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February 2015

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ANS-018 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 22 Mar '15

22 Mar '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-018 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-1A Launch Date * Most Current ISS Keps * NASA Cubesat Simulators Intern Opportunities Summer 2015 * AESP-14 CubeSat on ISS awaiting deployment * OGMS-SA CubeSat to provide FM Transponder * Call for Speakers and Papers for the 41st Eastern VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference * Dick Flagg, AH6NM, honored as Yasme Excellence Award Winner * Video of FUNcube-1 demonstration at IARU-R1 conference * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.01 ANS-018 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 018.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 18, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-018.01 ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------- Fox-1A Launch Date AMSAT has received a launch date for the Fox-1A satellite. Fox-1A will be launched on August 27, 2015 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on the NROL-55 flight for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The launch time has not been announced. Fox-1A Operating Frequencies include: Uplink 435.180 MHz FM Downlink 145.980 MHz FM The AMSAT Fox series of satellites will include additional opportunities for launch during 2015-2016: + Fox-1B will fly with the Vanderbilt University radiation experiments expected in 2016. + Fox-1C* will launch on Spaceflight's maiden mission of the SHERPA multi-cubesat deployer during the 3rd quarter of 2015. + Fox-1D is a flight spare for Fox-1C. If not needed as a spare it will become available to launch on any open launch slot which becomes available and be submitted in a Cubesat Launch Initiative (CSLI) proposal in 2015. + Fox-1E is built as a flight spare for Fox-1B but has been included in a student science proposal as part of the November, 2014 CSLI for an ELaNa flight slot. If selected the Fox-1B spare will fly as Fox-1E. * The flight for Fox-1C has been purchased by AMSAT. It is not funded by the Cubesat Launch Initiative ELaNa program. Fund raising for the $125,000 launch costs for Fox-1C are underway. We have commissioned a unique challenge coin for donors who have contributed at the $100 level or higher. This challenge coin is shaped as an isometric view of a Fox-1 CubeSat, complete with details such as the stowed UHF antenna, solar cells, and camera lens viewport. Struck in 3mm thick brass, plated with antique silver, and finished in bright enamel, the coin is scaled to be approximately 1:4 scale, or 1 inch along each of the six sides. The reverse has the AMSAT Fox logo. You may donate at: + The AMSAT web site http://www.amsat.org + AMSAT's page on the FundRazr crowdsourcing web site http://fnd.us/c/6pz92/sh/561Zd + Or Call Martha at the AMSAT Office (888) 322-6728 [ANS thanks the Fox-1 Team for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------ Most Current ISS Keps AMSAT has been working on updating the keps for the ISS in a more timely manner. Joe Fitzgerald has confirmed that the AMSAT keps download site is now updated with the latest ISS data. Here is his comment: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasabare.txt is updated daily at 11:18 UTC with TLE's from Spaceflight.nasa.gov http://tinyurl.com/ANS018-ISS-TRAJECTORY-DATA According to Joe Fitzgerald, "This is a very significant improvement and should be very helpful for this who need accurate keps for school contacts and other ISS activities." The bulletins remain on a weekly schedule with data from spacetrack.org The ARISS team suggests this information should be share accordingly. [ANS Thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, and ARISS for the above information.] ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------- NASA Cubesat Simulators Intern Opportunities Summer 2015 CubeSat Simulator Intern Opportunities in Greenbelt, MD USA The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is offering an internship position for the Summer 2015 semester. Applications are being taken on the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) recruiting web site. To search, go to: https://intern.nasa.gov --> Student Opportunities --> Internships --> and you are brought to a page with tabs. The opening tab HOME describes the main ground rules and schedule. Click the SEARCH OPPORTUNITIES tab and scroll to the very bottom. Enter Keyword in the box: "cubesat" without the quotes, then click the Search and then you will get a growing list of opportunities including the Cubesat Simulator, Cubesat Groundstation, and PICetSat Module & PCB Development. This brings the student to this page: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/guest/searchOpps/ Again, the Internship Titles are: o CubeSat Simulator Upgrade Plus o CubeSat Ground Station Development o PICetSat Module & PCB Development The objective of this Opportunity is to allow a university level student to rework, repair and improve a prototype "1-Unit" CubeSat simulator/model on loan from AMSAT and then to share his or her experiences as a result. The model used in this Opportunity is similar to that described in The AMSAT Journal article "Education With a Satellite Simulator: ETP CubeSat Simulator," by Mr. Mark Spencer, ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator, Part 1 in the the September/October 2009 issue and Part 2 in the November/ December 2009 issue. Back copies are available at: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ETP/CubeSat/CubeSat-Pt1-SepOct09.pdfhttp://w… A course of study in engineering is required. Electrical/Electronics Engineering (EE) or Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) for university students in their junior class or higher. Experience in hardware is also required. Open to U.S. citizens. The immediate skills required of the intern are to be a well-rounded individual, and to have an excellent knowledge of and experience with Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office (especially in using spreadsheets), electrical and electronic circuits (theory and practice), microcontrollers, interfacing, and the use of basic laboratory test equipment and procedures. Familiarity with the CubeSat community is important. A proficiency in either C++ or a similar language for microcontrollers and the desire to learn a new one is necessary. A basic understanding of data acquisition, signal processing, or control is required. Hands-on experience in building something, repairing or upgrading PCs or other electronic gear, or just getting stuff to work is required. Mechanical and electrical construction skills will be used. Experience in RF or wireless technology (anywhere between 3 and 2400 MHz) is very important. Holding or obtaining an Amateur Radio license from the FCC and practical radio experience is a distinct advantage. A good attitude, an exceptional willingness to learn and to contribute as a team player are essential qualities. Likewise, excellent communicator skills (verbal, writing and definitely e-mail), reliability, punctuality, having a self-starter work ethic and the ability & desire to work independently for long periods are required. You may ask questions regarding the tasks and skill requirements with the mentor in advance (Mr. Pat Kilroy, Code 568, Patrick.L.Kilroy(a)nasa.gov) and telephone interviews will be available. The student application instructions provide a deadline of March 1 to apply, but mentors will start evaluating applications as soon as next week. The word to the wise is to get one's application in ASAP and certainly within the next three weeks! Applications must be made via the OSSI web. Please Be sure to enclose your callsign. https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/index.cfm?sola rAction= view&subAction=content&contentCode=HOME_PAGE_INTERNSHIPS [ANS thanks NASA and Pat, N8PK for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------- ----------------- OGMS-SA CubeSat to provide FM Transponder The AESP-14 is a 1U CubeSat developed by undergraduate and graduate engineering students at the Technology Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) in Brazil. The satellite’s primary mission is to test the various subsystems in the space environment. The satellite was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) on January 10 by the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch and it is now awaiting release into space by the JEM orbital deployer (J-SSOD) at the Kibo Japanese module. The satellite has an amateur radio experiment developed by the Americana Amateur Radio Club (CRAM). The experiment consists of the random transmission of 100 sequences of ASCII characters prefixed with the “CRAM” word that will used as part of a contest among receiving stations. The first 10 amateur radio stations that complete receiving the 100 sequences will be awarded a commemorative diploma. A web site is being developed to collect the sequences. The site address will be announced shortly. AESP-14 will transmit with an RF power of 500 mW on 437.600 MHz using the 9600 bps G3RUH modulation (GFSK) and AX.25 UI framing. Radio amateurs are encouraged to send any telemetry frames received back to the team. Telemetry format and more information will be published in the project web site http://www.aer.ita.br/~aesp14 An update bulletin will be released as soon as the final launch date is announced by NASA. