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AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-059
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to ans-editor at amsat dot org.
In this edition:
* Tausat CubeSat with U/V FM Transponder Ready for Deployment from ISS
* AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probe
* AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 25, 2021
* IARU Coordinates Frequencies for Two New Satellites
* 23cm Band in the Spotlight with Regulators
* The Perseverance Parachute's Secret Code
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-059.01
ANS-059 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 059.01
From AMSAT HQ 712 H Street NE Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
February 28, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-059.01
Tausat CubeSat with U/V FM Transponder Ready for Deployment from ISS
Tausat, a 3U Cubesat is currently aboard the ISS and is scheduled for deployment in February. The CubeSat was built by the Herzliya Science Center in Israel. It carries two payloads, one being a university student research project that will examine physical space radiation. The experiment will be active for about three months. The second payload is an Amateur Radio U/V FM transponder. The UHF beacon will transmit 9k6 BPSK AX25 telemetry on a downlink frequency of 436.400 MHz. Watch for upcoming details.
[ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.]
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Join the 2021 President's Club!
Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish,
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag
By donating today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won't want to miss it!
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probe
Members of the German AMSAT organization, AMSAT-DL, in cooperation with the Sternwarte Bochum Institute in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, have been using the Institute's 20-meter (65.6 foot) diameter dish antenna to listen directly to signals from probes in Mars orbit.
Signals have been copied from Tianwen-1, the Chinese spacecraft currently in Mars orbit, and from EMM/Hope, the Emirates Mars Mission, which is also orbiting Mars. Both spacecraft are transmitting in the 8.4 GHz band.
Recordings of the signals can be heard on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=413DdMua8ec&feature=emb_imp_woyt and regular updates can be seen by following @amsatdl on Twitter.
The Bochum Observatory dish was constructed in 1965 as part of the ground support network for the Apollo missions. Weighing in at 140 tons, it is protected from weather by an air dome 40 meters (131 feet) in height. In 2003, amateurs helped renovate some of the equipment, adding phase-locked receivers in the 2.3 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 10.4 GHz amateur bands, as well as an 8.4 GHz receiver. There is also an S-band, 2.4 GHz amateur transmitter running 250 Watts PEP.
In 2006, the dish was used to copy signals from the Voyager 1 spacecraft at a distance of nearly 15 billion kilometers. Since 2009, AMSAT-DL operators have used the dish regularly to copy NASA/NOAA weather satellites. Also in 2009, the dish was used to copy planetary radar echoes bounced off the planet Venus. Since 2001, the dish has copied signals from at least a dozen different deep space probes, including Tianwen-1 and EMM/Hope.
In the summer of 2002, AMSAT Germany officially began planning and preparing to send its own space probe to the red planet. It is supposed to fly around Mars as a radio relay, take pictures, carry out scientific experiments and deposit a payload on the surface of Mars. The goal is to create a probe that can be received on amateur radio frequencies using a 2 to 3 meter parabolic antenna. Images and data would be displayed directly on your own computer with the appropriate software.
This ambitious plan is a long-term goal of AMSAT-DL, and the work of amateurs tracking the current Mars orbiters at Bochum Institute provides valuable experience toward reaching this goal.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information]
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AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 25, 2021
Ray Hoad, WA5QGD released updated TLE data on February 25, 2021 and is available for download at:
https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/.
Also noted by Ray is that the following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from
this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
PWSat 2 - NORAD Cat ID 43814 (Decayed 2-23-2021 per Space-Track).
For newcomers wondering about TLE's, they are two-line element set (TLE) is a data format encoding a list of orbital elements of an Earth-orbiting object for a given point in time, the epoch. Using a suitable prediction formula, the state (position and velocity) at any point in the past or future can be estimated to some accuracy. For more information, see the Wikipedia article at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-line_element_set
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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IARU Coordinates Frequencies for Two New Satellites
The International Amateur Radio Union assigned coordinated frequencies for two upcoming Amateur Radio Satellites.
- FSI-SAT1
The Institute of Future Science at the Happy Science University in Japan will fly FSI-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat carrying a SSTV camera for transmission on an FM downlink, multispectral wavelength cameras and reception equipment for an infra-red uplink. A UHF downlink at 437.175 will operate CW, analog SSTV, 9k6 GMSK and 1k2 AFSK. A sun synchronous orbit at 500/560 km is planned.
- JAGSAT
The University of Alabama will fly JAGSAT, a 2U CubeSat designed to measure plasma electron density in the upper F layer of the ionosphere between 400-800 km. The mission will be used to study space weather monitoring, specifically to understand and predict the effects of RF scintillation on Amateur Radio and other communication signals. A UHF downlink has been coordinated at 437.325 using 9k6 2-GFSK modulation with AX.25. JAGSAT is planned to be deployed from the ISS with other ELANA-37 missions in the second quarter of 2022.
More information on both satellites is available at:
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
23cm Band in the Spotlight with Regulators
The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the meeting of the ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C) on February 15-19 which discussed the amateur radio allocation at 1240-1300 MHz.
On the IARU Region 1 site he writes:
During the week February 15–19, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C). The WRC agenda item has initiated technical studies on coexistence between the radio navigation satellite service (RNSS) and the amateur services in the 23cm band. As usual, the IARU participated in the meeting and delivered key information on amateur activities in this important microwave band. This information is vital to ensure the amateur services are realistically represented in the studies as they move forward.
It remains vital that national amateur communities present their views on the importance of this band to their national regulators in a consolidated and consistent manner.
To assist with this the IARU-R1 is developing supporting material that member societies can refer to when addressing the topic with their national regulator.
The work on this topic will continue throughout the year and beyond both in ITU-R and in the regional telecommunications organizations and the IARU is committed to ensure every organization understands the amateur position on this important microwave band.
Source IARU-R1 https://www.iaru-r1.org/2021/23cm-band-in-the-spotlight-with-regulators/
The ITU-R WP4C Summary Meeting Report notes “The only administration that can be considered supportive towards proper treatment of the Amateur Services in this work is Germany”. Read the report at:
https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Report-from-WP4C_Feb-202…
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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The Perseverance Parachute's Secret Code
A secret coded message was hidden on the gigantic parachute used to land the Perseverance rover safely on the surface on Mars. And no, it wasn't a clandestine message to the Martians. It was a message of inspiration for us humans. But it also came as a challenge.
During a news briefing on February 22, Allen Chen, the entry, descent and landing lead for the mission revealed there was a secret message in the parachute.
"In addition to enabling incredible science, we hope our efforts in our engineering can inspire others," he said. "Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose, so we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work."
Puzzle lovers around the world quickly went to work, and it didn't take long.
Adam Steltzner, Perseverance's chief engineer, confirmed "the internet" had cracked the code late Monday night on Twitter.
Hidden in the 70-foot (21-meter) parachute's red and white pattern was a binary code with the phrase "Dare mighty things" - a famous expression from President Theodore Roosevelt, espoused by those who work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The outer rings of the pattern also feature GPS coordinates for JPL's offices in Pasadena, California: 34°11'58" N 118°10'31" W.
Chen later confirmed on Twitter that the code was the brain child of systems engineer Ian Clark, who helped conduct tests of the supersonic parachute, as well as performing several other tasks for the Perseverance rover team. Clark is a crossword hobbyist, and said only about six people knew about the coded message before this week.
Chen expressed how grateful he is for the ability to work with such creative people at JPL. "It's a feeling of being very fortunate at the end… that I get to work at a place with people who are both great engineers and great people, and we still get to dare mighty things together," he said at Monday's briefing.
Secret messages on the rovers are not new. The Curiosity rover has holes in its wheels that creates marks in the Mars regolith that spells out "JPL" in Morse Code.
It was also revealed that Perseverance bears a plaque depicting all five of NASA's Mars rovers in increasing size over the years - reminiscent of the decals on cars that portray the family riding inside.
Deputy project manager Matt Wallace said more hidden "Easter eggs" should start showing up on Perseverance when more images of the rover itself are taken and beamed back to Earth.
"Definitely, definitely should keep a good lookout," he said.
[ANS thanks Universe Today for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
- AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS has the following streaming presentations scheduled:
03/10 – Trenton, New Jersey
03/11 – Clearwater, Florida
03/13 – QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention
03/16 – Palm Springs, CA
03/20 – Bonham, Texas
04/01 – Orem, Utah
06/15 – East Massachusetts
More information at: http://www.work-sat.com.
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS for the above information.]
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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
- EM54; March 4-7, 2021
@K8BL will be in EM54 3/4 – 3/7.
- EL86, EL96; March 7-14, 2021
Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon.
- DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48; March 4-10, 2021
W7LT traveling to DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48. Schedule is subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. Will try to stick to it as best he can. Follow him at:
https://twitter.com/WL7T_/status/1364676616002052101.
- CM93; May 15, 2021
N6DNM claims a very long shot on CM93 but you "might want to put it on your calendar...if you can figure out where it is. For #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before.
- Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr (at) gmail (dot) com. List updated February 21, 2021.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
+ Upcoming Contacts
- Newcastle High School, Newcastle, WY
Multi-point telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG.
Contact is go for Monday, March 1, 2021 at 16:20:56 UTC. (76 deg)
Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/qdQlKQK5mT4.
- Peace Corps, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG.
Contact is go for Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 13:09:23 UTC. (27 deg)
Watch for live stream at: https://m.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsMoldova/
and https://m.facebook.com/UTMoldova/.
+ Completed Contacts
- John F Kennedy High School, Denver, CO
Multi-point telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 18:41:13 UTC.
- Bishop Guertin HS, Nashua, NH
Multi-point telebridge via AB1OC
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB
Contact was successful on Friday, February 19, 2021 at 17:56:36 UTC.
- Estes Park Elementary School, Estes Park, CO
Multi-point telebridge via NØFH
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Shannon Walker KD5DXB.
Contact was successful on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 17:09 UTC.
+ The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ Inside Sunsat — A Look Back at the First-Ever South African Satellite
The South African satellite Sunsat was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Base on February 23, 1999. The Sunsat mission introduced the era of space exploration in South Africa, and even on the entire continent. The satellite was constructed by post-graduate engineering students at Stellenbosch University. Niki Steenkamp, a member of the Tech team with Dragonfly Aerospace, was involved in the Sunsat program. He recently shared how the university project grew to a full-fledged mission, proving to be a unique experience for future space engineers and pioneered South African space exploration. Read the story at:
https://dragonflyaerospace.com/inside-sunsat-the-first-ever-south-african-s…
[ANS thanks Dragonfly Aerospace for the above information.]
+ Media Hit: JAXA to Deploy Mauritian satellite MIR-SAT1
The satellite was designed by a team of Mauritian Engineers and an experienced Radio Amateur from the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society in collaboration with experts from AAC-Clyde Space UK. Read the full article at:
https://www.broadcastprome.com/news/satellite/jaxa-to-deploy-mauritian-sate…
[ANS thanks Broadcast Pro Middle East for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half-time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at the amsat dot org for additional student membership information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings see https://www.amsat.org/mailing-list-faq/.
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-052
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information
service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active
interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog
and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* Replays of AMSAT Presentations at HamCation Available
* FO-29 March Operations Schedule
* VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 1, 2021
* Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for February 18, 2021
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 052.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2021 Feb 21
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Join the 2021 President's Club!
Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold
Finish,
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag
By donating today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won't want to miss it!
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Replays of AMSAT Presentations at HamCation Available
AMSAT participated in the 2021 Virtual Orlando HamCation on Sunday,
February 14, 2021. Replays of the presentations are available on YouTube:
AMSAT CubeSat Simulator - Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President -
Educational Relations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0eLHJ9vuqc
AMSAT: Onward and Upward - Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n974-Jpuu2I and continuing at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaX19ohrd-I
AMSAT Engineering Updated - Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President -
Engineering
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcQqP-IRlcI
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FO-29 March Operations Schedule
All times are UTC
The operation is until UVC (under-voltage control) operates. The battery
dates from 1996, and cannot be fully charged. Note that this seldom allows
for operation over North America.
DD on times
6 00:45- 02:30-
7 01:35- 03:20-
13 01:20- 03:05-
14 00:25- 02:10-
20 01:55- 03:40-
21 01:00-
27 00:45- 02:30-
28 01:35- 03:20-
[ANS thanks Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, for the above information]
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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 1, 2021
Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL
for the period January 1, 2021 through February 1, 2021. Congratulations to
all those who made the list this month!
CALL Jan Feb
WA4NVM 1557 1568
WD9EWK (DM43) 630 632
VE7CEW 501 555
NM3B 481 553
N9FN 499 526
N7EGY 502 501 ??
ND0C 450 500
AC9O 359 475
W0NBC 435 437
PV8DX 373 412
KF6JOQ 353 403
AK7DD 376 390
W8LR 300 328
S57NML 205 291
K5ZM 179 277
VE4MM 227 263
VU2LBW 246 260
VE6WQ New 232
KV4T New 219
DG7YEO New 217
KF0QS 115 205
NA1ME 175 200
W4ALF 102 200
WD9EWK (DM41) 176 187
WA8ZID 126 176
DG3YJB New 103
HB9GWJ New 102
VE6BMX New 102
AA8CH (EN84) New 101
AB0XE New 100
KN4ZUJ New 100
KS4YT New 100
If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at
<mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was
developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a
visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not
mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on
the birds. They are doing most of the work!
[ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for February 18, 2021
The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT TLE
Distribution:
UVSQ-SAT - NORAD Cat ID 47438.
Thanks to Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, for this satellite identification.
