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ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 23 Apr '16

23 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-115 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: * IARU-R1: Global APRS Harmonisation and Satellite Coordination * United Launch Alliance Opens Competition for Free Cubesat Launches * TAPR Dayton Hamvention Digital Forum Announces Presenters * OUFTI-1 Telemetry Decoder App * Commemorative ARISS Slow-Scan TV Transmissions a Success * Be The First to Catch a Signal From Fly Your Satellite! From Space! * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.01 ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE April 24, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-115.01 IARU-R1: Global APRS Harmonisation and Satellite Coordination The IARU Region 1 Interim Meeting was held April 15-17, 2016 in Vienna. Minutes for the C5 VHF/UHF/Microwave committee are now available. Some 70 delegates from over 20 Member Societies discussed a wide range of issues in the VHF/UHF/Microwave, HF and EMC Committees. Recommendations from the meeting will be considered by the Region 1 Executive Committee at its meeting in early May 2016. If approved by the EC, these recommendations will become interim Region 1 policy until the next General Conference in 2017, at which time all Societies present will have the opportunity to ratify the proposals. Among the key items in the minutes are: 4.1. Report of satellite coordinator C5_04 Graham Shirville G3VZV presented the report of satellite coordinator. G3VZV emphasized that the frequency coordination between the three Regions has to be improved for avoiding interference incidents like PC-Sat and some of the XW2 satellites. Due to current reports from MS about some observations of harmful interference, RSGB is asked to prepare a statement for publishing to inform MS and members how to take care. C5 chairman is asked to bring up the issue on EC meeting, because further AC action is required. 5.2. Band Planning 5 GHz: C5_10 VIE16_C5_Rec_06: To correct the satellite segment the table in chapter 4.9 by deleting “5790”, inserting “5830” and adding the footnote: “Any wideband system shall protect narrowband applications”. 6.1. General matters: C5_26 VIE16_C5_Rec_11A: To discuss an even more extended [Grid Square] locator system that is used for ATV (including IARU ATV contest) and for other purposes by using the Wiki and prepares a document for GC 2017 if necessary. (Note this will clarify the definition of 10 digit [character] locators used for microwaves etc see example at http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html ) 7.2. APRS Harmonisation: C5_41 VIE16_C5_Rec_23: The C5 chairman to answer Regions 2 and 3 that: • 144.390 MHz is not suitable for Region 1 and that Region-3 should consider 144.800 • To consider an additional 144 MHz frequency (that might be compatible) with Region 2 and 3 • To also consider 435 MHz usage and newer APRS technologies (for the 2017 GC) Download the C5 VHF/UHF/Microwave Vienna 2016 Minutes http://tinyurl.com/IARU-R1-Vienna-2016-C5-Minutes The input papers are available as a matter of record: HF Papers http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-HFpapers VHF/UHF/Microwave papers http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-MicrowavePapers EMC Papers http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-EMCpapers [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- United Launch Alliance Opens Competition for Free Cubesat Launches United Launch Alliance has begun accepting applications from colleges and universities across the U.S. to compete for free cubesat launch slots aboard upcoming Atlas 5 rockets. The educational opportunity will use excess performance aboard rockets launching to space to carry the tiny student-made craft made of science and technology experiments. “Universities pioneered cubesat development, and there is a growing need for launch access and availability,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “Our goal is to eventually add university cubesat slots to nearly every Atlas and Vulcan Centaur launch – with potential for 100 rides per year.” Cubesats are baselined at 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm (4 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches) and approximately 1.3 kg (3 lbs). The craft are housed in a box-like Aft Bulkhead Carrier on the Centaur upper stage, next to the RL10C-1 engine, and ejected from the dispenser into orbit. ULA has successfully launched 55 cubesats through the company’s 106 flights to date. Those opportunities were via National Reconnaissance Office, Air Force and NASA initiatives. Now, ULA is giving the miniature hitchhiker payloads free rides on Atlas 5 boosters and the future Vulcan rocket now in development to debut in 2019. The company is the first launch provider to make free cubesat flight opportunities available on its own. “ULA’s cubesat program revolutionizes access to space for these payloads while ensuring that the next generation of rocket scientists and space entrepreneurs has the opportunity to continue driving on- orbit innovation,” Bruno said. The competitive program is available to all U.S. accredited colleges and universities. They are encouraged to partner with K-12 schools to further expand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The deadline to apply is June 1. The winning cubesats will be announced later this summer. The selection committee will look at a proposal’s mission objectives in science and STEM, outreach plans for their local community, technical requirements and the likelihood of meeting the development schedule. Safety to the flight’s primary payload and ensuring the cubesat will not threaten or do any harm to the mission will be judged, too. Each application will face the following criteria: * Technical Requirements — 25% * Mission Objective — 25% * Outreach Component — 25% * Proposal Credibility — 15% * Quality of Proposal — 10% Six cubesat launch slots are available in this first round of the program, each payload sized at “1U” in cubesat-speak, for two Atlas 5 missions. The first launch will likely be a geosychronous transfer orbit mission targeted for mid-2017. The second flight, also to GTO, is planned for mid-2018. To apply, visit: http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPR Dayton Hamvention Digital Forum Announces Presenters TAPR has announced the presentations for its Dayton Hamvention® Digital Forum, moderated by Scotty Cowling, WA2DFI, on Friday, May 20, at 9:15 AM. Among the presentions will be “SatNOGS — A network of open source satellite ground stations,” by Corey Shields, KB9JHU. CubeSat operators tend to have few ground stations of their own and rely on radio amateurs to help collect telemetry. The SatNOGS Project is a Network of Open Source Satellite Ground Stations, focusing on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Shields will introduce SatNOGS as a way to increase the amount of data collected and reported from these CubeSats. Bryan Fields, W9CR, will present “HamWAN High-Speed IP Radio Network,” an Amateur Radio high-speed IP backbone concept that uses the same techniques enabling the Internet. The topic of a presentation by Chris Testa, KD2BMH, will be “SDR Disrupt.” It will review the landscape and advancements in SDR technologies over the past year, as numerous technologies are driving the power-price-performance curve to a new level