June 2018 - ANS - mailman.amsat.org

ANS-175 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 23 Jun '18

23 Jun '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-175 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT-NA President to attend AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2018 * AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2018 Second call for Speakers * AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2018 Speakers (to date) * K4R EL84 Grid Expedition - July 6-8 * South Africa Symposium Papers Posted * Call for Field Day Stories, Pictures * Call for Volunteers, ANS Seeks Rotating Editors * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-175.01 ANS-175 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 175.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. June 24, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-175.01 AMSAT-NA President to attend AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2018 AMSAT-UK is very happy to announce that the dates of the next AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be October 13-14, 2018. The AMSAT-UK Colloquium, incorporated into the RSGB Convention, will take place at the Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Timbold Drive, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BZ. The AMSAT-UK Committee are pleased to announce that Joe Spier, K6WAO will be presenting a paper entitled '50 Years of AMSAT and Beyond' AMSAT-UK invites speakers, to cover topics about Amateur satellites, CubeSats, Nanosats, Space, High Altitude Balloons and associated activities, for this event. Those wishing to speak should contact Dave, G4DPZ, dave at g4dpz dot me dot uk AMSAT-UK Colloquium web page: https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2018 Second call for Speakers This is the second call for speakers for the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2018 which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 13-14 at the Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Timbold Drive, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BZ, United Kingdom. AMSAT-UK invites speakers, to cover topics about Amateur satellites, CubeSats, Nanosats, Space, High Altitude Balloons and associated activities, for this event. Those wishing to speak should contact Dave, G4DPZ: dave at g4dpz dot me dot uk Further information https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium [ANS thanks Dave G4DPZ for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2018 Speakers (to date) On behalf of the AMSAT-UK Committee I am pleased to announce the list of speakers who have volunteered to present papers at the event (https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ <https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/>) Dr, Chris Bridges, M0IEB (and students), Surrey Space Centre: "ESA ESEO Payloads" Matthew Cosby, Chief Scientist, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd: "Goonhilly : Developing a global deep space communications network" The FUNcube Team: "JY1Sat , FUNcube Next" Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, AMSAT-DL: "Es'hail-2 and it's amateur radio payload" David Johnson, G4DPZ & Carlos Eavis, G3VHF: "An introduction to Amateur Satellites" Naomi Kurahara, Chief Exec, Infostellar JP: "Distributed Grounstations (StellarStation)" Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, ARISS-UK (and school pupil): ARISS / STEM Outreach Prof. David Southwood, Imperial College London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_College_London: "Cassini- Huygens: Odyssey to Saturn and Titan" Joe Spier, K6WAO, President, AMSAT-NA: "50 Years of AMSAT and Beyond" Iain Young, G7III: "Automated reception of FUNcube and Fox Telemetry" Details of when they will be presenting during the event will be published in the near future. (We still have 3 slots available if you want to volunteer a presentation. See above announcement) In addition to the presentations, the ARISS-UK team will be assembling a demonstration ground station with the same configuration as that used in schools contacts. [ANS thanks Dave, G4DPZ for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- K4R EL84 Grid Expedition - July 6-8 Between July 6-8, 2018, NJ4Y, N4ESS, and KE4AL will venture to Fort Jefferson on Garden Key, in the Dry Tortugas island chain. Their main purpose for the trip is to activate EL84, one of the maidenhead grids with the least land area of any in the CONUS, on satellites and 6m. The team wrote, "We are scheduled to arrive around 11am (1500z) on July 6th, and stay through 3pm (1900z) on the 8th. "Two complete satellite stations are planned, with capabilities on all current amateur satellites. Emphasis will be especially on the larger footprints of AO-7 and FO-29, but we will work as many passes as possible during our time on the island. With two experienced satellite operators who have activating nearly 80 combined grids on satellites in 15 different states, we think we've got a pretty good chance of success in getting EL84 in the logs of anyone who needs it! This includes Europe and South America - if you are in the outer reaches of the footprint between EL84np and your location, let them know ahead of the trip so they can plan some possible low elevation pass skeds! "The 6m station will consist of a 2 element 6m beam at ~20 feet, an FT-857 100w transmitter, and capabilities on SSB, CW, and digi modes, emphasizing the JT suite - FT8, JT65, and possibly