (5:03 p.m. Baikonur time) for a six-month stay on the orbital complex. The three will travel in a Soyuz spacecraft, rendezvous with the space station and dock to the Rassvet module at 17:24 UT NASA TV coverage of docking will begin at 16:45 UT. The hatches between the Soyuz and space station will be opened at about 19:25 UT, and the newly arrived crew members will be greeted by Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Volkov RU3DIS and Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF of Roscosmos. NASA TV coverage of the hatch opening will begin at 19:00 UT. Kelly and Kornienko will return in March 2016 with Volkov after spending a year on the station collecting valuable biomedical data that will improve our understanding of the effects of long duration space travel and aid in NASA’s journey to Mars. Together, the Expedition 46 crew members will continue the several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science currently underway and scheduled to take place aboard humanity’s only orbiting laboratory. For the full schedule of prelaunch, launch and docking coverage, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Follow Tim Peake KG5BVI on Twitter at https://twitter.com/astro_timpeake Follow the space station crew members on Instagram and Twitter at: http://instagram.com/iss and http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station [ANS thanks NASA, ARISS, & AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- WRC-15: Amateur Bands Unsuitable for Non-Amateur Satellites The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) held in Geneva during November 2015 has recommended an agenda for the next WRC, to be held in 2019, to the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). One of the agenda items is of particular interest to the small-satellite community. Agenda item 1.7 for WRC-19 reads: “to study the spectrum needs for telemetry, tracking and command in the space operation service for non-GSO satellites with short duration missions, to assess the suitability of existing allocations to the space operation service and, if necessary, to consider new allocations, in accordance with Resolution COM6/19 (WRC-15).” Resolution COM6/19, which eventually will be given a new number, specifies the frequency ranges that may be considered for possible new allocations. They are 150.05-174 MHz and 400.15-420 MHz. One of the factors that the conference considered in deciding on these particular frequency ranges was “that some non-amateur satellites have used frequencies for telemetry, tracking and command in the frequency bands 144-146 MHz and 435-438 MHz which are allocated to the amateur-satellite service, and that such use is not in accordance with Nos. 1.56 and 1.57.” Those two provisions of the ITU Radio Regulations define the amateur and amateur- satellite services respectively. The International Amateur Radio Union welcomed the exclusion from consideration of all existing frequency allocations to the amateur and amateur- satellite services. IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, observed: “This is an excellent result for the amateur services and clearly shows that non-amateur satellite constructors need to consider spectrum other than the very limited and congested segments that are available for amateur satellites at 144 MHz and 435 MHz.” [ANS thanks IARU, ARRL, & AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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). *Saturday, 9 January 2016 – Thunderbird Hamfest 2016 in Phoenix AZ *Friday and Saturday, 19-20 February 2016 – Yuma Hamfest and 2016 ARRL Southwest Division Convention in Yuma AZ *Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 March 2016 – ScienceCity science fair, on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson AZ *Saturday, 19 March 2016 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Spring Hamfest 2016 in Scottsdale AZ *Saturday, 26 March 2016 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * A direct contact via 8N2YAYOI with students at Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan was successful Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg. Astronaut Kimiya Yui KG5BPH and answered 14 questions prepared by students. Watch a video of the contact which was conducted in Japanese at http://www.ariss.jp/yatomi/8n2yayoi.wmv * The telebridge contact with students at Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden was rescheduled via LU1CGB for Fri 2015-12-04 10:15:01 UTC 72 deg. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS was able to answer 17 prepared questions for students. The contact was recorded by the school. View it on the school website at: http://www.skola.umea.se/dragonskolan Dragonskolan is one of the biggest upper secondary schools in Sweden and is located in central Umeå. Currently hosting 1820 students aged 16-19 and 300 staff; it has recently been renovated to meet modern needs in a stimulating learning environment. At Dragonskolan, we have an ethos where we believe we can offer our students three meaningful and enjoyable years. Our core values are “open and bright”, referring not only to the physical surroundings but also to the social climate. Dragonskolan is the biggest meeting place for young people in Umeå, A wide range of 3 year programs, college preparatory and