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ANS-150 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 29 May '21

29 May '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-150 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: * FCC Considers UHF/Microwave Ham Bands for Commercial Space Launch Frequencies * ASU student-built spacecraft to interact with the public * Canadian Researchers Highlight Concerns About Overcrowded Orbits * Andy MacAllister, W5ACM, SK * PSAT2: DTMF *and* APRS-to-Voice enabled * NASA Schedules Live Coverage of Russian Spacewalk * No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 27, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-150 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 150.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 May 30 FCC Considers UHF/Microwave Ham Bands for Commercial Space Launch Frequencies The FCC in April issued a Report and Order allocating spectrum in the 2200-2290 MHz range for private space travel and satellite launch companies to use for pre-launch testing and space launch operations. The order creates a non-federal secondary allocation for these uses in spectrum that is currently reserved exclusively for federal government use. The action also includes a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which seeks comment on possible additional spectrum for private space launch purposes. Among the frequencies specifically mentioned are 420-430 MHz in the 70-centimeter amateur band and 5650-5925 MHz, which is the 5-centimeter ham band. Amateur radio has a secondary allocation in each of these bands, and the NPRM made no mention of the bands' current occupants and/or whether they would be displaced. The 5.6-GHz band is already shared widely with home WiFi networks. [ANS thanks CQ Newsroom for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ASU student-built spacecraft to interact with the public NASA has selected an Arizona State University-designed spacecraft to fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket launching between 2022 and 2025. It is among 14 small research satellites, called CubeSats, that were chosen for this opportunity through NASAs CubeSat Launch Initiative. The ASU CubeSat, named LightCube, is about the size of a toaster and will be deployed to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Its unique feature is that it can be commanded by anyone with an amateur radio license and a ham radio to set off a xenon flash from the spacecraft that will be visible from the ground. Additional Details are available at https://bit.ly/3fF9v4B [ANS thanks Karin Valentine, Media Relations & Marketing Manager, School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Canadian Researchers Highlight Concerns About Overcrowded Orbits A new report by two Canadian researchers is highlighting the growing hazard of space debris. It warns that the new mega-constellations of tens of thousands of communication satellites could pose a new kind of danger that could ultimately threaten other satellites, astronauts, our ability to use space and could even have an impact on the climate. Recently, the uncontrolled fall from space of a large Chinese rocket booster gained worldwide attention as no one could predict where it would come crashing to Earth. Fortunately, it came down in the Indian Ocean and no one was injured. That was just one booster. But the amount of stuff satellites, discarded boosters and other debris in Earth orbit is huge. And this new report warns that with projects like the SpaceX Starlink satellite constellation, the issue of space debris could approach a critical turning point. Right now, Starlink has full approval within the current legal system to go ahead and launch 12,000 satellites, and they want to put up 30,000 more, so there will be 42,000 satellites. With Starlink alone, there will be more satellites in the sky than there are naked eye visible stars. And that's not all. Others have similar plans, including OneWeb, Amazon, Telesat, and GW, which is a Chinese state-owned company. This astounding number of satellites will outnumber the total number of objects orbiting the Earth today and form shells around the planet in low Earth orbit up to about 750 km altitude. The more objects placed in orbit, the greater the chance of collision between them, other working satellites, astronauts working in space, and people on the ground when the objects fall out of orbit. The new satellites launched by SpaceX and other companies are not just thrown up willy-nilly. They're placed in careful orbits meant to minimize risks of collision, and modern satellites are designed to be de-orbited when they die, not just abandoned as space junk. The commercial space companies must have plans to do this in an organized and safe way. This is all good and responsible. The report highlights the possibility and implications of accidents. Random pieces of untracked space debris, or even meteors, could disable these satellites, disrupting their careful orbits and the deorbiting plans. The sheer number of these new satellites increases the risk. [ANS thanks CBC radio host and blogger Bob McDonald for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Andy MacAllister, W5ACM, SK From Marty Smith, WV5Y: "It's with much sadness and deep regret I announce our buddy, Andy, W5ACM - Past AMSAT Board of Directors, King of the South Texas Balloon Launch Team, The Voice of The Houston AMSAT Net and KTRU Rice Radio Engineer and DJ, AndyMac - Passed away on the evening of Wednesday, 5/19/2021. Andy's wife Heather said he was on his computer until a few minutes before... His funeral service was held on Thursday, May 27th 2021 at 12:30 PM at the Pines Presbyterian Church (12751 Kimberley Ln, Houston, TX 77024-4097). Andy will be missed very much by all of his family, friends and coworkers. He lived life to the fullest, and his lust for life was contagious. Our common interests in everything high tech, scientific & electronic, was shared by many, and he had great taste in food, drink, and music, especially loving classic rock & roll! He will forever be in our minds and hearts. 73, Marty Smith, WV5Y" From AMSAT Director Bruce Paige, KK5DO: "Andy, W5ACM (ex WA5ZIB), became a Silent Key on May 19, 2021. He has been a close friend of mine since I became a ham in 1993. That was when I found satellites and AMSAT. Andy had been doing the Houston AMSAT Net and I became involved in the net. We have done over 1400 episodes of the net since then. Andy and I had a great time at many AMSAT Symposiums where we would work satellites from parking lots of restaurants or outside a hotel. During the AMSAT Symposium in 2016, we worked each other from the deck of the cruise ship when we were standing about 3 feet from each other. Andy spent some time in the early 90's on the AMSAT Board of Directors. Many of today's hams would not remember the K2ZRO tests on AO-13. When the satellite was at apogee, Andy would transmit a string of CW characters. He would then reduce his power by 50% and transmit another string of characters. This would be done 8 times to a point where the signals were very weak. Hams around the world would participate and receive a certificate with an endorsement for the level you achieved. Andy got into balloon launches. I do not remember when BLT-1 was launched but BLT-12 was launched in 1993 and they are into the 60's now. The balloons have gone up with all types of experiments on them and have come down in many a strange place. One came down in the Gulf of Mexico, picked up by a fishing boat and they called the number on the package. Of course that one was not reusable as everything was a tad bit wet. The balloon came down in someone's front yard once and they picked it up and took it inside. GPS told the tale and knocking on the door, the homeowner returned the package. A few recent balloon launches have traversed the globe one or two times. Andy had worked at NASA and was a member of the Johnson Space Center ARC as well as the Brazos Valley ARC in Houston, the ARRL and AMSAT. More recently he was the Chief Engineer for the radio station, KTRU, at Rice University in Houston. Andy gave talks and demos at many Houston area hamfests. It was only a few months ago in February that Andy went in for a quick procedure and they found something that should not be. He was sent home for hospice care. You will be missed my friend. ... _._ 73...Bruce" Andy's wife, Heather, has requested that donations in his name be made to AMSAT or the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 2997, Sugar Land, TX 77487-2997 (reference the Andy MacAllister BLT Memorial Fund). Donations to AMSAT in his name may be made at https://www.amsat.org/donations/w5acm-memorial/ [ANS thanks Marty Smith, WV5Y 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ PSAT2: DTMF *and* APRS-to-Voice enabled A new feature has been enabled for the Voice Synthesizer on PSAT2 in addition to DTMF grid and DTMF messaging to voice. Now the voice synthesizer is also listening for APRS-to-Voice messages as well. Here is how to use it 1) Remain on the 145.980 uplink and 145.825 downlink for DTMF 2) Using an APRS radio, send an APRS message to PSAT-SAY 3) Begin the first 10 chars of the message with CCCCCC sez 4) Followed by the text to be spoken. 5) CCCCCC is your callsign right-padded with spaces. The satellite should ACK the packet uplink and then speak the text. You can tell if APRS-to-Voice is enabled if this 1 bit is on: XXXX0010. Usually the DTMF bits are also enabled so the telemetry will usually show as 11010010. To do both DTMF and APRS-to-Voice at the same time, the Basic Stamp processor has to check both the DTMF decoder and the packet decoder and so there is a finite chance that a perfectly good uplink might be missed. So, just try again. See http://aprs.org/psat2.html Tomorrow I will add this feature to the users manual and post it. Enjoy, Bob, WB4APR [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Schedules Live Coverage of Russian Spacewalk Two Russian cosmonauts are scheduled to conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Wednesday, June 2, to continue preparing the Pirs docking compartment airlock for undocking and disposal later this year. Live coverage will begin at 1 a.m. EDT (0500z), with the spacewalk beginning about 1:20 a.m. (0520z) on NASA Television, the agencys website, and the NASA app. Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos will emerge from the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Zvezda service module for a spacewalk expected to last about six and a half hours. The two cosmonauts will disconnect all external mechanical links between Pirs and the station, reposition spacewalk hardware and antennas, and relocate other gear previously used for spacecraft dockings to Pirs. During the spacewalk, the cosmonauts will prepare Pirs for removal from its port by the uncrewed Progress 77 cargo ship on the Earth-facing side of Zvezda, clearing the way for the arrival of the new Russian Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module named Nauka, which is Russian for science. The undocking of Pirs is scheduled for this summer, about two days after Nauka launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The cosmonauts also will replace a fluid flow regulator on the nearby Zarya module and replace biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules. Novitskiy, who is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear a Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Dubrov will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2). This will be the first spacewalk for both cosmonauts and the 238th spacewalk overall in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. It also marks the sixth spacewalk of 2021. See the NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv Learn more about the International Space Station and its crew at: http://www.nasa.gov/station [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 27, 2021 No changes are noted for the current week. However, TLE (KEPS) have been updated and are available on the AMSAT website at: https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ [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 May 30, 2021 College of Saint Pierre Marboz, Marboz, France, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at: https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG. Contact is go for: Mon 2021-05-31 13:49:32 UTC 40 deg. Watch for livestream at https://youtu.be/HnPoFku7DXg About Gagarin From Space. Conducting an amateur radio session with schoolchildren of Mordovia, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at: https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy. Contact is go for Sun 2021-06-06 12:25 UTC. The Father's House Christian School (Home Education Provider: Roots), Morinville, Alberta, Canada, multi-point telebridge via VK4KHZ. 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 Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI. Contact is go for: Wed 2021-06-02 14:28:53 UTC 44 deg. Lipetsk, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Pyotr Dubrov. Contact is go for Fri 2021-06-11 11:40 UTC. Velikiy Ustyug, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy. Contact is go for Sat 2021-06-12 09:15 UTC. Lipetsk, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Pyotr Dubrov. Contact is go for Sat 2021-06-12 10:55 UTC. 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] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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: EA4M: : Hi guys later in June Ill be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules. ND0C and KE0WPA: In June @kylee_ke0wpa and I, along with our resident photojournalist (Mom/Amy), will be taking a family excursion to the southwest and working some sats as time permits. Here are the less commonly worked grids from which we plan to operate. We will hit other grids too. DM67 6/15 6/17, DM56 6/18, DM45 6/19, DN63 7/2, DN64 7/2 & 7/3 Major Roves: AD0DX (VA3IIR): Long Range Rover plans: VA3IIR in FN15/25 June 18 FM and SSB DL98 WA5RR: Im looking at doing a rove in DL98 with an overnight stay in Eagle Pass, TX around the last week in June. Details to follow. N5LEX: CN98 last week of June. DM62: K5TA, Im tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip for me. EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Seans birthday in the Michigans Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com Updated 05/19/2021 [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events On the Air event: AMSAT Italia: Members of AMSAT Italia commemorate Gagarin's flight into space until the end of the year with the callsign II0SAT on HF and via satellite. Satellites on Field Day: Seth Kutzko, KX9X, made an outstanding presentation to the RATPAC group on Satellites and Field Day. The session was held on Thursday May 27 during a weekly RATPAC meeting. Seth presented more than just a "how to", his tips and tricks were very valuable for new entrants and his cautions were particularly well taken. This presentation is a must for any Field Day group that is contemplating chasing the 100-point bonus. Dan Marler, K7REX has made the presentation, documents, and the video available: To View Video: https://vimeo.com/556034517 To Download Video: https://vimeo.com/user107547861/download/556034517/954b837d38 To Retrieve Documents: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cktvhfz1lhvv8hr/AADzoAi0HiGccLLG6IdnY24Aa?dl=0Rad io The Amateur Training Planning and Activities Committee (RATPAC) comprises ARRL section managers, appointed field leadership, and membership. Together, we host nationwide Amateur Radio Zoom presentations twice-a-week, Wednesdays on general radio topics and Thursdays on amateur radio emergency communications. The topics are selected from audience recommendations that the planning committee then seeks topic experts or discussion panel members. The presentation audience consists of thousands of amateur radio operators worldwide who participate directly in the Zoom sessions or with video links of the presentation and related documentation sent out after each session. AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning the following presentations: University of Arizona - June 1 Conejo Valley (CA) - October 21 Wellesley ARC - June 15 White Mountain ARC - June 2 West Valley (CA) ARC - June 9 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. Tel:909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, AMSAT Italia, Dan Marler, K7REX RATPAC Leader and Idaho Section Manager, and Clint Bradford, K6CLS AMSAT Ambassador for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + June 2021 Eclipse Festival Seeks Ham Participants HamSCI is looking for ham radio operators to make recordings of time-standard stations during the June 2021 annular solar eclipse across the Arctic Circle as part of a citizen science experiment. Researchers will use the crowd-sourced data to investigate the superimposed effects of auroral particle precipitation and the eclipse on HF Doppler shift. For details, see: https://bit.ly/3ukP6ai [ANS thanks HamSci and ARRL News for the above information] + Hackaday Satellite Commnications Hack Chat scheduled for 2 June, 2021 - 19:00Z Paul Marsh from UHF-Satcom will join us for the 2 June Hack Chat. The number of satellites whizzing along above our heads is truly mindboggling, with the number growing daily. Each of these spacecraft is up there for a specific reason, and a lot of them are doing interesting things. Listening in on what they have to say can be a lot of fun, but learning the ropes and getting that first capture can be tricky. Paul Marsh will stop by the Hack Chat to share the ins and outs of monitoring satellite communications and give us some insight into what the satcom hobby is all about. [ANS thanks the hackaday.io Newsletter for the above information] + The possibility of a Europa Lander is under study. Intense radiation from Jupiter converts ice and dust on the surface of its icy moon Europa into energetic compounds, which may cycle through the ice and ultimately be food for microbes in the ocean below. NASA has been developing a potential Europa Lander mission to look for such chemistry since 2016 (and also previously in 2005 and 2012). This mission concept proposes a 575 kg battery-powered lander with a limited (but still impressive) lifespan of 1-3 months. Additional information is available at https://go.nature.com/3oRkVXf and https://bit.ly/3hWvsyE [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information] + The March/April 2021 edition of Apogee View has been posted to the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/ + Congratulations to John Papay, K8YSE, for becoming the first amateur satellite operator to receive the GridMaster Award twice! John was the first recipient of the GridMaster Award, issued for completing QSOs with all 488 of the grid squares within the continental United States (analogous to the Fred Fish Memorial Award issued by the ARRL for completing the same feat on six meters) in May of 2014. John's second award, the 30th issued, was for QSOs completed while operating as K8YSE/7 in Mesa, Arizona. More information about the GridMaster Award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/ (Thanks to AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO). + A couple of amateur satellite operators in Nova Scotia have been taking advantage of their favorable geographic location to set new distance records on various satellites. On May 5, 2021, John Langille, VE1CWJ, and Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, claimed the initial distance record on the newly activated satellite JO-97 with a QSO cover 4,889 km between FN85ii in Nova Scotia and JN04it in France. Dana Rushton, VE1CWJ, also in FN85ii, set the new record on XW-2C on May 18, 2021, completing a QSO with F4DXV in JN04jr covering 4,897 km. Finally VE1CWJ and F4DXV also set a new record on LilacSat-2 on May 27, 2021, completing a 4,888 km QSO between FN85jn and JN04jr. For a list of current satellite records and instructions for claiming new (or old) ones, visit https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] + JAMSAT has posted the FO-99 operating schedule for June at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/?p=1438 (ANS thanks JAMSATfor the above information]) + Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational Relations, made a presentation on the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator to the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club on May 21, 2021. A copy of his presentation can be found at https://www.cubesatsim.org/pres/AMSAT_HARC_Presentation.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] + Last weekend, AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Founding President Perry Klein, W3PK, and Manager Martha Saragovitz spent three days cleaning out the AMSAT office in Kensington, Maryland, moving documents and other AMSAT items to a storage facility. This completes the transition of AMSAT from operating a physical office location to a fully virtual operation. The savings of nearly $150,000 per year from the closing of the physical office, transition to digital delivery of The AMSAT Journal, and Martha's retirement ensures that AMSAT will remain financially healthy and able to Keep Amateur Radio in Space for many years to come. [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM 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

