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ANS-028 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne K9JKM 27 Jan '18

27 Jan '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-028 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. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AO-92 Commissioned, Open for Amateur Use * AMSAT Membership Deal and Getting Started * FoxTelem Version 1.06 Software Released * GOLF-TEE $15,000 Matching Funds President’s Challenge * AMSAT Rover Award Up and Running - Already Up to #7 Awarded * D-Star ONE v.1.1 Phoenix Satellite Planned for Launch February 1 * AO-91 QSO Two YLs Meet on the Air * Two More US Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections * ARISS APRS Packet Currently Non-Operational * ARISS School Contact First for Cyprus * PicSat Requests Amateur Radio Assistance to Capture/Upload Telemetry * AO-73 Operating Schedule Changes Announced * Volunteer Opportunity - Openings for News Service Rotating Editor * AMSAT Argentina LU1ESY-3 WSPR Balloon Flight Heading Out of Africa * OR4ESA Redu Ground Station Belgium on the Air Until February 6 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-028.01 ANS-028 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 028.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 28, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-028.01 AO-92 Commissioned, Open for Amateur Use On the 03:25 UTC pass on January 26, 2018, AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, announced that AO-92 had been commissioned and formally turned the satellite over to AMSAT Operations. AMSAT Vice President – Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, then declared that AO-92 was now open for amateur use. Initially, the U/v FM transponder will be open continuously for a period of one week. After the first week, operations will be scheduled between the U/v FM transponder, L-Band Downshifter, Virginia Tech Camera, and the University of Iowa’s High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument (HERCI). Schedule updates will appear in the AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins and will also be posted to the AMSAT-BB, AMSAT’s Twitter account (@AMSAT), the AMSAT North America Facebook group, and the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/satellite-schedules/ AO-92 was launched on the PSLV-C40 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India on January 12, 2018. For the past two weeks, the AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams have been testing the various modes and experiments on board. Testing has shown that both the U/v FM transponder and L-Band Downshifter work very well. The Virginia Tech camera has returned stunning photos and data from HERCI has been successfully downlinked. AMSAT thanks the 178 stations worldwide that have used FoxTelem to collect telemetry and experiment data from AO-92 during the commissioning process. The collection of this data is crucial to the missions of AMSAT’s Fox-1 satellites. Please continue to collect data from AO-85, AO-91, and AO-92. RADIO PROGRAMMING CHART Fox-1D Doppler Shift Correction Memory 1 (AOS) - TX 435.340 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 2 (Rise) - TX 435.345 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 3 (TCA) - TX 435.350 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 4 (Descend) - TX 435.355 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 5 (LOS) - TX 435.360 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz The L-band experiment will use 1267.350 MHz uplink with 145.880 MHz downlink. UHF and L-band uplink operation are set by the command stations; the operating schedule will be posted. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY, AMSAT Vice President Operatings Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, and AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Membership Deal and Getting Started AMSAT membership supports the organization and construction of new satellites. Right now, we are offering a free PDF copy of our Getting Started with Amateur Satellites with every new on-line membership. This is -the- primer for getting on the sats, and is updated every year. See https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ AMSAT also sells both the popular Arrow Antenna satellite models and the M2 LEOpack antennas. Sales also benefit AMSAT projects. https://www.amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FoxTelem Version 1.06 Software Released Chris, G0KLA, has released version 1.06 of FoxTelem on January 27. This release addresses several defects and instabilities in FoxTelem version 1.05 and earlier. It also introduces a new Earth Plot that allows any telemetry value to be plotted as a heat map against a map of the earth. For more details about the Earth Plot and some example plots, you can read a quick tutorial posted at: http://www.g0kla.com/workbench/2018-01-26.php As always, let Chris know if you see any issues or log them on github at https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues KEY CHANGES ~~~~~~~~~~~ * EARTH PLOTS allow you to plot any telemetry value as a heat map on a map of the earth * Allow graphs and telemetry results to be searched with UTC dates and for ranges of uptime/dates * Allow stepping through the telemetry with up/down arrows * Prevent hang when decoder starts if FCD returns an error * Fixed bug where TLEs were not updated in the name is changed in the spacecraft settings window * Fixed crashes introduced in 1.05 release * Display all HERCI High Speed payloads when Raw Byte Payloads shown * Fix bug where missing TLE disables spacecraft from being tracked at all * Fixes bug where DDE connection to SatPC32 fails with European decimal point format * Add MPPT calibration values for Fox-1D * Improved the RF signal measurements * Improved the Find Signal algorithm * Space graph labels more evenly * Put the spacecraft tabs in FoxId order And many other bug fixes. Full list of changes here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/milestone/3?closed=1 [ANS thanks FoxTelem author Chris, G0KLA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- GOLF-TEE $15,000 Matching Funds President’s Challenge In October 2017 AMSAT announced the GOLF (Greater Orbit, Larger Foot- print) program. The first project of the GOLF program is a technology demonstrator named GOLF-TEE (Technology Evaluation Environment). The design is a 3U CubeSat with deployable solar panels, ADAC (attitude determination and control), Software Defined Radio (SDR) Transponder, and a Vanderbilt University Low Energy Proton (LEP) experiment. Now is the time to begin work on the GOLF-TEE Project. At the end of 2017, AMSAT has generous offers from two AMSAT Past Presidents for matching funds up to $15,000 for those that contribute to the GOLF-TEE campaign at: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=STK27W… (Shortened URL without linewrap: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-PayPal-GOLF-Donation ) between now and Feb- ruary 15th. Make your donation twice as valuable by taking advantage of this opportunity and contributing, and help AMSAT fund the launch of the next series of satellites of the GOLF program. There are also donate buttons for GOLF-TEE on the AMSAT website. Planning is for a launch in 2019. Donations of $100 and $1,000 or more will be eligible for a special AMSAT GOLF premium. (Both premiums are currently being designed, so please be patient awaiting delivery.) AMSAT is a 501-(c)-(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization of amateur radio operators whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to AMSAT to help under- write the development and launch expenses of our GOLF satellite program. Donors wishing to provide additional matching funds please contact Joe Spier, K6WAO at k6wao(a)amsat.org. (ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Rover Award Up and Running - Already Up to #7 Awarded On January 1, 2018, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards announced the Rover Award. This award is granted to stations who achieve a combined 25 points using any combination of the defined criteria posted at: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/ Bruce says the AMSAT Rover Award is up to #7 - Congrats to Jose, N7AGF, Rover Award #007. Points can be earned for each grid square activated outside of your home grid square using the FM, linear, and digital satellites. While FM contacts count for 1 point each multiplier points are available for contacts via the linear and digital satellites. Additional points are available for photographs, publicity, social media promotion, and AMSAT Journal articles. The options are numerous so please refer to the Rover Award Website for all of the details. Keep on roving! [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- D-Star ONE v.1.1 Phoenix Satellite Planned for Launch February 1 German Orbital Systems GmbH (GOS) and iSky Technology s.r.o. (iSky) have announced a revival of the D-Star ONE satellite project to replace their satellite lost as a result of a failed launch of the Roscosmos Meteor-M No.2-1 meteorological mission on November 28, 2017. GOS and iSky said their teams were actively working together during the Christmas and New Year holidays, and are now happy to announce that they we have completed the assembly and final checks of a replacement satellite named