of efficiency. Latest developments in digital voice will also be discussed. “Spectrum Monitoring with Software Defined Radio,” by Mike Ossmann, AD0NR, will follow. More information about TAPR activities at Dayton is on the TAPR website. http://www.tapr.org/dayton.html [ANS thanks TAPR and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- OUFTI-1 Telemetry Decoder App The OUFTI-1 D-STAR CubeSat team have released the format of the CW telemetry beacon and a Decoder App. The launch, on a Russian Soyuz- STA Fregat-M from Kourou in South America, is expected to take place at 21:02:13 UT on Friday, April 22, 2016. OUFTI-1 is a nano-satellite entirely developed by the students of the University of Liege (ULg), Belgium, along with two other engineering schools. It is the first satellite to carry a dedicated amateur radio D-STAR transponder. OUFTI-1 amateur radio information including Keps http://events.ulg.ac.be/oufti-1/radioamateurs/ The PDF of the article ‘D-STAR digital amateur communications in space with OUFTI-1 CubeSat’ by Jonathan Pisane ON7JPD, Amandine Denis ON4EYA and Jacques Verly ON9CWD can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-OUTFIT-1 IARU coordinated frequencies for all CubeSats on the Russian Soyuz launch http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/ OUFTI-1 – 145.950 MHz FSK AX25 and D-STAR (uplink 435.045 MHz) – CW beacon 145.980 MHz e-st@r-II – 437.485 MHz CW and 1k2 AFSK AAUSAT-4 – 437.425 MHz [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Commemorative ARISS Slow-Scan TV Transmissions a Success The recent commemorative Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) slow-scan television (SSTV) transmissions from April 11 to April 14 were successful, with images received by many stations around the world. The SSTV transmissions marked the 15th anniversary (in 2015) of continuous Amateur Radio operations on the International Space Station. The first ISS crew conducted its inaugural ham radio contact from NA1SS in November 2000, and the first ARISS school/group contact took place the following month. Since then more than 1000 ARISS school/group contacts have been completed. Images received from the ISS have been posted on the gallery website. Anyone who received SSTV images from the ISS also may post them there. The SSTV transmissions were in PD180 format. Additional “MAI-75 Experiment” SSTV transmissions took place on April 14 and April 15, and these have been posted as well. The commemorative SSTV images showed a few of the radio amateurs who have served aboard the ISS. The gallery of images can be viewed at http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ [ANS thanks ARISS and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Be The First to Catch a Signal From Fly Your Satellite! From Space! It is time to start listening to space. To celebrate the upcoming launch of the three Fly Your Satellite! student-built CubeSats into low Earth orbit, ESA’s Education office challenges the amateur radio community to listen out for the tiny satellites. The first three radio amateurs to send a recorded signal from either AAUSAT4, E-st@r-II or OUFTI-1 will receive a prize from ESA's Education Office. The satellites will be launched on 22 April onboard the Soyuz VS-14 flight from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Together with CNES’ Microscope scientific satellite, they will be auxiliary payloads in the launch of ESA’s Earth observation satellite Sentinel- 1B, the main passenger on this flight. Soon after being deployed into their final orbit, the CubeSats 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 cubesats(a)esa.int, and to the CubeSat team. For each CubeSat, the first email received for which the signal is confirmed to belong to the CubeSat will be awarded with the following prizes: ESA Fly Your Satellite! poster ESA Education goodie bag Scale 1:1 3D printed model of a CubeSat Radio Contact Information: Please consult the following links to obtain specific information for radio contact for each of the three CubeSats. AAUSAT4 Downlink frequency 437.425 MHz For more HAM radio information see http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-AAUSAT4 Contact: aausat4 (at) space.aau.dk E-st@r-II Downlink frequency 437.485 MHz For more HAM radio information see http://www.cubesatteam-polito.com/operations/radio-amateurs Contact: cubesat.team (at) polito.it OUFTI-1 Downlink frequency 145.980 MHz For more HAM radio information see http://events.ulg.ac.be/oufti-1/radioamateurs/ Contact: oufti-1 (at) ulg.ac.be What your email should contain: Sound recording of the CW beacon Your Name Callsign Snailmail address for QSL Reception time of CW beacon CW beacon decoded Location A few lines about your equipment More information about Fly Your Satellite! can be found at http://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-_Fly_Your_Satellite [ANS thanks ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between STEM Trajectory Initiative with Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Astronaut Jeff Williams KD5TVQ using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-04-22 17:32:37 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via NM5HD. ARISS Mentor was Tim W6MU. + A Successful contact was made between TBD Saratov, Russia and Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP using Callsign RS0ISS. The contact began 2016-04-23 09:06 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct. Mentor was Sergey RV3DR. + A Successful contact was made between Wellesley House School, Broadstairs, Kent, UK and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign GB1SS. The contact began 2016-04-23 12:10:50 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via GB1WHS. ARISS Mentor was Ciaran MØXTD. HamTV coverage??? Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Republic of Chuvashia, direct via TBD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP (***) Contact is a go for Sun 2016-04-24 09:50 UTC The Derby High School, Bury, UK, direct via GB1DHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-04-25 12:02:27 UTC Istituto Comprensivo Statale “Diego Valeri”, Campolongo Maggiore, Italy, direct via IZ3YRA The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-29 08:34:08 UTC 64 deg [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The article, "Amateur Radio in the STEM Classroom One Tecinical Tool-Countless Lesson Applications" appears in the latest Tech Directions magazine. The article can be read at http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-techdirections The free magazine is at: https://www.techdirections.com/ [ANS thanks ARRL's Illinois Section newsletter for the above information] + Lomonosov, AIST-2D and SamSat-218 Launch First launch from Vostochny - carries a three-satellite payload. The purpose of the mission is to test the infrastructure associated with the new launch site. There is a pair of satellites for sun-synchronous orbit: Lomonosov - Science satellite for studies of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, X-rays and gamma rays in the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere and in near-Earth space. Lomonosov mission website: http://lomonosov.sinp.msu.ru/en/ AIST-2D - Joint project between Samara State Aerospace University and SRC Progress to develop a small light-weight surveillance spacecraft principally for use by the Russian government. The launch will also carry SamSat-218 - 3U Cubesat created by students and