some MSK144 if conditions allow. We will be there in peak E skip season, so keep your fingers crossed for some great band openings! "We will also operate on HF as time, band conditions, and battery power allow. This is secondary to the 6m and satellite ops, with no hard planned schedule, so keep your eye on the dx cluster for K4R if you need EL84 for the ARRL international grid chase. As on 6m, we will have capabilities on CW, SSB, and digi. "We will be communicating largely via twitter.com/K4R_EL84 while on the island, using a Garmin InReach messenger to post informa- tion about frequencies, modes, and pass schedules. This is an open, public twitter page, so you can view it even if you don't have a twitter account. If you do have an account, be sure and follow us before the trip so you can stay up to date! We are also working out details on a pilot station who can relay sked requests and information to us via the satellite messenger - stay tuned here for more details on that as the trip approaches. "All logs will be uploaded to LOTW as soon as possible after the trip. Cards will also be available upon request." Visit the team's web page http://k4r2018.com/ for their latest information. [ANS thanks the K4R Dry Tortugas Expedition for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- South Africa Symposium Papers Posted Papers from the South Africa AMSAT Symposium have been posted at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/Space%20Symp2018.htm Find more news about AMSAT South Africa news on their homepage at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Field Day Stories, Pictures The AMSAT Journal is looking to publish interesting, unusual or humorous stories about the upcoming AMSAT Field Day event. Please send your experience with photos, if applicable, to journal at amsat dot org. [ANS thanks Joe KB6IGK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Volunteers, ANS Seeks Rotating Editors The AMSAT News Service (ANS) is seeking volunteers to serve as rotating editors for its weekly newsletter. Editors work on a rotating schedule, each taking a different turn editing a specific week's newsletter as scheduled by the ANS Editor in Chief. Editors support each other by seeking and reporting to the Editor of the week, information and resources of interest to the AMSAT community. The number of newsletters assigned will be dependent upon the number of available editors at any given time. The average editor can expect to spend, on average, 4-5 hours for each newsletter, dependent on available material. Prospective editors are required to be AMSAT members in good standing and have a genuine interest in satellite operation and an understanding of AMSAT's mission. Former editing experience is a plus but not required. If interested, please submit an inquiry, including your contact information to ans-editor(a)amsat.com. [ANS thanks the ANS editors for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Recent Successful ARISS Contacts + 2018-06-19 14:20 UTC between Ricky Arnold KE5DAU (Exp 55), using ISS callsign OR4ISS, and Tehnicka škola Zajecar, Zajecar, Serbia. Contact was direct via YU1ACR. ARISS Mentor was Marko 9A8MM. Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Werner-Heisenberg-Gymnasium, Leverkusen, Germany, direct via DLØIL and Schickhardt-Gymnasium, Herrenberg, Germany, direct via DLØSGH The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be DPØISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-06-27 10:32:19 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + EN84 activation Monday June 25 Look for ops AA8CH and WW8W to be active from EN84 on Monday June 25th. Tentative plans include XWs in the 1300 hour, and the morning (our time) AO92s and the CAS4 passes. We might try AO07 and FO29 as well. Transmission on linears will be fixed frequency and tuning for callers. Bring your SAT gear to work with you if you need this grid. Email to AA8CH: aa8ch at aol dot com with any questions. QSOs uploaded to LOTW as always. [ANS thanks Chris AA8CH for the above information] + The next SSTV image downlinks are planned for June 29-July 1. These images will commemorate the various satellites that the ARISS team has developed and hand-deployed from the ISS. These will include the first satellite deployment from ISS: SuitSat-1/Radioskaf-1 which was deployed in February 2006. More details on this will be forthcoming as the date draws near. [ANS thanks Sergey Samburov, RV3DR for the above information] + The ANS Editors would like to thank and congratulate Lee McLamb KT4TZ for editing his 200th AMSAT News Service Bulletin when he published ANS 119 on April 19, 2018. He has subsequently published two more since then. [ANS thanks EMike AA8EM 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-168 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 16 Jun '18

