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ANS-355 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 20 Dec '14

20 Dec '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-355 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Worked All USA Grids Via Satellite - #488 for Doug Papay, KD8CAO * Opportunities to Help at AMSAT User Services * 73 on 73 Award #4 - EA5TT * Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, Reflects on Her First ARISS Contact * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-355.01 ANS-355 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 355.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 21, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-355.01 Worked All USA Grids Via Satellite - #488 for Doug Papay, KD8CAO Congratulations to Doug Papay, KD8CAO for working grid #488 of the 488 USA grids. Doug worked N2COP/p, in FM13, for his final grid. The contact was via SO-50 and was logged on 15/Dec/2014 @ 1252Z. For his efforts he has been granted GRID MASTER award # 2. In a recent AMSAT-BB email exchange with Damon Runion WA4HFN, Doug said of his accomplishment, "...it certainly would not have been possible without the help of the many individuals that went to extra effort to activate so many rare grids. These include those who recently helped put the last 30 or so girds in the log: my father K8YSE, Tom KA6SIP, Denny WB8K, Bill N2COP, Ron N8RO, Craig KL4E, Ed WA7ETH, Steven KF7SLV, Wyatt AC0RA, and Clayton W5PFG. Special recognition goes to my father K8YSE, Jim ND9M, Patrick WD9EWK, and Ted AA5CK for having been major contributors over the years to this accomplishment. I'm sure there are may more that I have not mentioned, and so I'm thankful for every effort, every contact is appreciated! "I also want to thank Rick WA4NVM for the heads-up via text from my father K8YSE about FM13 on Sunday morning--while I missed Bill N2COP that day, this head's-up gave the motivation to be at the radio on Monday morning, and sure enough Bill was there and the contact was logged. Without these guys watching out for me I would have missed the grid yet again. (Thanks Rick!)." The Star Comm Group sponsors the Grid Master Award. To qualify for this award you must make a satellite contact with all 488 grids in the U.S. and get confirmation. Send your information to Ricky, WA4NVM or Damon, WA4HFN. All Star Comm Group awards are free, they only ask that you make a donation to AMSAT NA. Grid Master Award #1 was awarded to Doug's father, John Papay, K8YSE. More information on the Grid Master and other Star Comm Group awards can be found at: http://www.starcommgroup.org/ [ANS thanks the Star Comm Group and Doug KD8CAO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Opportunities to Help at AMSAT User Services AMSAT's User Services Department is recruiting for several volunteer positions to augment our dedicated and elite staff! The User Services Department provides support in several areas including: + AMSAT News Service + The AMSAT Journal magazine + AMSAT's web presence at www.amsat.org The AMSAT News Service ----------------------- We need two or more volunteers to step forward who can dedicate time on a rotating shift of news editors. The AMSAT News Service (ANS) sends out a weekly news bulletin of everything of interest to amateur radio in space. The entire ANS crew (currently 3 editors) helps round up the news and each ANS editor takes a week as editor to compile the week's ANS bulletins. We'll get you into the bulletin rotation and you'll take your turn as the ANS editor this week. The AMSAT Journal Magazine -------------------------- We need two or more volunteers who can help compile one of AMSAT's key membership benefits ... The AMSAT Journal Magazine. An assistant editor is needed to help our existing team of editors (currently 3) to locate articles and establish contact with potential authors. All you need is an eye for articles of interest to amateur radio in space. You'll compile input from AMSAT HQ, volunteer authors, and amateur radio news sources into articles for publication in our bi- monthly magazine. We also need one volunteer who is capable of assuming the position of editor-in-chief of the AMSAT Journal. You'll help develop article sources and using AMSAT provided software and templates compile the 32-page magazine for six issues per year. Our publishing system is the Adobe InDesign CS6 package. This can be learned quickly by any computer literate ham. InDesign is MS-Word on steroids. AMSAT's Web Presence -------------------- Help is needed on the front to locate and publish up to date content for the AMSAT web. We publish late breaking news of amateur radio in space. We also publish reference information to help operate on the satellites ... software, radios, antennas, operating techniques. Web content containing late-breaking operating news and reliable operator tips currently has several gaps needing to be filled. Our WordPress environment makes the web display easy but you'll be spending your volunteer time on the content. This is a job for 5 or more volunteers and needs to be filled immediately! AMSAT also is looking for a webmaster who will assume responsibility for the display of all content in a WordPress environment. The basic framework is in place but can definitely stand to be fine tuned and made into a world class display of amateur radio in space. For most hams on-line www.amsat.org is our "front door" and we are looking for the most capable help on this important user interface! Our team is the "voice of AMSAT". News, operator tips, and membership benefits are important products for AMSAT User Services. For questions or to volunteer please contact AMSAT's Vice President of User Services, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM at k9jkm(a)amsat.org [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President of User Services, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 73 on 73 Award #4 - EA5TT Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, who is sponsoring the award for contacts made via the AO-73 (FUNcube-1) amateur radio satellite, recently recognized Manuel D. Ruiz Carrasco, EA5TT, for becoming the fourth recipient of the 73 on 73 Award. He submitted a list of 73 stations worked via AO-73 between September 1, 2014 and December 8, 2014. The award aims to promote activity on AO-73. The requirements are straight-forward: 1. Work 73 unique stations on AO-73. 2. Contacts must be made on or after September 1, 2014. 3. There are no geographic restrictions on your operating location. There will be no cost for this award (donations to AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NA's Fox program are encouraged though). No QSL cards are required. When you complete the requirements, email your log extract including the callsign of each station worked, time GMT, and date to n8hm(a)arrl.net as well as the address where you'd like the award certificate sent. Congratulations Manuel! [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information]] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, Reflects on Her First ARISS Contact In her blog shared 16 Dec 2014, Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, reflects on her first ever ARISS school contact with twenty students from Elena di Savoia in Bari and "Alessandro Volta" in Bitonto. In her comments she thanks the "army of volunteers in many countires" who make the contacts possible and how impressed she was with the quality of all the questions that "showed a great interest and knowledge in science and technology..." "Yesterday I had my first HAM radio contact with school pupils. A big hello to the students of the schools 'Elena di Savoia' in Bari and 'Alessandro Volta' in Bitonto! It was fun talking to you and thanks for the great questions! Amateur radio contacts between astronauts and school kids have a long tradition on ISS, thanks to a little army of volunteers in many countries who work with the local schools not only on the day of contact, but also in the weeks and months leading up to the event: they teach students about radio technology and about space, to get them ready and hopefully excited about the event. >From my side, I only needed to be ready on the proper channel at the proper time: it is very important, because we need direct line-of- sight with the amateur radio station on the ground and the pass is only about ten minutes long. A couple of minutes before the expected acquisition-of-signal time, I started making calls to check if someone was already picking me up. Eventually I picked up a call from the ground station and sure enough, we started our conversation. I heard them loud and clear, which positively surprised me: somehow I expected signal quality not to be as good. I hope they had the same quality on the other side. On such contacts, there's no time for small talk and formalities: in less than ten minutes, we had to make sure that the 20 students who were lined up to ask their question got their chance. So here I was, ready to go. And here came the first question - are you ready? Here's it is: 'It is known that people become taller when they are in space. What happens to bio-molecules? Is there any alteration in the tertiary structure of proteins?' I almost fell off my chair... well, if I had had a chair. (Wonder what a good equivalent of this expression would be in weightlessness... any suggestions?) Where are the good old question about space food and the space toilet? Jokes apart, I was really impressed with all the questions: they showed a great interest and knowledge in science and technology and gave me great hope for our future generations of scientists and engineers. Keep up the great work, girls and boys!" Cristoforetti's adventures in space can be followed at https://plus.google.com/+SamanthaCristoforetti/posts [ANS thanks Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between ELENA DI SAVOIA, BARI AND ALESSANDRO VOLTA, BITONTO, Italy and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF using callsign IR0ISS. The contact began Monday 15 December 2014 at 1518 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via IZ7EVR. ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF. The Alessandro Volta school teaches communications, social-history, mathematics, science and technology in different contexts: life, study, job. In addition it fosters useful competence, allowing students to access continuous innovations through 3 specializations: Mechanics and Mechatronics, IT and Telecommunications, Electronics and Electro-technics. ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF proposed to Radio Contact Coordinator Mr. Michele Mallardi IZ7EVR to set up a direct contact, with the support by IK1SLD back-up ground station, and this was accepted. The event took place in Elena di Savoia school, where an audience of more than 200 students, visitors (including some Italian Air Force officers) and Media (2 TV, 2 newspapers) participated at contact site, and about 200 at both schools. Total of more than 400 people. Before the contact, Mrs. Rosa Tagliamonte by ASI (Italian Space Agency) presented the Cristoforetti mission and the Italian contribution to the International Space Station. Mr. Michele Mallardi IZ7EVR presented ARISS and explained how a contact with the ISS is performed via Ham Radio. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Yekaterinburg, Russia, direct via TBD Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS Contact is a go for Sun 2014-12-21 11:55 UTC (primary) or Sun 2014- 12-21 13:00 UTC (backup) Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS Contact is a go for Thu 2014-12-24 TBD UTC Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS Contact is a go for Fri 2014-12-25 TBD UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Revised Tracking Utilites for DESAPTCH and Shin-en2 The spacecrafts, DESAPTCH and Shin-en2 are still alive. Masahiro Sanada JI1IZR has recently revised the predict tracking utilites for the extension of the data range. The new versions can be obtained from: http://ji1izr.air-nifty.com/ham_satellite/2014/12/artsat2-desp-11.html [ANS thanks Masahiro,JI1IZR for the above information] + Radio ham helps ESA with tracking widget Thanks to radio amateur Chip Sufitchi N2YO the European Space Agency's new satellite tracking widgets are live The tracking widgets are fed with the latest orbital tracks for ESA missions, or missions with significant ESA participation. The default track shows the ISS. Track ESA missions http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/track-esa-missions/ ESA tracking widgets are powered by http://www.n2yo.com/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + In Liue of the recent SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station, everyone is reminded that information is available by visiting the ARISS SSTV Blogspot. http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ Also, the full set of archived SSTV images are located at: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php Those that receive images can upload to the above link. The best of the best uploads may make it to the blog. --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-348 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 13 Dec '14