scientists from Samara State Aerospace University in Russia as a technology demonstrator and educational satellite. Its main task is to test algorithms for controlling the orientation of nano-satellites. The Volga stage of the launch vehicle will be caused to re-enter over the south Pacific Ocean about six hours after lift-off. Possible webcast (very much "to be confirmed"): http://www.russian.space/306/ [ANS thanks www.zarya.info for the above information] + New Distance Record for AO-85 A new distance record of 5751 kilometers (3565.6 miles) has been claimed for an AO-85 (Fox-1A) satellite contact. Betrand Demarcq, FG8OJ, in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe (FK96ig), worked Jose Elias Diaz Rodriguez, EB1FVQ, in Vigo, Spain (IN52pe), at 19:15 UTC on April 14, 2016. A recording of the contact is available. https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0o1b1as1xlcrjs/eb1fvq.mp3 AMSAT posts records on its AMSAT Satellite Distance Records page. Send new claims to Paul Stoetzer, N8HM. The AO-85 CubeSat was launched last October. It carries a U/V FM transponder. — [ANS thanks Thanks Paul, N8HM and the ARRL for the above information] + Satellite Distance Records can be viewed at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4751 [ANS thanks AMSAT 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, AA8EM (former KC8YLD) kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-108 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 17 Apr '16

17 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-108 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: * New AO-85 Distance Record Claimed * First-Ever D-STAR Satellite to Launch * TAPR Digital Forum Schedule at Dayton Hamvention, Friday, 5/20 * Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Named as IARU Satellite Adviser * Contest - Catch the signal of e-st@r-II CubeSat * Satellite DX Operation * ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference * ULA University CubeSat Competition * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.01 ANS-108 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE April 17, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-108.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- New AO-85 Distance Record Claimed 5,751 km is the new claimed distance record for a QSO on AO-85. Betrand Demarcq, FG8OJ, in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe (FK96ig) worked Jose Elias Diaz Rodriguez, EB1FVQ, in Vigo, Spain (IN52pe) at 19:15 UTC on April 14, 2016. A recording of the QSO is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0o1b1as1xlcrjs/eb1fvq.mp3 The AMSAT Satellite Distance Records page is located at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4751 New record claims may be sent to n8hm(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA and Paul, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- First-Ever D-STAR Satellite to Launch The first-ever satellite to carry a D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) Amateur Radio payload into space is expected to launch on April 22 from Guiana. The OUFTI-1 (Orbital Utility For Telecommunication Innovations) CubeSat is one of three CubeSats developed by student teams under the European Space Agency (ESA) Education Office "Fly Your Satellite!" program, which is aimed at training the next generation of aerospace professionals. The satellites arrived in South America on March 25, followed by the student teams a few days later. On March 30 the students pulled the "Remove Before Flight" pins and successfully verified that their CubeSats were ready for launch before replacing the access ports on the P-POD, which will secure the CubeSats prior to and during launch and then will release them into orbit. The next time the students will have contact with their respective CubeSats will be through their spacecraft's communication link, after the CubeSats have been deployed into orbit. Once thermal-optical tape has been applied to the P-POD to shield the CubeSats from extreme thermal radiation during the launch phase, the P-POD will be integrated with the Soyuz launch vehicle. Constructed by students at the University of Liege in Belgium (ULg), OUFTI-1 will be the first satellite to carry an Amateur Radio D-STAR transponder. Developed by the Japan Amateur Radio League, D-STAR enables the simultaneous transmission of voice and digital data as well as call sign-based roaming via the Internet. "The OUFTI-1 D-STAR repeater will be available either as a direct communication repeater between two users, and as an extension of the ULg D-STAR repeater," explains the article "D-STAR digital amateur communications in space with OUFTI-1 CubeSat" by Jonathan Pisane, ON7JPD; Amandine Denis, ON4EYA, and Jacques Verly, ON9CWD, all of ULg. The CubeSat's frequencies are 145.950 MHz (FSK AX.25), and D-STAR down, with an uplink at 435.045 MHz. OUFTI-1 will carry a CW beacon transmitting on 145.980 MHz. The other two CubeSats are from Italy and Denmark. The CubeSat e-st@r-II from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, will demonstrate an attitude control system using measurements of Earth's magnetic field. It will transmit CW and 1.2 k AFSK on 437.485 MHz. AAUSAT4 from the University of Aalborg, Denmark, will operate an automated ocean vessel identification system. It will transmit on 437.425 MHz. See https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/202_jun_2013.pdf [ANS thanks the ARRL Letter for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPR Digital Forum Schedule at Dayton Hamvention, Friday, 5/20 TAPR Digital Forum Schedule Moderator: Scotty Cowling, WA2DFI 9:15 to 9:25 am Introduction by Steve Bible, N7HPR, TAPR President 9:25 to 9:35 am "Write for QST/QEX" by Kai Siwiak KE4PT, QEX Editor 9:35 to 10:00 am "SatNOGS - A network of open source satellite ground stations". by Corey Shields KB9JHU Abstract: CubeSat operators tend to have few ground stations of their own and rely on amateur operators to help collect telemetry. With CubeSat deployments on the rise, more and more data is lost as there are not enough ground stations listening. The SatNOGS Project is a Network of Open Source Satellite Ground Stations, focusing on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. In this presentation, we introduce SatNOGS as a way to increase the amount of data collected from these satellites and returned to their operators. Learn what the SatNOGS project is, how it works, and what we have planned for the future of amateur radio satellite reception. 10:00 to 10:25 am "HamWAN High Speed IP Radio Network" by Bryan Fields, W9CR Abstract: Presented will be an amateur radio high-speed IP backbone concept (HamWAN) with an emphases on building regional highly available networks. Utilizing the same techniques which enable the Internet, Amateur Radio networks may be built connecting projects to the Internet or other sites. Included will be an update on the regional HamWAN network deployments. 10:25 to 10:50 am "SDR Disrupt" by Chris Testa, KD2BMH Abstract: Tools and techniques for software defined radio continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and we'll go over the landscape and advancements in SDR technologies this past year. Numerous technologies are driving the power-price- performance curve to a new level of efficiency. We'll take a look at John Stephensen, KD6OZH's mesh project (part of TAPR), which helps pave the way for next-generation wireless links. Latest developments in digital voice will also be discussed. 