ANS
Threads by month
- ----- 2024 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2023 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2022 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2021 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2020 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2019 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2018 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2017 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2016 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2015 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2014 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2013 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2012 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2011 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2010 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2009 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2008 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2007 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
- July
- June
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- ----- 2006 -----
- December
- November
- October
- September
- August
September 2015
- 4 participants
- 6 discussions
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-270
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 to Launch on NROL-55 October 8
* Recording of LilacSat-2's FM Transponder
* Be the first to catch the signals from AAUSAT-5 contest
* LAPAN-A2 To Be Launched September 28
* ARISS-Europe Chairman Retires, Successor Elected
* Space Auction to be held again at this year’s AMSAT Symposium
* AMSAT Space Symposium Paper Publication Deadline Looms
* Fox Telemetry Decoder Software Version 1.0 Available for Download
* ARISS-US Contact Proposals for Schools, Educational Organizations
Still Being Accepted
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-270
ANS-270 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
September 27, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-270
Fox-1A to Launch on NROL-55 October 8
NROL-55 is scheduled to launch on October 8, 2015 from Vandenberg
Air Force Base, California.
NROL-55 will carry an auxiliary payload called Government Rideshare
Advanced Concepts Experiment (GRACE).
GRACE, sponsored by the NRO, will carry 13 CubeSats to space, nine
sponsored by the NRO and four sponsored by NASA. GRACE is the fourth
NRO-sponsored CubeSat mission. Fox-1A is one of the NASA sponsored
CubeSats.
[ANS thanks NRO/OCPA/OPA]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Recording of LilacSat-2's FM Transponder
Several stations were heard making contacts on LilacSat-2's FM
transponder at 2300 UTC today, 26 September on orbit #104 over North
America.
Clayton W5PFG uploaded a recording to Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/w5pfg/lilacsat-2-26092015-2300-ko4ma-ka4h-
ki4ro-aa5pk-kc4le-w5pfg
(Editor's note the URL above is truncated to meet ANS' editorial
requirements. You may need to copy and paste as one line to
guarantee it works)
[ANS thanks Clayton W5PFG for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Be the first to catch the signals from AAUSAT-5 contest
Be the first to send in your recorded signal from AAUSAT5 and you
will receive a prize from ESA's Education Office.
Launched on 19 August to the ISS, the Danish student CubeSat is now
waiting for its deployment from the Japanese Kibo module’s airlock.
Sometime in the week of 5 October, an astronaut will manipulate a
robotic arm to lift AAUSAT5 from the airlock and place it in orbit.
Once launched from the International Space Station the CubeSat will
begin transmitting signals to Earth that can be picked up by anyone
with common amateur radio equipment. ESA challenges anyone to record
the signal and send it to us (cubesats(a)esa.int) and Aalborg
University (studentspace(a)space.aau.dk).
The first correct email received will win the following prices:
ESA/AAUSAT5 poster with signatures of the team members
ESA Education goodie bag
Scale 1:1 3D printed model of the AAUSAT 5 satellite
AAUSAT5 is the 5th CubeSat designed and built by the University of
Aalborg, Denmark. It is the 2nd AAUSAT satellite tested under ESA’s
supervision as part of the ESA Education Office’s Fly Your Satellite
programme.
The technical objective of AAUSAT5 is to test an improved version
of an Automatic Identification System (AIS), which aims to track and
identify ships transiting away from coastal areas and those in remote
areas.
If successful, a satellite-based AIS system could enable the
establishment and use of safe new shipping lanes.
For more information please see the ESA AAUSAT5 website
http://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-
_Fly_Your_Satellite/AAUSAT5_CubeSat
and the team site from the University of Aalborg.
http://www.space.aau.dk/aausat5/
[ANS thanks ESA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
LAPAN-A2 To Be Launched September 28
LAPAN-A2 satellite will be launched together on a mission astrosat
India's PSLV-C30 / astrosat on 28 Sep 2015. It will operate in the
near equatorial orbit between 6 to 8 degree, 650km and able to cross
the territory of Indonesia 14 times a day.
LAPAN A2, also known as LAPAN-ORARI, is an indonesian microsatellite
based on the LAPAN-Tubsat. It carries an AIS (Automatic
Identification System) to identify the ships in the waters of
Indonesia and a video camera with a range three times wider than the
Lapan-Tubsat. It also carries a payload for disaster management by
amateur radio communication.
The satellite structure and many subsystems are the same as in its
sister satellite LAPAN A3.
The Earth observation payload of LAPAN A2 consists of a Video camera
(Kappa PAL) for 80 km width ground coverage and a Video camera (Kappa
HDTV for high resolution satellite color video observation with a
ground resolution of 6 m and a ground coverage of 11 × 6 km per video
frame.
LAPAN-A2 carries a payload of voice repeaters and an APRS Repeater
for communications of the Organisation for Amateur Radio Indonesia
(ORARI) during a disaster.
[ANS thanks Wisnu YBØAZ and Gunter's Space Page for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS-Europe Chairman Retires, Successor Elected
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station-Europe (ARISS-EU
http://www.ariss-eu.org/) Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, will retire
from that post this fall after serving since 2000, when the ARISS
Working Group was formed. Among other initiatives, Bertels was
involved in the project to have Amateur Radio equipment and antennas
installed on the ISS Columbus module and with the installation and
commissioning of the Ham TV DATV system on the ISS. He has also
personally assisted in many ARISS contacts involving schools and
groups on the Continent.
"[I'm] now 88 and slowing down a bit," Bertels told ARRL in
announcing the election of his successor as ARISS-EU Chairman,
Emanuele D'Andria, I0ELE.
In 2014, International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU-R1
http://www.iaru-r1.org) awarded the Roy Stevens, G2BVN, Memorial
Trophy to Bertels, in recognition of his service to Amateur Radio in
space, first as chairman of the Eurocom Working Group and then of the
Amateur Radio Space Exploration Working Group.
As Bertels explained, a slate of four ARISS-EU Board candidates was
presented to the ARISS-EU member societies. All ran unopposed for 2-
year terms. In addition to D'Andria, other Board members include
Oliver Amend, DG6BCE, technical director; Bertus Hüsken, PE1KEH,
counselor, and Jean Pierre Courjaud, F6DZP, counselor. The new ARISS-
EU Board takes office on October 1.
The ARISS membership includes the AMSAT organizations in Belgium,
France, Italy, Sweden, and the UK, and the IARU member societies in
Italy, Germany, Poland, France, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, the
Netherlands, and the UK. IARU member societies in Malta and Lebanon
are associate members.
