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June 2015

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ANS-179 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-179 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites * Brazilian CubeSat NanosatC-Br 1 Team Requests Reception Reports * FUNcube-1 / AO-73 Glitch and Commanded Reboot * Kletskous Development News From the SA AMSAT Symposium * North Texas Moon Day Event Annouced * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-179.01 ANS-179 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 179.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 28, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-179.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites It’s that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!”. The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2015 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 27, 2015 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 28, 2015. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 28 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event. If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellite SaudiSat-Oscar-50 for your AMSAT Field Day focus … don’t … unless you are simply hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points. The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use to one- QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). Click for document: http://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015FieldDay.pdf See: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=216 [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Brazilian CubeSat NanosatC-Br 1 Team Requests Reception Reports Edson, PY2SDR requests fellow amateur satellite operators listen for a downlink signal from NanosatC-Br 1, the first Brazilian cubesat. NanosatC-Br 1 was launched on a Dnepr rocket from Dombarovsky near Yasny in 2014. The 1U CubeSat carries an ISIS U/V transceiver with 1200 bps FM AX.25 UHF command uplink and a 9600 bps BPSK downlink on 145.865 MHz. NanosatC-BR1, is experiencing battery issues for the last several months and it now seldom emits a beacon in CW. For some time, Paulo PV8DX, was able to detect a beacon signal when the satellite was over the Caribbean sea during daylight. But now, no more signals have been detected. Edson would like to request assistance from hams in the northern hemisphere to see if NanosatC-BR1 is still transmitting any signals. Any help will be much appreciated. [ANS thanks Edson, PY2SDR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNcube-1 / AO-73 Glitch and Commanded Reboot On Sunday, June 21, there was an anomaly on FUNcube-1 that required the reboot of the satellite’s MCU (Microcontroller). After a bus freeze, the databus watchdog did kick in as expected and rebooted the satellite. However, we did need to command the satellite back on to automatic mode. When we did so on the 20:00 UTC pass, it came back up in the correct mode. We envisage to switch back to autonomous mode either tonight or tomorrow morning local time. FUNcube is still happy and healthy. This is the 4th reboot since launch, of which one was intentional. Thanks for your reports and concerns. On behalf of the whole team best 73s, Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG FUNcube team FUNcube-1 (AO-73) Telemetry: • Dashboard App http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/ • Data Warehouse Archive http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ • Whole orbit data http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/wod.html?satelliteId=2. [ANS thanks the FUNcube Team and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kletskous Development News From the SA AMSAT Symposium At the SA AMSAT Symposium pre-conference Engineering meeting held on Friday evening on June 19, 2015, members of the SA AMSAT CubeSat team reached some decisions about the development and launch of the South African Kletskous amateur radio satellite. During the past few years, various options and subsystems have been experimented with. The team has now set the launch date of Kletskous at July 2017 with the first flight model to be ready by February 2016 for testing after which final integration will start. This requires that various module designs are locked down and built by October 2015. It is planned to have all the modules wired together in a breadboard configuration for testing the interoperation of the various subunits by December 2015. Some modules are at a more advanced stage than others, but in the next few months, the team expect to catch up and meet the deadline for the first breadboard test. Frik Wolff, ZS6FZ, the League's technical manager, has joined the team and is working on solar panels and stabilization issues. Francois Oberholzer, an honors student at Stellenbosch University, is working on improving the weight/strength relationship of the space frame, a project that is part of his thesis. Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL, as programme manager and the person responsible for documentation, will support the project manager, Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP. There are many opportunities for radio amateurs to join the engineering team. If you have a particular expertise or passion to add value to the KLETSKOUS project, please discuss your participation with Hannes Coetzee or any of the team members and send your details to saamsat(a)intekom.co,za. The SA AMSAT website is at: http//www.amsatsa.org.za/ See SARL http://www.sarl.org.za/ KLETSkous http://www.amsatsa.org.za/KLETSkous.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the SARL weekly news in English 2015-6-20 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- North Texas Moon Day Event Annouced A great opportunity to showcase Amateur Radio and especially Amateur Radio in space to the general public will be held on Saturday, July 18th at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, TX. In commutation of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the museum has celebrated "Moon Day" for the last number of years as a STEM outreach specializing in astronomy, space science and space flight past and future. This year the Moon Day organizers decided to theme the day around the International Space Station. They applied for and were granted an ARISS scheduled contact to become part of the event. Keith Pugh, W5IU is serving as ARISS mentor for the event and is working diligently on setting up all the details of this "Telebridge" contact. The museum is sponsoring an "Ask a question of an astronaut" contest with details at http://www.flightmuseum.com/iss-expedition-crew-43-question/ General details can be found at http://www.flightmuseum.com/moon-day-2015/ If you know young people interested in astronomy and space science/exploration, have them check out the links and see if they submit a question to be used during the ARISS contact. Deadline for entry is June 30th. In years past, several of us have participated in Moon Day activities by manning an AMSAT table showing off Amateur Radio in space and even doing some on-air contacts for and with interested participants. Keith will be very busy all morning setting up and preparing for the ARISS contact and