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ANS-143 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for May 23, 2021
by n1uw＠gokarns.com 22 May '21

22 May '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-143 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: * Call for Nominations - 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election * Reminder: AMSAT Server Maintenance Scheduled for Weekend of May 22 * Are Your USPS Mail and E-Mail Addresses Up-to-Date at AMSAT? * CubeSatSim PCB's Version 1.0 Available at AMSAT Store * March/April 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available * FO-29 operation schedule for June 2021 * Astronaut/Ham Assigned to Next ISS Mission * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-143.01 ANS-143 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 143.01 From AMSAT HQ PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027 May 23, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-143.01 Call for Nominations - 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following four incumbent Directors expire in 2021 and will be filled by this year's election: Jerry Buxton N0JY Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK Michelle Thompson W5NYV Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee's name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators' names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary: Jeff Davis, KE9V 1909 S. Batavia Avenue Muncie, IN 47302-2044 ke9v at amsat.org A copy should be sent to Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, at n8hm at amsat.org. The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. The Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials via mail or in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted. No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June. [ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, 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! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder: AMSAT Server Maintenance Scheduled for Weekend of May 22 As part of its modernization efforts, AMSAT will be moving its web server to a new vendor over the weekend of May 22, 2021. This move will result in greater operational flexibility, ensure continued flow of security updates and may result in lower costs for server rental and backup services. End users may see service outages for www.amsat.org and the central telemetry server associated with FoxTelem but otherwise no observable changes are expected. Outages are expected to be brief, perhaps an hour or two, and are presently planned during the USA overnight hours, and we have confidence that we will be complete by the end of the weekend. FoxTelem users will find that any telemetry collected during an outage will be uploaded once the central telemetry server is established in its new home. Mailing lists and mail forwarding will not be affected, and the membership and events portal at launch.amsat.org will remain fully operational throughout the migration. (ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT services team for the above information) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Are Your USPS Mail and E-Mail Addresses Up-to-Date at AMSAT? Recent attempts to deliver important announcements to AMSAT members shows that many AMSAT members are not keeping AMSAT headquarters up-to-date with their current U.S. Post Office mail address and/or email address. It is important that members update their membership accounts with their current contact information. The mail servers that deliver AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins and AMSAT-Bulletin Board posts operate independently from the AMSAT membership roster. Just because a person receives emails from ANS or the AMSAT-BB does not mean that their contact information is current in the membership database. The same is true for any email address or mail address you may have on file in the AMSAT Store. The AMSAT Store operates independently from the AMSAT membership roster. (Remember, a person does not have to be an AMSAT member to receive news bulletins or posts or to shop at the store.) AMSAT headquarters asks all members to ensure that their current contact information is up-to-date by taking a few minutes to complete the following steps: - Log into the AMSAT Membership Portal at https://launch.amsat.org/. - Click on the light-blue "person" icon near the upper right corner of the screen. - Choose "View Profile". - Review your information, especially your e-mail and mailing addresses. - If you need to update any information, click on the "EDIT PROFILE" box near the upper left corner of the screen. - After updating your information, be sure to click on the "SAVE" box near the upper left corner of the screen. By making sure your contact information is current, you can help ensure that you receive all official announcements and documents from AMSAT Headquarters. (ANS thanks AMSAT 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSatSim PCB's Version 1.0 Available at AMSAT Store The first release Version 1.0 of the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator printed circuit boards (PCBs) are now available for a donation at the AMSAT Store https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-cubesatsim-pcb/. The CubeSatSim is a low cost satellite emulator that runs on solar panels and batteries, transmits UHF radio telemetry, has a 3D printed frame, and can be extended by additional sensors and modules. Instead of having to get one's own circuit boards made, which often has minimum quantities, buyers can get one complete set of three boards - a Main board, Battery board, and STEM Payload board. The Main board comes with the SMD surface mount components for the Band Pass Filter (BPF) pre-installed. The remainder of the components are through-hole. Besides the printed circuit boards, builders will need the components listed on the Bill of Materials at https://CubeSatSim.org/bom. For information on building your own CubeSatSim, see the Wiki at https://CubeSatSim.org/wiki. For more information about the AMSAT CubeSatSim Project or to borrow a loaner unit for your classroom or demonstration, contact Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP Educational Relations at ku2y at amsat dot org. [ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP, Education for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- March/April 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available The March/April 2021 issue of The AMSAT Journal is now available to members on AMSAT's Member Portal. Download your copy today at https://launch.amsat.org/The_AMSAT_Journal. The AMSAT Journal is a bi-monthly digital 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. Inside the Current Issue: - Apogee View by Robert Bankston, KE4AL - Educational Relations Update by Alan Johnston, KU2Y - 2021 AMSAT Field Day by Bruce Paige, KK5DO - Report of the AMSAT Bylaws Committee and Amended Bylaws - Working FalconSAT-3 Packet Digipeater by Ramadhan Ibrahim, YD1RUH, Juliadi Satyo Pramudito, YD0AVI, and Creflo Teodoro Sebastian, YD2UUY - Arizona Roving in an Afternoon by Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Design and Flight Results of the VHF/UHF Communication System of Longjiang Lunar Microsatellites by Mingchuan Wei, Chaoran Hu, Daniel Estévez, Mier Tai, Yuhao Zhao, Jiahe Huang, Cees Bassa, Tammo Jan Dijkema, Xibin Cao, and Feng Wang. [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 operation schedule for June 2021 The JARL has published the operation schedule for FO-29 for June 2021 is follows: June (UTC) 4th 23:33- 5th 01:17- 6th 00:22- 14:10- 12th 00:07- 13:53- 13th 00:57- 13:00- 19th 00:42- 10:57- 20th 01:32- 11:48- 26th 01:16- 11:34- 27th 00:22- 12:23- The UTC time represents the start time for each operating period. The satellite will remain in operation until the battery voltage falls to a preset level. [ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Astronaut/Ham Assigned to Next ISS Mission NASA has assigned Kayla Barron, KI5LAL, to serve as a mission specialist for the agency's SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, which is targeted to launch as early as Oct. 23, 2021. This will be the first spaceflight for Barron, who became a NASA astronaut in January 2020 after completing two years of training. She will join NASA astronauts Raja Chari, KI5LIU, and Tom Marshburn, KE5HOC, as the mission's commander and pilot, respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, KI5KFH, who also will serve as a mission specialist. Barron was born in Pocatello, Idaho, but considers Richland, Washington, her hometown. She earned a bachelor's degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2010. She earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge, in England, in 2011, as Gates Cambridge Scholar. Lt. Cmdr. Barron earned her submarine warfare officer qualification and deployed three times while serving aboard the USS Maine. At the time of her selection as an astronaut candidate in 2017, she was serving as the flag aide to the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. NASA previously assigned Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer to the mission in December 2020. This will be the first spaceflight for Chari and Maurer. It will be the third spaceflight for Marshburn, who previously served as a crew member of the space shuttle STS-127 mission in 2009 and Expedition 34/35 aboard the space station, which concluded in 2013. When Barron, Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer arrive at the orbiting laboratory, they will become expedition crew members for the duration of their six-month science mission. The crew will have a slight overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts, who arrived April 24. Crew-2 consists of Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG. This will mark the second time commercial crew missions have overlapped on the station. The Crew-1 astronauts, who ended their mission with a splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, on Sunday, May 2, were aboard the station with the Crew-2 astronauts for a seven-day direct crew handover. Increasing the total number of astronauts aboard the station enables the agency to boost the number of science investigations conducted in the unique microgravity environment. [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events No events scheduled. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations W8LR: May 27. EM99/98_EM89/88 TENTATIVE schedule. Subject to change depending on obligations. Will post to twitter as needed if I have cell coverage. EA4M: : Hi guys later in June I’ll be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules. ND0C and KE0WPA: In June @kylee_ke0wpa and I, along with our resident photojournalist (Mom/Amy), will be taking a family excursion to the southwest and working some sats as time permits. Here are the less commonly worked grids from which we plan to operate. We will hit other grids too. DM67 6/15 – 6/17, DM56 6/18, DM45 6/19, DN63 7/2, DN64 7/2 & 7/3 WA5RR: I’m looking at doing a rove in DL98 with an overnight stay in Eagle Pass, TX around the last week in June. Details to follow. DM62: K5TA, I’m tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip for me…. EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Sean’s birthday in the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, Rover Page Manager for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + Upcoming Contacts Ecole Elémentaire de Saint Leu Centre, Saint Leu, France, (Reunion Island), multi-point telebridge via ZS6JON. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG. Contact is go for: Monday, Mary 24, 2021 at 11:06:02 UTC. 84 degrees. Windsor School and Liceo Industrial de Valdivia High School, Valdivia, Chile, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP. Contact is go for: Tuesday, May 26, 2021 at 18:33:34 UTC. 84 degrees. Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Bashkortostan, 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 Oleg Novitskiy. Contact is go for Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 13:45 UTC. About Gagarin From Space. Conducting an amateur radio session with schoolchildren of Mordovia, 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 Oleg Novitskiy. Contact is go for Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 12:25 UTC. + Successful Contacts Monaro High School, Cooma, NSW, Australia, telebridge via NA7V. The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut was Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP. Contact was successful on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 09:25 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.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shorts from All Over + No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 29, 2021 No changes are noted for the current week. However, TLE's have been updated and are always available on the AMSAT website at: https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.] + Arizona State University Student Satellite to Flash-Back from Ham Commands NASA has selected an Arizona State University-designed spacecraft to fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket launching between 2022 and 2025. It is among 14 CubeSats, that were chosen for this opportunity through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. The ASU CubeSat, named LightCube, is a 1U CubeSat and will be deployed to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Its unique feature is that it can be commanded by anyone with an amateur radio license and a ham radio to set off a xenon flash from the spacecraft that will be visible from the ground. Read more at: https://news.asu.edu/20210520-asu-student-built-spacecraft-interact-public [ANS thanks ASU News for the above information.] + ESA Advances Its Plan for Satellites Around the Moon The European Space Agency is devising detailed definitions of how to provide telecommunications and navigation services for missions to the Moon, under the agency’s Moonlight initiative. Such a lasting lunar link will enable sustainable space exploration.Using a shared telecommunications and navigation service would reduce the design complexity of future individual missions and make them lighter, freeing space for more scientific instruments or other cargo, making each individual mission more cost-efficient. Read the full story at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-143-ESA. [ANS thanks SciTechDaily for the above information.] + What are NASA's Technology Educational Satellites? NASA's TechEdSat series of technology demonstrations aims to bring small payloads back to Earth or to the surface of Mars – while pushing the state of the art in a variety of CubeSat technologies and experiments. TechEdSat is a series of collaborative projects and missions that pairs college and university students with NASA researchers to evaluate new technologies for use in small satellites, or CubeSats. Students do the hands-on work – designing, building, and testing CubeSat spacecraft systems and analyzing the results – for each flight mission, under mentorship of engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.; Read about the history and purpose of the program at: https://www.nasa.gov/ames/techedsat. [ANS thanks NASA 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/.

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ANS-139 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
by Paul Stoetzer 19 May '21

19 May '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-139 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. 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: * Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-139.01 ANS-139 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 139.01 From AMSAT HQ WASHINGTON, DC DATE May 19, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-139.01 Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following four incumbent Directors expire in 2021 and will be filled by this year’s election: Jerry Buxton N0JY Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK Michelle Thompson W5NYV Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators’ names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary: Jeff Davis, KE9V 1909 S. Batavia Avenue Muncie, IN 47302-2044 ke9v at amsat.org A copy should be sent to Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, at n8hm at amsat.org. The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. The Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials via mail or in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted. No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June. [ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, 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. 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

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ANS-136 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for May 16
by Mark Johns, K0JM 15 May '21