D-Star ONE v.1.1 Phoenix satellite. The project is Phoenix as symbol of the rebirth and revival of the project. The launch of D-Star ONE v.1.1 Phoenix plans to launch on a Soyuz-2/Fregat rocket for the launch from the Vostochny launch site on February 1, 2018. D-Star repeater & beacon frequencies: Uplink: 437.325MHz Downlink: 435.525MHz RF-Power: 800mW Additional information will be posted at: http://www.d-star.one/ -and- http://www.orbitalsystems.de/d-star-one-second-birth/?lang=en Spaceflightinsider.com published an article about successful final testing on D-Star ONE: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-316-Spaceflightinsider www.spaceflightinsider.com) [ANS thanks the D-Star ONE Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AO-91 QSO Two YLs Meet on the Air Jeff Johns, WE4B, tweeted about the satellite contact via AO-91 his daughter Marissa, W4AQT, completed with Alyssa and her dad Charlie Azofeifa, TI2CDA. Jeff said Alyssa had seen Marissa's QRZ page and it turns out they are both Harry Potter, Pete the Cat and Minecraft fans and she wanted to get Marissa's QSL card. Charlie and I looked for favorable passes and decided the 18:16z pass of AO-91 on 1/20/2018 would be our first attempt to have the girls make contact. Marissa and dad Jeff went outside with radios and our Arrow antenna and waited for AO-91 to crest the horizon. As soon as they could hear the bird, W4AQT started calling TI2CDA. After a few calls, there was Alyssa with Charlie serving as the control op. The girls had a very sweet, quick QSO. Jeff wrote, "Ham radio is supposed to be about learning and progressing the radio art but it's also about forming friendships, even if they are long distance friendships. I have no doubt that this will not be the last time that Marissa and Alyssa have a QSO and I am confident that Alyssa will soon get her own license as Marissa is almost ready to take her General exam. I was fortunate that my daughter became inter- ested in amateur radio when she would go outside with me and listen to me talking to other hams with my Arrow antenna pointed at the sky. Now that she's licensed, it's allowed us to have some great father and daughter time together, as well as, providing her some excellent STEM education." Jeff's post on the QRZ.com satellite forum and photos can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-AO91-YL-QSO [ANS thanks Jeff Johns, WE4B for the above information and congratulates Marissa, W4AQT on her satellite QSO] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Two More US Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections January 13, 2018 — The ARISS-US team (Amateur Radio on the Inte national Space Station) is pleased to announce that two more US schools or organizations have had their ARISS proposals selected for advancement to the next stage of planning for amateur radio contacts in 2018. These schools will take advantage of new scheduling opportunities to speak with International Space Station (ISS) crew members using the ARISS equipment. The selected schools submitted proposals before the proposal window closed last November and join the 13 schools and groups chosen a few weeks ago. The two extra scheduling opportunities are special events thanks to ARISS’s two major sponsors, the NASA Space Communications and Navigation group and the Center for the Advance- ment of Science in Space. The events that the schools’ students will travel to are aerospace conferences where their ARISS radio contacts will be a highlight open to conference attendees. The schools and venues are: + Quest for Space/Quest Institute for Quality Education in San Jose, California, whose ARISS contact will be featured at the ISS R&D Conference, July 23-26 in San Francisco, California + Burns Science & Technical Charter School in Oak Hill, Florida, whose ARISS contact will be featured at the S.P.A.C.E. Conference, July 11-13 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. ARISS’s primary goal is to engage young people in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities, and to involve them in activi- ties related to space exploration, amateur radio, communications, and areas of associated study and career possibilities. ABOUT ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a coop- erative venture of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, and other international space agencies and international amateur radio organizations around the world. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers from amateur radio clubs and coordination from the ARISS team, the ISS crew members speak directly with large group audiences in a variety of public forums such as school assemblies, science centers and museums, Scout camporees, jamborees and space camps, where students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technol- ogies and Amateur Radio. Find more information at www.ariss.org, www.amsat.organd www.arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS APRS Packet Currently Non-Operational ARISS NEWS RELEASE no. 18-02 January 26, 2018 David Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR An unidentified anomaly involving the radio serving the ARISS APRS Packet System on board the ISS has led to the system not functioning. A similar problem has occurred on other occasions and solutions that resolved the problem proved to be only temporary fixes. The system may return to service as it has in the past or it may have finally failed completely. ARISS sees the delivery of the interoperable radio system as the true solution to securing our ARISS packet operation. Current target period for delivery and installation of the replacement system is Fall 2018. In the meantime, ARISS continues to investigate the problem and seek opportunities to resolve the issue. The ARISS team knows many amateur radio operators really enjoy using the ARISS APRS packet system, and thanks everyone for understanding the issues involved with not having it available. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS School Contact First for Cyprus For the first time, students in Cyprus spoke live with an astronaut on the International Space Station orbiting the Earth on January 24. A video of this historic event can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/RJvDskycyj4?t=52m The English School has established significant partnerships with the Cyprus Amateur Radio Society and the Kition Planetarium & Observatory who have been assisting throughout the long preparation period, while Cyta, PM-ICT Solutions with Polycom and Delta Electronics will offer their specialised technical assistance. Also, Alpha Cyprus is the media sponsor for the event. The English School thanks them all on behalf of the student “adventurers” who are thrilled by this great opportunity! [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- PicSat Requests Amateur Radio Assistance to Capture/Upload Telemetry Cubesat PicSat was launched on the same PSLV-C40 flight from India that delivered AO-92 to orbit. PicSat is a nano-satellite aimed at observing the transit of the young exoplanet Beta Pictoris b in front of its bright and equally young star Beta Pictoris, and at demonstrating an innovative technological concept to use optical fibres for astronomical observations from Space. The cubesat contains an embedded FM transponder. It will be avail- able when possible during the mission. Frequency information: Uplink FM 145.910 MHz 1750 Hz tone when in amateur mode Downlink FM 435.525 MHz 9k6 BPSK AX25 Data and FM voice when in amateur mode (Despite the documentation, PicSat beacons so far have been 1k2 BPSK.) There is a 1k2 BPSK software modem in: http://uz7.ho.ua/modem_beta/other-versions.zip A report posted by K4KDR advises to receive using upper sideband with the audio output centered on the middle of the passband. A description of the telemetry and related information are available on https://picsat.obspm.fr/data/telemetries?locale=en. This week the PicSat team requested amateur radio assistance to capture and upload telemetry packets from the satellite. Beacons received from all over the world are especially useful to monitor the status of satellite along its orbit (and not just when it is above our own station). Science data are obviously useful for the science mission. And all other packets, even when they do not look like much, can be of great importance! For example, we often receive satellite acknowledgements to our commands from ground station in France or Europe which are listening at the same time as us. It may look useless, but it is not. We regularly miss those packets our- selves, so it is good to have other people receiving them and sending them to us. There are three ways to send your data. The options for your upload will become available on your profile tab after registration at their website: https://picsat.obspm.fr/connexion?locale=en. Full details of the packet uploading procedure are posted at: https://picsat.obspm.fr/contributing/send-packets?locale=en + Fast upload beacon: mainly intended as a way to directly upload a beacon by copy/paste when you receive, and to get an immediate overview of the satellite status. When you are a new user, this is also the only way you can upload a packet. Upload one beacon successfully, and you will have access to the other methods! This page accepts a hexadecimal string, like "0123456789ABCDEF" in which whitespaces and upper/lower case are ignored ("01 23 45 67 89 ab cd ef", or even something like "0 1 234 56789 aBc dEf" will be accepted). The hexadecimal string must represent the AX.25 packet (without flags), possibly KISS encapsulated (starting with "C0 00" and ending with "C0") + Upload data: this can be used to upload files containing multiple packets at once. The files are stored on our servers, and processed daily. + SiDS requests: This will be implemented in the near future. PicSat shares a similar orbit with AO-91 since they were both deployed at approximately the same time. PicSat has been included in the 2 line Keplerian Elements distributions. On-line orbit predications for PicSat can be found at: https://picsat.obspm.fr/operations/orbital-map?locale=en. PicSat news and information is presented in their on-line video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BadAt92qHdU [ANS thanks the PicSat Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AO-73 Operating Schedule Changes Announced The FUNcube Operations Team says that AO73 will shortly be entering full sun light. Already the eclipse periods are only 11/12 minutes every orbit.Current predictions indicate that full sun will commence on February 6 and last through until March 14. The FUNcube autonomous, on-board, scheduling system is based upons witching modes when entering and leaving eclipses, was not designed for this situation. The scheduling system will therefore not be suit able for operations over the next few months. In line with the recently published plan, AO73 was switched to continuous amateur mode earlier commencing Thursday morning and will stay in this mode until Sunday night or Monday morning. We expect that this schedule will continue until mid April. The next full sun periods are then expected to return again in late August. Further info is available at https://funcube.org.uk/news/ [ANS thanks Graham G3VZV and the FUNcube Operations Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Volunteer Opportunity - Openings for News Service Rotating Editor If you're open to volunteering to help AMSAT this is your chance! We have openings for a few volunteers willing to help as an AMSAT News Service editor. Our editors work on a rotating schedule with each taking turns as the current week's news editor. Using input received from members, the amateur radio community, officers, plus our other editors your job is to assemble the AMSAT News Service bulletin for your week. (Template is provided to help you format the message.) If you can help contact our Senior News Service Editor, Lee McLamb, KT4TZ via his e-mail: kt4tz(a)amsat.org (Ed. note: the need for at least one, hopefully many volunteer editors, is immediate. K9JKM will be retiring at the end of March with extensive travel plans, often out of reach of the internet.) [ANS thanks the AMSAT News Service for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Argentina LU1ESY-3 WSPR Balloon Flight Heading Out of Africa AMSAT-LU (Argentina) advises that as part of LUSAT's 28th aniversary celebrations, Ignacio, LU1ESY, launched a PicoBalloon on January 19 from Villa Gessell, Argentina. Floating at 12 KM height, it crossed the South Atlantic Ocean, left South Africa, and last reports show it some 500 km SSE from Madagascar, hopefully heading to Australia and New Zealand. It is transmitting as LU1ESY-3 on 14075.6 KHz WSPR, 25 mW, 25 gram payload using a WB8ELK tracker. As of January 27, LU7AA reports that the balloon has completed one orbit around the world. The APRS track can be followed on aprs.fi: https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FLU1ESY-3&timerange=604800&tail=604800 and also at http://lu7aa.org/wspr.asp Pictures on http://amsat.org.ar/globo09.htm and http://amsat.org.ar Thanks to hams in Antartica, South Africa and Namibia for their WSPR captures & upload to http://wsprnet.org . [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- OR4ESA Redu Ground Station Belgium on the Air Until February 6 Javier Roldan, EA1HEO, will be activating OR4ESA from the ESA Redu Ground Station in Belgium from the 16th of January until the 6th of February 2018. He is taking advantage of a visit to the site during refurbishment of the 15m dish S-Band antenna. OR4ESA is the temporary special callsign for the activation at the European Space Agency (ESA) - Redu Site and Satellite Tracking Station in Redu, Belgium. (Grid locator: JO20na) Javier will try to be on the air daily (Monday to Friday) in the evening after work approximately 18:00 - 21:00 UTC both in SSB and in digital modes. Digital modes will be mainly PSK31 and RTTY as QRP. The contacts are valid for the ESA Amateur Radio Award (2 points per first QSO per mode and band). All the QSOs will be uploaded to LoTW, eQSL, Clublog, HRDLog and QRZ.com. He prefers electronic QSLs as they are faster, cheaper, easier to archive and they are more friendly to the environment. Paper QSLs should be sent via bureau or direct to DL0ESA. Please include SASE and $1 USD Europe, $2 USD outside Europe. Paper QSLs will only be sent in reply to the ones received. All details of the activation can be found in www.qrz.com/db/OR4ESA [ANS thanks Javier Roldan, EA1HEO and OR4ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ESA Announces Winners Cubesat to the Moon Competition The European Space Agency has announced two cubesat project teams as winners of a competition to send cubesats to the moon. + The Lunar Meteoroid Impact Orbiter, or Lumio for short, would circle over the far side of the Moon to detect bright impact flashes during the lunar night, mapping meteoroid bombardments as they occur. + The other, the Lunar Volatile and Mineralogy Mapping Orbiter, or VMMO, would focus on a permanently shadowed crater near the lunar south pole, searching out deposits of water ice and other volatiles of interest to future colonists, while also measuring lunar radiation. The impact-tracking Lumio is a single 12-unit CubeSat, conceived by a consortium including Politecnico di Milano; TU Delft, EPFL, S[&]T Norway, Leonardo-Finnmeccanica and the University of Arizona. VMMO, developed by MPB Communications Inc, Surrey Space Centre, Univer- sity of Winnipeg and Lens R&D, also adopts a 12-unit CubeSat design. Its miniaturised laser would probe its primary target of Shackleton Crater, adjacent to the South Pole, for measuring the abundance of water ice. The region inside the crater is in permanent darkness, allowing water molecules to condense and freeze there in the very cold conditions. No amateur radio content has been announced for these missions. The ESA said the idea behind our lunar CubeSat competition was challenging - up until now CubeSats have operated solely within Earth orbit. However, opportunities should open up to piggyback to the Moon in the coming decade, with circumlunar flights of the NASA-ESA Orion spacecraft and planned commercial flights. The ESA announcement can be accessed on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-ESA-CubesatMoon (www.esa.int) [ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + On Jan. 31, the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse will be visible before sunrise in North America, Alaska and Hawaii. http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-LunarEclipse (space.com) + Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, posted the January 19 video Phase 4 Ground Weekly Status report at: Part 1 - https://youtu.be/eD5P4tHIb9w Part 2 - https://youtu.be/gY0IQsppSI4 Her reports cover the IEEE Radio and Wireless Week, held in Anaheim, California from 14 - 17 January 2017. RWW is an annual technical conference from IEEE, and is sponsored primarily by Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. It consists of five different co-located topical conferences. One of those conferences was the Topical Work- shop on The Internet of Space or TWIoS, with two sessions. There was also a CubeSat workshop! + The Humanity Star was carried to orbit on-board the Rocket Lab launch from New Zealand. Their website advises, "Visible from space with the naked eye, the Humanity Star is a highly reflective satellite that blinks brightly across the night sky to create a shared experience for everyone on the planet. Created by Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck, the Humanity Star is a geodesic sphere made from carbon fibre with 65 highly reflective panels. It spins rapidly, reflecting the sun’s rays back to Earth, creating a flashing light that can be seen against a backdrop of stars." More information and a tracking map (showing when it is visible and when it is in eclipse) is posted on the project's website: http://www.thehumanitystar.com/ + Watch this video as KD2AVU worked KC8QDQ in EM89 on FO29. He doesn't have elevation rotor so best chance for him to work the bird is when it's on the low angle. Antenna: 2m beam (TX) homebrew DK7ZB 5 element 70cm beam (RX) stacked homebrew 10 element. Transceiver: Yaesu FT-847 TX power: 25W. Both antennas are in the attic! Watch on-line at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifpZMkACNNw + A frequently asked question during these good times of new satellite launches involves how to update the Keplerian Elements as orbits are identified or new satellites are launched. AMSAT-UK has a nice resource, "Adding new satellites to #SatPC32, Gpredict and Nova", see: https://amsat-uk.org/2013/11/23/adding-new-satellites-to-satpc32/ + On January 18, Thursday night at 9 pm Eastern time, Jerry