10:50 to 11:15 am "Spectrum Monitoring with Software Defined Radio" by Mike Ossmann, AD0NR Abstract: Having developed HackRF One, the world's lowest cost wideband Software Defined Radio transceiver, the HackRF project continues to produce open source hardware designs for SDR. Find out about our designs in development now and our ideas for future boards that will enable the next generation of SDR enthusiasts. More information about TAPR activities at the Dayton Hamvention at: http://www.tapr.org/dayton.html [ANS thanks TAPR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Named as IARU Satellite Advisor The International Amateur Radio Union is pleased to announce that Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, is appointed to serve as IARU Satellite Advisor. The appointment is effective immediately. Blondeel Timmerman was first licensed in 1980 and has served as VERON HF Manager from 2000-2001 and as VERON Vice President from 2001-2008. He was a member of the IARU Region 1 Executive Committee from 2002-2008 and served as IARU Region 1 President from 2008-2014. Blondeel Timmerman has served as EUDXF President since 2004 and currently serves as a YASME Foundation Director. He is retired from the Netherlands Army Signal Corps after a 38 year career working on satellite projects and spectrum management. He lives in the Netherlands with his wife Margareet, K2XYL and has 2 adult sons. The IARU Satellite Advisor represents the IARU to the satellite community and the various amateur satellite organizations and performs satellite frequency coordination according to the guidelines established by the IARU. In addition, the position calls for maintaining a database of coordination requests and letters, report to the IARU Administrative Council on issues related to satellites and satellite frequency coordination and, if requested, to provide technical and operation advice to assist the representation of the amateur satellite service to the International Telecommunication Union. The Satellite Advisor is assisted by a panel of volunteer satellite advisory members. Blondeel Timmerman replaces Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, who has served as IARU Satellite Adviser since 1994. Van de Groenendaal has established many of the procedures used for amateur satellite frequency coordination and has been a critical contributor to the process of satellite frequency coordination for IARU. The IARU is grateful for Hans van de Groenendaal’s excellent work and thanks him for his years of service in this important position. He will remain as special adviser to the satellite committee. Any additional information can be obtained from the International Amateur Radio Union, PO Box 310905, Newington, CT 06131-0905 USA Phone +1 860 594 0200 Fax +1 860 594 0259. IARU Satellite Page http://www.iaru.org/satellite.html http://www.arrl.org/news/hans-blondeel-timmerman-pb2t-named-as-iaru-satelli… advisor [ANS thanks the IARU and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Contest - Catch the signal of e-st@r-II CubeSat We are the CubeSat Team of Politecnico di Torino, and we are writing to inform you about the contest we have announced today. The CubeSat Team is a student team of Politecnico di Torino involved in the design and development of small platforms for scientific missions and for testing new technologies. We are guys enthralled by space activities. Undergraduate and graduate students work together with researchers and professors to create a real hands-on experience. “SPACE IN A CUBE: MISSIONS OF THE FUTURE” is our motto! We believe that small satellites can contribute to a broad set of science goals and space based services. Our CubeSat missions aim at conceiving new scenarios and technologies to serve the scientific community while educating students in the challenging field of aerospace engineering. Our first CubeSat, e-st@r-I, was launched into orbit on February 2012, and the second satellite, e-st@r-II, will be launched next week: the Soyuz launch ST-A VS14 is scheduled on April 22, 2016, at exactly 09:02:13 p.m UTC, from the European spaceport in French Guiana http://www.arianespace.com/mission/ariane-flight-vs14/ It is just one week to launch… it’s time for us to prepare for operations. To celebrate this date, we invite the radio-ham community to support the e-st@r-II mission by participating in the contest to listen for our CubeSat from orbit! We have prizes for the first to receive the e-st@r-II signal and for the one who provides us with the higher number of packets received in the first month in orbit! All details of the competition can be found at our official webpage: http://www.cubesatteam-polito.com/operations/radio-amateurs/ Follow the daily updates on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CubeSatTeam . Thank you in advance for your help in collecting TLM packets….. and break a leg! CubeSat Team Website: http://areeweb.polito.it/cubesat-team/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CubeSatTeam Twitter: https://twitter.com/CubeSatTeam [ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM and the CubeSat Team of Politecnico di Torino for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite DX Operation Bahamas (FL15) - Bryan Green, KL7CN, plans to be active during daytime passes of FO-29 and SO-50 from Nassau, Bahamas as C6ACN on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 and from Coco Cay, Bahamas midday on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 (times TBD). The plan is subject to change. See @kl7cn on Twitter for updates. Posted on the AMSAT Upcoming Satellite Operations page http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=3921 [ANS thanks Paul, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 35th Annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, to be held September 16-18 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is July 31, 2016. The ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference is an international forum for technically minded radio amateurs to meet and present new ideas and techniques. Paper/presentation topic areas include -- but are not limited to -- software defined radio (SDR), digital voice, digital satellite communication, digital signal processing (DSP), HF digital modes, adapting IEEE 802.11 systems for Amateur Radio, Global Positioning System (GPS), Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS), Linux in Amateur Radio, AX.25 updates and Internet interoperability with Amateur Radio networks. Submit papers to via e-mail to maty(a)arrl.org<mailto:maty@arrl.org> or via postal mail to: Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Papers will be published exactly as submitted, and authors will retain all rights. Please do not email zip files as these will be rejected by our servers. [ANS thanks Steve Ford, WB8IMY ARRL QST Editor for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ULA University CubeSat Competition To U.S. colleges and universities: United Launch Alliance has posted the application for its University CubeSat Competition and entries are due June 1, 2016! The application and more information is located at http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx. [ANS thanks ULA and CubeSat.org mailing list for theabove 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). *Monday, 25 April 2016, AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW will give “An Overview of AMSAT” presentation to the Greensboro (NC) Amateur Radio Assocaition. The meeting will be held at Captain Bill’s Seafood restaurant located at 6108 W Market St, Greensboro, NC. Attendees meet for dinner around 1815 with the club meeting starting at 1915. The club’s website is w4gso.org. *Friday through Sunday, 29 April-1 May 2016, ARRL Nevada State Convention in Las Vegas NV *Saturday, 7 May 2016 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ *Saturday, 14 May 2016 – Matanuska Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Wasilla AK *Saturday, 4 June 2016 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ *Saturday, 13 August 2016 – KL7KC Hamfest in Fairbanks AK [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Sucessful Contacts Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut was Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful! Congrats to Argentina on this ARISS event and contact with Jeff Williams! All 16 questions answered by Jeff Williams 170 students present with Teachers and others. 