15 May '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-136 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: * AMSAT Server Maintenance Scheduled for May 22 * URE Satellite Telecommand Station Automated * Satellite Constellation Aimed At Next-Gen Connectivity For IoT Devices * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for May 13, 2021 * U.S. Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-136 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 May 16 AMSAT Server Maintenance Scheduled for May 22 As part of our modernization efforts, AMSAT will be moving its web server to a new vendor over the weekend of 22 May 2021. This move will result in greater operational flexibility, ensure continued flow of security updates and may result in lower costs for server rental and backup services. End users may see service outages for www.amsat.org and the central telemetry server associated with FoxTelem but otherwise no observable changes are expected. Outages are expected to be brief, perhaps an hour or two, and are presently planned during the USA overnight hours, and we have confidence that we will be complete by the end of the weekend. FoxTelem users will find that any telemetry collected during an outage will be uploaded once the central telemetry server is established in its new home. Mailing lists and mail forwarding will not be affected, and the membership and events portal at launch.amsat.org will remain fully operational throughout the migration. (ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT services 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ URE Satellite Telecommand Station Automated Spain’s national amateur radio society URE has announced their satellite ground station has been automated and is ready for the launch of GENESIS, EASAT-2 and Hades satellites. A translation of the URE post reads: The URE satellite monitoring and telecommand station, located at the Madrid headquarters, on Monte Igueldo street, has recently been completely automated, thanks to the efforts made in recent weeks. These works, which began to be carried out before the confinements due to the pandemic, have consisted of the change of the lifting rotor, which due to its long time without maintenance had been unusable, the alignment of the antennas, both VHF and UHF, of circular polarization, the installation of a Linux computer, the configuration of the reception software with SDR and the emission software using Pluto hardware, acquired by URE, as well as the automation of the rotor control with the hardware provided by EA4TX (ARS). This station will automatically record and analyze the telemetry of the twin GÉNESIS satellites, as well as EASAT-2 and Hades, all of them designed and built by AMSAT EA, as well as remote control in the event that actions are necessary on your computer from a on board, which, once in space, will be able to receive instructions from Earth to modify its operation, although the satellites themselves implement the intelligence necessary to adapt to adverse circumstances that may occur in space. The GENESIS satellites should be launched soon, once Firefly, the American company that built the launch vehicle, completes the static tests of its Alpha rocket, which is already prepared at the Vanderberg space base in California. As for Hades and EASAT-2, both are currently at the Momentus space integrator facilities in Santa Clara, also in California, and it is expected that they can be launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket in late June from Cape Canaveral, once, overcome the problems of the Momentus company, which prevented its scheduled launch in January of this year. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Constellation Aimed At Next-Gen Connectivity For IoT Devices Another satellite constellation prepares for launch, this one aimed at next-gen connectivity for IoT devices. 5G IoT operator OQ Technology has inked a deal with satellite firm NanoAvionics to build what OQ boss Omar Qaise described as a "flying cell tower in orbit." Assuming that cell tower had a volume of 30cm x 20cm x 10cm and weighed 6kg. The 6U satellite is the second mission for NanoAvionics with OQ Technology and will be the latest addition to the latter's Low Earth Orbit constellation. The plan is to provide basic commercial IoT and Machine to Machine (M2M) services, using 5G connectivity, to customers with a focus initially on Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. The mission, dubbed Tiger-2, will feature two payloads onboard the diminutive spacecraft; a primary payload for satellite-based IoT and M2M services using low frequencies, and a secondary payload aimed at demonstrating the use of high frequencies for IoT radio links. Qaise told The Register that three missions were expected this year, and the target was to eventually have more than 60 satellites at an altitude of 550-600km "for real-time coverage." The spacecraft are expected to last five years and, if undisturbed, de-orbit within 25 years. "We can also actively bring them down," he added. Where the likes of Starlink and Oneweb are aimed squarely at broadband services and shovelling large amounts of data around for applications such as streaming, Tiger-2 and its siblings target IoT devices. Qaise cited hardware such as sensors or tracking devices that require only short messages. "So instead of having millions of users with large amounts of data, you have billions of devices with small amounts of data." Qaise also highlighted another key difference – rather than needing a router-like device to distribute the internet service, "we use the same existing mobile and cellular devices to connect to the satellite directly. The satellite acts as a flying cell tower in orbit." It'll certainly be a challenge for 5G protestors to set on fire. Two more missions are scheduled after Tiger-2, followed by a batch of six satellites. The plan is to eventually make the coverage global, and Qaise told us that customers would be able to use the service by Q3. The company also plans to secure frequency licences and partnerships in key countries. For those groaning at the thought of yet another constellation (although one with considerably fewer satellites than something like Starlink) Qaise insisted that the chance of a collision in the selected orbits was low, and active monitoring and manoeuvring would be used if needed. As for the ride to orbit, the mission will launch as part of the SXRS-5 rideshare aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 later this year. Full article at: https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/12/oq_5g_iot/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for May 13, 2021 Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA (OSCAR Number Administrator) announced May 9, 2021 in AMSAT News Service Bulletin ANS-129 that DIY-1 has been designated DIY-1-OSCAR 111 or DO-111. Thus, DIY-1 (NORAD Cat ID 47963) is now shown as DO-111 in this week's TLE distribution. [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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ U.S. Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the schools/host organizations selected for the January-June 2022 contact window. A total of 9 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. ARISS anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for these US host organizations. The candidates must now complete an equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the ARISS technical team, the final selected schools / organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities. The schools and organizations are: Bellefontaine High School, Bellefontaine, OH Carter G. Woodson Middle School, Hopewell, VA Lewis Center for Educational Research, Apple Valley, CA Matinecock District, Suffolk County NY Boy Scouts, Medford, NY McBride High School, Long Beach, CA Old St. Mary's School, Chicago, IL Salem-South Lyon District Library, South Lyon, MI Sussex County Charter School for Technology, Sparta, NJ Space Hardware Club, Huntsville, Alabama [ANS thanks David Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Monaro High School, Cooma, NSW, Australia, telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is go for: Wed 2021-05-19 09:25:43 UTC 61 deg Watch for live stream at: https://www.facebook.com/monarohighschool/live/ Lycée Jean Moulin, Les Andelys, France, multi-point telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is go for: Thu 2021-05-20 08:38:15 UTC 88 deg Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy Contact is go for Sat. 2021-05-29 13:45 UTC 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] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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: N6AJ: FROM DM05 TO EM04, I will be headed to OK from CA around May 17 , DM74 AND DM75 is on the list for sure. I will be on FM and SSB. As it closer I hope to have a schedule. EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Sean’s birthday in the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well. W8LR: May 27. EM99/98_EM89/88 TENTATIVE schedule. Subject to change depending on obligations. Will post to twitter as needed if I have cell coverage. W7LT: EN36/37/38/46/47/48/57/58 for late May is on my radar. EA4M: : Hi guys later in June I’ll be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules Major Roves: CM93 N6DNM Journey begins on Th with stop in CM95 and SOTA, then Fr morning departure and coming back on Su. Thurs 5/13 – On the way to Ventura – stop along the way to do W6/SC-028 (will see if any sat pass fits). Then few sat passes from CM95xa late in the day for few folks who need/want it, but all are welcome. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] International: Members of AMSAT Italia commemorate Gagarin's flight into space until the end of the year with the callsign II0SAT on HF and via satellite. [ANS thanks DX Newsletter DXNL 2246 April 21, 2021, and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, 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. AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is certainly keeping busy! He reports an upcoming satellite presentation on 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 Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The RSGB has announced that their popular GB2RS news broadcast will now be available on the QO-100 amateur radio transponder on the geostationary satellite Es'hail-2. QO-100 provides continuous coverage from eastern Brazil to as far west as Thailand. There are two amateur transponders, one for Narrowband modes such as SSB and FT8 and the other for digital amateur television (DATV). (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Southgate ARC for the above information) + The SpaceX SN15 flew, landed, and failed to explode, unlike its predecessors. Starship SN15 ascended through low lying cloud cover, performed a nominal climb to 10 km, then belly-flopped, and finally completed a successful two-Raptor soft landing. A small methane fire at the base of the vehicle was again visible after landing, possibly due to a thermal protection blanket coming loose and catching fire. But, unlike previous tests, the fire did not appear to be caused by structural damage and there was no unplanned return to flight. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + A few days ago, AMSAT's web servers were under attack from multiple malicious IP addresses. This forced a shutdown of the Fox Telemetry server as well as general slowdowns of our web server. As a result, we upgraded to a paid premium version of Wordfence to better defend our web presence against attacks. Hopefully this will improve the reliability of the AMSAT website. (ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Executive Vice President, for the above information) + SpaceX has revealed the flight plan for the first orbital test launch of the company’s huge stainless steel Starship rocket, a 90-minute, around-the-world mission that will originate from South Texas and culminate with a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. When fully assembled, the gigantic reusable rocket will stand nearly 400 feet (120 meters) tall, making the Starship stack the largest launcher ever built.The company expects the un-crewed demonstration mission to occur some time between June 20 and Dec. 20.(ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information) + A Rocket Lab Electron rocket failed to reach orbit May 15 when its second stage engine shut down seconds after ignition, the second launch failure in less than a year for the company. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 1111z. The liftoff was delayed by a little more than an hour because of upper-level winds. The first stage of the vehicle appeared to perform as expected. The second stage then separated and ignited its single Rutherford engine. However, video from the rocket broadcast on the company’s webcast of the mission showed that engine shutting down seconds later. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information) + Blue Origin plans to begin crew flights of its suborbital New Shepard spacecraft on July 20, launching the highest bidder in an online auction out of the atmosphere and into space for a few minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before returning to Earth. (ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information) + The United States now has company on Mars. A Chinese spacecraft descended through the thin Martian atmosphere and landed safely on a large plain on Friday, May 14 at 2318z, state media reported, accomplishing a feat that only two other nations had before. The Tianwen-1 mission launched from Earth last July, consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The rover is intended roll off the lander, but China has not released a schedule for when that will occur. (ANS thanks The New York Times for the above information) + JAMSAT reports limited operation for the FO-99 transponder, primarily on weekend orbits over east Asia. See https://www.jamsat.or.jp/ for a schedule of operation. Email ja0fkm(a)gmail.com with questions. (ANS thanks JAMSAT 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

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ANS-129 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 09 May '21

09 May '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-129 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: * JO-97 Linear Transponder Active * DIY-1 Designated DIY-OSCAR 111 (DO-111) * NO-104 (PSAT2) Update * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for May 6, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 129.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 May 9 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- 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! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- JO-97 Linear Transponder Active On May 1, 2021, PV8DX reported that the JO-97 (JY1-SAT) telemetry beacon stopped transmitting at 12:57 UTC during a pass over Brazil. After a few days of silence, the U/v linear transponder was reported active over Europe on the morning of May 4th. The telemetry beacon remains inactive. JO-97's inverting linear transponder has an uplink of 435.100 MHz - 435.120 MHz and a downlink of 145.855 MHz - 145.875 MHz. The transponder has remained active in both eclipse and sunlight since May 4th. W2RTV observed frequency jumping while the satellite apparently rebooted in eclipse. JO-97 is a project of the Crown Prince Foundation of Jordan and was launched on Spaceflight's SSO-A mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on December 3, 2018 contains an AMSAT-UK/NL FUNcube linear transponder and telemetry beacon that can also transmit stored SSDV digital images. [ANS thanks various satellite operators for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- DIY-1 Designated DIY-OSCAR 111 (DO-111) On March 22, 2021, the DIY Satellite Group DIY-1 PocketQube was launched on a Soyuz-2-1a Fregat launch vehicle from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. DIY-1 carries a deorbiting device experiment, and a CW/RTTY/FSK beacon. Further information is available at http://diysatellite.com/ At the request of the DIY Satellite Group, AMSAT hereby designates DIY-1 as DIY-OSCAR 111 (DO-111). We congratulate the owners and operators, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them a long mission and continued success on this and future projects. More information about OSCAR numbers can be found at https://www.amsat.org/oscar-numbers-policy/ [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NO-104 (PSAT2) Update Looks like PSAT2-1 DTMF log shows first 2-way DTMF contact between N3CRT and KN2X QSO numbers 86 and 87. And a total of 17 unique DTMF users: LW2EE,KI6TSF,KE4AZZ,N3CRT,NN2K,N6AJ,PY5LF,PI6TSF,KK4YEL, K3CRT,KN2K,YD0NXX,P3CRT,F5VKV,KE6BLR,2E0CRV,AB8SA Though N3CRT, P3CRT and K3CRT are probably the same person. Since recovery on 26 April, PSAT2 appears completely healthy. http://aprs.org/psat2.html [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, 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 April 15, 2021 The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution: CubeSX-HSE - NORAD Cat ID 47952 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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, now manifested for launch on NASA's ELaNa 46 mission. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS News Green Bank Elementary Middle School, Green Bank, WV, direct via N8RV The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact was successful: Fri 2021-05-07 12:35:51 UTC 30 deg (***) Congratulations to the Green Bank Elementary Middle School and Mark! (***) This was Mark’s first ARISS contact! (***) Collège Descartes, Atony, France, 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 Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is go for: Tue 2021-05-11 10:54:35 UTC 35 deg Current Status of ISS Stations IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS - ACTIVE. supporting cross band repeater operation (145.990 up [67 Hz tone] /437.800 down MHz). Next mode change to packet operations targeting mid-June. Supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops. Service Module radios: Kenwood D710E – STATUS - Radio usually off. Supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts and SSTV. 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] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations N6AJ: FROM DM05 TO EM04, I will be headed to OK from CA around May 17 , DM74 AND DM75 is on the list for sure. I will be on FM and SSB. As it closer I hope to have a schedule. N9NCY and KX9X will be celebrating my birthday in style in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, grids EN57 & EN67. Look for us on the birds from July 15-19. Maybe some POTA, too. W7LT: EN36/37/38/46/47/48/57/58 for late May is on my radar. 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. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for … 05/18 - Puget Sound 05/26 - South New Jersey 06/01 - University of Arizona 06/09 - San Jose 06/15 - East Massachusetts 10/21 - Conejo Valley CA … and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up! Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor http://www.work-sat.com k6lcs AT work-sat DOT info (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 + Please keep your (radio) ears open for AO-109 beacon on 435.750 +/- doppler. The AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams have been slowly & methodically bringing it to a state where it should be sending a weak beacon, though it has not been heard. Reports welcome! Use FoxTelem to receive telemetry and send to the server. (via WB1FJ) + UVSQ-SAT's FM transponder is scheduled to be activated over North America on Monday evening. Check https://twitter.com/uvsqsat for more details (via F6KRK Radio Club) + Satellite DXCC league tables are now live on Club Log. See https://clublog.org/satleague.php. Do let me know if any data appears in the wrong columns! A special thank you for the excellent help getting this bootstrapped on Twitter, much appreciated. (via G7VJR) + Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, Inc. (ARISS-USA) is seeking volunteers to support their mission. Details at https://www.amsat.org/ariss-usa-volunteer-search/ + Arduino's Project Hub has published details of an antenna turret project that points in the direction of the ISS or any other satellite. Details at https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/viorelracoviteanu/antenna-turret-toy-w… + 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 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