Buxton, N0JY the vice president for engineering at AMSAT was interview on the HamTalkLive webcast to talk about the process of building amateur radio satellites, and the latest on the newest bird, Fox-1D. You can listen on demand 24/7/365.25 at: https://www.spreaker.com/show/ham-talk-live - select episode #98. + Enjoy the satellite presentation by Doug Tabor, N6UA, during his talk at the 2018 Winter Hamfest hosted by Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJoh7g8BWok&feature=youtu.be + Are any of you interested in pursuing a PhD-degree, within space radio systems (software defined radio) or integrated operations involving small satellites and other autonomous vehicles? We are seeking two new PhD-candidates to join our small satellite team, at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. Full text and how to apply: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-UnivNorwaySmallSat More information about our team and on-going missions can be found here: https://www.ntnu.edu/ie/smallsat (via cubesat e-mail list) + Rocket Lab conducted its second Electron launch on January 21 placing three cubesats into orbit. The launch occurred from the remote Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Mission control is located in Auckland, New Zealand. On board was a Planetlab cubesat named Dove Pioneer which will conduct Earth resource imaging and two Lemur-2 cubesats for Spire which will be used for weather and ship tracking. Full report and video posted at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-RocketLabsLaunch + NASA released this new video on January 11, 2018, which was created by astronomers and visualization specialists from its Universe of Learning program. These experts have combined visible and infrared images from the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes to create a three-dimensional, fly-through view of the Orion Nebula, a fuzzy patch in your sky tonight, really a place where new stars are forming: http://earthsky.org/space/video-visualization-3d-orion-nebula-nasa --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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 and Happy New Year, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM k9jkm at amsat dot org

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ANS-021 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 20 Jan '18

20 Jan '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-021 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: * Dr. Junior Torres de Castro, PY2BJO SK * AMSAT Membership Deal and Getting Started * Upcoming club satellite presentations (and hopefully demos...) * Zhou Enlai Student Satellite to Launch * AO-92 camera results * N8RO Logs 488th US Grid - Earns Grid Master Award #8 * Updates to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for 1-16-2018 * Fox-1 MPPT Developers Interviewed on HamRadio360 Podcast * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-021.01 ANS-021 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 021.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 21, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-021.01 Dr. Junior Torres de Castro, PY2BJO SK It is with great sadness that the Directors and Officers of AMSAT- North America announce the passing of Dr. Junior Torres de Castro, PY2BJO. According to his son, Allan Kardec, Junior passed away on January 17, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A very active radio amateur, Junior was a great collaborator of LABRE (The League of Brazilian Amateur Radio Transmitters) serving for a time as its President. He was also a founder of BRAMSAT, the Brazilian AMSAT group as well as an active member of the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors during the early 1990s. But, perhaps what Junior will be best remembered for among the rest of the world's amateurs was his work with AMSAT-NA in helping to build (and financially underwrite) Brazil's very first amateur radio satellite. Called "DOVE short for "Digital Orbiting Voice Encoder", the satellite was successfully launched on January 22, 1990 on an Ariane 4 rocket from the European Space Agency's Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. Besides the main payload, that launch also included three other AMSAT MicroSats along with two larger UOSats. Surrey Satellite Technology in England built the two larger satellites. Junior's vision for his DOVE satellite was to provide a strong 2m, audio FM downlink signal ("This is DOVE in Space") that could be easily received by educational institutions around the world. Downlink telemetry was via 1200 Baud AFSK, AX.25 packet radio, a data format that was easily decoded with receivers and TNCs that were very popular among radio amateurs at the time. When told of Junior's passing, Jan King, W3GEY, a founding AMSAT Director and AMSAT's Vice President of Engineering during the MicroSat project said that, "I'm very sorry to hear about Junior. He certainly made the 4 MicroSat mission happen. He was a very important part of AMSAT and a fond memory for me." Likewise, Former AMSAT-NA BOD member Bob McGwier, N4HY, noted that, "This is a sad day. Junior was a great guy, full of life, and he loved AMSAT. It was a pleasure for me to help build his MicroSat for him. When I became an AMSAT employee for getting these spacecraft done, Junior paid the bills." Another MicroSat Project team member, Jim White, WD0E, noted that, "This is indeed sad news. It was a pleasure to work with him on DOVE. He was a very warm and generous person and not only conceived of and funded DOVE, but also a receiver for the 60-foot radio dish that the Table Mountain the Deep Space Exploration Society was refurbishing. He was always tinkering and building things at his house near Sao Paulo. He even dreamed of building a round swimming pool that, when drained, would double as a radio astronomy dish! During the time his DOVE satellite was sending "This is DOVE in space" audio from orbit we received nearly 200 SWL cards from around the world, all of which we shared with him. Needless to say, he was absolutely delighted." At ANS deadline, funeral arrangements for Junior were still pending. But word was received that his funeral and interment was to be in at the Gethsemane Cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil. [ANS thanks Keith KB1SF/VA3KSF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Membership Deal and Getting Started Just a few reminders for all the new folks joining us: AMSAT membership supports the organization and construction of new satellites. Right now, we are offering a free PDF copy of our Getting Started with Amateur Satellites with every new on-line membership. This is -the- primer for getting on the sats, and is updated every year. See https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ AMSAT also sells both the popular Arrow Antenna satellite models and the M2 LEOpack antennas. Sales also benefit AMSAT projects. https://www.amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming club satellite presentations (and hopefully demos...) Philip N4HF announces a couple of presentations he'll be doing. 1) Blue Ridge ARC (Henderson County NC), Tuesday March 6, 7pm. http://radioclub.org/ (this club has also started streaming club meetings via TeamViewer; the demo, if it happens, will be outside though) 2) Haywood County ARC (NC), Thursday April 12, 7 pm. http://kw4p.org/ (Meeting place is incorrect on the website, but hopefully that will be updated in the next few days) Philip states he will be at one hamfest under the AMSAT banner, and possibly two, in the next couple of months. He will be announcing those when the info is finalized. [ANS thanks Philip N4HF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Zhou Enlai Student Satellite to Launch The 2U CubeSat Zhou Enlai, developed with primary and middle school students, is expected to launch on Friday, January 19, 2018 The satellite is named after the first Premier of the PRC. Zhou Enlai held office from October 1949 until January 1976. A report on Xinhua Net says: The satellite was sent from its production base in Huai'an Youth Comprehensive Development Base in east China's Jiangsu Province to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province Monday, where a CZ-11 solid fuel rocket is scheduled to put it into orbit Friday. Twenty teenagers who participated in the development project accompanied the transport group to the launch center and will witness the lift-off. Zhang Xiang, chief designer of the satellite, said that the nano- satellite, weighing 2 kilograms, is set to run in sun-synchronous orbit. Equipped with a HD optical camera, it can capture space photos with the highest resolution among those shot by other Chinese satellites for scientific education purpose. Zhang said that the students had taken their spare time to join the development and groundbased simulation performance of the satellite, and had learnt to assemble and practice voice data transfer and telecommunication applications. "A scientific satellite like this is like a teacher in space, carrying cameras or spectroscopes to study the upper atmosphere or to shoot space pictures of the stars. Students can grasp the mystery of the universe through the messages transmitted by the teacher," said Zhang, a professor with Nanjing University of Science and Engineering. Read the full story at http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/17/c_136902466.htm