16 Jun '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-168 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites * CAMSAT Details on Three Satellites and an HF Transponder * 3A Monaco Activation on FM Satellites in July * ARISS Ham Video Transmitter Aboard ISS Defective * Call for Volunteers, ANS Seeks Rotating Editors SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-168.01 ANS-168 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 168.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 17, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-168.01 AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites It’s that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!” The event takes place during a 23-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2018 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday, June 23, 2018 through 2100 UTC on Sunday, June 24, 2018. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 23 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur sat- ellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event. This year should be easier than many years since we have more than 10 transponders and repeaters available. Users should check the AMSAT status page at http://www.amsat.org/status/ and the pages at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=177 for what is available in the weeks leading up to field day. To reduce the amount of time to research each satellite, see the current FM satellite table at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=5012 and the current linear satellite table at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=5033 If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellites, there are SO-50, AO-85, AO-91, and AO-92. It might be easier this year to make that one FM contact for the ARRL bonus points with so many FM birds. The congestion on FM LEO satellites is always so intense that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. AO-92 may be in L/v for the first part of the event, depending on command station availability. Keep an eye on @AMSAT on Twitter for expected L/v mode change times. The full set of rules are posted at: https://www.amsat.org/field-day/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAMSAT Details on Three Satellites and an HF Transponder CAMSAT, China’s Amateur Radio Satellite organization, has offered additional details about the three Amateur Radio satellites it plans to launch later this year. Two of the satellites, designated CAS-5A and CAS-6, will carry transponders, and one of them will offer HF capability. CAMSAT’s Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that the 6U CAS-5A will carry two HF transponders and two V/UHF trans- ponders. The plentiful equipment package includes an H/T (21/29 MHz) mode linear transponder, an H/U (21/435 MHz) mode linear transponder, an HF CW telemetry beacon, a V/U linear transponder, a V/U FM trans- ponder, a UHF CW telemetry beacon, and UHF AX.25 4.8k/9.6k baud GMSK telemetry. + The H/T mode linear transponder will have a 30 kHz wide uplink centered on 21.400 MHz, and a downlink centered on 29.490 MHz. RF output is 0.5 W. + An HF CW telemetry beacon will transmit on 29.465 MHz with 0.1 W. + The H/U mode linear transponder will have a 15 kHz wide uplink centered on 21.435 MHz, and a downlink centered on 435.505 MHz. The RF output is 0.5 W. + The V/U mode linear transponder will have a 30 kHz wide uplink at 145.820 MHz, and a downlink at 435.540 MHz. The RF output is 0.5 W. + The V/U mode FM transponder will uplink at 145.925 MHz, and downlink at 435.600 MHz. The transponder passband is 15 kHz, and the RF output is 0.5 W. + The UHF CW telemetry beacon will transmit on 435.570 MHz, with an RF output of 0.1 W. + UHF AX.25 4.8k/9.6k baud GMSK telemetry will transmit on 435.650 MHz at 0.5 W. Kung told ARRL that the HF, VHF, and UHF antennas are quarter-wave monopoles. A satellite within a satellite, the tiny CAS-5B, weighing 0.5 kilogram, will be deployed from CAS-5A in orbit. It will carry a UHF CW beacon on an Amateur Radio frequency. Both CAS-5A and CAS-5B will be placed into 539 × 533 kilometer, 97.5° orbits. They will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in late September. The 50-kilogram CAS-6 microsat will include a VHF CW telemetry beacon, a U/V mode 20 kHz linear Amateur Radio transponder, and AX.25 4.8k baud GMSK telemetry. It will also carry an atmospheric wind detector and other systems that will operate on non-amateur frequencies. A launch at sea on an as-yet undetermined date is planned for CAS-6 from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The microsat will be placed into a 579 × 579 kilometer, 45° orbit. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3A Monaco Activation on FM Satellites in July F4DXV plans FM satellite operation from 3A Monaco (JN33) on Monday 02 July ~08:30z to 13z only during a quick break from his trip to Italy. Jerome says, "Due to a bad horizon (mountains, buildings), I could be only QRV for EU on high FM orbits." [ANS thanks Daily DX for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Ham Video Transmitter Aboard ISS Defective Gaston Bertels, ON4WF has provided an update regarding the condition of the ARISS HamTV system aboard the ISS. In mid-April, the Ham Video transmitter on board the Columbus module of the ISS stopped working. Extensive testing was performed by the crew on June 1, 2018 which comprised connecting the transmitter to the second ARISS L/S-band patch antenna on the nadir of Columbus. The test was negative. Ground stations did not receive any signal from Ham Video. Since on-board repair is impossible ARISS is planning to return the transmitter to Earth. Bertels wrote, "We hope this plan will be accepted by the space agencies and the cost of operations funded by sponsors. Schools and crew members performing educational ARISS school contacts are delighted to use Ham Video. We will do the best we can to restart this service as soon as possible. We will keep you informed on progress." Additional information about the HamTV project can be found on-line at: https://www.amsat-on.be/ [ANS thanks Gaston