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ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 03 Apr '21

03 Apr '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-094 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: * 2021 AMSAT Field Day * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 1 2021 * WOUB Spotlight: Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds, N8KI * NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on ISS * Perseverance rover begins steps to deploy Mars helicopter * Launch Watch: Upcoming in April * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 1, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 094.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 April 04 2021 AMSAT Field Day Its that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN! The event takes place during a 23-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2021 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 26, 2021 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 27, 2021. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 26 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event. This year should be as easy as last year since we have more than 10 transponders and repeaters available. Users should check the AMSAT status page at http://www.amsat.org/status/ and the pages at https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/ for what is available in the weeks leading up to field day. To reduce the amount of time to research each satellite, see the current FM satellite table at: https://www.amsat.org/fm-satellite-frequency-summary/ and the current linear satellite table at: https://www.amsat.org/linear-satellite-frequency-summary/ Additional information is found at: https://www.amsat.org/field-day/ [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, ANS editor for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 1 2021 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period March 1, 2021 through April 1, 2021. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL Mar Mar N9EAT 784 843 NS3L 650 681 W7QL 510 563 KJ4EU 471 506 VA3NNA 300 504 K0JM 403 500 N1PEB (EL98) 255 500 MI6GTY 460 461 KB9STR 353 431 KC9UQR 400 427 KS1G 360 413 WA4HFN 102 413 K5TA 302 400 W8LR 353 400 VE4MM 279 304 WB7QXU 252 303 VU2LBW 260 300 W4ALF 200 300 K4RGK 214 278 NA1ME 200 225 KN2K 155 200 N7ZO 116 200 XE2YWH 137 187 LW2DAF 166 182 NK1K New 179 DL6KBG 125 150 N8MR New 115 N2CJ 100 103 AF5D New 102 W7KRS New 101 AC9DX New 100 W3FGP New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! - Ron W5RKN [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ WOUB Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds, N8KI, AMSAT-NA member is honored. ATHENS, OH During Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds nearly 16 years working at WOUB Public Media, there have been many changes in regard to technology and how the station runs. But, Douds has rolled with the changes and couldnt be more proud of the work he is doing. I was originally hired as a broadcast technician and was promoted to broadcast operations supervisor in 2008, said Douds. At that time, the Engineering Department oversaw Master Control. We worked 24/7 to insure that WOUB stayed on the air. Later that part of operations shifted to the Traffic Department, so now were doing regular engineering tasks, such as design of systems, installation of new equipment, and overseeing what we call In-House Engineering; another team within Engineering handles field work and our transmitter sites. A big part of the training for me for this job came from amateur radio. I became a Ham Operator in November 1968, when I was in 7th grade, said Douds. I later became active in amateur satellite work, another part of amateur radio where we designed satellites and have them launched into space. More at: https://bit.ly/3rKpBxI [ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, AMSAT News Service Editor and WOUB.org for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on Space Station NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the upcoming delivery of new solar arrays this summer. Live coverage will begin at 1000z on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, Victor Glover, KI5BKC, and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, will undock Crew Dragon Resilience from the forward port of the station's Harmony module at 1029z and dock to the space-facing port at 1115z. The relocation will free Harmony's forward port for the docking of Crew Dragon Endeavour, set to carry four crew members to the station on NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, are scheduled to launch to the station Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [ANS thanks NASA for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Perseverance rover begins steps to deploy Mars helicopter NASAs Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance command sequence to safely release the $80 million rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars. The slow, step-by-step deployment is projected to take around six days, assuming everything goes as planned. The first command uplinked from engineers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory was to release a launch lock that kept the Ingenuity helicopter firmly attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover during the journey to Mars. Additional information may be found at: https://bit.ly/3dv06vv [ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Launch Watch: Upcoming in April There will be several notable launches this month. Unfortunately there are no new amateur satellites in the immediate offing. A Falcon 9/Starlink #23 launch is scheduled for April 7 from Cape Canaveral. April 9, The new command crew for the ISS will be launched from Baikonur to start Mission 65. On April 22, SpaceX/NASA commercial Crew Flight #2 is scheduled for launch on the reused Falcon 9 from the Crew-1 mission and the Crew Dragon capsule from the Endeavor Demo-2 mission. The Crew-1 astronauts will return shortly thereafter. [ANS thanks SpaceX, NASA, and ROSCOMOS 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-NA TLE Distribution for April 1, 2021 The following satellites have been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: Maya-2 - NORAD Cat ID 47929. OPUSAT-II - NORAD Cat ID 47930. CubeSX-Sirius-HSE - NORAD Cat ID 47951 Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for the identification of these satellites. The following satellites have been removed from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: OBJECT B - NORAD Cat ID 47310 OBJECT D - NORAD Cat ID 47312 OBJECT E - NORAD Cat ID 47313 OBJECT G - NORAD Cat ID 47315 OBJECT J - NORAD Cat ID 47317 OBJECT K - NORAD Cat ID 47318 OBJECT M - NORAD Cat ID 47320 OBJECT N - NORAD Cat ID 47345 The above objects are non-amateur radio satellites associated with a launch carrying amateur radio satellites. As the amateur radio satellites have been identified from that launch, these objects are no longer of interest. [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 4, 2021 The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB Contact is go for: Tue 2021-04-06 11:27:49 UTC 34 deg via IK1SLD. Watch for livestream at https://tinyurl.com/ISSLINKUP2021 Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, 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 Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Watch for Tue 2021-04-06 13:10 UTC St. Petersburg, 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 Sergey Ryzhikov. Watch for Wed 2021-04-07 12:20 UTC [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: DN58 look for #NO7G on SSB sats over the next week (3/25 4/4) AA5PK: Thinking a trip to EM01 Saturday (4/3) is in order. N3CRT: Activating ***Delaware*** via satellite -FM and Linear- at Fort Mott State Park FM29fo this Saturday April 3rd 12z-20z and possibly later. WL7T: Had to cancel Maine. Too expensive to change flights this close to departure. EL58 is rescheduled for April 11. Will be driving from EM26 to EL59, so might be stopping along the way for a few contacts starting a day or two before April 11. 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 Updated 03/31/2021 [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events From Larry Manaev, RN3AG: "We invite your members to take part in the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2021. Date: from 21.00 UTC on April 10 till 21.00 UTC on April 11, 2021. Modes: CW only. Satellite categories: SAT - Single operator - Satellite QSOs. SAT-GS - Single operator - Geostationary Satellite QSOs (QO-100). Contest rules: http://gc.qst.ru/en/section/32" AMSAT Ambassador, Tom Zimmerman W9TTY, will be exhibiting at the DeKalb Hamfest, Sandwich, Illinois on May 2, 2021. This hamfest SW of Chicago will feature a presentation for hams curious about Amateur Radio in Space and how to work the easy sats. Info on Kishwaukee Amateur Radio Club Webpage www.kare-club.org AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning a presentation on 06/15 to a club in East Massachusetts. 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 + AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, appeared on the April 1, 2021 episode of Ham Talk Live to discuss the latest status of AMSAT satellite development. A replay of the episode can be heard at https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-253-amsat-satellite-engine ering- [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] + Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV sends a thank you note to all who participated in the Last Man Standing special event. He says "I had the pleasure to work 111 contacts as W6S over the course of the week. If you made at least one contact you can download a certificate in around 4 weeks time. Just check the QRZ page for information. The official numbers are not yet in but there were approximately 60 thousand contacts made across all frequencies and modes." He continues: "I was also very careful not to interfere with any rover operations during the event." [ANS thanks Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV for the above information] + SpaceXs latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion. SpaceXs latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket. [ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information] +Biden administration renews mandate for National Space Council. President Biden will renew the National Space Council, a space policy group revived by the Trump White House after 25 years of dormancy, to assist in generating national space policies, strategies, and synchronizing Americas space activities, an administration spokesman said Monday. A spokesman for the National Security Council said the Biden administration is renewing the National Space Council at a time of unprecedented activity and opportunity generated by Americas activities in space. [ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.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-087 AMSAT Weekly News Bulletin