"Congratulations to the elected Board, and best wishes for a very
successful term of office," Bertels said in announcing the new board.
[ANS thanks The ARRL Letter for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Space Auction to be held again at this year’s AMSAT Symposium
In light of the very successful—and fun—auction at last year’s AMSAT
Symposium, AMSAT-NA is pleased to announce that you can look forward
to another auction at this year’s Symposium. The auction will be
held at the Friday night reception. Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, has
again volunteered to be the Auctioneer.
To date, we have several space-related items for the auction.
However, to make this auction, interesting, fun, and “profitable”**
we could use many more items. Some of the items auctioned last year
included several astronaut autographed items, including a DVD from
Richard Garriott, Russian memorabilia, spacecraft and rocket models,
space related books, the sign from the AMSAT Lab and items from
previous AMSAT satellites.
If you have any space or AMSAT related items you would like to
donate for the auction, please contact Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, at
ka3hdo(a)amsat.org. Think about this and use your creativity as this
is for a good cause. We thank you for your donations in advance!
**And don’t forget that AMSAT is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit
organization. So your auction donations are tax deductible!!
[ANS thanks Frank KA3HDO for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT Space Symposium Paper Publication Deadline Looms
AMSAT Space Symposium Proceedings Chairman, Dan Shultz, N8FGV,
reminds all that the final deadline for receiving Papers for
publication in the AMSAT Symposium Proceedings is
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28.
Final drafts should be submitted to Dan, n8fgv (at) usa (dot) net.
Dan advises that authors who are pushing hard to meet this deadline
should contact him immediately. n8fgv (at) usa (dot) net.
These papers will be presented at the AMSAT Space Symposium to be
held on the weekend of October 16-18, 2015, at the Crown Plaza Hotel,
Dayton, Ohio.
[ANS thanks Dan N8FGV for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fox Telemetry Decoder Software Version 1.0 Available for Download
Version 1.0 of the FoxTelem software, the Fox Telemetry Decoder is
being released to enable setup, testing, and debugging of your Fox-1A
ground station prior to the launch of the satellite. FoxTelem is used
to demodulate, store and analyze telemetry data from AMSAT's Fox
series of Cube Sats.
Fox-1 satellites include two telemetry formats:
+ Slow Speed, also called Data Under Voice (DUV) is 200 bps FSK data
sent at the same time as the transponder audio. Whenever the trans-
mitter is on, data is being sent. This happens during beacons and
during live QSOs.
+ High Speed is 9600 bps FSK sent instead of the transponder. This is
used for data intensive experiments such as the Virginia Tech
Camera.
This is only active when commanded from the ground. You can
recognize High Speed because it sounds like an old school computer
modem.
FoxTelem will receive and store both formats assuming you can feed
it audio that does not have the frequencies below 200 Hz filtered.
For High Speed, the audio must also extend to include the full
9600bps bandwidth of the FM signal. For both modes this is best
achieved from a Software Defined Radio or from the 9600 bps packet
port of some radios. The FoxTelem User Guide provides more details.
FoxTelem is supplied as an archive file (.zip on windows, .dmg file on
MacOs, .gzip on Linux). Links for downloading can be found at:
http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4532
You can unzip the contents and put it in the directory of your
choice. Also,
detailed in the User Guide, are instructions to select the sound
source and
set received audio levels on your computer.
Until Fox-1A is launched you can confirm everything is working by
testing with test wav file which will be available from:
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/recordings . Access to the test file is
accomplished by selecting "Load Wav File" from the FoxTelem File
menu, then navigate to the directory where you saved the test wav
file. Once you press the start button the file will play through the
decoder.
The FoxTelem page can also be accessed from the main AMSAT web page:
http://www.amsat.org --> Fox Project --> FoxTelem Software for
Windows, Mac, & Linux.
The direct link to the page is: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4532
[ANS thanks the FoxTelem software team for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS-US Contact Proposals for Schools, Educational Organizations
Still Being Accepted
Message to US Educators
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Contact Opportunity
Call for Proposals
Proposal Window September 1 – November 1, 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 July 1 and December 31, 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 November 1, 2015. Proposal
information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-
ariss-contact.
Informational Sessions
To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS
Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions.
These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS
contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask
questions. While attending an online information session is not
required, it is strongly encouraged.
The next and last of these will be offered Wednesday, September 30,
at 2300 UTC.
Advance registration is necessary. E-mail ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to
sign up for an information session.
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 http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-
contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-09-24 05:00 UTC
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Nowogard Union Schools: Junior High School No. 2, Nowogard, Poland,
telebridge via LU1CGB
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS
Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-09-29 12:56:27 UTC 36 deg
Watch for possible live stream http://ariss.pzk.org.pl/live/
Fukara Junior High School, Susono, Japan, direct via 8N2F
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH
Contact is a go for: Thu 2015-10-01 10:26:55 UTC 85 deg
*********************************************************************
Interested in hosting an ARISS contact?
The window is now open from 2015-09-01 to 2015-11-01. These
proposals will be for school contacts during the second half of
2016.
Go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact or
http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html for full
details.
To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS
Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions.
These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS
contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask
questions. While attending an online information session is not
required, it is strongly encouraged.
One last session will be offered Wednesday, September 30, at 2300
UTC. Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org)
to sign up for an information session.
*********************************************************************
>From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational
Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this
period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team.
*********************************************************************
ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above
contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance.
Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com.
*********************************************************************
Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts
https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415
*********************************************************************
Exp. 43/44 on orbit
Scott Kelly
Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF
Exp. 44 on orbit
Oleg Kononenko RN3DX
Kimiya Yui KG5BPH
Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS
Exp. 45 on orbit
Sergey Volkov RU3DIS
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Satellite Activation on Argentina's Martin Garcia Island
Members of the Radio Club Argentino will activate the special
callsign LU4AA/D from the Argentine exclave Martin Garcia Island
(ILLW AR 022, WW Loc. GF05VT) in Uruguayan waters (part of the La
Plata in Buenos Aires Province) between/around 2000z, October 1st
and 1400z, October 4th. Operators mentioned are Francisco/ LU1AET,
Martin/LU1AMH, Fernando/LU1ARG, Carlos LU1BCE, Fernando LU2BPM,
Nico/LW3DN and Juan/LU8ARI. Activity will be on 80-1 meters, as
well as 6m/2m/70cm, and using CW, SSB, Satellites, SSTV and the
Digital modes. QSL by the Bureau or via LU4AA direct.