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ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 01 May '21

01 May '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-122 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: * PSAT2 (NO-104) VHF is alive! * ND9M/mm daily postings to AMSAT-BB opens rare grid opportunities * ARISS-USA Volunteer Search Underway * AMSAT Bylaws Amendment (REPEAT POST) * Space Oddity? WISA Woodsat to launch by end of year * No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 30, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 122.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 May 02 PSAT2 (NO-104) VHF is alive! Bob Bruninga writes: PSAT2 VHF awoke from an 8 month slumber on 26 Apr 2021. We have no idea why. Its telemetry looks fine. Volts between 6.2 and 7.0 volts (5 NiCds). Exterior temps between -18 and +22 C. See http://aprs.org/psat2.html PSAT2 will NOT be in APRS mode but a brand new experimental mode for DTMF uplink and VOICE downlink. So you preload your grid and callsign into a 16 digit DTMF memory in your radio and when the satellite hears this it will assign a QSO number and QSL the grid by voice and then also generate an APRS packet for collection by APRS operators. There is even a way to send back a DTMF QSL so you can make it a 2-way DTMF. contact. Successful DTMF grids and messages will appear on a special URL on the PSAT2 page (above). To QSL, you key in that stations 2 digit QSL number and then dump your pre-loaded QSL DTMF message. Since this is the first time this transponder is on the air and because a DTMF uplink takes maybe 4 seconds, we don't want the uplink saturated by a bunch of newbees initially until we see if it actually works. So read the docs and be sure you know what you are doing. There is a user operating manual available on the PSAT2 web page: http://aprs.org/psat2.html [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ND9M/mm daily postings to AMSAT-BB has opened rare grid opportunities Jim Clary, ND9M is operating maritime mobile during a supply cruise from Florida to the Western Pacific. He has been regularly posting the grids he may be able to activate to AMSAT-BB as he travels. Since he is traveling though some rarely activated grids on the way, he is activating as many as his shipboard duties will allow. Jim has been active on SSB and CW through a number of satellites. He is currently in the Pacific and headed toward Saipan. Many of the mid-Pacific grids are only in the satellite footprints for KH6, so he most likely will not be QRV for the mainland. His daily narrative on the AMSAT-BB has been interesting to follow. [ANS thanks Jim Clary, ND9M 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS-USA Volunteer Search Underway April 29, 2021 - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, Inc. (ARISS-USA) is seeking volunteers to support our mission: To provide and operate Amateur Radio systems on the International Space Station (ISS) and elsewhere to inspire, educate, and engage youth and communities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and to support ISS backup communications. ARISS-USA, is a 501(c)(3) charitable, educational and scientific non-profit that was recently incorporated in the state of Maryland in the USA. We are seeking volunteers with a can-do, collaborative attitude who can work effectively as part of a team to support a variety of functions and roles. We have volunteer openings in several senior leadership roles, including: Associate Director Treasurer Secretary Director of Business Development Director of Volunteer Resources Director of Public Engagement Director of Engineering We also have openings for volunteers who would support functions within the above teams as well as openings within the ARISS-USA Operations, Engineering and Education teams. Descriptions of each of these roles are given in Article 8.6 of the ARISS-USA bylaws that can be referenced at: https://ariss-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ARISS-USA-Bylaws-Web-Site.p df Candidates accepted into senior leadership positions will be required to first serve in a six-month probationary period. All candidates for senior leadership positions must be U.S. citizens. If you are interested in making a difference as an ARISS-USA team member, please send your resume or CV to candidates(a)ariss-usa.org. Include a cover letter that explains what position you are interested in supporting. We thank everyone for your interest and support to ARISS! Ad Astra! (To the Stars!) Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS-USA Executive Director [ANS thanks David Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Bylaws Amendment (REPEAT POST) The AMSAT Board of Directors approved an amendment to our Bylaws on March 2, 2021. As required by our Bylaws, a notice of the amendment was mailed to all members. AMSAT members may also view the documents by logging on to the Member Portal. Along with a copy of the Bylaws Committee Report to our Board of Directors, members will find a "red-line" version of the changes that will allow you to see exactly what has been added and what has been removed. To view each document, please click the following links: "Red-Line" version of our Bylaws, as approved by the AMSAT Board of Directors during a Special Meeting, held on March 2, 2021. https://launch.amsat.org/resources/Documents/Bylaws_Amended_Draft_Redline.pd f Report of the AMSAT Bylaws Committee: Recommended Revisions to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Bylaws https://launch.amsat.org/resources/Documents/Report%20of%20the%20Bylaws%20Co mmittee.pdf In accordance with Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Bylaws, as amended in 1989, Article IV requires AMSAT to provide written notice to all members of the approved amendments to our Bylaws. This approved amendment will be effective thirty days from the mailing of this letter, unless written objection is received from at least ten percent of the Members, in which case a vote shall be conducted by the Secretary in the manner specified for election of Directors. Written notice was mailed on April 9, 2021. As such, any objection should be sent to AMSAT, PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027 and must be received by May 9, 2021. I apologize for requiring you to mail in your objections, but this is a requirement of our Bylaws (as amended in 1989) and exactly why we feel it is necessary to bring our Bylaws into the 21st Century. As part of our modernization efforts, we felt a review and update of our Bylaws was essential to ensure AMSAT's continued success. A summary of those changes is listed below. * The Bylaws have been amended to allow for electronic communications with our members, voting in our elections, and the conduct of meetings. * The Bylaws have been amended to clarify the member application process, the grace period for lapses in membership, and the membership inclusion date for establishing election roles. * The Bylaws have been amended to further define the duties and responsibilities of the Officers. * The Bylaws have been amended to require three years of continuous membership for nominees for the position of Director and that Directors be required to remain in good standing throughout their elected term. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Space Oddity? WISA Woodsat to launch by end of year The WISA Woodsat project, which is being sponsored by a plywood supplier in an unconventional PR drive, could place a wooden satellite in orbit by the end of the year, testing the suitability of treated wood as a cheap space material. The wooden satellite is based on a basic, versatile CubeSat format, Kitsat, which is designed with educational use in mind. It retails for just $1,500. The Woodsat project, based in Finland, began with students across the country contributing parts to a CubeSat launched by balloon. See https://bit.ly/3eEmV0h for more information in the press release from WISA on the E&T Engineering and Technology website. The IARU posting for Woodsat indicates that there are several amateur radio experiments on board including photo downlinking. See https://bit.ly/3aPrp2X for additional infoprmation [ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa K9JKM, the staff of E&T, and the IARU for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 29, 2021 No changes are noted for the current week however, Keplarians have been updated and are available on the AMSAT website at: https://bit.ly/3xChPtT [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 April 29, 2021 Green Bank Elementary Middle School, Green Bank, WV, direct via N8RV. 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 Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is go for: Fri 2021-05-07 12:35:51 UTC 30 deg ISS Status Update as of 28 April Noting the change to cross-band repeater on May 7: Current Status of ISS Stations as of 04/26/2021 Columbus Module radios: IORS (Kenwood D710GA) - STATUS - ACTIVE. supporting packet operation (145.825 MHz). Next mode change to cross band repeater targeting May 7. Supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops. OFF from May 5 - May 6 to support ISS communications testing. Service Module radios: Kenwood D710E - STATUS - Radio usually off. Supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts and SSTV. OFF from May 5 - May 6 to support ISS communications testing. 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] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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: N6AJ: FROM DM05 TO EM04, I will be headed to OK from CA around May 17 , DM74 AND DM75 is on the list for sure. I will be on FM and SSB. As it closer I hope to have a schedule. KX9X & N9NCY: Happy to announce @Nancy_N9NCY and I will be celebrating my birthday in style in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, grids EN57 & EN67. Look for us on the birds from July 15-19. Maybe some POTA, too. W7LT: EN36/37/38/46/47/48/57/58 for late May is on my radar. Major Roves: See the article on ND9M/mm Pacific operations in this newletter above. 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 Updated 04/25/2021 [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events On the Air event: AMSAT Italia: Members of AMSAT Italia commemorate Gagarin's flight into space until the end of the year with the callsign II0SAT on HF and via satellite. AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning the following presentations: Austin ARC - May 4 University of Arizona - June 1 Conejo Valley (CA) - October 21 Saratoga ARC - May 5 MICROHams - May 18 Wellesley ARC - June 15 White Mountain ARC - June 2 West Valley (CA) ARC - June 9 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. Tel:909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, Larry Manaev, RN3AG, and Clint Bradford, K6CLS AMSAT Ambassador for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + CubeSat for under $1,000? A post on Hackaday looks at building a low cost satellite - a CubeSat Want to build your own CubeSat but have been put off by the price? There may be a solution in the works - [RG Sat] has challenged himself to design and build one for less than $1,000. His idea isn't just a pipe dream, either. In the the fifteen months since he began the project, [RG Sat] has designed and built the avionics and electrical power system circuit boards, and is currently testing his sun tracker design. For additional information see: https://bit.ly/2Rc5lbW [ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information] + Recent activity on the 23cm band RNSS Coexistence Studies The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the work being done in defending the interests of the Amateur Services in the 1240-1300 MHz band. For details, see https://bit.ly/3eFI4XJ [ANS thanks AMSAT UK for the above information] +100 Million Dataframes for the SatNOGS DB. SatNOGS is the largest network of open-source satellite ground stations and works to identify and track satellites worldwide. SatNOGS is developed and maintained by the Libre Space Foundation, which supports the creation of open-source space technologies based on the Libre Space Manifesto principles. Recently, the project reached a significant milestone with the SatNOGS DB storing its 100 millionth dataframe. The frame was captured from FALCONSAT-3 (a previously DARPA-, now amateur-, controlled picosatellite for testing ambient plasma and micro propulsion attitude control systems). More at: https://bit.ly/3xyXOEx [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information] +China launches Tianhe space station core module into orbit HELSINKI - China successfully launched a 22-metric-ton module April 28, beginning an intense period of missions for constructing the nation's own space station. A Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket lifted off from the coastal Wenchang spaceport at 11:23 p.m. Eastern. The Tianhe space station core module separated from the first stage after 490 seconds of flight. Solar array deployment occurred just over an hour after launch. Li Shangfu, chief commander of the China Manned Spaceflight Program, announced launch success shortly after. More at: https://bit.ly/32XRQir [ANS thanks Andrew Jones of Spacenews.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