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Edson, PY2SDR for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------- ----------------- OGMS-SA CubeSat to provide FM Transponder OGMS-SA is a 3U CubeSat being developed by students at the Paris-Est Creteil University as part of the QB50 constellation. The purposes of this CubeSat include upper atmosphere science; radio communication experiments; technology demonstrator; education, training and outreach. Additionally it will provide an FM voice transponder for amateur use. Planning is to use VHF uplink and UHF downlink with 9k6 FX25 GMSK modulation. A downlink of 437.545 MHz has been coordinated. OGMS-SA CubeSat http://www.esep.pro/-CubeSat-OGMS-SA-En-construction-.html Source IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru QB50 CubeSat Launch Contract Signed http://amsat-uk.org/2014/01/28/qb50-cubesat-launch-contract-signed / [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------- ----------------- Call for Speakers and Papers for the 41st Eastern VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference Talks and papers, both long and short, are needed for the 41st Eastern VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference on April 17-19 2015 in Manchester, CT. Please tell us about what you have been working on: Operating, contesting, construction, homebrewing, microwaves. Please let Paul, W1GHZ, (w1ghz(a)arrl.net) know if you are considering a presentation or paper. A commitment by the end of February would be appreciated, with a deadline of 18 March. The conference organizers are also planning another Friday afternoon workshop. One suggestion is for an Antenna Modeling workshop. We could even do two simultaneous workshops - one for Antenna Modeling and something else for those who aren't computer-oriented. Any suggestions, please. Find additional details at http://www.newsvhf.com/vhfconf.html [ANS thanks Paul, W1GHZ for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------- ----------------- Dick Flagg, AH6NM, honored as Yasme Excellence Award Winner The Yasme Foundation Board of Directors has announced the recipients of several awards. The Foundation named four individuals to receive the Yasme Excellence Award for 2014. Honored as Yasme Excellence Award winners were: * Kimo Chun, KH7U, for 20 years of behind-the-scenes support to DXpeditions to Pacific entities -- including logistics, organization, equipment, local contacts, and planning. * Dick Flagg, AH6NM, for his years of working with the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program and its predecessor Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX), and for supporting NASA's Radio Jove project, both designed to introduce Amateur Radio to students and the general public. * Florin Cristian Predescu, YO9CNU, and Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, for their work in organizing and promoting Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) and Amateur Radio youth activities. The Yasme Excellence Award is presented to individuals who, through their own service, creativity, effort, and dedication, have made a significant contribution to Amateur Radio in technical, operating, or organizational achievement. http://www.yasme.org/news_release/2014-01-07.pdf [ANS thanks ARRL Letter and YASME Foundation for the above information] ------------------------------------------- -------------------------- Video of FUNcube-1 demonstration at IARU-R1 conference Riaan Greeff ZS4PR has released a video of the demonstration of the FUNcube-1 (AO-73) CubeSat by Graham Shirville G3VZV to delegates at the IARU Region 1 Conference in September 2014. Mats SM6EAN has posted a brief report on the Swedish Amateur Radio Society (SSA) website about the FUNcube-1 CubeSat presentation at the IARU Region 1 General Conference in Varna-Albena, Bulgaria. The following is translated from the original Swedish post. After the session of the VHF, UHF and Microwave C5 Committee had completed the delegates were given two interesting presentations. Graham Shirville G3VZV did a poolside demonstration of the FUNcube-1 satellite which was launched in November 2013. Using a computer, FUNcube SDR dongle and a turnstile antenna, held by Kjetil Toresen LA8KV, he received FUNcube-1 and displayed the telemetry data on the computer screen. The satellite’s telemetry beacon on 145.935 MHz was also heard using a handheld SSB receiver. A presentation was also made about Hamnet which is being expanded, especially in Germany. Hamnet is a high-speed multimedia network and it was discussed whether and how IARU Region 1 could support the expansion of this network. Post by Mats SM6EAN in Swedish http://www.ssa.se/iaru-reg-1-dag-4/ FUNcube http://FUNc ube.org.uk/ FUNcube SDR Dongle http://FUNcubeDongle.com/ FUNcube Yahoo Group http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/ Dashboard App – Telemetry Decoder http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboa rd/ Data Warehouse – Telemetry Archive http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ Hamnet http://hamnetdb .net/ IARU Region 1 Conference documents and pictures http://iarur1con2014.bfra.bg/ [ANS thanks 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). * Friday and Saturday, 16-17 January 2015 – Cowtown Hamfest in Forest Hill TX (south of Fort Worth) * Saturday, 14 February 2015 – presentation for the Greater Los Angeles Mensa Regional Gathering 2015 in Los Angeles CA (Concourse Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport) * Friday and Saturday, 20-21 February 2015 – Yuma Hamfest in Yuma AZ (Yuma County Fairgrounds, 32nd Street between Pacific Avenue & Avenue 3E, south of I-8 exit 3) * Saturday, 7 March 2015 – Irving Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Irving TX (west of Dallas) * Friday and Saturday, 13-14 March 2015 – Green Country Hamfest in Claremore OK (northeast of Tulsa) * Friday and Saturday, 20-21 March 2015 – Acadiana Hamfest in Rayne LA (west of Lafayette) * Saturday, 21 March 2015 – Weatherford Hamfest in Weatherford TX (west of Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex) * Saturday, 21 March 2015 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Scottsdale AZ (northeast of Phoenix, near AZ-101/Princess Drive) * Saturday, 28 March 2015 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ (22nd Street, east of Columbus Blvd.) * Friday, 3 April 2015 – presentation for the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long Beach in Signal Hill CA (Signal Hill Community Center) * Saturday TBD in early May 2015 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ * Saturday TBD in early June 2015 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ * Friday and Saturday, 12-13 June 2015 – HAM-COM in Irving TX (west of Dallas) * Friday and Saturday, 7-8 August 2015 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------- ----------------- ARISS News + A direct contact with students at Richmond Heights Middle School and at BioTECH @ Richmond Heights High School in Miami, Florida, USA via W1HQL was successful Thu 2015-01-15 16:09:40 UTC 46 deg. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF answered 12 questions for an audience of 400 students. RICHMOND HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL Richmond Heights Middle School opened its doors in 1963 in the Richmond Heights community in southwest Miami, Florida. The now 50 year old school, is located in a historic African American Community. An army captain by the name of Frank C. Martin believed it to be a wise investment as well as the right thing to do to establish a housing development in which Black veterans of WWII could purchase their own home. There are currently 636 students and a teaching staff of 41 faculty members. Along with its exemplary athletics program, full time gifted program, and Cambridge program, Richmond Heights Middle School offers a Zoology Magnet program to the students of Miami Dade County Public Schools. This is an extremely unique magnet program that is one of only three in the nation. The zoology magnet is a result of a partnership with Zoo Miami, the Zoological Society of Florida and Richmond Heights Middle School. It has been in existence since 1988. Students have the unique opportunity to visit the zoo to study the animals within their exhibits while engaging in STEM fields of study. BIOTECH @ RICHMOND HEIGHTS 9-12 HIGH SCHOOL BioTECH @ Richmond Heights 9-12 High School is the only Conservation Biology public magnet high school is the United States and boasts three campuses: our educational center at Richmond Campus, our Research Station at Zoo Miami, and our Botanical Outpost at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. BioTECH provides students with a challenging and advanced level math and science curriculum focused on Conservation Biology that exposes them to rigorous STEM coursework as well as research opportunities with practicing scientists in state-of- the-art laboratories. In classes taken on-site at Zoo Miami, students study the human impact on biological diversity, making BioTECH the only school in the country to offer a full research and teaching facility within zoo grounds. Research experiences are offered in collaboration with the local zoo and the local research and botanic garden. BioTECH is currently home to 130 students that travel within the boundaries of a 467 square mile area to attend this unique school. The school opened its doors in August 2014 with a total of 8 faculty members, 7 support staff members, and an arsenal of practicing scientists and conservation educators from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Zoo Miami, Zoological Society of Florida, Everglades National Park, The Dumond Conservancy, and Biscayne National Park. 1. How would astronauts combat disease, say an accidental infection by a Salmonella culture, given the increased virulence of microbes in space? 