3 TV and 3 Radio Stations on site ! Gagarin from Space. This session was amateur radio communications, Orla, Russia, direct via RK3EWW The ISS callsign was scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut was Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP Contact was successful for 2016-04-16 15:14 UTC From Claudio, IK1SLD in Italy: Today the contact with RK3EWW Gagarin from Space was succesful. Communications opened at 15:14:45 UTC and from my home I was able to copy near 3 minutes. This is the link to the file (of course I copied only the cosmonaut answer): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byp8JadKjPOmekRIQlpzdWJfZ0U/view?usp=shari… USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign was scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut was Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact was successful: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg Upcoming Contacts St Richards Catholic College, Bexhill on Sea, UK, direct via GB4SRC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-04-18 14:56:06 UTC 85 deg An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at St Richards Catholic College, Bexhill on Sea, UK on 18 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:56 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between GB1SS and GB4SRC. The contact should be audible over the UK and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. St Richard's Catholic College is a Science Specialist school tucked between the South Downs and the English Channel. We have 1000 pupils on roll between Years 7-11. We provide an inclusive education for Catholic and Christian pupils covering an extended catchment area covering approximately a 30 mile radius. St Richard's was awarded Teaching School status late in 2014 and we are the lead school in the Thrive Alliance, an association of primary schools, secondary schools and a sixth form college as well as lead in the Sussex Science Subject Hub. We are also a strategic partner in the Sussex Maths Hub. St Richards' Science department enjoys a very strong relationship with the University of Sussex (particularly Astronomy & Physics); University of Greenwich (Outreach)and we sit on the STEM Focus Group hosted by the University of Brighton's STEMSussex. We are a keen supporter of STEM events in our region, with particular success at the Annual STEMFest event where we have won prizes at the National Science and Engineering Competition for the last four years, twice through to national competition. STEMSussex have used St Richard's STEM Clubs' provision as an exemplar due to its success in engaging pupils of all abilities across all year groups. The department has also enjoyed high quality Continuous Professional Development engagement in the STEM agenda with involvement in 'Space as a context for teaching science' courses and a future STEM project with the University of Reykjavik in Iceland. We enjoy Space Camp UK, a residential trip with all things "spacy" at the National Space Centre and Duxford. The coordinating teacher, Dr Joolz Durkin, is the curriculum enhancement for science and is also an enthusiastic "Space Ambasador" and has worked with the Tim Peake Primary Project at Parklands Infants Eastbourne, Dallington School in Dallington, Pebsham Primary in Bexhill on Sea and Vinehall School in Heathfield as part of this link up. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. You have mentioned in an earlier call that you have been sleeping very well on the Space Station. Is that still the case or have you found any cumulative effects after four months in space ? 2. As the ISS hosts astronauts from many different nationalities, what public holidays do the crew observe, if any, and how are they chosen? 3. St Richards and two of our Primary Project Partner school, Dallington and Vinehall are taking part in the RHS 'Rocket Science' Experiment from the Principia Mission. How will the results from this experiment influence future planning for growing similar samples in another planet's gravity? 4. We have seen the preparation with Heston Blumental of an exciting astronaut menu for the mission - does the food taste the same in space as it did on Earth? 5. In a sealed spacecraft like the International Space Station, how is the air quality monitored and controlled? 6. We see the wonderful time lapse images of the ISS orbiting the Earth, but what I like looking at are the stars and making out the constellations. Do you do any astronomical research on the ISS? 7. During the mission you yourself are part of experiments using the British designed MMS Cerebral and Cochlear Fluid Pressure Analyser to collect data for the NASA Fluid Shifts investigation. Which aspect of the self-experimentation has been the most interesting or challenging? 8. Are there any experiments that rely on naked flames on the ISS? If so, how are they carried out and what low gravity precautions are employed? 9. If I oversleep my parents will wake me up - have you overslept on the ISS and had to be woken up by someone?" 10. The distance between Bexhill and Brighton is 31 miles with a journey time by car of nearly 50 minutes. How much time would it take for the ISS to do this trip? 11. What are the greatest challenges of living in space and in retaining a permanent crew on board the ISS? 12. You have tweeted some amazing and beautiful images of the aurora. Have you been able to monitor solar flare or CME activity and correlate to the brightness of the aurora? 13. How does it feel to be able to see all humanity? 14. Is the ISS affected by the Earth's magnetic field? 15. On Sunday you will be joining thousands of others in taking part in the London Marathon. What special routines have you trained for this in space? 16. In the London marathon, runners will have natural cooling as the run - how do you regulate your body temperature in a sealed environment such as the ISS?. 17. We understand you are taking part in the Skin B research on the ISS? Can you share any interesting findings? 18. You have tweeted that having a bacon sandwich and cup of tea on arrival at the ISS was the best welcome possible. What food are you looking forward to on landing? 