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ANS-119 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - ARISS-USA Volunteer Search
by Paul Stoetzer 29 Apr '21

29 Apr '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-119 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. 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: * ARISS-USA Volunteer Search SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-119.01 ANS-119 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 119.01 From AMSAT HQ WASHINGTON, DC DATE April 29, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-119.01 ARISS-USA Volunteer Search Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, Inc. (ARISS-USA) is seeking volunteers to support our mission: To provide and operate Amateur Radio systems on International Space Station (ISS) and elsewhere to inspire, educate, and engage youth and communities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and to support ISS backup communications. ARISS-USA, is a 501 (c) (3) charitable, educational and scientific non-profit that was recently incorporated in the state of Maryland in the USA. We are seeking volunteers with a can-do, collaborative attitude who can work effectively as part of a team to support a variety of functions and roles. We have volunteer openings in several senior leadership roles, including: Associate Director Treasurer Secretary Director of Business Development Director of Volunteer Resources Director of Public Engagement Director of Engineering We also have openings for volunteers who would support functions within the above teams as well as openings within the ARISS-USA Operations, Engineering and Education teams. Descriptions of each of these roles are given in Article 8.6 of the ARISS-USA bylaws that can be referenced at: https://ariss-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ARISS-USA-Bylaws-Web-Site.… Candidates accepted into senior leadership positions will be required to first serve in a six-month probationary period. All candidates for senior leadership positions must be U.S. citizens. If you are interested in making a difference as an ARISS-USA team member, please send your resume or CV to candidates at ariss-usa.org. Include a cover letter that explains what position you are interested in supporting. We thank everyone for your interest and support to ARISS! Ad Astra! (To the Stars!) Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS-USA Executive Director ARISS-USA is an Equal Opportunity Organization and will not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, age, race, color, national origin, religion, physical handicap, disability or any other legally protected status For more information about ARISS, see ariss.org [ANS thanks ARISS-USA 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. 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

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ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by n1uw＠gokarns.com 24 Apr '21

24 Apr '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-115 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: * AMSAT Bylaws Amendment * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 22, 2021 * Smithsonian Magazine Features Amateur Radio Aboard the ISS * FO-29 Operation Schedule for May 2021 * CubeSat Developers Workshop Virtual Conference April 27–29, 2021 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.01 ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.01 From AMSAT HQ PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027 April 25, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-115.01 AMSAT Bylaws Amendment The AMSAT Board of Directors approved an amendment to our Bylaws on March 2, 2021. As required by our Bylaws, a notice of the amendment was mailed to all members. AMSAT members may also view the documents by logging on to the Member Portal. Along with a copy of the Bylaws Committee Report to our Board of Directors, members will find a "red-line" version of the changes that will allow you to see exactly what has been added and what has been removed. To view each document, please click the following links: "Red-Line" version of our Bylaws, as approved by the AMSAT Board of Directors during a Special Meeting, held on March 2, 2021. https://launch.amsat.org/resources/Documents/Bylaws_Amended_Draft_Redline.p… Report of the AMSAT Bylaws Committee: Recommended Revisions to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Bylaws https://launch.amsat.org/resources/Documents/Report%20of%20the%20Bylaws%20C… In accordance with Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Bylaws, as amended in 1989, Article IV requires AMSAT to provide written notice to all members of the approved amendments to our Bylaws. This approved amendment will be effective thirty days from the mailing of this letter, unless written objection is received from at least ten percent of the Members, in which case a vote shall be conducted by the Secretary in the manner specified for election of Directors. Written notice was mailed on April 9, 2021. As such, any objection should be sent to AMSAT, PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027 and must be received by May 9, 2021. I apologize for requiring you to mail in your objections, but this is a requirement of our Bylaws (as amended in 1989) and exactly why we feel it is necessary to bring our Bylaws into the 21st Century. As part of our modernization efforts, we felt a review and update of our Bylaws was essential to ensure AMSAT's continued success. A summary of those changes is listed below. * The Bylaws have been amended to allow for electronic communications with our members, voting in our elections, and the conduct of meetings. * The Bylaws have been amended to clarify the member application process, the grace period for lapses in membership, and the membership inclusion date for establishing election roles. * The Bylaws have been amended to further define the duties and responsibilities of the Officers. * The Bylaws have been amended to require three years of continuous membership for nominees for the position of Director and that Directors be required to remain in good standing throughout their elected term. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President, 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! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 22, 2021 Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA (OSCAR Number Administrator) announced April 18, 2021 in AMSAT News Service Bulletin ANS-108 that SMOG-1 has been designated Magyar-OSCAR 110 or MO-110. Thus, SMOG-1 (NORAD Cat ID 47964) is now shown as MO-110 in this week's TLE distribution. The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: GRBAlpha - NORAD Cat ID 47959 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) In the Credit Where Credit Is Due Department: Ray Hoad, WA5QGD reports, "Last week David Williams, G7GQW noted that GRIFEX (NORAD Cat ID 40379) is still active after I had dropped it from the TLE distribution. I forgot to credit him for that observation. Thanks, David." As always, the current and all previous Keps elements can be viewed at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Smithsonian Magazine Features Amateur Radio Aboard the ISS The April issue of the Smithsonian magazine ran a feature on how ISS crew members spend their leisure time. The story began with a bit of detail on early space crews’ heavy workloads and needing time off. The writer moved to now, with space crews continuing to be more productive when schedules include relaxing—with making music being quite popular. The story cited the importance of ham radio as an engaging onboard leisure activity, as Doug Wheelock realized during his 2010 ISS mission. Speaking about the myriad of radio signals he heard from Earth’s ham operators, Doug said, “That started a trend for me where I made thousands of contacts across the world. That really became part of my connection back to the planet.” Referring to deep space missions, he said, “I can’t imagine doing a long-duration mission without that connection to the planet. It’s a huge psychological hurdle that we’re going to have to figure out.” The article is at tinyurl.com/ANS-115-Smithsonian. A post about the story was added to the ISS Ham Twitter page and to ARISS Facebook and Twitter pages. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FO-29 Operation Schedule for May 2021 The JARL has published the FO-29 operation schedule for May 2021: May 2021 (UTC) 1st 00:06- 01:50- 2nd 00:55- 02:41- 3rd 00:03- 01:45- 4th 00:50- 02:36- 5th 01:40- 03:27- 8th 23:47- 9th 01:31- 15th 01:16- 03:02- 16th 00:21- 02:06- 22nd 00:07- 01:51- 23rd 00:56- 02:42- 29th 00:42- 02:27- 23:48- 30th 01:32- The UTC time represents the start time for each operating period. The satellite will remain in operation until the battery voltage falls to a preset level. [ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSat Developers Workshop Virtual Conference April 27–29, 2021 This year's virtual workshop features a mix of pre-recorded and live events. Before Workshop begins on April 27, pre-recorded presentations from the Live Q&A panelists will be released. Registrants will have time before the Live Q&A Panels to watch the pre-recorded presentations. Then, based on the published schedule, registrants can listen and ask questions to the panelists about their presentation in real-time. There will also be dedicated times before and after Live Q&A Panels for registrants to visit and network with our amazing Exhibitors and Sponsors through virtual exhibit booths and side meetings. AMSAT will have a virtual booth and poster presentation at the workshop. The virtual booth will be staffed by Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Vice President of Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, and Vice President of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA. AMSAT's poster presentation examines the impact of proposed orbital debris mitigation regulations on CubeSat development and STEM education." Registration for the 2021 Virtual CubeSat Developers Workshop is free for all interested individuals. For complete information on the conference, visit https://www.cubesatdw.org. [ANS thanks Cubesat.org for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events None reported. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations EM86; April 17 - May 2, 2021 WY7AA operating vacation style FM and SSB. "I plan to have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there." DM05 - EM04; ~May 17, 2021 N6AJ will be headed to OK from CA around May 17, 2021. "DM74 AND DM75 are on the list for sure. I will be on FM and SSB. As it closer I hope to have a schedule." Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail dot com. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + Upcoming Contacts St Scholastica's College, Glebe, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover, KI5BKC. Contact is go for Monday, April 6, at 08:34:51 UTC. St. Margaret's School, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 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 Shannon Walker, KD5DXB. Contact is go for Monday, April 26, 2021 at 10:12:59 UTC. Watch for live stream at: www.ariotti.com. The latest information on the ISS operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. + Completed Contacts Winmalee Public School, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS callsign was OR4ISS. The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz The astronaut was Victor Glover, KI5BKC. Contact was successful: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 08:28:39 UTC. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts from All Over + Young Mauritians Introduced to Satellite/Space Technology The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) organized a series of training workshops for secondary school students on the building of a simplified antenna for satellite data reception. The aim was to initiate young Mauritians to Satellite/Space Technology and create awareness of these fields’ numerous possibilities for the Republic of Mauritius. The specific objectives were to provide hands-on training on the building of antenna for satellite data reception, data reception and communication with Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites and ground-station operation using specific software. Read the complete story at https://africanews.space. [ANS thanks Space in Africa for the above information.] + International Special Events Stations on Satellites - Italy: Members of AMSAT Italia commemorate Gagarin's flight into space until the end of the year with the callsign II0SAT on HF and via satellite. - Spain: AM500MMM draws attention to Fernando de Magellan's voyage and the explorer's death on the island Mactan. QRV between April 24 and May 1 on HF (CW, SSB, digital modes) and via satellite. - Chichi/ Haha/ Muko Islands (aka Bonin Islands): Takio/JH3QFL activates Komagari Chichijima Island between April 23 and April 30 as JD1BQA. QRV on HF and RS-44 on CW. [ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM and the DX Newsletter for the above information.] + Radio Amateur G3YJO on BBC Radio Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, G3YJO was the guest on the Radio 4 show The Life Scientific that was broadcast on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Sweeting pioneered the original SmallSats revolutions with the UOSAT-1 and UOSAT-2 spacecraft that carried Amateur Radio payloads and launched in the early 1980’s. They led to the founding of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) of which he is Executive Chairman. You can listen to an MP3 recording of the BBC show which mentions Amateur Radio and AMSAT from the BBC website at https://bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v7pb. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/.