Bertels, ON4WF and ARISS HamTV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Volunteers, ANS Seeks Rotating Editors The AMSAT News Service (ANS) is seeking volunteers to serve as rotating editors for its weekly newsletter. Editors work on a rotating schedule, each taking a different turn editing a specific week's newsletter as scheduled by the ANS Editor in Chief. Editors support each other by seeking and reporting to the Editor of the week, information and resources of interest to the AMSAT community. The number of newsletters assigned will be dependent upon the number of available editors at any given time. The average editor can expect to spend, on average, 4-5 hours for each newsletter, dependent on available material. Prospective editors are required to be AMSAT members in good standing and have a genuine interest in satellite operation and an understanding of AMSAT's mission. Former editing experience is a plus but not required. If interested, please submit an inquiry, including your contact information to ans-editor(a)amsat.com. [ANS thanks the ANS editors for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KT4TZ kt4tz at amsat dot org

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ANS-161 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 09 Jun '18

09 Jun '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-161 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. ******************************************************************** * * * Deadline For AMSAT Board of Directors Nominations is June 15 * * See More Information Below * * * ******************************************************************** In this edition: * AMSAT-NA Facebook Group moves to New Group Page * Deadline For AMSAT Board of Directors Nominations is June 15 * New Items in AMSAT Store * First Amateur Radio Transmissions from Lunar Orbit and Subsequent Test Plan * US Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections * Call for Volunteers, ANS Seeks Rotating Editors * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-161.01 ANS-161 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 161.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. June 10, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-161.01 AMSAT Facebook Group Moves to New Facebook Group Page The AMSAT-NA group that has existed for over a decade, no longer serves as the official Facebook group of AMSAT. Please join us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/752128438309103/ Shortly, the AMSAT logo and name will be removed from this group's pages in accordance with Facebook's Intellectual Property Policy. AMSAT officers and board members no longer hold any role on that particular group and Facebook's policy is, the creator of the group, owns that group's resources. For the most current information and discussion about AMSAT's activities, please join us on our new group. This new group has been placed under corporate ownership under legal advice and to insure the latest information and discussion from AMSAT. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Deadline For AMSAT Board of Directors Nominations is June 15 It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Three directors' terms expire this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, Mark Hammond, N8MH, and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to martha(a)amsat.org or faxed to (301)822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. (Editor's Note: Nominating and electing your Board of Directors is your most important benefit of being an AMSAT member.) [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Items in AMSAT Store The AMSAT Store has three new items. New for 2018 is the AMSAT Hat. Now available in sizes Small (which fits small/medium sized heads) and Large (which fits large/xlarge size heads). We also have the new for 2018 T-Shirts in multiple sizes and the 2018 Golf Shirt in multiple sizes. Only small amount of each has been inventoried, as such the AMSAT office is still unpacking boxes. As soon as an accurate count for each size and item is acquired, an appropriate update to the site will be made. (Editor's Note: Also available is the 2018 "Getting Started" Guide) [ANS thanks Bruce KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- First Amateur Radio Transmissions from Lunar Orbit and Subsequent Test Plan On 2 Jun and 3 Jun we had 2 successfully tests on the UHF downlink of DSLWP-B after lunar orbit insertion. BY2HIT and PI9CAM team successfully decoded 39 GMSK packets from the satellite. SP5ULN and M0IEB also detected signals from the satellite with much smaller antenna, but the decode was not fully successful. Two weeks ago, when the satellites were launched on 20 May, UHF signals from both satellites was received by PY2SDR, CD3NDC, PY4ZBZ and N6RFM. The subsequent tests are planned from 4 Jun 22:00 UTC to 5 Jun 00:00 UTC, and from 5 Jun 08:00 UTC to 5 Jun 10:00 UTC. The mode is 250 bps GMSK for both 435.4 MHz and 436.4 MHz. Tracking file updates can be found on: https://github.com/bg2bhc/dslwp_dev or http://lilacsat.hit.edu.cn/tle/program_tracking_dslwp-b.txt [ANS thanks Wei BG2BHC for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- US Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections June 08, 2018 - The ARISS-US Team (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) is pleased to announce schools or organizations submitting proposals have been selected to advance to the next stage of planning to host