has several individuals working with him on that. I have volunteered to help staff an AMSAT display table but need additional volunteers to assist with the table and also to be available to make Amateur Satellite contacts and demonstrations as the sats allow. Please contact Keith w5iu(a)swbell.net or myself Tom Schuessler, n5hyp(a)arrl.net to volunteer to help at least part of the day or the whole 10A-5P duration and tell us what you can "Bring to the table" as it were. Help us to support the Museum's ARISS contact and also to put a bug in the ears of many event goers about the fun and challenge of Amateur Radio Satellites. [ANS thanks Tom Schuessler, N5HYP 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). *Thursday, 9 July 2015 – presentation for the Escondido Amateur Radio Society in Escondido CA *Friday and Saturday, 7-8 August 2015 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX *Saturday and Sunday, 22-23 August 2015 – Boxboro Hamfest and ARRL New England Convention in Boxborough MA *Saturday and Sunday, 5-6 September - ARRL Roanoke Division Convention Shelby, NC Hamfest, AMSAT Forum scheduled for Saturday *Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 2015, AMSAT Symposium in Dayton OH (Dayton Crown Plaza) [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contact Universidad Tecnológica de Chile INACAP sede Temuco, Temuco, Chile, via telebridge W6SRJ ccontact was successful: Fri 2015-06-26 18:41:26 UTC with ARISS Russian Team Upcoming ARISS Contacts Tulsa Community College, NE Campus, Tulsa, OK, direct via WD5AGO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS/RSØISS or RSØISS/OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is ARISS Russian Team Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-07-01 15:46:28 UTC ARISS does not anticipate any voice contacts from the ISS during this weekend's Field Day. But you never know, so please listen in case they are on the air. Packet will probably be operational. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over * Satellite Grid Operation in Progress GRID SQUARES TO BE ACTIVATED (Satellite Op). Ron, N8RO, announced that he will be on a road trip during the period June 22nd and July 4th. He plans to operate portable from EM50, EM84, EM99, FN13, FM28, FM04, EL79, EL49 and possibly other grids along the way. Ron will operate on SO-50 and FO-29. {ANS thanks the DX Newsletter - DXNL 1942 - June 24, 2015 for the above information] * Inventors hope to launch 'backyard satellites' to fill gap in Australian space exploration Stuart McAndrew is making history from a backyard shed in suburban Perth. The IT worker is building a satellite capable of being launched into space and taking pictures of Earth. Australia is the only OECD nation without a dedicated space agency, and Mr McAndrew is one of a growing number of Australians turning to homemade space exploration to fill the gap. He has designed the satellite PocketQube, a Rubik's cube-sized box with antennas, solar panels and electronics. It is made from mostly off-the-shelf items, including aluminium from the local hardware shop, a tape measure and electronics bought over the internet. Mr McAndrew believes it is the first of its kind in Australia. He has been working on the project for two years. "Australia has been lagging behind in recent times," he said. "We were one of the first countries to send an amateur satellite to space and then we dropped the ball. "The PocketQube gives us an opportunity to set that straight and it (will) hopefully inspire other people to continue on this path and build a bigger space industry for Australia." Radical change described as 'Space 2.0' Commercial satellites weigh hundreds or even thousands of kilograms and cost millions of dollars to launch. In comparison, nano-satellites can be made for as little as $1,000 and weigh between one and 10 kilograms. Mr McAndrew's creation is even smaller, weighing less than 200 grams. But how an earth do you get it into space? It takes a lot of planning and a very expensive taxi ride on a much larger space craft. "The actual launch cost for a pocket cube is around $30,000," Mr McAndrew said. "That's a bit out of my reach so I'm looking to crowd source funding to help me get my satellite into space." About 80 nano-satellites were launched in 2013, while 132 went up in 2014. It is estimated a further 500 will be in orbit by the end of this year. The University of NSW is sending its own small satellites into space as part of a global project. Andrew Dempster, head of the university's Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research, said the industry was going through a period of "radical change". "Cubesats are creating this idea that people describe as Space 2.0," he said. "People like Stuart or universities like us can get relatively easy access to space and it means you can develop space capability without a space agency." Mr Dempster said Australia's lack of a space program was concerning. "For many years we've been receiving some of our data for free — we get our our weather data from Japan; some of our remote sensing data we get from Europe and the US," he said. "The problem is that's going to come to an end. "Budgets are being restricted around the world; NASA's budget in particular is declining. "So someone needs to be asking the question: what happens next? "We're going to be left with our trousers down if we don't have a way of providing the data we've become addicted to." Inventors hope to 'unlock access to space' Mr Dempster is hoping the rise of nano-satellites will encourage young Australians to study science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and put space on the agenda for a new generation. "If you want to get young kids into science and so on, the things that do it for them are dinosaurs and space," he said. "The emergence of cubesats mean we can have our students working on something that will actually be launched into space, which attracts good quality students and very motivated people." The expense and logistics of launching small satellites into space remains a key problem. An Australian organisation called the Delta-V Space Hub was formed last year to solve it. Tim Parsons is the head of Delta-V. "There's no dedicated launcher for small spacecraft so typically we have to piggyback off larger space launchers," he said. "That means you have to deliver your spacecraft up to a year before the launch and hope it doesn't go brown on the pad. "Those are the biggest limitations right now: the frequency of launch opportunities and how much time you need to get everything prepared." Delta-V is working with the NSW Government, universities and start-up companies to help people develop ideas and get their inventions into space. "Our first step is really just to fly an aircraft that other people can put (their satellites) onto, so essentially a rideshare model," he said. "By doing that first model we will essentially unlock access to space." Call to lower cost for launch certificate For Mr McAndrew, the backyard inventor, there are still a few barriers to overcome. He must first test his satellite before obtaining a launch certificate from the Australian Government, which costs $10,000. The fee is reduced to just $100 for educational and scientific institutions. Mr McAndrew wants the Commonwealth to ease those financial requirements in recognition of the industry's potential. He is still hopeful of securing a place for his satellite onboard an Italian spacecraft set to launch late next year. "Space has always been seen as this pinnacle of engineering and it's not necessarily the case," he said. "I can't wait for the day when I see the rocket launch into space with my satellite on board." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/backyard-satellite-fills-australian- space-research-hole/6563614 [ANS thanks Australian Broadcast Co. News 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-172 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 21 Jun '15