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ANS-108 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 17 Apr '21

17 Apr '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-108 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: * AMSAT's GOLF-TEE CubeSat Manifested for Launch on ELaNa-46 * SMOG-1 Designated Magyar-OSCAR 110 (MO-110) * AMSAT FTP Site Retired * TO-108 Operational Update * CAMSAT Applies for Frequency Coordination for CAS-9 (XW-3) * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 15, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Apr 18 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- 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's GOLF-TEE CubeSat Manifested for Launch on ELaNa-46 AMSAT's GOLF-TEE CubeSat has been manifested for launch on NASA's ELaNa-46 mission. GOLF-TEE is the first satellite in AMSAT's "Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint" or GOLF program. The goal of the GOLF program is to work by steps through a series of increasingly capable spacecraft to learn to develop systems and skills needed to achieve successful high orbit missions. Among these are active attitude control and the ability to command attitude changes, deployable/steerable solar panels, radiation tolerance for commercial off the shelf (COTS) components in higher orbits, and propulsion. The eventual goal of the GOLF program is a satellite in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) similar to AO-10, AO-13, and AO-40, but at a currently affordable cost combined with significantly enhanced capabilities, which in turn will allow the use of much less complex ground stations. The -TEE designation in GOLF-TEE stands for "Technology Exploration Environment" reflecting GOLF-TEE's mission testing two primary systems needed for higher orbits. First, an Attitude Determination and Control (ADAC) system will be tested to allow active pointing of the satellites antennas, which will have significant gain. The other primary goal of GOLF-TEE is to gain initial orbit and space radiation exposure for radiation event-induced fault tolerant systems designed using COTS components. GOLF-TEE will carry an Integrated Housekeeping Unit (IHU) / command transceiver designed using the Hercules line of ARM architecture-based microcontrollers. GOLF-TEE will also evaluate a low-cost, deployable, fixed attitude, solar panel array design as part of AMSAT Engineering's exploration of fixed panel arrays that allow for outfitting a variable number of "wings" in order to best match the power requirements of various CubeSat missions. Additionally, GOLF-TEE will carry a modified commercial software-defined radio (SDR), the Ettus E310, as an experimental package to test high speed data downlink in the 10 GHz band. GOLF-TEE will also be a fully-functional LEO VHF/UHF amateur satellite carrying conventional backup systems, including a linear transponder, similar to those flown on AO-109. A significant amount of funding is necessary to complete the development and construction of the GOLF series of CubeSats. Please consider a donation today. Donations designated for the AMSAT GOLF program may be made at https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Engineering for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SMOG-1 Designated Magyar-OSCAR 110 (MO-110) On March 22, 2021, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics SMOG-1 PocketQube was launched on a Soyuz-2-1a Fregat launch vehicle from the Baikonur, Kazakhstan. SMOG-1 carries RF spectrum monitoring and total ionizing radiation experiments. Further information is available at https://gnd.bme.hu/smog At the request of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, AMSAT hereby designates SMOG-1 as Magyar-OSCAR 110 (MO-110). We congratulate the owners and operators, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them a long mission and continued success on this and future projects. More information about OSCAR numbers can be found at https://www.amsat.org/oscar-numbers-policy/ [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT FTP Site Retired The AMSAT File Transport Protocol (FTP) server has been retired as of 15 April 2021. Content formerly hosted on that server is now available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/ The FTP server provided an important service for distributing software, bulletins and other information going back to at least the early 1990's when internet access started to become available to the general public. Over time the overwhelming success of the web and ubiquitous use of the web browser have evolved to provide the same capability, and today even heavy internet users are unfamiliar with FTP. The decision was made to stop spending scarce volunteer resources maintaining this seldom used service. [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ TO-108 Operational Update TO-108 (CAS-6) was launched in December 2019 and carries a 20 kHz wide UHF/VHF linear transponder. When originally made available for amateur radio use in June 2020, the transponder operated only intermittently, approximately 2 seconds on and 5 seconds off. On April 12, 2021, EI2IP posted a video on Twitter where he calls CQ for a few minutes on the satellite. Later tests by European stations including SA2KNG and DO1AM showed that the transponder is still only operational intermittently, but now the transponder is on for minutes at a time instead of only a couple of seconds. TO-108's linear transponder's uplink passband is 435.270 MHz - 435.290 MHz and the downlink passband is 145.915 MHz - 145.935 MHz. The CW beacon is at 145.910 MHz and 4.8k GMSK telemetry at 145.890 MHz. Observations indicate that the transponder is operational when the beacon is transmitting continuously. [ANS thanks various sources for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAMSAT Applies for Frequency Coordination for CAS-9 (XW-3) CAMSAT has applied for frequency coordination for their CAS-9 satellite, also known as Hope-3 or XW-3. CAS-9 will be a 6U CubeSat carrying a 30 kHz VHF/UHF linear transponder. In addition to the linear transponder, there will be a UHF CW beacon and UHF 4.8k/9.6k AX.25 GMSK telemetry downlink. Launch is planned for December 15, 2021 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into a 770 km circular orbit with an inclination of 98.58 degrees. Application details can be found at http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=804 [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 15, 2021 The following satellites have been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: GRIFEX - NORAD Cat ID 40379 (Reported as active and returned to TLE list.) Orbicraft-Zorkiy - NORAD Cat ID 47960 (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) STECCO - NORAD Cat ID 47962. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 Winmalee Public School, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover KI5BKC Contact is go for: Tue 2021-04-20 08:28:39 UTC 81 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, one of the ARISS operation team mentors, 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations ND9M: I’m doing another tour on my merchant marine ship. We’ll be leaving the States (EM90) in a few days to head for the western Pacific by way of the Panama Canal. I’ve got my FT857 / FT817 with an Elk although I don’t hear RS-44’s downlink all that well. (AO-27’s downlink on the same band is great though.) I’m planning to be active on as many satellite passes that I can fit in around job duties; since I’m a staff of 1, working all seven days and being on call 24/7 can get in the way. My internet connection on board is marginal at best and will become virtually nil for several days as we approach Panama and then hit the Pacific. I’ll post likely grids a day or two in advance to the AMSAT-BB and will hit Twitter (@ND9M) when I’ve got a web connection. WY7AA: April 17th – May 2 EM86 vacation style FM and SSB. I will have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there. 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. I, Italy: Loriano/IZ5RHU and the ARI section Grosseto commemorate the Chernobyl disaster between April 18 and May 9 as II5RCH on 80-2m (CW, SSB, digital modes) and via satellite. QSL via IZ5RHU (d/B). (via DX Newsletter DXNL 2245 Apr 14, 2021) [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for … 04/26 - Livonia, Michigan 05/18 - Puget Sound 05/26 - South New Jersey 06/01 - University of Arizona 06/09 - San Jose 06/15 - East Massachusetts 10/21 - Conejo Valley CA … and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up! Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor http://www.work-sat.com k6lcs AT work-sat DOT info (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 + Congratulations Kell Bodholt, KI7UXT, on completing the AMSAT GridMaster Award by working all 488 maidenhead grid squares in the continental United States. Kell is the 29th recipient of this award. More information on the AMSAT GridMaster award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/ + A new distance record has been claimed on the ISS VHF digipeater. 9G5AR completed a 4,032 km QSO with EA3BAX on 11-Apr-2021 at 09:07 UTC. More records can be found at https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records + FG8OJ has developed a quick script to display your VUCC credits on a world map. 1/ Connect to LoTW 2/ Go to your VUCC favorite award page and select "All credits" 3/ Copy the page with CTRL+A and CTRL+C 4/ Go to https://fg8oj.com/lotwgrid2map/ 5/ Paste in the form's text area CTRL+V 6/ Enjoy + The spring issue of OSCAR News is now available for download for AMSAT-UK members at https://amsat-uk.org/2021/04/13/spring-oscar-news-2/ + 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

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ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for April 11
by Mark Johns, K0JM 10 Apr '21