19. What is special about space suits that help you breathe in space when on an EVA? 20. How smooth was the launch in December? STEM Trajectory Initiative with Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque New Mexico, direct via NM5HD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-22 17:32:37 UTC 83 deg Wellesley House School, Broadstairs, Kent, UK, direct via GB1WHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-23 12:10:50 UTC 62 deg Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over FemtoSat Under Development Now we're getting even smaller than a 1U ... try 3cm x 3cm x 3cm. Meet femtosat ... http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/The_next_big_thing_in_space_is_really_rea… _small_999.html [ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM for the above information] Satellite Show in Moreno Valley, CA 05/05/16 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his "How to Work the FM Amateur Satellites With Your HT" session at the Moreno Valley Amateur Radio Association on Thursday, May 5, 2016. ALL are welcome to attend. “The MVARC has been a LONG-time supporter of the ARRL, quite active in their communities, and I am honored that they are asking me back for another presentation,” Clint writes. Attendees will be shown everything needed to work the FM voice ham satellites - with a re-occurring theme of, "Most hams already have most of the necessary equipment ... " Attendees can download a four-page tutorial beforehand at ... http://www.work-sat.com ... and Clint welcomes pre-presentation questions. Call him at 909-999-SATS (909-999-7287), or send email to clint(a)clintbradford.com . May 5, 2016 Lake Perris State Recreation Area 17801 Lake Perris Drive Perris, CA 9257 Meeting Room at Parking Lot Number 9 Call-in frequency 146.500 simplex once you are in the park. (Just tell the Ranger at the gate you are going to the MVARA ham radio meeting - you won’t need to pay admission at the gate.) [ANS thanks Clint, K6LCS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-101 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS commemorative event (April 11-14) * AMSAT KEPs Redistribution Approved for 2016-2017 * IN81 and IN82 Grid Activation via FM Sats 22 and 24 April * Upcoming Satellite DX * ARISS Contacts and Events * Geostationary / Geosynchronous Amateur Satellite Transponders * AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.01 ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 080.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. April 10, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-101.01 ARISS commemorative event (April 11-14) Looks like all the pieces are starting to fall into place for the long awaited SSTV event. The schedule is shaping up to look like this: * Setup and activation on April 11 about 18:25 UTC. * Paused April 12 from 12:15 until 14:15 UTC to allow for a school contact with Romania. * Paused April 13 from 12:45 until 14:30 UTC to allow for a school contact with Argentina. * Deactivation on April 14 at 11:35 UTC. This opportunity should cover most of the world during the operational period.The image transmissions should be on 145.800 MHz and the mode is planned to be PD180. In addition, MAI-75 will be conducting two sessions afterwards. The first one is April 14 from 14:45 until 18:00 UTC. The second session is on April 15 from 14:10 until 19:00 UTC. These times do not cross N. America but will provide opportunities for Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and S. America. As always, all operations aboard the ISS are subject to change and everyone interested in this activity should be vigilant and patient." John KG4AKV has an "ISS SSTV Reception Hints" webpage which may help: https://spacecomms.wordpress.com/iss-sstv-reception-hints/ [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT KEPs Redistribution Approved for 2016-2017 AMSAT's request to re-distribute US Air Force Space Command Keplerian elements from SpaceTrack has been approved for the period April 1, 2016 to April 1, 2017. Our USSTRATCOM ODR (Orbital Data Request) to distribute the KEPs was approved on March 17, 2016. Thanks to AFSPC, Perry Klein, W3PK and Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for their help in this process. We are "good to go" for another year. [ANSS thanks Ray, WA5QGD, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IN81 and IN82 Grid Activation via FM Sats 22 and 24 April Felix, EA4GQS reports that he plans to activate grids IN81 and IN82 as EA4GQS/P via the FM satellites. He will be be traveling to these grids during April 22-24. He said he will post his available passes on the Satellite and Space Communications forum at QRZ.com. He will confirm via LoTW. [ANS thanks Felix, EA4GQS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite DX 4A. MEXICO (Bird Op, Special Event). Operators Ismael/XE1AY and David/XE3DX will be active using the special event callsign 4A1DX between now and June 14th. Activity is to celebrate 11th anniversary of the Grupo DXXE, Mexico's top contest and DX radio club. Operations will be on the satellite, FM only (**SO-50, AO-85 y Lilacsat-2). The QSL Manager is Dick, N7RO, direct or by the Bureau (Make sure your Bureau QSL card is clearly marked via N7RO). Don't send your QSL cards to the Mexican Bureau; they will not be answered because they have no QSLs. They will be uploading the log to LoTW and ClubLog at the end of their operation (June 2016). QSOs with this station are also good for the DXXE Award. ADDED NOTE: The special event callsign 4A1DX is also active on all HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31, JT65 and EME. QSL Manager is also N7RO. See QRZ.com under 4A1DX for more details VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. John, NW4JG, informs OPDX that he is a resident of the Turks and Caicos Island of Providenciales (NA-002) and has just received the callsign VP5VJG (about a week ago). He mentions, "It is very difficult to get a VP5 callsign. About 5 years working with a tourist temporary permit on island." His also states [edited], "I operate with an Icom 7200 with PW-1 amp. Antennas are Force 12 (40-10m), M2 (6 meters), and a Alpha Delta dipole (160-10 meters). We live on a hill and the antennas are about 150' above the Southern Atlantic Ocean. I also work all Digital modes. Have finally received on the island all the gear for satellite and EME with Yaesu FT736R, 5500 antenna control... etc." IMPORTANT QSL INFO: John, informs OPDX to QSL via John, Graves, 3075 Ohio Street, Miami, FL 33133, when on island. There is no mail from the island. Also, during the summer he will be in a condo in Montreal: QSL via John Graves, 1605 Rue Docteur-Penfield #601, Montreal,QC, Canada H3H 1B2. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1258 for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contacts and Events Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ TBD UTC (***) Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg ******************************************************* The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Geostationary / Geosynchronous Amateur Satellite Transponders EngineerIT magazine reports on the quest by radio amateurs to get transponders on geostationary satellites. The article quotes President of AMSAT DL, Peter Gülzow DB2OS, and describes the transponders planned for the geostationary Es’Hail-2 satellite, expected to be operational in 2017 at 26 degrees East. Also mentioned is a project to build a transponder for a US satellite which could be in a geosynchronous orbit around 74 degrees West. Read the EngineerIT article at http://www.ee.co.za/article/radio-amateurs-quest-geostationary-satellites.h… Es’Hail-2 http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/ AMSAT Phase 4 Update for Palomar Amateur Radio Club November 4, 2015 http://www.ntms.org/files/Feb2016/PARC_4on4.