Editor's Note: Per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, the identification of UVSQ-SAT as
object number 47438 is not yet certain as the distance between objects
47438 and 47437 is less than 25 km. It may take several more weeks for the
objects to separate enough to determine which is UVSQ-SAT with 100%
certainty.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above
information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
ARISS News
The next contacts are probably going to be via the Kenwood TM-D710E radio
located in the Service Module. You may or may not notice a difference in
signal when compared to the Kenwood TM-710GA that is in the Columbus module.
John F Kennedy High School, Denver, CO, Multi-point telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG
Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-24 18:41:13 UTC 48 deg
Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/1RgszX0npbQ
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information]
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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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CAPE-3 CubeSat Launched
The University of Louisiana (UL) at Lafayette student-built CAPE-3
satellite was launched on January 17. A 1-U CubeSat, CAPE-3 includes a
"digipeater and experimental UHF adaptive radio." An AX-25 telemetry
downlink has been coordinated on 145.825 MHz and a 1k2 frequency-shift
keying (FSK) downlink has been coordinated on 435.325 MHz, "which may burst
to 100 kHz bandwidth," according to the IARU Amateur Satellite Coordination
page.
CAPE-3 is the third cube satellite in the CAPE series. The primary
educational mission is to allow grade-school classrooms to access the
Smartphone CubeSat Classroom, and run interactive experiments through an
experimental smartphone ground-station grid.
The secondary mission is to perform scientific experiments involving
radiation detection and take pictures of Earth.
The solar-powered spacecraft, created by UL Lafayette's CAPE Satellite
Team, was launched with nine other CubeSats as part of NASA's Educational
Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program. A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket
attached beneath a wing of a customized Boeing 747 was dropped high above
the Pacific Ocean. It climbed about 225 miles above Earth and then ejected
the satellite.
Information on the ElaNa program can be found in PDF format at
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lsp_elana_20_fact_shee…
The CAPE satellites are named for the university's Cajun Advanced
Picosatellite Experiment program, designed to prepare students for careers
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information]
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I
can’t keep this page updated with all of them.****
Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of
March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style
for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon.
N6UA: I’ve had enough of the arctic zephyr … I’m headed south. I don’t have
exact details yet – but the plan is to rove to DM74 for passes on February
19th. I’ll be overnight, so plenty of opportunities. Probably headed down
via the “7s” and home into the “8s”
CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your
calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for SOTA
folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once
before.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
,
AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is
certainly keeping busy!
He reports these upcoming satellite presentation dates …
02/17 - St. George, Utah
02/23 - Franklin, Indiana
03/10 - Trenton, New Jersey
03/11 - Clearwater, Florida
03/13 - QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention (https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/)
03/16 - Palm Springs, CA
03/20 - Bonham, Texas
04/01 - Orem, Utah
06/15 - East Massachusetts
… and more being scheduled.
Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy
Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or
club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and
pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome.
Send Clint an email or call!
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS (7287)
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, AMSAT Ambassador, and Paul Overn,
KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Virgin Orbit published a Payload Profiles video that showcases AO-109
(RadFxSat-2). The video is available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2VSpX0vWJI&feature=youtu.be
+ The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars on February
18, 2021. AMSAT-DL tracked signals from the cruise stage until the rover
separated approximately 10 minutes before landing on their 20 meter dish at
the Bochum Observatory. A replay is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36CQLyS1Lo
+ EO-88 (Nayif-1) celebrated its 4th birthday on February 14th. Carrying a
FUNcube linear transponder, the satellite continues to provide a high power
telemetry downlink when in sunlight and a linear transponder for amateur
radio operations in eclipse.
+ Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store, including a
set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT round logo, and
more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase price goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+ All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to
AMSAT members on AMSAT’s new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will
be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT’s Symposium Proceedings are
also available for members. If you’re a current AMSAT member, get logged on
today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at
https://launch.amsat.org/
+ The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is
now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is
updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is
the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in
DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your
first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available
for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted. The print edition is $30
plus shipping and is available at https://tinyurl.com/GS2020Print
---------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to
AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits.
President’s Club donations may be made at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at
one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled
in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a
maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week’s ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-045
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information
service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active
interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog
and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* What Is Keeping The NA1SS Amateur Station Off The Air?
* AMSAT OSCAR-109 Update
* Virtual HamCation Is this Weekend - Don't miss AMSAT!
* AMSAT 2021 President’s Club Welcomes New Members
* Happy New Year on Mars!
* Satellite Operating Awards Available
* AMICALSAT Award Certificates Deadline Approaching
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 12, 2021
* NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-045 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 045.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2021 Feb 14
What Is Keeping The NA1SS Amateur Station Off The Air?
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and its partners
are troubleshooting what is keeping the NA1SS amateur station off the air.
ARISS became aware of the problem after an attempted contact with a school
in Wyoming, between ON4ISS on Earth and astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG at
NA1SS, had to abort when no downlink signal was heard. ARISS has determined
that the problem is not with the radio equipment on board the ISS Columbus
module.
ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, explained that during a 27
January spacewalk to install exterior cabling on the ISS Columbus module,
the coax feed line installed 11 years ago was replaced with another built
by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. It included two additional
RF connectors to support the Bartolomeo payload-hosting platform installed
last spring on Columbus.
"On 26 January, prior to the EVA [extravehicular activity], our Columbus
next-generation radio system was shut off and the ISS-internal coaxial
cable to the antenna was disconnected from the ARISS radio as a safety
precaution for the EVA," Bauer said. “During the spacewalk, an external
four-connector coax feed line replaced one with two RF connections. This
change was made to allow ESA to connect ARISS and three additional
customers to Bartolomeo, as compared to ARISS and one additional RF
customer," Bauer explained.
With the spacewalk completed, the ISS crew restarted the ISS amateur radio
station on 28 January, but no voice repeater or automatic packet repeater
system (APRS) downlink reports were heard and no downlink signal was heard
during an attempted scheduled school contact either. Bauer said that
because the exterior cable is not an ARISS cable, ARISS is working with ESA
and NASA on a way forward. "NASA has opened a Payload Anomaly Report on
this issue. We have talked to both the NASA and ESA representatives," Bauer
said.
[ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio New for this excellent summary of
previously reported information]
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Join the 2021 President's Club!
Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won't want to miss it!
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AMSAT OSCAR-109 Update
The RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E CubeSat has been designated as AMSAT-OSCAR 109
(AO-109). AMSAT engineering and operations teams appreciate the satellite
community’s cooperation to date and reiterated their request that users not
attempt to use the transponder until further notice. “The proper
identification will allow further characterization of the satellite’s
condition through additional testing,” AMSAT concluded.
RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E was launched on January 17 on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne,
which carried 10 other satellites into space. AO-109 carries an inverting
linear transponder, with uplink at 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz, and downlink
at 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz. Telemetry will downlink on 435.750 MHz.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Director and Fox Command Team member Mark Hammond, N8MH,
for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual HamCation Is this Weekend - Don't miss AMSAT!
HamCation 2021 is a virtual 'Online Only' event this weekend, Saturday and
Sunday, February 13th and 14th.
AMSAT will provide three virtual presentations on Sunday:
* 10:00 AM (EST) AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, Alan Johnston KU2Y, AMSAT VP of
Educational Relations
* 12:00 AM (EST) AMSAT, Onward and Upward, Robert Bankston KE4AL, AMSAT
President
* 1:00 PM (EST) AMSAT Engineering Update, Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT VP of
Engineering.
NOTE: > All times are Eastern Standard Time (UTC -05:00)
Be sure to check out the full schedule for other topics of interest.
https://www.hamcation.com/forums-speakers
[ANS thanks AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above
information]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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AMSAT 2021 President’s Club Welcomes New Members
The following new members of the AMSAT 2021 President’s Club have been
added as of January 31, 2021. We thank them for their generous support and
helping to keep Amateur Radio in Space!
Core Level
Gerald Buxton, N0JY
Dale Peer, KF7ZBK
Alston Simpson, WA5TJB
Carl Starnes, W4EAT
Richard Steegstra, K1LKR
Bronze Level
Anton Giroux, KF3BX
Edward F. Krome, K9EK
Silver Level
W. Fisher, WB1FJ
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Joseph Lynch, N6CL
Ronald Parsons, W5RKN
David A. Vine, WA1EAW
Gold Level
Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Titanium Level
William Brown
All members receive a full color certificate, 2" commemorative coin with
four accent colors and gold polished finish, and an embroidered "REMOVE
BEFORE FLIGHT" key tag. Members at Silver level and above receive a
handsome acrylic desk plaque and tickets for symposium events.
Join the AMSAT 2021 President’s Club today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/.
[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, VP-Development for the above
information.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy New Year on Mars!
The countdown to a new year is in many ways a defining moment for our lives
on Earth. Our age, our seasons, filing our taxes, all depend on the
duration of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. On Mars, there are no yearly tax
returns, but as the planet also orbits around our Sun, time on Mars is
similarly measured in years. However, there are some significant
differences between a year on Mars and a year on Earth. February 7, 2021
marked what scientists here on Earth consider the start of Year 36 on Mars.
Let’s look at some similarities and differences between a year on the two
planets:
* One year on Mars equals 687 Earth days. It takes almost twice as long as
our Earth to orbit the Sun. This means your age would be a lot less if you
lived on Mars! If you would like to feel younger, just divide your current
age by 1.88 and casually mention to your friends that that’s your real
age...on Mars.
* A Martian day is defined, like on Earth, as the time it takes for the
planet to make one revolution around its axis. This is called a sol. A sol
is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours and 39 minutes.
* Mars has four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. They are
defined by the planet’s position along its orbit around the Sun. The
Martian New Year begins with the northward equinox (northern spring,
southern autumn). As Mars travels through its yearly trajectory, the
planet’s axial tilt causes the northern hemisphere to receive more sunlight
during the northern summer, and the southern hemisphere to receive more
sunlight in northern winter – just like on Earth. Unlike Earth’s seasons
however, the seasons on Mars are not of equal lengths. This is because the
orbit of Mars around the Sun is more elliptical than that of Earth. For
example, the northern hemisphere spring (southern hemisphere autumn) lasts
the longest, 194 sols, and the northern hemisphere autumn (southern
hemisphere spring) is the shortest season at 142 sols.
* Mars’ elliptical orbit can have important consequences. During southern
spring and summer, Mars swings by the sun closer and faster. The resulting
increase in luminosity heats up the atmosphere, causing turbulence to lift
up very fine particles from the Martian soil. For this reason, the second
half of a Martian year is often marked by fierce dust storms that can
sometimes become planet-wide.
* Like on Earth, winters are cold and summers are warm on Mars, but the
planet’s overall temperature is a lot cooler, it has a yearly average
temperature of minus 60 degrees Celsius. The planet experiences different
weather phenomena throughout the seasons. A weather phenomenon that
reappears every year around the southern spring and summer is the Arsia
Mons Elongated Cloud, a cloud of ice crystals that can reach up to 1800
kilometres in length. It repeats for at least 80 sols and then disappears
again during the rest of the year.
* The Martian calendar began fairly recently compared to the one on Earth.
The count started in Earth year 1955. This first Martian year coincided
with a very large dust storm in its second half, aptly named ‘the great
dust storm of 1956.’
If you’re looking for a reason to celebrate, here’s to a Happy New Mars
Year!
[ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Operating Awards Available
Awards are a big part of amateur radio in all of its various
manifestations, and the same is true for satellite operations. There are a
number of awards that are available for all your hard work on the
satellites. AMSAT sponsors a number of these awards, and others are
available from other amateur organizations. You may not have even known
about some of them, and may have enough QSL cards to qualify now!
AMSAT's Satellite Communicators’ Club award is given to any operator for
having made their first satellite contact. To apply for this, and other
AMSAT awards, you should go to the AMSAT.ORG online store and purchase the
award. After completing your purchase, email the AMSAT Awards Manager,
kk5do AT amsat DOT org that you have made the purchase and supplying the
necessary proof of contacts.
The Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for working 20
contacts, on any satellite or combination of satellites, in 20 different
states, DXCC countries or Canadian Call Areas. Those that have the RAC
CANDADAWARD or ARRL WAS with satellite endorsements, may submit a copy of
their certificate as proof of working the 13 Canadian Call Areas or 50 U.S.
States. All QSOs must be completed from locations separated by no more than
50 miles or 80 kilometers.
The Oscar Sexagesimal Award is the same as the Oscar Satellite
Communications Achievement Award but is given for 60 contacts. All the
qualifications and costs are the same.
Next there is the Oscar Century Award. This is the same as the other two
awards but is for 100 contacts. Qualifications and costs are the same.
Please note that the previous 3 awards are aggregated. Once you have worked
your 20, that applies towards your 60 so you only need 40 more contacts.
The same is true for the 100, once you get your 60, you only need 40 more
for your 100.
The AMSAT Rover Award is given to those intrepid souls who make our grid
counts possible. It is based on a rather complex point system, which is
detailed at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/
Finally, AMSAT offers the Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Satellite Operator
Achievement Award. It is awarded for the submission of 1,000 satellite
contacts on OSCAR-6 or later satellites. There is an endorsement for each
additional 1,000 and a special certificate at 5,000.
For details on each of the AMSAT awards and how to apply for them, see the
AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/awards-2/
In addition, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) offers many of their
operating awards with satellite endorsements for those who complete the
necessary contacts exclusively using satellites. These include the VHF/UHF
Century Club (VUCC) for working 100 different grid squares, and the Worked
All States (WAS) for confirmed contact stations in each of the 50 states.
Those up for a particular challenge can shoot for the Worked All Continents
(WAC) for contacting stations on each of the 8 continents, and DX Century
Club (DXCC) for contacting 100 different DXCC countries on satellite.
For details on the ARRL awards, begin the search by consulting
http://www.arrl.org/awards/
Satellite operating success can earn some impressive wallpaper!