PLEASE NOTE: The trip, originally planned for middle August had to
be rescheduled as a strong storm caused a heavy flooding and closed
the departure port.
[ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1233 for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
EMike McCardel, KC8YLD
kc8yld at amsat dot org
1
0
ANS-266 Special Bulletin - Fox Telemetry Decoder Software Version 1.0 Available for Download
by JoAnne Maenpaa 23 Sep '15
by JoAnne Maenpaa 23 Sep '15
23 Sep '15
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-266
In this edition:
* Fox Telemetry Decoder Software Version 1.0 Available for Download
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-266.01
ANS-266 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 266.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
September 23, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-266.01
Fox Telemetry Decoder Software Version 1.0 Available for Download
Version 1.0 of the FoxTelem software, the Fox Telemetry Decoder is being
released to enable setup, testing, and debugging of your Fox-1A ground
station prior to the launch of the satellite. FoxTelem is used to
demodulate, store and analyze telemetry data from AMSAT's Fox series of Cube
Sats.
Fox-1 satellites include two telemetry formats:
+ Slow Speed, also called Data Under Voice (DUV) is 200 bps FSK data
sent at the same time as the transponder audio. Whenever the trans-
mitter is on, data is being sent. This happens during beacons and
during live QSOs.
+ High Speed is 9600 bps FSK sent instead of the transponder. This is
used for data intensive experiments such as the Virginia Tech Camera.
This is only active when commanded from the ground. You can recognize
High Speed because it sounds like an old school computer modem.
FoxTelem will receive and store both formats assuming you can feed it audio
that does not have the frequencies below 200 Hz filtered. For High Speed,
the audio must also extend to include the full 9600bps bandwidth of the FM
signal. For both modes this is best achieved from a Software Defined Radio
or from the 9600 bps packet port of some radios. The FoxTelem User Guide
provides more details.
FoxTelem is supplied as an archive file (.zip on windows, .dmg file on
MacOs, .gzip on Linux). Links for downloading can be found at:
http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4532
You can unzip the contents and put it in the directory of your choice. Also,
detailed in the User Guide, are instructions to select the sound source and
set received audio levels on your computer.
Until Fox-1A is launched you can confirm everything is working by testing
with test wav file which will be available from:
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/recordings . Access to the test file is
accomplished by selecting "Load Wav File" from the FoxTelem File menu, then
navigate to the directory where you saved the test wav file. Once you press
the start button the file will play through the decoder.
The FoxTelem page can also be accessed from the main AMSAT web page:
http://www.amsat.org --> Fox Project --> FoxTelem Software for Windows, Mac,
& Linux
The direct link to the page is: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4532
[ANS thanks the FoxTelem software team for the above information]
/EX
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-263
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 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
* List of Papers & Presentations for the 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium
* September 19 Multiple Amateur Radio Satellite Launch From China
* LilacSat-2 Website and Telemetry Decoder Available
* SERPENS CubeSat Deployed from ISS
* ARISS-Europe Board Elections
* AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-263.01
ANS-263 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 263.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE September 20, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-263.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2015 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
As a result of the 2015 Board of Directors election, Barry Baines, WD4ASW;
Jerry Buxton, N0JY; Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA; and Bob McGwier, N4HY; will
serve on the board for two years.
The First Alternate is Mark Hammond, N8MH and the Second Alternate is Bruce
Paige, KK5DO. Both will serve for a term of one year.
The results of the voting with 625 ballots cast are as follows:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW............475
Jerry Buxton, N0JY..............417
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA.........366
Bob McGwier, N4HY...............316
Mark Hammond, N8MH..............289
Bruce Paige, KK5DO..............198
Steve Coy, K8UD.................194
E. Mike McCardel, KC8YLD........152
Submitted by:
Martha Saragovitz Alan Biddle, WA4SCA
Manager Corporate Secretary
[ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Corporate Secretary for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
List of Papers & Presentations for the 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium
The 2015 AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium will be held on the
weekend of October 16-18, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Dayton,
Ohio.
Currently the following Papers have been proposed.
ALL TITLES ARE TENTATIVE, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, AND SOME MAY ONLY APPEAR IN THE
SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS. More current information will be made available as
soon as possible.
"APRS Satellites, PSK31 and DTMF/Voice"
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
"A Modern Approach to Secure Commanding of an Amateur Satellite"
Burns Fisher, W2BFJ (possibly another author will be added)
"Nano-satellite and Amateur Satellite Ground Station Development at the
University of the Philippines"
Leo Almazan, AMSAT-Philippines
"SatNOGS - An open satellite ground station network"
I.Charitopoulos, I.Giannelos, E.Kosmas, D.Papadeas, P.Papadeas,
M.Papamatthaiou, N.Roussos, V.Tsiligiannis, and A.Zisimatos
Libre Space Foundation, Athens, Greece
"Fox-1C Environmental Testing"
Robert Davis
"DSP on-board Rideshare to Geosynchronous Orbit"
Mike Parker, KT7D, Rincon Research Corp.
Fox Maximum Power Point Tracker
Bryce Salmi
"Preliminary Design of Fox-1E."
Mike KB2GHZ
"HEO/GEO Mission"
Bob McGwier, N4HY
"Virginia Tech Ground Station Update" (Potentially Live Demonstrations)
Zach Leffke
"VT, AMSAT, and ITAR"
Sonya Rowe
"Fox-1 Camera Update"
Seth Hitefield
"VT Ground Station Control Framework"
Paul David
"Software/Cognitive Radio Experiment onboard NASA SCaN JPL SDR"
Deirdre Beggs
"Phase3E Proposed Orbit and Attitude Control Changes."
Andrew Rogers
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, Symposium Proceedings Editor, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
September 19 Multiple Amateur Radio Satellite Launch From China
Alan Kung, BA1DU, provided China AMSAT's (CAMSAT) frequency and mode
information for the September 19 launch of mulitple satellites on Beijing’s
new Chang Zheng 6 (CZ-6) rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.
Estimated early Keplerian elements for a September 19 launch are:
XW-2(CAS-3)
1 99999U 15262.96885748 .00004985 00000-0 28395-3 0 00005
2 99999 097.4712 270.8252 0010383 266.0522 270.6644 15.12847565000015
Launch time was planned for 23:00:00 UTC on 2015-09-18 with deployment
of the
satellites at 23:15:14 UTC. Technical difficulties postponed the launch
until
23:00:00 UTC on 2015-09-19.
