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ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by Frank Karnauskas 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-061 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://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. In this edition: * Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch * FO-29 Operational Schedule * Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation * K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 * New QO-100 Band Plan Announced * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-061.01 ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 061.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 01, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-061.01 Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch The spouse of ARISS Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out that the ARISS next generation radio system, the InterOperable Radio System (IORS) is prominently described as a primary payload, not secondary, on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission which will be launched no earlier than March 6, 2020 (ET). The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone that has contributed to helping ARISS realize this major milestone It should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on IORS development and final certification. While certified for launch and stowage on ISS, the team is still in deep into the final certification of the IORS for flight operations. Also, the build of the second flight unit is in progress in Florida and in San Diego. While CRS-20 represents the launch of SN 1001, the first flight unit, it also represents the beginning of the "ARISS factory build" and certification of all ten units. The ARISS team also notes that November 13, 2020 will represent the 20th year of ARISS continuous amateur radio operation on ISS! [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO AMSAT Vice President, Human Space Flight for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 1 04:00- 14:05 March 2 04:45- 14:55 March 7 03:40- 05:25- 13:50 March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation The Glenn Lightsey Research Group, Space Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology is sponsoring a 1U CubeSat mission. The primary function of GT-1 is to be an educational proof of concept and satellite bus demonstrator. It will use this mission as an opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in all parts of a space mission, from design to implementation and sustainment. It will test a prototype deployable antenna and solar panels, which can be used for future missions derived from the same baseline design, and with inclusion of additional experimental equipment. It will operate with AX.25 protocol to collect telemetry data. In partnership with the W4AQL Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, the satellite will also host a digital contact ROBOT payload, inspired by the Russian ham satellites RS-12 and RS-13. It will collect QSO information from individuals who contact the ROBOT as it orbits. The satellite will also function as a standard digipeater. Proposing a 9k6 UHF downlink using G3RUH FSK modulation. Planning a JAXA deployment from the ISS in October 2020. A downlink on 437.175 MHz has been coordinated. [ANS thanks IARU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 In preparation for the upcoming Space Camp at Biosphere 2 , members of the University of Arizona K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club are helping with the placement of an Amateur Radio satellite ground station. The first step was to mount the Yaesu G-5500 az-el rotor system to a Rohn 45 tower. The complete station will include circularly polarized M2 beam antennas for 2m and 70cm, an Icom IC-9700, computers and tracking software. Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, Station Manager for the K7UAZ club reports that Space Camp management is enthusiastic about having UAZ students help with the installation and setup of the station. Student involvement will also include calibrating the rotator system, mapping the artificial horizon for the tracking software and integration and testing the tracking software with the radio. Now in its third year, Space Camp at Biosphere 2 will be held August 3-8, 2020. Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is a joint effort with the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, the Arizona NASA Space Grant Consortium, and the University of Kyoto, Japan. Students attending the camp will experience college-level curriculum and activities focusing on the biological/environmental facets of space travel. More information on Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is available at https://spacegrant.arizona.edu/research/spacecamp [ANS thanks Curt Laumann, K7ZOO 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New QO-100 Band Plan Announced Just in time for the 1-year anniversary of the successful commissioning of the two transponders of Qatar-OSCAR 100, an encore is pending: The capacity of the NB transponder will be expanded from about 250 KHz to almost 500 KHz. In addition to extended areas for the various operating modes, more space is also being created in particular for "mixed mode" and other special operating cases. In addition to frequencies reserved for emergency radio operations, more experiments are to be made possible here. But all this only with a maximum bandwidth of 2.7 kHz. Automatic operation requires a special license from the local licensing authorities and must be coordinated with the operator beforehand; this task is performed by AMSAT-DL on behalf of QARS and Es'hailSat. To take account of user behavior, AMSAT-DL has almost doubled the SSB range in particular. Detailed information is available at https://amsat-dl.org/en/neuer-qo-100-bandplan/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News * Upcoming Contacts River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. Direct via WA3YFQ. The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA. The contact is a go for Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 15:17:44 UTC. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N 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. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over AMSAT SA Space Symposium Announced * The AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on July 11, 2020. Prospective authors are invited to propose papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za before Friday, February 28, 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box, Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. More information available at http://www.sarl.org.za/ [ANS thanks SARL for the above information.] * MEMESat-1 Proposed Let's Go to Space, Inc.'s first satellite mission is the Mission for Education and Multimedia Engagement, better known as MEMESat-1. This spacecraft will be a 1U amateur radio CubeSat. It's primary mission is to serve as an FM Repeater and to downlink donor submitted memes via UHF SSTV protocol. MEMESat is also being created to engage people through the sharing of memes from space and help fund small satellite focused research. More information available at https://letsgo2space.com/memesat-1-3/ [ANS thanks Michael Frazier, KJ5Z for the above information.] * Two Commercial Satellites Link Up for First Time A Northrop Grumman robotic servicing spacecraft has hooked up with an aging Intelsat communications satellite more than 22,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean, accomplishing the first link-up between two commercial satellites in space, and the first docking with a satellite that was never designed to receive a visitor. Northrop Grumman's first commercial Mission Extension Vehicle, or MEV 1, will take over propulsion responsibilities for Intelsat 901, which is running low on fuel after more than 18 years in service relaying data and television signals. MEV 1 is the first spacecraft of its kind, and officials say the successful link-up with Intelsat 901 is a harbinger for a new era of commercial satellite servicing. The automated docking early Tuesday also marked the first connection of two satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the equator where spacecraft move at speeds that match the rate of Earth's rotation. Complete information at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-061-Grumman [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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ANS-054 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 23 Feb '20

23 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-054 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation 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 commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * QARMAN and Phoenix CubeSats Deployed from ISS * AMSAT Files Comments Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band * NEMO-1 Buoy Report * GNU Radio Conference - Tickets and Call for Papers * U.S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 Scheduled to Launch in Mid-March * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Available with Membership * ARISS Radio Telebridge Stalwart Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, SK * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-054.01 ANS-054 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 054.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 23 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-054.01 QARMAN and Phoenix CubeSats Deployed from ISS The von Karman Institute in Belgium (VKI) reports the successful de- ployment of the QARMAN satellite from the International Space Station on Wednesday, 19 February. QARMAN is one of several cubesats that were scheduled for deployment this week. Also, Arizona State University reports that its Phoenix CubeSat was successfully deployed from the ISS as scheduled at 9:35 UTC Wednesday. Roughly 30 minutes after deployment, its beacon was heard for the first time at an amateur radio ground station located in Indonesia. VKI also reports successful reception and decoding of telemetry from QARMAN. It is important to note that both of these satellites are using the same frequency, 437.35 MHz, for telemetry transmissions, and that they are in very similar orbits. Both satellites also follow the AX.25 protocol at 9600 baud, with GMSK modulation. It will take some trial and error before each spacecraft’s TLEs can be confirmed. Operators of these satellites are actively seeking observations from amateurs. Please report to: https://community.libre.space/c/satellites-observations ANS is awaiting reports regarding the other satellites that were scheduled for deployment on Wednesday, as listed below: CubeSat Downlink (MHz) Uplink (MHz) Scheduled Deployment Time (UTC) RadSat-u 437.425 437.425 7:10 CryoCube 2261.00 2082.004 12:55 AztechSat-1 437.3 437.3 12:55 SOCRATES 914.7 914.7 14:30 Argus-02 437.29 437.29 16:00 HARP 468.0 450.0 16:00 SORTIE 468.0 450.0 17:40 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, VKI, and Arizona State for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Files Comments Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band AMSAT has filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which proposes to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz (9 cm) amateur band, including the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz amateur sat- ellite service allocation. In the comments, AMSAT opposes the deletion of this allocation and em- phasizes the necessity of adequate microwave spectrum for future ama- teur satellite projects, including AMSAT's GOLF program and the Lunar Gateway. AMSAT further notes that the most desirable allocations for use as up- links are the allocations between 2.4 and 5.67 GHz. These allocations total 80 MHz. The most desirable allocation for downlink use is the 10.45 - 10.50 GHz allocation, totaling 50 MHz. As many of the proposed uses include amateur television and high-speed data transmission with satellites in high earth orbit or lunar orbit, these allocations may quickly become inadequate. AMSAT also notes that the 2.4 and 5.67 GHz allocations are widely used for ISM and consumer devices, such as WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled devices. The 3.4 GHz allocation is shared be- tween amateur use and other non-federal and federal licensees, but is free from the unpredictable interference of consumer devices. While acknowledging that the 3.4 GHz amateur satellite service allo- cation is not currently used by any amateur satellites and that it is unsuitable for worldwide communication since it is not available in ITU Region 1, AMSAT identifies a number of potential future uses for the band as worldwide usage of the other available allocations in- creases. These potential uses include a future amateur satellite in geostationary orbit above the Americas. In the comments, AMSAT also noted several non-amateur satellite uses of the broader 3.3 - 3.5 GHz amateur service allocation, including its wide use in mesh networking, EME communications, and contesting. The full text of the comments as filed can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-054-FCC Interested parties may file reply comments on or before March 22, 2020 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/ The proceeding is WT Docket No. 19- 348. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Executive Vice President. for the ab- ove information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEMO-1 Buoy Report AMSAT ARGENTINA launched the NEMO-1 buoy into the Atlantic sea on Jan- uary 30th at noon, using the callsign LU7AA. It was transported 70 km east of Mar del Plata by the fisherman's ship 'Porteño', from Sandokan. The buoy, which emits in WSPR mode at 14095.6 KHz and FM VHF in APRS mode, navigated drifting free for 12 days traveling about 1100 kilo- meters, until on February 11th it was sighted and taken out of the water by the tuna vessel 'Juan Pablo II'. The captain of the ship, Rinaldi Yaco, considered that the buoy was sailing semi-sunk and decided to rescue it, informing Amsat Argentina of that event. The NEMO-1 then traveled eight more days aboard the tuna vessel, con- tinuing its mission of data capture and broadcasting, until on Feb-19 it arrived at the port of Mar del Plata, where colleagues from the Mar del Plata Radio Club picked it up and kept in custody. A group of AMSAT-LU is traveling to recover NEMO-1. The buoy will be reconditioned and a new launch is planned. It will be tried to take it, on this occasion, to more than 200 km offshore, so that it will con- tinue to navigate freely, reaffirming the commitment and contribution of radio amateurs to QRPp propagation research also helping navigation and the community. AMSAT ARGENTINA especially thanks the Captains and crews of the 'Porteño', the 'Juan Pablo II' ships and the Mar del Plata RClub in the persons of its Secretary, Jose Luis Hermida (LU9DHJ) and Jorge Garelli (LU5EOR) for the help provided and to the more than 100 'trav- elers' in NEMO-1, who supported this project helping to carry it out. http://amsat.org.ar?f=ce Adventure photos: http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy [ANS thanks LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ GNU Radio Conference - Tickets and Call for Papers GNU Radio is used by spacecraft and ground station developers around the world. GRCon is the annual conference for the GNU Radio project and community. GRCon20 will be held September 14-18, 2020 in Charlotte, N.C. The GNU Radio Conference celebrates and showcases the substantial and remarkable progress of the world’s best open source digital signal processing framework for software-defined radios. In addition to pre- senting GNU Radio’s theoretical and practical presence in academia, industry, the military, and among amateurs and hobbyists, GNU Radio Conference 2020 will have a very special focus: Speed, latency, delay, and timing! Enjoy our racing theme throughout the conference, featured in our con- tests and a high-octane Thursday night dinner. Papers and presentations on theme will be recognized at the conference with an award. But wait, there’s more! We’ll be co-located and coordinated with the TAPR Digital Communications Conference. It’s the weekend immediately preceding GRCon20. Find out more at: https://tapr.org/?page_id=68 Registration and an online and mobile-friendly schedule will be posted at https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon/grcon20/ Developers and users from the GNU Radio Community are invited to pre- sent projects, presentations, papers, posters, and problems at GRCon20. Submit talks, demos, and code! Please share this Call widely. To sub- mit your content for the conference, visit the dedicated conference submission site at: https://pretalx.gnuradio.org/grcon20/cfp First round closes 17 April 2020. If accepted, your content will be immediately scheduled. Notifications go out 26 June 2020. Final round closes 1 September 2019. Submissions received between 18 April 2020 and 1 September 2020 are accepted space permitting, and notifications will be sent out on a rolling basis. Those with questions or need assistance with submitting then please write grcon(a)gnuradio.org [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 Scheduled to Launch in Mid-March The U. S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 payload is scheduled to launch in mid- March from the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska in Kodiak, AK. PSAT3 is functionally equivalent to NO-104 (PSAT2), but does not in- clude PSK31 functionality. It carries a 145.825 MHz APRS digipeater and SSTV downlink capability. PSAT3 will not be a free-flying satellite. It will remain attached to the upper stage of the launch vehicle. Consequently, the mission dur- ation will be limited to a few months, when the rocket body will de- orbit. More information about PSAT3 can be found at http://aprs.org/psat3.html [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and the IARU for the above infor- mation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this weeks AMSAT TLE Distribution: SwampSat-2 NORAD CAT ID 45115 (Deployed from Northrop Grumman NG-12 Cygnus 2-3-2020.) (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) Sadly, AO-85 (Fox-1A) has been declared at end of mission. But, I think I will retain AO-85 in the TLE distribution for a while just in case there are some last comments from our friend. (Remember AO-7?) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Avail- able for New or Renewing Members While HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Radio Telebridge Stalwart Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, SK When the International Space Station (ISS) orbit is not favorable for a direct Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) con- tact with a particular school or location scheduled to speak with an astronaut, ARISS radio telebridge stations bridge the gap. Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, of Parklands, South Africa, one of the “regulars” during the earlier years of the ARISS program, died on February 1 at age 95. Klatzko served as an ARISS radio telebridge station in South Africa for many years until he retired. ARISS telebridge stations establish the direct ham radio link and feed two-way audio into a telebridge line for delivery to the contact site. John Sygo, ZS6JON, described Klatzko as “always bright and cheerful and a great operator,” who made major contributions to the amateur service. “He was one of the first to experiment with slow-scan television,” Sygo said. “For many years, he assisted NASA to link astronauts with their families using amateur radio links from Mir, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. For over 2 decades he was the co- producer and presenter of Amateur Radio Mirror International.” [ANS thanks ARRL 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming ARISS Contacts ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station. A con- tact is scheduled with the Kittredge Magnet School, Atlanta, GA, direct via KQ4KMS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is go for: Monday, 2020-02-24 at 18:23:55 UTC (31 degrees elevation). A contact is also scheduled with the Celia Hays Elementary School, Rockwall, Texas, direct via W5SO. The ISS callsign is presently sched- uled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is go for: Tuesday, 2020-02-25 at 17:35:18 UTC (31 degrees) Watch for live stream at https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=NWM5NW The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS operation team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Arizona March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. This color brochure is designed to be printed double- sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ There is a possibility that Joe may have to make a pit stop in EM54 and EM53 on his way down South on February 1st. Monitor Twitter for updates. Culebra Island, PR (FK78) February 22-23, 2020 Radio Operadores del Este, Inc, KP3E will be returning to Culebra Island February 21-23. Listen for Rafael, KP4RV, on FM satellites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xSbPgIyhtA&feature=youtu.be Vidalia, LA (EM41) February 28 – March 1, 2020 Brian, KG5GJT, will will be operating from the bank of the Missis- sippi River in Vidalia, La. (EM41), where Jim Bowie was seriously wounded in the Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827. This will be vacation style, so keep an eye on Brian’s Twitter feed for updates: https://twitter.com/KG5GJT DN26/36 Mar 14-15 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from “The Loneliest Road in America.” Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It’s for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there, but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Students in the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington have confirmed via their Facebook page that they have been commanding HuskySat-1 to various transmitter power levels and beacon intervals. Some amateurs tracking the bird, which carries a linear transponder to be activated later, had feared that the varying levels were a sign of problems. But this is part of the experimentation. The Husky- Sat team has been providing updates on their operations on their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/UWCubeSat/posts/ You should not need a Facebook account to view that link. (ANS thanks UW CubeSat Team for the above information) + NASA will accept applications for its next astronaut class March 2 to 31. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a master's degree in a STEM field and two years of relevant professional experience. To sign up, see: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts (ANS thanks NASA HQ News for the above information) + International Astronomical Youth Camp will take place in Spain from 12 July to 1 August 2020. The camp typically hosts around 65 parti- cipants, aged between 16-24 years old. The IAYC’s main aims are to promote knowledge on astronomy and related sciences in a unique, in- ternational atmosphere. Participants work on a research project of their own choosing over the course of the three weeks, culminating in a final report. See https://www.iayc.org/ for details. (ANS thanks Carys Herbert, IAYC Leaderteam, for the above informa- tion) + The ARISS-UK Team have announced that the Electromagnetic Field 2020 event is to host an ARISS contact during the weekend of July 23-26. The event will be held at Easton Manor Deer Park, near Ledbury in Herefordshire, UK. Information and event tickets available at: https://blog.emfcamp.org/2020/02/14/ticket-sales-dates/ (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information) + The maiden flight of the Long March-5B rocket carrying a trial ver- sion of China's new-generation manned spaceship is expected to take place in April, indicating the imminent start of construction of China's space station. The rocket, the prototype core capsule of the space station, and the experimental manned spaceship are undergoing tests at the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of south China's island province of Hainan. https://bit.ly/2VcjXrO (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + A new version of the game of "chicken" is evolving in outer space. According to Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force Chief, Russian "inspector" satellites are threatening the tenuous stand-off stabil- ity between adversarial spacefaring nations. Since Novemeber, the U.S. Space Command has been tracking a satellite known as Cosmos- 2542 which ejected a smaller, nested satellite referred to as Cosmos- 2543. The Russian satellites have been actively maneuvering near USA 245, a classified military imaging satellite. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + Amazon has patented a mechanism for throwing satellites into space with a multi-drone-guided whip, mounted on a boat. See details at: https://bit.ly/37KWPmL Note, though, that Amazon (and other tech companies) have a history of patenting things that they’ll never actually build, such as Amazon’s underwater fulfillment centers: https://bit.ly/2Tf7DV9 Has April Fool come early? (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org