vocational, are offered here, ranging from natural science to humanities and technological science. At the core of the school is the Dragonskolan Technology Center where everything is taught from industrial welding technology to electronics, automation, computer science, CAD and much more. With its close ties to the industry, the school keeps in pace with the latest industrial technology ensuring the students get the best education available within their chosen field. * A direct contact with students at an event titled, “the development of Gagarin from Space”, was sponsored by the Polytechnic Professional Councils of the City of Grozny, Russia on Sat 2015-12-05 16:25 UTC. The cosmonaut for the contact was Sergey Volkov RU3DIS. * A telebridge contact via LU1CGB with students at Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski Junior High School, Swietajno, Poland, was successful Tue 2015-12-08 08:19:31 UTC 62 deg. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS answered 14 questions prepared by students. An audio recording may be heard at: http://www.ariss.org/news.html Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski Junior High School in Swietajno, attended by approximately 170 pupils (aged 13-15), is situated in a picturesque Land of a Thousand Lakes in Szczytno County (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in the northeastern part of Poland. The school consists of seven forms and it employs twenty well-qualified teachers. Mazurian Amateur Radio Club SP4YWM has been established here and it functions with the number of seventeen school members (among which there are three primary school pupils and one pre-school girl, all from Swietajno). In preparation for the amateur radio contact with the ISS, the students with the guidance of their teachers improved their English, got familiar with the life and work on the ISS. They had a great opportunity to learn everyday English in order to ask an astronaut questions during the ISS contact as well as the specialized language of science to visit space agencies pages. The students learned geography with the use of modern technologies and photographed the Earth from the camera on board the ISS (EarthKAM). The school cooperated with the Olsztyn Planetarium to organize an observation. The planetarium visited Swietajno to accompany one of the school events. Consequently, the Astronomical Mobile Laboratory called Astrolabium was at the school’s disposal. Last year the ARISS participants from Swietajno attended the 4th Polish-Wide Conference of Contributors and Sympathisers in ARISS held in the central part of Poland, where they focused on interesting topics concerning the ISS and learned how other Polish schools had prepared for ARISS contacts in the past. The pupils also performed an experiment in the near space as a part of the miniSAT project. They sent peas, bubble wrap and a watch to near space to the altitude of about 30 000 meters above the Earth. The conditions differ significantly between near space and the surface of the Earth: the pressure is much smaller, UV radiation is higher and the temperature is below zero degrees Celsius. People from all over Poland, including the pupils from Swietajno, took part in it. The balloon used in the event was marked “CP26”. The experiment in the near space was possible thanks to ham radio operators and other volunteers from a non-governmental organization called Copernicus Project Foundation (near Torun, Poland). Their two flagship projects are MiniSAT and Near Space Program in Poland and they have organized above 30 balloon flies to the near space since 2005. In March 2013 the school started public relations activities connected with the ham radio contact between an astronaut on the International Space Station and the students from Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski School. An official inauguration of the ARISS program in Swietajno had been prepared. TVP Olsztyn, Radio Olsztyn and other local mass media were present there and took part in an inaugural lecture on ARISS. As a continuation of EarthKAM program an exhibition of the photographs taken by the students was organized during the inauguration. Before that, Swietajno primary school pupils (between the ages of 5 and 12) had been invited to participate in the preparations to the ARISS contact. As a result, some of them are going to ask the astronaut their questions, together with their older friends from the junior high school. Upcoming Contacts >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Satellite Shorts From All Over * SpaceX to launch rocket Dec 19, six months after blast SpaceX on Thursday announced plans to launch its Falcon 9 on December 19, its first mission since a massive explosion after liftoff destroyed the rocket and its space station cargo six months ago. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that the company is preparing for a static fire -- an engine test on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida -- on December 16, followed by "launch about three days later." The Falcon rocket will carry 11 satellites for the US company Orbcomm into low- Earth orbit, a company spokesman said. The spokesman did not say when SpaceX planned to begin sending cargo to the International Space Station again. SpaceX's only competitor in the commercial resupply industry is Orbital ATK, which also suffered a major setback when its Antares rocket exploded after launching from Wallops Island, Virginia in October 2014. Orbital ATK launched on Sunday its unmanned Cygnus cargo ship to the ISS, this time aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket while it upgrades the Antares, which previously used a reconditioned Ukrainian rocket engine. The Falcon 9 exploded on June 28, just over two minutes after launching from Cape Canaveral with its Dragon cargo ship loaded with supplies for the astronauts living in space. Musk said the blast was due to a faulty strut. The accident was a blow to the California-based company, which was the first commercial outfit to send a cargo craft to space under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket that is scheduled to fly December 19 is a new version that is 30 percent more powerful and designed to improve the controlled landing of the rocket's first stage, a mission that SpaceX has been attempting to refine in the hope of one day making rockets as reusable as airplanes. SpaceX has tried multiple times to land its rocket upright on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean, without success. For this next launch, SpaceX said it plans to attempt a touchdown on land for the first time. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, an Internet entrepreneur who like Musk also owns a rocket company, announced on November 24 that he had successfully landed his New Shepard rocket after a suborbital flight. While Bezos touted the achievement, Musk and other experts pointed out that it would have been much easier to control the landing of a rocket that flies lower in altitude than the first stage of the Falcon 9. Once rockets do become reusable, analysts say the practice will save millions of dollars in equipment and launch costs. see http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/SpaceX_to_launch_rocket_Dec_19_six_months_ after_blast_999.html [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-340 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 05 Dec '15

05 Dec '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-340 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Ground Terminal Development Expands to Texas * AMSAT SKN on OSCAR 2016 In Memory of W2BXA * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-12-02 20:30 UTC * WRC-15 Satellite News * Cubesat by an Elementary School Will be Aboard the Orbital-ATK Cygnus Launch * 73 on 73 Award Recipients SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-340.01 ANS-340 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 340.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. December 6, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-340.01 AMSAT Ground Terminal Development Expands to Texas Hardware consisting of Ettus Research USRP X300 SDR, USRP B210 SDR, UBX40 USRP Daughterboard, GPDSO Kits, and antennas have been ordered from National Instruments Corp. for delivery to Bill Reed NX5R in Dallas TX to equip a second community for development of the AMSAT Ground Terminals. These terminals will be used for the Phase 4B and other digital/microwave satellites being developed by AMSAT and in partnership with Virginia Tech. Michelle Thompson W5NYV has been leading the effort in the San Diego CA area, which started up when the P4B project was announced earlier this year. Amateur radio operators in the Southern California area from AMSAT, Palomar Amateur Radio Club, and the San Diego Microwave Society have been implementing a terrestrial system to mimic the ground and space segments of a digital satellite communications link and developing code and hardware techniques for use in the P4B and future HEO opportunities that AMSAT is pursuing. Expanding the system to the Dallas area will allow more collaboration, development, and testing by AMSAT and North Texas Microwave Society amateurs with San Diego and other regions. The investment in equipment and community building will increase the number and quality of ideas in developing this next generation system of amateur radio satellite communications. Another development system is being planned for the east coast. AMSAT is actively recruiting individuals and groups that want to work together to establish increased regional technical activity in support of satellite service goals. Rick Hambly W2GPS has campaigned for the creation of this very type of activity on the east coast for many years. Successful east-coast expansion will add even more variability and expertise to the project. By involving amateurs who have expertise in both microwave and digital communications and in varying terrain and conditions, as well as including people with various backgrounds and experience, AMSAT plans to produce a ground terminal that will be useful with a variety of next generation satellites including Phase 4B, Phase 3E, the Heimdallr Lunar Cube Quest CubeSat, and an AMSAT developed HEO CubeSat. These are all projects currently being pursued by the AMSAT Engineering and ASCENT (Advanced Satellite Communications and Exploration of New Technology) Teams. “The development of a ground terminal along with satellite projects is part of a plan to offer a way for amateurs to buy, build, or access ideas to develop their own ground terminals which will be useful for many