The ARRL posted a Word Doc with frequency information from BA1DU at:
http://www.arrl.org/files/media/News/XW-2CAS-3%20Sats.doc
AMSAT-UK has a link to this document at:
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/09/16/camsat-xw-2-satellites-launch-info/
The XW-2A through XW-2F satellites are using the same type of antenna.
These
are quarter wavelength deployable monopole whip antennas and made of steel
tape, including a UHF uplink antenna and a VHF downlink antenna for each
satellite.
TX
Satellite Frequencies (MHz) Power Modulation
----------------------------- ------- -------------------
XW-2A (CAS-3A)
Digital Telemetry: 145.640 20 dBm 9.6/19.2kbps, GMSK
CW Beacon: 145.660 17 dBm 22wpm, CW
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink: 435.030 - 435.050
Downlink: 145.665 - 145.685 20 dBm
XW-2B (CAS-3B)
Digital Telemetry: 145.705 20 dBm 9.6/19.2kbps, GMSK
CW Beacon: 145.725 17 dBm 22wpm, CW
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink: 435.090 - 435.110
Downlink: 145.730 - 145.750 20 dBm
XW-2C (CAS-3C)
Digital Telemetry: 145.770 20 dBm 9.6/19.2kbps, GMSK
CW Beacon: 145.790 17 dBm 22wpm, CW
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink: 435.150 - 435.170
Downlink: 145.795 - 145.815 20 dBm
XW-2D (CAS-3D)
Digital Telemetry: 145.835 20 dBm 9.6/19.2kbps, GMSK
CW Beacon: 145.855 17 dBm 22wpm, CW
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink: 435.210 - 435.230
Downlink: 145.860 - 145.880 20 dBm
XW-2E (CAS-3E)
Digital Telemetry: 145.890 20 dBm 9.6kbps, GMSK
CW Beacon: 145.910 17 dBm 22wpm, CW
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink: 435.270 - 435.290
Downlink: 145.915 - 145.935 20 dBm
XW-2F (CAS-3F)
Digital Telemetry: 145.955 20 dBm 9.6kbps, GMSK
CW Beacon: 145.975 17 dBm 22wpm, CW
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink: 435.330 - 435.350
Downlink: 145.980 - 146.000 20 dBm
DCBB (CAS-3G)
Downlink: 145.475 Digital Telemetry 9.6kbps, GMSK
437.950 Digital Telemetry 9.6kbps, GMSK
LilacSat-2 (CAS-3H)
CW Beacon 437.200
APRS
Uplink: 144.390 AFSK
Downlink: 144.390 AFSK
FM Transponder
Uplink: 144.350 FM
Downlink: 437.225 FM
NUDT-Phone-Sat (CAS-3I)
Downlink: 437.300 Digital Telemetry 9.6kbps, FSK
The AMSAT-BB reports CW beacon activity from the satellites after launch
although the actual orbit is reported to be running approximately two
minutes
later than the estimated Keps.
[ANS thanks Alan Kung, BA1DU, and CAMSAT for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
LilacSat-2 Website and Telemetry Decoder Available
LilacSat-2 website
http://lilacsat.hit.edu.cn/
and telemetry decoder based on GNU Radio
https://github.com/bg2bhc/gr-lilacsat
are now available.
[ANS thanks WEI Mingchuan, BG2BHC for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SERPENS CubeSat Deployed from ISS
On September 17, 2015 the Brazilian SERPENS CubeSat carrying an amateur
radio
payload, call sign PY0ESA, was deployed from the International Space Station
(ISS).
SERPENS LogoSERPENS is a 3U CubeSat which was developed by students at the
University of Brasilia and focuses on meteorological data collection.
The SERPENS Amateur Radio Page shows these downlink frequencies:
• 145.980 MHz using GFSK modulation at 9600 bps and AX.25 protocol
transmiting two different beacons. The first occurs every 10 seconds
with the
message “SERPENS A”. This is implemented for easy identification of the
satellite when searching for it. The second beacon is transmitted every 30
seconds and contains the main housekeeping data of the satellite. In
addition
to the beacons, a simple Store and Forward experiment has been implemented.
• 437.365 MHz using CW/MSK modulation at 1200 bps and CSP protocol.
There is a Store and Forward messaging system compatible with HUMSAT sensors
on the frequency of 437.525 MHz, using GMSK modulation at 1200 bps. The
HUMSAT
transponder will collect data (e.g. wind, humidity, water levels, etc) from
Earth based sensors operating on 437.525 MHz, store the data on-board
and then
transmit it to university ground stations. For more information visit
http://www.humsat.org/
SERPENS carries a Pulsed Plasma Thruster for CUbesat Propulsion (PPTCUP)
unit
developed by UK companies Mars Space Ltd and Clyde Space Ltd in
collaboration
with the University of Southampton.
The PPTCUP consists of a thruster board and discharge chamber. Overall, the
thruster assembly weighs 180 grams including 7g of Teflon fuel and
delivers a
thrust of 40 micronewtons at a power consumption of 2 Watts. The entire
thruster assembly fits into a 90 by 90 by 27-millimeter envelope.The
thruster
operates at a specific impulse of 608 seconds and in its original version is
certified for 1.5 million shots. For durability, the system uses copper-
tungsten electrodes. All thruster functions are controlled by a PIC16
microcontroller.
Also deployed with SERPENS from the ISS was the CubeSat S-CUBE designed to
observe the Ultraviolet (UV) spectrum during the Orionid meteor shower in
October. It does not operate in the Amateur Satellite Service.
SERPENS Amateur Radio Page
http://www.aerospace.unb.br/serpens_radioamateurs
SERPENS information in HTV-5 Cargo Overview
http://www.spaceflight101.com/htv-5-cargo-overview.html
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS-Europe Board Elections
According the ARISS-Europe Terms of Reference, Board elections took
place in
2015:
- A call for candidatures was circulated to the Member Societies March
2015.
- Candidatures were accepted till the end of May 2015.
- June 4, 2015 four candidates were presented to the Member Societies.
- Till September 1st, 2015, the votes of the Member Societies were
collected.
- All four candidates are elected unopposed for a two years term.
Elected Board:
- Emanuele D'Andria, I0ELE, chairman
- Oliver Amend, DG6BCE, technical director
- Bertus Hüsken, PE1KEH, counsellor
- Jean Pierre Courjaud, F6DZP, counsellor.
According the Terms of Reference, the Board elected takes office October
1st,
2015.