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ANS-047 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 16 Feb '20

16 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-047 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation 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 commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT-OSCAR 85 Declared End of Mission * HuskySat-1 Update * Update from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG * Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Available for New or Renewing Members * Apogee View - January/February 2020 * 5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Satellites * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 13, 2020 * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Upcoming AMSAT Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-047.01 ANS-047 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 047.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 16, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-047.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF-TEE satellite recently reached a major milestone when prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time. Help support AMSAT's path back to HEO by donating today! https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT-OSCAR 85 Declared End of Mission After a long decline in the health of its batteries, AO-85 has gone silent. Having not been heard throughout the most recent period of full illumination, it is reasonable to believe the batteries have deteriorated to the point of no longer being able to power the trans- mitter. Should some future event cause a cell to open, it is possible the satellite may be heard again, but for now it is time to declare end-of-mission. AO-85 was conceived as the first AMSAT cubesat, and was designed to be a successor to the popular AO-51 microsat. Accepted into the NASA CubeSat Launch Initative in February 2012, AO-85 was launched October 8, 2015. AO-85's success led to further Fox satellites AO-91, AO-92, AO-95, and RadFxSat2 / Fox-1E which will be launched later this year. The Fox-1E transponder was also spun off into a radio system now in orbitonboard HuskySat-1, and soon to be in several other university cubesats. Development continues on GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1, which will include a legacy V/u linear transponder and a SDR-based multiband uplink and 10 GHz downlink radio system. Your continued support of AMSAT by member- ship and donations will help us Keep Amateur Radio in Space. [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President - Operations for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HuskySat-1 Update Students in the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington have been celebrating successes since HuskySat-1, a student built sat- ellite weighing about 9 lbs, deployed into space on Friday, January 31st: • After being deployed, HuskySat turned on, deployed the antennas on the first attempt, and start transmitting in a designated "safe mode". • On the first active pass over Seattle, just 2 hours after deploy- ment, students used the UW ground station to command the satellite to change operational modes. • With help from AMSAT and the network of amateurs across the globe, the HuskySat team has been able to closely track the health of the satellite. Health data includes temperatures, battery charge state, and solar panel charging. • Over the weekend, the camera payload took and transmitted the first pictures from space! The camera included collaboration with Raisbeck Aviation High School and nonprofit Quick2Space. Commissioning of the satellite systems is still underway. The sat- ellite has actually been in space inside a Nanoracks deployer since launch on Nov 2nd. The main research goal of satellite is to demon- strate the new propulsion and communication technologies on the sat- ellite. At the completion of the research phase, the satellite will be utilized as an amateur transponder. The mission of the UW program, housed in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, is to foster interdisciplinary student participation in space systems research, to inspire and train future space scien- tists and engineers, and to advance spacecraft capabilities at the University of Washington. On February 15th, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, hosted a Twitch stream to discuss the AMSAT Linear Transponder Module (LTM-1) and HuskySat-1. You can see a replay of the livestream at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/552209241 [ANS thanks Paige Northway of the HuskySat-1 team and Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG I am humbled by the greetings and congratulatory messages received over the past ten days since becoming the President of AMSAT. Please join me in expressing gratitude to our immediate past president Joe Spier, K6WAO, for his dedication to AMSAT’s mission of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. It was a pleasure to speak with many of our members at the Orlando Hamcation last weekend. Attending Hamcation afforded me the opportun- ity to meet with many of our volunteers and reach out to other organi- zations in amateur radio such as the ARRL and the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. My priority, now underway, is to ensure all Directors have equal access to AMSAT resources to perform their duties. AMSAT complies with Section 29-413.05 of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act of 2010. Most of the information Directors use to perform their duties are already publicly available on the Internet on our website, published in the AMSAT News Service (ANS), and often in print as part of The AMSAT Journal. These resources are not password protected and can be viewed by members and non-members alike. Once I’ve had an opportunity to speak individually with the Directors, I will convene a Board of Directors teleconference to address out- standing business. At any time, three Directors may call on the Pres- ident to schedule a Board of Directors meeting, per our bylaws Article II, Section 5, Paragraph A. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Avail- able for New or Renewing Members While HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Apogee View - January/February 2020 Happy New Year! 2020 promises to be an exciting year filled with new satellites to work and significant progress towards our next genera- tion of satellites. By the time you read this, HuskySat-1 should be in orbit and completing its science mission before being turned over to AMSAT for amateur radio use. I want to congratulate all those involved with this project both at the University of Washington and on AMSAT’s Engineering and Operations teams who worked to make this mutually beneficial partnership happen. More details about HuskySat-1 and our partnership with the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washing- ton can be found elsewhere in the January/February 2020 issue of The AMSAT Journal. While we look forward to the completion of HuskySat-1's primary miss- ion, we also await the launch of the final Fox-1 satellite, RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E, which is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than the first quarter of this year on the ELaNa XX mission. The ELaNa XX miss- ion will fly on the second flight of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne ve- hicle. As the Fox project wraps up its series of five 1U CubeSats, progress continues on GOLF, the next generation of AMSAT satellites. A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint – Technology Evaluation En- vironment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14th. During the test, the boards were laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The inter- connected boards included: • An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit - i.e., computer) prototype, • A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and • A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the team has reached this point, AMSAT Engineering has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, our ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got us this far, with much work yet to be done before the assembly of flight units. The GOLF-TEE satellite is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). The work on GOLF is intended for our CubeSat missions to higher orbits. However, much as the Fox-1E linear transponder was adapted as a payload for HuskySat-1, components developed for GOLF, such as the RT-IHU and the microwave SDR transponder, can be adapted to serve as the basis for a hosted payload on a commercial or government sat- ellite in geostationary orbit or perhaps an educational CubeSat des- tined for MEO or GTO. Should an opportunity arise, the work being done on GOLF means that we will be ready to build such a hosted payload. While we continue our work on these satellites, we face the prospect of regulatory roadblocks. Last year, we submitted comments on the Federal Communication Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking re- garding the mitigation of orbital debris. The proposed rules as worded would severely limit the type of missions AMSAT could pursue. While the Commission has not yet issued final rules, we are hopeful that the near-unanimous opposition of commenters to the more harmful as- pects of the rules, such as the requirement for satellite operators to indemnify the United States Government for any potential claims regarding their satellites, will limit the negative impact. Another serious concern is our access to spectrum. While international threats that arose in the months before the 2019 World Radiocommunica- tion Conference to the 144 MHz – 146 MHz and 1260 MHz – 1270 MHz ama- teur satellite service bands have subsided for the time being, other threats appear on the horizon. This past December, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would delete the amateur alloca- tion at 3.3 GHz – 3.5 GHz, including the amateur satellite service allocation at 3.4 GHz – 3.41 GHz. While that band has not yet been used for any amateur satellites as it is not available in ITU Region 3 (Asia & Oceania), it is still a potentially useful resource for a future amateur geostationary payload over the Americas. Additionally, we know that many AMSAT members also use this band for other purposes, such as mesh networking, contesting, and EME commun- ications. Access to microwave spectrum is crucial for many of our planned activities, including GOLF and amateur radio on the Lunar Gateway, and we must vigorously defend our spectrum allocations. AMSAT is currently drafting comments opposing this proposed rule, and, working alongside the ARRL, we continue to monitor potential legis- lative and regulatory actions that could limit or even preclude some of our current and planned activities. On a final note, I wanted to let the membership know that AMSAT's ser- vers will be migrating to a new operating system and a new hosting service later this year. This is necessary as the operating system currently running AMSAT's servers will reach its end of life in Nov- ember. While AMSAT's capable IT team led by Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, will do their best to minimize any disruptions to AMSAT services, this type of transition can often result in unforeseen problems. Continue to monitor the AMSAT-BB and AMSAT's Twitter and Facebook accounts for any updates. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Satellites The DX Engineering blog On All Bands recently published an article en- titled "5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Sat- ellites" by Sean Kutzko, KX9X. The article can be found at: https://www.onallbands.com/ham-radio-satellite-operating-etiquette/ [ANS thanks Sean Kutzko, KX9X, and DX Engineering for the above infor- mation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 13, 2020 The following Amateur Radio satellite's name and NORAD CAT ID have been changed: 1. HuskySat 1 satellite name is now HuskySat-1. 2. Based on changes in Space-Track TLE data, HuskySat-1's new NORAD CAT ID is now object 45119. (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Maple Dale Elementary School, Cincinnati, OH, direct via K8SCH The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Thu 2020-02-20 18:20:28 UTC 48 deg The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS [ANS thanks Charlie Sulfana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming AMSAT Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: + March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX + March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ + March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN + March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ + March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ + March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA + May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ + May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ + May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH + June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-Hamfest This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 13-16 DM22 AD7DB and N7JY FM Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (Twitter @ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ St. Barthelemy Island (FK87) February 15-22, 2020 Operators Pat/N2IEN, Ray/W2RE, Rockwell/WW1X, and Lee/WW2DX will be signing FJ/homecalls from St. Barthelemy (NA-146) between Feb. 15 and 22. QRV holiday-style on 160 to 6m and via satellite on CW, SSB, and digital modes. QSL cards for all calls via NR6M. Vidalia, LA (EM41) February 28 – March 1, 2020 Brian, KG5GJT, will will be operating from the bank of the Miss- issippi river in Vidalia, La. (EM41), where Jim Bowie was serious- ly wounded in the Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827. This will be vacation style, so keep an eye on Brian’s Twitter feed for up- dates: https://twitter.com/KG5GJT Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For up- dates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The Nanoracks deployment of several CubeSats has been delayed until no earlier than February 17 due to delays with the launch of Cygnus NG-13. CubeSats scheduled to deploy are RadSat-u, Phoenix, QARMAN, CryoCube, AztechSat-1, SOCRATES, Argus-02, HARP, and SORTIE. + AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Editor Slade Stevens, 2E0SQL, is soliciting articles for the next issue. Send submissions to 2E0SQB at amsat.org + The AMSAT-UK shop is now stocking a 5 watt 2.4 GHz amplifier kit for use with the QO-100 geostationary satellite. For more details, see https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-QO-100 + The first crewed mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon may launch on May 7th. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-SpaceX + Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG, recently released a composite video show- ing all currently orbiting FUNcube family satellites being launched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdjXzPEsuxw + The EIRSAT-1 CubeSat has passed both environmental and vibration testing: https://twitter.com/EIRSAT1/status/1225810684065259520 + Spaceflight Industries recently signed a deal to sell its satellite rideshare launch business Spaceflight, Inc. to Mitsui & Co., in part- nership with Yamasa Co., Ltd. AMSAT purchased the launches for AO-92 and AO-95 from Spaceflight, Inc. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-Spaceflight [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio In Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-040 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation 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 commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President * Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment * New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following * Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project * 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process * AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-040.01 ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 040.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 09 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-040.01 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President At a special meeting held via teleconference, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President. Coleman previous- ly served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and also served as AMSAT's Secretary during this time. He has also volun- teered in several other capacities for AMSAT, including chairing the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium held aboard the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. Coleman’s first introduction to amateur radio in space was with SAREX and Mir. An interest in setting up an AX.25 BBS and nodes led to him trying out the Mir Personal Message System (PMS) and digipeater to make contacts in the early 1990s. It wasn’t until a visit from a friend in 2011 that Coleman was bitten by the OSCAR bug and began his AMSAT journey chasing operating awards. Having held other leadership roles in his community, nonprofits, and critical infrastructure, Coleman’s desire is working with constituents to improve organizational processes and align them with strategic goals. Professionally, Coleman works in the industrial process con- trol sector as both a consultant and business development manager. He resides in the North Texas area with his spouse and two children. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors and AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment Several CubeSats are scheduled to be deployed from the ISS into orbit on 12 Feb. Among them is the Phoenix CubeSat, which is a 3U CubeSat developed by Arizona State University to study the effects of Urban Heat Islands through infrared remote sensing. Following deployment, the Phoenix operations team would appreciate as much help as possible with identifying the spacecraft and verifying that it is operational. Phoenix is scheduled for a deployment time of *8:30 UTC* on 12 Feb. Please note that two CubeSats being deployed on this date operate on the same frequency. Both Phoenix and QARMAN share the frequency of *437.35 MHz*, and both utilize an AX.25 9600 baud protocol with GMSK modulation. Both CubeSats will also be deployed within 1.5 hours of each other, and will therefore be close to each other in orbit. Please be mindful of this situation, and if you have any doubt about the Cube- Sat that you are receiving, please get in touch with Sarah Rogers, Project Manager, Phoenix CubeSat, sroger13 [at} asu.edu with any ques- tions or concerns. To read more about the Phoenix CubeSat, it's transmitter characteris- tics, and how you can decode the signal, please see the website at http://phxcubesat.asu.edu/content/amateur-operations! [ANS thanks Sarah Rogers, KI7OOY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an Amateur Radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 A video by astronauts Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan posted on the European Space Agency YouTube channel on January 26th, 2020 shows Luca going inside the Cygnus NG-12 vehicle, which took cargo, as well as several satellites, including HuskySat-1, to the ISS. Even more relevant to HuskySat-1 and the the amateur radio satellite community, Luca mentions the "delivery system" they planned to install on the vehicle before it was released, which happened on January 31st. HuskySat-1 was deployed from the delivery system later that day. Luca says he thinks it's really cool that the delivery system provides another way to gain access to space, and I couldn't agree more. The Cygnus tour begins at 24:42 into the video, and the delivery system is mentioned at 26:57. This link to the video goes directly to 24:42: https://youtu.be/Snn1k_qEx20?t=1482 [ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following satellite's NORAD CAT ID has been changed in this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OCULUS-ASR is now object NORAD CAT ID 44348 The following satellites have been deleted from this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OBJECT H - NORAD CAT ID 44346 (non-amateur satellite TEPCE, decayed February 1,2020) OBJECT J - NORAD CAT ID 44347 (non-amateur satellite FALCONSAT-7) TBEX-A - NORAD CAT ID 44356 (non-amateur satellite) The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this week's TLE distribution: HuskySat 1 - NORAD CAT ID 45117 (Cygnus NG-12 Spacecraft deployment, 1/31/2020). (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following Initial reports indicate considerable interest among amateurs in tracking and capturing data from the newly deployed HuskySat-1. The satellite, designed at the University of Washington, was launched to the ISS by Cygnus NG-12 on November 2, 2019. It was deployed to a higher orbit from the ISS by Cygnus on January 31, and began telemetry transmissions on 435.800 MHz. HuskySat-1’s 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT’s FoxTelem software. FoxTelem is available at https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem HuskySat-1 is a CubeSat, and will demonstrate onboard plasma propul- sion and high gain telemetry for low Earth orbit that would be a pre- cursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital inser- tion at the Moon. HuskySat-1 is expected to carry out its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for activation of a 30 kHz wide V/U linear trans- ponder for SSB and CW. Initially it looked like object 2019-071G was HuskySat-1, but our friends at the 18th Space Control Squadron published data on addi- ional objects in recent days, and there is considerable evidence suggesting that HuskySat-1 is actually one of those instead. Element sets for objects 2019-071H and 2019-071J are now distributed in nasabare.txt as candidates for the "Real" HuskySat-1. Usually element sets are good for a week or more, at least for ham purposes where we have fairly wide beam widths. The exception is the ISS, the only spacecraft we have in nasabare.txt that maneuvers, and we keep its element sets "fresh" by applying updates from Johnson Spaceflight Center several times per day. Husky-Sat 1 will be testing a thruster early in its mission, and endeavors to demonstrate a delta- V of 100m/sec or more. This could cause the accuracy of element sets to degrade more quickly than usual. [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project amsatLink is a proposed three-phased program to ultimately establish a constellation of nanosatellites, linked in a peer-to-peer voice commun- ications network for amateur satellite service. As a wireless ad hoc network, future satellites can be added to the network and ground stations, moving in and out of a nanosatellite node’s footprint, can easily join and exit the network. The proposal is to create an IEEE 802.11 wireless ad hoc network, op- erating within the FCC Part 97 amateur radio frequency allocation of the 2.4 GHz microwave band. Individual satellite and ground nodes would connect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate with one another to create one virtual network that can efficiently route data from/to clients. While the idea of cross-link communication between satellites is not new, amsatLink hopes to continue the efforts of NASA’s PhoneSat, EDSN constellation, and NODES missions, by expanding the network to include ground-based nodes, demonstrating the use of voice over internet pro- tocol communications, and organizing nodes into clusters, where each cluster consists of one nanosatellite node and any visible ground nodes. amsatLink will continue NASA’s design philosophy by utilizing commer- cial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objec- tives as simple as possible. Estimated total hardware cost per satel- lite is less than $5,000. Proposed ground stations will also use off the shelf equipment with a total estimated cost of less than $150. For more details, see https://ke4al.github.io/amsatLink/ Robert seeks further discussion of this proposal among AMSAT members. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the schools and host organizations selected for the second half of 2020. Of the proposals submitted during the recent proposal window, 10 were accepted to move forward in the selection process for a scheduled amateur radio contact with a crew member on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities. The schools and host organizations are now engaged in the next step of the acceptance process. When ready, they will be put in the scheduling queue for a contact during the July to December 2020 time period. Al- though ARISS expects to schedule all 10 during this period, changes to NASA crew availability might force some delays to the next time period. The schools and host organizations are: Estes Park Elementary School Estes Park, CO Green Bank Elementary School Green Bank, WV Tecumseh Public School Tecumseh, OK RSU #21 Kennebunk, ME JFK High School Denver, CO Oregon Charter School Mill City, OR Newcastle High School Newcastle, WY Tarwater Elementary School Chandler, AZ Kopernik Observatory Vestel, NY Salem-South Lyon District Library South Lyon, MI [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 AMSAT will be at the Yuma Hamfest, which is also serving as the 2020 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, on Friday and Saturday, 14-15 February 2020. The hamfest will be at the Yuma County Fairgrounds, along 32nd Street, across the street from Yuma International Airport and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, south of Interstate 8. More about the hamfest is available at: http://www.yumahamfest.org/ WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on a pass, please call and join in the demonstration. The hamfest site is in grid DM22, in Arizona's Yuma County. QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on request (please e-mail WD9EWK directly with the QSO details). Patrick will tweet updates from the hamfest using the @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can see the tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK In addition to the WD9EWK demonstration, AMSAT member Dave Bartholomew, AD7DB, will give a presentation "Getting Started on FM Satellites" on Saturday (15 February) morning at the hamfest. Dave's presentation is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, 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 meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ (see details above) February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale (AZ) Amateur Radio Club Hamfest March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. This color brochure is designed to be printed double- sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (@ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ Key West and Boca Grande Key (EL94, EL84+) February 9-11,2020 Clayton, W5PFG, will be in Key West, Florida (EL94) February 9 through the 11, 2020. Monday, February 10, 13:15-17:30 UTC, Clay- ton will operate FM & SSB satellites from EL84xm, Boca Grande Key. Listen for W5PFG near these dates for additional Florida grids, such as EL79, EL89, EL99, EL86, EL96, & EL95. Keep an eye on Clay- ton’s Twitter feed for announcements https://twitter.com/w5pfg Del Carmen Island (EK48cp) February 9, 2020 Ismael, XE1AY, will operate from Del Carmen Island (DL87th) on Sun- day 9 February, using the callsign 4A2L (see QRZ). Ismael only expects to operate FM satellites for a couple of hours. In addi- tion, they plan to operate CW, SSB, and FT8. Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 – 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Eduardo/XE2YW and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters (possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For updates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + After setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman, NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth on Feb. 6, along with Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. Koch launched March 14, 2019. Her first journey into space of 328 days is the second-longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astro- naut and also places her seventh on the list of cumulative time in space for American astronauts. Full story: https://bit.ly/386BTrc (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) + SpaceX has been garnering all the headlines when it comes to satel- lite constellations. Their Starlink system will eventually have thou- sands of tiny satellites working together to provide internet access. But on Thursday, Feb. 6, OneWeb launched 34 satellite from the Bai- konur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz launch vehicle. Eventually, OneWeb intends to have as many as 5,000 satellites in orbit. (ANS thank universetoday.com for the above information) + An industry report forecasts demand for 14,000 to 20,000 new satel- lites to be launched in the next decade. The report suggests that launch slot availability will be a challenge for satellite operators, and that delays due to longer lead times and additional costs will put pressure on research, commercial, and military operators. (ANS thanks satmagazine.com for the above information) + NASA declared the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16-year mission complete on Thursday, Jan. 30 after sending final commands for the spacecraft to enter hibernation as it drifts farther from Earth. The Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA’s original four “Great Observatories,” studied the most distant galaxy ever observed in the universe, gathered data on the characteristics of planets around other stars, and detected a new ring around Saturn. (ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information) + Finnish amateur photographers have discovered a new auroral form. Named 'dunes' by the hobbyists, the phenomenon is believed to be caused by waves of oxygen atoms glowing due to a stream of particles released from the Sun. In the study, published in the journal AGU Advances, the origins of the dunes were tracked to a wave guide formed within the mesosphere and its boundary, the mesopause. (ANS thanks astrowatch.net for the above information) + The JAMSAT general meeting and space symposium will take place at the Tokyo, Odaiba, Science Museum on March 14 and 15. (ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information) + Bob Atkins KA1GT has documented his recent observations of interfer- ence to 1296 EME from the Galileo navigation satellites' E6 mode. Read Bob's article at https://bobatkins.com/radio/galileo-1296.html (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information) + Minutes of the 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors meeting are now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/ The December 2018 Annual Financial Review report is also now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/ (ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org

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ANS-036 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President
by Paul Stoetzer 05 Feb '20

05 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-036 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-036 ANS-036 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 036.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 5, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-036.01 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President At a special meeting held via teleconference, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President. Coleman previous- ly served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and also served as AMSAT's Secretary during this time. He has also volun- teered in several other capacities for AMSAT, including chairing the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium held aboard the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. Coleman’s first introduction to amateur radio in space was with SAREX and Mir. An interest in setting up an AX.25 BBS and nodes led to him trying out the Mir Personal Message System (PMS) and digipeater to make contacts in the early 1990s. It wasn’t until a visit from a friend in 2011 that Coleman was bitten by the OSCAR bug and began his AMSAT journey chasing operating awards. Having held other leadership roles in his community, nonprofits, and critical infrastructure, Coleman’s desire is working with constituents to improve organizational processes and align them with strategic goals. Professionally, Coleman works in the industrial process con- trol sector as both a consultant and business development manager. He resides in the North Texas area with his spouse and two children. AMSAT members will have the opportunity to meet Coleman at the Orlando HamCation on Saturday, February 8th. He will hold a meet and greet at the AMSAT booth from 9:30am-10:30am and 2:00pm-3:00pm. He will also make remarks at the AMSAT Forum, which will be held at 12:30pm Satur- day in Room CS III at the Lakeside Pavilion. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors and AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS-033 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 02 Feb '20

