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ANS-056 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb. 25
by Mark Johns, K0JM 24 Feb '24

24 Feb '24

*ANS-056 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins* February 25, 2024 by Frank Karnauskas <https://www.amsat.org/author/n1uw/> In this edition: - Bob Twiggs Keynote Address at 2024 AMSAT Space Symposium Now Available - Updated Hamfest Handouts Now Online - UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport to Launch Amateur Radio Satellites - AO-73 Goes on Hiatus - Bochum Space Conference 2024 - Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 23, 2024 - ARISS News - Upcoming Satellite Operations - Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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 [dot] 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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-056 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 FEB 25 Bob Twiggs Keynote Address at 2024 AMSAT Space Symposium Now Available For those who missed Bob Twiggs, KE6QMD, keynote address at the 2023 AMSAT Space Symposium, now is your chance to catch up on this delightful and informative presentation. You can view Bob’s 36-minute presentation at https://youtu.be/uDPJ4SHAF74?si=c9f3xM8G1KFUjZPw. Sorry, there are no advanced mathematical formulas or complex orbital mechanics to be found here. Bob is a consummate story teller who brings warmth and humanity to the pioneering days of amateur satellites. If you weren’t in Dallas for the live event, this is the next best thing to being there. Robert J. Twiggs is a professor of Astronautics and Space Science at Morehead State University. He is responsible, along with Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic State University, for co-inventing the CubeSat reference design for miniaturized satellites which became an Industry Standard for design and deployment of the satellites. Twiggs earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Idaho in 1961 and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in microwave devices from Stanford University in 1964. From 1985 to 1994, Twiggs was the director of the Weber State University Center for Aerospace Technology. He served as a consulting professor in the Stanford University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics from 1994 to 2008. At Stanford, he established the Space Systems Development Laboratory. Bob Twiggs became a professor at Morehead State University in 2009 in an effort to push the PocketQube standard leveraging the university’s large aperture space tracking system, and to help develop a space economy in the state of Kentucky. In 2019, Twiggs designed and proposed another smaller, simpler satellite form factor called ThinSat which could enable high school students to design and build satellites. [ANS thanks AMSAT and Wikipedia for the above information and David Beaujean, N8EPF, for his excellent work in editing the video presentation for our enjoyment.] ------------------------------ Updated Hamfest Handouts Now Online Realizing that the hamfest season runs from January 1st through December 31st every year, AMSAT needed to update its venerable tri-fold handout. While AMSAT finalizes its plans for reinvigorating its Ambassador program, it wanted to make immediately available a fresh set of handouts for use at hamfests, maker-faires, and so on. Some of the considerations to be factored into an updated program are the increased costs of printing and shipping small quantities of handouts here and there. Conversely, the cost of printing and shipping literature has to be balanced against the inevitable “waste” factor of literature simply tossed into, at best, a nearby recycling bin by passer-by’s who feel obligated to take a handout offered to them as they walk by a display. Considerable thought is being given to this situation. For a few recent hamfests, a few AMSAT Ambassadors have been testing the concept of displaying a poster with a QR code that interested parties can scan to download literature. Although it is too soon to say this approach is a smashing success, AMSAT Ambassadors testing the concept feel positive about the reaction of hamfest participants visiting their displays. In tests, a QR code on a small poster can be successfully decoded at up to 20 feet away. You can view or download the QR code poster at AMSAT Hamfest QR Code <https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Scan-Here-QR-Pos…> . The QR code used brings the ham to a “landing” site of the AMSAT website. The landing site offers the person - A link to join AMSAT online, - A two-page summary brochure as to why they should join AMSAT, - A comprehensive brochure describing AMSAT activities, and - A link to the AMSAT Store to buy a downloadable copy of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites.” You can view the landing page at https://www.amsat.org/getting-started-with-amsat/. This page has been specially formatted for use on smart phones. You can click on each of the images to view or download each of the documents or links. Since this is a test period for this approach, these pages are not cataloged on the web site. After we receive feedback from AMSAT membership and especially AMSAT Ambassadors, access to these documents and the QR code poster will be open to general membership. The AMSAT Ambassador team looks forward to your feedback on how to improve AMSAT’s presence at local and regional hamfests, maker-faires and other events that can boost interest in amateur satellites and AMSAT membership. Please send your comments and/or questions to info(a)amsat.org. If you are interested in becoming an AMSAT Ambassador, please send an email with a short resume to volunteer(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.] ------------------------------ UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport to Launch Amateur Radio Satellites Two more amateur radio satellites, MARIA-G (HADES-F) and UNNE-1 (HADES-E), are planned to launch from the UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport later in 2024. Previously announced amateur radio payloads on the launch are: ERMINAZ-1U and -1V from AMSAT-DL GENESIS-MA and -ME from AMSAT-EA QUBIK 5, SIDLOC-PQ-1 and -PQ-2 from Libre Space Foundation *MARIA-G* A 1.5u Pocketqube. MARIA-G will offer radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to relay FM voice and AX.25 / APRS 300 / 1200 bps communications. The satellite will also transmit telemetry with its status and voice and CW messages. This all will be achieved by implementing a SDR based FM and FSK repeater. The FM / FSK repeater will be available all time and opened by squelch level without the need of a PL tone/CTCSS. Main mission for MARIA-G is to be a FM repeater but it will also include a simple guess game being implemented by students at Maria Guerrero High School in Collado Villalba – Madrid (Spain). The satellite will send a clue each week in CW so radio amateurs will have to solve the mystery by having all the clues. A small experiment, developed by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft research organization (Germany) will also fly on the satellite to make proof of concept transmissions of a TS-UNB waveform from a low Earth orbit. It will transmit a TS-UNB message according to the ETSI standard ETSI-TS-103-357. It is intended solely as a research and development project with no commercial intent, all its data public and open. ITU modulation classification would be 100K W2DWW but the bandwidth will be narrowed. The operation of this experiment will be managed by AMSAT-EA. *UNNE-1* A 1.5u Pocketqube. UNNE-1 will offer radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to relay FM voice and AX.25 / APRS 300 / 1200 bps communications. The satellite will also transmit telemetry with its status and voice and CW messages. This all will be achieved by implementing a SDR based FM and FSK repeater. The FM / FSK repeater will be available all time and opened by squelch level without the need of a PL tone/CTCSS. A small guessing-game is being implemented by students of Universidad de Nebrija (Spain). The satellite will send a clue each week in its telemetry so radio-amateurs will have to solve the mystery by having all the clues. Game will be detailed in AMSAT-EA and Universidad de Nebrija websites. The main mission for the satellite is acting as a FM voice repeater although due to its SDR nature it can repeat data too. This satellite is based on the hardware of HADES-D (SO-121) that’s currently being used to amateurs worldwide. The guess game implemented by the University is a small challenge for the radio-amateurs and its mission is to make the reception of signals from the satellite fun for youngsters, expecting them to be future radio amateurs. Proposing a UHF downlink, VHF Uplink for FM voice, FSK data up to 1200 bps, APRS up to 1200 bps and FSK telemetry and experimental data up to 1600 bps and CW. These two satellites are part of the Erminaz mission, a joint effort by AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-EA and Libre Space Foundation. Planning a DLR/ESA launch from the UK SaxaVord Spaceport in Summer 2024 into 500/600 km polar orbit. For more information see: IARU satellite frequency coordination pages https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/index.php AMSAT-DL ERMINAZ https://amsat-dl.org/en/erminaz/ AMSAT-EA projects https://www.amsat-ea.org/proyectos/ Libre Space Foundation projects https://libre.space/projects/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] ------------------------------ *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and helpKeep Amateur Radio in Space!https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-clu <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/>*b/ <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> ------------------------------ AO-73 Goes on Hiatus A messages from the FC1 operations team reads, “After a good period of transponder activity FUNcube batteries need a short rest. We plan to switch the transponder OFF between March 3rd to 15th subject to operational conditions. The satellite will be placed Safe mode and will still provide low power telemetry [ANS thanks David Johnson, G4DPZ for the above information.] ------------------------------ M2 LEO-Pack Antenna *Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,* *and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through* *AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> ------------------------------ Bochum Space Conference 2024 From September 20-22, 2024, AMSAT-DL is organizing a symposium, flea market and general meeting in the radome of the Bochum Observatory. The radome will once again be dedicated to satellite and space research. AMSAT Deutschland e.V. and the Bochum Observatory are taking the positive experience of the anniversary conference in 2023 as an opportunity to inform AMSAT members and other space enthusiasts about current and future prospects for national and international space projects with a varied program. As the radome is also the location of ESA’s education office in Germany (esero Germany), they want to make the symposium even more attractive in future and at the same time focus even more on current European space travel. The planning so far envisages the following schedule: Friday, September 20, 2024 Come-together in the afternoon including short guided tours in the radome. Saturday, September 21, 2024 From 9:00 a.m. AMSAT symposium with lecture program. Amateur radio flea market in the radome. Sunday, September 22, 2024 From 10:00 a.m. General meeting Further information on the AMSAT-DL space conference in Bochum will follow in the course of 2024. The conference program is expected to be available on our website beginning in July. Speakers with interesting topics wanted, please get in touch! For further information see https://amsat-dl.org/en/bochum-space-conference-2024/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] ------------------------------ *Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* *Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff* *from our Zazzle store!