13 Dec '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-348 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule * OSCAR Number for DESPATCH * UWE-3 CubeSat Update * Send your code into space with astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-348.01 ANS-348 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 348.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. December 14, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-348.01 SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station The Russian ARISS team members plan to activate SSTV from the ISS on Thursday December 18 and Saturday December 20, 2014. Expected SSTV mode will be PD180 on 145.800 MHz with 3 minute off periods between transmissions. A total of 12 different photos will be sent during the operational period. Start time would be around 14:20 UTC on December 18 and 12:40 UTC on December 20. The transmissions should terminate around 21:30 UTC each day. For ongoing information visit the ARISS SSTV Blogspot http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ Also, the full set of archived SSTV images are located at: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php Those that receive images can upload to the above link. The best of the best uploads may make it to the blog. SpaceX CRS-55 will be launching this week and delays in the launch could adjust SSTV operational times. [ANS Thanks Gaston ON4WF, ARISS-Europe chairman, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Istituto Tecnico Statale Economico e Tecnologico "Elena di Savoia" -- " Piero Calamandrei", Bari, Italy, direct via IZ7EVR and State Technical Institute of Technology Alessandro Volta, Bitonto, Italy, direct via IZ7EVR Contact is presently scheduled to be with IRØISS Contact is a go for: Mon 2014-12-15 15:18:40 UTC 44 deg Yekaterinburg, Russia, direct via TBD Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS Contact is a go for Sun 2014-12-21 11:55 UTC (primary) or Sun 2014-12-21 13:00 UTC (backup) Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS Contact is a go for Thu 2014-12-24 TBD UTC Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD Contact is presently scheduled to be with RSØISS Contact is a go for Fri 2014-12-25 TBD UTC ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n at amsat.org or aj9n at aol.com. For US schools, just a reminder that proposals for hosting an ARISS contact are due December 15, 2014. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- OSCAR Number for DESPATCH Prof. Akihiro Kubota of the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan has informed AMSAT-NA of the successful launch on December 3 of deep space probe DESPATCH. One important mission for DESPATCH is an experiment in what is called "cooperative diversity communication." In this experiment, an attempt will be made to collect signals from the spacecraft received not only at the ground station in Tokyo, but also at many ham radio stations around the world. This is in order to reconstruct the original data from the spacecraft. Reception of such weak signals to reconstruct data from the spacecraft will require the expertise of exceptionally skilled ham operators. The builders are thereby providing a rare opportunity to receive radio signals transmitted by a spacecraft in deep space, and ask for cooperation radio amateurs around the world in the project. Initially, it was expected that the spacecraft would last only a few days but now it appears that this assessment was pessimistic with a longer life now expected.. Since DESPATCH appears to have met all of the requirements for an OSCAR number, including IARU coordination, I hereby with the authority vested in me be the AMSAT-NA President, do confer on DESPATCH, the OSCAR number Fuji OSCAR 81 or FO-81. I use the Fuji designation in recognition of the long history of contributions the Japanese have made to Amateur Radio satellites. I trust that Fuji OSCAR-81's mission will be successful and much valuable date collected. 73, William (Bill) Tynan, W3XO OSCAR Number Administrator Further information about the Cooperative Data Reconstruction project can be found at the link below. http://despatch.artsat.jp/en/Cooperative_Data_Reconstruction [ANS thanks Bill, W3XO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UWE-3 CubeSat Update UWE-3 was launched with FUNcube-1 on November 21, 2013, the team says they will now be temporarily ending operations. Today, more than one year after launch, there will be a temporary end of operations caused by the end of funding. However, UWE-3 is in a very good health condition with fully charged batteries and operations may be continued depending on future research plans. Without any reception from ground, UWE-3 will carry out a warm reset every four days and switch regularly between the redundant on-board processors and radios. Therefore, UWE-3 will switch back to its nominal frequency of 437.385 MHz. Nevertheless we appreciate the extensive support we received from the HAM amateurs in the past and hope that also in the future the status of UWE-3 will be monitored with your support, like you did so many times in the past year. Thank you so much for the very helpful cooperation in this respect! UEW-3 News http://www7.informatik.uni- wuerzburg.de/forschung/space_exploration/projects/uwe_3/uwe_3_news/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your code into space with astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI Leading UK space organisations have joined forces with UK Astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI and Raspberry Pi to offer students a chance to devise and code their own apps or experiment to run in space. Two Raspberry Pi computers are planned to be flown to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Tim's 6 month mission and both will be connected to a new "Astro Pi" board, loaded with a host of sensors and gadgets. Launched December 10 at an event held by the UK Space Agency, the Astro Pi competition will be officially opened at the BETT conference (January 21-24) and will be open to all primary and secondary school aged children who are resident in the United Kingdom. The competition will be supported by a comprehensive suite of teaching resources that are being developed by ESERO-UK and Raspberry Pi. During his mission to the ISS, Tim Peake KG5BVI plans to deploy the Astro Pi computers in a number of different locations on board the ISS. He will then load up the winning code whilst in orbit, set them running, collect the data generated and then download this to Earth where it will be distributed to the winning teams. Speaking at the Astro Pi launch event, Dr David Parker, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, also revealed that the UK Space Agency has been given a £2 million programme, as part of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, to support further outreach activities around Tim's mission, particularly to help inspire interest in STEM subjects. Tim Peake KG5BVI said I'm really excited about this project, born out of the cooperation among UK industries and institutions. There is huge scope for fun science and useful data gathering using the Astro Pi sensors on board the International Space Station. This competition offers a unique chance for young people to learn core computing skills that will be extremely useful in their future. It's going to be a lot of fun! To help students on their way in developing their code, five inspirational themes have been devised to stimulate creativity and scientific thinking. The themes are Spacecraft Sensors, Satellite Imaging, Space Measurements, Data Fusion and Space Radiation. In the primary school age category, teams will be asked to devise and describe an original idea for an experiment or application which can be conducted on the Astro Pi by Tim during his mission. The two best submissions will get the opportunity to work with the Astro Pi team to interpret their ideas and the team at the Raspberry Pi Foundation will then code them ready for flight on the ISS. In the secondary school age group, the competition will be run across three age categories, one for each of Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 (in England and Wales, and their equivalent ages in Scotland and Northern Ireland). In the first phase, competitors can submit their ideas for experiments and applications. At least the best 50 submissions in each age category will win a Raspberry Pi computer and an Astro Pi board on which to code their idea. In phase 2, all teams will develop code based on their original concept and two winning teams will be selected in each age category. The winning teams' code will be readied for flight by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and CGI. As well as having their code uploaded to the ISS, all winning teams will each receive a class set of Raspberry Pi and Astro Pi boards, meet the Astro Pi team and participate in a winners event during Tim's flight. In addition to the main prizes, each of the UK space companies supporting the project have offered a prize. These prizes will be awarded to the best submission associated with each of the themes, across the age ranges. ESERO-UK and Raspberry Pi are developing a comprehensive suite of teaching resources to link to the curriculum and assist teachers of STEM subjects in engaging their students in the competition. As well as explaining how to use and write code for the Astro Pi and its sensors, the resources will provide a context for the Astro Pi in the curriculum and link to teaching subjects and areas. The first two resources of the series are available now in the National STEM Centre eLibrary and the rest will follow. Launching the Astro Pi computers, and consequently the successful implementation and completion of this competition is subject to nominal progress through the ESA integration programme and operations on-board the ISS. BBC TV News: Astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI invites Raspberry Pi challenge http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30415207 Astro Pi: Your code in space http://astro-pi.org/ [ANS thanks the UK Space Agency for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-334 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 29 Nov '14

29 Nov '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-334 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * CubeQuest Challenge, a NASA Centennial Challenges Competition * 20 Meter AMSAT Net - 1900 UTC, Sundays * W7O Wraps Up 10 Day AO-7 Commemoration * Deadline Looms for Proposals to Host Scheduled ISS Contacts in 2015 * Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-334.01 ANS-334 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 334.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE November 30, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-334.01 CubeQuest Challenge, a NASA Centennial Challenges Competition Registration now is open for NASA's Cube Quest Challenge, the agency's first in-space competition that offers the agency's largest- ever prize purse. Competitors have a shot at a share of $5 million in prize money and an opportunity to participate in space exploration and technology development, to include a chance at flying their very own CubeSat to the moon and beyond as secondary payload on the first integrated flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. "NASA's Cube Quest Challenge will engage teams in the development of the new technologies that will advance the state of the art of CubeSats and demonstrate their capabilities as viable deep space explorers," said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Prize competitions like this engage the general public and directly contribute to NASA's goals while serving as a tool for open innovation." Challenge objectives include designing, building and delivering flight-qualified, small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the moon. The challenge and prize purse are divided into three major areas: Ground Tournaments: $500,000 in the four qualifying ground tournaments to determine who will have the ability to fly on the first SLS flight; Lunar Derby: $3 million for demonstrating the ability to place a CubeSat in a stable lunar orbit and demonstrate communication and durability near the moon; and Deep Space Derby: $1.5 million for demonstrating communication and CubeSat durability at a distance greater than almost 2.5 million miles (4,000,000 km), 10 times the distance from the Earth to the moon The Cube Quest Challenge seeks to develop and test subsystems necessary to perform deep space exploration using small spacecraft. Advancements in small spacecraft capabilities will provide benefits to future missions and also may enable entirely new mission scenarios, including future investigations of near-Earth asteroids. "Cube Quest is an important competition for the agency as well as the commercial space sector," said Eric Eberly, deputy program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "If we can produce capabilities usually associated with larger spacecraft in the much smaller platform of CubeSats, a dramatic improvement in the affordability of space missions will result, greatly increasing science and research possibilities." All teams may compete in any one of the four ground tournaments. Teams that rate high on mission safety and probability of success will receive incremental awards. The ground tournaments will be held every four to six months and participation is required to earn a secondary payload spot on SLS. The Lunar Derby focuses primarily on propulsion for small spacecraft and near-Earth communications, while the Deep Space Derby focuses on finding innovative solutions to deep space communications using small spacecraft. Together, these competitions will contribute to opening deep space exploration to non-government spacecraft. NASA's Centennial Challenges drive progress in aerospace technology - - of significant value to the agency's missions -- and encourage broad-based participation in aerospace research and development. The challenges help find the most innovative solutions to technical challenges through competition and cooperation. There have been 24 Centennial Challenges events since 2005. NASA has awarded more than $6 million to 16 challenge-winning teams. NASA's Centennial Challenges Program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is responsible for innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use on future NASA missions. During the next 18 months, the directorate will make significant new investments to address several high-priority challenges for achieving safe and affordable deep space exploration. For more information about the directorate, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech The Centennial Challenges Program is managed at Marshall and the Cube Quest Challenge is administered by the agency's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. For more information on the Cube Quest Challenge, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest To learn more about NASA's challenges and citizen science efforts, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/solve [ANS thanks David E. Steitz and NASA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 Meter AMSAT Net - 1900 UTC, Sundays There has been an uptick in participation on the AMSAT 20 Meter net since it announced their new format which began 9 Nov. The results have been encouraging. Check-ins have gone from 2-3 before the change to 11 last Sunday, 23 Nov. We did not run the net on 16 Nov. due to excess competition with the ARRL Sweepstakes - SSB Contest. Comments have been favorable so we will continue the net for a while and try to put out an occasional reminder. Once again, dust off your 20 Meter Rig, put up at least a dipole, and give us a call. The net meets at 1900 UTC, Sunday afternoons, on 14.282 MHz. Bring your questions and comments - we'll try to provide a "Hole." [ANS thanks Keith W5IU and Larry W7LB for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- W7O Wraps Up 10 Day AO-7 Commemoration The W7O activity wrapped up on Monday afternoon November 24. Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK/VA7EWK thanks the 24 operators who put W7O on the air from locations all over the continental USA, on both HF and the satellites, . These operators logged almost 2500 QSOs as W7O on several HF bands, all of our current amateur satellites supporting voice and CW (AO-7, AO-73, FO-29, SO-50), and even one QSO using the ISS packet/APRS digipeater. Patrick is in the process of designing the W7O QSL card. It will be a folding card, with photos and a brief history of AO-7. It will incorporate the original AMSAT AO-7 QSL card issued for SWL reports from the 1970s. Patrick thanks Andy W5ACM "for providing me a high- resolution scan of a clean card! I have already received over 100 QSL requests in my mailbox, and Logbook of the World is reporting 781 W7O QSOs have been confirmed in that system. "It has been fun to hear people talking about the oldest amateur satellite still in operation. Some of W7O's HF operators were active on AO-7 in the 1970s, and at least one had worked W7O before emailing me to request being a W7O operator." The following is the list of operators who put W7O on the satellites: AA5PK KB1PVH KB1RVT KB6LTY KF5YXV (now W5CBF, also CO6CBF) W1PA W4UOO W5PFG W5RKN WA3NAN WD9EWK The following stations are those who volunteered to work HF as W7O from all over the continental USA:. AC0RA K6FW K7QI KB6LTY KC4LE KF5YXV (now W5CBF) KK5DO KK6NWJ N5HYP NX9G W1GIV W2JV W5PFG W6GMT W6ZQ W7OO Patrick is quick to pass on credit to where it is due. "Brock W6GMT was on HF every morning during the 10 days from Minnesota. Other satellite operators helped by working many HF shifts. George W1GIV in Connecticut worked many hours during the first weekend, logging almost 400 stations across the USA and many other countries - and he has never tried working the satellites!" Whether an operator worked only one satellite pass, one 60-minute shift on HF, or every single day during the 10-day event, the success of this special-event station is owed to everyone who wanted to be a part of W7O. This worked out so much better than Patrick could have hoped, and certainly better than W7O would have been if Patrick were the only operator putting the call on satellite passes. [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Deadline Looms for Proposals to Host Scheduled ISS Contacts in 2015 Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity There are just two weeks left for submitting contact proposals for the May 1 to December 31 period. Please share the following with teachers, administrators and leaders at your local schools, museums, science centers and scouting organizations. 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 anticipates that the contact would be held between May 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. 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 DEADLINE TO SUMBIT A PROPOSAL IS DECEMBER 15, 2014. 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 and educators 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 contact dates and times. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA. More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills Enhance international goodwill Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. Design Implementation - CubeSat platform Estimated timeline Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units Launch - how does it get to orbit Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him (n0jy at amsat dot org) for more details on the criteria. A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download at http://tinyurl.com/ANS334-DesignGuide. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks Jerry N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News >From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. ARISS-US Contact Proposal Window for 2015 contacts Closed December 15 One more reminder that the window for submitting proposals for an US ARISS contact during 2015 ends December 15. See the related post above. Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. All are encouraged to share this information with schools and other educational entities. A simple conversation with a teacher or an administrator can make all the difference in getting a school involved in the once in a lifetime opportunity. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + ARRL Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is featured as he hunts satellite DX from the ARRL Headquarters station, W1HQ. During a pass that brought the FO-29 satellite up the middle of the Atlantic, Sean worked DF6WE on CW on November 19. See the video at https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152636637992408 [ANS thanks the ARRL Facebook Page for the above information] + Artsat2 Ham radio deep space launch postponed http://amsat-uk.org/2014/11/28/ham-radio-deep-space-launch-delayed/ [ANS thanks ASMSAT-UK for the above information] + Popular Electronics magazine archive from the 1950's through the 1980's has been made available online. They are PDF files: http://tinyurl.com/ANS334-Poptronics [ANS thanks americanradiohistory.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-327 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 23 Nov '14

23 Nov '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-327 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals * Captain Yuri, UT1FG/mm Reported Heading Back to Sea SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-327.01 ANS-327 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 327.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. November 23, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-327.01 ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window October 17 – December 15, 2014 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 anticipates that the contact would be held between May 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. 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 deadline to submit a proposal is December 15, 2014. 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 and educators 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 contact dates and times. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA. More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. [ANS thanks Debra, K1DMJ, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Yuri, UT1FG/mm Reported Heading Back to Sea Early reports via e-mail exchanges indicate that Captain Yuri, UT1FG/mm may be headed back to sea in December. He is reportedly slated to take over the helm of the MV Greenwing which he will meet in either Canada or the on the ports of the Great Lakes in the USA. Currently the MV Greenwing is off the coast of Sicily and appears to waiting for a load to carry back to the USA or Canada. For those who want to do so, you will be able to "track" the ship on-line using websites such as http://www.marinetraffic.com You may need to provide one of the following identifiers to track the ship: Ship Name: Greenwing Ships Call Sign: P3GG9 Ships IMO #: 9230921 Ships MMSI #: 209996000 Historically, Captain Yuri has operated on the satellites with these parameters: 1) He operates 1/2 duplex with an Icom 706MKIIg rig with an ELK antenna 2) He is VERY good operator and speaks several languages well. 3) He has NO issues with the 1/2 duplex operations. 4) He works ALL of the available satellites, FM, Linear & even AO-7a. 5) He works ALL of the passes he can, EVEN in the middle of the night! [ANS thanks Frank, K4FEG for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-313 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 08 Nov '14

08 Nov '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-313 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. ***** HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AO-7, Launched 15 November 1974 ***** In this edition: * AO-7, 40 years in Space November 15 * Special-Event Station for 40th Anniversary of OSCAR 7 Launch * Changes to AMSAT 20M Net Announced * EIAST launches UAE's first CubeSat Mission, Nayif-1 * Japanese Microsatellites Launched * Challenge Coin Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations Continues * K6LCS Sells Personal Items To Assist FOX Satellite Fundraising * CubeSat Simulator Intern Opportunity at Goddard Space Flight Center * Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! * ARISS U.S. Partners Now Accepting Proposals for Contacts in 2015 * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-313.01 ANS-313 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 313.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE November 9, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-313.01 AO-7, 40 years in Space November 15 40 years ago: AMSAT-OSCAR 7 was launched at 1711 UTC, November 15, 1974 from the Western Test Range at Vandenberg AFB in California AO-7 became the second AMSAT-NA constructed and Phase 2 amateur radio satellite launched into Low Earth Orbit. It remained operational until a short circuit in a battery in 1981. On 21 June 2002 the satellite was heard again on its 2 meter beacon (145.9775 MHz CW) after 21 years of silence, and 27 years in space. AO-7 remains semi-operational with reliable power only from its solar panels. The restoration of service was due to the short circuited battery becoming an open circuit allowing the solar cells to power the spacecraft. When the satellite eclipses it powers down. It is operational while the solar panels are illuminated by sunlight. The following links offer history and information on AO-7. Read the original AO-7 launch announcement in the 1974 AMSAT Newsletter: AMSAT-Newsletter-1974-AO-7Launch. AMSAT.org information on AO-7 http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1031 A series of pictures of the historic AO-7 OSCAR mission can be found on pages 63-75 in the following PDF http://tinyurl.com/ANS313-AO7-Pictures-pp63-75 Michael Fletcher OH2AUE has published Schematics of linear AO-7's transponders. He apoligizes about the Finish http://www.kolumbus.fi/michael.fletcher/ao_07a.gif http://www.kolumbus.fi/michael.fletcher/ao_07b.gif Construct an OSCARLOCATOR in Celebration of AO-7! William Leijenaar, PE1RAH has revived the OSCARLATOR and provides a downloadable and printable version! http://www.qsl.net/pe1rah/oscarlator.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT, Michael OH2AUE and William PE1RAH for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Special-Event Station for 40th Anniversary of OSCAR 7 Launch Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK/VA7EWK has secured the special call sign W7O (WHISKEY SEVEN OSCAR) for use in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 7 on 15 November 1974. He plans on having this call on the air between 15 and 24 November 2014, working satellites and possibly other bands. He will work satellite passes from Arizona, including AO-7 passes, and hopes to recruit a small group of operators who can work other passes that cover eastern North America along with other places that he can't work from his home QTH (i.e. Europe, north Africa, South America). He may also recruit some operators to work HF with this call. Patrick will handle the QSL requests for W7O during this period. "I am thinking of incorporating the original QSL card design AMSAT used to confirm AO-7 reception reports from the 1970s in the W7O card. (Does anyone have a good scan of both sides of that 1970s QSL card? Not the 30th anniversary AO-7 card - I have those, and there is a copyright on that design I do not wish to violate.) The QSL cards will be printed after the W7O activity wraps up. I will also upload W7O QSOs to ARRL's Logbook of the World system." Please contact Patrick directly (patrick at wd9ewk dot net) if you have any questions related to this operation, or if you are willing to operate on satellites and/or HF as W7O during this 10-day period. *Late Breaking* Patrick followed up the original announcement with this communication of driectives via the AMSAT-BB. "Thanks to all who have posted in public forums and sent me private e-mails about the upcoming W7O operation. I am now ready to take sign-ups for those who would like to operate as W7O during the 15-24 November (UTC time) period. "An important point regarding who can operate as W7O... W7O can only be operated from US territory, where amateur radio is regulated by the FCC. It cannot be used from outside US territory, as these 1x1 special calls - just like US club calls - are not covered by any of the arrangements like CEPT, IARP, or other agreements between the USA and other countries. I have been asked by some non-USA hams who were interested in operating as xxx/W7O or W7O/xxx in their countries. I'm sorry - this is not possible. "For the HF/6m operating, I will take signups for one-hour increments on the HF bands (excluding 60m) plus 6m, for CW, phone, and digital modes. For the 30m band, only CW and digital modes. I am wanting to avoid two stations operating on the same band/mode combination as W7O at the same time. If you are willing to operate for 2, 4 or more hours at one time - please feel free to sign up for more consecutive slots. Also, please let me know about your HF station - rig(s), antenna(s), etc. If you do sign up, please follow through with being on the air at the specified times. Stations will be looking for W7O on the different bands. "For the satellites, I am looking for operators in different parts of the USA. In particular, operators in the eastern USA capable of working Europe, north Africa, and South America along with North America will be welcomed. Other operators who are not able to work other continents are also welcome, but there has been interest from hams outside of North America to work W7O on the satellites - especially AO-7. I plan on working W7O on the satellites during weeknights and as much as possible on the two weekends during this 10- day period, but would be happy to share the work with others who may want to work as W7O during those times. "Operators would need to operate within the limits of their amateur licenses. The W7O call does not grant additional privileges to the operator. Operators are required to give their personal call signs once per hour when operating under a 1x1 special call. For example, saying "W7O, operated by (operator's call)" would satisfy this requirement. On the satellites with passes that are typically 10 to 20 minutes in length, giving the "W7O, operated by (operator's call)" announcement around the midpoint of each pass worked would be a good thing. "Once I get some operating commitments from operators, I will publish the schedule through a link on my WD9EWK QRZ.com entry and my web page. This way, others will know where and when to look for W7O during this 10-day period. "After the 24th, W7O operators would need to send me a log of stations worked, with the usual bits of data - date/UTC time, call, band (or bands, for satellite QSOs), mode, and (for satellites) satellite name. I can handle ADIF log files, Excel spreadsheets, text files, and logs pasted into the body of e-mails. If you are not able to send me a file in any of these formats, please let me know, so we can work out a way to get the logs. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and I (WD9EWK) will handle the QSL cards for W7O. "Please e-mail me directly (patrick at wd9ewk dot net) if you're interested in operating as W7O, or if you have any other questions about this operation." [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT 20M Net Announced Keith Pugh, W5IU and Larry Brown, W7LB, Net Control stations for the AMSAT 20M International net have announced changes to the net operation. Keith wrote, "The AMSAT 20 Meter Net will be changing format effective 9 November 2014. It will start with check-ins at 1900 UTC on 14.282 MHz and proceed with Satellite Q&A and other topics." Continuing, he adds, "The weekly AMSAT Bulletin Titles will be read and an offer will be made to read or discuss specific bulletins by request. We encourage check-ins from AMSAT Officers, BOD Members, Operators that are very active on the Satellites, and of course Operators that are new to the Satellites and/or Ham Radio. The activity will generally be over by 2000 UTC. We realize that not everyone has 20 Meter capability but we need more activity to continue running this net. Dust off your HF Gear, put up a 20 Meter Dipole, and join us or let the net die a natural death." [ANS thanks Keith Pugh, W5IU and Larry Brown, W7LB for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- EIAST launches UAE's first CubeSat Mission, Nayif-1 EIAST, in partnership with American University of Sharjah (AUS), launched the UAE's first CubeSat Mission, Nayif 1, on November 4. CubeSat is a Nanosatellite that offers hands-on experience to engineering students in the design, integration, testing, and operation of a communications satellite. The CubeSat is scheduled to be launched on board a Falcon 9 rocket by the end of 2015 where a ground station will be built at AUS and operated by Emirati engineering students, responsible for mission planning and operations. The CubeSat development program, the first of its kind in the UAE, aims at investing and developing capabilities of Emirati engineering students in space technologies. A group of Emiratis consisting of seven students from various engineering disciplines at AUS, including computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, have been assigned to the project. Students will go through an intense systems design and testing training and will partake in the program as their Senior Engineering Design project and participate in the design, assembly, integration and testing of the CubeSat. Nayif-1 will carry out a 1U Communication Mission with development taking place in AUS, EIAST's facilities and Delft in the Netherlands. The project will be carried out in partnership with the implementation partner "Innovative Solutions in Space", one of the leading companies worldwide in the development of space components and NanoSatellite Systems. EIAST will take on the role of the integrator in the process and ensure that all necessary processes are in place to preserve and build upon the experience gained. Its objective will be to put in place all the necessary infrastructure at the University for a CubeSat development program between the implementation partner and AUS's Emirati students. Nayif-1 will integrate engineering student expertise and capabilities with the expertise, capabilities and resources from UAE industry, government and academia, which is a typical integration cycle in all KBEs, to build and launch CubeSat Mission. Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, Director General of EIAST commented on the launch and stated, "this program plays a significant role in developing the Science and Technology sector in the UAE through investing in local talents and capabilities. We expect to have significant involvement of Emirati engineering students with the outcome being a UAE built and owned CubeSat. The program will also aid in establishing the necessary infrastructure at a UAE university to enable an ongoing university satellite program, preparing undergraduate, and later on, post graduate students to enter the UAE's space technology industry with firm practical knowledge in all disciplines of Satellite Systems Engineering". A CubeSat is of standardised and simplified design with an average dimension of 10 cubic centimetres (referred to as "one unit" or "1U"). Its weight is less than or equal to 1 kg; allowing it to be accessible and easily managed by students. CubeSats can also be scaled along one axis by 1U increment so that "2U" refers to CubeSat dimension of 20*10*10 cm and "3U" to 30*10*10 cm dimension. CubeSat usually utilises commercial, off-the-shelf components for development and is mainly operated by educational institutes for scientific research purposes. With simple infrastructure, design procedure, available components, and open launch opportunities, CubeSats have become popular in the space industry and an area of interest to educational institutes and governments. Above all, they are cost-effective and an independent means of getting payloads into orbit for learning, testing and verifying space systems. [ANS thanks SatellitePro Mid East for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Japanese Microsatellites Launched On Thursday, November 6 at 07:35:49 UT a Dnepr rocket carrying the primary payload Asnaro-1 and four microsatellites was launched from Dombarovsky near Yasny. Kosmotras report all spacecraft have been inserted into their target orbits. The four Japanese microsatellites are: - ChubuSat-1 (Kinshachi-1) 437.485 MHz CW/AX.25 (Digipeater uplink 145.980 MHz) - TSUBAME 437.250 MHz CW and 437.505 AX.25 - Hodoyoshi-1 467.674 MHz - QSAT-EOS (Tsukushi) an AX.25 GMSK payload has been reported but the frequency is unknown. Signals have been received from both ChubuSat-1 and TSUBAME. The 50kg class ChubuSat-1 aims to * Relay messages in amateur service (AX.25 packet radio Digipeater) * Take pictures of particular site on Earth commanded from the Earth station with an optical camera and an Infra-red camera * Try to take pictures of space debris commanded from the Earth station with above two cameras It will have 3 axis stabilisation. The 30kg class TSUBAME aims to * Demonstrate satellite bus technology for 30kg-class microsatellite and verification of COTS components such as micro-processors, memory and Li-ion batteries in the space environment * Verify of Control Moment Gyros developed by the Laboratory for Space Systems * Demonstrate of high-speed attitude manoeuvres technology using Control Moment Gyros. Some sensor data acquisition experiments will be conducted at the same time in order to demonstrate applications of CMGs * Demonstrate of SRLL communication protocol developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology and high-speed GMSK data downlink * Collect data through internet with the aid of radio amateurs all over the world TSUBAME TLE http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=51785 Kosmotras announcement http://www.kosmotras.ru/en/news/155/ Satellite info and launch video http://russianspaceweb.com/dnepr_asnaro.html ChubuSat-1 Slides http://www.frontier.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/chubusat/ChubuSat-20130311.pdf UHF Satellite frequencies http://www.satellitenwelt.de/freqlisten/SatFreq-UHF.txt IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel Status Pages http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge Coin Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations Continues AMSAT has commissioned a unique challenge coin for donors who have contributed at the $100 level or higher. This challenge coin is shaped as an isometric view of a Fox-1 CubeSat, complete with details such as the stowed UHF antenna, solar cells, and camera lens viewport. Struck in 3mm thick brass, plated with antique silver, and finished in bright enamel, the coin is scaled to be approximately 1:4 scale, or 1 inch along each of the six sides. The reverse has the AMSAT Fox logo. Donations may be made via the AMSAT website, via the FundRazr crowdsourcing app at http://fnd.us/c/6pz92/sh/561Zd, or via the AMSAT office at (888) 322-6728. The Fox program is designed to provide a platform for university experiments in space, as well as provide FM repeater capability for radio amateurs worldwide. Fox-1A and 1C are set to launch in 2015, and Fox-1B (also known as RadFXSat) is awaiting NASA ELANA launch assignment. Further information on the Fox project can be found at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1113. [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- K6LCS Sells Personal Items To Assist FOX Satellite Fundraising Clint Bradford K6LCS is offering something a little different for those interested in donating to AMSAT-NA's FOX satellite projects. "I am digging up some unique space-related items and am offering them for sale, with 100 per cent of the sale price forwarded directly to AMSAT-NA's Fox fund," Clint reports. The first items available were six commemorative USPS first day covers celebrating the Apollo/Soyuz projects and the Apollo 11 Moon landing, as well as a 24-stamp plate block. Look for more items to be posted as the older ones sell. Details at ... http://work-sat.com/FUNDRAISING.html [ANS thanks Clint K6LCS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSat Simulator Intern Opportunity at Goddard Space Flight Center The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is offering an internship position for the Spring, 2015 semester. Applications are being taken on the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) recruiting web site: https://intern.nasa.gov/ This position is in the Simulated Satellite (SimSat) program. Job Title: CubeSat Simulator Upgrade Plus (15-1) (Internship) The objective of this Opportunity is to allow a university level student to rework, repair and improve a prototype "1-Unit" CubeSat simulator/model on loan from AMSAT and then to share his or her experiences as a result. The model used in this Opportunity is similar to that described in The AMSAT Journal article "Education With A Satellite Simulator: ETP CubeSat Simulator," by Mr. Mark Spencer, ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator, Part 1 in the September/October 2009 issue and Part 2 in the November/December 2009 issue. Back copies are available at: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ETP/CubeSat/CubeSat-Pt1-SepOct09.pdf http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ETP/CubeSat/CubeSat-Pt2-NovDec09.pdf A course of study in engineering is required. Electrical/Electronics Engineering or Electrical and Computer Engineering for university students in their junior class or higher. Experience in hardware is also required. The immediate skills required of the intern are to be a well-rounded individual, and to have an excellent knowledge of and experience with Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office (especially in using spreadsheets), electrical and electronic circuits (theory and practice), microcontrollers, interfacing, and basic laboratory test equipment and procedures. Familiarity with the CubeSat community is important. A proficiency in either C++ or a similar language for microcontrollers and the desire to learn a new one is necessary. A basic understanding of data acquisition, signal processing, or control is required. Hands-on experience in building something, repairing or upgrading PCs or other electronic gear, or just getting stuff to work is required. Mechanical and electrical construction skills will be used. Experience in RF or wireless technology (anywhere between 3 and 2400 MHz) is very important. Holding or obtaining an Amateur Radio license from the FCC and practical radio experience is a distinct advantage. A good attitude, an exceptional willingness to learn and to contribute as a team player are essential qualities. Likewise, excellent communicator skills (verbal, writing and definitely e- mail), reliability, punctuality, having a self-starter work ethic and the ability & desire to work independently for long periods are required. You may ask questions regarding the tasks and skill requirements with the mentor in advance (Mr. Pat Kilroy, Code 568, Patrick.L.Kilroy(a)nasa.gov) and telephone interviews will be available. The deadline to apply for the Spring 2015 semester is November 9. Applications must be made via the OSSI web. [ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, N8PK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills Enhance international goodwill Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineersEstablish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. Design Implementation - CubeSat platform Estimated timeline Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units Launch - how does it get to orbit Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download here. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS U.S. Partners Now Accepting Proposals for Contacts in 2015 The ARISS U.S. partners have opened a window seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations in the U.S., individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS during 2015. The proposal window is October 17 - December 15, 2014. Read the announcement at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS313-ARISS 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. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions about hosting a contact in the U.S.to ariss(a)arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between SK Putrajaya Presint 9, Putrajaya, Malaysia and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2014-11-01 11:14 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 9M2RPN. ARISS Mentor was 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between Baltic State Technical University "Voenmekh" (BGTU), Saint-Petersburg, Russia and Cosmonaut FNAME Maxim Suraev using callsign RS0ISS. The contact began 2014-11- 03 09:15 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via RA1AJN. ARISS Mentor was RV3DR. + A Successful contact was made between Gulf English School, Kuwait City, Kuwait and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-11-04 12:56 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was IN3GHZ. + A Successful contact was made between Language High School "Geo Milev", Dobrich, Bulgaria and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-11-04 12:56 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was IN3GHZ. + A Successful contact was made between DLR School Lab TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany and Astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO using callsign DPØISS. The contact began 2014-11-08 09:54 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via DLØIKT. ARISS Mentor was IN3GHZ. + A Successful contact was made between Woehlerschule, Frankfurt, Germany and Astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO using callsign DPØISS. The contact began 2014-11-08 09:54 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via DLØFFM. ARISS Mentor was IN3GHZ. + A Successful contact was made between Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-11-08 16:01 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via VE6JBJ. ARISS Mentor was VE6JBJ. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule >From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] Official ARISS Website http://www.ariss.org ARISS on FACEBOOK http://tinyurl.com/ANS313-ARISS-Facebook ARISS on Twitter https://twitter.com/ARISS_status or @ariss_status ISS Fan Club http://www.issfanclub.com Amateur radio Stations Heard via ISS Digipeater http://www.ariss.net/ Did You Know... Current flight rules require all the ham radios to be off during an EVA. Technically, the VHF radios needs to be off for Russian EVAs and the UHF radio needs to be off for US EVAs. For dockings and undockings, again the ISS operates under a flight rule that has the VHF/UHF radios off for Progress, Soyuz and ATV vehicle activity. Note that Cygnus, Dragon, HTV and formerly the Shuttle did not require the radios to be off. For Ham TV, already mentioned is that it will be off for any EVA. It needs to be off for ATV (the last one planned is there now) docking and undocking. It also has to be off when the Robotics arm is in close proximity. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + AMSAT North America Facebook page now boasts 920 members and growing. Join the fun! https://www.facebook.com/groups/7828379515/ + Paul N8HM reninds us that AO-73 now has more convenient evening pass times as we've fallen back to Standard Time here in the United States. + Share This information With An Edcuator Near You! The following NASA information is of interest to Teachers; Educational, Museum and Science Centers Administrators; and anyone interested in supporting or using space as an educational tool. Please forward these on as you judge appropriate. NASA Education listserv sign up: http://www.nasa.gov/education/express NASA Twitter: http://twitter.com/nasa NASA Education Twitter: https://twitter.com/nasaedu NASA Blogs: http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/blogs.jsp NASA Education EXPRESS Blog: http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/educationexpress + Interesting ISS Information Space Station Timelines http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/#.VF0IXPnF90o Console Displays http://spacestationlive.nasa.gov/displays/index.html ISS Fligth Schedule http://spider.seds.org/shuttle/iss-sche.html Q&As With Reid Wiseman KF5LKT http://tinyurl.com/ANS313-Wiseman-Q-A Reid talks about Amateur Radio on the ISS in this Segment http://tinyurl.com/ANS313-Wiseman-HamRadio --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-306 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 01 Nov '14

01 Nov '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-306 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Amateur Radio Satellite Payloads Lost in Antares Launch Explosion * Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! * ARISS U.S. Partners Now Accepting Proposals for Contacts in 2015 * Recent ARISS Contacts * Beta Testers Sought for New Heavens-Above Android app SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-306.01 ANS-306 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 306.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. November 2, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-306.01 Amateur Radio Satellite Payloads Lost in Antares Launch Explosion The RACE and GOMX-2 CubeSats were among more than 2 dozen satellites lost after an unmanned Orbital Space Sciences (OSC) Antares 130 vehicle exploded spectacularly shortly after launch at 2222 UTC on Tuesday, October 28, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Both satellite packages carried Amateur Radio payloads. The rocket exploded about 6 seconds after launch, sending a huge ball of fire hurtling toward the ground, which set a massive fire at the NASA launch site. The RACE (Radiometer Atmospheric Cubesat Experiment) CubeSat was a joint project between The Texas Spacecraft Laboratory (TSL) at the University of Texas-Austin and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Built by a 30-student team, it carried a 183 GHz radiometer, a new science instrument designed by JPL. The spacecraft was equipped to transmit using GMSK at 38.4 k and CW telemetry on a downlink frequency of 437.525 MHz. TSL’s Glenn Lightsey, KE5DDG, a UT engineering professor, oversaw the student project that worked hand-in-hand with NASA staff in creating a satellite that aimed to measure water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere. “It’s unfortunate, but it is also part of the aerospace industry,” Lightsey told the Texas Statesman newspaper. “The nature of building space vehicles is that it is not a 100 percent reliable process. Getting into space is really the hardest part.” The 2U GOMX-2 CubeSat was intended to test a de-orbit system designed by Aalborg University in Denmark. Karl Klaus Laursen, OZ2KK, is listed as the “responsible operator” on International Amateur Radio Union frequency coordination documents. The Amateur Radio payload proposed using a 9.6 k MSK data downlink on 437.250 MHz. Also on board was an optical communications experiment from the National University of Singapore. The mission also aimed to flight qualify a new high- speed UHF transceiver and SDR receiver built by an Aalborg University team. The Antares 130 launcher was on a resupply mission, carrying some 5000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station.RACE, GOMX-2 and the other satellites onboard the rocket were to be launched into orbit from the International Space Station. The Antares 130 also was carrying the Flock-1d array of 26 satellites as well as Arkyd-3 and Cygnus CRS-3. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. “The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step.” The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills Enhance international goodwill Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said “Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let’s consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes.” Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all- volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. Design Implementation – CubeSat platform Estimated timeline Cost – volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units Launch – how does it get to orbit Strategy – how it fits into AMSAT’s Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download here. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. “Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world” says Jerry. “Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals.” While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. “It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization.” The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS U.S. Partners Now Accepting Proposals for Contacts in 2015 The ARISS U.S. partners have opened a window seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations in the U.S., individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS during 2015. The proposal window is October 17 – December 15, 2014. Read the announcement at: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARISS/ARISS%20Proposal%20Window%20Announceme… Oct-2014.pdf 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. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions about hosting a contact in the U.S.to ariss(a)arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent ARISS Contacts A direct contact via 8N4STAR with students at Bisei Elementary School, Ibara, Japan was successful Mon 2014-10-27 08:52:46 UTC 41 deg. Astronaut Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO answered 6 questions for students. Bisei Elementary School with 162 students was established at 1970 in the small town of Bisei. It is the home of the Bisei Astronomical Observatory. ****************** A telebridge contact with members of The Explorers Club, New York City, New York, USA via IK1SLD was successful Sat 2014-10-25 16:36:09 UTC 56 deg. Astronaut Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO responded to nine questions, which included questions from Apollo astronauts Charles Duke, Apollo 16 moon walker, and Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 Lunar Module pilot. Two ticket holders for Virgin Galactic SpaceShip 2 also were among those who asked questions. The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Founded in New York City in 1904, The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. The Club’s members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon—all accomplished by Club members. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Beta Testers Sought for New Heavens-Above Android app A few features of the app: - Spacecraft visibility predictions based on current GPS location - Visibility calculations are done on the device, so you only need to go online once every few days to update the list of orbital elements - Works on phones and tablets - Live Sky Chart, which shows all currently visible satellites - Prediction of Iridium flares There will be two versions of the app, one will be free of charge and will include advertisements, the other will be a paid for version without ads. The price is still to be determined. To participate, just send me an email to chris.peat(a)heavens-above.com from your google mail account (or let Chris know the name of your Google account) and you will be added to the Heavens-Above testers community. You will then receive an invitation with further instructions on how to download and install the test version of the app. The first official release will be available to all for download from the Google play web site. A forum is also available on the Heavens-Above site; http://www.heavens-above.com/forum/default.aspx?g=forum&c=5 [ANS thanks Chris Peat for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-292 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS-US Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 * Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! * Russian 'Smart' Mini-Satellites to Go Into Orbit in 2016 * UKSA announces CubeSat payload opportunity * 4M (Manfred Memorial Moon Mission) * Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational Use * HamTV Bulletin #15 * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.01 ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 292.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 19, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-292.01 ARISS-US Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 You are encouraged to share the following "Message to US Educators" with teachers, administrators and leaders at your local schools, museums, science centers and scouting organizations. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window October 17 - December 15, 2014 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 anticipates that the contact would be held between May 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. 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 DEADLINE TO SUMBIT A PROPOSAL IS DECEMBER 15, 2014. 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 and educators 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 contact dates and times. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA. More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl dot org. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. * Design * Implementation - CubeSat platform * Estimated timeline * Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units * Launch - how does it get to orbit * Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Russian 'Smart' Mini-Satellites to Go Into Orbit in 2016 The first group of Russian "smart" mini-satellites should be launched into orbit in 2016, Mikhail Sonkin, the Deputy Governor of Russia's Tomsk Region, said Wednesday. "The signing of an agreement on the creation of an association to carry out projects in the sphere of the development of groups of miniature satellites is in progress...The launch [of the satellites] is planned for 2016," Sonkin, who is responsible for the scientific and educational complex and innovation policy in the region, said at the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow. A number of Russian universities and space industry companies are expected to join the association, which will work on creating software to control groups of mini-satellites and improve their interaction with each other. According to Sonkin, members of the association, which will include Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) and Tomsk State University (TSU), will also be working on developing new materials for the space industry and on establishing communication networks in remote areas. Last month, Chairman of the Presidium of the Tomsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Psakhie announced that Russian scientists were planning to create unique mini-satellites capable of group interaction. The satellites, similar to CubeSat developed in the United States, would be able to self-educate and repair each other without leaving the Earth's orbit. Source: RIA Novosti [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UKSA announces CubeSat payload opportunity The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has announced an opportunity to fly payloads on the 3U CubeSat AlSat-1N. AlSat-Nano is primarily an education programme, its top level objective is to teach Algerian students how to design, build and operate a 3U CubeSat. The programme involves a number of Algerian graduate students who will be hosted at the Surrey Space Centre (University of Surrey) and focuses on the development of the CubeSat as a hands-on learning exercise for the students, to demonstrate the practical implementation of this type of low cost space technology. As well as the practical element of the programme there will be a focus on research modules around the use of low cost nano-satellite technologies and applications in developing nations such as Algeria, which would help to create sustainable growth and have practical uses such as earthresource management (agriculture, water), atmospheric monitoring, and disaster management. The design and build of the nano-satellite will take place at Surrey Space Centre. Final assembly, integration and verification will take place at the ASAL satellite development facility in Oran, Algeria. Operations will be carried out from Oran also. The bus will be built using hardware sourced from UK suppliers and the CubeSat will also carry payloads which will be supplied by the UK CubeSat community. These payloads will be selected in a competitive process following an Announcement of Flight Opportunity which will be issued in December 2014. The precise interface specifications will be developed during the first trimester of the project to be integrated in the Announcement of Opportunity, however it is foreseen that a maximum volume of 1U (10cm x 10cm x 10cm) and maximum mass of 1kg will be available for payloads. The selection of the payloads will be carried out in early 2015 via a selection panel. Payloads must be ready for functional testing and integration by September 2015. Launch will be in Q2 2016. Because of the educational and collaborative nature of the programme there are two further specific points that should be noted: * Payload providers must be actively engaged in all programme reviews and an active participant in the consortium * Payload providers must be willing to share payload data with the programme for research purposes, and to receive interpreted payload data via the ASAL ground segment in Oran, Algeria Submissions should be sent to Ryan King, UK Space Agency - ryan.king(a)ukspaceagency.bis.gsi.gov.uk with 'AlSat-Nano RFI' as the subject line. The deadline for responses is 12 noon, November 14th 2014. Submissions received after this time will not be read. RFI PDF http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-AlSat-Nano-Info UK Space Agency Announcement http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-alsat-nano-payload [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4M (Manfred Memorial Moon Mission) 4M or Manfred Memorial Moon Mission is a mission dedicated to LuxSpace founder, Prof. Manfred Fuchs, who died early this year. The mission is a lunar flyby of a spacecraft that is attached to the last stage of a Chinese Long March 3C rocket. The launch is scheduled for October 23, 2014 at 1800 UTC. Beijing plans to launch a Lunar spacecraft on a journey lasting 196 hours that should take it around the Moon before returning and re- entering the Earth's atmosphere. It will carry a 14 kg payload known as 4M-LXS which was developed at LuxSpace. The 4M-LXS amateur radio payload will transmit on 145.980 MHz +/- 2.9kHz (-40°C to +125°C), Doppler max: -2200Hz, +1000Hz. The continuous transmissions will start 4670s (77.8 minutes) after launch (-0, +600s). Five successive 1 minute sequences are sent during the 5 minutes cycle. The digital mode JT65B will be used, this can be decoded by radio amateurs using the free WJST software, there will also be 'human readable' tone transmissions. See the transmit sequence description on page 14 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment available at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/lxs-4m-eme2014-a4-v3.pdf During the lunar flyby, the range will be 399,636 km at the most and the distance to the Moon will be between 12,000 and 24,000 km depending on the final injection vector. The transmitter produces 1.5 watts to a simple Monopole antenna which should give a Signal to Noise ratio ( S/N) comparable to amateur moon bounce (EME) signals at the Earth's surface. LuxSpace encourages radio amateurs around the world to receive the transmissions and send in data. There will be a number of Experiments and Contests with prizes to the winners in each experiment and category. Details are given on page 19 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment. A Java client will be made available to automatically send the WSJT ALL.TXT and the decoded.txt files to a central database. The orbiter is one of the test models for Beijing's new lunar probe Chang'e-5, which will be tasked with landing on the moon, collecting samples and returning to Earth. The launch is aimed at testing the technologies that are vital for the success of Chang'e-5. The orbiter will be launched into Lunar Transfer Orbit (LTO) then will perform a flyby around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere after 196 hours (9 days). The orbiter arrived by air in Xichang, Sichuan on Sunday, August 10 and was then transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The integration of the LX0OHB-4M amateur radio payload was completed on Sunday night, October 12 and is now ready to launch The onboard clock has been adjusted to start JT65B (145.980 MHz) at the UTC minute +/-1 second. It is likely to drift during the mission, and manual offset introduction will be required after a week or so. The launch date is October 23 at 1800 UTC. Beginning of transmission of 4M will start between 1917 UTC and 1927 UTC. Refer to the provided maps and animations links in the blog section (see also older messages) to determine your visibility. Alternatively, use the 'tracking' section where you can compute your tracking elements by introducing your geographic coordinates. The table can be copied/pasted into a text file. As the apparent movement will be close (and closer) to the one one of the Moon, manual pointing is easy but for the largest arrays. The link budget is quite tight, but the first hours should give comfortable signals. QSB is to be expected. As JT65B is used: please remind those not yet too familiar with it that the receiver must not be tuned during the transmission. A dedicated webpage is being written to detail the procedure. A dedicated java application is also available to automatically transmit the decoded messages to the 4M website and ease the data collection. (Thanks to LSE Space). Alternatively, you can also send the decoded messages by eMail, sending the ALL.txt file. For those not wishing to use JT65B, please record the signals (11025s/s, 8or 16 bits, mono), taking care not to saturate the recording and NO MP3 please. SpectrumLab is an excellent choice, although some may wish to use simpler recording software. You can imagine that the team is quite eager to receive the first reports, so, do not hesitate to mail immediately, send decoded messages or even phone or text me at +352 661 678 986. Our friends of IC CMalaga are also quite eager to receive the results of their radiation dosimeter experiment. Basic rules of the contest have been delineated in the blog section. Complete rules will be published soon. Stay tuned on our website or Facebook page. The following is a tentative set of orbital elements that should remain valid from the launch to at least up to the October 27 when using usual classical and simple tracking software which does not integrate Moon. 1 99999U 14298.79728009 .00000066 00000-0 00000-0 0 00006 2 99999 030.6553 295.6956 9746689 147.2577 071.9585 00.10600338000010 The following set is to be used after the flyby from October 28 onwards 1 99999U 14301.79728009 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00009 2 99999 049.9434 067.2017 6639865 045.9865 124.5019 00.06612018000010 Details on receiving signals from the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) can be found at http://moon.luxspace.lu/receiving-4m/ Ghislain Ruy LX2RG Email ruy(a)luxspace.lu with "4M Amateur" in the subject Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) http://moon.luxspace.lu/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LuxSpaceSarl The launch will be broadcast by CNTV/CCTV: http://www.cntv.cn/ or http://english.cntv.cn/ or http://english.cntv.cn/live/p2p/index.shtml Information animations and some JT65B test files at http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-Animations AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK [ANS thanks LuxSpace.lu, AMSAT-UK and Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational Use NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions and museums to request space shuttle thermal protective tiles and other special items offered on a first-come, first-served basis while quantities last. Organizations previously allocated thermal protective tiles may request an additional three tiles. There will be a nominal shipping fee that must be paid online with a credit card. To make a request for special items online, visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-ShuttleTiles. Questions about this opportunity should be directed to GSAXcessHelp(a)gsa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Oct. 16, 2014 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HamTV Bulletin #15 Ham Video reception with low gain antenna. Tonino Giagnacovo IZ8YRR did an experiment with a low gain antenna during the Ham Video commissioning. Tonino wrote an article about this experiment, which was published in Radio Rivista, the magazine of ARI, Associazione Radioamatori Italiani, the Italian IARU society. Tonino translated his article in English. It is now available on the ARISS-Europe website: www.ariss-eu.org Please see left column. Thanks to Tonino for making his article available in English. 73, Gaston Bertels - ON4WF ARISS-Europe chairman [ANS thanks Gaston ON4WF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News ARISS-US is Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 See lead story above or visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact + A Successful contact was made between Team Sky and Rocket (NPO Sora-To-Rocket-Dan), Aichi, Japan and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-10-09 09:00 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8J2YSM. ARISS Mentor was 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between Pilton Bluecoat School, Barnstaple, United Kingdom and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-10-08 10:08 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was MØXTD. + A Successful contact was made between Indiana Area School District, Indiana, PA, USA and Astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO using callsign NA1SS/IRØISS. The contact began 2014-10-17 16:41 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was AJ9N. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule >From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 931. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 909. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS The successful school list has been updated as of 2014-10-10 06:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 Exp. 40/41 on orbit Maxim Suraev Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Exp. 41/42 on orbit Barry Wilmore Alexander Samokutyayev Elena Serova [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Yes, it is rocket science... a nasty place to ride... Bob Bruninga WB4APR offers the following link of interest. To see the violence that a cubesat has to go through, here is a test we did today on a power supply board. http://aprs.org/psat/Vibe-coil-test1724.MOV (1 meg file) It failed even before we got to the 22G requirement! [ANS thanks Bob WB4APR for the above information] + Why radio hams should consider 3D printing Mike Grauer, Jr, KE7DBX, asks radio amateurs to think about how 3D printers can be used in home construction He says: As a member of the ham radio community, I have always been fascinated by the maker mindset which has existed since the early days of radio. From making radio equipment from scratch, to kits and even modifying commercially available equipment, the maker movement and radio go hand in hand. The 3D printing community shares many traits with the ham radio movement. At the heart of it all is making, creating and inventing. And just like ham radio operators, those involved with 3D printing are constantly learning new technical skills that can be used in other areas of our lives. Read the full story at http://www.inside3dp.com/ham-operators-consider-3d-printing/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + New Website For Indian Amateur Satellite Organization Posted by our UK friends on Southgate ... The Indian amateur satellite organisation have launched a new website The site describes two projects which AMSAT-India is currently working on, a 435/145 MHz linear transponder and a 435 MHz CubeSat communication sub system. Some back issues of the AMSAT-India newsletter are available for download. Web http://amsatindia.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-290 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
by E.Mike McCardel 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-290 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-290.01 ANS-290 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 290.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 17, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-290.01 Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. * Design * Implementation - CubeSat platform * Estimated timeline * Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units * Launch - how does it get to orbit * Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This Special ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-285 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 12 Oct '14