02 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-033 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://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. In this edition: * HuskySat-1 Deployed, Telemetry Beacon Active * Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Now Available for New or Renewing Members * Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President * Melissa Pore To Be Honored at Hamcation February 2020 * W1ANT Pro Satellite Tracker Announced * AMSAT Argentina Drifting APRS Buoy on 145.825 MHz * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 2020 * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Upcoming AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-033.01 ANS-033 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 033.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. February 2, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-033.01 HuskySat-1 Deployed, Telemetry Beacon Active The University of Washington's HuskySat-1 CubeSat was deployed from the Cygnus NG-12 spacecraft on Friday, January 31 at approximately 2230 UTC. HuskySat-1's 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active on 435.800 MHz and is decodable with the latest release of AMSAT's FoxTelem software. HuskySat-1 will be made available for Amateur Radio use following its primary mission to test a pulsed plasma thruster and experimental K band (24 GHz) communications system. HuskySat-1 features a 30 kHz wide 145 to 435 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW: HuskySat-1 - Uplink: 145.910 - 145.940 MHz LSB/CW - Downlink: 435.840 - 435.810 MHz USB/CW (inverting) - Telemetry: 435.800 MHz 1K2 bps BPSK 24049.00 MHz (U of Washington experimental downlink) The TLE as of January 31, 2020 at 2339Z are: HuskySat-1 1 99934U 1001D 20031.87746807 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 13 2 99934 51.5569 307.6644 0013532 287.5589 72.3913 15.32433103 16 The latest version of FoxTelem software to decode the 1200 bps BPSK beacon is available at: https://www.amsat.org/tlm The Fox-In-A-Box FoxTelem software has been updated for HuskySat-1 Operation at it's download website: http://burnsfisher.com/AMSAT/FoxInABox [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, NØJY AMSAT Vice President - Engineering for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Now Available for New or Renewing Members While the HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder satellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has tendered his resignation as AMSAT President, citing personal reasons. Spier had served as AMSAT's President since October 2017. Prior to his tenure as President, Spier served as AMSAT's Executive Vice President and Vice President - Educational Relations. He also served as an AMSAT News Service Editor and as a member of the ARISS Education Team. Under the AMSAT bylaws, Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, assumes the office of President until the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Stoetzer said "I want to thank Joe for his many years of service to AMSAT in a variety of roles. I especially want to recognize his efforts to mark AMSAT's 50th Anniversary with special events at the Dayton Hamvention and AMSAT Symposium. His leadership in bringing together a variety of figures from the history of amateur radio in space in Arlington, VA this past fall helped to make the Symposium a very special event." [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Pore To Be Honored at HamCation February 2020 Melissa Pore, an ARISS-US Education Committee member, recently earned Orlando HamCation's 2020 Carole Perry Educator of the Year award. She will be feted at their February convention; the award recognizes teachers making outstanding educational contributions. Melissa is an engineering and computer science teacher at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, VA. She led weeks of STEM and radio activities leading up to the school’s 2018 ARISS contact. She heads the school’s engineering and ham radio clubs. At her previous school, she worked with the STMSAT-1 CubeSat project, the first satellite built by elementary school students. She helped staff an ARISS exhibit at the 2019 Space Explorers Education Conference in Houston and will present a workshop there in 2020. At the 2019 Space Port Area Conference for Educators, she received a plaque from the ISS National Lab SSE program citing her “service, commitment, and desire to push the boundaries of STEM Education.” She brings her students to staff some of ARISS's outreach exhibits, such as a 2019 one at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- W1ANT Pro Satellite Tracker Announced Heimir, W1ANT announces that the Pro version has no ads and adds some features. Most notably the ability to group the satellites. The groups can then be enabled and only satellites from enabled groups will show up in the satellite overview. Other features include: - Get a list of Amateur Radio satellites visible from your current location in the next 24 hours. - Get an overview over their paths from acquisition to loss of signal (AOS to LOS). - Only passes above the minimum elevation are shown on the list. - Select one of them and get information on their on-board radios. - Select one of their radios and be able to point your phone directly at it so you can easily operate it. - Extra information, i.e. the actual frequencies to use for uplink and downlink is also presented taken the Doppler effect into account. Get full information on the app at the Google Play Store. [ANS thanks Heimir Thor Sverrisson, W1ANT for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Argentina Drifting APRS Buoy on 145.825 MHz On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 1400 GMT AMSAT Argentina deployed a drifting buoy on South Atlantic Seas that aims to transmit APRS on the satellite packet frequency of 145.825 MHz. WSPR will also be transmitted. AMSAT Argentina reports the APRS beacon, callsign LU7AA-11, will initially be on Argentina's APRS frequency of 144.930 MHz but will change frequency to 145.825 MHz so that it can be digipeated by the amateur packet radio satellites. The WSPR beacon will run 900 mW on 14095.6 kHz with the call sign LU7AA. Release will be 100 km offshore Mar del Plata coast, seeking east aiming currents/winds. The objective is to track sea currents tracking and HF/VHF/SAT QRPp propagation tests. AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA, will appreciate WSPR stations receiving/reporting 20M. Further information and pictures at http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an Amateur Radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period January 1, 2020 through February 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! KO4MA 1701 1750 WA5KBH 744 759 KE4AL 602 625 WD9EWK (DM43) 597 600 K0FFY 260 576 N1AIA 257 494 G0ABI 320 453 AB5SS 306 411 AD0HJ 375 405 AC9E 353 401 W5TD 392 396 K5IX 350 375 MI6GTY 354 360 W7JSD 336 355 PS8ET 326 350 ND0C 250 301 KJ4EU 206 261 KC9UQR 196 240 W4DTA 180 217 N9FN 194 207 N0RSR 154 200 VE1VOX 155 157 PU4JOE 101 150 WA9JBQ 125 150 K5ZM 101 135 S57NML 100 126 KN6DBC New 125 AB4GE 100 122 XQ3SA New 114 KE0WPA New 108 RA3S New 107 EA2AA New 101 W4ZXT New 100 WR0H New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Shorts - Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (@ad0dx) - Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) + SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ. There is a possibility that Joe may have to make a pit stop in EM54 and EM53 on his way down South on February 1. Monitor Twitter for updates. + Antigua (FK97) February 2 – 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW. + Key West and Boca Grande Key (EL94, EL84+) February 9-11,2020 Clayton, W5PFG, will be in Key West, Florida (EL94) February 9 through the 11, 2020. Monday, February 10, 13:15-17:30 UTC, Clayton will operate FM & SSB satellites from EL84xm, Boca Grande Key. Listen for W5PFG near these dates for additional Florida grids such as EL79, EL89, EL99, EL86, EL96, & EL95. Keep an eye on Clayton’s Twitter feed for further announcements https://twitter.com/w5pfg + Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 – 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. + Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] + DX Satellite Operations on QO-100 Matteo, IZ4YGS will be QRV as 9G5GS from Sanzule, Ghana from February 1 - 26. He plans some activity on Satellite QO-100. QSL direct to home call. Special event station II3BIA will be QRV from February 1 - 29 during the Biathlon World Championships 2020 being held in Antholz. Activity includes possible activity on Satellite QO-100. QSL via IN3ZWF. [ANS thanks ARRL DX News for the above information.] + FJ, ST. BARTHEMELY. Operators Pat/N2IEN, Lee/WW2DX, Rock/WW1X and Ray/W2RE will be active as FJ/N2IEN, FJ/WW2DX, FJ/WW1X and FJ/W2RE respectively from St. Barthemely (NA-146) between February 15-22. Activity will be holiday style on various HF (160-6m)/VHF/UHF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and satellites. QSL via their home call signs. [ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for the above information.] + ZS95SARL celebrates the 95th anniversary of the South African Radio League, founded in May 1925 as South African Radio Relay League(renamed after WW II). QRV during the whole year on HF, VHF, UHF and via satellites. QSL via bureau. [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming AMSAT Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through Amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: - February 7-9, 2020, Hamcation, Orlando, FL - February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ - February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN - March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX - March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ - March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN - March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ - March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ - March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA - May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ - May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ - May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH - June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF-TEE satellite recently reached a major milestone when prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time. Help support AMSAT's path back to HEO by donating today! https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS News + Upcoming School Contacts Possible Russian supported contact with Ecuador, via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka Contact possibly is go for Friday, February 7, 2020 UTC. + ARISS congratulations Satoshi 7M3TJZ who has now mentored 138 schools. + The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over + AMSAT-Spain Readies Two Satellites The Hades and EASAT-2 PocketQubes from AMSAT-Spain will carry VHF/UHF linear transponders and analog and digital two-way communications capability, including store-and-forward. Launch is planned for late 2020. More information is available at https://amsat-ea.org [ANS thanks AMSAT-EA for the above information.] + Training course: Product Assurance in ESA projects for SMEs On March, 31 to April 1, 2020 the European Space Agency invites participants interested in either Hardware or Software Product Assurance (PA) to join its specialists for a two-day training session at ESA/ESTEC (Noordwijk, The Netherlands). The course aims at providing SME participants with an overview of the PA tasks to be performed throughout a project. While a generic overview of Product Assurance tasks is provided to all participants on day 1, day 2 treats Hardware and Software PA aspects in more detail. Participants choose either the Hardware PA or Software PA module, depending on their needs and interests. More information and registration is available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-033-ESA-PA [ANS thanks the ESA for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org

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ANS-031.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Free Digital Copy of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites” Now Available for New or Renewing Members
by Paul Stoetzer 31 Jan '20

31 Jan '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-031.02 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Free Digital Copy of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites” Now Available for New or Renewing Members SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.02 ANS-031.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.02 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 31, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-031.02 Free Digital Copy of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites” Now Available for New or Renewing Members The University of Washington's HuskySat-1 CubeSat is scheduled to be deployed from the Cygnus NG-12 spacecraft at 22:30 UTC today. HuskySat-1 carries an AMSAT VHF/UHF linear transponder that will be made available for amateur use following its primary mission to test a pulsed plasma thruster and experimental K band (24 GHz) communications system. While the satellite completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the “Getting Started With Amateur Satellites” book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT’s other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you’ll never see an option to add your free gift. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS-031 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President