* *25% of the purchase price of each product goes* *towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space* *https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear* <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear> ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 23, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution: CAPE-3 NORAD Cat ID 47309 Decayed from orbit on or about 17 February 2024 GRIFEX NORAD Cat ID 40379 Decayed from orbit on or about 22 February 2024 [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information.] ------------------------------ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *Completed Contacts* Girl Scout Troop 1089, Sacramento, CA, direct via N6NA. The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The crewmember was Loral O’Hara, KI5TOM. The ARISS mentor is AA4KN. Contact was successful on Thursday February 22, 2024. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system is reported to be active on the ARISS status page (145.825 MHz up & down) but the AMSAT satellite status page shows no recent contacts as of the time of this writing. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. 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. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information.] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations No operations listed at this time. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information.] ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. CubeSat Developers Workshop 2024 April 23–25, 2024 Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo https://www.cubesatdw.org/ Dayton Hamvention 2024 May 17, 2024 – May 19, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road, Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org 38th Annual Small Satellite Conference Logan, UT, USA August 3-8, 2024 https://smallsat.org/ ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The European Space Agency Academy’s CubeSat Summer School is open for applications. Taking place over four weeks from 5 to 30 August 2024 at ESEC-Galaxia (Transinne, Belgium), applications are now open for university students with engineering, physics and business management backgrounds. During the Summer School, ESA and external experts will deliver an extensive mix of lectures and hands-on activities. The entire project lifecycle of a satellite mission will be covered, from design to verification, launch and operations, including typical milestone reviews and new methodologies. Students will be introduced to legal, cybersecurity, and economic aspects of space projects. The Summer School will even introduce space entrepreneurship skills, offering support in devising methods of turning a CubeSat into a viable and profitable business opportunity. More information at http://tinyurl.com/ANS-056-ESA-Summer-School. [ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information.] + NASA is developing a plan to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its lifetime, currently scheduled for 2030. Since the 356-foot-wide laboratory is too big to completely vaporize if left to naturally burn in Earth’s atmosphere, the space agency intends to send a US spacecraft to help deorbit the station and direct its reentry over the unpopulated South Pacific. The goal is to give the ISS an extra “space tug” to help it move more than it could with its own thrust, and guide the final burns for ISS to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The space tug is expected to cost $1 billion, agency officials had said earlier this year. Earlier this year, Russia agreed to stay onboard ISS through 2028, rather than its previous timeline of 2024, after which it may focus on building its own station in low-Earth orbit. Other partner countries have agreed to continue their presence through 2030, but it is not clear precisely how they will contribute to retiring the ISS. More information at http://tinyurl.com/ANS-056-ISS-Tug. [ANS thanks the SpaceRef.com for the above information.] + Martians Wanted: NASA has opened the call for a simulated yearlong Mars mission. If you’re looking for an extended vacation next year, NASA is seeking applicants to participate in its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission to help inform the agency’s plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) is scheduled to kick off in spring 2025. Each CHAPEA mission involves a four-person volunteer crew living and working inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The habitat, called the Mars Dune Alpha, simulates the challenges of a mission on Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, and other environmental stressors. Crew tasks include simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth. More information at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-056-Mars-Mission. [ANS thanks the NASA for the above information.] ------------------------------ *Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org <https://launch.amsat.org/>*/ <https://launch.amsat.org/> In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw [at] amsat [dot] org

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ANS-049 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb 18
by Mark Johns, K0JM 17 Feb '24

17 Feb '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-049 In this edition: * SpaceX Delays Crew-8 Astronaut Launch to Make Way for Private Moon Mission * Upcoming Rideshare Launch to Include Amateur Payloads * Bill Introduced to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio * Small Launch Companies Seek Niches to Compete With SpaceX Rideshare * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 16 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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 <http://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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-049 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 Feb 18 SpaceX Delays Crew-8 Astronaut Launch to Make Way for Private Moon Mission NASA’s next astronaut launch will delay nearly a week to let a moon mission leave Earth first. NASA’s Crew-8 astronauts, who will launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, will fly to space no earlier than Feb. 28. The delay from Feb. 22 will make room for the expected launch of Intuitive Machines’ moon lander from the same launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Odysseus, a robotic lunar lander built by the Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida early in the morning on Thursday, Feb. 15. If all goes according to plan, Odysseus (designated IM-1) will touch down near the moon’s south pole on Feb. 22, becoming the first-ever private spacecraft to ace a lunar landing. Success would also be a big deal for the United States, which hasn’t been to the lunar surface since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission more than half a century ago. “NASA and SpaceX will continue to assess Crew-8 readiness and may adjust the Crew-8 launch date following a successful IM-1 launch,” agency officials wrote in a statement on Feb. 13, while announcing the delay. The astronaut mission will serve as relief for Crew-7, which flew to space on Aug. 26 for an International Space Station mission expected to last six or seven months. *SpaceX Crew-8 crew. From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, KCØTOR, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU.* Crew-8 includes NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, KCØTOR (commander), Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ (pilot), and Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU (mission specialist), along with Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin. Both the ISS crew and the IM-1 launch are using a pad SpaceX leases at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The moon mission has a fairly narrow launch window as the IM-1 lander needs specific landing conditions to land at the lunar south pole, which is part of why the launch date for Crew-8 may be adjusted. Crew-8, as the name implies, is the eighth crewed operational mission by SpaceX that sends commercial crews to the ISS on NASA’s behalf. Starliner, the second vendor, may fly its first test crew in mid-April 2024. [ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.] ------------------------------ *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!* *Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help* *Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/>* ------------------------------ Upcoming Rideshare Launch to Include Amateur Payloads The SpaceX F9 Transporter-10 Rideshare mission has been scheduled for launch on 1 March 2024. In addition to a half dozen commercial payloads, two amateur satellites are on the launch manifest: SONATE-2 from Germany and CroCube from Croatia. *SONATE-2* SONATE-2 is a 6U+ CubeSat designed and built by the University of Wuerzburg in Germany. As for many university satellites, the mission objectives of the SONATE-2 satellite can be divided into three different parts: – The operation of an amateur radio payload – The development and operation of the satellite for the education of students. – The operation of a novel payload as a technology demonstration in space. The amateur payload of SONATE-2 consists of a VHF transceiver that was already built for the predecessor mission SONATE over the course of several student theses. For SONATE-2 additional student theses extended the transceiver functionalities. It will provide regular SSTV downlinks with images from the optical sensors included in the AI payload as well as an APRS digipeater and CW beacon. On the education side, the mission will serve as a foundation for different aspects of the university aerospace and computer science engineering program. In the context of practical courses, theses or as student assistants, students can participate in the development of all subsystems of the space and ground segment, including the amateur radio payload and the technology demonstration payload. In the context of mandatory lectures and exercises on space operations every student will also be included in the operations of the satellite. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) offers a School Lab for high school students at the location of our external ground station in Neustrelitz, Germany. Besides experiments on space and satellites, the School Lab includes amateur radio contacts to the ISS under the supervision of licensed local radio amateurs, which they wish to extend to other satellites like in this cooperation with the SONATE-2 mission. In addition to the amateur and educational mission parts, the SONATE-2 mission also has a research objective for the demonstration of novel artificial intelligence technology in the space environments. While the AI payload is mainly operated using a separate up/downlink in the space operation service in S-band, the satellite bus and the amateur payloads are operated in the amateur service. Housekeeping telemetry in the amateur service also contains status information of the non-amateur payload. Proposing CW, SSTV using Martin M1 and APRS downlinks on VHF and a 9k6 G3RUH AX25 telemetry downlink on UHF. Planning a launch into a 550 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). More info at https://go.uniwue.de/hk. Downlinks on 437.025 MHz, 145.825 MHz, 145.840 MHz and 145.880 MHz have been coordinated by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). *CroCube* CroCube is a 1U CubeSat mission to support the Croatian, but also worldwide amateur radio community with many HAM services and activities. The mission’s goal is also to facilitate the technological development of Croatia, create an advanced society focused on prosperity and innovation, and increase participation in the global space sector. Also, drive Croatia into the space era, increase interest in astronomy and space projects, and develop STEM and tech entrepreneurship, create a platform for founding a space center in Croatia, increase investments and employment in robotics, technology and ICT and finally reduce unemployment and prevent brain drain. The CroCube satellite is designed for HAM radio activities. The main purpose is to provide services for radio amateurs in Croatia and worldwide, and also for students of technical universities to get hands-on experience with satellite communication and get radioamateur licences. One of the project goals is to popularize HAM activities across the common population, students and children in Croatia. CroCube will provide these HAM services: – AX.25 telemetry – CW beacon – Digipeater – Anniversary/special occasions AX.25 & CW messages for community engagement – Experimental SSDV transmissions – SATNOGS integration, decoder, dashboard Proposing a UHF downlink using 9k6 G3RUH GFSK with AX25 telemetry. Planning an Exolaunch deployment into a 510 km SSO. More info at https://drustvo-evo.hr . A downlink on 436.775 MHz has been coordinated by IARU. [ANS thanks Libre Space, Jan van Gils, PE0SAT, and IARU for the above information] ------------------------------ *Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,* *and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through* *AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> ------------------------------ Bill Introduced to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (MS) and Richard Blumenthal (CT) introduced S.3690 on January 30, 2024, the Senate companion bill to H.R.4006, introduced last June. Both bills reflect the Congressional campaign efforts by ARRL to eliminate homeowner association land use restrictions that prohibit, restrict, or impair the ability of an Amateur Radio Operator to install and operate amateur station antennas on residential properties they own. Amateur Radio Operators repeatedly are relied upon to provide essential communications when disaster strikes, but their ability to do so is being impaired by the exponential growth of residential private land use restrictions that hinder their ability to establish stations in their homes with which to train and provide emergency communications when called upon. In announcing the introduction of S.3690, Senator Wicker said: “Because communication during natural disasters is often hindered, we should be making every attempt to give folks more options. Reliable access can make the difference between life and death in an emergency. Our legislation removes roadblocks for amateur radio operators looking to help their friends, families, and neighbors.” In a similar announcement, Senator Blumenthal stated: “Our measure will help clarify the rules so ham radio enthusiasts can successfully continue their communications. In the face of emergency or crisis, they help provide vital, life-saving information that allow listeners to properly and safely respond, but prohibitive home association rules and confusing approval processes for installing antennas have been an unnecessary impediment. The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act resolves these bottlenecks and ensures that radio operators can function successfully.” ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, and Director John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, Chair of the ARRL’s Government Affairs Committee, both extended on behalf of ARRL, its Members, and the Amateur Radio community their thanks and appreciation for the leadership of Senator Wicker and Senator Blumenthal in their continuing efforts to support and protect the rights of all Amateur Radio Operators. [ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information] ------------------------------ Small Launch Companies Seek Niches to Compete With SpaceX Rideshare Small launch vehicle developers are working to carve out niches in a market for smallsat launches that is increasingly dominated by SpaceX’s Transporter rideshare missions. The Transporter missions, which fill a Falcon 9 often with more than 100 smallsats, offer per-kilogram prices significantly below dedicated small launch vehicles. SpaceX has seen high demand for those missions and announced plans last year for a related line of missions called Bandwagon that will go to mid-inclination orbits. “The Transporter program was created a few years ago with, in my opinion, the sole purpose of trying to kill new entrants like us,” said Sandy Tirtey, director of global commercial launch services at Rocket Lab, during a panel at the SmallSat Symposium in Mountain View, Calif. on Feb. 7. “Yet, we are still flying because we offer something unique.” That uniqueness, he argued, is the ability to fly missions to specific orbits not served by Transporter rideshare missions. An example is Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch, which will place into orbit the ADRAS-J inspector satellite for Astroscale. That mission requires a specific, precise orbit so that ADRAS-J can rendezvous with a derelict Japanese upper stage. *A Rocket Lab Electron launched four smallsats for NorthStar Earth and Space Jan. 31. Credit: Rocket Lab* “Electron is really the only vehicle capable of delivering such a complex mission on an expedited timeline,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in a Feb. 7 statement about the launch, scheduled for Feb. 19 (New Zealand time). Rocket Lab said the specific launch time will be determined just a day before launch, with a near-instantaneous launch window. “Most of the missions that we fly are enabled by the fact that we offer dedicated services,” Tirtey said, citing the upcoming ADRAS-J launch. “There is no way you could do this on a rideshare.” Other panelists said they are targeting customers with specific requirements or needs that make them less price-sensitive than those who opt for the less expensive Transporter launches. That includes dedicated orbits and high reliability, said Pablo Gallego, senior vice president of sales and customers at Spanish launch company PLD Space. “We are offering a premium service for the ones that are willing to pay.” That argument, though, is in danger of being undercut by the combination of rideshare launches and orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), which can take satellites to their desired orbit after being deployed from a Transporter or similar launch. Several companies are offering such vehicles and using them on Transporter launches. While that combination may still be less expensive than dedicated launches, it still doesn’t offer sufficient flexibility, launch providers argued. “We are excited to partner with a lot of OTV providers in providing that service to our customers, but it comes down to performance and how quickly you can get there,” said Robert Sproles, chief technology officer of launch services company Exolaunch. “If it takes you multiple months on orbit to get to that final destination, there’s a strong argument to be made to going dedicated.” Tirtey said that maneuvers that require plane changes can take months to complete, adding that current OTV providers have yet to demonstrate the ability to perform such complex maneuvers. “It could be useful, but you can’t expect a revolution because of physics.” However, on another panel at the conference Feb. 6, industry officials said they see challenges for small launch vehicles coming from SpaceX’s Starship, which promises much greater performance at significantly lower prices. “If you’re a smallsat company, your business model should be looking forward to the model of the Starship rideshare,” a scaled-up version of Falcon 9 rideshare, said Abhishek Tripathi, director of mission operations at the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Lab and who previously worked at SpaceX. He said that the introduction of Starship could change how spacecraft are designed, allowing the use of heavier but cheaper materials and components. “You can throw mass and power and volume at your problem and thereby scale up your satellite bus and still be cheap.” [ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information] ------------------------------ *Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* *Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff* *from our Zazzle store!* *25% of the purchase price of each product goes* *towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space* *https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear>* ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 16 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. - Lume-1 NORAD Cat ID 43908 Decayed from orbit on or about 13 February 2024 - FEES NORAD Cat ID 48082 Decayed from orbit on or about 12 February 2024 [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ------------------------------ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *COMPLETED CONTACTS* School TBD, Naro-Fominsk, Russia, direct via UB3AYC The ISS callsign was RSØISS The crewmember was Nikolay Chub The ARISS mentor was RV3DR Contact was successful for Thu 2024-02-15 08:22 UTC Congratulations to the Naro-Fominsk students, Nikolay, and mentor RV3DR! B. Russell High School, Rome, Italy, direct via IKØUSO The ISS callsign was OR4ISS The crewmember was Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor was IKØUSO Contact was successful: Thu 2024-02-15 11:32:10 UTC 54 deg Congratulations to the B. Russell High School students, Jasmin, and mentor IKØUSO! Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0YEgMvzbn8 Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, Russia, direct via R2FDB The ISS callsign was to be RSØISS The crewmember was Konstantin Borisov The ARISS mentor was RV3DR Contact was successful for: Fri 2024-02-16 09:10 UTC Congratulations to the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University students, Konstantin, and mentor RV3DR! *SCHEDULED CONTACTS* Girl Scout Troop 1089, Sacramento, CA, direct via N6NA The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled crewmember is Loral O’Hara KI5TOM The ARISS mentor is AA4KN Contact is go for: Thu 2024-02-22 18:26:02 UTC 89 deg The crossband repeater continues to be *active* (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system is also *active* (145.825 MHz up & down). As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. 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. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations Jonathan Eernisse, N4AKV has been QRV from FM05/FM06 and FM15/FM16 this week. Both LEO and IO-117. Details available on hams.at A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. + 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html + Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The JAMSAT Annual General Meeting and Symposium 2024 will be held in Sagano, Kyoto on 23-24 March 2024. To join the Symposium by ZOOM, please send e-mail to Ueda-san, ja0fkm(a)gmail.com, with your Callsign and Name by 16 March. He will send you invitation email including Zoom URL. If you are adept at reading Japanese (or have a good translation program) the latest edition of the JAMSAT Newsletter is packed with excellent articles, including a full report of satellite operations by the JAMSAT VK9QO DXpedition to Cocos (Keeling) Island, amateur transmissions from the moon by the SLIM LEV-1/LEV-2 landers, and a how-to on restoring a Yaesu G-5500 rotator. Visit the JAMSAT website at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/ to learn more. (ANS thanks Mikio Mouri, JA3GEP, JAMSAT Newsletter Editor, for the above information.) + An unspecified defect in early model Starlink satellites has prompted SpaceX to preemptively deorbit the units before they potentially fail and become hazards in low Earth orbit. The company has already initiated the disposal of 406 units from the nearly 6,000 satellites launched to date. Among these, 17 are currently non-maneuverable but are expected to naturally decay and eventually burn up in Earth’s atmosphere in the coming years. However, the decision to deorbit a large batch of approximately 100 satellites within a brief amount of time is certainly out of the ordinary. (ANS thanks Gismodo for the above information.) + The European Space Agency’s Cluster mission, which has spent 24 years revealing the secrets of Earth’s magnetic environment, is coming to an end. The first of the four satellites in the Cluster quartet, named ‘Salsa’, will reenter Earth’s atmosphere in September 2024. This month, spacecraft operators carried out a series of manoeuvres to ensure this reentry will take place over a sparsely populated region in the South Pacific. The end of the Cluster mission offers a rare chance to study the safe atmospheric reentry of four identical satellites under different conditions. (ANS thanks The European Space Agency for the above information.) + Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme, has confirmed that January 2024 was the warmest January on record. Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said: “2024 starts with another record-breaking month – not only is it the warmest January on record but we have also just experienced a 12-month period [with a mean global average temperature] more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial reference period. Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing.” (ANS thanks https://climate.copernicus.eu for the above information.) + Voyager 1, humanity’s most distant scientific outpost, is currently careening away from Earth at 17 kilometers every second and unable to transmit useful scientific or engineering data back to us across nearly a light-day of space. The problem with the 46-year-old spacecraft cropped up back in November, when Voyager started sending gibberish back to Earth. Flight controllers have determined that the problem lies within the one remaining flight data system (FDS) computer on board, most likely thanks to a single bit of corrupted memory. The team has tried rebooting the FDS, to no avail. With most of the engineers who originally built the spacecraft long gone now, the team is treading very carefully. (ANS thanks Hackaday for the above information.) ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM k0jm [at] amsat.org Categories AMSAT News <https://www.amsat.org/category/amsat-news/>, AMSAT News Service <https://www.amsat.org/category/amsat-news-service/>, ANS <https://www.amsat.org/category/ans/> ANS-042 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins <https://www.amsat.org/ans-042-amsat-news-service-weekly-bulletins/>

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ANS-042 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mitch Ahrenstorff (AD0HJ) 10 Feb '24

10 Feb '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-042 In this edition: * ESA Satellite Communications Group Explores Future Amateur Satellite Payload * GreenCube IO-117 Continues Operations Beyond Expected February 5th Passivation * JS1YMG: Decoding the First Moon-Based Ham Radio Station's Telemetry Signals * GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers February 2024 Rankings * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 9, 2024 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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 https://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<http://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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org ANS-042 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 Feb 11 ________________________________ ESA Satellite Communications Group Explores Future Amateur Satellite Payload Frank Zeppenfeldt, PDØAP, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), provided key insights during a presentation on February 4th at the FOSDEM 2024 conference held in Brussels, Belgium. The discussion centered around ESA's initiative to collaborate with the amateur satellite community in defining a prospective payload for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) or Geostationary Orbit (GEO). The ESA's involvement aims to build upon the success of the QO-100 payload in geostationary orbit, fostering innovation and technological advancements. During the FOSDEM conference, the ESA Satellite Communications Group outlined preliminary ideas, stressing the significance of engaging with the Software-Defined Radio (SDR) community. The primary objectives include consolidating requirements, exploring diverse payload options, addressing user segments, and thoroughly examining financing, procurement, and operational scenarios for a potential MEO/GEO amateur payload. The project's scope encompasses the consideration of various payload options and trade-offs, encompassing aspects such as frequency bands, analog or digital transmission, on-board SDR/Linux/GPU-box configurations, potential applications, technical risks, inter-satellite links, geographical coverage, degree of centralization, and educational components. [cid:image001.jpg@01DA5B8E.5A386560]<https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Support_for_MEO_…> Proposed Planning for ESA MEO/GEO Amateur Payload. [Credit: Frank Zeppenfeldt, ESA Satellite Communications Group] To ensure a comprehensive and well-informed approach, the ESA plans to actively involve the amateur community. This engagement seeks to gather valuable input on lessons learned from the QO-100 experience, amateur requirements and interests, as well as suggestions for payload options. The consultation process extends to reaching out to AMSAT and other relevant groups, alongside dialogues with satellite operators, primes, and various stakeholders. Looking ahead, the ESA has outlined a timeline for the project. In March 2024, the agency intends to solicit input from the amateur satellite community and other stakeholders, guided by valuable insights from the AMSAT community. By May 2024, detailed payload options will be presented for discussion at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, with the support of technical expertise. More information from this presentation including the ten page Slide Deck can be found https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-2084-design-of-a-follow-…. The culmination of this extensive process is expected in September 2024 at the World Satellite Business Week, where dedicated discussions with satellite operators will be organized. The ESA envisions proposing a selection of payload options at a subsequent FOSDEM conference in 2025, further demonstrating the collaborative commitment of ESA and the amateur satellite community to propel advancements in satellite communications and explore innovative possibilities for future amateur satellite payloads in both GEO and MEO orbits. [ANS thanks Frank Zeppenfeldt, PDØAP, ESA Satellite Communications Group, for the above information] ________________________________ GreenCube IO-117 Continues Operations Beyond Expected February 5th Passivation GreenCube IO-117 satellite continues to function beyond the initially scheduled shutdown of the amateur radio digipeater on February 5, 2024, at 0000 UTC. There have been no recent developments regarding the fate of this widely-used satellite since AMSAT Italia's announcement on February 2nd that the Italian Space Agency is considering revisiting the decision to decommission it. Originally designed for scientific purposes and placed in MEO orbit, GreenCube satellite has successfully completed its primary mission. The "Save the GreenCube Satellite Digipeater" petition initiated by Peter Goodhall, 2MØSQL, has gained significant traction, garnering over 2,000 signatures to date. The petition, accessible at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greencube-satellite-digipeater, remains open for further support. [cid:image002.jpg@01DA5B8E.5A386560]<https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greencube-satellite-digipeater> Save the GreenCube Satellite Digipeater petition continues to gather signatures. [Credit: Change.org] The support from the amateur radio satellite community for the GreenCube IO-117 digipeater has been exceptionally robust. Carsten Groen, OZ9AAR, has introduced significant