The IARU satellite pages list a 2U CubeSat called HA-1 with FM transponder and SSTV developed by the Teenagers Amateur Radio Center of Activity in Huai'an. Zhou Enlai may well be the new name for this satellite. http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=589 [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AO-92 camera results For those that have not been following AMSAT on Twitter or Facebook, we have done a few camera runs with AO-92 with very good results. A pass this morning yielded 4 good images, two of which I have located their position on the ground. The images can be seen at: http://www.amsat.org/tlm/fox1d/images/index1.html Some side by side comparisons with Google Earth and NOAA images can be found at: https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/953294176933896195 and https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/953304248162406401 . Congratulations again to Virginia Tech, and thanks for providing the camera experiments for AO-92 and Fox-1Cliff! [ANS thanks Drew KO4MA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- N8RO Logs 488th US Grid - Earns Grid Master Award #8 Congratulations to Ron Oldham, N8RO, to log his last grid needed to have worked via satellite all 488 grids in the Lower 48 United States. Ron's message on the amsat-bb reads, "On Sunday [January 14] I was able to log the last grid I needed to complete the 488 US grids. I would like to publicly thank Doug, N6UA, for going out of his way to help me get DN23 in my log. Without the efforts of many portable satellite operators like Doug it would not be possible to achieve this accomplishment. Many thanks to all of the operators that helped me throughout the years." Ron also noted the Top 10 portable satellite operators who's efforts have provided opportunities for contacts including: ND9M - 332 K8YSE - 273 AC0RA - 234 W5PFG - 205 WC7V - 126 WD9EWK - 117 KA6SIP - 108 NJ7H - 89 A5CK - 710 KB5WIA - 610 KB0RZD - 6 On January 17 Damon, WA4HFN announced, "Congrats to Ron,N8RO for earning Grid Master Award #8". The Grid Master Award is given for confirmed satellite contacts with all 488 U.S. Grids." These awards are available at no cost but Damon requests that you make a donation to AMSAT-NA. For more information visit the web site: http://www.squirtthebirds.com [ANS thanks Ron, N8RO via the amsat-bb, and Damon, WA4HFN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Updates to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for 1-16-2018 Here is the current tracking status for AO-92 and PICSAT. Updates to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, by detailed doppler measurements has confirmed the identity of the AO-92 and PICSAT from the 1-12-2018 0358 GMT India PSLV-C40 launch. They have been added to the AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: PICSAT - NORAD CAT ID 43131 AO-92 - NORAD CAT ID 43137 The following objects have been dropped from the AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: OBJECT A - NORAD CAT ID 43111 OBJECT B - NORAD CAT ID 43112 OBJECT C - NORAD CAT ID 43113 OBJECT D - NORAD CAT ID 43114 OBJECT E - NORAD CAT ID 43115 OBJECT F - NORAD CAT ID 43116 OBJECT T - NORAD CAT ID 43128 OBJECT U - NORAD CAT ID 43129 99934 - NORAD CAT ID 99934 Please modify your tracking program as required. To receive AMSAT's Keplerian Element updates directly to your e-mail box subscribe at: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/keps [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1 MPPT Developers Interviewed on HamRadio360 Podcast Cale, K4CDN, interviewed the Salmi brothers, Brent, KB1LQD, and Bryce, KB1LQC, on the HamRadio360 podcast. Brent and Bryce are the developers of the Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) used in the Fox-1B, Fox-1Cliff, and Fox-1D cubesats. The MPPT is the controlling interface between the solar panel with the electrical system of the Fox-1 satellites in such a way that the conditions for maximum power are always met when needed. Cale, Brent and Bryce also discuss their Open Source Digital Radio company, Faraday RF. Listen to the HamRadio360 podcast at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-HamRadio360-Podcast [ANS thanks Cale, K4CDN, and HamRadio360 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Higher National School of Computer Science and Systems Analysis (ENSIAS), Rabat, Morocco and Astronaut Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2018-01-03 13:52 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via VK5ZAI]. ARISS Mentor was Eskil SM5SRR. + A Successful contact was made between Prva srednja informaticka škola, Zagreb, Croatia] and Astronaut Scott Tingle KG5NZA using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2018-01-18 08:46 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via VK6MJ. ARISS Mentor was Marco 9A8MM. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-01-20 01:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Naka Junior High School, Kakamigahara City, Japan, direct via 8J25D The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Mon 2018-01-22 10:23:21 UTC Contact is direct with 8J25D and should be audible over Japan and adjacent areas. The English School, Nicosia, Cyprus, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-01-24 10:35:45 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + MONTSERRAT, VP2M. Daniel, KD9HNL is QRV as VP2MDH until January 29. Activity is on various FM satellites. QSL via LoTW. [ANS thanks ARRL DX news for the above information] + AMSAT-NA President Joe Spier K6WAO Interviewed in February QST Read Steve Ford's WB8IMY interview of AMSAT-NA President Joe Spier K6WAO in Frebrauary's QST. The interview which, appears on page 69 of the issue, covers Joe's amateur radiocCareer, his vision for the future of AMSAT-NA and amateur satelites in general, challenges on the horizon, prospect of HEOs and geostationary amateur satellites. [ANS thanks QST for the above information] + More background on the satellites aboard the PSLV-C40 flight: https://amsat-uk.org/2018/01/13/ham-radio-cubesat-launch-success/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] + NASA Social Media event https://www.nasa.gov/social/state-of-nasa-social-2018 [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] + Jerry Buxton N0JY VP Enginneering On HamTalkLive On January 18, Thursday night at 9 pm Eastern time, Jerry Buxton, N0JY the vice president for engineering at AMSAT was interview on the HamTalkLive webcast to talk about the process of building amateur radio satellites, and the latest on the newest bird, Fox 1D which just arrived in space last week! If you miss the show live, you can listen on demand 24/7/365.25 at: https://www.spreaker.com/show/ham-talk-live - select episode #98. or https://tinyurl.com/ANS021-HamTalkLive [ANS thanks HamTalkLive.com for the above information]) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org

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ANS-014 AMSAT Weekly News Service Bulletins
by Chris Bradley 14 Jan '18

14 Jan '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-014.01 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: * Z-Sat Frequency Coordination Submitted to IARU * Handy Fox 1D Links * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-01-12 * Nova Maker Faire * AMSAT North America has issued a statement formally designating Fox-1D as AO-92 * AMSAT Office Closed Monday January 15 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-014.01 ANS-014.01 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 309.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. November 5, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-014.01 Z-Sat Frequency Coordination Submitted to IARU AMSAT-UK reported that the IARU has received a frequency coordination request from the Komaki Amateur Radio SATCOM Club in Japan for Z-Sat 50kg microsat with two missions: (1) Mission: BBS service Exchanging messages between amateurs all over the world in amateur service. Any amateur can use the space station like a BBS by uploading and downloading messages. The specific steps includes: An amateur radio station transmits messages to the space station for indiv- idual/public and these messages are stored in the space station. Another amateur radio station transmits a specific message to the space station and the space station transmits a reply message whether any message to him exists or not. If exists, the amateur radio station can receive the message by transmitting a specific message to the space station. Frequency band: - UPLINK : 435-438 MHz DOWNLINK : 145-146 MHz (Note: The usage of the BBS is shown in the following URL. same as ChubuSat-2 except frequencies https://www.frontier.phys.nagoya- u.ac.jp/en/chubusat/chubusat_satellite2.html (2) Mission: The Earth observation Imaging particular site with the infrared camera. Frequency band: - UPLINK : S-band - DOWNLINK : S-band No launch defined but planning a sun synchronous LEO. http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=580 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Handy Fox 1D Links Fox-1D Launch Live Blog https://www.amsat.org/fox-1d-launch-live-blog/ Fox Telemetry Leaderboard (With links to FoxTelem) http://www.amsat.org/tlm/ AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page (Report Fox-1D reception here) http://amsat.org/status/ Getting Ready for Fox-1D PDF https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Getting- Ready-for-Fox-1D.pdf Updates will be found on AMSAT's Twitter account (@AMSAT). Note that you do not need to be a Twitter user to view AMSAT's tweets. https://twitter.com/AMSAT The latest Keps can be found in AMSAT's Keps distribution. Any tracking software using the AMSAT Keps distribution should identify new object "99934" after refreshing your Keps. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasabare.txt [ANS would like to thank Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-01-12 Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Prva srednja informaticka škola, Zagreb, Croatia, telebridge via VK6MJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Scott Tingle KG5NZA Contact is a go for: Thu 2018-01-18 08:46:52 UTC 34 deg 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. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 127 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 100 The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2018-01-12 00:00 UTC. (***) 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 http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1201. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1150. 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 Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS The successful school list has been updated as of 2018-01-04 09:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_cor rection .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 Exp. 53 on orbit Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Alexander Misurkin Joe Acaba KE5DAR Exp. 54 on orbit Scott Tingle KG5NZA Norishige Kanai Alexander Skvortsov [ANS would like to thank Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nova Maker Faire is coming up March 18th. This year, the venue will be the GMU campus. Attendance last year was over 4000. Last year's AMSAT presence at the faire was a big hit. I hope you guys can exhibit again. The organizers would like a placeholder application filled in by Jan 14. Let me know if you need help with registering. https://nova.makerfaire.com/cfm/ [ANS would like to thank AMSAT.org Office (Martha) for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1D was successfully launched at 03:59 UTC on the PSLV-C40 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. UA9UIZ received and uploaded the first telemetry to AMSAT servers at 05:28 UTC. Initial telemetry values appear nominal. The first set of post-launch Keplerian elements are reproduced below: Fox-1D 1 99934U 1801D 18012.18036412 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 15 2 99934 97.6514 74.0671 0008545 308.1824 275.3575 15.22876478 16 [ANS would like to thank Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT North America has issued a statement formally designating Fox-1D as AO-92: Fox-1D, a 1U CubeSat, is the third of AMSAT's five Fox-1 CubeSats to reach orbit, being preceded by AO-85 (Fox-1A) and AO-91 (RadFxSat/ Fox-1B). Fox-1D carries the Fox-1 U/v FM transponder, with an uplink of 435.350 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink of 145.880 MHz. In addi- tion, Fox-1D carries several university experiments, including a MEMS gyro from Pennsylvania State University-Erie, a camera from Virginia Tech, and the University of Iowa's HERCI (High Energy Radiation Cube- Sat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment. Fox-1D also carries the AMSAT L-Band Downshifter experiment which enables the FM trans- ponder to be switched to utilize an uplink of 1267.350 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS). Fox-1D was sent aloft as a secondary payload on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s PSLV-XL rocket as part of the PSLV-C40 mission. Fox-1D was one of thirty-one satellites successfully deploy- ed on this launch. Since Fox-1D has met all of the qualifications necessary to receive an OSCAR number, I, by the authority vested in me by the AMSAT President, do hereby confer on this satellite the designation AMSAT-OSCAR 92 or AO-92. I join amateur radio operators in the U.S. and around the world in wishing AO-92 a long and successful life in both its amateur and scientific missions. I, along with the rest of the amateur community, congratulate all of the volunteers who worked so diligently to construct, test and prepare for launch the newest amateur radio satellite. William A. (Bill) Tynan, W3XO AMSAT-NA OSCAR Number Administrator [ANS would like to thank JoAnne, K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Office Closed Monday January 15 The AMSAT Office will be closed on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day. [ANS would like to thank AMSAT.ORG (Martha) for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + ARRL is picking up on Fox-1D news. http://www.arrl.org/news/view/fox-1d-satellite-set-to-launch-this- week-china-to-launch-five-new-cubesats [ANS Joanne K9JKM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- + AMSAT's next Fox-1 satellite, Fox-1D, is scheduled for launch on January 12, 2018 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. Fox-1D will launch as part of the PSLV-C40 mission on board a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle with Cartosat, an imaging satellite for the Indian government, and 30 other payloads." [ANS Jerry Buxton, N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- + KK5DO reports we just issued Rover Award #005 to KG5GJT. Congrats and keep on roving. Find details of the AMSAT Rover Award at: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/ [ANS Joanne K9JKM, 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, Chris Bradley, AA5EM aa5em at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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ANS-007 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne K9JKM 06 Jan '18

06 Jan '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-007 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. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * GOLF-TEE $15,000 Matching Funds President’s Challenge * Launch Watch - India's ISRO PSLV-C40 Mission With Fox-1D Aboard * Your Telemetry Data is Needed to Assist With Fox-1D Commissioning * French PicSat With V/U FM Transponder Also Aboard PSLV-C40 Launch * AMSAT Announces the Rover Award * AMSAT Second Annual CW Activity Day Wrap Up * AMSAT-UK Reporting on a Chinese Launch With Five 6U Cubesats * Volunteer Opportunity - Openings for News Service Rotating Editor * AMSAT South Africa and SARL Hosting January 20 SDR Workshop * New Grid Master Awarded * NASA on the Air Events to Highlight Key Space Milestones * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-007.01 ANS-007 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 007.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 7, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-007.01 GOLF-TEE $15,000 Matching Funds President’s Challenge In October 2017 AMSAT announced the GOLF (Greater Orbit, Larger Foot- print) program. The first project of the GOLF program is a technology demonstrator named GOLF-TEE (Technology Evaluation Environment). The design is a 3U CubeSat with deployable solar panels, ADAC (attitude determination and control), Software Defined Radio (SDR) Transponder, and a Vanderbilt University Low Energy Proton (LEP) experiment. Now is the time to begin work on the GOLF-TEE Project. At the end of 2017, AMSAT has generous offers from two AMSAT Past Presidents for matching funds up to $15,000 for those that contribute to the GOLF-TEE campaign at: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=STK27W… (Shortened URL without linewrap: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-007-PayPal-GOLF-Donation ) between now and Feb- ruary 15th. Make your donation twice as valuable by taking advantage of this opportunity and contributing, and help AMSAT fund the launch of the next series of satellites of the GOLF program. There are also donate buttons for GOLF-TEE on the AMSAT website. Planning is for a launch in 2019. Donations of $100 and $1,000 or more will be eligible for a special AMSAT GOLF premium. (Both premiums are currently being designed, so please be patient awaiting delivery.) AMSAT is a 501-(c)-(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization of amateur radio operators whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to AMSAT to help under- write the development and launch expenses of our GOLF satellite program. Donors wishing to provide additional matching funds please contact Joe Spier, K6WAO at k6wao(a)amsat.org. (ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Launch Watch - India's ISRO PSLV-C40 Mission With Fox-1D Aboard The PSLV-C40 flight from India has been rescheduled from December 30 to January 10 seems to have settled on a firmer schedule. According to the Launch Schedule posted by SpaceflightNow.com current planning indicates (at ANS press time): January, 11/12, 2018 PSLV • Cartosat 2F & NovaSAR-S Launch time: 0358 GMT on 12th (10:58 p.m. EST on 11th) Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, flying on the PSLV-C40 mission, will launch India’s Cartosat 2ER high-resolution Earth observation satellite and the NovaSAR-S radar remote sensing satellite for Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. of the United Kingdom. A collection of approximately 30 smaller secondary payloads from Indian and inter- national