amateur radio contacts from January to June 2019. The contacts will be with International Space Station (ISS) crew members using the ARISS equipment on the ISS. A review team of teachers from the ARISS-US Education Committee selected proposals after the recent proposal window closed. The groups will go forward to Phase 2, developing an amateur radio equipment plan to host a scheduled ARISS contact. ARISS's primary goal is to engage people in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities, and involve them in pursuits related to space exploration, amateur radio, communications, and associated areas of study and career options. Cord Davidson, KD5J, at Central Magnet Middle School in Batesville, AR, exclaimed after a recent ARISS contact, "ARISS shows how amateur radio is the most unique hobby there is, and from the educator's perspective, what a great way to encourage STEM topics!" ARISS anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for these US host organizations. The candidates must now complete an equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the ARISS technical team, the final selected schools / organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities. The schools and organizations are: Faith Christian Academy, Orlando, FL Hidden Oaks Middle School, Prior Lake, MN Huntington High School, Huntington, TX Moriah Central School, Port Henry, NY NIH-National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Children's Inn, Bethesda, MD Park Co. Public Library with Boys & Girls Club of the High Rockies, Fairplay, CO Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY ABOUT ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and 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 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 technologies and amateur radio. This is an excellent opportunity to become involeved while directly supporting the AMSAT mission on a regular basis. Find more information at www.ariss.org, and also www.amsat.organd www.arrl.org [ANS thanks ARISS and Dave for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Volunteers, ANS Seeks Rotating Editors The AMSAT News Service (ANS) is seeking volunteers to serve as rotating editors for its weekly newsletter. Editors work on a rotating schedule, each taking a different turn editing a specific week's newsletter as scheduled by the ANS Editor in Chief. Editors support each other by seeking and reporting to the Editor of the week, information and resources of interest to the AMSAT community. The number of newsletters assigned will be dependent upon the number of available editors at any given time. The average editor can expect to spend, on average, 4-5 hours for each newsletter, dependent on available material. Prospective editors are required to be AMSAT members in good standing and have a genuine interest in satellite operation and an understanding of AMSAT's mission. Former editing experience is a plus but not required. If interested, please submit an inquiry, including your contact information to ans-editor(a)amsat.com. [ANS thanks the ANS editors for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Recent Successful Contacts: + 2018-05-15 08:22 UTC between Scott Tingle KG5NZA (Exp 54), using ISS callsign NA1SS, and University of the Philippines Integrated School, Quezon City, Philippines. Contact was telebridge via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was Satoshi 7M3TJZ. + 2018-05-22 08:53 UTC between Scott Tingle KG5NZA (Exp 54), using ISS callsign NA1SS and Viktor Rydberg Gymnasium, Stockholm, Sweden. Contact was telebridge via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was Eskil SM5SRR. + 2018-05-23 11:06 UTC between Ricky Arnold KE5DAU (Exp 55), using ISS callsign NA1SS ands Janusz Kusocinski Primary School No. 71, Poznan, Poland. Contact was telebridge via W6SRJ Contact was live Streamed via https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/live/ ARISS Mentor was Armand SP3QFE. + 2018-05-31 16:58 UTC Ricky Arnold KE5DAU (Exp 55), using ISS callsign NA1SS and Sterrenschool De Globetrotter, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Contact was telebridge via VK4KHZ. ARISS Mentor was Bertus PE1KEH Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule There are no contacts scheduled for the coming week. The following astronauts are currently on board the ISS: Ricky Arnold KE5DAU Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Alexander Gerst KF5ONO [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + May/June 2018 Apogee View Posted The May/June 2018 edition of Apogee View, an update on AMSAT's activities from AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has been posted to the AMSAT website: https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/ [ANS thanks N8HM for the above information] + Astronaut Drew Morgan who will be joining Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP and Alexander Skvortsov on the ISS during Expedition 60 has acquired his Technician Class license and has been assigned callsign KI5AAA. http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=4049809 [ANS thanks Kenneth N5VHO 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-154 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Chris Bradley (AA0CB) 03 Jun '18