21 Jun '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-172 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: * 2015 Candidates for the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Announced * 20th 73 on 73 Award Issued * International Space Colloquium at Guildford July 24-26 * QB50p2 FM Transponder Tested * NASA Drafts Solicitation for New Class of Launch Services * NASA, UN Photo Competition Highlights Why Space Matters on Earth SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-172.01 ANS-172 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 172.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. June 21, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-172.01 2015 Candidates for the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Announced The 2015 candidates, in alphabetical order by last names are: Barry Baines WD4ASW Jerry Buxton N0JY Steve Coy K8UD Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA Mark Hammond N8MH EMike McCardel KC8YLD Bob McGwier N4HY Bruce Paige KK5DO This year AMSAT-NA will be electing four voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be two alternates chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT-NA membership by 15 JUL 2015 and must be received at the AMSAT office by 15 SEP 2015 in order to be counted. Those sent outside North America will go by air mail. If you have not received your ballot package in a reasonable time for your QTH, please contact the AMSAT office. Completed ballots should be returned as promptly as possible, and those from outside North American preferably by air mail. Election of Board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT. Please take the time to review the candidate statements that will accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board. You have the option to vote for up to four candidates. [ANS thanks Alan, WA4SCA, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th 73 on 73 Award Issued Congratulations to Davide D'Aliesio, IW0HLG, for working 73 different stations on AO-73 since September 1, 2014 and becoming the 20th recipient of the 73 on 73 Award. For more information on the award see http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/ [ANS thanks Paul, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- International Space Colloquium at Guildford July 24-26 The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held on July 24-26 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK. Among the speakers will be: * Peter Guelzow DB2OS with an update on AMSAT-DL projects, including the Phase 4 satellite * Chris Brunskill, formerly of Surrey Space Centre (SSC), now working at the Space Catapult at the Harwell Campus. He will be presenting an extremely novel project aimed at schools and education * It is hoped the BATC will be able to demonstrate live Digital TV reception from the International Space Station, using the Ham TV system * Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, from AMSAT North America will be attending, and presenting the latest news of the FOX satellite(s) due for launch later this year, and also on their Phase 4 project The Colloquium is open to all further information is at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- QB50p2 FM Transponder Tested AMSAT-Francophone report that the FM transponder on QB50p2 (EO-80) has been tested. A Google English translation of the post on their website reads: On June 19, 2014, two 2U CubeSats QB50p1 and QB50p2 were launched as part of the QB50 precursor program into a polar orbit at an altitude of 680 km. The satellite QB50p2 (object 40032) is equipped with a secondary FM transponder payload developed by AMSAT-F. On Tuesday, June 16, 2015 almost 1 year after launch the AMSAT-F FM transponder on QB50p2 was activated by the main control station in The Netherlands for the duration of an orbit. At the Polytechnique in Palaiseau, we were able to receive telemetry in CW and put into action the FM transponder with an output of 1.5W. A very strong signal was received at Palaiseau and by F6HCC in Brittany. The transponder was turned off at the end of the orbit. In a few weeks, the transponder should be activated permanently. The signal is very strong, we will probably use a lower power level of 500 mW or 1 watt. We will inform you later. QB50p1 (EO-79 / FUNcube-3) is equipped with a linear transponder for SSB and CW. The first tests were successfully completed in April and its transponder should also be enabled full-time in a few weeks. Gérard – F6FAO QB50 Amateur Radio Information https://www.qb50.eu/index.php/precursor-amateur-radio-operator AMSAT-Francophone http://tinyurl.com/AMSAT-Francophone The IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel Status pages list these frequencies for the two satellites: QB50p2 has a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a separate RF payload from AMSAT-Francophone which will comprise of a FM voice transponder with UHF uplink and VHF downlink. It can also transmit FX25 telemetry at 9600 bps. * 145.880 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon * 145.840 MHz 9600 bps FSK FX25 [ANS thanks Gerard, F6FAO and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Drafts Solicitation for New Class of Launch Services NASA’s Launch Services Program has issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS), which would be commercial launch services for small satellites and experiments on science missions using a smaller than currently available class of rockets. At present, launch opportunities for small satellites -- often called CubeSats or nanosatellites -- and small science missions are mostly limited to ride-share type arrangements, flying only when space is available on NASA and other launches. The Launch Services Program seeks to develop alternatives to this approach and help foster other launch services dedicated to transporting smaller payloads into orbit. The services acquired through such a contract will constitute the smallest class of launch services used by NASA. This solicitation, and resulting contract or contracts, is intended to demonstrate a dedicated launch capability for smaller payloads that NASA anticipates it will require on a recurring basis for future science and CubeSat missions. CubeSats already are used in markets, such as imagery collection and analysis. In the future, CubeSat capabilities will include abilities, such as ship and aircraft tracking, improved weather prediction, and broader Internet coverage. NASA intends to award one or more firm fixed-price VCLS contracts to accommodate 132 pounds (60 kilograms) of CubeSats a single launch or two launches carrying 66 pounds (30 kilograms) each. The launch provider will determine the launch location and date, but the launch must occur by April 15, 2018. [ANS thanks NASA Launch Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA, UN Photo Competition Highlights Why Space Matters on Earth NASA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have launched a global photography competition to highlight how the vantage point of space helps us better understand our home planet, improve lives, and safeguard our future by aiding sustainable development on Earth. To highlight the role of space-based science and technologies and their applications on Earth, NASA and UNOOSA are inviting the public to submit photos depicting why space matters to us all in our daily lives. To participate, post a picture and description on Instagram using the hashtag #whyspacematters and tagging @UNOOSA. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who is three months into a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station, will announce the winning photo each month by posting it from his Instagram account @StationCDRKelly. Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are spending a year in space to improve our understanding of the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration spaceflight. Kelly will set a single-mission record for a U.S. astronaut, and the joint expedition will be an important step in human space exploration and research into the effects of long-term space habitation as part of NASA's journey to Mars. "We learn something every time we go to space. And the International Space Station is one of the world's greatest laboratories - where we are helping with advances in medicine, biology, chemistry and materials sciences," said Kelly. "It is the pursuit of these advances off the Earth that help improve lives on Earth. And that is why I am so committed to space exploration and embarking on this year-long mission. I look forward to seeing the images from people around the world on how space technology has impacted them where they live." UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo said it is "an honor to have Scott Kelly share his experience in space with the United Nations. This campaign will help to promote the use of space science and technologies in such areas as disaster risk reduction, tracking the effects of climate change and in the equality of access to education and telemedicine." With the recent installation of NASA's International Space Station- Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat) and the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) instruments on the space station, the ISS is being used for full-fledged Earth science research. Scientists worldwide use NASA data to tackle some of the biggest questions about how our planet is changing now and how Earth could change in the future. From rising sea levels to the changing availability of freshwater, NASA enables studies that unravel the complexities of our planet from the highest reaches of Earth's atmosphere to its core. The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that enables us to demonstrate new technologies and make research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. It has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and, since then, has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next giant leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars. For more information about the International Space Station and its crews and research, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For more information about the #whyspacematters competition, visit: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/contests/whyspacematters/index.html [ANS thanks NASA News Service 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-165 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 13 Jun '15

13 Jun '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-165 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: * Dave Jordan's (AA4KN) article about Fox-1 Featured in July QST * Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Silent Key * Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development * AMSAT-NA BoD Nominations Notice - Last Chance for June 15 Deadline * AMSAT 2015 Field Day Announcement – June 27-28 * Montserrat (FK86) active on satellites June 10 – June 18, 2015 - Update * ARISS Announces Challenge Coin for Donation * Twin Cubesat Mars Flyby Will Support NASA InSight Landing * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-165 ANS-165 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 165 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 14, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-165 Dave Jordan's (AA4KN) article about Fox-1 Featured in July QST Dave Jordan AA4KN, writing on behalf of the Fox Team, has published an article, "Fox-1: The New Era of Amateur Satellites" which will appear in the July 2015 issue of QST. The article introduces the CubeSate program, describes the Fox-1 class of CubeSats, outlines the the student experiments and briefd on using Fox-1. The article is eligible for the cover plaque award. Look for it on pages 43-45 of the Jult QST. [ANS Thanks the ARRL and QST for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Silent Key The AMSAT News Service has received the sad news of the passing of Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. James Pastorfield, KB7TBT, reported on Friday, June 12 on behalf of Amateur Radio Newsline that Bill's key had gone silent. Bill had been recently hospitalized; Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, reported that, "Bill was in serious condition after being diagnosed with--as he termed it--”a broken back.” I take this to mean he has fractured at least one vertebrae. He is being treated for the pain associated with such an injury, and thus is not able to write (type), nor can he read for very long." Nash continued, "Don Wilbanks, AE5DW and I discussed the long-term future of the Amateur Radio Newsline, and what is needed to get it back into production. The Newsline team is more committed than ever to get production re-started as soon as possible. Wilbanks wrote, "A dear friend has left us after a long struggle with his health. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, as our mutual friend Beau Weaver, W6KHJ so eloquently says, has taken his light into another room. Bill touched lives all over the world through amateur radio. He was like a big brother, an uncle to me. He was my mentor. He was my friend. Rest my friend. I'll see you again one day." Bill was a friend to all a strong advocate to the AMSAT News Service (ANS). He will be missed. [ANS thanks Amateur Radio Newsline for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. Simply click on the provided link to register. Eyes on the Solar System: Pluto Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12 Event Date: June 16, 2015, at 5 p.m. EDT "Eyes on the Solar System" is a 3-D environment full of real NASA mission data. Explore the cosmos from your computer. Fly with NASA's New Horizon spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and takes very first close up pictures of the dwarf planet and its moons. Learn how to use this free software and see the entire solar system moving in real time. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/131330 ISS Across the Curriculum Series: Solar Energy for Space Exploration Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8 Event Date: June 17, 2015, at 3 p.m. EDT Solar Energy for Space Exploration is a series of activities designed to introduce your students to the basics of electrical circuits while using the development of space habitats as a thematic backdrop. Updated online resources and adaptation of classroom activities will be discussed. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/130151 NASA Engineering Design Process 101: An Introduction to Classroom Application Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-8 Event Date: June 18, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDT Learn more about the engineering design process and its application to real-world problem solving. Explore NASA design challenges and other NASA STEM classroom resources. Engineering design is a common topic across each grade level in the Next Generation Science Standards and an important concept in understanding the world around us. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/130414 For a full schedule of upcoming NASA Educator Professional Development webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/. Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan at Stephen.p.culivan(a)nasa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- June 11, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA BoD Nominations Notice - Last Chance for June 15 Deadline 2015 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nomination petitions MUST ARRIVE no later than JUNE 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST BE RECEIVED at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. Only one day left to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Four director’s terms expire this year: Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Mark Hammond, N8MH, and Jerry Buxton, N0JY. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee’s name and call, and the nominating individual’s names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA(a)AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to (301) 822-4371. [ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, AMSAT-NA Corporate Secretary for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT 2015 Field Day Announcement – June 27-28 It’s that time of year again: Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!” The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2015, the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 27, through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 28, Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 27 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event. If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellite SO-50 for your AMSAT Field Day focus – don’t – unless you are simply hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points. The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). Many good contacts can be made on the linear transponder satellites including AO-73, FO-29, and AO-7. During Field Day the transponders come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The transponders on these satellites will support multiple simultaneous SSB or CW contacts. The 2015 AMSAT Field Day event is open to all Amateur Radio operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of all amateur satellites, both analog and digital. AMSAT Field Day information is also posted on the web at: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=216 [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Montserrat (FK86) active on satellites June 10 – June 18, 2015 - Update Jim White WD0E reports on the status of the Montserrat (FK86) activation, "We finally got the crate of antennas out of customs today and have the sat station set up... We will transmit on 145.925 and tune the passband for callers." Montserrat (FK86) – Jim White, WD0E, will be active on satellites from Gingerbread Hill, St. Peters, Montserrat (FK86) as part of the VP2MKV team June 10 – June 18, 2015. WD0E will attempt to post a list of satellite QSOs daily on the AMSAT-BB. There will also be HF activity and an entry in the ARRL June VHF Contest. QSL via N0KV and LoTW. From WD0E: “VP2MKV will operate FO-29 only on selected passes. We will attempt the long hops to the edges of coverage if the equipment performs well at low elevations and obstructions allow. We will attempt to post passes we plan to work 24 hours in advance on amsat-bb. The uplink frequency will be 145.925 and we will tune our downlink for stations calling. The location is 16.776924N 62.214474W in grid FK86vs. Equipment is an ICOM 910H and Arrow antenna. Uplink power will be about 20W. Stations are asked to work us only once on the satellite. If we respond with your call you are in the log.” Tentative pass plan, from WD0E: “We will attempt to be on the first two FO-29 ascending node passes June 11 through 20. If time allows we may be on the third ascending node those days. Those passes happen in late morning to mid afternoon Montserrat time. On those passes we will look first for South America when the satellite is South of us, then North America, then Europe during the short mutual window. If there are 2 meter or 6 meter terrestrial openings during the VHF contest June 13 and 14 we will not be on satellite at those times.” [ANS thanks Jim WD0E for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Announces Challenge Coin for Donation Receive an ARISS Challenge Coin for a donation of $100 or more * ARISS is Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. * Licensed hams contact the ISS via Amateur Radio voice, packet/APRS, SSTV, and digital TV. * Students interview astronauts in space and learn about life in space, space research, and radio science. * Hams on the ground experiment with space communications * Amateur Radio supports NASA by providing ISS backup communications * Your donations will help support continuing operations and Amateur Radio equipment upgrades on the ISS. Go to www.amsat.org/ and click on “Donate ARISS” to help keep Amateur Radio on the ISS in orbit! [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Twin Cubesat Mars Flyby Will Support NASA InSight Landing When NASA launches its next mission on the journey to Mars - a stationary lander in 2016 - the flight will include two CubeSats. This will be the first time CubeSats have flown in deep space. If this flyby demonstration is successful, the technology will provide NASA the ability to quickly transmit status information about the main spacecraft after it lands on Mars. The twin communications-relay CubeSats, being built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California, constitute a technology demonstration called Mars Cube One (MarCO). CubeSats are a class of spacecraft based on a standardized small size and modular use of off-the-shelf technologies. Many have been made by university students, and dozens have been launched into Earth orbit using extra payload mass available on