by Paul Stoetzer 31 Jan '20

31 Jan '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-031 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.01 ANS-031 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 31, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-031.01 Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has tendered his resignation as AMSAT President, citing personal reasons. Spier had served as AMSAT's President since October 2017. Prior to his tenure as President, Spier served as AMSAT's Executive Vice President and Vice President - Educational Relations. He also served as an AMSAT News Service Editor and as a member of the ARISS Education Team. Under the AMSAT bylaws, Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, assumes the office of President until the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Stoetzer said "I want to thank Joe for his many years of service to AMSAT in a variety of roles. I especially want to recognize his efforts to mark AMSAT's 50th Anniversary with special events at the Dayton Hamvention and AMSAT Symposium. His leadership in bringing together a variety of figures from the history of amateur radio in space in Arlington, VA this past fall helped to make the Symposium a very special event." [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin ANS-019, January 19, 2019
by Frank Karnauskas 19 Jan '20

19 Jan '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-019 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://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. In this edition: * GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestones * ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 * Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website * Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released * China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations * Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-019.01 ANS-019 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 019.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-019.01 GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestone A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint - Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. The boards are laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The interconnected boards include: - An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit (i.e. computer) prototype, - A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and - A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to be done before flight units are ready. GOLF-TEE is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO(Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). To help support the GOLF program, please consider volunteering or donating today. https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/ https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ [ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, and the entire GOLF team for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at January 27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. For More Information For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com . [ANS thanks ARISS 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website Thanks to an initiative by Heimir, W1ANT, AMSAT added Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the AMSAT web site to make it easy for developers to write apps for mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the satellite status page www.amsat.org/status does not work well on small screens. By accessing the status data directly developers can easily present the data in a way appropriate for their screens. These APIs also make it easy for IoT homebrewers to do things like build next pass reminder gizmos so they can beep out notices in CW. The developers have set a goal of February 15, 2020 to finalize the APIs, and consider them operational on March 1, 2020. Developers are encouraged to send suggestions or questions to www.amsat.org/webmaster-contact/ For details of API use visit www.amsat.org/status/api/ and www.amsat.org/track/api/ [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released QARMAN, a nano-satellite designed and built at VKI, was launched to the International Space Station on December 5, 2019. Deployed is expected to take place in the week of February 12, 2020. QARMAN (Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on AblatioN) is the world's first CubeSat designed to survive atmospheric re-entry. Work on it started in 2013 at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). The aim of the QARMAN mission is to demonstrate the usability of a CubeSat platform as an atmospheric entry vehicle. Spacecraft descending towards a planet with an atmosphere experience very harsh environment including extreme temperatures (several thousand degrees). Information about Qarman's 437.350 MHz 9600 bps GMSK AX.25 beacon has now been released by the team. Download the Qarman Beacon Definition QARMAN_BCNdef_v1.1 at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndef_v1.1.pdf Download the Beacon Decoder spreadsheet QARMAN_BCNdecoder at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndecoder.xlsx Reports can be sent to operations(a)qarman.eu [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations China's telecommunications regulator has proposed amending the Measures for the Administration of Amateur Radio Stations, and some amateur bands are in danger of being eliminated. Lide Zhang, BI8CKU, told ARRL that the proposal would prohibit amateur operation on the 2200-meter band as well as on 146 - 148 MHz, 1260 - 1300 MHz, 3400 - 3500 MHz, 5650 - 5725 MHz, and all bands above 10 GHz. Radio communications engineer and Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that government efforts to eliminate some amateur bands are nothing new, but proposals that have been aired for a while now are on the regulatory agency's schedule. Kung said he does not anticipate that all of the bands proposed will be taken away, but he conceded that the climate will "undoubtedly" become increasingly more dangerous for China's amateur radio community. "The attempt to crowd out the amateur radio bands has a long history throughout the world," he said, "but it may never have become so urgent for the amateur radio community as it is today. We all understand that radio spectrum resources have become a bottleneck for further development." He said today's radio communication industry "is working hard to share spectrum resources." Kung characterized spectrum as "the soil on which amateur radio depends." [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT Phil Karn, KA9Q shares the following announcement: "As you know, Brian Kantor, WB6CYT passed away suddenly on November 21, 2019. We will hold a memorial service for Brian on Saturday, Feb 1 2020 at 1:30 PM in La Jolla, CA (part of San Diego). Please see this link for details: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-019-Kantor-Memorial "Please bring any photos, mementos and (above all) stories and anecdotes about Brian to share. Brian wasn't exactly a highly formal person who stood on ceremony, so we'll keep this informal. If you have a story to tell, it's up to you whether you stand up and relate it to the whole group or just a few others at a time. There will be plenty of time for both. "Everyone who knew Brian is welcome. His friendships spanned at least three distinct social circles, and I know he'd be very happy to see everyone meet and enjoy everyone else's company. Even if he'd be a little embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor. "Free snacks and refreshments will be provided, so please RSVP through the evite link so we can tell the hotel how much to make available. If you have special dietary needs, please say so; the hotel has a menu we can choose from. "Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested. Hope to see you on the 1st." [ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 - February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14 - Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18 or 19 depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Montserrat (FK86) January 26 - February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW. Antigua (FK97) February 2 - 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 - 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News (Editor's Note: See school contact opportunity story above.) + Upcoming Contacts Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over + ARISS-US Educators Review Processes for US Proposal Window A team of educators who are members of the ARISS-US Education Committee is finalizing the last few processes related to the late 2019 ARISS-US Proposal Window. The team had ranked the education proposals and then sent a list to the ARISS-US leaders of the top schools and education groups recommended for hosting an ARISS contact. A news release is in draft stage. The organizations selected will be in the queue for scheduled ARISS contacts during the second half of 2020. A new ARISS-US Proposal Window will open soon and details on this will be forthcoming. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] + WIA 2020 Annual Conference Presentations The Wireless Institute of Australia Annual Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania May 8-10 2020 and registrations are open. On the Saturday afternoon a wide range of presentations are organized to showcase the conference theme which is the "Antarctic Gateway". Following lunch there will be two presentation streams which can be categorized as the "Antarctic" stream and the "Radio" stream. Complete information can be viewed at: https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200111-3/index.php [ANS thanks the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above information.] + AMSAT Argentina Celebrates LO-19 30th Anniversary On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It was the first Argentina Satellite, and one of first to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with its carrier at +/-437.125. Members of AMSAT Argentina (LU7AA) celebrate the 30th anniversary of the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite between Jan. 18 and 26 on HF on SSB, FT8, CW. An award is available as well. QSL via LU7AA (d), eQSL. Find complete information at: http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_30_aniv_lusat_2020.htm and http://amsat.org.ar/certlusat30.htm [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter and AMSAT-LU for the above information.] + AMSAT-SA Announces A New Date Fre Their Space Symposium The annual AMSAT SA Space symposium date has changed to Saturday, 11 July 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box: Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. Prospective authors are invited to propose other papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za before 28 February 2020. + Cardiff Microwave Roundtable Saturday, March 7, 2020 The Cardiff University ARS will host a meeting of the UK Microwave Group on Saturday March 7, 2020 at our campus in Cardiff. This one day event is a mix of talks, measurements, and socializing about activities in the GHz frequencies. GNU Radio Workshop On the following day, Sunday March 8, there will be a hands on Introduction to GNU Radio and Software Defined Radio. More info coming soon, please send an email to officers(a)cardiffars.org.uk if you are interested. [ANS thanks the UK Microwave Group for the above information.] + Lockheed Martin Launches First Smart Satellite Enabling Space Mesh Networking Recently, Lockheed Martin launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft. Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months. Some of the key technologies being flight-tested include: - Software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between satellites, shared processing capabilities, and can take advantage, of sensors aboard other smart satellites, - A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission, - 3D-printed wideband antenna housing. Read the full story at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55121 [ANS thanks Spaceref.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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ANS-019 Draft_200118_2329