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites The AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites has become internationally recognized as the premier conference on small satellites. The annual gathering provides a forum for the best minds in the small satellite community to review recent successes, explore new directions, and introduce emerging technologies in small spacecraft development. In addition to creating an excellent environment for networking and talking with experts in military, science, and academic fields, the Conference offers a program of international relevance, focusing on the key challenges and opportunities facing the small satellite community today. Proceedings from 1987 to 2015 are available online and can be accessed at: http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/smallsat/ [ANS thanks AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites amd Utah State University 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, In memory of my Mom. Her tireless efforts to help my independent study of math and electronics in high school set me on the path to broadcast engineering, Amateur Satellites, and eventually working as the Eastern Range's Superintendent of Range Operations. Thank's Mom. Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-094 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: * Replay Available Ham Talk Live! ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO * AMSAT Dayton Booth Volunteers Needed * AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2016 * The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop * 2016 VHF SUPER CONFERENCE * STMSat-1 and MinXSS CubeSats Featured on Public Radio * Irvine Students Are On a Mission to Launch a Satellite * Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-094.01 ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 094.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. April 3, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-094.01 Replay Available Ham Talk Live! ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO If you missed this past Thursday evening's Ham Talk Live! show featuring, Rosalie White, K1STO talking about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program sponsored by ARRL, AMSAT, and NASA, a replay of the recorded show is available on http://www.hamtalklive.com. The discussion took a look back at the start of the ARISS program, the 1000th QSO that was just completed, and the future of the program. Also featured were some messages from the ISS. Rosalie also told of a way you can help. Ham Talk Live! airs on the web on Thursday nights at 9PM eastern time. In addition to their hamtalklive.com web site the show can be found on-line via Spreaker, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, YouTube, SoundCloud, or TuneIn. [ANS thanks Ham Talk Live! For the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Dayton Booth Volunteers Needed Call for Volunteers for the AMSAT Booth at Dayton 2016 The 2016 Dayton Hamvention®, sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association will be held this year on May 20-22. “Dayton” is the largest hamfest in the United States, and AMSAT will be there again this year. You can assist AMSAT by volunteering to help staff the booth. While there, you will meet other AMSAT members, interact with the satellite designers, builders, and operators, and enjoy all that Dayton has to offer. People are needed to assist with the setup of the booth on Thursday, May 19 (A few people to move the equipment from the storage area leaving the hotel at 9 am, most at the Arena from 11am to 4 pm), to staff the booth Friday (9 am to 6 pm), Saturday (9 am to 5 pm), and Sunday (9 am to 1 pm), and pack up on Sunday (1 pm to 3 pm). If you are leaving late Sunday, or Monday morning, please consider helping transport the display to the storage area on the south side of Dayton. This is normally completed by 5 pm. Most people volunteer for one or more 2 hour shifts in the booth. Please send an e-mail to Steve Belter, N9IP, n9ip (at) amsat.org, if you are willing to help AMSAT at the Hamvention. Please let Steve know as soon as possible if you're available to assist. If you missed the Hamvention the last few years, there were some changes in the Ball Arena, and the AMSAT exhibit was part of that change. We now have a 3 X 3 booth arrangement, with the engineering,education, ARISS, and software display on one side of the aisle, and the membership and Beginner¹s Corner on the opposite side. The booth numbers are now 444-446 and 433-435. We will be very near the old exhibit area, within sight of the ARRL exhibit. [ANS thanks AMSAT.org for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2016 The annual AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria on 28 May 2016. The theme is “Make Space Sciences part of your development and free time activity” The conference programme will include a real time review on the SA AMSAT Kletskous CubeSat and papers on other projects, technology and space science subjects. This is a call for papers to be included in the proceedings and for presentation at the conference. The closing date for synopsis has been extended to 6 April. The final paper will be required in word format by 30 April 2016. Synopsis must be in word format and should be sent to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za . [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop (April 20-22, 2016) at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA is just three short weeks away !! Don’t delay: register now before our Early Bird prices expire! You can register by following the link, here, or following the link on our website, cubesat.org. Please note: The prices for professional attendees will INCREASE in just 6 days, on April 5, 2016!! [ANS thanks The CubeSat Workshop Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 VHF SUPER CONFERENCE The upcoming Amateur Radio Technical Conference sponsored by the Southeastern VHF Society, Northeast Weak Signal Group, and Mt. Airy Radio Club will be held at the Holiday Inn Washington Dulles Airport on April 15 to 17. - This year, one large conference is being held in Lieu of three Eastern conferences. The aim of the educational conference is to share with our fellow VHF, UHF, and Microwave enthusiasts, technical achievements and developments. The technical conference is followed by a dinner, recognition of door prize contributors, and a drawing for door prizes. Conference Web-site: http://vhfsuperconference.com The Conference is affiliated with the ARRL. Contacts Mickie Clement, W1MKY Telephone: 603-428-3840 Email: dpclement at tds.net Gary Hitchner, WA2OMY Email: gary.hitchner at momentumdynamics.com [ANS thanks Gary WA2OMY and Mickie W1MKY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- STMSat-1 and MinXSS CubeSats Featured on Public Radio Elementary school, St. Thomas More's, satellite STMSat-1 and University of Colorado's Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS)CubeSat were featured in an interview on Colorado Public Radio. The interview of Doug Duncan, director of the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder by Colorado Matters' host Ryan Warner. The interview can be heard at http://tinyurl.com/ANS094-CPR The interview is a good overview of cubsats and their capability. Both satellites are