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Awards Manager, for the above
information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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AMICALSAT Award Certificates Deadline Approaching
Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not
yet requested yours, you can do so before 28/02/2021.
The satellite has been active since September 3, 2020. The launch of the
Vega rocket went well. According to the project team, the commissioning of
the satellite is in progress and is proceeding normally. The team has
succeeded in stabilizing the satellite and is beginning to test image
capture and retrieval.
The contributions of radio amateurs have been very important for the
project. This has contributed to the commissioning of the satellite. In the
case of AMICALSAT, it is possible to send telemetry to the dashboard hosted
by the Satnogs network via
* a Satnogs station
* the AMICALSAT Decoder software provided by AMSAT-F at
https://bit.ly/3pdTvcm
* the software edited by DK3WN (TLM Forwarder)
Data from AMICALSAT Decoder is also sent to the AMSAT-F database (
https://amsat.electrolab.fr/). To date, more than 42 radio amateurs from
all over the world have contributed more than 28,000 telemetry frames.
In order to thank the radio amateurs who have sent telemetry via AMICALSAT
Decoder software before December 31, 2020, AMSAT-F will issue a diploma.
Rules for issuing the diploma
The diploma in electronic format will be given to all radio amateurs or
earphones that have received data from the Amicalsat satellite and sent
these data to the AMSAT-F database with the "AMICALSAT Decoder" software.
Depending on the number of data received on the AMSAT-F database (
https://amsat.electrolab.fr/), the nature of the diploma will be different
depending on the number of frames received before December 31, 2020 23:59
UTC :
GOLD Diploma for persons having sent more than 5000 frames to the
AMSAT-F database.
Silver Diploma for those who have sent between 2500 & 4999 frames to
the AMSAT-F database.
Bronze Diploma: for those who have sent between 500 & 2499 frames to
the AMSAT-F database.
Diploma without mention for persons having sent between 1 & 499 frames
to the AMSAT-F database
The request for a diploma is done by sending an email to amsatf(a)amsat-f.org
indicating your callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send
the data.
Only the received frames actually registered on https://amsat.electrolab.fr/
will be taken into account.
[ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, AMSAT-F president, for the above
information]
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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 11, 2021
RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) has been renamed as AO-109 in this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution as follows:
AO-109 - NORAD Cat ID 47311.
As of February 7, 2021 RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) was designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109
(AO-109) by Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and Command Station.
The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution:
YUSAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47439.
Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for this satellite identification.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost
NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne,
California, to provide launch services for the agency’s Power and
Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), the
foundational elements of the Gateway. As the first long-term orbiting
outpost around the Moon, the Gateway is critical to supporting sustainable
astronauts missions under the agency’s Artemis program.
After integration on Earth, the PPE and HALO are targeted to launch
together no earlier than May 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch
Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The total cost to
NASA is approximately $331.8 million, including the launch service and
other mission-related costs.
The PPE is a 60-kilowatt class solar electric propulsion spacecraft that
also will provide power, high-speed communications, attitude control, and
the capability to move the Gateway to different lunar orbits, providing
more access to the Moon’s surface than ever before.
The HALO is the pressurized living quarters where astronauts who visit the
Gateway, often on their way to the Moon, will work. It will provide command
and control and serve as the docking hub for the outpost. HALO will support
science investigations, distribute power, provide communications for
visiting vehicles and lunar surface expeditions, and supplement the life
support systems aboard Orion, NASA’s spacecraft that will deliver Artemis
astronauts to the Gateway.
About one-sixth the size of the International Space Station, the Gateway
will function as a way station, located tens of thousands of miles at its
farthest distance from the lunar surface, in a near-rectilinear halo orbit.
It will serve as a rendezvous point for Artemis astronauts traveling to
lunar orbit aboard Orion prior to transit to low-lunar orbit and the
surface of the Moon. From this vantage, NASA and its international and
commercial partners will conduct unprecedented deep space science and
technology investigations.
NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy will manage the SpaceX launch
service. The HALO is being designed and built by Northrop Grumman Space
Systems of Dulles, Virginia, and the PPE is being built by Maxar
Technologies of Westminster, Colorado. NASA’s Johnson Space Center in
Houston manages the Gateway program for the agency. NASA’s Glenn Research
Center in Cleveland is responsible for management of the PPE.
Learn more about NASA’s Gateway program at: https://nasa.gov/gateway
Learn more about NASA’s Artemis program at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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ARISS NEWS
Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.
Due to antenna problems reported earlier, upcoming ARISS contacts are
probably going to be via the Kenwood TM-D710E radio located in the Service
Module. You may or may not notice a difference in signal when compared to
the Kenwood TM-710GA that is in the Columbus module.
A contact with Bishop Guertin High School, Nashua, NH, multi-point
telebridge via AB1OC, is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19 at 17:56:36 UTC. The
ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut
is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB. Maximum elevation will be 33 degrees. Watch for
live stream at: https://youtu.be/0-Dsel4_7gM
Congratulations to NA7V for his first ARISS contact as an ARISS telebridge
station! The contact with Red Hill Lutheran School of Tustin, Calif. was
completed on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, operating
with the station callsign of NA1SS, made contact at 18:26 UTC on a pass
with maximum elevation of 65 degrees. Congratulations to the Red Hill
Lutheran students and Mike!
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I
can’t keep this page updated with all of them.****
Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of
March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style
for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon.
N6UA: I’ve had enough of the arctic zephyr … I’m headed south. I don’t have
exact details yet – but the plan is to rove to DM74 for passes on February
19th. I’ll be overnight, so plenty of opportunities. Probably headed down
via the “7s” and home into the “8s”
AD0HJ will be in EN23 2/11 & 2/12.
KE0PBR: EL87 Holiday Style FM only Week of 2/14… Might want to reach out if
you need it.
Major Roves:
CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your
calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA
folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once
before.
Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through
amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests,
conventions, maker faires, and other events.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above
information]
QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo; March 13,14 2021
The second QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held on March 13-14, 2021.
There is an Amateur Radio speaker track and AMSAT will have a virtual booth
during the event. Advance tickets are now on sale. More information at:
https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/
[ANS thanks Virtual QSO Ham Expo for the above information.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ NASA will provide live coverage on NASA Television, the agency’s website,
and the NASA app of the launch and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to
the International Space Station beginning at 11:15 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb.
14. The unpiloted Russian Progress 77 is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz
rocket at 11:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Baikonur time) from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (ANS thanks NASA for the above
information)
+ U.A.E’s Hope (Al Amal) orbiter arrived at Mars on Feb. 9, firing its
thrusters for 27 minutes to successfully enter Martian orbit. The U.A.E. is
the first Arab country, and the fifth overall, to reach the planet.
Meanwhile, China's Tianwen-1 entered Martian orbit on Feb. 10 for a period
of checkout before a planned release of its instrument-laden lander and
rover sometime in May. And next week, on Thursday, Feb. 18, NASA's
Perseverance rover will slam into Mars’ atmosphere at hypersonic velocities
and eventually find itself sitting alone on the surface seven minutes later
(hopefully all in one piece). The Mars fleet is arriving! (ANS thanks The
Orbital Index for the above information)
+ After an incredible 43 years and 22 billion kilometers, Voyager 1 and 2
are still delivering science (which takes 21 hours to reach us at the speed
of light). Using data from both craft, scientists have found evidence for
electrons getting reflected off of shockwaves created by our Sun’s coronal
mass ejections, which then spiral along interstellar magnetic field lines
while accelerating to great speeds (scientific paper at
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/abc337). (ANS thanks
The Orbital Index for the above information)
+ NASA announced Feb. 9 it wants to obtain a seat on the next Soyuz mission
to the International Space Station, launching in just two months, to ensure
a U.S. presence on the station in the event of any commercial crew delays.
There are no known issues with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, one of
which is currently docked to the station for the Crew-1 mission.
“Experience has shown that new launch capabilities may encounter
unanticipated delays or difficulties maintaining initial schedules,” NASA
noted. (ANS thanks Space News for the above information)
+ If there's an advanced extraterrestrial civilization inhabiting a nearby
star system, we might be able to detect it using its own atmospheric
pollution, according to new NASA research. The study looked at the presence
of nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2), which on Earth is produced by burning fossil
fuels. In their study, the team used computer modeling to predict whether
NO2 pollution would produce a signal that is practical to detect with
current and planned telescopes. They found that for an Earth-like planet
orbiting a Sun-like star, a civilization producing the same amount of NO2
as ours could be detected up to about 30 light-years away. Since NO2 is
also produced naturally, scientists will have to carefully analyze an
exoplanet to see if there is an excess that could be attributed to a
technological society. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information)
+ U.S. astronauts living aboard the ISS orbital outpost, on Feb. 14, will
break the record for most days in space by a crew launched aboard an
American spacecraft, NASA said. "They will surpass the record of 84 days
set by the Skylab 4 crew on Feb. 8, 1974", NASA said. Four flight engineers
- Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, Victor Glover, KI5BKC,
Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG - docked the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the US
module last November. (ANS thanks Space Daily 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 additional benefits.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at
one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled
in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a
maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at]
amsat.org for additional student membership information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor, Mark Johns, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org
1
0
07 Feb '21
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-038
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information
service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active
interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog
and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109)
* SN9 Starship Test Launch: Otherwise successful test ends in a fireball
* CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request
* First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia
* ARISS Call for Proposals: Contacts for January to June 2022
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021
* ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-038 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 038.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio
Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC
20002
DATE 2021 Feb 07
RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109)
On January 17, 2021, the RadFxSat-2 cubesat was launched on a LauncherOne
vehicle off the coast of California. RadFxSat-2 is a joint mission of AMSAT
and the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics at Vanderbilt
University. The satellite carries a telemetry beacon and a linear
transponder, along with radiation effects experiments. The telemetry beacon
has not yet been heard, but the transponder is partially operational at
reduced signal strength. Work continues to recover the telemetry beacon and
characterize the transponder with the goal of opening it for general use.
AMSAT hereby designates RadFxSat-2 as AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109).
Testing and characterization of RadFxSat-2/AO-109 continues. After user
reports and additional verification that the linear transponder is at least
partially functioning with a low level downlink signal, the Engineering and
Operations teams made the official designation. Of the several objects have
been suspected (D, C, and M), with Object C being suggested recently by
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA. Recently, these satellites have sufficiently
spread apart to allow testing to determine which object is
RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E.
During the 2 Feb 2021 0240 UTC passes, command station Mark Hammond, N8MH,
compared Objects D, C, and M for the "best fit" for received signals with
Doppler correction on both the uplink and downlink frequencies for each of
the candidate objects. Objects D and M were quickly eliminated from
further consideration, due to poor frequency predictions of Doppler
correction compared to observed signals. The clear best fit is Object C,
which is known OBJECT C, INTELDES 2021-002C, and NORAD CAT ID 47311.
Therefore, AMSAT is happy to identify Object C/2021-002C/47311U as
RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E and make the designation AO-109. Thanks to Alan Biddle,
WA4SCA, for support during the identification.
The Engineering and Operations teams appreciate the community's cooperation
thus far and affirm the request that users do not attempt to use the
transponder until further notice. The proper identification will allow
further characterization of the satellite's condition through additional
testing.
(ANS thanks Mark L. Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and the Engineering and
Operations Team for the above information)
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Join the 2021 President's Club!
Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with Full Color Certificate and Embroidered
"Remove Before Flight" Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won't want to miss it!
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Another Starship Test Launch: SN9 test ends in a fireball
On Tuesday, February 2, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completed SpaceX's
second high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in
Cameron County, Texas.
Similar to the high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8),
SN9 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down
in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee - approximately 10
kilometers in altitude. SN9 successfully performed a propellant transition
to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before
reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.
During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight
and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD.
The full description and a video of the test launch may be found at:
https://bit.ly/3avfkPC
[ANS thanks SpaceX Public Relations for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request
Rizwan Merchant, KF5BNL, reports: "It seems CAPE-3 is indeed healthy in
orbit. Our power system seems to be working as intended and UHF
transmitters seem healthy. However, we're suspecting the VHF radio is dead
on arrival. We've not seen any indication of it functioning in orbit, which
aligns with a fear we had prior to integration.
The CAPE-3 team is devising plans to begin testing individual subsystems on
the satellite to gauge the health of those. This might take a few more
weeks to validate and provide an update on what capabilities we can still
carry out, as we update our ground systems."
Additional updated information on CAPE-3 may be found at:
https://bit.ly/2O6t1Nj
Rizwan continues: "If anyone is able to switch their iGates, or make a UHF
iGate to help track CAPE-3 email packets, we'd be really grateful for the
help! We've turned on one at our University as well. 1.) We are expecting
UHF APRS on 437.325, the same as what our FSK and AX.25 packets are coming
across on. 2.) From what I can tell, our NORAD ID is 47309. 3.) Currently
we are having some issues commanding CAPE-3 from our University lab, so
once we are able to transmit commands, we'll be able to set the APRS emails
to come across more often, and begin experimenting the tweeting function to
see if it works as we intended.
I'd like to thank everyone who's helped so far! We got our first email
packet from W7KKE-13 earlier this evening (approximately 00:45 UTC
Saturday, 02/06/2021).
The SatNOGS network is getting packets fairly regularly:
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/?future=0&bad=0&unknown=0&failed=0&
norad=47309&observer=&station=&start=&end= "
[ANS thanks Riswan Merchant, KF5BN, for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia
Indonesia's national amateur radio society, ORARI, reports on the first
contacts from Indonesia via the Qatar-Oscar-100 geostationary satellite
transponder
The contacts took place on Thursday, January 27, 2021. Those involved were
Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, Remco den Besten PA3FYM and Rene Stevens PE1CMO.