enhancements to his GreenCube Terminal in the latest Version 1.0.0.88, which can be accessed at https://moonbounce.dk/hamradio/greencube-terminal-program.html. Notable improvements encompass SatNOGS Integration, GPS Integration, "AMSAT Sheriff" Wyatt, and Live World View. The Oscarwatch GreenCube Reporter map, developed by Peter Goodhall, 2MØSQL, is available at https://oscarwatch.org/greencube, serving as a valuable resource for monitoring real-time activity on GreenCube. The recent success of the TX5S Clipperton Island DXpedition, which made numerous GreenCube digipeater contacts, can be attributed to these enhancements and the collaboration of operators adhering to the recently released IO-117 Code Of Conduct recommendations. To get a comprehensive view of the considerable amateur radio activity on the GreenCube digipeater, you can explore the GreenCube IO-117 Users Map curated by Doug Papay, K8DP, accessible at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Y7O-rWll2QHFTjbBa4ThmZ3AG9ls8Io. According to the latest update, GreenCube has facilitated digipeating for 1,576 unique callsigns and 999 unique grids. This encompasses digipeats from 121 DXCC entities, all 50 US states, all 47 JA prefectures, and 36 out of 40 CQ Zones. Since its launch in July 2022, 846 ground stations have contributed over 3.4 million telemetry and 6.2 million digipeater frames to the SatNOGS database. The top five contributors to the database, in terms of total submissions, are Doug Papay, K8DP, with 1.1M submissions; Dave Webb, KB1PVH, with 734k submissions; Dave Fisher, KGØD, with 576k submissions; Shige Nasu, JH8FIH, with 507k submissions; and Jacob Mol III, N8JCM, with 498k submissions. [cid:image003.jpg@01DA5B8E.5A386560]<https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Y7O-rWll2QHFTjbBa4ThmZ3AG9ls8Io&ll> GreenCube IO-117 Users Map [Credit: Doug Papay, K8DP] GreenCube IO-117 exemplifies the strong backing the amateur radio satellite community extends to satellite missions incorporating telemetry data alongside communication opportunities for radio amateurs. The forthcoming challenge for satellite missions lies in soliciting input from the amateur radio satellite community and ensuring tools are available prior to launch. Leveraging its unique orbit and capabilities, GreenCube has enabled many to attain challenging awards on satellites, such as ARRL DXCC, ARRL Worked All States (WAS), and the JARL Worked All Japan Prefectures Award (WAJA). AMSAT, alongside thousands of amateur radio operators, remains steadfast in their support for the GreenCube mission, with hopes for its sustained success in the future. [ANS thanks Doug Papay, K8DP, Peter Goodhall, 2MØSQL, and Carsten Groen, OZ9AAR for the above information] ________________________________ The 2024 Coins Are Here Now! Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join<https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> the AMSAT President's Club today! [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Coin-Both_5…]<https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/2024-coin-both_586/#ma…> ________________________________ JS1YMG: Decoding the First Moon-Based Ham Radio Station's Telemetry Signals JQ1ZVI (JAXA Ham Radio Club, JHRC) recently obtained a radio station license from Japan for the lunar rover LEV-1, designated JS1YMG, marking a historic moment as the first amateur radio station on the moon. This milestone achievement follows Japan's SLIM lunar mission, which saw the deployment of two lunar excursion vehicles, LEV-1 and LEV-2. LEV-1, designed for hopping mobility, features direct-to-Earth communication capabilities via UHF band antennas from the MINERVA and OMOTENASHI projects. Equipped with two wide-angle visible light cameras, LEV-1 conducts lunar exploration while carrying essential science payloads, including a thermometer, radiation monitor, and inclinometer, providing valuable insights into lunar conditions and terrain. It actively receives data from its companion rover LEV-2, and this information is transmitted to Earth using its 1 Watt UHF circular polarization antenna, employing Morse code on a IARU coordinated frequency of 437.410 MHz. [cid:image004.jpg@01DA5B8E.5A386560]<https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/JAXA_SLIM_LEV1_L…> <https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/JAXA_SLIM_LEV1_L…>JAXA's SLIM mission delivered probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2, to the lunar surface. [Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency] Decoding efforts by Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ, and others have shed light on the telemetry data transmitted by LEV-1. Utilizing captures from the 25-meter radio telescope at Dwingeloo in the Netherlands, Estévez identified the telemetry format as PCM/PSK/PM with a symbol rate of 64 baud and a 2048 kHz subcarrier. The residual carrier is modulated in amplitude with Morse code, introducing an unusual element to the signal. Despite challenges posed by amplitude shift keying in the signal, a phase-locked loop (PLL) has proven effective in tracking the phase of the residual carrier. Estévez's decoding journey involved unraveling the CCSDS coding, a task that posed initial challenges. While the IARU coordination sheet hinted at bitrates and coding specifics, the signal's unique characteristics required a thorough investigation. The BCJR decoder, a tool used successfully in previous decoding efforts, validated the presence of convolutional coding. The output provided log-likelihood ratios, offering confidence in the correctness of the convolutional code. Further investigations led to the identification of the syncword 0xFAF320, a crucial element in understanding the structure of the transmitted frames. [cid:image005.jpg@01DA5B8E.5A386560]<https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LEV-1_Demodulato…> <https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LEV-1_Demodulato…>GNU Radio LEV-1 Demodulator GUI displaying Residual Carrier Amplitude from LEV-1 [Credit: Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ] One intriguing aspect of the decoded data is the Morse code modulating the residual carrier in amplitude. Despite initial confusion caused by an inverted amplitude representation, subsequent analysis revealed recognizable Morse code sequences. The meaning behind these Morse code transmissions remains a mystery, inviting collaboration from the broader radio amateur community and the LEV-1 team. As decoding efforts continue, the telemetry data's contents remain unknown, emphasizing the need for more documentation from the LEV-1 team. The spacecraft's utilization of the amateur satellite service and its completion of the IARU coordination process suggest that technical documentation may become publicly available in the future. More details on the ongoing efforts to decode LEV-1's amateur radio transmissions can be found at Daniel Estévez's website at https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/. This achievement in establishing the first amateur radio station on the Moon opens up new possibilities for lunar communications and amateur radio enthusiasts worldwide. The collaborative efforts of radio amateurs contribute significantly pave the way for future advancements in space communication technologies. [ANS thanks Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ, and Hackaday for the above information] ________________________________ GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers February 2024 Rankings The February 2024 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap<https://twitter.com/GridMasterMap> on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr<http://gridmaster.fr> website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr in order to provide more accurate data. Updated: 2024-02-07 1 ND9M 26 K8BL 51 F4DXV 76 DF2ET 2 NJ7H 27 KE4AL 52 KE9AJ 77 WA9JBQ 3 N5UC 28 LU5ILA 53 JL3RNZ 78 W8LR 4 JA9KRO 29 DL2GRC 54 KM4LAO 79 OE3SEU 5 DL6AP 30 KI7UNJ 55 VE1CWJ 80 VE3GOP 6 WI7P 31 VE3HLS 56 PA3GAN 81 KJ7NDY 7 UT1FG 32 KB5FHK 57 VK5DG 82 KB2YSI 8 HA3FOK 33 LA9XGA 58 N4UFO 83 K0FFY 9 N9IP 34 N7AGF 59 KI7QEK 84 CU2ZG 10 N6UA 35 F4BKV 60 SM3NRY 85 N0TEL 11 WY7AA 36 XE3DX 61 N8RO 86 DL4EA 12 K5ZM 37 N6DNM 62 PT2AP 87 W8MTB 13 AD0DX 38 KE0PBR 63 W1AW 88 KG4AKV 14 W5PFG 39 KE0WPA 64 VA7LM 89 VE6WK 15 DP0POL 40 JO2ASQ 65 XE1ET 90 VE7PTN 16 AK8CW 41 PR8KW 66 AA8CH 91 HB9GWJ 17 AD0HJ 42 AC0RA 67 M1DDD 92 AF5CC 18 WD9EWK 43 K7TAB 68 VA3VGR 93 DK9JC 19 ON4AUC 44 W7WGC 69 VE1VOX 94 PT9ST 20 KG5CCI 45 EB1AO 70 FG8OJ 95 JM1CAX 21 KX9X 46 JK2XXK 71 PT9BM 96 KI0KB 22 ND0C 47 EA4NF 72 KI7UXT 97 VO2AC 23 N5BO 48 AA5PK 73 LU4JVE 98 LW2DAF 24 F5VMJ 49 SP5XSD 74 YU0W 99 N4AKV 25 DJ8MS 50 AD7DB 75 N4DCW 100 N6UTC [ANS thanks @GridMasterMap for the above information] ________________________________ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 9, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources. AO-92 NORAD Cat ID 43137 Decayed from orbit on or about 02 February 2024 NO-116 NORAD Cat ID 51031 Decayed from orbit on or about 04 February 2024 Editor's Note: Thanks AO-92 for all the contacts, memories, and friends that you provided us! Miss you Veronica :( [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ________________________________ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!<https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/cm/LEO-Pack1-300x298.png] ________________________________ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. + Recently Completed Lilburn Elementary School, Lilburn, GA, direct via K4RGK The ISS callsign was NA1SS The crewmember was Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor was K4RGK Contact was successful: Wed 2024-02-07 14:24:10 UTC Congratulations to the Lilburn Elementary School students, Jasmin, and mentor K4RGK! Watch the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlwg2rof0LA School of Telecommunications Engineering, ETSIT Valencia (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia), Valencia, Spain, direct via EA5RKP The ISS callsign was OR4ISS The crewmember was Loral O'Hara KI5TOM The ARISS mentor was IKØUSO Contact was successful: Fri 2024-02-09 08:12:46 UTC Congratulations to the ETSIT Valencia students, Loral, and mentor EA5RKP! Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMdKcM2Fw8 + Upcoming Contacts School TBD, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Nikolay Chub The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for 2024-02-15 08:20 UTC B. Russell High School, Rome, Italy, direct via IKØUSO) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled crewmember is Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor is IKØWGF Contact is go for: Thu 2024-02-15 11:32:10 UTC Baltic Federal University. I. Kanta, Kaliningrad, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Konstantin Borisov The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for Fri 2024-02-16 09:10 UTC The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never 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. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html<https://gridmaster.fr> The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ________________________________ Upcoming Satellite Operations From Jonathan N4AKV: Next week I am hoping to head to a few of the FM grids, namely FM05, 06, 15, 16, 25, and 26. Plans and dates not finalized yet but will post here and on http://hams.at as usual when I figure them out. Hopefully GC will remain active. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information] ________________________________ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html 2024 CubeSat Developer's Workshop April 23-25, 2024 San Luis Obispo, CA https://www.cubesatdw.org/ Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says, Had a marvelous time last night with the South Pasadena (CA) ARC. BUT - I might have to "tighten up" my trivia questions throughout: They knew the answers IMMEDIATELY to all of them!!! Twenty-one members joined via Zoom. The rainstorms here made Zoom-ing the best-available option for the show. Next up: Bellingham WA, Orange County CA, and Brea CA! Think a lively and informative 75-minute presentation on "working the easy satellites" would be appropriate for your event or club? Just let us know! Clint Bradford K6LCS clint(a)k6lcs.org<mailto:clint@k6lcs.org> 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ________________________________ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store<https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear>! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AMSAT-Car-Flag-2…] ________________________________ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom successfully concluded its three-week private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by splashing down off the Florida coast on February 9th. Commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, KE5GTK, the Ax-3 mission lifted off on January 18 and included pilot Walter Villadei, IUØRWB, along with mission specialists Alper Gezeravcı, KJ5DIY, and Marcus Wandt, KJ5COO, who represented the European Space Agency. Despite a nearly week-long extension due to poor weather, the spacecraft's reentry and descent went according to plan, marking Axiom Space's third private astronaut mission to the ISS. This mission served as a precursor to Axiom's installation of commercial modules on the ISS, which will form the basis of a future standalone space station. Additionally, SpaceX announced plans for five or six crewed missions in 2024, including Ax-4 and NASA's Crew-8 and Crew-9 missions, while the Polaris Dawn mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is expected to launch in the summer for a historic Crew Dragon spacewalk. (ANS thanks Jeff Foust, SpaceNews, for the above information) + NASA's PACE satellite, aimed at studying ocean health, air quality, and climate change effects, was successfully launched into orbit at 1:33 a.m. EST on February 8th aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Signal acquisition was confirmed five minutes post-launch, with the satellite performing as anticipated. With instruments to study microscopic life in oceans and particles in the atmosphere, PACE aims to uncover crucial factors affecting global warming, aligning with the Biden-Harris Administration's climate agenda. The satellite's capabilities include tracking phytoplankton distribution globally and monitoring atmospheric aerosols and cloud properties. PACE's data will significantly advance understanding of the Earth system, particularly in relation to climate change impacts on oceans and phytoplankton dynamics, offering valuable insights for coastal communities and industries. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + NASA is preparing for the launch of Intuitive Machines' first lunar lander, Nova-C, as part of the CLPS initiative and Artemis campaign. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than 12:57 a.m. on February 14 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Nova-C lander is expected to land on the Moon on February 22, carrying NASA science and technology instruments for various purposes. Live launch coverage will be available on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website, starting from February 12. The payload includes instruments focusing on plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and communication/navigation for autonomous navigation technologies. NASA's virtual guest program allows the public to attend the launch virtually, and social media engagement is encouraged with the hashtag #Artemis. The CLPS initiative aims to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through partnerships with U.S. companies, with a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + Virgin Galactic has temporarily halted its operations after a small part, an alignment pin, unintentionally detached from the mothership of its rocket-powered space plane during the Galactic 06 space tourism flight on January 26. The company assured that the part's loss did not compromise the mission's safety. The alignment pin is crucial for pre-flight procedures, ensuring the spaceship aligns with the mothership. Virgin Galactic discovered the issue during routine checks and promptly notified government regulators on January 31. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will conduct a mishap investigation, requiring Virgin Galactic's final report and corrective actions approval before resuming flights. The alignment pin's absence did not affect the safety of the successful Galactic 06 mission, and the company plans to provide further updates after the FAA review for the upcoming Galactic 07 mission in the second quarter of 2024. (ANS thanks Jackie Wattles, CNN, for the above information) + Ongoing efforts persist in the bid to resolve the critical computer glitch affecting NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object in space, which has disrupted telemetry data transmission since November 14. The glitch, impacting the Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) developed five decades ago, has prevented access to vital information regarding the spacecraft's propulsion, power, and control systems. Suzanne Dodd, the Voyager project manager, acknowledges the severity of the situation, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the issue due to Voyager 1's age and declining nuclear battery power. A dedicated team of experts is actively crafting a plan to transmit commands aimed at isolating and potentially correcting the corrupted FDS memory. The unique challenge lies in the absence of simulators for testing commands, making decision-making a complex process requiring a delicate balance between thorough analysis and prompt action. Despite the intricate troubleshooting process, NASA remains resolute in its commitment to resolving the issue and ensuring the continued success of the historic Voyager 1 mission. (ANS thanks Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, for the above information) ________________________________ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org<http://amsat.org> for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week's ANS Editor, Mitch Ahrenstorff, ADØHJ ad0hj [at] amsat.org<http://amsat.org>

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ANS-035 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 03 Feb '24

03 Feb '24

*AMSAT *News Service*ANS-035* *February 4, 2024* In this edition: - AO-92 Reenters Earth's Atmosphere - The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon - Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) Amateur Telemetry Received - AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Release – v1.3 - VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of February 1, 2024 - Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 2, 2024 - Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency - ARISS News - Upcoming Satellite Operations - Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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 https://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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------ AO-92 Reenters Earth's Atmosphere After just over six years in orbit, Fox-1D, designated as AMSAT-OSCAR 92 (AO -92), likely re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 3, 2024 (Space-Track had not issued the final decay message as of the time of this writing.) AO-92 was a 1U CubeSat developed and built by AMSAT. It carried a single-channel transponder for mode U/v in FM and also had an L-band converter (the AMSAT L-band downshifter experiment), which allowed the FM transponder to be switched to an uplink in the 23 cm band. In addition to the transponders, the satellite carried the following scientific and technical payloads: - High Energy Radiation CubeSat (HERCI) built by the University of Iowa - Camera Experiment built by Virginia Tech - MEMS GYRO Experiment built by Penn State-Erie The satellite had a single whip antenna for the 70 cm and 23 cm bands (uplink), as well as an antenna for the 2m band (downlink). AO-92 was launched on January 12, 2018 at 03:59 UTC on an Indian PSLV XL rocket, along with the main payloads Cartosat-2F, NovaSAR-S, and 31 other small satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, India. At 05:17 UTC, the antennas were deployed over the North Pole and the satellite began to operate. At 05:28 UTC the first telemetry was received. 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 open for amateur use. *Rick Behma, VE4AMU, working AO-92 in Mode L/v with a Kenwood TM-941 mobile transceiver and Comet CYA-1216E yagi crossed with 2 meter Arrow II elements.