companies and institutions will also be on the launch. AMSAT Fox-1D will be aboard this flight. Additional information can be followed for launch updates at: https://spaceflight101.com/events/pslv-c40-cartosat-2er/ http://tinyurl.com/ANS-007-SpaceFlight-PSLVC40 http://tinyurl.com/ANS-007-SpaceDaily-PSLV [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Telemetry Data is Needed to Assist With Fox-1D Commissioning AMSAT will release Keplerian elements for Fox-1D as soon as the data becomes available via the AMSAT Web Site. Participation in telemetry collection by as many stations in as many parts of the world as possible is essential as AMSAT Engineering looks for successful startup and indications of the general health and function of the satellite as it begins to acclimate to space. If you are capturing telemetry with FoxTelem please be sure that "Upload to Server" is checked in your settings, and that your "Ground Station Params" are filled in as well. You can help AMSAT and everyone waiting to get on the air with Fox-1D tremendously by capturing the telemetry. If AMSAT Engineering is seeing nominal values from the telemetry you gather, the satellite will be commanded from Beacon Mode to Safe Mode on the first good pass over the United States. In Safe Mode, the satellite transmits a full two frames of telemetry (one Current frame followed by, and alternating each ID cycle, a High or a Low frame). Veronica now has time to make the whole ID announcement in Safe Mode. The on-orbit checkout procedure for Fox-1D is similar to Fox-1A/AO-85 and RadFxSat. It could be completed in as little as a few days if users cooperate. It is very important, and good amateur operating practice, to refrain from using the transponder uplink so the on-orbit tests can be performed, including when the satellite is switched into Transponder Mode for testing. AMSAT will make it broadly known when the tests are complete and the transponder is available for all to use. If you hear someone on the transponder, please do not assume that it is open for general use - check AMSAT's website, Facebook, and Twitter before transmitting to be sure you do not interfere with testing. AMSAT asks all satellite operators to contribute just a little bit of your time by gathering telemetry, not using the transponder uplink, to help complete the last few days of getting RadFxSat operating for the amateur radio community. Lots of hams put thousands of volunteer hours of their time into making RadFxSat happen. Just like any ham radio project you might undertake, AMSAT builds satellites. AMSAT volunteers do it because they like to, and when they are done, AMSAT freely shares their project with hams everywhere as is the spirit of amateur radio. Thank you very much and see you on the bird! In addition to the Fox-1 U/v FM transponder, Fox-1D contains a number of exciting experiments, including a camera built by stu- dents at Virginia Tech, the University of Iowa's HERCI (High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument), and AMSAT's L-Band Downshifter which will give amateur radio operators an opportunity to experiment with a different uplink band. Stay tuned for more information about the launch and early operations of the satellite. RADIO PROGRAMMING CHART Fox-1D Doppler Shift Correction Memory 1 (AOS) - TX 435.340 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 2 (Rise) - TX 435.345 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 3 (TCA) - TX 435.350 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 4 (Descend) - TX 435.355 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz Memory 5 (LOS) - TX 435.360 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), RX 145.880 MHz The L-band experiment will use 1267.350 MHz uplink with 145.880 MHz downlink. Frequencies are subject to change post-launch. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- French PicSat With V/U FM Transponder Also Aboard PSLV-C40 Launch Cubesat PicSat is currently in India waiting for launch in January. PicSat is a nano-satellite aimed at observing the transit of the young exoplanet Beta Pictoris b in front of its bright and equally young star Beta Pictoris, and at demonstrating an innovative tech- nological concept to use optical fibres for astronomical observa- tions from Space. The cubesat contains an embedded FM transponder. It will be avail- able when possible during the mission. Description of telemetry and related information are available on https://picsat.obspm.fr/data/telemetries?locale=en. Frequency information: Uplink FM 145.910 MHz Downlink FM 435.525 MHz Short videos on project is available on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbVE3QEJO74NbJ-tHtThHpg The project team has set up a dedicated web site with lot of information including for hamradio: https://picsat.obspm.fr/ [ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, AMSAT-F President for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Announces the Rover Award On January 1, 2018, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards announced the Rover Award. This award is granted to stations who achieve a combined 25 points using any combination of the defined criteria posted at: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/ Points can be earned for each grid square activated outside of your home grid square using the FM, linear, and digital satellites. While FM contacts count for 1 point each multiplier points are available for contacts via the linear and digital satellites. Additional points are available for photographs, publicity, social media promotion, and AMSAT Journal articles. The options are numerous so please refer to the Rover Award Website for all of the details. Bruce is also asking for your help to design a certificate that helps show what a rover is. He would like some photos of a rover station, rover antennas, anything that would be really neat on the certificate. Now that everyone knows what the award is and has had a bit of time to look it over, we need your help. I would like to design a certificate that helps show what a rover is. Therefore, I would like some photos of a rover station, rover antennas, anything that would be really neat on the certificate. (the photos cannot show anyone's callsign, cannot show anyone in the picture that makes them identifiable.) Send your photos to bruce via kk5do(a)amsat.org Bruce will take submissions for until January 19. After this date he will post the pictures on the AMSAT website for members to choose the two, three, or four pictures and after the two weeks, we will place the pix on the AMSAT website and let the AMSAT members choose the two, three or four pictures that they think reflect the best of roving. [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Second Annual CW Activity Day Wrap Up Ray, W2RS, wrote, "Many thanks to all who participated in AMSAT's second annual CW Activity Day on OSCAR, held in memory of Pat Gowen, G3IOR. We didn't ask for logs to be submitted, so we obviously have no figures, but activity seemed up significantly from last year. I worked two all-time new stations (new for me, that is) on FO-29, as well as some old friends. CU on CW in 2018, and of course in AMSAT's third annual CW Activity Day, same time next year." [ANS thanks Ray, W2RS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-UK Reporting on a Chinese Launch With Five 6U Cubesats A launch from China's Jiuquan Space Center on a CZ-11 on January 17 will fly Hunan Amateur Radio Society's constellation of five similar 6U CubeSat spacecraft intended to: 1.Carry out synchronous ionospheric transmission detection experiments based on multi-satellite and multi-band with the same GPS time base. 2.Carry out amateur HF/VHF/UHF re-transmitting experiments in any narrow-band mode. 3.Carry out communications experiments between inter-satellite amateur loads, LIFI high-speed digital downlink and CW lamp signal communication experiments. 4. Planned downlinks on 437.5 MHz using 9k6 GMSK and on 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz using 5Mbps OFDM. The IARU says these frequencies have been coordinated: Cubesat Uplink/Downlink ------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- TY2 435.350 MHz / 2403.000 MHz / 5833.000 MHz down / 5653.000 MHz up TY3 435.875 MHz / 2406.000 MHz / 5836.000 MHz down / 5656.000 MHz up TY4 435.925 MHz / 2409.000 MHz / 5839.000 MHz down / 5659.000 MHz up TY5 436.025 MHz / 2412.000 MHz / 5842.000 MHz down / 5665.000 MHz up TY6 436.100 MHz / 2415.000 MHz / 5845.000 MHz down / 5667.000 MHz up Additional information can be found at: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=556 https://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/Changsha-Tianyi/TY-2-3-4-5.html [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Volunteer Opportunity - Openings for News Service Rotating Editor If you're open to volunteering to help AMSAT this is your chance! We have openings for a few volunteers willing to help as an AMSAT News Service editor. Our editors work on a rotating schedule with each taking turns as the current week's news editor. Using input received from members, the amateur radio community, officers, plus our other editors your job is to assemble the AMSAT News Service bulletin for your week. (Template is provided to help you format the message.) If you can help contact our Senior News Service Editor, Lee McLamb, KT4TZ via his e-mail: kt4tz(a)amsat.org [ANS thanks the AMSAT News Service for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT South Africa and SARL Hosting January 20 SDR Workshop SARL and AMSAT SA will be holding another SDR workshop at the National Amateur Radio Centre from 09:00 - 13:00 CAT on Saturday 20 January 2018. The objective of the workshop is to review the application of SDR dongles and the various software packages made available at pre- vious workshops. Anton Janovsky ZR6AIC will be on hand to assist with any technical difficulties. There will be a discussion of the HF Noise monitoring system and the setting up of a server to store the data. AMSAT SA will present a brief update on Kletskous. The cost of the workshop is R50 for SARL and AMSAT SA members and R100 for non-members. Light refreshments will be served. For details and registration visit www.amsatsa.org.za [ANS thanks SARL weekly news in English 2018-1-6 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Grid Master Awarded Rick, WA4NVM and Damon, WA4HFN have teamed up to promote the use of amateur satellites and support AMSAT North America with a series of awards for satellite operators. On January 1 Damon announced, "Congrats to Fernando, NP4JV for earning Grid Master Award #7". The Grid Master Award is given for confirmed satellite contacts with all 488 U.S. Grids. Previous Grid Master award winners include: #1 John K8YSE 5/16/2014 #2 Doug KD8CAO 12/15/2014 #3 Rick WA4NVM 4/26/2015 #4 Glenn AA5PK 8/22/2017 #5 Clayton W5PFG 9/14/2017 #6 Al XE2AT 11/03/2017 In addition to the Grid Master award Rick and Damon also sponsor these satellite operating awards: + Got Grids Award - for 1 satellite contact in each of the 10 maiden head grids blocks in the US + 5 in EM55 Award - for 5 satellite contacts with operators in EM55 + These awards are available at no cost but Rick and Damon request you make a donation to AMSAT-NA. For more information visit their web site: http://www.squirtthebirds.com [ANS thanks Damon, WA4HFN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA on the Air Events to Highlight Key Space Milestones by Bob Granath - Dec. 1, 2017 NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344-NASAEvent NASA is known for communicating with astronauts on missions to space, but regular citizens can radio NASA centers across the country. From the end of this year through the next, NASA will mark several key milestones. Amateur radio clubs at agency centers across the nation plan to celebrate these occasions with several "NASA on the Air" events. "We enjoy sharing NASA's story as part of the fun of making contact with fellow ham radio operators across the nation and around the world," said Kevin Zari, who is activities officer for the Amateur Radio Club at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "We occasionally communicate with people who think that because we're not flying the space shuttle anymore, NASA has almost gone out of business. We tell them about activities such as the Inter- national Space Station and the Space Launch System, and they appreciate the update." Amateur, or ham, radio operators use a frequency spectrum for communicating noncommercial and private messages. One of the most important uses of ham radio operations is providing emer- gency messaging following disasters, such as the recent Hurricane Maria that destroyed most avenues of communication in Puerto Rico. "The amateur radio clubs at NASA centers are made up of civil servants, contractors and tenants who participate on their own time," said Zari, who has been at Kennedy since 1990 and is chief technology officer in the Mission and Support Office of Exploration Research and Technology Programs. "We all have a common goal to show our support for NASA and highlight some of the agency's amazing accomplishments." Zari added that he hopes, if time permits, International Space Station astronauts can participate using ham radio equipment aboard the orbit- ing laboratory 225 miles above the Earth, made possible by the Amateur Radio on International Space Station (ARISS) Program. Amateur radio has even been part of NASA space flights since Shuttle Amateur Radio operations started in 1983. The plan is to talk about these anniversaries and their place in the history of NASA, explains Rob Suggs, who is the secretary of the amateur radio club at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "We also want people to know what we are doing now and what's coming up in the near future," he said. "This includes the Commercial Crew Program, as well as plans to send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit with the Space Launch System and Orion." "We plan to publicize the "NASA on the Air" events in amateur radio magazines, on our Facebook site and web page," said Suggs who has worked for NASA since 1994 and is the Space Environments Team lead at Marshall. Zari added that they plan to use the hashtag #NOTA when announcing events on Twitter (@NASAradioClubs). While NASA amateur radio stations are commemorating historic mile- stones, Zari explains they also are making it into a contest. "Ham radio enthusiasts usually exchange QSL cards," he said. "When you make contact with someone, you exchange a postcard noting the contact was made. For this yearlong event, some clubs at NASA centers are offering commemorative QSL cards and a special certi- ficate indicating how many centers a participant contacted on various frequency bands." QSL cards serve as written confirmation of communication between amateur radio stations. QSL derived its name from the Q, or question, code message: "QSL?" It simply means, "Do you confirm receipt of my transmission?" According to Suggs, points will be awarded to each center's amateur radio club based on the number of contacts made during the yearlong event. Participants can enhance their award by using one of the existing capabilities of amateur radio on the space station such as packet (digital operations) or listening in to an astronaut giving answers to school children during one of the scheduled school contacts. No special activity is planned from the station and only one activity from the space station is needed to qualify. "We plan to have a web-based system for participants to check their points total and download a printable certificate at the end of the event," he said. "Points will be awarded for each center's contacts." Learn more about the "NASA on the Air" events at: http://nasaontheair.wordpress.com 'NASA on the Air' Events - Milestones coming up between Dec. 11, 2017 and Dec. 27, 2018, will include: + 45th anniversary of Apollo 17, Dec. 12-19, 1972 + 60th anniversary of the establishment of NASA, Oct. 1, 1958 + 20th anniversary of the launch of the first U.S. element of the International Space Station during STS-88, commanded by Kennedy's Director Bob Cabana, Dec. 4-16, 1998 + 50th anniversary of Apollo 8, the flight of Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders to orbit the Moon, Dec. 21-27, 1968 [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + AMSAT's Michelle Thompson, W5NYV was interviewed on the January 1 podcast of Ham Radio Workbench to discuss the AMSAT Phase 4B pro- gram and her role in leading the Ground Station team. Listen to the podcast at: http://hamradio360.com/index.php/podcast-player/ (Michelle's interview starts at approximately 1:00:00 point - you can enjoy the entire 2 hour podcast or fast forward to the interview). + Felix, EA4GQS says the January 2018 AMSAR-EA newsletter is available for download from: https://t.co/uJ3O4mNWsB + Alex, OZ9AEC, reports that Gpredict 2.2 has been released. https://community.libre.space/t/gpredict-2-2-released/1577 to read about the latest improvements and find links to source code and instruction manuals. + The Jet Propulsion Lab has published an educational project which may be of interest to hams also pursuing amateur astronomy. Have you ever wondered when the next full moon will be? How about the first quarter moon? Now you can have all the dates and times for all the moon phases for the year at your fingertips by building your own Moon Phases Calendar and Calculator: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-007-NASA-MoonPhases + A 9-ton Chinese space lab will fall out of the sky soon — and if you predict exactly when, you can win some swag. The Aerospace Corp.'s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) is sponsoring a guessing game about the death day of China's uncrewed Tiangong-1 spacecraft, which is currently forecast to plunge uncontrolled into Earth's atmosphere in mid-March, plus or minus two weeks. If you pick the correct day — or if you're closer than anyone else — you'll win some Aerospace Corp. booty. To play, go to the CORDS site in the article posted at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-007-ChickenLittleContest + The UK's Goonhilly radio telescope will be featured on a Great British Railway Journeys program on BBC2. Brian, G4NNS operating his station to "talk to the moon" and hear his echos coming back will be shown on Friday, January 12, 2018 at 1830 UTC. The pro- gramming schedule is posted at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xgqxy/broadcasts/upcoming --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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 and Happy New Year, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM k9jkm at amsat dot org

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