ORARI's report says a team from the Telkom University Telecommunication
Engineering Student Association (HMTT) led by Farid Farhan YC1HVZ,
succeeded in conducting the first contact from Bukit Moko (Grid square
OI33UD), Bandung, West Java with a satellite elevation of 0.8 degrees at an
altitude of 1200m+.
Additional information is available at: https://bit.ly/3jgIC8B
[ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS Call for Proposals
New Proposal Window is February 15th, 2021 to March 31st, 2021 February 2,
2021 --- 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 January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. 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 March 31st, 2021. Proposal
information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and
the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory
Webinar session will be held on February 25th, 2021 at 8 PM ET. The
Eventbrite link to sign up is:
https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2021.eventbrite.com
Additional information may be found at https://www.ariss.org/
[ANS thanks David Jordan AA4KN ARISS PR for the above information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with
GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels,
propulsion, and
attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021
The NORAD Cat ID for RadFxSat-2 has been updated in this week's AMSAT-NA
TLE Distribution as follows:
RadFxSat-2 - NORAD Cat ID 47311. Mark Hammond, N8MH, (AMSAT Director and
Command Station) has identified RadFxSat-2 as OBJECT C, NORAD CAT ID 47311.
OBJECT C was determined to be the "best fit" for RadFXSAt-2 and OBJECTS D
and M were eliminated as contenders. RadFxSat-2/Fox1E has been designated
AO-109 as reported above.
The following satellites have also been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution:
SOMP 2b - NORAD Cat ID 47445. IDEASSat - NORAD Cat ID 47458. Thanks to Nico
Janssen, PA0DLO, for these two satellite identifications.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above
information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
-------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS
NEWS
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-02-06 04:30 UTC
Sterling MS, Ashburn, VA, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS
callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is
presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the
operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled
astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB (***) Contact is go for: Tue 2021-02-09
14:44:48 UTC 66 deg.
Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/qVhBweqjCo4
Red Hill Lutheran, Tustin, CA, telebridge via NA7V. The ISS callsign is
presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently
scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode
can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG. Contact is go for: Wed
2021-02-10 18:26:15 UTC 65 deg.
Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
N6DNM: There will be a quick run at CM88/89 on Sun 7th, and a good chance
of an attempt at CM79 on around Feb 12-13 (if wx holds) . Details will
follow.
Major Roves:
CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your
calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA
folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once
before.
JD1BQA activation of Ogasawara: Takio Hata, JH3QFL, plans to activate
Ogasawara (AS-031) from May 1 to 7 as JD1BQA. QRV on 160, 80, 40, and 6m on
FT8/FT4, and via the RS-44 satellite (CW). QSL via JH3QFL (d).
Report(Reported in DXNL 2235 - February 3, 2021 DX Newsletter)
Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com Updated
02/3/ 2021
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, and JoAnne
Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through
amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests,
conventions, maker faires, and other events.
AMSAT Ambassador and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS has a
couple Zoom presentations lined up to begin 2021. In the first week of
February, an "abbreviated" presentation was given to a Southern CA ARES
group. Later in the month, a "normal" show will be presented. There are
up-to-five spots available for you to attend! Just send Clint an email
message for details.
Would a 90-minute informative, personalized-to-your-club, FUN presentation
on working the "easy" satellites would be appropriate for your club? Send
Clint an email message, and let's book a date! Contact: Clint Bradford
K6LCS k6lcs at ham-sat dot info 909-999-SATS (7287)
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ UVSQSat update: After a successful launch in December, on 2 Feb. 2021,
UVSQSat switched mode from 1200 BPSK(G3RUH) to 9600 BPSK(G3RUH).
Frequencies for UVSQSat are telemetry on 437.02 MHz with callsign LATMOS-1
and the repeater: 145.905 MHz Uplink, 437.02 MHz Downlink More information
on the UVSQSat mission may be found at: https://bit.ly/3oOPYRy (ANS thanks
Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above information).
+ Two astronauts working outside the International Space Station on January
27 installed a European Space Agency data relay antenna and connected four
of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. But the two
cables they were unable to connect to the Bartolomeo platform will need to
be connected later. Unable to resolve the cable trouble, they capped the
two balky connectors and used tie-downs to hold all the cables in place.
(ANS thanks SpaceFlight Now for the above information)
+ An update to the IC-705 Satellite Memory .CSV file has been posted at the
AMSAT-SE website. Lars, SM0TGU, has fixed a bug in the PO-101 settings and
has added 5 offsets for each of the FM birds. The 5 offset memory settings
should make it easier to track the doppler shift of those satellites if an
operator is in the field. The revised memory settings files are available
at: https://www.amsat.se/2020/11/12/satellite-memory-file-for-ic-705/ (ANS
thanks Lars Thunberg, SM0TGU of AMSAT-SE for the above information)
+ Twelve bottles of Bordeaux wine and dozens of vine shoots are back at
home in southwest France after spending months on the International Space
Station (ISS) for an unusual astrochemistry experiment. The red wine and
320 mature shoots known as canes arrived February 1 after their return to
Earth via a Dragon capsule operated by SpaceX. They will be analysed at the
Institute of Vine and Wine Science in Bordeaux to see how the stresses
produced by zero gravity affect both grape growth and the finished product,
which could spur new agricultural research. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the
above information)
+ Sixty more SpaceX-owned Starlink internet satellites rocketed through a
moonlit winter sky over Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 launcher early
Thursday, while another Falcon 9 stood on a different launch pad a few
miles away to loft another 60 Starlink payloads Friday. The first stage's
landing punctuated the fifth trip to space and back for this booster, and
it broke a record for the fastest turnaround between flights of a SpaceX
booster, besting the previous mark of 38 days set last month.(ANS thanks
SpaceFlight Now for the above information)
+ Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not
yet requested them, you can do so before 28/02/2021. The request for a
diploma is done by sending an email to amsatf(a)amsat-f.org indicating your
callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send the data. (ANS
thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above information)
+ The first private Chinese company to reach orbit met with failure Monday
(Feb. 1) during its second attempt to go to space. iSpace's four-stage
Hyperbola-1 rocket failed after liftoff while attempting to carry the
cubesat-sized Fangzhou-2 (Ark-2) satellite into space. Media reports
indicate the launch attempt happened around 0815z from the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. (ANS thanks Space.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 additional benefits.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at
one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled
in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a
maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at]
amsat.org for additional student membership information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-038
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information
service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest
in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and
digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins
via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109)
* SN9 Starship Test Launch: Otherwise successful test ends in a fireball
* CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request
* First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia
* ARISS Call for Proposals: Contacts for January to June 2022
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-038 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 038.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2021 Feb 07
RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109)
On January 17, 2021, the RadFxSat-2 cubesat was launched on a LauncherOne
vehicle off the coast of California. RadFxSat-2 is a joint mission of AMSAT
and the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics at Vanderbilt
University. The satellite carries a telemetry beacon and a linear
transponder, along with radiation effects experiments. The telemetry beacon
has not yet been heard, but the transponder is partially operational at
reduced signal strength. Work continues to recover the telemetry beacon and
characterize the transponder with the goal of opening it for general use.
AMSAT hereby designates RadFxSat-2 as AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109).
Testing and characterization of RadFxSat-2/AO-109 continues. After user
reports and additional verification that the linear transponder is at least
partially functioning with a low level downlink signal, the Engineering and
Operations teams made the official designation. Of the several objects have
been suspected (D, C, and M), with Object C being suggested recently by Drew
Glasbrenner, KO4MA. Recently, these satellites have sufficiently spread
apart to allow testing to determine which object is RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E.
During the 2 Feb 2021 0240 UTC passes, command station Mark Hammond, N8MH,
compared Objects D, C, and M for the "best fit" for received signals with
Doppler correction on both the uplink and downlink frequencies for each of
the candidate objects. Objects D and M were quickly eliminated from further
consideration, due to poor frequency predictions of Doppler correction
compared to observed signals. The clear best fit is Object C, which is known
OBJECT C, INTELDES 2021-002C, and NORAD CAT ID 47311. Therefore, AMSAT is
happy to identify Object C/2021-002C/47311U as RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E and make
the designation AO-109. Thanks to Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, for support during
the identification.
The Engineering and Operations teams appreciate the community's cooperation
thus far and affirm the request that users do not attempt to use the
transponder until further notice. The proper identification will allow
further characterization of the satellite's condition through additional
testing.
(ANS thanks Mark L. Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and the Engineering and
Operations Team for the above information)
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Join the 2021 President's Club!
Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won't want to miss it!
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Another Starship Test Launch: SN9 test ends in a fireball
On Tuesday, February 2, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completed SpaceX's
second high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in
Cameron County, Texas.
Similar to the high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8),
SN9 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down
in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee - approximately 10
kilometers in altitude. SN9 successfully performed a propellant transition
to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before
reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.
During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight
and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD.
The full description and a video of the test launch may be found at:
https://bit.ly/3avfkPC
[ANS thanks SpaceX Public Relations for the above information]
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/
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CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request
Rizwan Merchant, KF5BNL, reports: "It seems CAPE-3 is indeed healthy in
orbit. Our power system seems to be working as intended and UHF transmitters
seem healthy. However, we're suspecting the VHF radio is dead on arrival.
We've not seen any indication of it functioning in orbit, which aligns with
a fear we had prior to integration.
The CAPE-3 team is devising plans to begin testing individual subsystems on
the satellite to gauge the health of those. This might take a few more weeks
to validate and provide an update on what capabilities we can still carry
out, as we update our ground systems."
Additional updated information on CAPE-3 may be found at:
https://bit.ly/2O6t1Nj
Rizwan continues: "If anyone is able to switch their iGates, or make a UHF
iGate to help track CAPE-3 email packets, we'd be really grateful for the
help! We've turned on one at our University as well.
1.) We are expecting UHF APRS on 437.325, the same as what our FSK and AX.25
packets are coming across on.
2.) From what I can tell, our NORAD ID is 47309.
3.) Currently we are having some issues commanding CAPE-3 from our
University lab, so once we are able to transmit commands, we'll be able to
set the APRS emails to come across more often, and begin experimenting the
tweeting function to see if it works as we intended.
I'd like to thank everyone who's helped so far! We got our first email
packet from W7KKE-13 earlier this evening (approximately 00:45 UTC Saturday,
02/06/2021).
The SatNOGS network is getting packets fairly regularly:
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/?future=0&bad=0&unknown=0&failed=0&
norad=47309&observer=&station=&start=&end= "
[ANS thanks Riswan Merchant, KF5BN, for the above information]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia
Indonesia's national amateur radio society, ORARI, reports on the first
contacts from Indonesia via the Qatar-Oscar-100 geostationary satellite
transponder
The contacts took place on Thursday, January 27, 2021. Those involved were
Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, Remco den Besten PA3FYM and Rene Stevens PE1CMO.
ORARI's report says a team from the Telkom University Telecommunication
Engineering Student Association (HMTT) led by Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, succeeded
in conducting the first contact from Bukit Moko (Grid square OI33UD),
Bandung, West Java with a satellite elevation of 0.8 degrees at an altitude
of 1200m+.
Additional information is available at: https://bit.ly/3jgIC8B
[ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information]
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ARISS Call for Proposals
New Proposal Window is February 15th, 2021 to March 31st, 2021
February 2, 2021 --- 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 January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. 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 March 31st, 2021. Proposal information
and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal
form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session
will be held on February 25th, 2021 at 8 PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign
up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2021.eventbrite.com
Additional information may be found at https://www.ariss.org/
[ANS thanks David Jordan AA4KN ARISS PR for the above information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021
The NORAD Cat ID for RadFxSat-2 has been updated in this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution as follows:
RadFxSat-2 - NORAD Cat ID 47311.
Mark Hammond, N8MH, (AMSAT Director and Command Station) has identified
RadFxSat-2 as OBJECT C, NORAD CAT ID 47311. OBJECT C was determined to be
the "best fit" for RadFXSAt-2 and OBJECTS D and M were eliminated as
contenders. RadFxSat-2/Fox1E has been designated AO-109 as reported above.
The following satellites have also been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution:
SOMP 2b - NORAD Cat ID 47445.
IDEASSat - NORAD Cat ID 47458.
Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for these two satellite identifications.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above
information]
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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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ARISS NEWS
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-02-06 04:30 UTC
Sterling MS, Ashburn, VA, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS (***)
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB (***)
Contact is go for: Tue 2021-02-09 14:44:48 UTC 66 deg (***)
Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/qVhBweqjCo4 (***)
Red Hill Lutheran, Tustin, CA, telebridge via NA7V (***)
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***)
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG (***)
Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-10 18:26:15 UTC 65 deg (***)
Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
N6DNM: There will be a quick run at CM88/89 on Sun 7th, and a good chance of
an attempt at CM79 on around Feb 12-13 (if wx holds) . Details will follow.
Major Roves:
CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your
calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA
folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once
before.
JD1BQA activation of Ogasawara: Takio Hata, JH3QFL, plans to activate
Ogasawara (AS-031) from May 1 to 7 as JD1BQA. QRV on 160, 80, 40, and 6m on
FT8/FT4, and via the RS-44 satellite (CW). QSL via JH3QFL (d).
Report(Reported in DXNL 2235 - February 3, 2021 DX Newsletter)
Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com
Updated 02/3/ 2021
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, and JoAnne
Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information]
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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through
amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests,
conventions, maker faires, and other events.
AMSAT Ambassador and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS has a
couple Zoom presentations lined up to begin 2021. In the first week of
February, an "abbreviated" presentation was given to a Southern CA ARES
group. Later in the month, a "normal" show will be presented. There are
up-to-five spots available for you to attend! Just send Clint an email
message for details.
Would a 90-minute informative, personalized-to-your-club, FUN presentation
on working the "easy" satellites would be appropriate for your club? Send
Clint an email message, and let's book a date!