by n1uw＠gokarns.com 27 Mar '21

27 Mar '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-087 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: * Soyuz-2.1a Launch – Amateur Radio Satellites Deployed * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 25, 2021 * FUNcube-1 Transponder Status * Amateur Radio Gets a Partial Reprieve on 3.5 GHz * FO-29 Operation Schedule for April 2021 * DIY-1 Argentine Pocketqube Deployed * Last Man Standing Special Event Station W6S in Space * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-087.01 ANS-087 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 087.01 From AMSAT HQ, 712 H Street NE, Ste 1653, Washington DC 20002 March 28, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-087.01 Soyuz-2.1a Launch – Amateur Radio Satellites Deployed The Soyuz-2.1a LV was launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on March 22, 2021. The following satellites, operating in frequency bands allocated to the amateur satellite service have been coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel: • Beesat-5 • Beesat-6 • Beesat-7 • Beesat-8 • FEES • SMOG • GRBAlpha • KSU_Cubesat • DIY-1 • STECCO • CubeSX-HSE • CubeSX-Sirius-HSE • Orbicraft-Zorkiy • NanoSatC-BR2 Operating in frequency bands allocated to the Amateur Satellite Service without IARU frequency coordination is KMSL. Additional satellites may follow. Operating in frequency bands allocated to the amateur satellite service while the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel has declined coordination are UNISAT-7 and WildTrackCube-Simba. Further information including the IARU coordinated frequencies at http://amsat.org.uk/iaru/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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 March 25, 2021 The following satellites have been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: RSP-01 - NORAD Cat ID 47925 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO). TAUSAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47926 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO). Tsuru - NORAD Cat ID 47927 (Thanks to Celestrak). STARS-EC - NORAD Cat ID 47928 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO). The latest and complete set of AMSAT orbital elements for Amateur satellites in NASA format are always available at: https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.] WA5QGD -------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNcube-1 Transponder Status Dave Johnson, G4DPZ reports that the FUNcube team put FUNcube-1 (AO-73) into full time high power telemetry mode on March 9 2021. The move was made to test the response of the battery and power amplifier temperatures as the satellite starts to enter an eclipse period. This has thrown up some interesting thermal responses within the satellite, but nothing threatening. The battery temperatures have gone down in response to the power amplifier consuming and dissipating more energy. The team will be reviewing the move back to transponder mode in the next few days and will publish the timeline here and on other social media channels. Dave adds, "As always we should like to express our thanks to all those who capture data packets and upload them to the data warehouse." The data warehouse can be accessed at http://data.funcube.org.uk/ui/fc1-fm. [ANS thanks Dave Johnson, G4DPZ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Amateur Radio Gets a Partial Reprieve on 3.5 GHz Pending future FCC action, amateur radio secondary use of the 3.3 – 3.45 GHz band segment may continue indefinitely. The FCC, as part of a lengthy Second Report and Order (R&O) for commercial licensing of 3.45 – 3.55 GHz adopted on March 17, agreed with ARRL that continued access by amateur radio to 3.3 – 3.45 GHz should be allowed until consideration of the 3.1-3.45 GHz spectrum in a later proceeding. The FCC action in WT Docket 19-348 represents a partial — and temporary — reprieve from the FCC’s December 2019 proposal to remove amateur radio from the entire band, and it makes available an additional 50 megahertz than an FCC proposal last fall to allow amateur temporary use of 3.3 – 3.4 GHz. This allows “amateur operations to continue in the lower portion of the band while the [FCC and federal government users] continue to analyze whether that spectrum can be reallocated for flexible use,” the FCC said. The FCC had proposed splitting the band at 3.4 GHz, permitting amateur use in 100 megahertz of spectrum “while also providing a buffer to protect flexible-use operations at the lower edge of the 3.45 GHz band.” Amateur secondary operation in the 3.45 – 3.50 GHz band must cease 90 days after public notice that the spectrum auction has closed and licensing has begun. That is expected to happen early in 2022. The FCC announced the opening of 3.45 – 3.55 GHz for auction to commercial 5G interests on March 17. “There is no expectation that such operations will be accommodated in future planning for commercial wireless operations in this spectrum, or that amateur operators will receive more than a short period of notice before their operations must cease,” the FCC said. Read the entire story at tinyurl.com/ANS-087-Reprieve. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 Operation Schedule for April 2021 The times shown in the table below are the start times. Due to its low battery, the transponder is activated by schedule in Japan. It remains active until the voltage drops to a safe level. April 2021 (UTC) 3rd 01:20- 03:05- 4th 00:25- 02:10- 10th 00:10- 01:55- 11th 01:00- 02:45- 17th 00:45- 02:30- 18th 01:35- 03:20- 24th 01:20- 03:05- 25th 00:25- 02:10- [ANS thanks Hideo-JH3XCU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- DIY-1 Argentine Pocketqube Deployed Gustavo Carpignano, LW2DTZ reports that the DIY-1 pocketqube satellite was deployed from the UNISAT-7 platform on the morning of March 24, 2021. The UNISAT-7 platform was launched with a Soyuz-2 rocket on March 22,2021 from Baikonur in a rideshare mission. Currently, DIY-1 is transmitting in 437.125 MHz in RTTY 100 baud at 7N2 with a shift of 450 Hz in USB. TLE 2021-22F or 2021-22J can be used for track. Once we see its status the robot mode will be activated shortly. Telemetry reports are appreciated. [ANS thanks Gustavo Carpignano, LW2DTZ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Last Man Standing Special Event Station W6S in Space Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV will be operating W6S from FN30 as one of many special event stations for the finale of the TV show Last Man Standing. This show's main character portrayed an Amateur Radio operator and had an actual working station on the set. Amateur Radio was woven into several episodes in a positive light. The show's Executive Producer is also a ham. The event is across all bands and modes and ends on March 30, 2021 at 23:59 GMT. Certificates can be downloaded after he event concludes. Frank will be operating on linear and FM satellites. On FM sats Frank reports that he will not transmit if there is a rover active on the pass and will not make more than 5 contacts a pass as to not monopolize an FM satellite. For more info please see http://www.gsbarc.org/lms/ [ANS thanks Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS has the following presentation scheduled: 04/01 – Orem, Utah For more information contact Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations EL58 - April 1, 2021 W7LT: EL58 on April 1 then more to come. Thinking Maine for the first weekend in April. Taking requests. EM96 - March 29, 2021 K4DCA:If anyone needs EM96, he’ll be there the week of March 29 operating vacation style. Linear and FM with Twitter updates. EN01 - April 3, 2021 KE0WPA and ND0C: There is a rumor going around that they (@kylee_ke0wpa and I) may do a quick rove down to EN01 on Saturday, April 3. Linears and FM. I know some of our friends need that one and it is sitting at 46%. DN58 – March 25 - April 4, 2021 #NO7G will be on SSB sats over the next week [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR 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 Contacts Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Contact is go for Sunday, March 28 at 15:30 UTC. Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov. Contact is go for Monday, March 29, 2021 at 14:40 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 scheduled astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Contact is go for Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 15:25 UTC. Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov. Contact is go for Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 08:25 UTC. High School in Kaluga, Kaluga, Russia direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Watch for Monday, April 5, 2021 at 12:20 UTC. Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, Russia direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Watch for Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 13:10 UTC. St. Petersburg, Russia direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov. Watch for Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 12:20 UTC. + Previously Scheduled Contacts Oakwood School, Morgan Hill, CA, Multi-point Telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign was scheduled to be OR4ISS. The downlink frequency was scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut was Shannon Walker KD5DXB. Contact was successful on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 18:27:49 UTC. The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, telebridge via NA7V. The ISS callsign scheduled was NA1SS. The downlink frequency was scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut was Mike Hopkins KF5LJG. Contact was unsuccessful on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 07:51:16 UTC. This was due to unavailability of Mike at the last minute as he had to attend to operational matters. The contact will be rescheduled. A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at: https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over + AMSAT-EA English Language Newsletter Available Spain's amateur satellite organization AMSAT-EA has released the English language PDF version of their newsletter for March 2021 for free download. It features: o UVSQ-SAT o EASAT-2 and HADES satellites o 3D modeling of a satellite tracking system o First EA-SM contact on FT4 via RS-44 satellite You can download the PDF from: https://amsat-ea.org/app/download/12682823/AMSAT-EA-Newsletter_03-2021.pdf. [ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information.] + Ham Radio Live! Show 163 on Amateur Radio Satellite Service Larry Deyoe, K7HN hosts a podcast on YouTube targeted at potential hams and new hams and his latest episode is focused on Amateur Radio satellites. He includes a video of Larry Shaunce, WD0AKX working astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor on the ISS as well as a video of a hamfest demo in which John Brier, KG4AKV made 18 QSOs over AO-91. Watch the complete video at: https://youtu.be/QF_HaMBEOLM?t=1318 [ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV for the above information.] + RSGB Radio Surfer Award Includes Space Challenges The RSGB has announced its new Radio Surfer Award aimed at young people but open to everyone regardless of age, there's no need to even be an RSGB member. The idea is to pick challenges from a list and gain sufficient points to match your age. Among the space related challenges are: - Get a message from space (satellite, EME, ISS) - Pull images off a satellite / ISS Find out more about the Radio Surfer Award at: https://rsgb.org/main/operating/amateur-radio-awards/youth-award/radio-surf… [ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM and the RSGB for the above information.] + K0FFY Interactive QSL for FalconSAT-3 Adam Whitney, K0FFY, has posted an "Interactive QSL" to the FalconSAT-3 BBS in the form of a Commodore 64 binary suitable for running on emulators or real vintage hardware. For a screen shot of the program running see the following tweet from Scott Chapman, K4KDR: (https://twitter.com/K0FFY_Radio/status/1375169922469396480) Download your copy from the FalconSAT-3 BBS today! [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information.] + Astroscale Sends its First Space-Sweeper to Orbit Astroscale, the Japanese startup that wants to remove dangerous clutter from an already congested space environment, reached a critical milestone with the successful launch of its ELSA-D debris removal spacecraft early Monday morning. Once in orbit and activated, the ELSA-D will conduct a six-month “End-of-Life” on-orbit servicing demonstration. Astroscale said the mission, which is licensed by the UK Space Agency, is the world’s first commercial mission to demonstrate the core technologies necessary for space debris docking and removal. Read the full story at: tinyurl.com/ANS-087-Sweeper. [ANS thanks SatteliteToday.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half-time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at the amsat dot org for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings see https://www.amsat.org/mailing-list-faq/.

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ANS-080 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 20 Mar '21

20 Mar '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-080 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: * January/February 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available * Apogee View - January/February 2021 * AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Presents at JAMSAT Symposium * ARISS Columbus Radio Station Once Again Operational! * Houston AMSAT Net #1400 and 28 Years * Soyuz Launch Carrying Several Amateur Radio Payloads Delayed * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for March 18, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 080.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Mar 21 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Join the 2021 President's Club! Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish, Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag By donating today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ You won't want to miss it! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- January/February 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available The January/February 2021 issue of The AMSAT Journal is now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT’s Member Portal. 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 – Robert Bankston, KE4AL * For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IX – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF * The Yolinda Lindenblad: A Wideband Omnidirectional Circularly-polarized Antenna – Lapo Pieri, IK5NAX * Martha Saragovitz Retires – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF & Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK AMSAT members can access the Journal at https://launch.amsat.org/The_AMSAT_Journal. Not a member? Join today at https://launch.amsat.org/ [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Apogee View - January/February 2021 These past two months have certainly been an emotional rollercoaster, with the launch and then silence from RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E). Getting a front row seat at Virgin Orbit’s virtual launch event was a thrilling event for me. I only wish they would have allowed us to share that opportunity with all of you. The excitement of another AMSAT satellite in space, however, faded quickly, with each passing orbit and no beacon reception report. As disheartening as this was, I was never more proud of our Engineering and Operations teams, working together in an attempt to command RadFxSat-2. While all this was going on, Brad Schumacher, W5SAT, reported hearing his own CW signal through RadFxSat-2’s transponder, on January 27th. Our Engineering and Operations team were able to duplicate Brad’s efforts and confirm that RadFxSat-2’s transponder was partially functioning, although at an extremely reduced power. Having satisfied the requirements for OSCAR designation, RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) was designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109). Our attempts to determine what is keeping AO-109 from functioning properly continues to this day. Receiving the beacon is still our top priority, as one frame of telemetry will give us a much needed look on the health of each subsystem. We know the signal is going to be weak and will require a big antenna system to hear it. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated; however, we continue to ask that amateur satellite operators not attempt to use the transponder until further notice, as this may draw available power away from the beacon. I want to personally thank all of our volunteers on the engineering and operations team for all of their hard work, our friends at Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Space and Defense Electronics for sharing this dream with us, and each of you for your patience and understanding as we seek to overcome this challenge. Will There Be a Fox-2? AO-109 (RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E) marks the last of the planned Fox-1 series of CubeSats. At the same time, while SO-50 continues to operate in LEO, AMSAT finds itself without a continuously operational FM-mode satellite in space. Since AO-51, the so-called “EasySats,” have been the most popular amateur satellites. AO-85, AO-91, and AO-92 have proven that offering an easy-to-use and easily accessible satellite, requiring only a handheld transceiver and a small, handheld directional beam, is essential both for those just getting started on amateur satellites and seasoned operators. In addition, these EasySats play a critical role in introducing amateur satellite communication and extending our educational outreach. It is imperative that we find a way to provide a sustained presence of FM crossband repeaters in low Earth orbit, without taking away from our current plans to return to high Earth orbits, and I will be making such a proposal to our Board of Directors in the coming months. If the challenges and shortened lives of AMSAT’s Fox-1 series of satellites has taught us anything, it is that trying to shoehorn all of the required subsystems and experiments into a spacecraft no bigger than a softball is no easy feat. We must simplify our designs yet add robustness and redundancy. By chance, AO-7 rose from the dead when its batteries shorted. We need this capability designed into our electrical power system, so, when the batteries fail, the radios are still powered by the solar panels when the satellite is not in eclipse. In addition, we need to ensure no single point of failure jeopardizes our mission. Including redundancy and failsafes in our design will provide added assurance. Another challenge for us is that AMSAT does not have another FM crossband repeater in its inventory to use for a future satellite, because the necessary components have been discontinued. AMSAT is working on procuring a new, open design for not only our needs but to share with the rest of the world. More information on our plans to accomplish this will follow in a few months. Running more than one satellite project at the same time will be challenging. With limited volunteer and financial resources, we must make smart decisions. GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 are still our primary projects, as we continue our march upward to HEO, so we must find ways to recruit additional volunteer engineers, use commercial, off-the-shelf components, outsource construction, and/or a combination thereof. We have a great opportunity before us, but it is only possible with your support. Your continued membership in AMSAT, purchases in the AMSAT Store, and generous donations, combined with the cost-cutting measures I have recently enacted will help us get there. Please join us in our journey Onward and Upward. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Presents at JAMSAT Symposium AMSAT Vice President Jerry Buxton, N0JY, gave a presentation detailing some of the challenges and work being done to return to HEO at the 2021 JAMSAT Symposium on March 20th. A replay of the presentation can be viewed at https://youtu.be/b8K3k1RnJMQ?t=3440 [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS Columbus Radio System Once Again Operational! The ARISS Columbus Radio is back on-the-air! This, after it was rendered non-operational following a January 27 EVA (spacewalk) which was conducted to install a cable for the Bartolomeo commercial platform. During the January 27 spacewalk, the Bartolomeo HMU-601 cable, described in the March 10 ARISS Press conference ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hm4h4rBE9k&t=2214s), was installed in series with the ARISS antenna cable (HMU-895). As part of a spacewalk conducted yesterday, March 13, Astronaut Michael Hopkins successfully completed the installation of three PAPOS connectors for the new Bartolomeo platform on the Columbus Module. After this task, Hopkins started the ARISS task. He moved to the opposite side of Columbus, where he removed the HMU-601 cable from the APCU J02 connector and reinstalled the ARISS antenna cable (HMU-895) connector back into the APCU J02 connector. This returned the ARISS system back to its pre-January 27 configuration. At around 1200 UTC today, the astronauts turned on the ARISS radio system in Columbus. It was placed in PM3, or Packet Mode. PM3 employs a downlink frequency of 145.825 MHz. Shortly after radio startup, APRS signals were heard in California, Utah, and Idaho as the ISS passed along the USA West Coast. ARISS Team member, Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, confirmed she digipeated through the ARISS radio system, NA1SS, during this pass. With confirmation from additional stations in South America and the Middle East, the ARISS team has declared the radio system again operational. On behalf of the ARISS International Team, our heartfelt thanks to all that helped ARISS work through the cable anomaly investigation, troubleshooting and ultimate repair. Special shout-outs go to the ISS crew, the operations and engineering teams at NASA, ESA and Airbus, and ARISS-Russia leader Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, whose quick actions allowed ARISS to maintain our school contact operations via the ARISS Service Module radio system. Our deepest appreciation also goes out to the ARISS International hardware and operations teams that worked so diligently to analyze, troubleshoot, develop operations procedures, move school contact operations, and inform the team and the public. The ARISS team would also like to congratulate the ESA/Airbus Bartolomeo team! With the successful installation of 3 of the PAPOS connectors, as part of yesterday’s spacewalk, Bartolomeo is now operational! Yesterday was a great day for all! Ad Astra! [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS International Chair and ARISS-USA Executive Director, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston AMSAT Net #1400 and 28 Years It has been some 28 years since I first became involved with the Houston AMSAT Net. Andy, W5ACM, (then WA5ZIB), Marty, WV5Y, (then WD5DZC) and I were staples on the net. Ed, N5EM, was the host back then. Ed backed off and Andy took over. Andy and Marty were doing the net many years prior to my joining. I started numbering the nets in 1993. If you missed this special net, you can stream it from my website http://www.amsatnet.com click on Our Audio and select Net #1400. You can also listen as a podcast at the iTunes store by searching for KK5DO or AMSAT. Andy has been under the weather and not able to join us for this net. We have had fun over the years and we have done many different things. I did a little history from the beginning until today. If you have a chance take a listen. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Soyuz Launch Carrying Several Amateur Radio Payloads Delayed A Soyuz rocket carrying several amateur payloads was scrubbed from its planned launch at 06:07 UTC on March 20, 2021. The launch is now planned for 06:07 UTC on March 22, 2021. This launch carries several amateur radio payloads. Details below are compiled from AMSAT-BB posts over the past several days. DIY-1: On 03/22/2021 between 11:55 and 11:58 UTC, three radio amateur pocketqubes will be deployed from the mothership UNISAT-7: DIY-1, SMOG-1 and STECCO. DIY-1 / ARDUIQUBE (ARGENTINA): Frequency: 437.125 MHz USB/CW Power: 25/50/100 mW. Telemetry: RTTY 100BD 7N2, 15 ppm CW. ROBOT CW autotransponder, (like RS-5 / RS-7 / RS10-11 soviet satellites) Antenna: dipole At the time of deployment DIY will be in low power until verifying the status of the battery and will be sending only telemetry in an RTTY sentence. It is recommended to receive it with the FLDIGI-HAB program. Once the operation and battery charge are verified, the ROBOT will be activated and we hope it will be the delight of the CW enthusiasts. Much more info once in orbit. I appreciate the reception reports. (Gustavo Carpignano, LW2DTZ) BCCSAT-1: Editor's Note: BCCSAT-1 has not been coordinated by the IARU. BCCSAT-1 is an educational multi-spectral Cubesat 1U developed by the cooperation between Bangkok Christian College and the King’s Mongkut university of technology north Bangkok. http://bccsat.bcc.ac.th/ Schedule When our cubesat is completely finished it will be launched into space in March 22,2021 06.07 AM UTC at Russia with the Soyuz-2.1 rocket by UNISAT-7 GAUSS SRL to the low earth orbit at 575 km. http://en.roscosmos.ru/21973/ and https://www.roscosmos.ru/30285/ Downlink Frequency Beacon 435.635 MHz CW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPpSTEf3PUI Slow Scan Digital Video SSDV Data 435.635 MHz AFSK 1.2 kbps Telemetry Data 435.635 MHz GMSK 9.6 kbps After launch into space if AMSAT member receives the CW signal of BCCSAT-1 satellite. please send information to our team directly an email to: bccsat1(a)gmail.com BCCSAT-1 is a technology demonstration satellite in Thailand. High school students in Bangkok Cristian College in collaboration with King Mongkut’s University of Technology (KMUTNB) and the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEcg5q7ZBw0 are building the satellite. The project aims to build capacity on systems engineering, space education, and radio communication technology to students. During the project, students will learn about communication technology through amateur radio activities. It also encourages other interested people to receive the satellite signal. The main missions of BCCSAT-1 include: (1) testing in-house developed satellite transceiver and antenna in orbit (2) experiment of Slow-Scan Digital Video (SSDV) transmission from the satellite (3) take pictures of Earth by cameras onboard satellite BCCSAT-1 communication subsystem is an in-house developed transceiver and antennas. It has the capability to transmit GMSK modulation signal at 9.6 kbps, FSK for SSDV at 1.2 kbps and receive AFSK signal at 1.2 kbps. The transceiver will send its parameter such as RSSI and temperature to the ground station. BCCSAT-1 will carry four cameras onboard the satellite and aim to capture images of the Earth in different wavelengths: red, green, blue, NIR, and Red Edge band. We hope to process the images acquired for the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and widely used in Science education. The images will be widely distributed among amateur radio community via the experiment of SSDV transmission system and GMSK packets downlink. Moreover, BCCSAT-1 will be able to transmit pre-stored images chosen by high school students. BCCSAT-1 will provide the multi spectral images by having the total of 5 cameras on board; Red, Green, Blue, NIR, and Red Edge bands. The images we get from these cameras will be used to process for the Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), that will significantly provides huge advantage on analyzing the terrain of the country. (Tanan Rangseeprom, HS1JAN) STECCO: In July 2020 AMSAT Italy and the School of Aerospace Engineering (SIA) of the University "La Sapienza" in Rome, represented respectively by Dr. Emanuele D'Andria and Dr. Paolo Teofilatto, signed an agreement to collaborate in a synergic way to achieve common objectives including the development of satellites and the study of related disciplines in the space field. And it is within this agreement that was born the collaboration for the development of the STECCO satellite, acronym for Space Travelling Egg-Controlled Catadioptric Object. The satellite aims to test an innovative attitude control device and at the same time to implement an amateur radio digipeater. The repeater will be always active simultaneously with the other functions of the satellite. STECCO will operate both in uplink and downlink at the frequency of 435.800 Mhz, 9600 baud FSK modulation, G3RUH coding, AX.25 protocol. Beacon and telemetry info are available on the