10 Apr '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-101 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: * ARISS-USA Now a Non-profit Organization * Contests On QO-100 Allowed In Time For Yuri Gagarin Contest * Fun While It Lasted, Falcon 9 Telemetry Now Encrypted * AMSAT SA Call For Papers * NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 8, 2021 * Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 April 11 ARISS-USA Now a Non-profit Organization ARISS-USA, a Maryland not-for-profit corporation, is now recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scientific, and educational organization. ARISS-USA is the US segment of the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) international working group. With this IRS determination, donations to ARISS-USA become tax-deductible in the US, retroactive to the ARISS-USA incorporation on May 21, 2020. This change in status allows ARISS-USA to solicit donations and grants. As a new entity, ARISS-USA will continue to promote student involvement with the astronauts on the International Space Station via amateur radio. Working with educational organizations, ARISS provides exciting opportunities to inspire, engage and educate our next generation of space explorers through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities and content. ARISS-USA Executive Director, Frank Bauer, commented, “The educational scope and reach of what ARISS accomplishes has grown significantly since our beginnings in 1996. We are actively working to extend student’s reach even further. This, through the pursuit of potential student opportunities on human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit, as part of our Amateur Radio Exploration (AREx) Program. First AREx destination: the Moon!” ARISS-USA continues its collaborative work with ARISS International and US sponsors, partners, and interest groups. The ARISS-USA TEAM remains deeply indebted to its partners ARRL and AMSAT, who enabled the birth of ARISS, and to its steadfast sponsors, NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab (INL). Gifts from those wishing to support ARISS-USA goals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and can be made by going to the ARISS website: www.ariss.org The ARISS-USA team thanks its sustaining donors for their continuing support! (ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, of ARISS PR 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Contests On QO-100 Allowed In Time For Yuri Gagarin Contest AMSAT-DL announced, on April 4, the opening of the QO-100 NB satellite transponder to general contest operation in the upper mixed-mode range. QO-100 is a Qatari satellite, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 15, 2018. It operates at 26° East longitude along a geostationary orbit, which means that the satellite's footprint covers Europe, Africa, and Asia, but excludes North America and most of South America. This weekend (April 10-11) will see the Yuri Gagarin contest. The contest area on the QO-100 geostationary satellite NB transponder for both CW and SSB is: Uplink area 2400.370 – 2400.490 MHz Downlink area 10489.870 – 10489.990 MHz Of course, the usual QO-100 NB transponder guidelines also apply here. Therefore, the bandwidth should still be limited to 2.7 kHz and the transmitting power should be reduced to the necessary level, i.e. only as much power as necessary should be used. Read the AMSAT-DL announcement at https://amsat-dl.org/en/contests-on-qo-100-allowed/ The Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2021 is dedicated to the memory of Yuri Gagarin, who realized the first human flight to space, on April 12, 1961. It runs from 2100 GMT on April 10 until 2100 GMT on April 11, 2021, and the categories include: • SAT Single operator – Satellite QSOs • SAT-GS Single operator – Geostationary Satellite QSOs Contest rules are at http://gc.qst.ru/en/section/32 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Fun While It Lasted, Falcon 9 Telemetry Now Encrypted A few weeks back Hackaday reported that Reddit users [derekcz] and [Xerbot] had managed to receive the 2232.5 MHz telemetry downlink from a Falcon 9 upper stage and pull out some interesting plain-text strings. With further software fiddling, the vehicle’s video streams were decoded, resulting in some absolutely breathtaking shots of the rocket and its payload from low Earth orbit. Unfortunately, it looks like those heady days are now over, as [derekcz] reports the downlink from the latest Falcon 9 mission was nothing but unintelligible noise. Since the hardware and software haven’t changed on his side, the only logical conclusion is that SpaceX wasn’t too happy about radio amateurs listening in on their rocket and decided to employ some form of encryption. [ANS thanks Hackaday.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA Call For Papers AMSAT SA has announced the date for the 2021 Space Symposium. In view of the continuing uncertainty about the Covid - 19 pandemic the conference will be a virtual event on the BlueJeans platform. The date is Saturday 10 July 2021 starting at 08:00 UTC. The theme of the symposium is "Unlocking Amateur Space Technology." The symposium will focus on amateur satellites, weak signal communication, space weather and allied sciences. SARL has issued a first call for paper proposals. Prospective authors are invited to submit proposals in the form of a brief description of the subject to be covered in their paper by no later than 15 May 2021. Submit proposals in word format to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za. Authors will be advised on 20 May of the acceptance of their paper. The final paper will be required by 30 June 2021. [ANS thanks SARL and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter NASA is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 11, for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. To mark a month of Ingenuity flights, the agency will host several events to bring people along for the ride. A livestream confirming Ingenuity's first flight is targeted to begin around 3:30 a.m. EDT (07:30z) Monday, April 12, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website, and will livestream on multiple agency social media platforms, including the JPL YouTube, and Facebook channels. Ingenuity arrived at Mars' Jezero Crater Feb. 18, attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover. The helicopter is a technology demonstration with a planned test flight duration of up to 31 days (30 Mars days, or sols). The rover will provide support during flight operations, taking images, collecting environmental data, and hosting the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth. The flight date may shift as engineers work on the deployments, preflight checks, and vehicle positioning of both Perseverance and Ingenuity. Timing for events will be updated as needed, and the latest schedule will be available on the helicopter's Watch Online webpage: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Watch-Online [ANS thanks NASA 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 8, 2021 The following satellites have been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: GuaraniSat-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47931 (per Celestrak) KSU-CubeSat - NORAD Cat ID 47954 (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) DIY-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47963. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) SMOG - NORAD Cat ID 47964. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO) The following satellites have been removed from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: TISAT - NORAD Cat ID 36799 JUGNU - NORAD Cat ID 37839 AO-71 - NORAD Cat ID 37854 HORYU-2 - NORAD Cat ID 38340 BEESAT-3 - NORAD Cat ID 39135 BEESAT-2 - NORAD Cat ID 39136 TRITON-1 - NORAD Cat ID 39427 DUCHIFAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 40021 NANOSATCBR1 - NORAD Cat ID 40024 ANTELSAT - NORAD Cat ID 40034 VELOX-1 - NORAD Cat ID 40057 DAURIA DX 1 - NORAD Cat ID 40071 CHUBUSAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 40300 QSAT-EOS - NORAD Cat ID 40301 GRIFEX - NORAD Cat ID 40379 DEORBITSAIL - NORAD Cat ID 40719 NUDT-PHONESAT - NORAD Cat ID 40900 LQSat - NORAD Cat ID 40958 OUFTI-1 - NORAD Cat ID 41458 Swayam - NORAD Cat ID 41607 AlSat 1N - NORAD Cat ID 41789 ScatSat - NORAD Cat ID 41790 Pegasus-1 - NORAD Cat ID 41846 UCLSat - NORAD Cat ID 42765 LituanicaSAT 2- NORAD Cat ID 42768 The above objects are inactive and have been removed. If you think a satellite is still active contact Ray Hoad, WA5QGD on AMSAT-BB. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28. The back-to-back crew rotations will make for a busy month on the orbiting research complex, and multiple instances when ARISS operation will be suspended during crew operations. Preparations for the arrival of the fresh crew members are already underway on the space station. The first step was relocation of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship to a new docking port on the space station April 5. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, commander of the Crew Dragon “Resilience” spaceship, was joined by crewmates Victor Glover, KI5BKC, Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, for the fully automated 45-minute relocation maneuver. The Dragon astronauts, who launched Nov. 15 as part of SpaceX’s “Crew-1” mission, were aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and suited up for re-entry, just in case the capsule had trouble linking up with the new docking port and needed to return to Earth. Next was the launch of a Russian Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft with commander Oleg Novitskiy, cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP. The Soyuz crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, April 9 at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT). The crew on the space station will temporarily swell to 10 people until the outgoing Soyuz MS-17 crew departs the research lab one week later. Undocking of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with commander Sergey Ryzhikov, flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, is scheduled for 9:33 p.m. EDT on April 16 (0133z on April 17). The Soyuz capsule is scheduled to parachute to a landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 12:56 a.m. EDT (0456 GMT) on April 17. Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and Rubins launched Oct. 14 from Baikonur. Their return to Earth on April 17 will wrap up a 185-day mission. With the Soyuz crew rotation complete, SpaceX and NASA will be cleared to launch the second operational Crew Dragon mission to the space station on April 22. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, pilot Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and French-born European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, will fly on the Crew-2 mission. Assuming the Crew-2 mission takes off April 22, Kimbrough and his crewmates will reach the space station for an automated docking at 5:29 a.m. EDT (0929 GMT) on April 23. Their arrival will start a five-day handover with the Crew-1 astronauts, when the space station will briefly host 11 crew members. The Crew-1 astronauts are scheduled to board their Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and undock from the space station April 28 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT). The Crew Dragon capsule will fire its Draco thrusters to target a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida at 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT) the same day. [ANS thanks Stephen Clark of Spacefilight Now for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Recent ARISS contacts: The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, conducted a telebridge via IK1SLD on Tuesday, April 6. Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, was the astronaut. The contact was successful. Gagarin From Space performed an amateur radio session with NILAK DOSAAF Llc in Kaluga, Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, Russia, direct contact via RK3X on April 6. Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov participated. The contact was successful. Gagarin From Space conducted a radio amateur session with students of the St. Petersburg school, St. Petersburg, Russia, direct via R1AIT on April 7. The contact was successful. Upcoming contacts: TBD The latest information on the operation mode of the ARISS modules 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] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 WY7AA: April 17th – May 2 EM86 vacation style FM and SSB. I will have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there. 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 Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for … 04/26 - Livonia, Michigan 05/18 - Puget Sound 05/26 - South New Jersey 06/01 - University of Arizona 06/09 - San Jose 06/15 - East Massachusetts 10/21 - Conejo Valley CA … and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up! Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor http://www.work-sat.com k6lcs AT work-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 + LightCube, an educational mission by Arizona State University, Tempe, to allow a CubeSat in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to be easily operable by members of the general public, has been approved by NASA as one of the 12th CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) projects for 2022-2025. The LightCube CubeSat will provide a platform that increases the number of individuals who can participate in space activities. Specifically, anyone with appropriate amateur radio licensing within their jurisdiction and commercial radio equipment available for purchase for less than fifty dollars will be able to telecommand LightCube. The LightCube CubeSat will respond with a flash visible to the naked eye of the commander. In the process of operating LightCube, the user will inevitably learn important science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in areas such as telecommunications, spacecraft design, atmospheric and climate science, and orbital mechanics. (ANS thanks NASA, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, Harry Bloomberg, W3YJ, and Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, for the above information.) + Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU and an AMSAT Ambassador published an article in the Institution of Engineers Mauritius (IEM) Journal, March 2021, to promoted HAM radio satellite operation worldwide, as the paper was circulated in all affiliated Engineers association globally but the focus was on the regional operation. The link to obtain the document is https://bit.ly/3uHFFCv or go to https://www.iemauritius.com and register to download the March 21 edition of the Journal. (ANS thanks Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, for the above information.) + GOES-T, NOAA’s latest generation geosynchronous satellite, recently completed vibration, vacuum, and acoustic testing ahead of its December launch. GOES-T packs upgraded traditional weather observation instruments (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WQAwQ0SGkc for a video intro), including the 16 channel ABI imager (up from 5 channels on the previous generation) with 0.5km - 2km resolution (4x the previous gen). This generation also includes a Geostationary Lightning Mapper, the first lightning mapping system flown in geostationary orbit, which should increase lead time for severe storm warnings and decrease false positives. See https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/glm.html for an overview of the system. (ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information.) + SpaceX launched 60 more of the company's Starlink Internet communications satellites into orbit from Florida on Wednesday, April 7. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the spacecraft lifted off as planned at 12:34 p.m. EDT (16:34z). SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster for the rocket by landing it on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellites deployed to their intended orbit a little more than an hour after launch. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information.) + A rather fascinating disassembly and analysis of the digital clock from a Soyuz spacecraft can be found at http://www.righto.com/2020/01/inside-digital-clock-from-soyuz.html The mid-1980s vintage clock was judged to be 8 to 10 years behind U.S. space technology of the time, with more that 100 integrated circuits on ten circuit boards. (ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information.) + Open Research Institute has posted several new YouTube videos updating their work. See https://www.openresearch.institute/ for links. (ANS thanks AMSAT Board Member Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, for the above information.) + AO-91 remains operational in COR or "repeater mode." Reminder: Please use only in sunlight and do not use while in eclipse (which "generally" means, if it's dark at your local QTH do not use!). Remember that the current status of most operational satellites can be found at https://www.amsat.org/status/ (ANS thanks AMSAT Board and Fox Command Team Member Mark Hammond, N8MH, 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

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