Member Societies:
• AMSAT-Belgium (Belgium)
• AMSAT-Francophone (France)
• AMSAT-Italy (Italy)
• AMSAT-SM (Sweden)
• AMSAT-UK (UK)
• ARI (Italy)
• DARC (Germany)
• MARL (Malta) (associate member)
• PZK (Poland)
• RAL (Lebanon) (associate member)
• REF (France)
• REP (Portugal)
• RSGB (UK)
• UBA (Belgium)
• USKA (Switzerland)
• VERON (The Netherlands)
Congratulations to the elected Board and best wishes for a very successful
term of office.
http://www.arrl.org/news/ariss-europe-chairman-retires-successor-elected
(Editors note: Emanuele D'Andria, I0ELE, will assume the duties as
ARISS-Europe
chairman. Gaston Bertels, ON4WF is retiring. ANS would like to thank Gaston
for his dedicated and enthusiastic support of ARISS and amateur radio.)
[ANS thanks Gaston Bertels, ON4WF 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, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 2015, AMSAT Symposium in
Dayton OH (Dayton Crown Plaza)
*Saturday, 7 November 2015 – Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in
Marana AZ
*Saturday and Sunday, 7-8 November 2015 – Stone Mountain Hamfest and ARRL
Georgia Section Convention in Lawrenceville GA
*Saturday, 5 December 2015 – Superstition Superfest 2015 in Mesa AZ
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
Successful Contacts
New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, NM, direct via N5MMI
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut was Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS
Contact was successful: Wed 2015-09-16 15:48:50 UTC 43 deg.
About The NEW Mexico Military Institute
Located in Roswell, New Mexico, the New Mexico Military Institute offers a
rich history and tradition of educating tomorrow’s leaders through a
program of
strong, challenging academics, leadership preparation, and character
development. Known as “The West Point of the West,” NMMI remains the
only state-
supported co-educational college preparatory high school and junior
college in
the United States. Serving the educational needs of an international student
population, the Institute has an enrollment of approximately 1,000
students who
come from 43 states, the District of Columbia, and 13 foreign nations.
About Roswell
Roswell is located in the southeast New Mexico and is the home of more than
48,000 people. The major industries here are farming, dairying, ranching,
manufacturing, petroleum production, and, of course, tourism! Roswell is
well
known for the “Roswell Incident”, the alleged crash landing of a UFO
Northeast
of town in 1947. Between 1930 and 1941 Roswell was the home of Robert
Goddard,
considered the father of the liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard’s research and
rocket flight testing in Roswell paved the way for our current space
program.
successful.
Listen to partial audio of contact from John Brier, KG4AKV recorded from
Raleigh, NC
https://soundcloud.com/johnbrier/iss-new-mexico-military-institute-contact-
reception-in-raleigh-nc
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
Three ISS Crew Members, Including Two Hams, Return Safely to Earth
Two radio amateurs -- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas
Mogensen,
KG5GCZ, Soyuz commander and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, RN3DT -- plus
Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov, arrived back on Earth on September 12
from the
International Space Station (ISS). Mogensen, Aimbetov, and cosmonaut Sergey
Volkov, RU3DIS, had launched in a Soyuz transporter to the ISS on
September 2
from Baikonur cosmodrome. Aimbetov -- who had replaced "space tourist" and
British singer Sarah Brightman on the Soyuz flight -- and Mogensen took
part in
the 10-day ESA mission to test new technologies and conduct a series of
scientific experiments. Mogensen is Denmark's first astronaut, while
Aimbetov
is the first Kazakh cosmonaut.
The trio undocked from the orbiting complex on September 11 in the Soyuz
spacecraft that had been attached to the ISS, leaving the vessel they
arrived
in for the station crew. The new Soyuz spacecraft will return NASA astronaut
Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF, at the end of their one-
year mission next March, along with Volkov.
The return wrapped up 168 days in space for Padalka, who had been on the ISS
since March and has logged a record 879 days in space on five flights --
more
than 2 months longer than cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, the previous
record
holder.
The undocking of the returning Soyuz marked the formal start of ISS
Expedition
45 under Kelly's command. In addition to Kelly, Kornienko, and Volkov, those
onboard the ISS include astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS; cosmonaut Oleg
Kononenko, RN3DX, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH.
Three more radio amateurs are scheduled to head to the ISS in December. They
are cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP; UK astronaut Timothy Peake,
KG5BVI, and
Timothy Kopra, KE5UDN.
November 2 will mark the 15th anniversary of a permanent human presence
on the
ISS.
[ANS thanks the ARRL Letter, NASA, & European Space Agency 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
1
0
ANS-259 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
by JoAnne Maenpaa 16 Sep '15
by JoAnne Maenpaa 16 Sep '15
16 Sep '15
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-259
In this edition:
* 2015 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-259.01
ANS-259 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 259.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
September 16, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-259.01
2015 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
As a result of the 2015 Board of Directors election, Barry Baines, WD4ASW;
Jerry Buxton, N0JY; Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA; and Bob McGwier, N4HY; will
serve on the board for two years.
The First Alternate is Mark Hammond, N8MH and the Second Alternate is Bruce
Paige, KK5DO. Both will serve for a term of one year.
The results of the voting with 625 ballots cast are as follows:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW............475
Jerry Buxton, N0JY..............417
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA.........366
Bob McGwier, N4HY...............316
Mark Hammond, N8MH..............289
Bruce Paige, KK5DO..............198
Steve Coy, K8UD.................194
E. Mike McCardel, KC8YLD........152
Submitted by:
Martha Saragovitz Alan Biddle, WA4SCA
Manager Corporate Secretary
[ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Corporate Secretary for the above
information]
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-256
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-1D To Share Falcon 9 Launch With Fox-1Cliff
* Deadline Approaching For AMSAT Symposium Group Rate Rooms
* On-line Information Sessions Aid ARISS Contact Proposal Preparation
* V7 - Marshall Islands Satellite Activation
* Pope's visit- 9-22-27 Special Event Operators needed
* SAREX Reflector to be Closed 1 November 2015
* QB50 CubeSats to be deployed from ISS
* New AO-7 Distance Record
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.01
ANS-256 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.01
From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD.
September 13, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.01
Fox-1D To Share Falcon 9 Launch With Fox-1Cliff
In response to a breaking opportunity, AMSAT and Spaceflight, Inc. have
arranged for Fox-1D to accompany Fox-1Cliff on the maiden flight of the
SHERPA system on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Fox-1C was renamed Fox-1Cliff in
honor of
Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR, who was a benefactor and long time supporter
for AMSAT
as well as an adviser/mentor for students building cubesats at Cal Poly.