12 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-285 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Officer Appointments * Challenge Coin Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations * 6th European CubeSat Symposium * ARISS News * NASA Invites Public to Send Your Name to Mars – Starting on Orion’s 1st Flight SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-285.01 ANS-285 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 285.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. October 12, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-285.01 AMSAT Officer Appointments The following Officers of AMSAT-NA for 2014-2015 were appointed by the Board of Directors at their annual meeting held in Baltimore, MD. President Barry Baines WD4ASW Executive Vice President Open VP Human Space Flight Frank Bauer KA3HDO VP Engineering Jerry Buxton N0JY VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA VP User Services JoAnne Maenpaa K9JKM VP Educational Relations E. Mike McCardel KC8YLD VP Marketing Open Secretary Alan Biddle WA4SCA Treasurer Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF Manager Martha Saragovitz [ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge Coin Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations AMSAT is excited to announce that a new premium collectable is now available for qualifying donations to the Fox satellite program. AMSAT has commissioned a unique challenge coin for donors who have contributed at the $100 level or higher. This challenge coin is shaped as an isometric view of a Fox-1 CubeSat, complete with details such as the stowed UHF antenna, solar cells, and camera lens viewport. Struck in 3mm thick brass, plated with antique silver, and finished in bright enamel, the coin is scaled to be approximately 1:4 scale, or 1 inch along each of the six sides. The reverse has the AMSAT Fox logo. Coins will also be made available to qualifying donors that have contributed since the Fox-1C announcement on July 18, 2014 upon request. Donations may be made via the AMSAT website, via the FundRazr crowdsourcing app at http://fnd.us/c/6pz92/sh/561Zd, or via the AMSAT office at (888) 322-6728. The Fox program is designed to provide a platform for university experiments in space, as well as provide FM repeater capability for radio amateurs worldwide. Fox-1A and 1C are set to launch in 2015, and Fox-1B (also known as RadFXSat) is awaiting NASA ELANA launch assignment. Further information on the Fox project can be found at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1113. You may donate here via PayPal. Donations will be marked specifically for Fox-1C. Note that PayPal usually allows you to donate with a credit card, even if you do not have a PayPal account. However, PayPal requirements differ depending on your country. We have no control over this issue. [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th European CubeSat Symposium The 6th European CubeSat Symposium will take place from October 14-16, 2014 at Estavayer-le-Lac in Switzerland. The Symposium has attracted more than 100 abstracts submitted from 31 different countries. Von Karman Institute and Swiss Space Systems are proud to support the CubeSat community by coorganising this leading CubeSat event in Europe, for the first time in Switzerland. Von Karman Institute continues to act as the coordinator of the World’s most ambitious CubeSat Project QB50, whereas Swiss Space Systems is designing an innovative launcher specifically for small satellites to bring the launch costs to 25% of today’s market value. The symposium abstracts are available at https://www.cubesatsymposium.eu/download/BookOfAbstracts_6th_European_Cubes… posium_2014.pdf 6th European CubeSat Symposium https://www.cubesatsymposium.eu/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News The Winter Gardens Primary School, Canvey Island, United Kingdom and Pilton Bluecoat School, Barnstaple, United Kingdom, telebridge via W6SRJ Contact was successful on Wednesday 2014-10-08 at 10:08:49 UTC. Team Sky and Rocket (NPO Sora-To-Rocket-Dan), Kariya, Aichi, Japan, is scheduled for a direct contact via 8J2YSM,Thursday 2014-10-09 09:00:05 UTC. Indiana Area School District, Indiana, PA, is scheduled for a telebridge contact via IK1SLD on Friday, 2014-10-17 16:41:45 UTC. ARISS is requesting listener reports for the above contacts. Due to issues with the Kenwood radio that are not fully understood at present, the Ericsson radio is going to be used for these contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. ************************************** From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Invites Public to Send Your Name to Mars – Starting on Orion’s First Flight by Ken Kremer on October 8, 2014 http://www.universetoday.com/115123/nasa-invites-public-to-send-your-name-t… mars-starting-on-orions-first-flight/ NASA invites you to send your name to Mars via the first Orion test flight in December 2014. Deadline for submissions is Oct 31, 2014. Join over 170,000 others! See link below. Credit: NASA Here’s your chance to participate in NASA’s ‘Journey to Mars’ and the first flight of the new Orion spacecraft that will eventually transport humans to the Red Planet. NASA invites you to send your name to Mars. And the adventure starts via the first Orion test flight dubbed Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) scheduled for blastoff on December 4, 2014 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. This week NASA announced that the public can submit their names for inclusion on a dime-sized microchip that will travel on spacecraft voyaging to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including Mars. Join over 170,000 others who have already signed up in just the first few hours! Since the Orion EFT-1 mission is set to launch in less than two months, the deadline to submit your name is soon: Oct 31, 2014. “NASA is pushing the boundaries of exploration and working hard to send people to Mars in the future,” said Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager, in a NASA statement. “When we set foot on the Red Planet, we’ll be exploring for all of humanity. Flying these names will enable people to be part of our journey.” How can you sign up to fly on Orion EFT-1? Is there a certificate? NASA has made it easy to sign up and you can also print out an elegant looking ‘Boarding Pass’ Click on this weblink posted online by NASA today: http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/orion-first-flight/ [ANS thanks Universe Today and NASA for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-271 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 27 Sep '14

27 Sep '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-271 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * New Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations * EU-038 Terschelling Island on FO-29 * Absolute Last Call for Symposium Papers * Ham Radio Balloon to Commemorate Sputnik * ARISS Proposal Window For US Schools Will Be Opening Soon! * Radio ham receives ISRO Mars Orbiter * TuPOD to enable ISS TubeSat deployment in 2015 * FUNcube at IARU Region 1 General Conference * AMSAT Symposium Is Only Ten Days Away * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-271.01 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 271.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE September 28, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-271.01 New Premium for AMSAT Fox Donations AMSAT is excited to announce that a new premium collectable is now available for qualifying donations to the Fox satellite program. AMSAT has commissioned a unique challenge coin for donors who have contributed at the $100 level or higher. This challenge coin is shaped as an isometric view of a Fox-1 CubeSat, complete with details such as the stowed UHF antenna, solar cells, and camera lens viewport. Struck in 3mm thick brass, plated with antique silver, and finished in bright enamel, the coin is scaled to be approximately 1:4 scale, or 1 inch along each of the six sides. The reverse has the AMSAT Fox logo. To view images of the new coin visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS271-FoxCoin The coins are scheduled for delivery just prior to the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium, and will be first distributed to donors attending the Symposium. Coins will also be made available to qualifying donors that have contributed since the Fox-1C announcement on July 18, 2014 upon request. Donations may be made via the AMSAT website at www.amsat.org, via the FundRazr crowdsourcing app at fnd.us/c/6pz92, or via the AMSAT office at (888) 322-6728. The Fox program is designed to provide a platform for university experiments in space, as well as provide FM repeater capability for radio amateurs worldwide. Fox-1A and 1C are set to launch in 2015, and Fox-1B (also known as RadFXSat) is awaiting NASA ELANA launch assignment. Further information on the Fox project can be found at www.amsat.org. [ANS thanks The AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- EU-038 Terschelling Island on FO-29 Operators Nico/PA7PA and Harry/PA1H will be active from Terschelling Island between September 27th and October 3rd. When possible, some portable activation (few hours) of WWF references numbers, PAFF-071 and PAFF-072 (for the World Flora & Fauna), as home call/p (ex. PA7PA/P) will be used. Activity will be on 160-10 meters SSB/PSK/RTTY, and especially PSK and RTTY modes on 30m, as well as 2m via the satellite FO-29. QSL via their home callsign, by the Bureau or direct (w/SAE and NO IRCs). NO eQSL. For updates, watch the URL medias: FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/PA7PA/125033450933890 Twitter - https://twitter.com/PA7PA1 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1181 [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Absolute Last Call for Symposium Papers The submission deadline for papers to be included in the conference proceedings has been extended to September 30. We welcome papers and presentations on any subject of interest to the amateur satellite community. Please send proposals to Dan Schultz, n8fgv(a)amsat.org Details for submission may be found at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=1568. [ANS thanks Dan, N8FGV, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ham Radio Balloon to Commemorate Sputnik The Secunda Amateur Radio Club will launch two balloons carrying amateur radio equipment from the Vryburg airstrip FAVB on October 4, 2014 at 0600 to 0800 CAT (0400-0600 UT). This date marks the start of World Space Week 2014. They will commemorate the launch of the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957 by attaching an active model replica of Sputnik to one of the balloons. The replica will transmit a Morse code message on 144.076 MHz. Please e-mail(christo.kriek(a)live.co.za) a screen print of the decoded message with date, time, GPS location, radio and antenna used to receive a special certificate from the launch team, if you are one of the lucky ones that can "decode" by ear please mail above info without the screen print. The transmitter used is a flea power transmitter. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and eight High Schools (80 children) form part of the program. Each school programmed their own data logger with 2 sensors. The 8 data loggers with sensors will be part of the payload of the balloon payload. Each of the school children had to write a Radio Amateur test (10 Questions) as part of their registration and the results will be used to allocated to their final presentation. There will be a web link with cameras from the launch site atVryburg airport, one camera at Hartbeeshoek and one at Secunda High School. Please send your e-mail info to christo.kriek(a)live.co.za to get access to the webcams on the internet. The first balloon will be launched anytime from 0600 CAT (0400 UT) onwards. The ground stations will use HF on 3.650 MHz or 7.080 MHz or 20m 14.280 MHz between the ground control, chase cars, Secunda High School and Hartbeeshoek. The bands/frequencies may change due to propagation. If your hear the ground stations operate please keep the frequency clear for ground control operations. If you have any feedback in tracking the balloons specifically on descent please report it on the mentioned HF frequencies. Due to the low APRS Digipeater and IGate density in the Vryburg area radio hams in the adjacent areas are requested to also help track the payloads as well. It is vitally important to retrieve the payloads since there are data loggers on-board from several schools in the Secunda area. They need the data to complete their assignments. A High Altitude Glider will also be launched the same morning as the High Altitude Balloon Experiment, HABEX on 4 October 2014. On the same day at Secunda High School, Secunda, Unisa University will also have a ROBTICS exhibition. SANSA will also have a presentation via the webcam about GPS's the same day. Below are the payload frequencies: Main balloon: APRS Tracking RX 144.800 FM CW Telemetry RX 432.075 FM Sputnik CW RX 144.075 FM Crew Comms HF 40/80M Webcam 2nd Balloon: APRS Tracking RX 144.8 FM RTTY 433.92 USB/ 50 baud 500 shift ascii7,n,1 Crew Comms HF 40/80M Webcam 3rd Balloon: Remote Glider Webcam Skype/Web Camera: Please register at http://www.anymeeting.com/ and send your email address to: christo.kriek(a)live.co.za to get access to live webcams. Celebrate UN-declared World Space Week October 4-10. The biggest public space science #STEM event in the world - Use hashtag #WSW2014 Twitter https://twitter.com/WorldSpaceWeek Web http://www.worldspaceweek.org/ Secunda Amateur Radio Club http://secradio.org.za/ Source SARL http://www.sarl.org.za/ [ANS thanks SARL and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Proposal Window For US Schools Will Be Opening Soon! Watch for details in ARRL news and on the ARRL website. Contact Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, ARRL ARISS Program Manager, at djohnson(a)arrl.org, if your school, local museum, or other educational organization is interested in participating in a scheduled ARISS contact in 2015. An educational plan describing the learning activities that will be provided for students leading up to an ARISS contact in 2015. An educational plan describing the learning activities that will be provided for students leading up to and following the contact is necessary for consideration. To learn more about the ARISS program visit www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the- international-space-station Click on the link for ARISS Proposal Requirements for more information about the proposal process and up-to-date information about submitting a proposal. "Radio Waves - 'News you can use for license instruction and radio science education'" is an online newsletter publish by the ARRL. Content should be of interest to