2. What kind of work is the crew doing in support of the future missions to Mars? 3. We have a 3D printer in our school. What are the future implications of having a 3D printer on-board? What types of prints will you create? 4. Does experiencing a sunrise/sunset every 90 minutes change your sleep/wake cycles? 5. Do you feel physical exhaustion in space at the end of your work day? How long is your work day? 6. Without gravity, how do plants, such as Arabidopsis, determine orientation germination? Geotropism what do roots do? Do plants on the ISS grow in all different directions? 7. Do you feel stressed on the space station? How do you cope with stress on a space station and does it have more or less of an effect on your immune system in space? Measure muscle conditioning? 8. How are astronaut diets altered to accommodate the changes to the digestive system in microgravity? 9. All work and no play can be boring. What do you do for fun up in space? 10. How do you keep from feeling trapped in the space station? 11. What role did your education play in becoming an astronaut? 12. Which teacher influenced you the most in your life and why? Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule + A direct contact with high school students at Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) headquarters in Shibuya, Japan in connection with their “Masakame” event is scheduled for Sat 2015-01-24 14:21:04 UTC 56 deg. Japan’s NHK is televising a regular science program “Masakame” for young people. ("Masakame" means Good Heavens.) They are planning to offer a special program around the ARISS contact, which will be video recorded, and Amateur Radio satellites on air on February 28. The following contacts with RSØISS: + A direct contact with students in Kursk, Russia scheduled for Wed 2014-12-24 has been postponed until January. + A direct contact with students in Kursk, Russia scheduled for Thu 2014-12-25 has been postponed until January. No additional information has been provided. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] ------------------------------------------- -------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over 73 on 73 Award #7 - EA4AYW Congratulations to Jorge Gallardo Sanchez, EA4AYW, for becoming the seventh recipient of the 73 on 73 Award. He submitted a list of 73 stations worked via AO-73 between September 1, 2014 and January 9, 2015. For more information on the award see http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/ [ANS thanks Paul, N8HM 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-053 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 22 Feb '15

22 Feb '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-053 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS School Proposal Window for the United States is now Open * Amateur Radios on ISS to be off in support of upcoming spacewalks * SSTV Activity from the ISS is scheduled February 22-23 - Update * Astronaut Ham Renews License, Plus Four New Astronaut Hams * John Grunsfeld, KC5ZTF, named to Astronaut Hall of Fame * JPL Plans 2401 MHz Lunar Ranging Experiment March 3 * New Educational Materials Available at NASA.gov * Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-053.01 ANS-053 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 053.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 22, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-053.01 ARISS School Proposal Window for the United States is now Open February 17, 2015 - ARISS is now accepting proposals for U.S. schools wishing to schedule contacts between their students and the International Space Station for the next cycle. Details on submitting proposals can be found below in the attached ARRL News Release. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 - April 15, 2015 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between *January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2016*. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2015. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students and educators to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in contact dates and times. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA. More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur radios on ISS to be off in support of upcoming spacewalks Astronauts Wilmore, Virts and Cristoforetti will be performing three spacewalks over the next few weeks and will impact some of the amateur radio operations on the International Space Station (ISS). Spacewalks have been scheduled for February 21, 24 and March 1 and will have the amateur radios turned off to assure the safety of the crewmembers working outside of the ISS. The first spacewalk is now set to begin Saturday at 7:10 a.m. EST with NASA TV live coverage starting at 6 a.m. The second and third spacewalks are planned for Feb. 25 and March 1, both beginning at 7:10 a.m. The announcement can be reviewed: http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-EVA-Schedule The series of spacewalks will prepare cables and communications gear for new docking ports that will allow future crews launched from Florida on U.S. commercial spacecraft to dock to the space station. The spacewalks will be the 185th, 186th and 187th in support of space station assembly and maintenance. There is always a possibility that the schedule for the EVAs could change. The amateur radios will be turned off to accommodate any adjustments to the EVA schedule. [ANS thanks NASA, Kenneth - N5VHO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SSTV Activity from the ISS is scheduled February 22-23 - Update Continuous SSTV transmission was planned from Saturday 21 February at about 10.00 UTC till Monday 23 February 21.30 UTC. Due to onboard activities, the transmission is differed. It will *possibly* take place beginning Sunday February 22 after 10:00 UTC and end Monday February 23 at the crew's sleep time. It is expected that 12 different photos will be sent on 145.800 MHz FM, using the SSTV mode PD180, with 3 minutes off periods between transmissions. One of the photos will show the commemorative diploma created by PZK, the national Polish Amateur Radio society, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the birth of first cosmonaut J.A.Gagarine. More about this diploma in due time. The equipment used will be the Kenwood D710 transceiver located in the Russian Service Module. The pictures to be downlinked will be Series 1 images allowing the world-wide community of hams and schools to receive previously sent pictures, but replacing one with new additional image added specially for this event. The transmit frequency will be 145.800 MHz. Received images can be uploaded to the ARISS Image gallery found at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php The ARISS team is developing plans for transmitting new images to space enthusiasts around the world in upcoming months. *Editor's note: Adjustments to the the proposed EVAs mentioned in the previous story could have an impact on the above schedule. [ANS thanks Gaston, ON4WF, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Astronaut Ham Renews License, Plus Four New Astronaut Hams Michael Fincke, KE5AIT recently renewed his Amateur Radio license through February 18, 2025. Fincke served on Expedition 9 (April 18 to October 23, 2004), Expedition 18 (October 12, 2008 to April 8, 2009), and STS-134 (May 16 to June 1, 2011). He currently holds the American record for the most time in space, 381.6 days. Fincke's biography can be viewed at: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fincke.html Four astronauts recently passed their Technician Class license exams. Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG Jack Fischer, KG5FYH David Saint-Jacques, KG5FYI Kathleen Rubins, PHD., KG5FYJ Pesquet was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. He joined ESA in September 2009 and completed basic training in November 2010. He will be leaving our planet for six months November 2016 as a flight engineer for Expeditions 50 and 51, returning in May 2017. Pesquet's biography can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Thomas-Pesquet-Bio Fischer was selected in July 2009 as a member of the 20th NASA astronaut class. He completed astronaut candidate training in July 2011. Fischer's biography can be viewed at: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fischer-jack.html Saint-Jacques was selected in May 2009 by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and has moved to Houston to be one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. Saint-Jacques' biography can be viewed at: http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/biosaintjacques.asp Dr. Rubins was selected in July 2009 as 1 of 14 members of NASA Astronaut Group 20. She has been selected as flight engineer-2 for ISS Expedition 48/49 launching on Soyuz TMA-20M in May 2016 Dr. Rubins' biography can be viewed at: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/rubins-k.html [ANS thanks Kenneth N5VHO, NASA, ESA and CSA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- John Grunsfeld, KC5ZTF, named to Astronaut Hall of Fame Astronaut and Amateur Radio operator John Grunsfeld, KC5ZTF, will be installed into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in May of 2015, along with Rhea Seddon, Steven Lindsey, and Kent Rominger. They join the likes of previous inductees including Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong, and John Young in a ceremony on May 30 at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex (KSCVC). Each year the selection process is managed by the Foundation, and inductees are selected from a pool of nominations, with the finalists selected by a panel of Hall of Fame astronauts, NASA leaders, flight directors, historians and journalists. According to Collect Space, "To be eligible, astronauts must be U.S citizens and have made their first spaceflight at least 17 years prior to their induction year. In addition, nominees need to be a NASA-trained commander, pilot or mission specialist who orbited the Earth at least once." The 2015 inductees are the 14th class, and combined the group has flown a total of 18 shuttle missions over 26 years. With the addition of this year's inductees, the total number of astronauts admitted to the Hall of Fame will be 91. John Grunsfeld, KC5ZTF, current NASA associate administrator for science, is a veteran of five spaceflights, and logged over 58 days in space with 60 hours of EVA time spread over eight different spacewalks. First flying in 1995 as part of STS-67, a dedicated astronomy mission, Grunsfeld served as a mission specialist. Launching from Kennedy Space Center aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-67 was the second on three flights for the Astro 2 observatory -- an ultraviolet telescope. During this record-setting 16-day mission, the crew conducted 'round the clock observations of faint astronomical objects as well as the polarization of UV light from distant galaxies. His second flight, STS-81 was the fifth shuttle flight to dock with the Mir space station. Launching aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Grunsfeld served as a flight engineer during this ten day mission. His next three flights, STS-103, STS-109, STS-125 would be servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Over the course of these three mission, and several spacewalks, Grunsfeld helped upgrade and install new cameras, such as the wide-field camera on the telescope, ensuring it would be functional for years to come. His final flight was also the final flight to Hubble. During his last spacewalk, Grunsfeld said this about the mission, "We've been on a tremendous adventure, and been a part of a challenging mission. Hubble isn't just another satellite, it's humanity's quest for knowledge." When asked about his experience as an astronaut and what it felt like to be nominated, Grunsfeld said, "The biggest honor is to be an astronaut. It is such a tremendous privilege to be able to represent humankind in our efforts to explore space." [ANS thanks Spaceflight Insider for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- JPL Plans 2401 MHz Lunar Ranging Experiment March 3 NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) will transmit a narrow band signal at about 2041 MHz illuminating a spot on the moon (probably centered on Tycho) about 1000km in diameter early in the morning of 3 March between about 0630 to 0900 UTC. JPL will be transmitting about 20kW from a 34 m aperture. They are planning to have three distinct transmission modes, two will be a CW carrier, and a third mode including a PN ranging code on the signal, probably changing every 45 minutes. The signal should be easy to detect with even a small receive antenna (at least the narrow band signal). If you have a wideband recorder, the ranging code should be easy to recover with post processing. Standard ranging code as defined in 810- 005 http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsndocs/810-005/214/214-1.pdf As with all PN ranging done by the Deep Space Network, the PN code rate is coherent to the transmit carrier, probably 1.9931640625 MHz (or half that) in this case. The current status of the NASA Deep Space Network is displayed online at: http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html [ANS thanks Jim Lux via amateur-DSN(a)yahoogroups.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Educational Materials Available at NASA.gov Are you looking for a lesson plan that combines mathematics and space science? Do you need a set of images of objects in our solar system? Or maybe you're hunting for hands-on engineering projects to challenge your students. NASA Education has you covered! The following items are now available for downloading. NASA Education Brochure -- All Educators NASA Education has a vision to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics education using NASA's unique capabilities. This brochure explains the four initiatives for achieving that vision. Learn how you can get involved. http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-NASA-Education-Brochure Space Math VIII Educator Guide - Grades 5-12 Students apply problem-solving, algebra, geometry or trigonometry skills to a selection of 49 real-world problems involving Earth and space science. Each word problem includes background information. One- page teachers' answer keys accompany the one-page assignments. http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Space-Math Space Math IX Educator Guide -- Grades 5-12 This collection of activities is intended for students looking for additional challenges in the mathematics and physical science curriculum. The subjects of the problems include spacecraft, rovers and meteorites. Mathematical topics include algebra, geometry and calculus. Each word problem has background information. One-page teachers' answer keys accompany the one-page assignments. http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Space-Math-IX Our Solar System Lithograph Set -- All Grade Levels This lithograph set features images of the planets, sun, asteroids, comets, meteors and meteorites, the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud, and moons of the solar system. General information, significant dates, interesting facts and brief descriptions of the images are included. http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Solar-System-Lithograph NASA's BEST Next Generation Activity Guide - Technology Demonstration Missions - Grades 5-8 This activity guide includes nine hands-on engineering projects focusing on the engineering design process and real-world science, technology and mathematics. http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Tech-Demo Year of the Solar System -- Real World Math -- Grades 6-12 This collection of activities allows students to use mathematical concepts from fractions to calculus as they learn about asteroids, comets, planets, craters, planetary rings and many more space science topics. http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Real-World-Math Looking for more? NASA's new Educational Resource Search Tool can help you find lesson plans, posters, educator guides and other materials to supplement your science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum. Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keywords. To check out the new search tool and begin your educational resource hunt, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education/materials/ [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Feb. 19, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. Design Implementation - CubeSat platform Estimated timeline Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units Launch - how does it get to orbit Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him, (n0jy(a)amsat.org using Subject: Design the Next AMSAT Satelleite), for more details on the criteria. A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download at http://tinyurl.com/ANS032-SatelliteGuide. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT Engineering for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado "Bachelet", Cernusco sul naviglio, Italy and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2015-02- 05 10:37 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was IZ2GOJ. + A Successful contact was made between Scuola Media Locatelli- Oriani, Milano, Italy and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2015-02-05 10:37 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was IZ2GOJ. + A Successful contact was made between W.T. Sampson (DoD school), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF using callsign IR0ISS. The contact began 2015-02-11 15:58 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was AA4KN. + A Successful contact was made between Council Rock High School- South, Holland, PA and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2015-02-19 18:18:27 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via K3DN. ARISS Mentor was KB9UPS. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule An ARISS contact is planned with Riversink Elementary School, Crawfordville, FL. The contact will be direct via K4WAK The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF Contact is scheduled for: Wed 2015-02-25 16:09:15 UTC The contact should be audible over the eastern U.S 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. Riversink Elementary School is a K-5 public school operating within the Wakulla County School District. It is a Title I school located in rural Crawfordville, Florida. Riversink first opened its doors in August of 2008. Teachers at Riversink believe that every student will reach his or her highest potential in a positive learning environment that encourages students to be respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. Students at Riversink are highly successful due, in part, to the collaborative efforts of the faculty and staff, along with strong parental support. The student body is made up of 470 students. The school has 37 teachers. Riversink's mission is to facilitate the development of all students to their fullest potential by providing research-based instructional strategies and promoting a love of learning and community pride in a safe, positive environment. A team of science and technology students and their teachers from Council Rock South High School, Richboro, PA will be speaking directly with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) as it flies over the Philadelphia area. A group of experienced operators from the Warminster Amateur Radio Club will be at the school to assist the teachers and students as they use Ham Radio technology to make the contact. The school will be using a recently donated radio system and antennas to participate in the ARISS program (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) in which students talk directly with the astronauts and ask questions about living in space while the astronauts are actually there. Science teachers Jerry Fetter and Jeff Warmkessel have been with NASA's NEAT program (Network of Educator-Astronaut Teachers) since 2004 and got the idea of applying to the ARISS program when Fetter's Astronomy classes were talking about living in space. "They kept asking questions which only astronauts would know how to answers", said Fetter. "I remember thinking how great it would be if we could just ask them directly. To be able to ask the astronauts while they fly overhead is beyond my wildest plans!" Students in various STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs at Council Rock South High School have spent time considering which questions are important enough to ask an astronaut in the short amount of time available (approximately 12 minutes) as the ISS's flight path crosses over the area. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Dominic (5): When you come back to Earth after being on the ISS, are you able to walk or does it take time to get used to it? 2. Kyle (4): Are there laws in space? 3. Amelia (3): Other than floating, how is living in space different than living on the earth? 4. Brooks (2): How far have you traveled around the earth? 5. Makayla (1): How do you get to be an astronaut? 6. Jabari (K): What can you do in your free time on the space station? 7. Addison (K): How do you sleep in space? 8. Hannah (1): How long does it take to get to the ISS? 9. Chace (2): How do you power the ISS? 10. Payton (3): Has the space station ever been hit or almost hit by anything? 11. Jasmine (4): What happens if you get sick in space? 12. Harley (5): When you sweat on the space station, does it stick to your body or does it float away? 13. Dominic (5): What has been the most memorable moment you've had as an astronaut? 14. Kyle (4): What time zone do you use in space? 15. Amelia (3): What kind of work are you doing on the space station? 16. Brooks (2): What is it like to exercise on the space station? 17. Makayla (1): How do you eat in space? 18. Jabari (K) How does the space station move? 19. Addison (K): What do you miss the most about being on Earth? 20. Hannah (1): What belongings can you take with you to the space station? 21. Chace (2): What kinds of experiments are you working on? 22. Payton (3): When you grow plants in space, how do you water them? 23. Jasmine (4): How do you communicate with your family? 24. Harley (5): How does it feel to be the first Italian woman in space? [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Hams in Space Since the earliest days of the Space Shuttle, many astronauts have become licensed radio amateurs to communicate to stations on earth while traveling in space and on the International Space Station. For a list of astronauts who hold or have held an amateur radio license visit http://www.ariss.org/hams-in-space.html + The January/February 2015 AMSAT Journal has been mailed. Look for your copy if you haven't already received it. + Dayton will host the 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium October 16-18 at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Dayton. More information will be posted on the AMSAT website www.amsat.org as it becomes available. + A great Russian 435-438 MHz WebSDR with labels for satellite frequencies is now available on line at: http://websdr.r4uab.ru/ + Need a 2015 calendar? How about one with out-of-this-world images? Download the ?#?ISS calendar here: http://tinyurl.com/ANS053-Calendar --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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-046 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 15 Feb '15

15 Feb '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-046 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: * Help Wanted: AMSAT Engineering Kicking Off Ground Station Development * More ISS Slow Scan TV Activity * Fox-1 Continues Preparation for Launch * Navassa K1N Dxpedition Active on FO-29 * AMSAT Orlando Hamcation Report SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-046.01 ANS-046 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 046.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. February 15, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-046.01 Help Wanted: AMSAT Engineering Kicking Off Ground Station Development AMSAT Engineering is looking for hams interested in developing ground station equipment for future satellites. An inexpensive L-Band uplink converter is something that is of interest right now for LEO satellites as part of the recently approved technology funding. If you are interested in helping, please contact AMSAT Engineering by completing the form on the website to tell Jerry Buxton, N0JY, the Vice President of Engineering, how you can volunteer your time and skills to help AMSAT engineering build satellites and other required hardware/software. To volunteer please visit: http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1121 [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- More ISS Slow Scan TV Activity The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) has announced another round of amateur radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) activity from the International Space Station (ISS) will take place later this month. Continuous operation, using the call sign RS0ISS, is expected from 1000 UT on Saturday, February 21 until 2130 UT on Monday, February 23. Twelve different images depicting space pioneer Yuri Gagarin — the first human to orbit Earth — will be sent on 145.800 MHz FM using the SSTV mode PD180, with a 3-minute off time between transmissions. The equipment used will be the Kenwood D710 transceiver located in the Russian Service Module. It is thought the equipment may be producing about 25 watts output which should provide a very strong signal. Plans are being discussed for transmitting new images from space enthusiasts around the world in the coming months. Additional details will be released. The images received by amateurs world-wide during previous transmissions can be seen at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/ and you are invited to upload any pictures you receive during the upcoming transmissions. All you need to do to receive SSTV pictures direct from the space station is to connect the audio output of a scanner or amateur radio transceiver via a simple interface to the soundcard on a Windows PC or an Apple iOS device, and tune in to 145.800 MHz FM. You can even receive pictures by holding an iPhone next to the radio loudspeaker. On Windows PC’s the free application MMSSTV can be used to decode the signal, on Apple iOS devices you can use the SSTV app for compatible modes. The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it. The FM transmission uses the 5 kHz deviation which is standard in much of the world. Paul Turner G4IJE, co-developer of the SSTV PD modes, says regarding the MMSSTV PD180 mode: “Don’t forget to either enable “Always show RX viewer” or use the “Picture viewer” (magnifying glass icon) to show the picture at its real resolution of 640 x 496. If you just view as normal you will only see 320 x 248 resolution, which kind of defeats the object of using a high resolution mode.” Many more tips and links for various receiving options are available at http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/11/more-iss-slow-scan-tv/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1 Continues Preparation for Launch Following the successful conclusion of vibration and thermal/vacuum testing Fox-1 now is stored in a clean environment waiting for launch. However, there is still work going on behind the scenes. AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY says several required reports are being reviewed by the launch provider. We continue to make necessary updates if they request further information in order to be sure that all of the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. The paperwork is an ongoing full workload in itself, both during the design and construction and even after Fox-1 was finished. For the remaining schedule, Fox-1 will have its Mission Readiness Review (MRR) at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo CA on February 24 by a review board of Cal Poly and NASA representatives. Next, Fox-1 will be delivered and integrated into the P-POD at Cal Poly during the week of March 16. Then the countdown begins. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Navassa K1N Dxpedition Active on FO-29 Thanks to AMSAT, the Navassa Island K1N DXpedition was equipped to work stations via the FO-29 Amateur Radio satellite. Vice President-Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, said that AMSAT had provided the DXpedition with a Yaesu FT-817 transceiver and associated equipment to support operation on FO-29’s linear passband. AMSAT also gave the group pass predictions, an operational plan, and training. Several reports of successful contacts have been reported via messages on amsat-bb. In a message relayed by Mark, K0MDJ, from Glenn, W0GJ, the primary voice on FO-29 from Navassa reported, ""We have it down now ... takes four people: one antenna guy, one radio guy, one microphone guy, one logger ... plus a couple photographers. Glen also says they hope to be on every pass from now until they leave, so at least through Saturday." The Navassa team logs their contacts using Clublog: http://www.clublog.org/charts/?c=K1N If you can make a donation you can find the link on the DXpedition's web page: http://www.navassadx.com/ Mike, W4UOO, observed, "A tip of the Hat to Drew ... for delivering the gear and the How-To to some of the K1N team back in January and whatever else he did. There's a big thanks in here! What Great Marketing for Satellite operations. What great fun is being had ... all when it seems nearly impossible, suddenly you're talking to someone. It's great to see K1N/Satellite spots going by also! Love it." [ANS thanks the dozens of posts via amsat-bb for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Orlando Hamcation Report The 2015 Orlando Hamcation - Orlando, FL took place over the weekend of 13-15 Feb at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. AMSAT was represented all three days with a two booth are in the main commercial building. At the booth the ARISSat-1 working demo satellite and Fox-1 Engineering model were on display. The booth also provided a great location for people stop by and get information from VP of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, and Dave Jordan, AA4KN. John Papay, K8YSE, was operating the sats via his remote and rover stations along with other satellite demos. An AMSAT forum was held on Saturday with Board of Directors member Lou McFadin, K5DID, providing an update on all the on-going AMSAT activities including upcoming ARISS activities and the Fox-1 series of cubesats. A special treat for those attending the forum was a special prize drawing. M2 donated one of their new 2m/70cm "Leo-Pack" antenna systems which made its debut at Hamcation. [ANS thanks Dave, AA4KN and the AMSAT Hamcation Team 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-032 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 01 Feb '15

01 Feb '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-032 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-1 "In The Bag"! * 15 Schools Move Forward Into The Next Stage of ARISS Selection * iCubeSat 2015 - 4th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop * January/February 2015 AMSAT Journal is Complete * Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! * SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station * Dick Flagg, AH6NM, Receives YASME Award * NASA OSSI Online Career Week * ELaNa-X Cubesats Launched From Vandenberg on January 31 * * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-032.01 ANS-032 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 032.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 1, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-032.01 Fox-1 "In The Bag"! Fox-1, the first Fox-1 series satellite (a.k.a. Fox-1A to the AMSAT Engineering Team) completed the final required testing January 16 through 23. The tests included the launch provider required "DITL" (Day In The Life) and "environmental testing" subjecting the CubeSat to Vibration and Thermal Vacuum Bakeout, the latter two sometimes referred together as "shake and bake". DITL is required to show that Fox-1 will not deploy her antennas nor transmit any signals prior to a minimum of 45 minutes after she is deployed from the PPOD into orbit. The test was conducted at the "Fox Labs" QTH of Jerry Buxton NØJY on January 16. Bob Fitzpatrick KB5SQG assisted on site with Jonathan Brandenburg KF5IDY and Kevin Bishop KG7NSD supporting via GoToMeeting. It was a somewhat suspense filled test waiting for 45 minutes hoping nothing will happen, followed by another 11 minutes hoping something will happen. Everything performed as expected and the test was a success, with transmit antenna deployment at 56 minutes 21 seconds, receive antenna deployment at 56 minutes 32 seconds, and first transmission at 59 minutes 12 seconds. On Monday January 19 Fox Engineering Team members Bob Davis KF4KSS, Burns Fisher W2BFJ, and Jerry Buxton NØJY traveled to Orlando FL to conduct the "shake and bake" at Qualtest. Upon arrival Fox-1 was tested, inspected, and integrated into the TestPOD at the hotel and then the team traveled to Qualtest. Assisted by Lou McFadin W5DID, photographed by Dave Jordan AA4KN and observed by Ed Krome K9EK the vibration testing took place on Wednesday January 21 with frequencies and amplitudes that simulate the ride Fox-1 will be experiencing on the Atlas V rocket during launch, tested in all three (X,Y,Z) axes. After the "shake" a Short Functional Test and Aliveness Test were conducted, and Fox-1 worked like a charm! Thursday January 21 Fox-1 was put into the thermal vacuum bell jar to be subjected to a 12 hour pre-soak at high altitude and temperature near the required test temperature in order to remove any rough contaminants that might harm the ion pump used during the "bake" procedure. Friday the 22nd Fox-1 went through the launch required Thermal Vacuum Bakeout which sustains a vacuum <1E-4 torr at a specified temperature for 6 hours in order to thoroughly remove any contaminants that might be left over from construction and handling and which could cause problems once the satellite and materials are exposed to the vacuum of space. Given the vacuum actually achieved during the process, we are very happy that Fox-1 was a "clean machine" even prior to the start of the procedure! Once the "bake" was complete Fox-1 was allowed to cool to near room temperature and then subjected to the same Short Functional Test and Aliveness Test as done on arrival in Florida and after the vibe test. Once again, Fox-1 worked as it should and was officially declared ready for launch! While it is somewhat anti-climactic, Fox-1 was then carefully placed in an anti-static bag and will remain there until delivery and integration into the PPOD which is scheduled for mid-March 2015. Battery will be charged by the umbilical but no other handling, changes, testing, or function can be performed as once she passed the environmental testing Fox-1 officially became "hands off". As previously announced launch is scheduled for late August 2015. Official photos and more information will be included in an upcoming AMSAT Journal. If you are on Facebook, the AMSAT North America Facebook page has some photos that were uploaded during the environmental testing. [ANS thanks NØJY and the Fox-1 Engineering Team for the information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 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 that 15 of the schools/organizations that submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward into the next stage of planning to host a scheduled contact with crew on the ISS during 2015. 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 Human Space Flight. ARISS-US was encouraged by the high level of interest in the education community evidenced by the significant number of submitted proposals and the quality of the submissions. The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will provide 12 scheduling opportunities for US host organizations for the May - December 2015 time period. These 15 schools/organizations must now complete an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment 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. ARISS does not expect to be able to schedule all 15 schools on the list. The schools and organizations are: Bay View Elementary School, Burlington, WA Corpus Christi Catholic School, Chambersburg, PA Daggett Montessori School K-8, Fort Worth, TX Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, MI Grady High School Robotics Team, Atlanta, GA Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY Maconaquah School Corporation, Bunker Hill, IN Moon Day/ Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, TX New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, NM Pima County 4H/Vail Vaquero's 4H Club, Tucson, AZ Space Jam 9, Rantoul, IL Ste. Genevieve du Bois Catholic Elementary School, Warson Woods, MO Tulsa Community College, NE Campus, Tulsa, OK United Space School, Seabrook, TX West Michigan Aviation Academy, Grand Rapids, MI [ANS thanks ARISS-US for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- iCubeSat 2015 - 4th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop 26 - 27 May 2015, Imperial College London, United Kingdom iCubeSat 2015, the 4th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop, will address the technical challenges, opportunities, and practicalities of interplanetary space exploration with CubeSats. The workshop provides a unique environment for open wide ranging practical collaboration between academic researchers, industry professionals, policy makers and students from around the world developing this new and rapidly growing field. Technical Program Talks and round tables will focus on three themes: technology, science, and open collaboration. The program will also include unconference sessions to provide additional opportunities to engage with the interplanetary CubeSat community and potential collaborators. Talks and supporting material will be streamed and archived on the conference website. A lively social program in and around summertime London will be arranged for participants and their guests. Abstract Submission and Dates Talks on astrodynamics, attitude control and determination systems, citizen science, communications, landers, launch opportunities, open source approaches, outreach, payloads, policy, power systems, propulsion, reentry systems, ride-shares, science missions, software, standardization, structures, systems engineering and other related topics are all welcome. 