As a Fox-1 series, Fox-1D is identical to Fox-1Cliff, but with different
frequencies and carrying the University of Iowa HERCI (High Energy Radiation
CubeSat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment as a hosted payload. Fox-1D
will provide additional selectable U/V or L/V repeater capabilities once in
orbit, and will be capable of downlinking Earth images from the Virginia
Tech
camera experiment. Launch is currently planned for the first quarter of
2016.
Additional donor support is needed to offset the costs associated with the
launch of Fox-1D in addition to Fox-1Cliff. Please visit www.amsat.org
to donate
support this launch, and help keep amateur radio in space.
http://www.amsat.org/?p=4478
[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Deadline Approaching For AMSAT Symposium Group Rate Rooms
AMSAT office manager Martha reports that she has spoken with the Sales
Manager
at the Crowne Plaza in Dayton. As of September 9th there were 19 rooms
left on
Friday, October 16th and 20 on Saturday, October 17th.
They cannot extend the cutoff date (Sept 17th at 3:00 PM) so hurry
and make your reservations. Time is running out!!!
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
On-line Information Sessions Aid ARISS Contact Proposal Preparation
ARISS-US is now accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science
centers and community youth organizations to host an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station, or ARISS, contact between July 1 - Dec. 31,
2016. Proposals are due Nov. 1, 2015.
Informational sessions about ARISS and to help organizations in preparing
their proposals, the ARISS program coordinator will offer hour-long online
information sessions. These are designed to provide more information
regarding U.S. ARISS contacts and the proposal process, and offer an
opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session
is not required, it is strongly encouraged.
Informational sessions will be offered Sept. 17, 2015, at 4 p.m. EDT; Sept.
22, 2015, at 4 p.m. EDT, and Sept. 30, 2015, at 7 p.m. EDT.
Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to sign up
for an information session.
For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal
guidelines and proposal form, visit
http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact.
ARISS-US is offered through a partnership between NASA; the American Radio
Relay League, or ARRL; and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, or
AMSAT. ARISS was created and is managed by an international working group,
including several countries in Europe as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and
the USA.
[ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Sept. 10, 2015 for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
V7 - Marshall Islands Satellite Activation
V7, MARSHALL ISLANDS (Update). A group of JA operators will be active
from Majuro Island (OC-029) between September 24-28th. Operators are YL
Mami/JP3AYQ (V73YL) and her husband Sanny/JJ3CIG (V73H), Team Leader
Takio/JH3QFL (V73A) and Co-Leader Keizo "Kay"/JH3AZC (V7EME). Activity
will be holiday style on 40-6 meters, satellite, EME, CW, SSB, RTTY and
JT65A. Radios are a FT857 and FT847. Their antennas will be a homebrew 3
element full size beam (3 bands) and a SpiderBeam antenna (5 band). They
will also have two Elecraft 500w amp for HF to use and 800w out station
for EME. QSL all operators via their home callsigns, by the Bureau or
direct (see QRZ.com for addresses).
ADDED NOTES:
* YL Mami, JP3AYQ, states (on QRZ.com), that her activity will be holiday
style (she likes to scuba dive) on the HF bands using CW (be patient),
SSB and the Digital mode (RTTY). Suggested frequencies are the IOTA
frequencies, such as 14260, 14040, 21260 and 21040 kHz. QSL via JP3AYQ,
direct, by the Bureau or LoTW. Log will be uploaded to LoTW and ClubLog.
She does have a Blog page at: http://jp3ayq.269g.net
* Hiro, JJ3CIG/KH0YA, states (on QRZ.com), that he plans to operate on
the JT65 mode. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by eQSL.
* Kay, JH3AZC/W2AZ, informs OPDX that V73EME will try to operate on 2m
EME (JT65B only) and V7A is now preparing to QRV on Satellite(FO29).
He states, "It may be the first time operation for EME from V7 land
(also Satellite? not sure).
[ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1230 for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pope's visit- 9-22-27 Special Event Operators needed
Pope Francis will be visiting the US from September 22-27, operations
will include all bands and modes. Four unique QSL cards will be
available along with a certificate to mark this special and historic
event, you can read more about this event on QRZ.com, WM3PEN.
Satellite operators are being sought that might be available on some
passes throughout the event that are based in NY/NJ, DC/Virginia and
Philadelphia. If you are interested contact Peter,
W2JV,PeteW2JV(a)verizon.net
for additional information.
At this point Paul, N8HM has signed on as one operator in DC, the call
sign will be K3P, Peter, W2JV, will be one NY operator as K2P, and it
is hoped
that we can add many more operators in the locations mentioned to have
as many
voices in space as we can.
[ANS thanks Peter, W2JV, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SAREX Reflector to be Closed 1 November 2015
At the request of the ARISS US Team, AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human
Spaceflight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO has announced that the SAREX reflector will
be closed 1 November 2015, and its functions folded into the AMSAT-BB list.
Frank explained that at one time operations from the Space Shuttle and the
ISS were considered as sufficiently different from other satellite
operations as to need separate forums for their respective interest
communities.
More recently, changes in the human spaceflight operations, the new
generation of satellites, and the interests of the general AMSAT community
have removed the reasons for this distinction. Frank explained that "The
AMSAT membership, in general, has embraced all vehicles with amateur radio
on-board that are operating in space on equal ground. They enjoy the SSTV
events on ISS as well as a quick QSO on AO-7". He went on to note that "This
past year my team has noticed that those on AMSAT-BB have missed out on some
ARISS significant events. These include school contacts in their area that
were only posted on SAREX." Moving all discussions to a common list will
insure that ISS announcements as well as operational information will be
available in one place.
What does this mean to the current subscribers? If you are subscribed to
both SAREX and AMSAT-BB, there is no need to take any action. You will cease
to receive new postings on the SAREX list 1 November 2015. The SAREX
archives will continue to be available for historical purposes. If you are
not subscribed to AMSAT-BB and wish to continue to receive human spaceflight
announcements, please go to http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo and
subscribe to AMSAT-BB. Your existing SAREX subscription will not be
automatically carried over since not everyone will wish to do so.
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
QB50 CubeSats to be deployed from ISS
It has been announced that the fifty CubeSat QB50 constellation should be
shipped to the International Space Station (ISS) in July 2016 for subsequent
deployment. It had been planned for them to be launched by Alcantara Cyclone
Space, a joint venture between the governments of Ukraine and Brazil,
but that
option is not longer available.
