ANS September 2015

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AMSAT News Service Bulletin 270
by E.Mike McCardel 27 Sep '15

27 Sep '15

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 HÃ¼sken, 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

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ANS-266 Special Bulletin - Fox Telemetry Decoder Software Version 1.0 Available for Download
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

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ANS-263 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 20 Sep '15

20 Sep '15

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

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ANS-259 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
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]

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ANS-256 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 13 Sep '15

13 Sep '15

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

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ANS-249 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 06 Sep '15

06 Sep '15

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

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ANS September 2015