* In addition to a very popular U/v transponder, the satellite provided a couple of unique capabilities. First was the L-band downshifter experiment, which was generally activated for 24 hours each Sunday while the satellite was able to support it. Pre-launch estimates suggested that approximately 100 watts ERP would be required to access the satellite, but much lower power outputs proved to be usable. Many stations operated through the satellite with radios such as the Alinco DJ-G7T at 1 watt of output into handheld antennas of between between 10 and 16 elements. At least one station reported accessing the satellite with just a simple whip antenna on 23 cm. The camera, developed by students at Virginia Tech, also proved to be popular and delivered many good pictures, with the last photos received on September 19, 2020. An archive of all of the photos captured by ground stations can be found at https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4. <https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4> The distance record on AO-92's U/v mode was 5,011 km - a transatlantic QSO between F4DXV and VE1VOX that took place on August 10, 2020. The record via the L/v mode was 4,202 km between OA4/XQ3SA and XE1MEX on June 3, 2020. By early 2021, the aging NiCd cells - having been purchased in the early 2010s along with the rest of the Fox-1 battery cells - had degraded to the point where the satellite was entering safe mode on every eclipse. It was rarely operational in recent months. The transponder was occasionally turned on, but usually defaulted into "Safe Mode" at the next eclipse. The last telemetry frame was received from the satellite on October 27, 2023 at 01:36 UTC. By every measure, AO-92 was a tremendously successful amateur radio satellite, providing educational and research benefits to AMSAT's university partners, as well as providing several years of reliable FM communication for amateurs. Its useful life far exceeded the average operational lifespan for commercial or educational CubeSats. *[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information]* ------------------------------ The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon *A rendering of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on the lunar surface. [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, image]* The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed their Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on January 19, 2024. Just before touchdown, SLIM released two small lunar surface probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2. LEV-2 collects data while moving on the lunar surface, and LEV-1 receives the data. The JAXA Ham Radio Club (JHRC), JQ1ZVI, secured amateur radio license JS1YMG for LEV-1, which has been transmitting Morse code on 437.41 MHz since January 19. The probe uses a 1 W UHF antenna with circular polarization and is transmitting "matters related to amateur business." Radio amateurs have been busy analyzing JS1YMG's signal, with Daniel Estévez's, EA4GPZ, blog <https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/> introducing the method and extraction results for demodulating Morse code from the signal, as well as extracting the code string. It's unclear how long signals will be heard. JAXA has said that SLIM was not designed to survive a lunar night, which lasts about 14 days, and is due to return in a few days. SLIM was launched on September 6, 2023, and landed on January 19, 2024, with the mission of analyzing the composition of rocks to aid research about the origin of the moon. SLIM's landing made Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the moon. The landing was achieved with exceptional precision -- within 180 feet of its targeted touchdown location. *[ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information]* ------------------------------ *The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.**Join <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> the AMSAT President’s Club today!* <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/2024-coin-both_586/#ma…> ------------------------------ Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) Amateur Telemetry Received The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed on January 20, 2024, that the Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1), a small robot deployed from the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), successfully conducted activities on the lunar surface. The telemetry data were sent directly from the small robot. According to telemetry data, after deployment from SLIM, LEV-1 executed planned leaping movements and direct communication with ground stations, including inter-robot test radio wave data transmission from the Transformable Lunar Robot (LEV-2, nicknamed "SORA-Q"). On the other hand, image acquisition on the lunar surface has not been confirmed as of now. Currently, LEV-1 has completed its planned operational period on the lunar surface, depleted its designated power, and is in a standby state on the lunar surface. While the capability to resume activity exists contingent on solar power generation from changes in the direction of the sun, efforts will be maintained to continue receiving signals from LEV-1. Both LEV-1 and LEV-2 have become Japan's first lunar exploration robots. Additionally, the small LEV-1 with a mass of 2.1 kg (including a 90g communication device), achieved successful direct communication with Earth from the moon. This is considered as the world's smallest and lightest case of direct data transmission from approximately 380,000 kilometers away. Furthermore, the accomplishment of LEV-1's leaping movements on the lunar surface, inter-robot communication between LEV-1 and LEV-2, and fully autonomous operations represent groundbreaking achievement. It would be regarded as a valuable technology demonstration for future lunar explorations, and the acquired knowledge and experience will be applied in upcoming missions. Moreover, the transmission of UHF band radio waves from LEV-1 as part of outreach efforts has encouraged participation from amateur radio operators globally, and we have been receiving reports of successful signal receptions. This initiative provided an opportunity for the public to be directly engaged in lunar exploration missions. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the LEV-1 mission. LEV-1 has an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) coordinated downlink frequency of 437.410 MHz. A detailed report on receiving and decoding LEV-1 telemetry has been prepared by Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ/M0HXM. It can be found at https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/ An earlier summary of LEV-1 design and specifications is at https://robotics.isas.jaxa.jp/lev /LEV_HAM_Club.html. *[ANS thanks the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ/M0HXM, for the above information]* ------------------------------ AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Release – v1.3 You might have heard about it or seen it at Hamvention or Symposium, but the official release of the new Beta CubeSatSim hardware and software is finally here!! The new beta PCB board set v1.3 is shown in Figure 1, the new board stack is shown in Figure 2, and the new frame and solar panels is in Figure 3. *Figure 1. AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta PCB Board Set. From left to right, battery board, STEM Payload board, and Solar board (the replacement for the Main board)* *Figure 2. AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Board Stack* *Figure 3. AMSAT CubSatSim Beta Frame and Solar Panel* Here are some links to information about the Beta release: The software for the beta release is here: https://CubeSatSim.org/beta <https://cubesatsim.org/beta> The beta wiki instructions are here: https://CubeSatSim.org/wiki-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/wiki-beta> The beta Bill of Materials (BOM) is here: https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/bom-beta> The beta hardware files are here: https://CubeSatSim.org/hardware-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/hardware-beta> The beta frame STL files for 3D printing are here: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/tree/beta/hardware/frame/v1.3.2 Information about the latest beta software release is here: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/releases/tag/v1.3.2 The AMSAT CubeSatSim is a low-cost, fully functional open source model of a CubeSat nano-satellite. It has the following features: - Working solar panels and rechargeable batteries - Multi-channel voltage, current, and temperature telemetry transmitted in the Amateur Radio UHF band generated by a Raspberry Pi Zero single board computer - Telemetry decoding using AMSAT's FoxTelem software or APRS software - STEM Payload board with Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller with sensors - Tape measure dipole or SMA antenna with integrated Low Pass Filter - 3D printed frame Here is a summary of the changes with the new beta hardware and software: - New FM transceiver module for better frequency stability and simple command and control receiver to change telemetry modes using RF - More modern and cheaper Raspberry Pi Pico micro controller on STEM Payload board - Easily connect additional sensors for the Pico or Pi using the Qwiic connector system (https://www.sparkfun.com/qwiic ) - SSTV camera images now display callsign and battery status overlay - Can be modified to fly as a balloon payload with 500mW FM output for SSTV, APRS, or CW transmissions with software support on Pico for a serial GPS module - Lower parts cost and easier to source. All parts can now be sourced from electronics distributors and Amazon including easy to find solar panels. New BOM uses Octopart electronic part inventory site with one click distributor ordering (https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/bom-beta>) - Redesigned for blue INA219 voltage and current sensors instead of more expensive purple ones - Battery board now has integrated voltage and current sensor - Simpler electrical power system with no boost converter or charge control modules - Kits can be built with through hole parts except for a few surface mount parts. Fully assembled boards will hopefully be available in the future using SMT parts - Transmit and receive frequencies easily configurable from default 434.9 MHz and 435 MHz *During this beta period, we ask for your help in testing the new hardware and software and making sure that all the instructions and documentation are accurate. To help with this, I am pleased to announce that past purchasers of the CubeSatSim v1 PCB board sets are eligible for a free beta v1.3.2 set of PCB boards. Just email me ku2y at arrl.net <http://arrl.net>! I will verify the order and ship you a new set of 3 blank boards. The boards will have the surface mount components already mounted. The first one hundred who contact me in the next three months will be eligible to receive them. For other orders, you will be able to choose between the v1 boards or the new beta v1.3.2 boards.* 73, Alan Johnston, PhD KU2Y AMSAT Vice President for Educational Relations P.S. AMSAT has CubeSatSim Loaners available to ship to your event or presentation or STEM outreach activity – just contact me if you have an upcoming event email at ku2y at arrl.net or on social media at @ku2y@mastodon.radio <http://%40ku2y@mastodon.radio/> *[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational Relations for the above information]* ------------------------------ VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of February 1, 2024VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary January 01, 2024 to February 01, 2024 Call 1-Jan 1-Feb WC7V 1451 1457 N8RO 1401 1423 W5CBF 1224 1326 DL5GAC New 1300 DF2ET 1102 1200 KF7R 1075 1100 N0JE 1075 1100 N3GS 986 1038 OZ9AAR 900 1000 N8JCM New 917 EA2AA 875 883 KQ4DO 827 853 W8LR 825 841 W2GDJ 705 822 FG8OJ 737 801 VU2LBW 603 751 WD9EWK (DM43) 734 736 JL1SAM 601 700 N8MR 658 675 AF5CC 646 651 JG6CDH 553 605 N6UTC 551 600 WB7VUF 555 572 N5EKO 500 550 N3CAL 480 525 F6GLJ 400 501 N7ZO 350 501 DL6KBG 331 500 SA0UNX 362 463 LA6OP New 458 AD2DD 356 403 KF2T 111 399 N6PAZ 350 369 JH8RZJ New 328 AG4W 161 314 JI5USJ 236 301 AA0MZ 276 277 NJ2DX 100 260 IK8YTA 162 243 N7GR 205 226 KR7LD New 211 PY2YJ 150 210 WD9EWK (DM22) 198 200 WD9EWK (DM31) 187 195 IK0WRB 123 174 W0SX New 134 WK7G New 118 K7AXA New 104 SP7JS New 104 W6CZ New 103 YO6OEV New 103 BA7LVG New 100 Congratulations to the new VUCC holders! W6CZ is first VUCC Satellite holder from DM07 W0SX is first VUCC Satellite holder from DM37 LA6OP is First VUCC Satellite holder from JP67 YO6OEV is First VUCC Satellite holder from KN26 SP7JS is First VUCC Satellite holder from KO00 BA7LVG is First VUCC Satellite holder from OL63 DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary January 01, 2024 to February 01, 2024 Call 1-Jan 1-Feb HB9BZA 158 188 PS8ET 160 178 F4BKV 150 171 G4GIR 163 167 PA3FWP 127 157 EA2AA 154 156 I3BUI 142 155 AC4G 151 152 OZ9AAR 125 151 EA6VQ 127 145 HB9RYZ 141 145 IK4CIE 133 143 HB9GWJ 129 134 RA3DNC 107 131 W5CBF 100 130 DL2QB 100 120 LA0FA 102 109 N3GS 100 108 IK8YTA New 100 Congratulations to the new DXCC Satellite holders! IK8YTA is first DXCC Satellite holder from JN70 *[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information]* ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 2, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution. *[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]* ------------------------------ *Need new satellite antennas? Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the **AMSAT Store! <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/>**When you purchase through **AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards **Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* ------------------------------ Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency On Thursday, January 25, 2024 S5Lab posted on X that the GreenCube (IO-117) Digipeater would be permanently deactivated on February 5th. Designed and developed by students of Sapienza University of Rome, IO-117 is the first satellite to carry an amateur radio payload into a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of approximately 6,000 km. The message from S5Lab read: *Dear Friends,* *After one year and a half of operations, it is time to conclude the GreenCube operations with the planned de-commissioning activities. After the conclusion of the nominal experiment and with the digipeater payload active for more than one year, we will perform the passivation operations for the satellite.* *The planned passivation operations will be executed on Monday, 5 February 2024, at 00:00 UTC. From that day, GreenCube will be completely passivated and the digipeater will be switched off for good.* *We want to thank everyone that endorsed, supported or participated in the mission and the radio amateur community that enthusiastically became a true part of our project. We hope that GreenCube will somehow be part of your memories of radio amateurs, space engineering enthusiasts, and we hope to involve you soon in many more adventures.* *Thanks once again for the unbelievable memories shared together… See you soon!* *The GreenCube Team at S5Lab* That afternoon, AMSAT sent a letter to S5Lab <https://www.amsat.org/amsat-responds-planned-decommissioning-io-117-greencu…> expressing the organization's desire to leverage our decades of experience and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping IO-117 in service for as long as possible. AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-F, and other amateur satellite organizations also expressed similar sentiments. Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, began a petition on change.org <https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greencube-satellite-digipeater> that garnered over 1,500 signatures from amateur radio operators around the world in one week. On the afternoon of Friday, February 2, 2024, AMSAT Italia made the following announcement: *AMSAT Italia would like to inform the amateur community that its request to the Italian Space Agency, the owner of the GREENCUBE satellite, to reconsider its decision of decommissioning the satellite is under evaluation.* *Waiting for its decision, IO-117 is still operational.* *The GreenCube satellite was born as a scientific experiment placed in MEO orbit which successfully concluded its mission.* *IO-117 is the HAM Radio part of the satellite consisting of a digipeter which was promoted by AMSAT Italia and coordinated by IARU-R1.* *At the moment AMSAT Italia is committed to promoting the continuation of the mission for the HAM Radio part of Greencube.* *AMSAT Italia BoD* During its lifetime, IO-117 has proved to be a popular resource, allowing amateurs all over the world to obtain ARRL's Worked All States (WAS) and DX Century Club (DXCC) awards via satellite and to boost their VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) grid totals. A strong presence by Japanese amateurs has allowed many to work all the Japanese prefectures. A few DXpeditions, such as TX5S to Clipperton Island, have also brought gear for IO-117 along and provided rare DX entities via satellite. Multiple future DXpeditions also plan IO-117 activities. AMSAT is hopeful that the satellite's lifetime can be extended. *[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-IT, AMSAT, Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, and S5Lab for the above information]* ------------------------------ ARISS News Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *Lilburn Elementary School, Lilburn, GA, direct via K4RGK* The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled crewmember is Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor is K4RGK Contact is go for: Wed 2024-02-07 14:24:10 UTC 57 deg *School of Telecommunications Engineering, ETSIT Valencia (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia), Valencia, Spain, direct via EA5RKP* The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled crewmember is Loral O’Hara KI5TOM The ARISS mentor is IKØUSO Contact is go for: Fri 2024-02-09 08:12:46 UTC 31 deg *School TBD, Russia, direct via TBD* The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Nikolay Chub The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for 2024-02-15 08:20 UTC The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never 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. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html *[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]* ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite OperationsIO-117!! JR5JAQ/6 will be QRV from *PM53* and *PM62* in *Oita prefecture* for a few days. He will also be active from *PM62* in *Miyazaki prefecture* later in the week. Check hams.at for individual pass times. JS3KKT/3 will be QRV from *PM74* (prefecture unknown) just one day before the planned passivation of Greencube. Refer to hams.at for additional info. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. *[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information]* ------------------------------ * Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store <https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear>! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says, "Think a 75-minute presentation on "working the easy satellites" would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!" Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences. Scheduled Events *Orlando HamCation 2024* Friday February 9th through Sunday February 11th, 2024 Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park 4603 West Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida 32808 https://www.hamcation.com *40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight* Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html *2024 CubeSat Developer’s Workshop* April 23-25, 2024 San Luis Obispo, CA https://www.cubesatdw.org/ *Dayton Hamvention 2024* Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org *[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]* ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts from All Over + NASA announced the crew assignments on January 31 for the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. They will join Expedition 71 and 72 crew members no earlier than August, and will arrive at the space station for a short duration handover with NASA's SpaceX Crew-8. Launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft will be NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman, Pilot Nick Hague, KG5TMV, and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov. The four crew members are preparing to conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities, including ARISS contacts. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + After more than 3 years in orbit, AO-109 remains operational and usable for QSOs using modes such as FT4 despite extremely low power output. SSB QSOs are also possible with high gain receive antennas. Due to a failed final power amplifier transistor, the total output power of AO-109 is approximately 8 mW. + YouTube channel Ham Radio Crash Course has featured IO-117 in two recent videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjW3XOKCmBo and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn_qPVoue3A ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. *73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *This week's ANS Editor,* *Paul Stoetzer, N8HM* *n8hm [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* *ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002*

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ANS-033 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency
by Paul Stoetzer 02 Feb '24

02 Feb '24

*AMSAT *News Service Special Bulletin*ANS-033* *February 2, 2024* In this edition: - Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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 https://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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------ Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency Moments ago, the AMSAT News Service received the following announcement from AMSAT Italia regarding IO-117 (GreenCube): *AMSAT Italia would like to inform the amateur community that its request to the Italian Space Agency, the owner of the GREENCUBE satellite, to reconsider its decision of decommissioning the satellite is under evaluation.* *Waiting for its decision, IO-117 is still operational.* *The GreenCube satellite was born as a scientific experiment placed in MEO orbit which successfully concluded its mission.* *IO-117 is the HAM Radio part of the satellite consisting of a digipeter which was promoted by AMSAT Italia and coordinated by IARU-R1.* *At the moment AMSAT Italia is committed to promoting the continuation of the mission for the HAM Radio part of Greencube.* *AMSAT Italia BoD* *[ANS thanks AMSAT Italia for the above information]* ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. *73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *This week's ANS Contributing Editor,* *Paul Stoetzer, N8HM* *n8hm [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* *ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002*

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