by Frank Karnauskas 18 Jan '20

18 Jan '20

This is what will fly at 0000 unless anyone has any final corrections or additions. Mostly the same but some style changes in the API article and reformatting some lines with extra spaces. 73 F AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-019 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://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. In this edition: * GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestones * ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 * Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website * Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released * China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations * Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-019.01 ANS-019 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 019.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-019.01 GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestone A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint - Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. The boards are laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The interconnected boards include: - An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit (i.e. computer) prototype, - A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and - A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to be done before flight units are ready. GOLF-TEE is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO(Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). To help support the GOLF program, please consider volunteering or donating today. https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/ https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ [ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, and the entire GOLF team for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at January 27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. For More Information For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com . [ANS thanks ARISS 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website Thanks to an initiative by Heimir, W1ANT, AMSAT added Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the AMSAT web site to make it easy for developers to write apps for mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the satellite status page www.amsat.org/status does not work well on small screens. By accessing the status data directly developers can easily present the data in a way appropriate for their screens. These APIs also make it easy for IoT homebrewers to do things like build next pass reminder gizmos so they can beep out notices in CW. The developers have set a goal of February 15, 2020 to finalize the APIs, and consider them operational on March 1, 2020. Developers are encouraged to send suggestions or questions to www.amsat.org/webmaster-contact/ For details of API use visit www.amsat.org/status/api/ and www.amsat.org/track/api/ [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released QARMAN, a nano-satellite designed and built at VKI, was launched to the International Space Station on December 5, 2019. Deployed is expected to take place in the week of February 12, 2020. QARMAN (Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on AblatioN) is the world's first CubeSat designed to survive atmospheric re-entry. Work on it started in 2013 at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). The aim of the QARMAN mission is to demonstrate the usability of a CubeSat platform as an atmospheric entry vehicle. Spacecraft descending towards a planet with an atmosphere experience very harsh environment including extreme temperatures (several thousand degrees). Information about Qarman's 437.350 MHz 9600 bps GMSK AX.25 beacon has now been released by the team. Download the Qarman Beacon Definition QARMAN_BCNdef_v1.1 at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndef_v1.1.pdf Download the Beacon Decoder spreadsheet QARMAN_BCNdecoder at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndecoder.xlsx Reports can be sent to operations(a)qarman.eu [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations China's telecommunications regulator has proposed amending the Measures for the Administration of Amateur Radio Stations, and some amateur bands are in danger of being eliminated. Lide Zhang, BI8CKU, told ARRL that the proposal would prohibit amateur operation on the 2200-meter band as well as on 146 - 148 MHz, 1260 - 1300 MHz, 3400 - 3500 MHz, 5650 - 5725 MHz, and all bands above 10 GHz. Radio communications engineer and Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that government efforts to eliminate some amateur bands are nothing new, but proposals that have been aired for a while now are on the regulatory agency's schedule. Kung said he does not anticipate that all of the bands proposed will be taken away, but he conceded that the climate will "undoubtedly" become increasingly more dangerous for China's amateur radio community. "The attempt to crowd out the amateur radio bands has a long history throughout the world," he said, "but it may never have become so urgent for the amateur radio community as it is today. We all understand that radio spectrum resources have become a bottleneck for further development." He said today's radio communication industry "is working hard to share spectrum resources." Kung characterized spectrum as "the soil on which amateur radio depends." [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT Phil Karn, KA9Q shares the following announcement: "As you know, Brian Kantor, WB6CYT passed away suddenly on November 21, 2019. We will hold a memorial service for Brian on Saturday, Feb 1 2020 at 1:30 PM in La Jolla, CA (part of San Diego). Please see this link for details: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-019-Kantor-Memorial "Please bring any photos, mementos and (above all) stories and anecdotes about Brian to share. Brian wasn't exactly a highly formal person who stood on ceremony, so we'll keep this informal. If you have a story to tell, it's up to you whether you stand up and relate it to the whole group or just a few others at a time. There will be plenty of time for both. "Everyone who knew Brian is welcome. His friendships spanned at least three distinct social circles, and I know he'd be very happy to see everyone meet and enjoy everyone else's company. Even if he'd be a little embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor. "Free snacks and refreshments will be provided, so please RSVP through the evite link so we can tell the hotel how much to make available. If you have special dietary needs, please say so; the hotel has a menu we can choose from. "Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested. Hope to see you on the 1st." [ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 - February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14 - Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18 or 19 depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Montserrat (FK86) January 26 - February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW. Antigua (FK97) February 2 - 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 - 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News (Editor's Note: See school contact opportunity story above.) + Upcoming Contacts Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over + ARISS-US Educators Review Processes for US Proposal Window A team of educators who are members of the ARISS-US Education Committee is finalizing the last few processes related to the late 2019 ARISS-US Proposal Window. The team had ranked the education proposals and then sent a list to the ARISS-US leaders of the top schools and education groups recommended for hosting an ARISS contact. A news release is in draft stage. The organizations selected will be in the queue for scheduled ARISS contacts during the second half of 2020. A new ARISS-US Proposal Window will open soon and details on this will be forthcoming. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] + WIA 2020 Annual Conference Presentations The Wireless Institute of Australia Annual Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania May 8-10 2020 and registrations are open. On the Saturday afternoon a wide range of presentations are organized to showcase the conference theme which is the "Antarctic Gateway". Following lunch there will be two presentation streams which can be categorized as the "Antarctic" stream and the "Radio" stream. Complete information can be viewed at: https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200111-3/index.php [ANS thanks the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above information.] + AMSAT Argentina Celebrates LO-19 30th Anniversary On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It was the first Argentina Satellite, and one of first to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with its carrier at +/-437.125. Members of AMSAT Argentina (LU7AA) celebrate the 30th anniversary of the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite between Jan. 18 and 26 on HF on SSB, FT8, CW. An award is available as well. QSL via LU7AA (d), eQSL. Find complete information at: http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_30_aniv_lusat_2020.htm and http://amsat.org.ar/certlusat30.htm [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter and AMSAT-LU for the above information.] + AMSAT-SA Announces A New Date Fre Their Space Symposium The annual AMSAT SA Space symposium date has changed to Saturday, 11 July 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box: Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. Prospective authors are invited to propose other papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za before 28 February 2020. + Cardiff Microwave Roundtable Saturday, March 7, 2020 The Cardiff University ARS will host a meeting of the UK Microwave Group on Saturday March 7, 2020 at our campus in Cardiff. This one day event is a mix of talks, measurements, and socializing about activities in the GHz frequencies. GNU Radio Workshop On the following day, Sunday March 8, there will be a hands on Introduction to GNU Radio and Software Defined Radio. More info coming soon, please send an email to officers(a)cardiffars.org.uk if you are interested. [ANS thanks the UK Microwave Group for the above information.] + Lockheed Martin Launches First Smart Satellite Enabling Space Mesh Networking Recently, Lockheed Martin launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft. Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months. Some of the key technologies being flight-tested include: - Software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between satellites, shared processing capabilities, and can take advantage, of sensors aboard other smart satellites, - A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission, - 3D-printed wideband antenna housing. Read the full story at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55121 [ANS thanks Spaceref.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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