The AlbertaSat website reports on the 9th QB50 Workshop, held September
8, 2015
in Liège, Belgium. The CubeSats are now planned to be deployed from the ISS
using the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and the Nanoracks CubeSat
Deployers.
Eight NanoRacks deployers are installed on the Multi-Purpose Experiment
Platform
(MPEP). Each deployer has a capacity of 6U and so can hold up to six 1U,
three
2U or two 3U CubeSats. They are carried by Japanese Experiment Module-Remote
Manipulator System (JEM-RMS).
AlbertaSat provide an update on the QB50 precursor CubeSats P1/P2 which were
launched in 2014. The first payload is working, and while it has been
resetting,
no damage appears to have occurred. It is possible that the second
payload is
damaged, but it is still functioning.
Representatives from QB50 also took the time to clearly define their
goals and
specify the details of the project. The project aims to probe probe
thermosphere
with about 40 sensors which study atmospheric science. These sensors
include the
Langmuir Probes that will be on Ex Alta-1. 40 CubeSats will be fitted
with one
of these sensors. The other 10 CubeSats will have in-orbit demonstrations.
QB50 project https://www.qb50.eu/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
New AO-7 Distance Record
On September 5, 2015 Dave Swanson KG5CCI completed a contact with Manuel
EA5TT
over a record breaking distance of 7947 km via the OSCAR 7 satellite
operating
in mode B (432/145 MHz).
Dave, KG5CCI, reports:
On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 1812 UTC I made a scheduled contact with
Manuel, EA5TT, using AO-7 Mode B, from the old US Forest Service Fire
Tower on
top of ‘Rich Mountain’ here in extreme western Arkansas. My 10 digit grid
locator was EM24UQ01MU while Manuel is located in IM99SL48CX, in Valencia,
Spain. This equates to 7947.381 km which we believe to be a new record
for AO-7
Mode B.
I fully plan on writing a more extensive post when I return from the holiday
weekend, and I will likely make a proper video with commentary and data
as well.
I’ve made some really interesting observations when it comes to Satellite
operating from places with great ‘Height Above Average Terrain’ and look
forward
to sharing this analysis with everyone.
[ANS thanks Dave, KG5CCI, for the above information]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-249
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 Symposium Banquet Speaker Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
* ARISS Issues Invitation to US Schools, Educational Organizations,
Groups
* Proposals For Symposium Papers Are Still Being Accepted
* Undergraduate Student Instrument Project -- 2015 Flight Research
Opportunity
* 2016 CubeSat Launch Initiative Opportunity
* 2015 AMSAT Symposium Dayton Hotel Reservation Correction
* ARISS News
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.01
ANS-249 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
September 6, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-249.01
The Annunal Symposium Banquet on October 17 will feature AMSAT Vice-
President Human Spaceflight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. Tickets for the
Banquet can be purchased in the AMSAT Store.
Franks will talk about, “Making a Difference: AMSAT’s Contribution
to Navigation and Timing in HEO/GEO Space and Its Profound Impact on
Earth and Space Science”
In the mid-1990s, as an engineer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO garnered funding and proposed a GPS
reception experiment on the AMSAT Phase 3D satellite. The experiment
was to measure the signal strength of the GPS satellite constellation
while Phase 3D traversed in its High Earth Orbit. This information
was critical to understand whether GPS could be practically used for
Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) at altitudes above the
constellation as well as to map out the GPS satellite antenna
patterns, including the side-lobe signals.
At the time, the GPS flight experiment flown on AO-40 was the most
comprehensive data reception of GPS signals above the constellation.
The AO-40 experiment was cited many times in aerospace literature as
it remained the most comprehensive above the constellation data
source for nearly a decade. AO-40 mapped the GPS vehicles main and
side lobe signals. These results have led many, internationally, to
develop weak signal GPS receivers to fly in HEO/GEO in an effort to
extract as much navigation and timing data from GPS as possible.
As a result of the AO-40 experiment, the following has occurred:
• In 2006, GPS modified its specifications to protect the main
lobe signal for above the constellation space users
• Global space agencies, including NASA, and commercial
manufacturers have invested millions of dollars into weak signal
tracking GPS receivers that can exploit GPS in HEO/GEO orbits
• Missions flown in the past 12 months have demonstrated game-
changing PNT performance improvements through the use of GPS in
HEO/GEO
• GPS main and side lobe signals are now routinely being used
on many HEO/GEO space vehicles to improve their PNT performance
• Earth weather satellites at GEO will soon use GPS to predict
hurricanes and observe severe storms, saving lives
• Space weather satellites are measuring the dynamics of the
ionosphere, potentially protecting astronauts in space and enabling
better prediction of ionospheric effects
• NASA is working with the GPS directorate on potentially
modifying the GPS specification again, this time to protect the GPS
sidelobe signals for users in HEO/GEO orbits.
The results from AO-40 have jump-started a profound and game-
changing transformation in navigation at HEO/GEO altitudes. It is
enabling new and exciting missions in these orbits. This represents
a tremendous accomplishment for humanity and will result in saving
countless lives. And AMSAT played a key role in making this happen.
Come to the AMSAT Symposium and hear about how AMSAT played a key
role in this HEO/GEO transformation!
---
Frank H. Bauer received his Engineering Bachelor's and Master's
degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University. His
aerospace career spans over 40 years within NASA and private
industry. In his current position he serves as President/Sole
Proprietor of FBauer Aerospace Consulting Services, providing systems
engineering, GN&C, spaceborne GPS/GNSS, formation flying and small
spacecraft development expertise and consultation services.
Currently, he supports NASA as a Standing Review Board member of the
Commercial Crew program and as a discipline expert as part of the
NASA Engineering and Safety Center GN&C Technical Discipline team.
He also represents the U.S. government on GPS/GNSS Strategy and
Policy, including representing the U.S. on international delegations
negotiating joint GNSS interoperability strategies.
Mr. Bauer's primary research interests include spaceborne
applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and space vehicle
formation flying. He was the principal investigator of 4
spaceflight GPS and formation flying experiments including the AMSAT-
OSCAR-40 GPS experiment, investigating the use of GPS above the
constellation.
His hobbies include astronomy, amateur radio, and flying.