project web site [1] STECCO will be launched together with other satellites on March 22, 2021 at 6:07 am GMT from the Bajkonur cosmodrome, Kazakistan, on a Soyuz-2 rocket, in heliosynchronous orbit. Preliminary TLEs calculated on the estimated launch parameters are available on the same project web site. [1] The amateur radio community is also invited to share the satellite telemetry sending the data to the AMSAT Italia secretariat [segreteria] at [ amsat.it]. IARU coordination info are available at http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=782 [1] https://sites.google.com/uniroma1.it/stecco-sia/radio-amateurs?authuser=0 (Fabrizio IU5GEZ on behalf of AMSAT Italia) [ANS thanks the sources listed for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for March 18, 2021 The following satellite has been added BACK to this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution: Delfi-N3xt - NORAD Cat ID 39428. This satellite has come back to life after seven years of silence. (Remember AO-07 coming back after 21 years of silence?) Thanks to AMSAT News Service Bulletin 073 (Mark Johns, K0JM) for this very good news. The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution: Delphini - NORAD Cat ID 44030 (Decayed 3-14-2021 per Space-Track). (I am pretty sure it won't come back!) [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 The next contacts are probably going to be via the Kenwood TM-D710E radio located in the Service Module. You may or may not notice a difference in signal when compared to the Kenwood TM-710GA that is in the Columbus module. Goodwood Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB (***) Contact was successful: Wed 2021-03-17 08:32:31 UTC 33 deg (***) Oakwood School, Morgan Hill, CA, 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 Shannon Walker KD5DXB Contact is go for: Mon 2021-03-22 18:27:49 UTC 66 deg The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB Contact is go for: Wed 2021-03-24 07:51:16 UTC 45 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 ****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.**** EL58: WL7T: EL58 happening April 1 … more to come. And then thinking Maine for the first weekend in April. Taking requests … EA5GX: Hi guys in 22/3/21 I will be in the RS44 7:41 in the morning pass and in afternoon 13:22 UTC around 345.645 from IM99 to Anyone want try qso. he will also be: Hi guys in 22/3/21 I will be in the RS44 7:41 in the morning pass and in afternoon 13:22 UTC around 345.645 from 4 grid IM99, JN00, JM09, IN90 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 and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is certainly keeping busy! He reports these upcoming satellite presentation dates … 04/01 - Orem, Utah 06/15 - East Massachusetts … and more being scheduled. Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome. Send Clint an email or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, AMSAT Ambassador, and Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + AMSAT congratulates long-time satellite operator John Papay, K8YSE, on 60 years of being a licensed radio amateur. He has been operating as K8YSE/60 to celebrate the milestone. (Via Bob Liddy, K8BL) + Some hams in Europe were able to receive Falcon 9 launch telemetry at 2232.5 MHz with a HackRF and 1.2m dish and then demodulate it with GNU Radio. Impressive work, and somewhat surprising that the data isn’t encrypted. They were able to decode live video streams from the upper stage’s engineering cameras, including one of free-floating fuel in the LOX tank, which SpaceX livestream editors tend to switch away from. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and reddit for the above information) + A published paper by a pair of actual physicists at Cornell University, handily entitled “Warp drive basics,” theorizes about warp drives (as in Star Trek). Their calculations require hypothetical negative mass-energy, but at least the ship as a whole can have positive finite mass. Unfortunately, the necessary relativistic bubble would isolate the ship from the outside world, so the ship cannot create or control its own warp bubble—this would have to be done externally. Meanwhile, a second paper by another Cornell physicist, proposes a warp drive solution that avoids the negative-mass problem, but currently still requires an “astronomical amount of energy.” Who says that science fiction can't be a serious catalyst for actual research? (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + A SpaceX bid on a NASA CubeSat launch appeared to offer a vehicle other than Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy (Perhaps Starship). More details at https://spacenews.com/spacex-bid-on-launch-of-nasa-cubesat-mission/ + The rtl-sdr.com blog features an article on receiving the SMOG-P and ATL-1 nanosatellites with an rtl-sdr. Check it out at https://www.rtl-sdr.com/receiving-smog-p-and-atl-1-nano-satellites-with-an-… + 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-073 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for March 14
by Mark Johns, K0JM 13 Mar '21

13 Mar '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-073 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: * Spacewalk Addresses ARISS Equipment Issue * Eight Amateur Radio Satellites to Deploy From ISS On March 14 * Delfi-N3xt Back To Life After 7 Years Of Silence * First Contact Via UVSQ-Sat FM Transponder * Another Achievement For Explorer Richard Garriott * Renewal of Orbital Data Request for TLE Redistribution by AMSAT * News Conference Details ARISS Efforts * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-073 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 073.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Mar 14 Spacewalk Addresses ARISS Equipment Issue International Space Station Expedition 64 U.S. Spacewalk #73 to Continue Station Upgrades took place on Saturday, March 13 beginning at approximately 12:30z. Astronaunts Victor Glover, KI5BKC, and Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, undertook a number of tasks left incomplete when a previous spacewalk had to be terminated early. One of those tasks was a re-connection of four cables on the Bartolomao platform which is attached to the Columbus Module of the space station. Columbus is the home of the primary ARISS amateur radio station, which is used for school contacts and other ARISS activities. After an extended effort to complete some cable connections on the Bartolomao platform, Hopkins moved on to the ARISS VHF/UHF antenna on the "Earth side" of the Columbus Module at approximately 18:15z, roughly five hours into the spacewalk, and successfully removed a jumper cable between Columbus and the antenna. Hopkins raised a question concerning a sharp bend in the cable near the connector. However, no adjustments were possible. Because NASA safety protocols require the ARISS radios to be powered down during spacewalks, there will be no opportunity to check the success of the cable re-configurations until Sunday, March 14. The Columbus Module ARISS radios are expected to be powered up in the VHF packet mode at about 12:00z on that day. [ANS thanks NASA TV and Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Chair, 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Eight Amateur Radio Satellites to Deploy From ISS On March 14 Eight satellites, all coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel, are planned to be deployed from the International Space Station on Sunday, March 14. The deployment should be streamed live on YouTube, watch from 09:15 GMT at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLltILh8SLw The CubeSats being deployed are: • OPUSAT-II • GuaraniSat-1 (BIRDS-4) • Maya-2 (BIRDS-4) • Tsuru (BIRDS-4) • RSP-01 • WARP-01 • TAUSAT-1 • STARS-EC It is understood the BIRDS-4 satellites are carrying digipeaters and TAUSAT-1 has an FM transponder. Further information including the IARU coordinated frequencies are at http://amsat.org.uk/iaru/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Delfi-N3xt Back To Life After 7 Years Of Silence Recently, a signal was picked up from the Delfi-n3Xt, the satellite of the TU Delft with which contact was lost in 2014. This came as a big surprise to all involved. Delfi-n3Xt is the second satellite launched by TU Delft, as part of the Delfi Program, which develops very small satellites. Now that the satellite is transmitting again, steps are being taken to further the mission. The first Delfi satellite, Delfi-C3, is still working as well. The Delfi-n3Xt project started in 2007 and the satellite was launched in November 2013. The satellite operated successfully for three months, fulfilling its main mission objectives and achieving mission success. Unfortunately, in February 2014 contact with the satellite was lost after an experiment with the linear transponder. The satellite was not heard since and was considered silent. Three weeks ago, on February 9th, an automatic email notification was received from the satellite's ground station, indicating that a signal from the Delfi-n3Xt had been picked up. “I always considered the possibility that the satellite might still be working but just not transmitting for some unknown reason. I programmed the ground station software such that it would still continue to track Delfi-n3Xt every single day and send me an email notification if it ever would come back to life,” says Nils von Storch, student and operator on the project in 2013 and technical responsible at the ground station since. Carrying out relevant checks and analysing the received telemetry frames prove the satellite is transmitting again. The cause of the sudden silence has never been determined, and now the big question is how Delfi-n3Xt could come ‘back to life.' There are hypotheses: the software might have caused the problem and a bit may have ‘flipped’ recently. This can occur when charged high energy particles hit electronic components in space. Or perhaps a component caused a short circuit, and after being exposed to the extreme conditions