those who teach radio liecensing classing and to classroom teachers, demonstrators, scout leaders and others interested in teaching radio science. Much of its content includes articles and stories of interest to those using amsateur radio to teach space science. It can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/ANS271-RadioWaves For e-mail delivery of Radio Waves, from ARRL.org, click on "edit your profile" at the top of the ARRL web page. Click on "edit e-mail subscriptions." [ANS thanks ARRL's RADIO WAVES for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Radio ham receives ISRO Mars Orbiter On Wednesday, September 24, the Indian space agency ISRO successfully put their MOM spacecraft into Mars orbit, the first country to have achieved this on the initial attempt Radio amateur Paul Marsh G7EYT/M0EYT received the signal from the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft and tweeted: "S-Band downlink from MOM spacecraft now on orbit @ Mars! Great signal with Doppler; congrats to ISRO - good job". An image of the MOM signal can be seen at http://pjm.uhf-satcom.com/twtr/mom_240914.jpg UHF-Satcom Web http://www.uhf-satcom.com/ Twitter https://twitter.com/uhf_satcom Yahoo https://groups.yahoo.com/group/amateur-DSN BBC News report http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28268186 [ANS thanks the BBC and Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- TuPOD to enable ISS TubeSat deployment in 2015 The TuPOD 3U mission will allow the in-orbit deployment of the first TubeSats - Tancredi 1, from Brazil and Ulises 1, from Mexico. Both satellites are educational satellites and involve young students in the projects. TuPOD will integrate the two satellites inside a 3U CubeSat Structure designed to allow the coupling between TubeSat and the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) launch mechanism. The TuPOD will release the two satellites after 2 days, in accordance with NASA safety requirements. After the TubeSat deployment, the TuPOD will start is own mission receiving and sending data to amateur radio ground stations. The TuPOD electronics have been designed by students at Morehead State University and is an update version of $50SAT PocketQube electronics and Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TT&C) system. Proposing a 1k2 GMSK UHF downlink and now expected to be deployed fom the ISS in spring 2015. Ulises 1 in Google English http://tinyurl.com/Ulises-1-TubeSat IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNcube at IARU Region 1 General Conference Mats SM6EAN has posted a report on the Swedish Amateur Radio Society (SSA) website about the FUNcube-1 CubeSat presentation at the IARU Region 1 General Conference in Varna-Albena, Bulgaria The following is translated from the original Swedish post: After the session of the VHF, UHF and Microwave C5 Committee had completed the delegates were given two interesting presentations. Graham Shirville G3VZV did a poolside demonstration of the FUNcube-1 satellite which was launched in November 2013. Using a computer, FUNcube SDR dongle and a turnstile antenna, held by Kjetil Toresen LA8KV, he received FUNcube-1 and displayed the telemetry data on the computer screen. The satellite's telemetry beacon on 145.935 MHz was also heard using a handheld SSB receiver. A presentation was also made about Hamnet which is being expanded, especially in Germany. Hamnet is a high-speed multimedia network and it was discussed whether and how IARU Region 1 could support the expansion of this network. Original post by Mats SM6EAN in Swedish http://www.ssa.se/iaru-reg-1-dag-4/ FUNcube http://FUNcube.org.uk/ FUNcube SDR Dongle http://FUNcubeDongle.com/ Hamnet http://hamnetdb.net/ IARU Region 1 Conference documents and pictures http://iarur1con2014.bfra.bg/ [ANS thanks Mats SM6EAN and Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Symposium Is Only Ten Days Away Plans for the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium in Baltimore Oct 10-12 are in high gear, with the announcement of exciting speakers, space auction plans and papers and presentation submittals underway. This year's space symposium will, in part, celebrate AMSAT's 45th anniversary. There is still time to register, so please go to www.amsat.org and sign up. Highlights of this year's symposium include: Keynote Speaker: Jan King, W3GEY, founding member of AMSAT and former member of the Board of Directors & V.P. of Engineering The AMSAT Space Symposium's Keynote Speaker with be Jan King, W3GEY, founding member of AMSAT and former member of the Board of Directors & V.P. of Engineering. Jan's keynote speech, entitled "Never, Never, Never Give Up!" will be presented during the Symposium banquet on Saturday October 11. As a teaser for his speech, Jan shared the following with our symposium team: "So very much has changed in 45 years! For starters, our hobby of 1968 has become an industry for one. Launch vehicles can't be had for the price of a NASA Administrator's letter anymore. Launch costs are $100K per kilogram now. ITAR? Not worth discussing. So, what do we do? Is it time to say, "We had a really good run at this" and let it go? We showed some people who cared and wanted to listen that you can do a lot with a little. Should we call it quits and give it up? There are those who ask me questions that start with, "Back in your day....?" It is particularly those people, I'd like to show...that we really are made of the right stuff. We still have things we know that Government Experts and wide-eyed university graduate students don't. Silicon Valley is now filled with satellite experts who aren't. The average university graduating electrical engineer still can't make a 2 meter pre-amp with a 1 dB noise figure - and wouldn't know how to start. Unless, of course, they figured it out from the Internet. Ah yes, the Internet! Another small change since 1968. We'll talk about it in October. Hope to see you in Baltimore. W3GEY." Special Guest Presentation: Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles E. McGee The AMSAT symposium committee has confirmed that one of the original Tuskegee Airman, Col. Charles E. McGee, will be attending our conference on Friday October 10th. Col. McGee will give a special presentation at our symposium on his experiences as a Tuskegee Airman and as an Army Air Corps and Air Force Pilot. A short question and answer period will follow. Born on December 7, 1919, McGee rose to the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts and, shortly after WWII broke out, joined the Army. He became a pilot in what was dubbed the Tuskegee Experiment, the first squadron of African American pilots, also known as the "Red Tails" from their red markings on the tails of their aircraft. Col McGee and his Tuskegee colleagues fought two wars--World War II and the war on segregation. This required them to develop an unprecedented level of discipline, excellence and fortitude to achieve success. In World War II McGee flew numerous aircraft, including the famous P- 51 Mustang as part of the 332 Fighter Group, one of three groups designated as the "Red Tails." He provided fighter escort for the B- 24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Germany, Austrian and the Balkans. He holds a US Air Force record of 409 fighter combat missions flown in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Col. McGee received numerous awards for his service, including the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, and Air Medal with 25 oak leaf clusters, amongst others. In 2007 Col McGee and the surviving Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush. Col. McGee's presentations are an inspiration to all. He demonstrates, through his life lessons, the need to persevere despite all obstacles and to do your best in all endeavors. Do not miss out on this opportunity to meet this remarkable living legend. Friday Night Reception and Space Auction This year's reception, to be held from 7-9 pm on Friday October 10, will include a space auction. All proceeds from the auction will support AMSAT's two major initiatives--the development and launch of the FOX satellite series and the ARISS program. We have received some very exciting items for the auction, and we are asking for your help in donating specialty items for auction (minimum value $100) that will attract symposium attendee's attention and get them bidding up the item price. If you have any items that are ham related (no boat anchors please), items of historical value, space related and/or autographed items we would love to get your donations. Think out of the box on this--what exciting things would you like to see in this auction? If you have something to donate to the Symposium auction, please send an e-mail to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, who will work with you on getting your item or items into the auction. Frank's e-mail address is ka3hdo at verizon.net Sunday Tours Symposium participants can choose one of the following informal tours: Baltimore Inner Harbor Tour (including the Aquarium), the B&O Railroad Museum, Edgar Allen Poe House or the National Electronics Museum. The National Electronics Museum is opening its doors exclusively for AMSAT on Sunday from 1-3 pm. If you are interested in this tour, please contact Dan Schultz by e-mail (n8fgv at amsat dot org) so we can get a headcount. Monday Udvar Hazy National Air and Space Museum Tour There is still room on the bus for the tour of the Udvar Hazy center planned for Monday October 13. Go to the AMSAT web site for tour details and signup. Sunday ARISS Operations Team Meeting Anyone interested in volunteering to support the ARISS program is invited to attend the ARISS Operations team meeting from 9-noon Sunday October 12. We will have a number of the ARISS-US team leaders and mentors on-hand to discuss the program and get you involved. We will also be discussing improvements, changes and strategies to enhance ARISS operations. ANS thanks the Symposium Committee for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Belton Honea Path, Switzerland and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2014-09-17 08:17 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 4U1ITU. ARISS Mentor was ON4WF. Institut Florimont is a co-educational day school offering children from 3 to 18 years of age a complete education from kindergarten to the three diplomas that will open the doors to higher education. As well as encouraging academic excellence, Florimont fosters the traditional values and beliefs that are important for life. Since 1905, Florimont has been preparing students for the French Baccalaureat and, as of 1942, for the Swiss Maturité. From September 2014 our range of final examinations will include the bilingual (French-English) International Baccalaureate. Therefore, Florimont will offer children even more opportunities and more choices, allowing them easier access to the world's best universities. The four sections of our school work together to ensure the continuity and coherence of the programme of study. Clear procedures are in place to ensure that new students joining us from other private or public schools are successfully integrated. Close communication with parents, additional lessons and one-to-one tutoring are just some of the ways that Florimont supports students during their studies. Our student body is made up of more than fifty nationalities making Florimont a rich multi-cultural and multi-lingual learning environment. The importance we attach to this is reflected in our language learning programme. In addition to English, emphasis is placed on German, Switzerland's predominant language, as well as on Chinese, Spanish and Italian. Other languages such as Russian and Arabic are individually tutored or taught to small groups.Bilingual classes in French and English are offered from the first year of the middle school. Priority is given to partnerships and exchanges with leading schools worldwide, as well as to many activities that can add value to a university application. Our students are encouraged to be entrepreneurial, bold, adaptable and creative because we know that these qualities will not only strengthen their university applications but also prepare them to face the challenges of working life. Postponed Events Due to the one day delay of the Space X launch, Winter Gardens Primary School, Canvey Island and Pilton Bluecoat School, Barnstaple, United Kingdom and the Kuwait/Bulgaria events were postponed. ARISS is working on rescheduling these events. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule >From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N, David AA4KN and Kenneth N5VHO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + AMSAT-UK Colloquium in TX Factor Show In this episode of the TX Factor Show Bob McCreadie G0FGX reports from the recent AMSAT-UK Colloquium in Guildford He also finds time to test out the SuperAntenna Superstick delux package, while Nick Bennett 2E0FGQ travels north and discovers a rather remarkable radio club. Among those interviewed at the Colloquium are AMSAT-NA VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA, Tom Harle from VR2Space, Graham Shirville G3VZV, Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG and Carlos Eavis G0AKI. Watch TX Factor - Episode 5 (TXF005) Recordings of the talks given at the Colloquium are at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2014/presentation-videos/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Southgate ARN for the above information] + Planning is underway for articles going into the November/December AMSAT Journal. We would like to include as much coverage as possible of the W1AW/P events on the satellites. Please send your commentary and photos (JPG hi-res files work best) to me at k9jkm at comcast dot net or journal(a)amsat.org + World Space Week is October 4 - 10. + October 432 and Above EME Newsletter is now available http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/em70cm.html + Crew including first woman cosmonaut in 17 years blasts off for ISS http://tinyurl.com/ANS271-Cosmonauts + Ham Radio Balloon to Commemorate Sputnik http://tinyurl.com/ANS271-Cosmonauts + Congratulation to Perry Yantis for making his 7000th satellite contact. In his words, as posted to the AMSAT-BB, " Last pass of AO-73 I worked WN9Q, N5ZNL with strong but fading signals. " Then at the end of the pass I worked N8IUP for my satellite qso number 7000!!!! " This only took me 38 years!!!!!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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