03 Jun '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-154 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: * Help Requested to Monitor for Signals From Chinese Lunar Sats * Updates to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * Digital Communications Conference (DCC) Call for Papers * Invitation to the 2018 NASA AAQ Workshop - September 7, 2018 * China Microsatellite Symposium 2018 * ARLP022 Propagation de K7RA * ARRL VUCC Satellite Awards and Endorsements * Upcoming Binaryspace HAB Launch * Satellite Shorts SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-154.01 ANS-154 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 154.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE JUNE 03, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-154.01 Help Requested to Monitor for Signals From Chinese Lunar Sats After their launch on 2018-05-20 at 21:28 UTC, LJ 1 and LJ 2 were maneuvered onto a track to the Moon. Several amateurs received telemetry from the satellites. But now LJ 1 appears to encounter problems. Quoting Wei BG2BHC: "Can you help to find amateurs in the US to help to monitor DSLWP-A on 435.425 and 436.425 now? We lost the contact of satellite A on S band after an orbit adjustment. We just tried to switch on UHF, but we don't know if it works or not. If operating, 435.425 MHz should be 500bps GMSK and JT4 alternately. 436.425 MHz should be 250 bps GMSK. Both transmit once in 5 minutes. LONGJIANG 1 - NORAD CAT ID 43471 LONGJIANG 2 - NORAD CAT ID 43472 [Nico, PA0DLO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Updates to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced that three cubesat carrying Amateur Radio payloads were deployed from the ISS on May 11 at around 1030 UTC. See AMSAT News Service bulletin ANS-133 for details. The following cubesats have been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE distribution and are designated by Space-Track as follows: 1KUNS-PF (Kenya)- NORAD CAT ID 43466 (a 3U cubesat with a 1200 bps or 9600 bps telemetry beacon at 437.300 MHz) UBAKUSAT (Turkey)- NORAD CAT ID 43467 (a 3U cubesat with a CW beacon at 437.225 MHz, a telemetry beacon at 435.325 MHZ, and a linear transponder with a 435.200 - 435.250 MHz downlink / 145.940 - 145.990 MHz uplink) Irazu (Costa Rica) - NORAD CAT ID 43468 (a 1U cubesat with a 9600 bps telemetry beacon at 436.500 MHz) Nico Janssen (PA0DLO) reminds us that it is still too early to tell if the above CAT ID's are correct for each object. There may be changes. [ANS thanks Ray, WA5QGD, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Communications Conference (DCC) Call for Papers Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) and publication in the Conference Proceedings. Annual conference proceedings are published by the ARRL. Presentation at the conference is not required for publication. Submission of papers are due by July 31st, 2018 and should be submitted to Maty Weinberg, ARRL 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 or via the Internet to maty at arrl.org The ARRL and TAPR DCC is an international forum for radio amateurs to meet, publish their work, and present new ideas and techniques. This year, the DCC is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 14- 16. Presenters and attendees will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about recent hardware and software advances, theories, experimental results, and practical applications. Topics include, but are not limited to: • Software Defined Radio (SDR) • Digital voice (D-Star, P25, WinDRM, FDMDV, DRMDV, G4GUO) • Digital satellite communications • Global position system • Precise Timing • Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) • Short messaging (a mode of APRS) • Digital Signal Processing (DSP) • HF digital modes • Internet interoperability with Amateur Radio networks • Spread spectrum • IEEE 802.11 and other Part 15 license-exempt systems adaptable for A mateur Radio • Using TCP/IP networking over Amateur Radio • Mesh and peer to peer wireless networking • Emergency and Homeland Defense backup digital communications in Amateur Radio • Updates on AX.25 and other wireless networking protocols • Topics that advanced the Amateur Radio art Go to https://tinyurl.com/y7wgm6vh to view the guidelines for paper submissions [ANS thanks the TAPR PSR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Invitation to the 2018 NASA AAQ Workshop - September 7, 2018 You are invited to participate in the 2018 NASA Academy of Aerospace Quality {AAQ) Workshop. This event will take place at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, September 7 from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The event targets academics (faculty, researchers, students) involved with space related activities such as cube sat, small sat, high altitude balloon, rocket and more. It is also designed for those wishing to be involved with NASA space related projects. The event will feature speakers and a poster session. Travel stipends from NASA are available to attendees on a limited basis and will favor those giving a presentation or poster. There is no registration charge for attending the event but registration in advance is required. Please register at the link below by July 31. http://spider2.eng.auburn.edu/AAQ/registration.html The NASA Academy of Aerospace Quality is an open access virtual academy of educational modules, lessons learned, standards, case studies and more related to quality assurance for space related projects, especially those from academic based teams. The website is: http://aaq.auburn.edu Links to the agenda and materials from previous NASA AAQ Workshops can be found at the link below: http://aaq.eng.auburn.edu/events [ANS thanks Alice Smith and Jeff Smith for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- China Microsatellite Symposium 2018 The China Microsatellite Symposium(CMS2018), (www.microsatsymp.com) will be held at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an China on 18th - 20th November 2018. The symposium includes keynote presentations and several sessions which will focus on the design experience, scientific missions, launch opportunities and all new technologies about microsatellites. In addition, another import session, International CubeSat and Mission Contest will be held on 20th November 2018, after which a free launch opportunity of 3U CubeSat or 1U payload capacity will be awarded to the winner of the first prize. Participants can get information and submit the works through the official website of our contest: www.cubesatcontest.org. The submission deadlines for the abstract of CMS2018 and work of CubeSat contest are both August 31, 2018. You could submit abstract and get information on the website www.microsatsymp.com Along with the symposium, there will also be a related exhibition, during which you can find the updated progress of CubeSat, launchers and other related technology. For exhibitors, you could also get information about booth on the website. The event is supported by China National Space Administration, International Astronautical Federation, Chinese Society of Astronautics and Chinese Institute of Command and Control. If you have any questions, please contact service at microsatsymp.com. [ANS thanks Ray Nugent for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARLP022 Propagation de K7RA ZCZC AP22 QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 22 ARLP022 >From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA June 1, 2018 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP022 ARLP022 Propagation de K7RA On May 30 at 0005 UTC the Australian Space Forecast Centre issued a warning: "On 1 June geomagnetic activity is expected to increase to Active and Minor Storm levels due to arrival of the co-rotating interaction region and high-speed solar wind streams associated with the recurrent trans-equatorial coronal hole." On May 31 http://www.spaceweather.com issued this Solar Wind Alert: "NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms on June 1st, increasing to 65% on June 2nd, when a stream of high-speed solar wind is expected to reach Earth. The last time this gaseous stream lashed our planet's magnetic field, almost a month ago, it sparked bright ribbons of purple light (a.k.a. 'STEVE') seen from multiple US states. Visit today's edition of http://www.spaceweather.com for more information." The Sun remained active over the past reporting week. Average daily solar flux rose from 70.1 to 74.9, and average daily sunspot number rose from 7.7 to 26.3. During the previous week in which the average daily sunspot number was 7.7, the first four days had no sunspots. New sunspot regions appeared on May 21, 23 and 24. Predicted solar flux is 77 on June 1-3, 76, 74 and 72 on June 4-6, 70 on June 7-8, 71 on June 9, 72 on June 10-14, 70 on June 15-17, 72 on June 18-23, 73 on June 24, 72 on June 25-30, 70 on July 1-6, 72 on July 7-11, 70 on July 12-14 and 72 on July 15. Predicted planetary A index is 25 on June 1-2, 15, 12 and 8 on June 3-5, 5 on June 6-12, 8 on June 13, 5 on June 14-18, 8 on June 19, 5 on June 20-23, 8 on June 24-25, 5 on June 26-27, then 15, 28, 15, 12, 10 and 8 on June 28 through July 3, then 5 on July 4-9, 8 on July 10, and 5 on July 11-15. 2018 ARRL Field Day is June 23-24. Assuming the predicted numbers above, conditions should be good for Field Day. We want to see low geomagnetic activity, and planetary A index at 5 and 8 on Saturday and Sunday are good indicators. During this period of low solar activity solar flux at 72 and 73 is also good. Ted Leaf, K6HI of Kona, Hawaii reports that he is still in operation through the local volcanic activity, and asks, "Are there beacons for the lower frequencies, especially now with the lower solar flux?" I found this Wikipedia resource for HF beacons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_propagation_beacon Of course, there are lower frequency HF resources on http://www.wsprnet.org, but this is a bit different than showing what you can tune in and hear without using a special weak signal mode. Any readers have suggestions for lower frequency HF beacons? Note that Ted has a comment on page 56 of the June 2018 QST regarding preamps and attenuator effects on receiver noise. >From last week: https://bit.ly/2LG8MAp F.K. Janda, OK1HH brings us this geomagnetic activity forecast for the period June 1-26, 2018. "Geomagnetic field will be: Quiet on June 11-12, 16-17, 20-23 Quiet to unsettled on June 10, 18, 24-25 Quiet to active on June 8-9 Unsettled to active on June 3-4, 7, 13-15, 19 Active to disturbed on June 1-2, (5-7, 26) "Solar wind will intensify on June 1-3, (4-8, 13-15), 16-17, (18-19, 22-24) "Remark: - Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement. - Forecasts remain less reliable." >From Dr. Tamitha Skov, the Space Weather Woman: "What's Old is New Again "Dear Tad, "I am still smiling at the huge response I got to a post I put up on Twitter this week. A newbie to our Space Weather community dared to talk about amateur radio as if it were an outdated hobby-- whoops, bad idea. I gently educated him. In doing so, I roused many radio amateurs and emergency communicators, who added