Frank obtained his amateur radio license in 1974 while he was a high
school student. Using the callsign KA3HDO, Frank has dedicated his
amateur radio activities to several space-related amateur radio
initiatives. He is the Vice President of Human Spaceflight Programs
for the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT-NA), the Chairman
of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
international team and the ARISS-US team program manager. As such,
he has led the ARISS international team in the development,
qualification, testing, and operation of the ham radio systems on-
board ISS. This team has pioneered a ham radio system on ISS that
serves the amateur radio community through educational outreach,
public outreach, and amateur radio experimentation.
Frank was also responsible for setting up and operating the world-
wide retransmission of Space Shuttle Air-to-Ground Communications
from the Goddard Amateur Radio Club, WA3NAN. This effort, started in
1983 for Owen Garriott’s ham-in-space mission, provided a critical
conduit of information to hams attemting to contact astronaut hams
prior to the time when internet connectivity became ubiquitous.
[ANS thanks the 2015 AMSAT Symposium Posse for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS Issues Invitation to US Schools, Educational Organizations,
Groups
Message to US Educators
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Contact Opportunity
Call for Proposals
Proposal Window September 1 – November 1, 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 July 1 and December 31, 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 November 1, 2015. Proposal
information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-
ariss-contact.
Informational Sessions
To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS
Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions.
These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS
contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask
questions. While attending an online information session is not
required, it is strongly encouraged.
These will be offered Thursday, September 17, at 2000 UTC; Tuesday,
September 22, at 2000 UTC, and Wednesday, September 30, at 2300 UTC.
Advance registration is necessary. E-mail ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to
sign up for an information session.
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 http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-
contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposals For Symposium Papers Are Still Being Accepted
AMSAT Space Symposium Proceedings Chairman, Dan Shultz, N8FGV,
reports, that to date, he has received eight proposal for
presentations at the 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium. He is extending the
deadline for final versions of the papers to September 28. Anyone
wishing to present a topic at Symposium or wishes to have paper
published in the proceedings should contact Dan A.S.A.P. with
information about your proposed paper, n8fgv (at) usa (dot) net .
Papers will be presented at the Symposium to be held on the weekend
of October 16-18, 2015, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, Dayton, Ohio.
[ANS thanks Dan n8fgv for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Undergraduate Student Instrument Project -- 2015 Flight Research
Opportunity
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in collaboration with the
National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, is seeking
proposals from U.S. institutions of higher education for the
Undergraduate Student Instrument Project's Student Flight Research
Opportunity. Proposals should outline plans to develop an
undergraduate-led project team that will fly a science and/or
technology payload relevant to NASA's strategic goals and objectives
on a sounding rocket, balloon, aircraft, suborbital reusable launch
vehicle or CubeSat launched on an orbital launch vehicle.
Funding is available to all U.S. institutions of higher education
(e.g., universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, or two-
year institutions) and to institutions involved in the Space Grant
program. Prospective project teams can be composed only of
undergraduate students from U.S. institutions of higher education.
Graduate students are not eligible to be project team members;
however, they are encouraged to serve as mentors to the undergraduate
student team and are permitted to request a mentoring stipend.
Interested institutions must submit a Notice of Intent by email by
11:59 p.m. EDT, Oct. 1, 2015. Proposals are due on Nov. 20, 2015.
For more information and instructions for submitting a proposal, visit
http://go.nasa.gov/1WR586S .
An optional teleconference for those interested in submitting
proposals will take place on Sept. 10, 2015, at 2 p.m. EDT. Visit the
link above for details.
Please direct questions about this request to David Pierce at
david.l.pierce (at) nasa (dot) gov.
[ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Sept. 3, 2015 for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 CubeSat Launch Initiative Opportunity
NASA has opened the next round of its CubeSat Launch Initiative to
engage the growing community of space enthusiasts that can contribute
to NASA's space exploration goals.
The CubeSat Launch Initiative gives students, teachers and faculty a
chance to get hands-on flight hardware development experience in the
process of designing, building and operating small research
satellites. The initiative also provides a low-cost pathway to space
for research in the areas of science, exploration, technology
development, education or operations consistent with NASA's Strategic
Plan.
Applicants must submit their proposals electronically by 4:30 p.m.
EST, Nov. 24, 2015. NASA plans to select the payloads by Feb. 19,
2016, but selection does not guarantee a launch opportunity. Selected
experiments will fly as auxiliary payloads on agency rocket launches
or be deployed from the International Space Station beginning in 2016
and running through 2019. NASA does not provide funding for the
development of the small satellites, and this opportunity is open
only to U.S. nonpro?t organizations and accredited educational
organizations.
For additional information about this opportunity and NASA's CubeSat
Launch Initiative, visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS289-NASA-Cubesat
and
http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/home/CubeSats_initiative.html.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Jason Crusan
at Jason.Crusan(a)nasa.gov.
[ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Sept. 3, 2015 for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2015 AMSAT Symposium Dayton Hotel Reservation Correction
The 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held Friday through Sunday,
Oct. 16, 17, 18, 2015 in Dayton, Ohio.
This year we will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 33 East 5th Street, in
downtown Dayton, a 3.5 star Hotel which has been recently renovated.
Here is the corrected and latest hotel reservation information
provided by Crowne Plaza:
+ Reservations toll-free phone number: 1-800-689-5586
+ Group rate reservation code: "AMSAT"
+ Deadline for discounted reservations: September 17, 2015
by 3:00 PM US eastern time
The Symposium Committee announced that arrangements are made for a
tour of the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in
Dayton for Monday, October 19. You may wish to extend your hotel
reservation until Monday if you would like to participate on this
tour.
You must call the 800 number for Crowne Plaza to make your hotel
reservations. Registration for the Space Symposium and events can be
done on-line via the AMSAT Store:
http://store.amsat.org/catalog/
The latest 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium information is posted on the
web at:
http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=3667
-or- click on the "Events" tab at the top of the page at
http://www.amsat.org
[ANS thanks the 2015 AMSAT Symposium Posse for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
+ A Successful contact was made between Tomsk State Polytechnical
University, Tomsk, Russia and Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF using
Callsign RSØISS.
The contact began 2015-09-01 08:30 UTC and lasted about nine
and a half minutes. Contact was direct via RV3DR.
ARISS Mentor was RV3DR.
+ A Successful contact was made between Ulvila Upper Secondary
School, Ulvila, Finland and Astronaut Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS using
Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2015-09-01 11:44 UTC and lasted
about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via OH1F.
ARISS Mentor was IN3GHZ.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Kazakhstan, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Aidyn Aimbetov
Contact is a go for 2015-09-08 07:10 UTC
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
EMike McCardel, KC8YLD
kc8yld at amsat dot org
1
0