Contact:
Clint Bradford K6LCS
k6lcs at ham-sat dot info
909-999-SATS (7287)
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above
information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ UVSQSat update
After a successful launch in December, on 2 Feb. 2021, UVSQSat switched mode
from 1200 BPSK(G3RUH) to 9600 BPSK(G3RUH). Frequencies for UVSQSat are
telemetry on 437.02 MHz with callsign LATMOS-1 and the repeater: 145.905 MHz
Uplink, 437.02 MHz Downlink
More information on the UVSQSat mission may be found at:
https://bit.ly/3oOPYRy
(ANS thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above
information).
+ Two astronauts working outside the International Space Station on January
27 installed a European Space Agency data relay antenna and connected four
of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. But the two
cables they were unable to connect to the Bartolomeo platform will need to
be connected later. Unable to resolve the cable trouble, they capped the two
balky connectors and used tie-downs to hold all the cables in place. (ANS
thanks SpaceFlight Now for the above information)
+ An update to the IC-705 Satellite Memory .CSV file has been posted at the
AMSAT-SE website. Lars, SM0TGU, has fixed a bug in the PO-101 settings and
has added 5 offsets for each of the FM birds. The 5 offset memory settings
should make it easier to track the doppler shift of those satellites if an
operator is in the field. The revised memory settings files are available
at: https://www.amsat.se/2020/11/12/satellite-memory-file-for-ic-705/
(ANS thanks Lars Thunberg, SM0TGU of AMSAT-SE for the above information)
+ Twelve bottles of Bordeaux wine and dozens of vine shoots are back at home
in southwest France after spending months on the International Space Station
(ISS) for an unusual astrochemistry experiment. The red wine and 320 mature
shoots known as canes arrived February 1 after their return to Earth via a
Dragon capsule operated by SpaceX. They will be analysed at the Institute of
Vine and Wine Science in Bordeaux to see how the stresses produced by zero
gravity affect both grape growth and the finished product, which could spur
new agricultural research. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above
information)
+ Sixty more SpaceX-owned Starlink internet satellites rocketed through a
moonlit winter sky over Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 launcher early
Thursday, while another Falcon 9 stood on a different launch pad a few miles
away to loft another 60 Starlink payloads Friday. The first stage's landing
punctuated the fifth trip to space and back for this booster, and it broke a
record for the fastest turnaround between flights of a SpaceX booster,
besting the previous mark of 38 days set last month.(ANS thanks SpaceFlight
Now for the above information)
+ Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not
yet requested them, you can do so before 28/02/2021. The request for a
diploma is done by sending an email to amsatf(a)amsat-f.org indicating your
callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send the data. (ANS
thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above information)
+ The first private Chinese company to reach orbit met with failure Monday
(Feb. 1) during its second attempt to go to space. iSpace's four-stage
Hyperbola-1 rocket failed after liftoff while attempting to carry the
cubesat-sized Fangzhou-2 (Ark-2) satellite into space. Media reports
indicate the launch attempt happened around 0815z from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. (ANS thanks Space.com for the above
information)
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/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 additional benefits.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at
one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled
in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a
maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at]
amsat.org for additional student membership information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-031
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to ans-editor at amsat dot org.
In this edition:
* RadFxSat-2 Update – (January 29, 2021)
* RadFxSat-2 Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to Assess Status (January 28, 2021)
* ARISS Operations Situation
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 28, 2021
* QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo to Include Speaker Track on Amateur Radio Satellites
* Ham Radio’s SuitSat Returns in Short Horror Film
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
* Iodine Thruster Could Slow Space Junk Accumulation
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.01
ANS-031 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.01
From Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) 712 H Street NE Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
January 31, 2021
To ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.01
RadFxSat-2 Update (January 29, 2021)
From AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY:
"Thanks go to W5SAT, who applied the amateur radio spirit of exploration and innovation to helping find out "what's up?" with RadFxSat-2.
"We appreciate his work and immediately applied it to our processes as we discover/recover RadFxSat-2.
"Why was it not heard or found week ago? There could be an unexplained behavior such that it could not and was not able to occur until the other day. Our stations attempted transponder use under various conjectured and commanded states throughout this period as part of the exploration of the anomaly, but did not detect any signals. They were able to confirm their signals the night of the 27th.
"Following that we turned attention to the beacon, as you know. We have not discovered the beacon yet and we have contacted some top class "big gun" stations, asking for their help. The signal will obviously be pipsqueak and may not even be there. The drive to find it, or if it is not detected then to take possible actions to activate it, is the information in the telemetry that is paramount to knowing through satellite data exactly what is going on. We asked you that the transponder not be used because any power to signals in the transponder downlink is power stolen from the beacon strength. We have asked everybody to listen, as from the beginning, to help find it and find status and solutions faster. It may sound boring or useless but it is at the heart of every satellite launch and commissioning phase and perhaps the biggest part the general satellite community can play in the lifetime of the satellite. The payoff is important to all of us, and I invite anyone to join the hunt and share in the enjoyment of - whatever happens.
"I can't say what we will be doing tomorrow for sure, we will be looking for any reports and telemetry as more and larger stations join and because we have seen behavior that is not clearly understood. Procedures and conclusions that are not carefully thought out could result in losing what we have now. It is comparable to NASA taking careful time in dealing with anomalies (barring safety-related issues). Very importantly, we will be watching to see if anyone captured anything at all from the telemetry in the beacon. All you have to do is hunt and catch one frame and you are a hero in this game. Your help is greatly appreciated.
"Unless there is some big news over the weekend, I expect that Monday evening would be the next opportunity for a short update, time permitting."
[ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering for the above information]
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RadFxSat-2 Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to Assess Status (January 28, 2021)
On January 27, 2021, Brad Schumacher, W5SAT, reported copying his CW signal weakly via the RadFxSat-2 transponder. On the morning of January 28, AMSAT Engineering and Operations confirmed these reports and determined that RadFxSat-2 is partially functioning, though signals are extremely weak. AMSAT thanks W5SAT for his report.
AMSAT also appreciate those who joined in determining whether they could detect their own or other signals in recent passes today.
At this time it is essential and we ask you: Please do not attempt to transmit through the transponder until further notice. This is very important to the next steps the team is taking now.
The next crucial step in evaluating the condition of RadFxSat-2 is to determine whether or not the 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon is operating and, if possible, copy telemetry from the beacon. AMSAT asks that everyone with 70cm receive capability listen to the beacon frequency of 435.750 MHz (+/-) Doppler, upper sideband (USB). Use FoxTelem with your receiver in order to tune and capture any telemetry you can. Also make sure FoxTelem is set to "Upload to server" so that AMSAT receives your telemetry data. If you capture a good IQ recording on SDR, please send a detailed description of your recording to foxtelem(a)amsat.us. The team may respond with a request for your recording and details on how to transfer it to the AMSAT Engineering team. Please understand that keeping the transponder clear is essential to putting all power and attention to the beacon telemetry.
Two-line elements (TLE's) are available in AMSAT's nasabare.txt distribution at https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/nasabare.txt. Available data suggests that RadFxSat-2 is OBJECT M from the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne launch, NORAD ID 47320, international designation 21-002M.
AMSAT thanks the Amateur satellite community for their perseverance and assistance while the AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams work to understand and resolve the situation with RadFxSat-2.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams for the above
information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it
all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable
solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the
ride. The journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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ARISS Operations Situation
Thursday, January 28., 2021 Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS-USA Executive Director issued the following statement.
"Today was a tough one for ARISS. Let me explain.
"As you all know, an EVA (spacewalk) was conducted yesterday to install cabling on the exterior of Columbus to support the commissioning of the Bartolomeo attached payload capability mounted on the Columbus module. On January 26, prior to the EVA, our Columbus next generation radio system was shut off and the ISS-internal coaxial cable to the antenna was disconnected from the ARISS radio as a safety precaution for the EVA. During the EVA, our current external antenna coaxial cable, installed in 2009, was replaced with another one built by ESA/Airbus with four RF connectors included, as compared to the current 2 RF connections. This change was made to allow ESA to connect ARISS and 3 additional customers to Bartolomeo, as compared to ARISS and one additional RF customer.
"As you might have seen yesterday, the EVA was conducted and our cable connection was swapped out. This morning, the crew restarted the radio system. Not hearing any Voice Repeater reports, we requested a switch to APRS packet. We still did not hear any downlink reports. At 1746 UTC we had a planned ARISS school contact between our certified telebridge station ON4ISS, operated by Jan in Belgium, and Mike Hopkins on ISS. No downlink signal was heard during the contact. The crew radioed down ???no joy??? on the contact about halfway through the contact and the Newcastle High School, Newcastle Wyoming, USA contact attempt ended.
"Clearly, there is an issue. More troubleshooting will be required. It may be the new external RF cable that was installed during yesterday's EVA. It might also be from the connect and disconnect of the interior coaxial (RF) cable. So the interior cable cannot not be totally discounted yet. The crew took pictures of the coaxial cable and connector attached to the ARISS radio inside the ISS. Because the exterior cable is a Bartolomeo cable and not an ARISS cable, we are working with ESA and NASA on a way forward. NASA has opened a Payload Anomaly Report on this issue. We have talked to both the NASA and ESA representatives. These are the same folks that worked with us on previous ARISS hardware systems as well as the ESA Bartolomeo integration initiative. We have also asked our Russian team lead, Sergey Samburov, if we can temporarily use the radio in the Service Module for school contacts until we are able to resolve this issue. As we gather more information, we will share it with you.
"On behalf of the ARISS International Board, the Delegates and the entire team, I want to thank all of you for your tremendous volunteer support to ARISS. We WILL get through this and be more resilient as a result."
[ANS thanks Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS-USA Executive Director for the above information.]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 28, 2021
Available data suggests that RadFxSat-2 is OBJECT M from the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne 1-19-21 launch, NORAD ID 47320, international designation 21-002M. Therefore, The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
RadFxSat-2 - NORAD Cat ID 47320.
Thanks to Brad Schumacher, W5SAT for his report copying RadFxSat-2 and AMSAT Engineering Ops for the confirmation.
The following satellite has also been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
OBJECT N - NORAD Cat ID 47345.
This object was part of the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne Demo 2 launch of January 19, 2021. Object N was initially given the wrong launch date but that date was later corrected to 1-19-2021.
The current TLE's can always be downloaded at https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/nasabare.txt.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Keplerian Elements Manager for the above information.]
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QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo to Include Speaker Track on Amateur Radio Satellites
The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on March 13 – 14, 2021 will devote a speaker track to AMSAT and the world of Amateur Radio satellites.
The Expo is in “full planning mode” and promises “many exciting new things” for the upcoming event, which will include a world-class lineup of more than 60 speakers and workshops for beginners to experts. Presenters at nine AMSAT sessions will discuss the broad spectrum of ham radio satellites, including:
- Introduction to Amateur Radio Satellites (Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW)
- Getting on the Air with Satellites (Clint Bradford, K6LCS)
- How to Enjoy Amateur Radio Contacts with the International Space Station (Frank Bauer, KA3HDO)
- Implementation of LDPC Encoder on FPGA (Anshul Makkar)
- Debris Mitigation in Earth’s Orbit (Anshul Makkar)
- Digital Multiplexing Transponder from the Open Research Institute (Michelle Thompson, W5NYV)
- Solving the ITAR and EAR Problem for the Amateur Radio Satellite Service (Michelle Thompson, W5NYV)
- Remote Labs for P4XT Engineering Development (Paul Williamson, KB5MU)
Thompson, an AMSAT Board Member, said working satellites is one of the most rewarding privileges of holding an Amateur Radio license.
“There has never been a better time to be involved in amateur radio satellites, since some long-standing regulatory burdens have been lifted and advanced technology has never been more affordable and accessible,” Thompson remarked. “We have opportunities now that were not available as of even a few years ago. AMSAT is fortunate to contribute to the Expo by showcasing the truly amazing work going on around the world in the amateur satellite scene. And the Expo is an ideal partner to show it off to the wider ham audience.”
AMSAT will have a booth at the Expo, where attendees can talk to experts, enthusiasts, operators, and technicians and obtain contact and membership information for the 30 AMSAT societies around the world.
Early Bird tickets are $10 (to help cover the cost of this event) and $12.50 “at the door.” That includes entry for the live, 2-day event as well as access during the 30-day on-demand period following the event. Register on the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo website.
[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.]
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Ham Radio’s SuitSat Returns in Short Horror Film
SuitSat loses its innocence in a new video short sci-fi thriller Decommissioned. “Inspired by true events,” the video short resurrects the 2006 spacesuit/satellite that transmitted messages on 2 meters as it circled Earth. The original SuitSat-1 project, conceived by an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team, repurposed a decommissioned Russian Orlan spacesuit to function as a free-floating amateur radio transmit-only satellite.
“ARISS designed and built an antenna and radio gear that got approved for installation into the suit, and cosmonaut Valeri Tokarev and Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, put SuitSat-1 into orbit at the start of a spacewalk,” ARISS-US Delegate for ARRL Rosalie White, K1STO, recounted. SuitSat-1 transmitted a voice message, “This is SuitSat-1 RS0RS!” in several languages, plus telemetry and a slow-scan TV image on an 8-minute cycle as it orbited Earth.
In the 6-minute film, a SuitSat returns in the future to haunt International Space Station commander “Diaz,” played by Joey Vieira. Diaz is seen taking photos from inside an observation dome on the ISS when he spies some distant space debris and radios Houston to express concern.
“If there was any cause for alarm, you know we’d see it too,” Houston assures.
As the object closes in, an increasingly anxious Diaz recognizes the “debris” as SuitSat. “This is SuitSat,” comes a voice on the ham radio.