in space for years it may have broken off. “Of course, in the past we have looked for all kinds of explanations, and we also had theories about how the contact could ever come back. But after so long, I hadn't counted on it anymore. Whether we will ever find out exactly how it happened, I doubt it,” says Jasper Bouwmeester, project manager of the mission since 2007. Bouwmeester is confident that the satellite can still be of use to science. “We can learn how the satellite and its technologies and systems have held up after seven years in space. Testing systems such as the propulsion system, is relevant too, and using the Delfi-n3Xt for educational purposes is another possibility.” Before any research can be carried out, a number of steps have to be taken. A lot depends on whether the satellite can still be controlled. Also, the ground station at the EEMCS faculty is temporarily inaccessible and some of the software from 2014 no longer works on modern computers. At the same time, a formal process is necessary, as permits and insurance have expired. "But I am sure that we will be able to find solutions," says Stefano Speretta, managing operations. "If we don't lose the signal again, there are interesting times ahead." [ANS thanks Delft University of Technology for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- First Contact Via UVSQ-Sat FM Transponder The first contact was made via the FM transponder on the UVSQ-Sat CubeSat on Friday, March 5, 2021. Michel Mahé, F4DEY, of the F6KRK radio club carried out the transponder test from the Latmos ground station near Paris. The first contact was with Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, in Elgin, Scotland. After the contact Michel tweeted "Very happy to have been able to operate the Latmos station and do #F6KRKR/P validate the transponder #UVSQSat "on #space" after validation of the satellite at the Lab of #Latmos in October 2020!" Peter tweeted "Fantastic to be QSO #1 on UVSQ-SATs FM transponder wish the @uvsqsat good luck in their commissioning and it being available more often :)" UVSQ-Sat http://uvsq-sat.projet.latmos.ipsl.fr/?ong=Ham-Radio https://twitter.com/uvsqsat Michel Mahé F4DEY https://twitter.com/F4DEY_78 Peter Goodhall 2M0SQL https://www.2m0sql.com/ https://twitter.com/2m0sql As part of the ham radio mission, the UVSQ-SAT one-unit CubeSat embeds a radio transponder which will be accessible to the community in parallel of the other scientific objectives according to the power budget. The UVSQ-SAT team will provide an availability of the transponder up to 20% (schedule 7 to 15 days in advance with a distribution via the project's website and / or Twitter account). [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and LATMOS 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Another Achievement For Explorer Richard Garriott British-born Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, has become the first explorer to have been to both poles, orbited the Earth and reached the bottom of the deepest ocean. On February 28, 2021, he traveled to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, at 11,034 metres (36,201 ft) the deepest oceanic trench on the planet. He is not the first astronaut to make the descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, former-NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan ex-N5YYV did that in 2020 but Richard is the first person to also have visited the North Pole (2018) and the South Pole (2000). Richard's US amateur radio callsign W5KWQ recently expired but in a tweet sent March 7 he said he would be renewing his license as soon as possible https://twitter.com/RichardGarriott/status/1368523553881006082 He made many amateur radio contacts during his space mission in 2008 including one to pupils at Budbrooke Primary School in Warwick, UK. You can watch the video of that contact at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNIct1g26DQ Richard's father was astronaut Owen K. Garriott W5LFL who in 1983, during the STS-9 Columbia mission, made the first amateur radio contacts from space, see https://amsat-uk.org/2012/05/09/vintage-video-of-sts-9-columbia-mission-and… 2008 Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, Gets Busy from Space http://www.arrl.org/news/richard-garriott-w5kwq-gets-busy-from-space Richard Garriott https://richardgarriott.com/ [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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Renewal of Orbital Data Request for TLE Redistribution by AMSAT I am pleased to announce that AMSAT-NA's request to re-distribute TLE elements from Space-Track website has been approved for the period April 1, 2021 to April 1, 2022. Our ODR (Orbital Data Request) to distribute the Space-Track TLEs was approved by Air Force 18 SPCS, Vandenburg AFB on March 12, 2021. Thanks to Air Force 18 SPCS, Perry Klein (W3PK), Paul Stoetzer (N8HM) and Joe Fitzgerald (KM1P) for their help in this yearly process. We are "good to go" for another year. [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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ News Conference Details ARISS Efforts to Return ISS Ham Station to the Air At a March 10 news conference, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) reported that, so far, all efforts to determine what's keeping the ham station in the ISS Columbus module off the air have been unsuccessful. It appears that the radio equipment is working, but no signal appears to be reaching the external ARISS antenna. The station, typically operated as NA1SS, has not been usable since new RF cables were installed during a January 27 spacewalk (EVA) to support the commissioning of the Bartolomeo payload hosting platform installed last spring. During the January EVA, the coax feed line installed 11 years ago was replaced with another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. Responding to a question during the news conference, ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, did not rule out a fault in the radio equipment. "There is still that possibility that there might be a problem with the radio," he said. Bauer listed three possible problem areas: The HMU-898 cable inside the cabin may have a break due to a previous tight turn, a connector may be installed improperly, or an HMU-601 cable installation or workmanship anomaly. During the January 27 EVA, the HMU-601 cable was installed in series with the ARISS antenna cable. During a March 13 spacewalk (EVA), astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, and Victor Glover, KI5BKC, plan to return the ARISS antenna feed line cabling to its configuration prior to the January 27 spacewalk. The news conference covered details of the cable troubleshooting already conducted. Bauer said the ARISS team has been working closely with NASA and the ESA to identify what may have caused the "radio anomaly" keeping the ISS Columbus module ham station off the air. He thanked ARISS-Russia's Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, for allowing ARISS to use the ham station in the service module to continue its contact schedule. This past week, astronauts on the ISS performed troubleshooting tests on all four new feed lines installed on the Columbus module. One cable was earmarked for the ARISS station, while the other three are for Bartolomeo. ARISS reported over the weekend, however, that it was unable to establish communication using any of the feed line cables connected to the ARISS radio system, which was tested in APRS mode. The plan to return the ARISS cabling to its original configuration was a "contingency task" for a March 5 spacewalk, but the astronauts ran out of time. ARISS became aware of the station problem after a contact with a school in Wyoming, between ON4ISS on Earth and Hopkins at NA1SS, had to abort when no downlink signal was heard. For the time being, ARISS school and group contacts with crew members have been conducted using the ham station in the ISS service module. A recording of the news conference is available for viewing on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hm4h4rBE9k [ANS thanks ARRL and Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS operation team member, 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. A contact with Goodwood Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, is scheduled for Wed 2021-03-17 08:32:31 UTC. The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover KI5BKC, using the space station callsign of NA1SS. This will be a telebridge contact via NA7V, so it will be heard over North America. Maximum elelvation will be 33 degrees. 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, ARISS operation team member, 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: ****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.