their own comments and talked about their own personal experiences in the field. It was very gratifying. What I hadn't expected, however, was the strong interest in the concept that amateur radio will be critical to establishing over-the-horizon radio communications on planets like Mars in the near future. "This idea brings me back to how we managed to communicate over long distances many decades before we had satellites, internet or cellular networks. In terms of wireless communications on Earth, we were very much in the same place back in the early 1900s that we find ourselves in now when we think about colonizing Mars. Yet few people realize that despite all our advanced technology, we can't bring a cell phone to Mars. We will need to fall back on our 'old ways' of doing things when it comes to communicating on other planets. Isn't it funny how 'old' things become 'new' again? "Speaking of, this week brings us a new chance for a decent solar storm. Strangely though, the source of this storm is an old coronal hole that gave us a moderate level solar storm about a month ago. This old hole has survived its backside passage on the Sun and has now returned, with the new promise of bringing aurora views down to mid-latitudes again. Isn't it funny, what was old has become new again, in more ways than one! "Cheers, Tamitha" Dr. Skov's latest video report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwvKyY26lB0 If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, email the author at, k7ra(a)arrl.net . For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service web page at, http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals. For an explanation of numbers used in this bulletin, see http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere. An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation. More good information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/. Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation. Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins. Sunspot numbers for May 24 through 30, 2018 were 39, 32, 26, 27, 20, 22, and 18, with a mean of 26.3. 10.7 cm flux was 73.7, 75.7, 72.9, 74.6, 76.9, 74.9, and 75.3, with a mean of 74.9. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, and 4, with a mean of 3.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 4, 5, 5, 4, 5, and 5, with a mean of 4.7. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL VUCC Satellite Awards and Endorsements Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period May 1, 2018 through Jun 1, 2018. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL 01 May 2018 01 Jun 2018 KO4MA 1598 1627 KD8CAO 1240 1253 N8HM 1025 1054 N8RO 1040 1051 K4FEG 877 901 K6FW 703 743 N9IP 589 609 N6UK 551 568 K5ND 502 526 WD9EWK 430 441 KE4AL 317 379 NS3L 300 325 VE7CEW 292 304 AA9LC New 299 AA8CH 218 256 G0ABI 124 200 N3GS 130 198 AA4FL 164 181 KE8FZT 100 175 XE1SEW New 130 WU2M New 105 KB2YSI New 101 PU8MRS New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. [ANS thanks Ron, W5RKN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Binaryspace HAB Launch Binaryspace is doing another High-Altitude Balloon Launch from about 07:00 CAT on 9 June from the Leeukop Farm Airfield in Deneysville in the Free State. Everybody is invited to join us for the day to launch and chase the balloon. We are estimating a 3-hour mission from launch to recovery. The Sasolburg Amateur Radio Club (ZS4SRK) will join us with the tracking and recovery of the payload. Flexible Use of Airspace has been approved and depending on weather or technical difficulties, the launch and/or the payload contents can change at any time. We have some new equipment to test on Mission - Binary 03. A SSTV Camera Transmitter (400 - 500 mW) will take a photo and transmit it every 5 minutes. The call sign is ZR6MUG and will transmit on 144.500 FM, Martin 1 Mode and you will need MMSSTV to decode. A Telemetry Transmitter (400 - 500 mW) will transmit telemetry data every 30 seconds under the call sign ZR6TG on 144.600 FM and you can use FLdigi to decode. And an APRS Transmitter (300 mW) will transmit position and altitude every minute on 144.800 MHz under the call ZR6TG-11. We will also have a Go-pro camera and a Science Lab (Raspberry pi based with lots of sensors) in the payload. The payload is estimated to be around 900 g and we are using a 1 000 g white balloon. There are several prizes and awards available. The first person to recover the payload will get a prize and footage of the payload coming down will receive a prize. Special awards will be given to everyone who captures the SSTV images and RTTY telemetry. Please e- mail the decoded information, time of transmission (bonus if you can provide a recorded sound clip), your location and the equipment used totvdbon(a)gmail.com. [ANS thanks SARL weekly news in English 2018-6-2 for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts (Venice, LA, USA) Wyatt Dirks, AC0RA, and Clayton Coleman, W5PFG's plan to activate maidenhead gridsquare EL58hx was rescheduled due to unsafe weather conditions. The new dates for the expedition are June 7-9, 2018. Please send your Hamvention photos that you would like to share with others in our amateur radio community to journal(a)amsat.org. (thanks to Joe, KB6IGK for the request) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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, AA0CB aa0cb at amsat dot org

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