“Houston, you’re not gonna believe this. We’re picking up transmissions on the ham radio that sound identical to the SuitSat experiment,” he tells a skeptical mission control. “It’s SuitSat! I’m seeing SuitSat!”
“SuitSat re-entered the atmosphere and burned up years ago,” mission control responds. “It’s impossible.”
Decommissioned was produced by Perception Pictures and directed by Australian filmmaker Josh Tanner. He told Gizmodo that he produced the video “using the Unreal Engine technology that The Mandalorian used, albeit old-school rear projection, as opposed to the fancy LED wall tech they used.”
SuitSat-1 — called Radioskaf or Radio Sputnik in Russian — was so successful that another unneeded Orlan spacesuit was subsequently refitted as SuitSat-2.
As an interesting sidebar with respect to the real SuitSat, White explained, “After the ARISS engineers calculated SuitSat-1’s orbit and spin characteristics, they knew the legs and arms would have to be filled with something, so they asked the crew to stuff dirty laundry inside.”
White said Decommissioned was a hit at a recent ARISS meeting. The original SuitSats were deorbited to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere after their useful lives ended.
[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Iodine Thruster Could Slow Space Junk Accumulation
For the first time ever, a telecommunications satellite has used an iodine propellant to change its orbit around Earth. The small but potentially disruptive innovation could help to clear the skies of space junk, by enabling tiny satellites to self-destruct cheaply and easily at the end of their missions, by steering themselves into the atmosphere where they would burn up. The technology could also be used to boost the mission lifetime of small CubeSats that monitor agricultural crops on Earth or entire mega-constellations of nanosats that provide global internet access, by raising their orbits when they begin to drift towards the planet.
The technology was developed by ThrustMe, a spin-off company from the École Polytechnique and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and supported by ESA through its programme of Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES). It uses a novel propellant – iodine – in an electric thruster that controls the satellite’s height above Earth. Iodine is less expensive and uses simpler technologies than traditional propellants. Unlike many traditional propellants, iodine is non-toxic and it is solid at room temperature and pressure. This makes it easier and cheaper to handle on Earth. When heated, it turns to gas without going through a liquid phase, which makes it ideal for a simple propulsion system. It is also denser than traditional propellants, so it occupies smaller volumes onboard the satellite.
ThrustMe launched its iodine thruster on a commercial research nanosat called SpaceTy Beihangkongshi-1 that went into space in November 2020. It was test fired earlier this month before being used to change the orbit of the satellite.
[ANS thanks ESA for the above information.]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
No events listed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately.
Send your upcoming rover operations to Paul Overn, KE0PBR at ke0pbr at gmail dot com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
+ Upcoming Contacts
Vladivostok, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov.
Contact is go for Friday, February 5, 2021 at 08:35 UTC.
Ottawa Carleton District School Board, Ottawa, ON, Canada, multi-point telebridge via AB1OC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG.
Contact is go for Friday, February 5, 2021 at 17:41:04.
+ Successful Contacts
Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, Direct
The ISS callsign was RSØISS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Contact was successful on Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 08:25 UTC.
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ 35 Years Ago: Remembering Challenger and Her Crew
On Jan. 28, 1986, the astronauts once again boarded Challenger as managers had cleared the launch despite unexpectedly cold temperatures overnight at KSC. Managers considered significant ice covering parts of the launch tower as not enough of a concern to delay the launch. In behind-the-scenes discussions, concerns by engineers about the effects of the cold temperatures on the integrity of O-rings in SRB segment joints were overruled by managers who cleared Challenger to launch. Liftoff took place at 11:38 a.m. Eastern time.
As soon as Challenger cleared the launch tower, control of the vehicle shifted from KSC’s Launch Control Center to the Mission Control Center (MCC) at JSC, where ascent Flight Director Jay H. Greene and his team monitored the mission’s progress. For the first minute or so, the launch appeared to proceed normally, with the usual callouts between the crew and capsule communicator Richard O. Covey in MCC. At 73 seconds after liftoff, controllers lost all telemetry from Challenger and noticed a fireball on television screens. Stunned controllers slowly came to realize that the vehicle had suffered a major malfunction that the crew likely did not survive.
Read the entire article at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/35-years-ago-remembering-challenger-and-her-cr….
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information.]
+ Build a Fully Automatic Amateur and APT Weather Satellite Ground Station
Over on GitHub stdevPavelmc has released his software called FAASGS (Fully Automatic Amateur Satellite Ground Station). FAASGS is an open source program that allows RTL-SDR users to set up a satellite ground station that tunes, record and generate images for NOAA APT weather satellites, as well as records FM amateur radio satellites. The software runs on a single board computer such as a Raspberry Pi.
Read the full article at https://www.rtl-sdr.com/.
[ANS thanks RTL-SDR.com for the above information.]
+ ‘Another One Leaves The Crust’ Launch Completed By Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab has successfully launched their 18th Electron mission, ‘Another One Leaves The Crust,’ on January 20, 2021. This is the first mission in a busy launch manifest for 2021, which includes multiple dedicated and rideshare small satellite missions for government and commercial customers. This year will also see Rocket Lab launch a Photon mission to the Moon in support of NASA’s CAPSTONE program.
For the complete story go to https://news.satnews.com/2021/01/20/rocket-labs-first-launch-of-2021-for-mi….
[ANS thanks SatNews.com for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half-time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at the amsat dot org for additional student membership information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings see https://www.amsat.org/mailing-list-faq/.
1
0
ANS-028 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - RadFxSat-2 Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to Assess Status
by Paul Stoetzer 28 Jan '21
by Paul Stoetzer 28 Jan '21
28 Jan '21
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-028
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* RadFxSat-2 Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to
Assess Status
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-028.01
ANS-028 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 028.01
From AMSAT HQ WASHINGTON, DC
DATE January 28, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-028
RadFxSat-2 Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to Assess
Status
On January 27th, Brad Schumacher, W5SAT, reported copying his CW
signal weakly via the RadFxSat-2 transponder. On the morning of
January 28th, AMSAT Engineering and Operations confirmed these reports
and determined that RadFxSat-2 is partially functioning, though
signals are extremely weak. AMSAT thanks W5SAT for his report.
We also appreciate those who joined in determining whether they could
detect their own or other signals in recent passes today.
At this time it is essential and we ask you: Please do not attempt to
transmit through the transponder until further notice. This is very
important to the next steps we are taking now.
The next crucial step in evaluating the condition of RadFxSat-2 is to
determine whether or not the 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon is
operating and, if possible, copy telemetry from the beacon. We ask
that everyone with 70cm receive capability listen to the beacon
frequency of 435.750 MHz (+/-) Doppler, upper sideband (USB). Use
FoxTelem with your receiver in order to tune and capture any telemetry
you can. Also make sure FoxTelem is set to “Upload to server” so that
we receive your telemetry data. If you capture a good IQ recording on
SDR, please send a detailed description of your recording to
foxtelem(a)amsat.us. We may respond with a request for your recording
and details on how to transfer it to the AMSAT Engineering team.
Please understand that keeping the transponder clear is essential to
putting all power and attention to the beacon telemetry.
Two-line elements (TLEs) are available in AMSAT's nasabare.txt
distribution at https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/nasabare.txt.
Available data suggests that RadFxSat-2 is OBJECT M from the Virgin
Orbit LauncherOne launch, NORAD ID 47320, international designation
21-002M.
We thank the amateur satellite community for their perseverance and
assistance while the AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams work to
understand and resolve the situation with RadFxSat-2.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams 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. President's Club donations may be made at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student
rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Contributing Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-024
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* Update on the Status of RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E
* UVSQ-SAT Launch Now January 24th
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 21, 2021
* ftp.amsat.org Service to be Terminated
* ARISS News
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.01
ANS-024 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024.01
From AMSAT HQ WASHINGTON, DC
DATE January 24, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-024
Update on the Status of RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E
RadFxSat-2 was launched Sunday, January 17, on Virgin Orbit
LauncherOne launch vehicle. Reports from the launch provider stated
that telemetry confirmed that the deploy commands had been sent and
that all of the doors opened successfully, resulting in payload orbits
that were all within the ICD limits.
Nominally, we expected to see “First (digital) Veronica” from the
RadFxSat-2 telemetry beacon commencing 54 minutes after our deployment
from the launch vehicle. That did not occur as expected.
For each of our launches, we follow a number of steps documented in
the “In Orbit Checklist” (IOC) spreadsheet. Confirmation of launch
and deployment are the first steps and then, confirmation of beacon
reception. All other steps follow that but there are steps in case of
anomaly, beginning with the detection of the beacon.
As always, from the moment we are deployed we look for signs of the
beacon through the ears of amateur radio operators and other means,
SatNOGS and webSDR to name a few. The antenna deployment and full
start of the IHU to bring up the beacon can occur anywhere around the
globe. AMSAT greatly appreciates the ongoing and reliable help we
receive from you and it is by far the best satellite ground network
even beyond that of many commercial players, for LEO orbits.
Command coverage is limited to the United States for various reasons
including regulatory requirements, so the opportunity to exercise the
steps of the IOC occurs a few times per day as the orbit passes over
us.
With no sign of the beacon after a few orbits offering good footprints
for reception, we proceeded with the contingency steps to verify the
presence of or activate the beacon. This past week our Engineering
and Operations Team members have been at work literally 20 hours per
day exercising all of the contingencies outlined in the IOC steps.
These steps have grown and matured with each launch of a Fox-1 program
CubeSat and are tailored to the specific satellite. RadFxSat-2, while
she may seem to be much the same as the others with the exception of
the transponder vs. FM radio, does present a number of variations to
be included in the IOC. As the results of those steps were exhausted
with no beacon detected, we added meetings and increased emails
including all of our engineers to discuss possible causes by any of
the systems and to develop further steps.
From those we drew new steps of command sequences that might overcome
whatever anomaly existed and make the beacon heard. As the week drew
on, we continued brainstorming and steps to activate other functions
that would provide proof of life. We continue to do so today and for
whatever time until we exhaust all possibilities that we are able to
draw from the expertise and satellite experience of our Engineering
Team and Operations Team drawing from the design of RadFxSat-2 and
lessons learned in the Fox-1 program as well as any from missions
prior to AMSAT’s first CubeSats.
AMSAT still needs your help as always, to help detect any sign of
activity from RadFxSat-2. This includes ability to listen for local
oscillators or transponder driver output in the case of a failed PA.
I personally ask that those of you who are and have been interested in
the entire process of bringing a new amateur radio satellite to orbit
and through end of life to continue to contribute your curiosity and
enthusiasm in exploring from your own station, to pursue the
possibilities of a successful RadFxSat-2 mission along with us. I
have received reports and queries from some of you, and I greatly
appreciate your contributions. You are in fact volunteers in the
AMSAT Engineering Team through your contribution.
If you are interested, I ask that you do due diligence in your
procedure if you think you have identified a signal by re-creating (if
possible) and verifying to yourself that what you have is credible, as
we do, before contacting us. That “standard” procedure is what adds
value by making the information actionable rather than placing the
onus of determining if it is even real upon us, because we are of
course quite busy with that already. Please email your findings to
foxtelem(a)amsat.us and allow us a day or two to acknowledge and/or
reply.
While we tend to talk about our involvement with RadFxSat-2 above all,
a real effect reaches outside our mutual desire for amateur radio
satellite fun. RadFxSat-2 is sponsored by Vanderbilt University as
part of our long partnership going back to Fox-1A. RadFxSat-2’s
mission belongs to Vanderbilt University as part of their RadFX series
of missions seeking to verify and explore radiation effects on COTS
components. Their mission coincides well with AMSAT’s desire to fly
lower cost satellite missions using COTS components, in the unfriendly
radiation environment of Earth orbit and beyond. Vanderbilt also
sponsored the CSLI for RadFxSat (one) in our Fox-1B spacecraft back in
2012. Their proposal was selected by NASA, flown on the ELaNa XIV
mission in November of 2017.
RadFxSat’s mission was very successful in the information provided
through the combined telemetry-gathering of all of those who pursue
our missions through FoxTelem. Vanderbilt University published their
results giving praise to AMSAT and our Fox-1 CubeSats. The experiments
we host are built by students and Vanderbilt shares the experiences
with the educational community in their area. That is a success for
AMSAT as well in our goal to provide STEM and other educational
contributions.
While the RadFxSat-2 mission is problematic at this time, we will
pursue every possibility to make her work for the amateur community
and for our partner. I certainly hope to continue our partnership
with Vanderbilt, the mutual benefit is a wonderful and fun undertaking
that adds to the value of our satellites.
[ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering,
for the above information]
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Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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UVSQ-SAT Launch Now January 24th
The launch of UVSQ-SAT, which carries an FM transponder for amateur
radio use is now planned for January 24, 2020 at 15:00 UTC.
The project team is offering a gift to the first 5 people who receive
the satellite's signal and the first 5 people who receive and decode
the signal and submit it to the AMSAT-F server and/or SatNOGS.
For more information on UVSQ-SAT, see the following links:
http://uvsq-sat.projet.latmos.ipsl.fr/?ong=Ham-Radio
https://site.amsat-f.org/uvsq-sat/
https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/inspire/
[ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, AMSAT-F President, for the above
information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it
all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable
solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the
ride. The journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 21, 2021
On January 19, 2021 at about 22:28 UTC Virgin Orbit LauncherOne Demo 2
placed 11 new satellites into orbit. AMSAT's RadFxSat-2 was among the
11 new satellites. The following is a summary of identified and not
yet identified satellites from that launch as the date of this email.