expected to be launched from the ISS in early April [ANS thanks Colorado Public Radio for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Irvine Students Are On a Mission to Launch a Satellite The los Angeles Times reports that over a hundred students from five Irvine high schools and another dozen from a local middle school have begun a year long collaboration to engineer, launch and place an operational nanosatellite in orbit. Teachers from Beckman, Irvine, Northwood and Woodbridge high schools developed curriculum for teams of 20 to 25 students from each school to handle the CubeSat mission. Students from Irvine's new Portola High School will be brought into the program when the campus opens in the fall. Students from Rancho San Joaquin Middle School are involved in the project as a STEM feeder program. Organizers of the Irving project are in discussions with a Russian company and have targeted a March 2017 launch date. Irving Public Schools Foundation have granted $150,000 in seed money to launch the project. The schools are planning for three years of missions with a goal of rolling over in perpetuity depending on funding and future support. The project is the brain child of Brent Freeze and Kain Sosa, neighbors in Irvine's Quail Hill subdivision, who have children in the school district. Their goal is to support education that requires specialized science backgrounds and recognize that developing talent could start with STEM programs in local high schools. Read the full article at http://preview.tinyurl.com/ANS094-Irvine [ANS thanks the LA Times for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is offering tours that take visitors behind the scenes and inside certain research facilities. Glenn scientists and engineers serve as guides. Tours and open house events will be held each month through October 2016. Tours are free for groups and individuals, but to guarantee admission, reservations are required. Visitor parking is also free. On the days of the tours, a bus departs from Glenn's main gate every hour, beginning at 10 a.m. The last tour departs at 1 p.m. Each tour lasts about 45 minutes and is followed by a stop at Glenn's Gift Shop. Glenn's 2016 Tour Schedule April 2, 2016 -- Piloted Control Evaluation Facility and Distributed Engine Control Laboratory: Visit two laboratories that showcase how researchers evaluate propulsion control and aircraft engine control. Tour the Piloted Control Evaluation (Flight Simulator) Facility to see where researchers evaluate the effect of propulsion control on aircraft performance. Visit the Distributed Engine Control Laboratory to learn how NASA evaluates new hardware architectures for aircraft engine control. May 21-22, 2016 -- Open House at NASA's Glenn Research Center: NASA Glenn is opening its doors to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour many of the center's world-class facilities and see how the center improves aviation and fosters exploration to benefit everyone on Earth. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians who work on space programs. Registration for this event is not required. June 11-12, 2016 -- Open House at NASA's Plum Brook Station: NASA Glenn is opening the doors of Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour the station's world-class facilities and step inside the world's largest vacuum chamber, which has tested parts of rockets, Mars landers and Orion hardware. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians. Registration for this event is not required. July 9, 2016: Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory: See how NASA emulates the electrical characteristics of a spacecraft system in the Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory. RPS is a source of electricity for NASA space missions from the surface of Mars to the realm of the outer planets. Aug. 6, 2016 -- See Things a Different Way: Check out Glenn's Graphics and Visualization, or GVIS, and the Reconfigurable User- interface and Virtual Reality Exploration, or GRUVE, Laboratories. The GVIS lab uses advanced computer input and output devices paired with a variety of natural user interface devices and 3-D displays. The GRUVE lab is used to analyze data obtained either by computer simulation or from research test facilities. Sept. 10, 2016 -- Vibration Testing: Join us on a tour of Glenn's Structural Dynamics Laboratory, where things get shaken to verify their survivability. Several experiments that currently are operating on the International Space Station were tested in this lab. Oct. 1, 2016 -- Prepare for Impact: Come explore Glenn's Ballistic Impact Facility. See the laboratory that helped to identify the cause of the space shuttle Columbia accident and return NASA's shuttle fleet to flight. Tours are open to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. To guarantee admission, reservations are required. For more information on tours and how to make reservations, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/events/tours.html. Please direct questions about the tours to Sheila Reese at sheila.d.reese(a)nasa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- March 31, 2016 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan and Astronaut Tim Kopra KE5UDN using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-03-28 11:07 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8N370H. ARISS Mentor was Satoshi 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, USA and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was Dave AA4KN. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact in the United States is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. 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. Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1038. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1003. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Schools in these entities are encouraged to apply for a contact. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + JSatTrak Satellite App Released Developed by Shawn Gano KB3OJE, JSatTrack is written in Java and allows you to predict the position of any satellite in real time or in the past or future. It uses advanced SGP4/SDP4 algorithms developed by NASA/NORAD or customizable high precision solvers to propagate satellite orbits. The program also allows for easy updating of current satellite tracking data via CelesTrak.com. Because this application was written in Java, it should run on almost any operating system or directly off the web using java web start! Questions and comments are welcome at the JSatTrack Forum http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/forum The JSatTrack App can be downloaded from http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/ [ANS thanks Shawn KB3OJE for the abiove information] + Proposal windows for ARISS school contacts are still open in the United States and Europe. For more information about scheduled US contacts visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact For more information about scheduled European Region contact visit http://www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] + Current profiles of the crew currently aboard the ISS, Expedition 47, can be found at: http://www.ariss.org/current-iss-crew.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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, AA8EM (former KC8YLD) kc8yld at amsat dot org

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