1st June 2014 Registration opens at http://iCubeSat.org/registration/ 1st April 2015 Abstract upload deadline via http://iCubeSat.org/submit-an-abstract/ 15th April 2015 Notification of abstract acceptance 22nd May 2015 Presentation (and optional paper) upload deadline Please confirm your interest in presenting or attending as soon as possible (to assist us size the venue) by completing the registration form at http://iCubeSat.org/registration/ Exhibition CubeSat specialists and other vendors are invited to contact exhibit(a)iCubeSat.org for details of exhibition opportunities. Location The fourth Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop will be held on the Imperial College South Kensington campus, London, United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 26th and Wednesday May 27th, 2015. For more details please visit the conference website at www.iCubeSat.org [ANS thanks CubeSat mailing list for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- January/February 2015 AMSAT Journal is Complete The January/February 2015 AMSAT Journal is complete and has been sent to the print shop. In this issue you'll find .... + AMSAT Announcements - 2015 Symposium in Dayton, Ohio + Apogee View by Barry Baines, WD4ASW + Fox-1A Flight Model Passes Environmental Testing (with photos) + There's an App for That: Smart Phone Applications for Satellites by Mark D. Johns, K0MDJ + New Column: Orbital Debrief for January/February by Paul Stoetzer, N8HM + 4M: a Moon mission by Ghislain Ruy, LX2RG + Ballistically Reinforced Communications Satellite (BRICSat-P): The Enhancement of the APRS Amateur Radio Network Through Micropropulsion by Ensign Christopher Dinelli, et al + Report from the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting in Baltimore + Support our 2014 Prize Donors! + The AMSAT Space Symposium Photo Gallery + Recognition and Thanks to Our Dedicated Volunteers in 2014 Look for this issue to arrive in your mailbox in the next few weeks. As always, please send your articles, operating photos, and announcements to the Journal mailbox at journal(a)amsat.org or to k9jkm(a)comcast.net. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Journal Team, Bernhard, VA6BMJ; Douglas, KA2UPW/5; Howard, K3JPH; Joe, KB6IGK; JoAnne, K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. Design Implementation - CubeSat platform Estimated timeline Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units Launch - how does it get to orbit Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him, (n0jy(a)amsat.org using Subject: Design the Next AMSAT Satelleite), for more details on the criteria. A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download at http://tinyurl.com/ANS032-SatelliteGuide. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT Engineering for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station The Russian ARISS team plan to activated SSTV from the ISS on Saturday January 31 and will cintinue on Sunday February 1, 2015. Expected SSTV mode will be PD180 on 145.800 MHz with 3 minute off periods between transmissions. A total of 12 different photos will be sent during the operational period. This is the second series of pictures to be transmitted. Start time would be around 10.00 UTC on January 31 and 9.00 UTC on February 1. The transmissions should terminate around 21:30 UTC each day. [ANS thanks Gaston ON4WF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick Flagg, AH6NM, Receives YASME Award Champion of integrating Amateur Radio and space science is honored for achievements ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) is pleased to share the news that the 2015 Yasme Excellence Award has been presented to Dick Flagg, AH6NM, for his contributions to the success of the ARISS program and other efforts in support of Amateur Radio and space science-related initiatives. The Yasme Award is given to outstanding individuals who have served the Amateur Radio community in areas of technical advancement, operating arts and good will. Recipients are chosen by the not-for- profit Yasme Foundation. ARISS, which gives students the opportunity to ask questions of astronauts on board the ISS (International Space Station) via Amateur Radio, aims to spark an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects and careers among young people while simultaneously serving as an introduction to Amateur Radio. Flagg first supported the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment) program, the pre-cursor of ARISS, on the 1990 STS-35 mission, with Astronaut Dr. Ron Parise, WA4SIR (SK), on board. Flagg helped pioneer the telebridge concept for Dr. Parise's mission, which is now an operational capability for ARISS. The telebridge enables school students to talk to on-orbit crew members through amateur radio ground stations that are not co-located at the school but are linked to the school through a phone line connection. His pioneering work on the telebridge concept has allowed hundreds of schools to contact the ISS when conditions, such as ground obstructions or high buildings, would have prevented the contact. Flagg provided critical SAREX support by helping students communicate with Dr. Parise and other astronauts on STS-35 using the telebridge ground station he pioneered in Hawaii. Since then, Flagg has been involved in more than 115 contacts to the Shuttle and ISS from the ARISS Hawaii telebridge ground station located at Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, an all- girls school where he emphasized STEM through student involvement in the contacts. The award also recognized Flagg's contributions to the NASA Radio Jove educational outreach program, which has introduced radio telescope kits to nearly 2,000 student groups and radio amateurs around the world. "While it was indeed an honor for me to receive this award from the Yasme Foundation," says Flagg, "I feel that I am accepting it for both the ARISS and Radio Jove teams. Congratulations to all of you." For more on the Yasme Foundation and the Yasme Award, visit www.yasme.org. For more on the ARISS program, visit www.ariss.org. You may also join ARISS on Facebook and follow it on Twitter: @ARISS_status. [ANS thanks Dave AA4KN and YASME for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA OSSI Online Career Week The NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative, or OSSI, is hosting the NASA OSSI Online Career Week Feb. 10-12, 2015. This online event will connect you with NASA, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, employers and top graduate programs nationwide. Engage with representatives from all 10 NASA centers to learn about internship, scholarship and fellowship opportunities available at NASA. Interact with recruiters from top STEM employers, and explore internship and job opportunities in the private sector. Learn about highly ranked STEM graduate programs and network with admissions officers from the comfort of your home, dorm, smartphone or tablet. Register for one or all events and launch your career today! NASA OSSI Online Career Week Live Events -- NASA Internships, Fellowships and Scholarships Day -- Feb. 10, 2015 (1-5 p.m. EST) -- STEM Industry Day -- Feb. 11, 2015 (1-5 p.m. EST) -- STEM Graduate Programs Fair -- Feb. 12, 2015 (1-5 p.m. EST) Starting on February 9, you will be able to research participating organizations and explore opportunities listed. Complete your profile, and prepare a few questions for the centers, companies or graduate programs you are interested in. During the live events, you will engage in one-on-one text-based conversations directly with a recruiter or admissions officer at those organizations. You can share your background, experience and resume and ask questions. Maximize your time in the event by getting in line to chat with representatives from more than one center, company or university at a time. To attend, please register at http://nasaossi.brazenconnect.com/. For more information, please contact nasaossi at hsf dot net. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message for Jan. 29, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ELaNa-X Cubesats Launched From Vandenberg on January 31 Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN, reported on his SatBlog (http://www.dk3wn.info) that the Saturday, January 31 Delta II launch from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, satellite also included a secondary payload with ELaNa cubesats. The main payload and secondary payload were deployed successfully. Cubesat Downlink ----------------- ------------------- Firebird-II FU3 437.405 MHz 19k2 FSK Firebird-II FU4 437.230 MHz 19k2 FSK GRIFEX 437.485 MHz 9k6 FSK Exocube (CP-10) 437.270 MHz 9k6 FSK (source DK3WN http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=54555) Jan, PE0SAT described his receiving and decoding configuration on his website: http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/2015/grifex-active-and-decoded/ The University of Michigan released updated software to decode GRIFEX packets: http://exploration.engin.umich.edu/blog/?p=2555 Mike, DK3WN shows screen captures of receiving Firebird-II FU3 and FU4 at: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=54977 [ANS thanks Mike, DK3WN and Jan, PE0SAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)"Masakame event" Tokyo, Japan event and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF using NA1SS. The contact began 2015-01- 24 14:21 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via JK1ZRW. ARISS Mentor was 7M3TJZ. 8 questions were answered and approximately 200 people were in attendance. The event was covered by NHK TV station. + A Successful contact was made among Istituto Salesiano "G. Bearzi", Udine, Italy; Intercultura Onlus, Milano, Italy and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF using NA1SS. The contact began 2015-01-31 08:38:59 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF. 13 questions were answered. 400 were in attendance at Salesiano "G. Bearzi" and 100 at Intercultura Onlus. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Scuola Media Locatelli-Oriani, Milano, Italy and Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado "Bachelet", Cernusco sul naviglio, Italy are expected to make contact with Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF on 2015- 02-05 10:37:35 UTC. The contact is scheduled as a Telebridge via W6SRJ. The ISS downlink should be audible over portions of the Western United States. Presentation Scuola Media Locatelli-Oriani The middle school Locatelli Oriani is located in the center of Milan, just a few steps from the planetarium. It's part of the comprehensive institute Pisacane and Poerio: two buildings with primary school and middle school. All the activities, both from educational and didactical point of view are primarily focused on well-being of students. The educational proposal, following the ministerial indication, has been enriched by educational trips, schools trips, sports days, concerts, music, theatre and dance as well as themed initiatives in science, languages and art. Among these there are KET and PET (in-depth courses about foreign languages), summer holidays abroad, participation to the math games held by Bocconi university and "Scatti di scienza" (photographs and movies competition about science made by students). The school was involved also in Mission X 2012 and, together with Rai Scuola (the national TV), have been realized a documentary movie for the ministerial project "Salute". There is the student council, two students per class elected by the others. They meet monthly to discuss and propose new ideas and initiatives on how to improve the school and develop solidarity, community spirit and recognition of human and civil rights. Since several years the council is taking care of children remote adoption, together with humanitarian organizations. Presentation of Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado "Bachelet" The school V. Bachelet is a natural continuation of the educational work begun in 1981 by some parents and teachers, founding the Elementary School "The Aurora", they were attempting to create a school in a cooperative solidarity-based education. Since 2006 the Institute Aurora-Bachelet is twinned with the Little Prince Primary School in Nairobi and since September 2012 is based in the brand new facility located in Via Buonarroti in Cernusco S/N. The students from the third classes followed, over the last few years, an articulated astronomy course marked by significant moments: realization of a book to celebrate the 40th Moon landing anniversary, visit the astronomical observatory in Cernusco S/N, see the live event between Pope Benedict XVI and the ISS, meet ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, meet the professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi from Milan University, meet mr. Valerio Nassi and his hand-made space models and meet eng. Marco Molina (Selex ES) who introduced in several lessons the human space exploration and robotic space exploration (specially focused on Rosetta mission). Preparing for the school contact with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, eng. Marco Molina introduced to students all the details about her Futura mission and provided an autographed Samantha's potrait picture. The schools will alternate questions during the contact. The English translation of the anticipated questions include: 1. Elena: We know that in space is possible to grow plants, but how do you put water and how do you prevent topsoil from floating around? 2. Diana: Is, the precise schedule on the ISS, a constraint or a needs for you? 3. Gaia: Thanks to microgravity, the ISS is a barrier-free environment: do you think space could be considered the new frontier especially for people with disabilities? 4. Maria: Looking at the Sun rising so many times a day is affecting in some way your body and mind? Which are the most important body modification you feel in microgravity? 5. Andrea: Are the computer used in space different from what we use on earth? Which operating system do they have? 6. Davide: How did you discover your passion for astronomy? Did you remember people or events that helped to? 7. Alessandro: Node 2 and 3 have been built in Italy. Do you feel home moving inside these modules? 8. Lia: How do you spend your free time, if you have it, on the ISS? 9. Rebecca: Would you take part in a trip to Mars and back? 10. Andrea: Which people and things do you miss most while living on ISS? How is the life in orbit with just a few people? Do you feel alone? 11. Filippo: We see that you share your experience from the beginning and you still do from there: do you plan to write a book at your return to Earth? 12. Laura: Despite your very long training, did you see things on the ISS that you would never imagined? 13. Filippo: What will you bring back to Earth both physically and mentally? 14. Daniela: Which activities and experiments are you performing on the ISS? 15. Alessia: What was the detail that impressed you most on the ISS? 16. Sergio: How and what do you eat in space? Which are your favourite foods and what is the flavour? 17. Vincenzo: Is it more difficult doing activities without the effect of weight? 18. Claudia: Did you see the historical landing of Rosetta on a comet? If yes, what was your feeling? 19. Loredana: Coming back to Earth, wow are you going to get back used again to weight and gravity, coming back to Earth? 20. Anishta: Do you think it would be possible living in space for normal people like us as students? 21. Anna: What was your feeling after the launch, as soon as you realized of being in space? 22. Matteo: Did you have troubles on the ISS up to now? If yes, what? [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N, David AA4KN for the above information] Television Report about ARISS, Produced by Italian RAI-3 TV The ARISS contact performed Friday January 9, 2015 with three Italian schools was reported extensively by the "Spaziolibero" television program, sponsored by the Italian parliament. Emanuele D'Andria I0ELE, President AMSAT Italia, Francesco De Paolis IK0WGF, secretary AMSAT Italia and Piero Tognolatti I0KPT did an outstanding job presenting ARISS and Amateur Radio to the general public. The program - in Italian - is presently available at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS032-ARISSonTV The video narration gives visibility to the ARISS program, ARISS school contacts and HAMTV. Congratulations to our Italian colleagues for outstanding public relations! [ANS thanks Gaston, ON4WF, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Upcoming NASA Educator Professional Development Webinars NASA Educator Professional Development (EPD) presents free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA Education Specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom. Visit the NASA EPD website for more information and to register for any upcoming webinars at https://paragon-tec.adobeconnect.com/admin/show-event-catalog [ANS thanks NEON - NASA Educators Online Network for the above information] + Test Flight for Privately Funded LightSail Spacecraft Lightsail flies in May... Planetary Society Blog Page: http://tinyurl.com/ANS032-BlogLightsail Planetary Society Press Release http://preview.tinyurl.com/ANS032-ReleaseLightsail [ANS thanks the Planetary Society for the above information] + This homebrew satellite antenna project looks quite do-able: http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=30585 [ANS thanks JoAnne K9JKM and DXZone 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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