So far, the following satellites have been identified and added to
this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
CAPE 3 - Cat ID 47309
MiTEE 1 - Cat ID 47314
ExoCube 2 - Cat ID 47319
Thanks to Nico Janssen (PA0DLO), Alan Biddle (WA4SCA), and SatNogs
for the above IDs.
The object Cat ID 47316 is the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket body
and has not been added.
The following are unidentified satellites that have been added to this
week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
OBJECT B - Cat ID 47310
OBJECT C - Cat ID 47311
OBJECT D - Cat ID 47312
OBJECT E - Cat ID 47313
OBJECT G - Cat ID 47315
OBJECT J - Cat ID 47317
OBJECT K - Cat ID 47318
OBJECT M - Cat ID 47320
Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, notes that the unidentified OBJECTS C, D, and M
are in the center of the pack and are good candidates for being
RadFxSat-2.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Keplerian Elements Manager for
the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ftp.amsat.org Service to be Terminated
User habits have evolved over the decades favoring file transfer via
HTTP(S) and we are now seeing very little activity via the FTP
protocol. AMSAT will eliminate the administrative burden and other
costs of FTP operation and is proposing to terminate FTP services on
15 April 2021.
Please let us know at webmaster at amsat.org if this will cause any
difficulty with any automated systems, especially with respect to
dissemination of orbital elements. If you have such a system, please
adjust them to get elements from the following locations:
https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/nasabare.txt
https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/nasa.all
Editor's Note: The gigabytes of historical files and information
available at ftp.amsat.org will continue to be available. Details for
accessing this archive will be made available at a later date.
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
Maine Regional School Unit #21, Kennebunk, ME, multi-point telebridge
via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG
Contact was successful: Thu 2021-01-21 18:27:40 UTC 52 deg
Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/LN70OpJFMgs
Newcastle High School, Newcastle, WY, multi-point telebridge via
ON4ISS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be Mike Hopkins KF5LJG
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover KI5BKC
Contact is go for Option #5: Thu 2021-01-28 17:46:13 UTC 80 deg
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in
space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club
meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
From Clint Bradford, K6LCS
THANK YOU to The Villages Amateur Radio Club in Florida! We just had a
great time (01/21/2021) discussing working amateur satellites. One of
their members' sons is THE control op for AO-27 - don't you DARE
delete those memories from your radios just yet!
Upcoming Zoom “How to Work Amateur Satellites With You HT”
presentations:
February 8 - An ARES meeting in Los Angeles county
March 1 - Western Amateur Radio Association, Orange County, CA
TBD - Palm Springs Desert RATS
June 15 - Wellesley Amateur Radio Society, Eastern Massachusetts
Think a 90-minute, informative, and FUN presentation on working
satellites would be appropriate for YOUR club? Let me know!
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS (7287)
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, and Clint Bradford, K6LCS, for the
above information]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and
I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.****
WL7T is roving in the Western US. Check https://twitter.com/Tyler_WL7T
for updates.
K7ZOO is roving DL88 or DL89. and others in the area. Check
https://twitter.com/K7ZOO_rover for details.
Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail.com
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ The first satellite with a Hall-effect thruster has gone to space.
Check out the Universe Today article at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-024-Hall
+ An iodine propellant has been used to change a satellite's orbit for
the first time. Check out the European Space Agency article at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-024-Iodine
+ Videos of the 2021 Ham Radio University presentations are posted at
https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioUniversityNLI
Presentations handouts and slide decks are available at
http://hamradiouniversity.org/past-presentations/
The HRU 2021 - The Art of Operating Amateur Satellites with an HT
by Peter Portanova, W2JV is posted at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSj-mo7oYxE
+ Sean Kutzko, KX9X, discussed amateur satellites on the DX
Engineering YouTube channel. Check out the replay at
https://youtu.be/HYrcVbN2J9o
+ The November/December 2020 issue of The AMSAT Journal is available
for AMSAT members at https://launch.amsat.org/The_AMSAT_Journal/
+ Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store,
including a set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT
round logo, and more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase
price goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+ All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now
available to AMSAT members on AMSAT's new membership portal. The
1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of
AMSAT's Symposium Proceedings are also available for members. If
you're a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not
yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/
+ The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites
is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting
Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite
information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The
book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers
all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite.
The digital download is available for $15 at
https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted. The print edition is $30
plus shipping and is available at
https://tinyurl.com/GS2020Print
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/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. President's Club donations may be made at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student
rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-017
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat dot org.
In this edition:
* RadFxSat-2 Launch Delayed Until Sunday, January 17, 2021
* November/December 2020 AMSAT Journal Now Online
* UVSQsat Scheduled for January 21, 2021 Launch
* Seven US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
* CubeSat to Test Harnessing Earth's Magnetic Field for Propulsion
* CHESS CubeSat Constellation to Carry FUNcube Transponders
* International Amateur Radio Union Preparing for WRC-23
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-017.01
ANS-017 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 017.01
From AMSAT HQ Washington, DC
January 17, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-017.01
RadFxSat-2 Launch Delayed Until Sunday, January 17, 2021
Virgin Orbit announced a new launch date of No Earlier Than (NET) Sunday, January 17, 2021 with additional windows in January if needed. The specific window is 10:00 to 14:00 PST (1800 to 2200 UTC). Virgin Orbit seems to be using its Twitter account to make their public announcements, so that may be worth watching at https://twitter.com/Virgin_Orbit.
AMSAT does not have preliminary TLE for the upcoming launch. If you are hoping to snag the first contact, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT VP - Engineering suggests checking the nasabare.text TLE just prior to launch, maybe thirty-minutes after launch or until they are posted.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]
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November/December 2020 AMSAT Journal Now Online
AMSAT members can read the November/December 2020 edition of the AMSAT Journal online. This edition includes:
- Apogee View - Robert Bankston, KE4AL
- Engineering Update - Jerry Buxton, N0JY
- Educational Relations Update - Alan Johnston, KU2Y
- Development Update - Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
- For Beginners - Amateur Radio Satellite Primer VIII - Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
- Working FalconSat-3 Packet BBS with the Kenwood TH-D72A - Brian Wilkins, KO4AQF
- Testing a More Fade-resistant BPSK Demodulator for Fox Linear
- Transponder Spacecraft - Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ
- The Success Story of SMOG-P, the World's Smallest Satellite - Gabor Geczy
- Starting My Adventure With Amateur Radio Satellites - James Johnson, VE7HJ
The AMSAT Journal is a bi-monthly magazine for amateur radio in space enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Each issue is your source for hardware and software projects, technical tips, STEM initiatives, operational activities, and news from around the world. Join AMSAT today to start receiving your bi-monthly issue of The AMSAT Journal. Members can access the latest issue of The AMSAT Journal as well as archived editions at https://launch.amsat.org/The_AMSAT_Journal/.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it
all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable
solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the
ride. The journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF
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UVSQsat Scheduled for January 21, 2021 Launch
The launch of UVSQsat is scheduled for January 21, 2021 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida. UVSQ-SAT is a nanosatellite designed by LATMOS (Atmospheres Spatial Observation Laboratory) and developed at the Observatory of Versailles Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines. Its scientific and technological goals are observing essential climate variables, namely shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere and UV solar spectral irradiance.
In addition to experimental and educational missions, it will provide the Amateur Radio community with a new FM transponder. AMSAT-Francophone and the radio club F6KRK have been involved throughout the project. AMSAT-Francophone offers software to interpret the data and send it to the AMSAT-F & Satnogs database. The software is in beta mode and available for testing and giving feedback for improvement. The software runs on both Windows and Linux platforms. Information for downloading is available at:
https://code.electrolab.fr/xtof/josast/-/blob/21-ecr-uvsqsat/ApplicationUVS…
Two audio files are available for testing the software:
- 1200 bps (BPSK / G3RUH): SDRSharp_20201023_143925Z_437017790Hz_IQ---Beacon_1200.wav
- 9600 bps (BPSK / G3RUH): SDRSharp_20201023_144839Z_437011810Hz_IQ---Beacon_9600.wav
The satellite will transmit on the frequency: 437.020 MHz.
More information on the satellite frequencies: http://amsat-f.org/AMSATLIST/SatellitePage/UK/0UVSQsat.html
More information on the project: http://uvsq-sat.projet.latmos.ipsl.fr/index.php
[ANS thanks AMSAT-F for the above information.]
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Seven US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
January 7, 2021 - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the schools/host organizations selected for the July-December 2021 contact window. A total of seven of the submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward in the processes of planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities.
The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for the seven US host organizations during the July through December 2021 time period. They are now at work completing an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the ARISS Technical Mentors, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities offered by NASA.
The seven schools advancing in the selection process are:
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Tarwater Elementary, Chandler, AZ
Museum of Science & Technology, Syracuse, NY
SpaceKids Global and Girl Scouts of Citrus, Winter Park, FL
Civil Air Patrol - Illinois Wing, St Charles, IL
Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC
Savannah River Academy, Grovetown, GA
[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN for the above information.]
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CubeSat to Test Harnessing Earth's Magnetic Field for Propulsion
Although not an Amateur Radio satellite, a student-built CubeSat is of interest to the Amateur Radio Satellite Service. Built at the University of Michigan, it will investigate whether small satellites can be maintained in low Earth orbit without thrusters or propellant. Scheduled to launch from the Mojave Air and Space Port on Virgin Orbit's Launch Demo 2 on January 10, 2020, the Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment-1 (MiTEE-1) will test the concept of using the Earth's magnetic field to generate thrust.
The usual way to overcome this is to use thrusters to boost the satellite into a higher orbit, but for smaller spacecraft, and especially CubeSats, this isn't currently an option - although efforts like the ThermaSat design are looking to bring lightweight propulsion systems to CubeSats. The result is that many perfectly good pieces of hardware are destroyed prematurely, deorbiting in a matter of months or even days.
The MiTEE project will test the feasibility of using electromagnetism to provide propulsion by stringing a wire tether 33 to 100 feet (10 to 30 m) long between two CubeSats. The idea is that solar panels would provide electricity, which would run through the wire. As the satellite orbits the Earth, the ionosphere completes the circuit and, because a force is exerted on a wire when it conducts a current in a magnetic field, the tether generates thrust that can be used to boost the spacecraft into a higher orbit. As the force isn't very great, such an approach wouldn't be feasible for larger satellites, but the hope is it will be enough to allow small satellites to compensate for the drag of the atmosphere.
The result of two and half years of work, MiTEE-1 won't actually produce any thrust. Instead, it will consist of a satellite about the size of a loaf of breadbox and another about the size of a smartphone that deploys on a one-meter (33-in) rigid boom. This will measure how much current can be drawn from the ionosphere under various conditions.
The data from the mission will be used for planning and building the next MiTEE satellite, which will demonstrate the electric propulsion system concept in operation.
More information is available at: https://newatlas.com/space/cubesat-earth-magnetic-field-boost-orbit/.
[ANS thanks Jeff Davis and newatlas.com for the above information.]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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CHESS CubeSat Constellation to Carry FUNcube Transponders
In 2020, a project between AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-NL and Swiss universities started with the aim of equipping two Swiss satellites with a linear transponder for Amateur Radio.
With a linear transponder, several QSOs can take place simultaneously. The satellites can be operated in CW/SSB with the simplest equipment. The satellites also include features for classroom demonstrations and experiments. In numerous teleconference discussions, the technical possibilities could be sounded out and the realization prepared.
The CHESS [Constellation of High Energy Swiss Satellites] project includes two satellites, which will be built simultaneously and later launched as a constellation. Both will provide a linear transponder for amateur radio use. The first satellite will have a nearly circular orbit at an altitude of 400 km. The second will have an elliptical orbit with an altitude of 350×1000 km.
The satellites themselves are a project of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) with support from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU – Institute of Electrical Engineering IET), the University of Bern, the Valais University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HES-SO), the Haute École Neuchâtel and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich. The amateur radio payload is a project of AMSAT-UK/-NL.
On 18 December 2020, the successful system requirements review took place. The project coordination between CHESS and AMSAT lies with the Amateur Radio Association of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Technology & Architecture, Horw.
The Swiss AMSAT Operators provide information about the CHESS project at https://www.amsat-hb.org/funcube-chess/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]
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International Amateur Radio Union Preparing for WRC-23
Preparations are under way by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to represent the interests of the amateur and amateur-satellite services at World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23). The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sponsors WRCs, typically every 4 years, to consider revisions to the international Radio Regulations that define frequency allocations for various radio services.
The next WRC is expected to be held in 2023. Potentially affected bands are 50 - 54 MHz (a new service has been proposed in an adjacent band); 1240 - 1300 MHz; 3300 - 3400 MHz; 10.0 - 10.5 GHz, and 241 - 250 GHz. In addition, studies are being conducted to identify protection requirements for space weather sensors that operate in frequency bands from 13 kHz to at least 15 GHz.
Read the complete story at: http://www.arrl.org/news/international-amateur-radio-union-preparing-for-wr….
[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo; March 13,14 2021
The second QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held on March 13-14, 2021. There is an Amateur Radio speaker track and AMSAT will have a virtual booth during the event. Advance tickets are now on sale.
More information at: https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/
[ANS thanks Virtual QSO Virtual Ham Expo for the above information.]
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
EL86; January 17-18, 2021
@KK4YEL: is heading out to EL86 for two days starting this Sunday evening.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.]
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Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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ARISS News
+ Upcoming Contacts
Hisagi Junior High School, Zushi, Japan
Direct via 8N1ZH
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB.
Contact is go for Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 08:17:59 UTC. (70 deg)
Maine Regional School Unit #21, Kennebunk, ME
Multi-point telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG.
Contact is go for Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 18:27:40 UTC. (52 deg)
+ Completed Contacts
Shigagakuen Junior & Senior High School, Higashioumi, Japan,
Direct via 8N3SG
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Shannon Walker KD5DXB.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 10:38:29 UTC.