future AMSAT satellite mission for years to come” said AMSAT-NA Vice President of Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY. “The concept of common uplink (5 GHz) and downlink (10 GHz) frequencies with software defined transponders allows many different experimentation and communications opportunities ranging from simple texting to voice, streaming video, data exchange, and reliable EMCOMM access in remote areas, with bandwidths to support many satellites and users.” If you are interested in supporting the effort please visit http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1121 to submit a request. While those who live in the San Diego, Dallas, or Maryland areas may find it easier to participate, volunteers from other areas are welcome to join and contribute remotely. [ANS thanks Jerry, NØJY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SKN on OSCAR 2016 In Memory of W2BXA You are cordially invited to participate in Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2016, sponsored by AMSAT for all radio amateurs throughout the world. Operate CW through any amateur satellite from 0001 through 2400 UTC on 1 January 2016, using a manual, non-electronic key. Note that bugs are now allowed, as they are in similar ARRL and SKCC events. There is no need to send in a log, but please nominate someone you worked for Best Fist. Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you heard, just of those you worked. Send your nomination to w2rs(a)amsat.org.. A list of those nominated will be published in early February. This year’s event is being held in memory of Ben Stevenson, W2BXA (1914-2011). Licensed since 1929, Ben was one of the world’s top DXers on both HF and satellites. He led the DXCC Honor Roll for many years, and among his many awards were Satellite DXCC No. 1 and post-war Worked All Zones No. 1. Founding president of the North Jersey DX Association, Ben shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with one and all. [ANS thanks Ray, W2RS, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-12-02 20:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Nanasawa Kibounooka Elementary School, Atsugi, Japan, direct via 8N1NKSG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact was successful: Wed 2015-12-02 09:33:51 UTC 61 deg Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan, direct via 8N2YAYOI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via LU1CGB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 10:15:01 UTC 72 deg Ingushetia, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Volkov RU3DIS Contact is a go for: Sat 2015-12-05 16:25 UTC Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski Junior High School, Swietajno, Poland, telebridge via LU1CGB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-12-08 08:19:31 UTC 62 deg [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- WRC-15 Satellite News In his report for Day 16 of the WRC-15 conference Colin Thomas G3PSM says: Discussions took place on suggested frequency bands for possible new or an upgrade of existing allocations to the space operations service within the frequency ranges 150.05-174 MHz, 400.15-420 MHz [and 420-450 MHz] for short duration satellites. This potential future agenda item is an attempt to overcome the problem of non-amateur nano- and pico-satellites using the amateur service bands. No decision was reached and the document has been passed to plenary for decision. More reports about WRC-15 activities can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/blog/category/news/special-focus/wrc-15/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cubesat by an Elementary School Will be Aboard the Orbital-ATK Cygnus Launch NASA will enable the deployment of three small research satellites, or CubeSats, selected through the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) for two universities and one primary school as part of the ninth installment of the Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) missions. Full story at this URL: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ELaNa_IX_mission_launches_first_cubesat_b… by_elementary_school_students_999.html [ANS thanks SpaceDaily for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 73 on 73 Award Recipients Paul Stoetzer N8HM reports more awards have been issued for contacts made via the AO-73 (FUNcube-1) amateur radio satellite. The 73 on 73 Award aims to promote activity on AO-73. The requirements are straight-forward: 1. Work 73 unique stations on AO-73. 2. Contacts must be made on or after September 1, 2014. 3. There are no geographic restrictions on your operating location. The latest recipients are: 20. David D’Aliesio IW0HLG – 31 May 2015 21. Kiyosi Hasegawa JA3FWT – 22 June 2015 22. Mariusz Kocot SQ9MES – 28 June 2015 23. Hector Luis Martinez W5CBF – 12 July 2015 24. George K. Carr II WA5KBH – 17 July 2015 25. Michel Ribot F6GLJ – 18 July 2015 26. Paul Stoetzer N8HM – 21 July 2015 27. Jeffrey Lamb NX9B – 2 August 2015 28. Imre Füzi HA1SE – 13 September 2015 29. Herman Blom PB0AHX – 1 November 2015 30. Joseba Andoni Barrio – 22 November 2015 Full information on how to apply is at http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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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ANS December 2015