launches of larger spacecraft. The basic CubeSat unit is a box roughly 4 inches (10 centimeters) square. Larger CubeSats are multiples of that unit. MarCO's design is a six-unit CubeSat - about the size of a briefcase -- with a stowed size of about 14.4 inches (36.6 centimeters) by 9.5 inches (24.3 centimeters) by 4.6 inches (11.8 centimeters). MarCO will launch in March 2016 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on the same United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket as NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander. Insight is NASA's first mission to understand the interior structure of the Red Planet. MarCO will fly by Mars while InSight is landing, in September 2016. "MarCO is an experimental capability that has been added to the InSight mission, but is not needed for mission success," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "MarCO will fly independently to Mars." During InSight's entry, descent and landing (EDL) operations on Sept. 28, 2016, the lander will transmit information in the UHF radio band to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) flying overhead. MRO will forward EDL information to Earth using a radio frequency in the X band, but cannot simultaneously receive information over one band while transmitting on another. Confirmation of a successful landing could be received by the orbiter more than an hour before it's relayed to Earth. MarCO's radio is about softball-size and provides both UHF (receive only) and X-band (receive and transmit) functions capable of immediately relaying information received over UHF. The two CubeSats will separate from the Atlas V booster after launch and travel along their own trajectories to the Red Planet. After release from the launch vehicle, MarCO's first challenges are to deploy two radio antennas and two solar panels. The high-gain, X-band antenna is a flat panel engineered to direct radio waves the way a parabolic dish antenna does. MarCO will be navigated to Mars independently of the InSight spacecraft, with its own course adjustments on the way. Ultimately, if the MarCO demonstration mission succeeds, it could allow for a "bring-your-own" communications relay option for use by future Mars missions in the critical few minutes between Martian atmospheric entry and touchdown. By verifying CubeSats are a viable technology for interplanetary missions, and feasible on a short development timeline, this technology demonstration could lead to many other applications to explore and study our solar system. JPL manages MarCO, InSight and MRO for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Technology suppliers for MarCO include: Blue Canyon Technologies of Boulder, Colorado, for the attitude- control system; VACCO Industries of South El Monte, California, for the propulsion system; AstroDev of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for electronics; MMA Design LLC, also of Boulder, for solar arrays; and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc., a Terran Orbital Company in San Luis Obispo, California, for the CubeSat dispenser system. For information about MarCO, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php For information about InSight, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/insight Learn more about NASA's journey to Mars at: http://www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-overview [ANS thanks NASA Press Release 15-122, June 12, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-06-13 05:00 UTC >From 2015-06-11 to 2015-07-24, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any school contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. Exp. 42/43 has returned to earth. Congratulations for the job well done! Terry Virts Anton Shkaplerov Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over Panoramic Tour of ISS ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been cataloguing her home of six months to create panoramic images you can rotate and explore. Each section of the Space Station required around 14 fisheye photos stitched together. Areas of interest can be clicked on for more information in another browser window. Eventually, the entire Station will be available to explore right here on this page – follow us to receive updates. http://tinyurl.com/ANS165-ISSTour Can you find the HAMTV transmitter on the floor? [ANS Thanks European Space Agency for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX AMSAT User Services and the Editors of the AMSAT New Service pass on our condolences to ANS Weekly Co-Editor Joe Spier K6WAO and his family on the death of Joe's mother this week. 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-158 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 06 Jun '15

06 Jun '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-158 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: * OSCAR Numbers Assigned for BRICsat (NO-83) and PSAT (NO-84) * 2015 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice * May/June 2015 AMSAT Journal is Complete * Fox 1C Engineering Model Update Video * Program for SA AMSAT Symposium Announced * Call For Papers: 2015 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference * Sailboat Expedition to Grid DM02 Begins June 10 * AMSAT Will be at Ham-Com 2015 * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-158.01 ANS-158 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 158.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 7, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-158.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- OSCAR Numbers Assigned for BRICsat (NO-83) and PSAT (NO-84) The following message has been sent to Bob Bruninga, WB4APR and the team at the US Naval Academy. "Bob: You have requested OSCAR numbers for BRICsat and PSAT built by you and your associates at the U.S. Naval Academy. From everything I can determine, these satellites meet all of the requirements for OSCAR designations. Therefore, by the authority vested in me by the AMSAT-NA President, I hereby confer the designation, Naval Academy OSCAR 83 on BRICsat amd Naval Academy OSCAR 84 on PSAT These designations can, of course, for convenience, be shortened to NO-83 and NO-84. I, and the entire amateur satellite community, hope for successful missions for both NO-83 and NO-84 and congratulate you and the rest of the Naval Academy team who designed, built and tested these two OSCAR spacecraft. 73, William A. (Bill) Tynan, W3XO OSCAR Number Administrator" NO-84 PSAT, a student satellite project named in honor of USNA alum Bradford Parkinson, of GPS fame, contains an APRS transponder for relaying remote telemetry, sensor, and user data from remote users and Amateur Radio environmental experiments or other data sources back to Amateur Radio experimenters via a global network of Internet-linked ground stations. PSAT is another APRS satelliite that can digipeat user packets just like the original PCSAT (NO44) and the packet system on the ISS. PSAT also supports the same digipeating alias of ARISS so that users do not have to change any parameters when using any of these three APRS transponders. see http://www.aprs.org/psat.html NO-83 BRICsat-P (Ballistic Reinforced Communication Satellite) is a low cost 1.5U CubeSat built by the US Naval Academy Satellite Lab in collaboration with George Washington University, that will demonstrate on-orbit operation of a Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster (µCAT) electric propulsion system and carries an Amateur communication payload. see http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/bricsat-p.htm Frequencies PSAT: 145.825 – 1200 baud AX.25 telemetry – digi off PSAT PSK31-5: 435.350 FM down, 28.120 SSB PK31 uplink – Brno University Transponder BRICsat: 437.975 – 9600 baud telemetry evry 20s BRICsat PSK31-6 – same as PSAT but PSK TLM on 375 Hz (PSAT on 315 Hz) [ANS thanks Bill Tynan, W3XO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Four director's terms expire this year: Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Mark Hammond, N8MH, and Jerry Buxton, N0JY. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA(a)AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to (301) 822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. [ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, AMSAT-NA Corporate Secretary for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- May/June 2015 AMSAT Journal is Complete The May/June 2015 AMSAT Journal is complete and has been sent to the print shop. The AMSAT Journal is a key membership benefit, mailed to all members six times a year. If you are a member of AMSAT look for your copy to arrive in your mailbox within a few weeks. In this issue you will find ... + The Apogee View column by AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW + AMSAT-NA Opportunity for Ride-share to Geosynchronous Orbit + Fox-1A on the Road to Vandenberg + Getting on the Air With Fox-1A + Minutes of the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Teleconference by AMSAT Corporate Secretary, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA + CNCTRK - A LinuxCNC Based Satellite Tracking System by Bob Freeman, KI4SBL + US Naval Academy Launches PSAT, BRICsat, and USS Langley Cubesats by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR + Extreme DXing on FO-29 with a Portable Station by Hector Martinez, CO6CBF/W5CBF + Radio Amateurs invited to test APRS on Duchifat-1 + Planetary Society Lightsail Launched + CAMSAT Press Release: Multiple Amateur Satellite Launch in July + AMSAT Activities at Greater Houston Hamfest 2015 by Allen Mattis, N5AFV -and- Andy MacAllister, W5ACM + Monitoring Satellites Outside the Amateur Bands by Alex Thanks to all who contributed to this issue and to the AMSAT Journa; editorial team: Bernhard, VA6BMJ; Douglas, KA2UPW/5; James, K3JPH; and Joe, KB6IGK. Please send your articles, photos, reports of operating activities to k9jkm(a)amsat.org. See http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1709 for anauthor's guide. The Journal editors will be happy to work with you to get into print! [ANS thanks the AMSAT Journal editorial team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox 1C Engineering Model Update Video A video update on Fox 1C Engineering Model from Fox Labs, Texas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdx3AqMUTO4&feature=youtu.be [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President for Engineering for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Program for SA AMSAT Symposium Announced The program has been announced for the SA AMSAT Space Symposium 2015. The Symposium will be on June 20, 2015 at the Innovation Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. See http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ for full details of the Symposium. Speakers include: + Make Satellites your next journey into Amateur Radio Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, President SA AMSAT + Keynote address - South Africa's contribution to space operations Raoul C Hodges, Managing Director, SANSA Space Operations + Gossamer sails for satellite deorbiting Lourens Visagie, ADCS Functional Area Engineer Space Advisory Company + ZACube-2: The successor to Africa's first nanosatellite. Danie de Villiers, Creative Technologist MTech/MSc Electronic Engineering CPUT The satellite will serve as technology demonstrator for essential subsystems and form the basis on which an innovative Software Defined Radio platform will be developed as primary payload. Secondary payload includes imaging capbilities + ZS6SRC - BACAR programme - Stimulating Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics with high performance learners. Christo Kriek ZR6LJK + KLETSKOUS -getting Africa into space Hannes Coetzee ZS6BZP, KLETSKOUS Project leader + Kletskous Space frame - From concept to experimental model Deon Coetzee ZR1DX + Methods to increase the strength-to-weight ratio of a cube-satellite Johannes Francois Oberholzer Stellenbosch University: Industrial Engineering Department + KLETSKOUS power unit - From concept to first prototype - Fritz Sutherland Jnr ZS6FSJ, Kletskous team + KLETSKOUS Communication Data Structure Brian Mckenzie ZS6BMN, Kletskous team + Second Proto type of the Transponder Jacques Roux ZR1ADC, Kletskous team + Development of ground control at VUT - B.Tech laboratory upgrade Riaan Greeff, ZS4PR, Vaal University of Technology The presentations will be followed by the Annual General Meeting. [ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call For Papers: 2015 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference We're soliciting technical papers for presentation at the 34th Annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, to be held October 9-11 in Chicago, Illinois. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. You do not have to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is August 17, 2015. E-mail your submission to Maty Weinberg at ARRL Headquarters at maty(a)arrl.org<mailto:maty@arrl.org> Please to do not send zip files as these will be rejected by our e-mail server. [ANS thanks ARRL and TAPR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailboat Expedition to Grid DM02 Begins June 10 Bud, N7CW; Jim, K6ZH; and Phil, N0KE, plan to activate Grid DM02 from a sailboat expedition to the waters near San Clemente Island off of the southern California coast. Departure from San Diego will be on Wednesday, June 10 aboard a 49' sailboat. The team plans to be on the air sometime late Wednesday, through sometime on Sunday, June 14, including most of the VHF contest. Unfortunately, they have to leave before the end of the contest because the Navy has scheduled exercises in the area on Monday. Activity includes 6 M, 2 M, probably 432, 1296 and satellites. Phil is responsible for everything other than 6 M. They plan to look for meteor scatter every morning and perhaps the evenings, unless there is Es. Since there is no cell service they will be in contact with pilot stations on 2 M FM in order to announce ourselves on Ping Jockey. If you don't use meteor scatter, it's not too late to learn! Otherwise you will have to listen for a very short (distance) Es opening or backscatter or some other nearly impossible propagation mode. The expedition will be running about 500 W and a 3 el yagi (due to constraints from having to mount the antenna on a sailboat). They will use the call K6ZH. Watch for packet spots announcing their transmit frequency. [ANS thanks Bud, N7CW and