A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home.
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]
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Shorts from All Over
+ New Keplerian Element Set orb21007.2l.amsat Available
Updated Keplerian elements were released on January 7, 2021 and are available at:
https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.]
+ 31st Anniversary of LO-19
Members of AMSAT Argentina will celebrate the 31st anniversary of the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite with the callsign LU7AA January 16-24, 2021. Stations will be QRV on HF on SSB, FT8, and CW. An award is also available. QSL via LU7AA direct or by eQSL.
More information is available at http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_31_aniv_lusat_2021.htm.
[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status.
Contact info at amsat dot org for additional student membership information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
1
0
09 Jan '21
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-010
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information
service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest
in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and
digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins
via the ANS List; to join this list see:
https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
* Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne Launch Demo 2 is go for launch
* Cargo Dragon to Return to Earth from ISS
* Portable QO-100 station activated on Antarctic cruise
* AMSAT-SM releases a satellite memory set for the ICOM IC-705
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* AMSAT - Changes in Orbital Elements
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.01
ANS-010 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.01
From AMSAT HQ WASHINGTON, DC
DATE YYY
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.01
Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne is go for launch with RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E cubesat
LauncherOne is scheduled for launch on Sunday, January 10th at 13:00 EST.
The LauncherOne vehicle will carry 11 satellites including the
AMSAT/Vanderbilt RadFXSat-2 cubesat.
RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Frequencies:
Telemetry Downlink – 435.750 MHz
Inverting Linear Transponder Uplink – 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz
Inverting Linear Transponder Downlink – 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz
See https://bit.ly/2XboF8H and https://bit.ly/3hLlDl3 for more information
[ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM AMSAT News Editor, the AMSAT-UK editorial team,
and SpaceLaunchNow for the above information]
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Cargo Dragon to Return to Earth from ISS
The SpaceX Dragon that arrived at the International Space Station on the
company's 21st resupply services mission for NASA is scheduled to depart on
Monday, Jan. 11, loaded with 5,200 pounds of scientific experiments and
other cargo. NASA Television and the agency's website will broadcast its
departure live beginning at 9 a.m. EST (1400z).
The upgraded Dragon spacecraft will execute the first undocking of a U.S.
commercial cargo craft from the International Docking Adapter at 9:25 a.m.
(1425z), with NASA astronaut Victor Glover, KI5BKC, monitoring aboard the
station.
Dragon will fire its thrusters to move a safe distance from the station's
space-facing port of the Harmony module, then initiate a deorbit burn to
begin its re-entry sequence into Earth's atmosphere. Dragon is expected to
make its parachute-assisted splashdown around 9 p.m. (0200z on Jan. 12) the
first return of a cargo resupply spacecraft in the Atlantic Ocean. The
deorbit burn and splashdown will not air on NASA TV.
Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the
science aboard the capsule to the agency's Kennedy Space Center Space
Station Processing Facility, and back into the hands of the researchers.
This shorter transportation time frame allows researchers to collect data
with minimal loss of microgravity effects. For splashdowns in the Pacific
Ocean, quick-return science cargo is processed at SpaceX's facility in
McGregor, Texas, and delivered to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Dragon launched Dec. 6 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A
at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, arriving at the station just over
24 hours later and achieving the first autonomous docking of a U.S.
commercial cargo resupply spacecraft. Previous arriving cargo Dragon
spacecraft were captured and attached to the space station by astronauts
operating the station's robotic Canadarm2. The spacecraft delivered more
than 6,400 pounds of hardware, research investigations and crew supplies.
The upgraded cargo Dragon capsule used for this mission contains double the
powered locker availability of previous capsules, allowing for a significant
increase in the research that can be carried back to Earth.
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/
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Portable QO-100 station activated on Antarctic cruise
A portable satellite station for the QO-100 geostationary satellite
(Es’hail-2) was commissioned on the icebreaker FS “Polarstern” at 14:23 UTC
on December 27, 2020, with an initial QSO between DP0POL/mm and DK3ZL. A
very special experiment, originated from an idea of Felix DL5XL and Charly
DK3ZL. AMSAT-DL spontaneously supported this project by providing a complete
6 Watt transverter radio station, as well as a 75 cm dish on a tripod.
Charly DK3ZL first tested this system extensively via QO-100 at his home for
a few days before he personally brought it to Felix DL5XL in Bremerhaven for
handover on December 6, 2020. On the same day, all the equipment was loaded
onto the research vessel Polarstern, while the entire crew remained in
quarantine for almost 2 weeks. On 20 December 2020, the Polarstern then set
sail from Bremerhaven and embarked on the long voyage to Antarctica,
non-stop.
In agreement with the responsible board engineer of Polarstern, Jörg DJ0HO,
who is responsible for the callsign DP0POL on Polarstern, the station could
be set up in front of a container on the upper deck, depending on the
weather situation (see cover picture). Theresa DC1TH and Felix DL5XL are
thus able to make radio calls in their spare time during the several-week
trip to Antarctica. After the premiere there was an impressive “pile-up” of
up to 40 kHz on the NB transponder on the following days.
Additional information may be found at: https://bit.ly/3bjx1Um
[ANS thanks Peter Gülzow, DB2OS, President AMSAT-DL for the above
information]
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AMSAT-SM releases a satellite memory set for the ICOM IC-705
Lars Thunberg, Webmaster for AMSAT-SM has posted a satellite memory set for
the new IC-705 QRP radio from ICOM. Lars has provided two .CSV files which
may be merged into your existing memory groups as a dedicated group. You
will need to use the CS-705 software from ICOM to perform the merge. Please
carefully read the instructions that Lars gives at:
https://bit.ly/3obNm0R
The .CSV files in the EU/Swedish format and the North American/US format are
posted at the above URL.
Note from Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ. "I found the CS-705 format difficult to
import into the RT Systems IC-705 Programmer. The easiest path would be to
use Icom's CS-705 software to merge the memories into a new group, then to
save the settings back into the RT Systems Programmer software. I have
provided an import template for the RT Systems software to Lars. It will
require some testing by others. Please contact me with your results or
questions (kd4iz at arrl dot org). Lars has posted this file at the above
link.
Lars also has also provided a nice tutorial for users of the PstRotator
Satellites Tracking Sofware at:
https://bit.ly/2LewbNt
Lars plans to update his memory settings file to add additional satellites
in the future.
[ANS thanks Lars Thunberg, SM0TGU, Webmaster AMSAT-SM and Jack Spitznagel,
Editor AMSAT News for the above information]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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AMSAT Ambassador Activities
AMSAT Ambassador and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS has a
couple of Zoom presentations lined up to begin 2021.In the first week of
February, a private group “abbreviated” presentation will be given to a
Southern CA ARES group.
Clint will make a full presentation to The Villages Amateur Radio Club, The
Villages, Florida on January 21, 2021 - 3PM Pacific, 6PM Eastern, via Zoom.
The Villages Radio Club website may be found at: https://www.k4vrc.com/
Clint wishes to add some additional presentations to his schedule and he
adds: "There are up-to-five spots available for you to attend! Just send me
an email message (email address below) for details. Would a 90-minute
informative, personalized-to-your-club, FUN presentation on working the
“easy” satellites would be appropriate for your club? Send me an email
message, and let’s book a date!"
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS (k6lcs at ham-satdot info) for the above
information]
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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 7, 2020
The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from
this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
UBAKUSAT - NORAD Cat ID 43467 (Decayed on December 27, 2020 per
Space-Track).
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above
information]
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ARISS NEWS
Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.
Shigagakuen Junior & Senior High School, Higashioumi, Japan, direct via
8N3SG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink
frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on
the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled
astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB
(***)Contact is go for: Wed 2021-01-13 10:38:29 UTC 26 deg (***)
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to
announce the schools/host organizations selected for the July-December 2021
contact window. A total of 7 of the submitted proposals during the recent
proposal window have been accepted to move forward in the processes of
planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS. The
primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science,
Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their
awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration,
and related areas of study and career possibilities.
The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling
opportunities for the 7 US host organizations during the July through
December 2021 time period. They are now at work completing an acceptable
equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio
contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the ARISS Technical
Mentors, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their
availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities
offered by NASA.
The following have been listed by Organization and Location:
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Tarwater Elementary, Chandler, AZ
Museum of Science & Technology, Syracuse , NY
SpaceKids Global and Girl Scouts of Citrus, Winter Park, FL
Civil Air Patrol – Illinois Wing, St Charles, IL
Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC
Savannah River Academy, Grovetown, GA
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N and Dave Jordan, AA4KN of ARISS for the
above information]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
+Thursday 1/14/21 KF6JOQ "Planning to rove DM16 and maybe 16/15
line,Thursday 1/14/21. Will be FM and linear."
+Watch for additional rove tweets from WL7T: @WL7T Is headed to Colorado for
3 weeks in January. "Will be in DM69 most of the time but might be able to
be persuaded to go as far south as DM66. I am heading to Denver on Thursday
(1/7) morning. I’ll be in DM79 for a few hours starting at 20z and will try
working whatever I can as time permits. Will get to DM69 by Thursday evening
and will get on the later passes as soon as I arrive."
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above
information]
1/10/2021, from 1300Z-1700Z, N4DCW will be working satellite passes from
West Virginia in EM88. Passes are listed at: https://t.co/YbgeMyu3Vv?amp=1
Michael asks: "Please, no blind calling (calling me before I have AOS). I
will have *at least* 5-10 degree horizons in all directions. (It’s West
Virginia!) Rest assured, when I can hear the satellite, I will let you know.
:)"
Rove updates can be found on his Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/MWimages
[ANS thanks Michael Whitman, N4DCW posting to AMSAT-BB for the above
information]
Major Roves:
There are no major roves scheduled as of 1/6/2021
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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
None on the immediate schedule.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above
information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Reminders from Drew Glasbrenner about AO-92 and AO-91 - AMSAT-BB 1/6/2021:
"Today I turned AO-92's transmitter off after resetting the min-max
readings. We've been watching the battery minimum voltage decline steadily
over the last few days, and needed to give it a rest for a bit.
Immediately afterwards, there was an AO-91 pass. I turned on the
transmitter, and a few moments later reset the min-max readings. The command
team will monitor telemetry and determine if we can leave it on for a while.
Please remember to not transmit to either satellite while it is in eclipse.
If you do not use software that indicates eclipse state, just avoid the
evening passes. We are in the endgame for both satellites, and your
cooperation will give us more operational time over the coming months."
(ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations for the above
information)
+ Alba Orbital, the space broker that manages the launch of AMSAT-EA (AMSAT
Spain) EASAT-2 and Hades satellites, has informed us of a delay in the
scheduled one for January 14, 2021 with SpaceX.
"This delay has nothing to do with our satellites, or with Alba Orbital
itself. It is attributable to Momentus, which acts as an integrator with
SpaceX."
"The delay means the next try would probably go to March, coinciding with
the Starlink mission and being located in an estimated orbit between 450 and
550 km with an inclination of 53 degrees."
"As for the satellites themselves, this should not be a major setback.
AMSAT-EA does does not expect a significant drain on the batteries."
(ANS thanks Felix Paez, EA4GQS of AMSAT EA for the above information)
+ Roy Dean, K3RLD commented on LilacSat-2 operations: "Just a reminder for
those who may not know, LilacSat-2 frequently turns on with a downlink about
12 kHz higher than it's published value. It seems to "jump around"
sometimes between the two frequencies. Here is a good illustration of the
the recently completed 21:55z pass:"
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/3416149/
Roy continues: "It was just me and KC1OCA on this pass, but I don't think
Michael could hear me. The downlink was very strong, so I suspect he was
using a radio with no waterfall - which would make it difficult to know that
you are getting in.
If anybody knows KC1OCA - please let him know that I have a recording of the
pass if he would like (no email on qrz.com). Thanks!"
(ANS thanks Roy Dean, K3RLD for the above information)
+ Rocket Lab announces "Another One Leaves The Crust" launch window: The
mission will launch a single communication microsatellite for OHB Group that
will enable specific frequencies to support future services from orbit. The
launch will be Rocket Lab’s 18th Electron mission and was procured for OHB
Group through OHB Cosmos International Launch Service GmbH, the launch
service division of OHB Group. OHB Cosmos is responsible for launching the
spacecraft built by the Group's satellite manufacturers based in Germany,
Sweden, and Czech Republic. The mission will launch from Rocket Lab Launch
Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula
(ANS thanks Terry Osborne, ZL2BAC of RocketLab for the above information)
+ A Japanese company and Kyoto University have joined forces to develop what
they hope will be the world's first satellites made out of wood by 2023.
Sumitomo Forestry said it has started research on tree growth and the use of
wood materials in space. The partnership will begin experimenting with
different types of wood in extreme environments on Earth. Space junk is
becoming an increasing problem as more satellites are launched into the
atmosphere. Wooden satellites would burn up without releasing harmful
substances into the atmosphere or raining debris on the ground when they
plunge back to Earth.
(ANS thanks BBC News for the above information)
+ Want to add a bit of space to your Google Calendar? CNET has launched the
SPACE CALENDAR (all caps for dramatic cosmic effect), covering all the big
rocket launches, mesmerizing meteor showers, epic eclipses and even an
assortment of scientific milestones. The Google Calendar is constantly
updating, and can be added to your existing Google app at
https://bit.ly/38lfWHC For other calendars, such as Outlook, a static
computer file of dates as they are presently scheduled can be downloaded at
https://bit.ly/3hQm6T2
(ANS thanks CNET.com for the above information)
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/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 additional benefits.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at
one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled
in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a
maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact AMSAT for
additional student membership information at info at amsat dot org.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org
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