Patrick, WD9EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Will be at Ham-Com 2015 If you're going to Ham-Com 2015 at the Irving Convention Center in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area on June 12 to 13 look for AMSAT in booth #103. Also, check the Ham-Com program for the presentation by Clayton Coleman W5PFG. Clayton is an active member of AMSAT and the ARRL with a passion for Amateur Radio in Space. Having activated over 100 grid squares, Clayton enjoys helping others learn how to use minimal equipment to enjoy our fleet of OSCAR's. [ANS thanks Ham-Com 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, 12-13 June 2015 – HAM-COM in Irving TX (west of Dallas) *Thursday, 9 July 2015 – presentation for the Escondido Amateur Radio Society in Escondido CA *Friday and Saturday, 7-8 August 2015 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX *Saturday and Sunday, 22-23 August 2015 – Boxboro Hamfest and ARRL New England Convention in Boxborough MA *Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 2015, AMSAT Symposium in Dayton OH (Dayton Crown Plaza) [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Upcoming ARISS Contacts It is unlikely that there will be any contacts with the Columbus module station until after a crew change, which will probably occur in late June or July. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over * LightSail Drama Continues as Spacecraft Wakes for Second Time LightSail is back in business, following the second extended outage of the test spacecraft’s mission. The CubeSat checked in at 2:21 p.m. EDT (18:21 UTC) Saturday for the first time since Wednesday afternoon. Over the course of two overflights, 23 beacon telemetry packets were received by the spacecraft's Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ground station. A rapid sail deployment was briefly considered, but with battery levels still unsteady and just one ground pass remaining before an eight-and-a-half hour outage, the team scrapped the idea. When LightSail came around the Earth again, telemetry showed its batteries were charging—the first time since solar panel deployment three days ago. If battery levels continue to trend stably during Sunday’s early morning ground station passes, sail deployment will be scheduled for 2:02 p.m. EDT (18:02 UTC). Engineers have been working to narrow down the reason LightSail’s batteries tripped into a safe mode-like condition following solar panel deployment. Before this afternoon's signal acquisition, the leading theory was that the spacecraft was stuck in a loop where power levels were too low in Earth's shadow, but too high in sunlight. This power ping-pong could have prevented the batteries from reattaching their circuits to the spacecraft and allowing normal operations to resume. The analysis is still ongoing. {ANS thanks the Planetary Society's Jason Davis for the above information] * Goddard Technologist Advances CubeSat Concept for Planetary Exploration Although scientists are increasingly using pint-size satellites sometimes no larger than a loaf of bread to gather data from low-Earth orbit, they have yet to apply the less-expensive small-satellite technology to observe physical phenomena far from terra firma. Jaime Esper, a technologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, however, is advancing a CubeSat concept that would give scientists that capability. Dubbed the CubeSat Application for Planetary Entry Missions (CAPE), the concept involves the development of two modules: a service module that would propel the spacecraft to its celestial target and a separate planetary entry probe that could survive a rapid dive through the atmosphere of an extraterrestrial planet, all while reliably transmitting scientific and engineering data. Esper and his team are planning to test the stability of a prototype entry vehicle -the Micro-Reentry Capsule (MIRCA) - this summer during a high-altitude balloon mission from Fort Sumner, New Mexico. 'Like No Other CubeSat Mission' "The CAPE/MIRCA concept is like no other CubeSat mission," Esper said. "It goes the extra step in delivering a complete spacecraft for carrying out scientific investigations. We are the only researchers working on a concept like this." Under his concept, the CAPE/MIRCA spacecraft, including the service module and entry probe, would weigh less than 11 pounds (4.9 kilograms) and measure no more than 4 inches (10.1 centimeters) on a side. After being ejected from a canister housed by its mother ship, the tiny spacecraft would unfurl its miniaturized solar panels or operate on internal battery power to begin its journey to another planetary body. Once it reached its destination, the sensor-loaded entry vehicle would separate from its service module and begin its descent through the target's atmosphere. It would communicate atmospheric pressure, temperature, and composition data to the mother ship, which then would transmit the information back to Earth. The beauty of CubeSats is their versatility. Because they are relatively inexpensive to build and deploy, scientists could conceivably launch multiple spacecraft for multi-point sampling - a capability currently not available with single planetary probes that are the NASA norm today. Esper would equip the MIRCA craft with accelerometers, gyros, thermal and pressure sensors, and radiometers, which measure specific gases; however, scientists could tailor the instrument package depending on the targets, Esper said. A Balloon Flight is designed to test stability. The first step in realizing the concept is demonstrating a prototype of the MIRCA design during a balloon mission this summer. According to the plan, the capsule, manufactured at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore, would be dropped from the balloon gondola at an altitude of about 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) to test the design's aerodynamic stability and operational concept. During its free fall, MIRCA is expected to reach speeds of up to Mach 1, roughly the speed of sound. "If I can demonstrate the entry vehicle, I then could attract potential partners to provide the rest of the vehicle," Esper said, referring to the service module, including propulsion and attitude-control subsystems. He added that the concept might be particularly attractive to universities and researchers with limited resources. In addition to the balloon flight, Esper said he would like to drop the entry vehicle from the International Space Station perhaps as early as 2016 - a test that would expose the capsule to spaceflight and reentry heating conditions and further advance its technology-readiness level. "The balloon drop of MIRCA will in itself mark the first time a CubeSat planetary entry capsule is flight tested, not only at Goddard, but anywhere else in the world," he said. "That in turn enables new opportunities in planetary exploration not available to date, and represents a game-changing opportunity for Goddard." http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/The_CAPEd_Crusader_Goddard_Technologist_ Advances_CubeSat_Concept_for_Planetary_Exploration_999.html [ANS thanks NASA Goddard, and Spacedaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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