**** EN55/EN56: KC9BKA Hoping to hit up the EN55/56 grid line on Friday, March 19 for mid day passes. I haven’t checked the pass lineup yet. Would anyone need EN55/56 @AK7DD and Ledger: We will be headed to DN41 on the 14th of March. My plan is to hit DN30 on the way up. Our plans are to be in the area there until around the 24th of March, and we will hit a few of our normal activation grids on the way home, DN30, DM39 & DM49, etc. Anyhow, once we have landed in DN41, we will be doing a handful of roves in Utah and Idaho as time allows. EL58: W7LT: EL58 happening April 1 … more to come. And then thinking Maine for the first weekend in April. Taking requests … EM68/68: WB9VPG: Upcoming trip to EM67/68 and 58/68 possible on Wednesday, March 17. I’ll post more when I know more. FN44: N1AIA I plan to operate from FN44 Thu 11 March 1400-1500z. SO-50, maybe AO-27, RS-44 Major Roves: CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. One of the AMSAT Ambassadors, and an ARRL registered instructor, is Clint Bradford, K6LCS. Clint has the following presentations scheduled, with more on the way: 03/16 – Palm Springs, CA 03/20 – Bonham, Texas 04/01 – Orem, Utah 06/15 – East Massachusetts If a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club, contact Clint, or one of the other Ambassadors: 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 + If you enjoy seeing things blow up (and who doesn't like good fireworks?) there is a glorious slow-motion video of the "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly" of the SpaceX SN10 test flight at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIZOcsu8tWk&t=120s The explosion, which occurred after what appeared to be a successful landing, was probably caused by malfunctioning landing legs on the rocket. But fear not, SpaceX already has SN11 on the pad for another attempt. If at first you don't succeed.... (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information). + Continuing a high-tempo launch cadence, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new set of Starlink satellites and landed the booster March 11. The launch brings the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 1,265, although more than 60 of them have since deorbited. In a Feb. 22 filing with the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX requested to modify its FCC license, allowing it to move satellites into lower orbits. Several other satellite operators oppose the request, primarily on concerns that the modified constellation will interfere with their systems. The FCC has not indicated when it will rule on SpaceX’s request. (ANS thanks SpaceNews.com and SpaceflightNow.com for the above information) + NASA has assigned astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP, to an upcoming mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 64/65 crew. Vande Hei, along with cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, are scheduled to launch Friday, April 9, on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will be joined on the ISS by astronauts Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, who will arrive on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft now scheduled for launch on April 22. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope resumed observations March 11 after a software error placed it in a protective safe mode several days earlier, but the incident is a reminder of the telescope’s mortality. The spacecraft was launched in April 1990 and serviced by the space shuttle five times, most recently in May 2009. With the shuttle long since retired, astronomers know that, at some point, Hubble will suffer an unrecoverable failure that will end its historic mission. (ANS thanks SpaceNews.com for the above information) + Three residents of the International Space Station will take a spin around their orbital neighborhood in the Soyuz MS-17 on Friday, March 19, relocating the spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of the next set of crew members. Live coverage on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website will begin at 16:15 UTC. Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA and Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, will undock from the Earth-facing port of the station’s Rassvet module at 16:38z and dock again at the space-facing Poisk docking port at 17:07z (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + The largest asteroid predicted to pass by our planet in 2021 will be at its closest on March 21, providing astronomers a rare opportunity to get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the dawn of our solar system. Called 2001 FO32, the near-Earth asteroid will make its closest approach at a distance of about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) - or 5 1/4 times the distance from Earth to the Moon. There is no threat of a collision with our planet, even though that distance is "close" in astronomical terms. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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ERRATA: ANS-066 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 06 Mar '21

06 Mar '21

I apologize for missing an ARISS news item that was repeated from a past edition of the ANS news #066. The item for the ANS News should be as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS: Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of March 3, 2021 Avoca State School, Bundaberg, QLD, Australia, direct via VK4BW (Mike Hopkins KF5LJG). Thu 2021-03-11 07:56:51 UTC 60 deg Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for your patience. Jack Spitznagel - KD4IZ Assistant Editor - AMSAT News Service kd4iz(a)arrl.net

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ANS-066 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 06 Mar '21

06 Mar '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-066 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 Ambassadors to Speak at QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo * Revised QO-100 WB Transponder Bandplan and Operating Guidelines * Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array fixtures outside ISS. * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 1 2021 * India, Brazil Launch Amazônia-1 On PSLV Rocket * IARU Region 1 Participates in ITU WRC-23, Prep for 23cm Allocations * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-066 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 066.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 March 07 AMSAT Ambassadors to Speak at QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo Several AMSAT Ambassadors are scheduled to speak at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on Saturday, March 13, 2021. The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo to be held on March 12-14, 2021 features many speakers over a wide range of technical and operating topics. Among the speakers will be two AMSAT Ambassadors presenting in the Space Auditorium on Saturday March 13, 2021: Working the Easy FM Amateur Satellites Clint Bradford, K6LCS 1200-1300 EST From getting licensed to finding local clubs to working the easy FM amateur satellites with minimal investment! Well cover all the basics for you with plenty of ways to submit any questions you may have afterwards. Let's get you working the birds ASAP! Clint Bradford has been a ham since 1994, and is also involved in the commercial side of the communications industry. His How to Work the Amateur Satellites With Your HT presentation has informed and delighted more than 100 audiences over the past few years - clubs, conventions, and hamfests not only in Southern California, but also clubs across North America and Canada. He is an ARRL educator, AMSAT Ambassador, and member of several AMSAT chapters across the planet. Getting on the air with Amateur Radio Satellites Tom Schuessler, N5HYP 1700-1800 EST Tom will provide an introduction to what you need to know to become active on FM satellites and beyond. Tom was licensed in 1985. Although he was aware of Amateur Radio space communications, he thought it was just too far beyond the means of the average ham. In 2009, he caught the bug from the late Keith Pugh, W5IU. The realization that he already had a radio that would work with the then existing FM satellites was all he needed. He now not only actively enjoys communicating through the current fleet of Amateur Radio satellites, but loves to communicate his passion and experience to those who have never yet experienced the thrill. Professionally, Tom Has worked in the broadcast television and video fields as a production and systems engineer. Also scheduled to present are AMSAT's Human Space partners at ARISS: How to Enjoy Amateur Radio Contacts with the International Space Station Frank Bauer, KA3HDO & Rosalie White, K1STO 1600-1700 EST You can enjoy ham radio contacts through the ARISS radios on the International Space Station. Well explain how you can have fun trying ARISS packet, SSTV and repeater mode. Intermediate level & even beginners learn how to try off-the-planet hamming. Frank H. Bauers aerospace career spans over 40 years within NASA and private industry. Mr. Bauers primary research interests include space borne applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and space vehicle formation flying. He was the principal investigator of 4 spaceflight GPS and formation flying experiments including the AMSAT-OSCAR-40 GPS experiment, investigating the use of GPS above the constellation. His hobbies include astronomy, amateur radio, and flying. Hes the founder of ARISS-USA, which enables amateur radio on the ISS. Rosalie White is an ARISS-US Delegate to the International Space Station (supported by NASA). Her specialties are STEM, Aerospace, NASA, Amateur Radio, and Aviation. Complete information is available at https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com. [ANS thanks QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ QO-100 WB Transponder Bandplan and Operating Guidelines Version 3 February 2021 The following updated DATV (DVB-S2) bandplan and guidelines are designed to enable the most efficient use of the QO-100 wideband transponder (WB) for all amateur radio satellite users. Please make sure that you understand the guidelines and follow them accordingly. The use of DVB-S2 as the most efficient transmission mode is advised. Additional information and graphics may be found at: https://bit.ly/2NXQYqm [ANS thanks Peter Gülzow, DB2OS of AMSAT-DL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside ISS. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade. After handling multiple struts and bolts, Rubins reported a small pin-prick hole in one of her gloves and while there was no leakage and no emergency, she expressed concern about moving too far from Noguchi for additional work. Theres a hole in my right index finger through the RTV (insulation), she told astronaut Frank Rubio in mission control. Its unchanged in appearance. And we have a middle finger peeling, my right middle finger, and gaps in the RTV on my left middle finger. With installation of the solar array support fixtures complete, Rubio asked how she felt about leaving Noguchi, moving back to the space station airlock to drop off tools and then heading out to the European Columbus laboratory module to complete electrical connections for a recently installed experiment platform. This is kind of a pinprick hole versus RTV peeling, Rubins replied. So Im mildly concerned about going real far from Soichi. Rubins suit maintained the proper pressure throughout, but given time lost earlier assembling the solar array supports, flight controllers opted to call it a day without pressing ahead with work to finish wiring up the experiment platform. Additional Information at:https://bit.ly/3bmvUmf [ANS thanks William Harwood of SpaceflightNow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 1 2021 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period February 1, 2021 through March 1, 2021. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL Feb Mar XE2AT 899 946 W5RKN 739 740 N3GS 679 687 NS3L 625 650 N1AIA 494 604 PS8ET 450 550 N5BO 500 525 AF5CC 461 477 N4DCW 450 476 AK7DD 390 400 VE1VOX 170 400 W8LR 328 353 KE0WPA 229 345 N6RFM 276 302 VE4MM 263 279 K8BL 274 278 AB1OC 264 267 DF2ET 129 250 F6GLJ 103 220 N8URE (FM19)186 214 F4BKV 100 200 WD9EWK(DM23)152 166 KN2K New 155 N8URE (EL95)113 134 DL6KBG 111 125 M0SKN New 108 KC5TT New 100 N2CJ New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at<mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! Ron W5RKN [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ India, Brazil Launch Amazônia-1 On PSLV Rocket The Indian Space Research Organization has launched their first mission of 2021 with a flight of their Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to deliver Brazils Amazônia-1 satellite, along with 18 co-passengers, into Sun-synchronous orbit. Liftoff from First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, India, occurred Sunday, 28 February at 10:24 IST at the launch site which is 04:54 UTC, or Saturday, 27 February at 23:54 EST. Amazônia-1 is the first Earth observation satellite designed, built, tested, and operated completely by Brazil and is the first of three such satellites planned by the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), a Brazils space research and exploration company. The 18 co-passengers, included 12 SpaceBEEs, SAI-1 Nanoconnect-2, Sindhu Netra, UNITYsat, and SDSat. The SpaceBEEs satellites, developed by Swarm Technologies Inc., will be used for two-way satellite communication and data relay while the SAI-1 Nanoconnect-2 satellite, developed and funded by the Space Instrumentation Laboratory of the National University of Mexico, will examine the use of the GlobalStar satellite phone network as a secondary communication channel for nano-satellites. Sindhu Netra is an Indian-developed AIS-based (automatic identification system) marine traffic monitoring satellite built by students at the Peoples Education Society Universitys Crucible for Research and Innovation wing. Funding was provided by the Defense Research and Development Organization of India. Joining its other co-passengers is the UNITYSat mission which itself contains the JITsat, GHRCESat, and SriShakthiSat satellites. The trio of satellites will form an amateur radio and IoT (Internet of Things) service satellite. The mission was developed by the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering, and the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology. [No amateur frequency coordination records appear in the IARU satellite database for these satellites -- Ed.] SDSat (Satish Dhawan Satellite), named after the Chairman and founding father of the Indian Space Program, was developed by SpaceKidz India to measure magnetic fields and space radiation. The satellite also carries 25,000 names designed to create awareness and educate the general public about space sciences. This was the 53rd mission for the PSLV rocket and marks the first dedicated PSLV commercial mission for New Space India Limited, an Indian government company under the Department of Space and the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization. [ANS thanks Spaceflight.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Region 1 Participates in ITU WRC-23 Preparation for 23cm Allocations The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis, G4SJH reports a meeting of the ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C) was held between February 15 and 19 which discussed the amateur radio allocation at 1240 1300 MHz. During the week 15 to 19 February, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C). The WRC agenda item has initiated technical studies on coexistence between the radio navigation satellite service (RNSS) and the amateur services in the 23 cm band. As usual, the IARU participated in the meeting and delivered key information on amateur activities in this important microwave band. This information is vital to ensure the amateur services are realistically represented in the studies as they move forward. To assist with this the IARU Region 1 is developing supporting material that Member Societies can refer to when addressing the topic with their National Regulator. The work on this topic will continue throughout the year and beyond, both in ITU-R and in the regional telecommunications organisations, and the IARU is committed to ensure every organisation understands the amateur position on this important microwave band. [ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa and the South African Radio League SARL News 28 February 2021 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- JAMSAT Symposium 2021 Information Posted: March 2, 2021 From Google Translate: JAMSAT will hold the annual meeting and JAMSAT Symposium 2021 as follows. This year, due to the influence of the new corona, it will be held online. The annual general meeting is for members only, and the symposium and the social gathering after the symposium are open to anyone who is interested in satellite communications. We posted the "Symposium 2021 Holding Information" earlier, but we will post it again, including the social gathering. Date and time: Saturday, March 20th, General Assembly (members only) Saturday, March 20th, 9: 00-9: 45 (Reception: Posted in newsletter) Symposium: Saturday, March 20th, 10:00 ~ 17: 45 Social gathering: Saturday, March 20th, 18: 00 ~ Venue: ZOOM, ZOOM, free of charge, symposium More information in Japanese available at: https://bit.ly/3uUlXEf [ANS thanks Nao Goto of JAMSAT 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-NA TLE Distribution for March 4, 2021 The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: TW-1C - NORAD Cat ID 40926 (Decayed 2-27-2021 per Space-Track). [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS: Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-03-01 22:00 UTC Sterling MS, Ashburn, VA, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB. Contact is go for: Tue 2021-02-09 14:44:48 UTC 66 deg Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/qVhBweqjCo4 Red Hill Lutheran, Tustin, CA, telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG. Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-10 18:26:15 UTC 65 deg. Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon. @K8BL will be in EM54 3/4 3/7. @AK7DD and Ledger: We will be headed to DN41 on the 14th of March. My plan is to hit DN30 on the way up. Our plans are to be in the area there until around the 24th of March, and we will hit a few of our normal activation grids on the way home, DN30, DM39 & DM49, etc. Anyhow, once we have landed in DN41, we will be doing a handful of roves in Utah and Idaho as time allows. Major Roves: W7LT: DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48 schedule subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. Will try to stick to it as best I can. Click here for details: https://bit.ly/3q783ew 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 03/3/2021 [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. AMSAT Ambassador and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is certainly keeping busy! 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. Cliff reports these upcoming satellite presentation dates: 03/10 Trenton, New Jersey 03/11 Clearwater, Florida 03/13 QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention. See: https://bit.ly/2OkDRiV 03/16 Palm Springs, CA 03/20 Bonham, Texas 04/01 Orem, Utah 06/15 East Massachusetts Send Clint an email message, and book a date! Contact: Clint Bradford K6LCS k6lcs at ham-sat dot info 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over +Getting It Right: JAGSAT CubeSat Sponsor Last week's ANS-059 AMSAT Weekly Bulletin incorrectly reported that the 2U Cubesat JAGSAT was a project of the University of Alabama. Everyone who knows the difference between Southern grits and Minnesota lutefisk can tell you that the University of Alabama's mascot is an elephant named "Big Al." JAGSAT is a project of the University of Southern Alabama whose mascot is, of course, a Jaguar named Southpaw. ANS-059 Rotating Editor Frank Karnauskas, N1UW apologizes for the error. [ ANS thanks John Klingelhoeffer, WB4LNM for catching this error.] + Humor and News... + Rocket Labs CEO eats his hat because he once said he would not fly a reusable rocket. Then came Neutron... Watch on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3c2ErtA [ANS thanks Orbital Index and Rocket Lab for the above information] + SpaceX ends 3rd Starship landing attempt in flaming success before exploding minutes later Third time's a charm? Not so for SpaceX, whose unmanned rocket exploded on the ground Wednesday after carrying out what had seemed to be a successful flight and landing -- fresh on the heels of two fiery crashes. It was yet another flub involving a prototype of the Starship rocket, which SpaceX hopes one day to send to Mars. "A beautiful soft landing," a SpaceX commentator said on a live broadcast of the test flight, although flames were coming out at the bottom and crews were trying to put them out. The rocket exploded a few minutes later, lurching into the air and crashing back to the ground. More information may be found at: https://bit.ly/3v0x4vJ [ANS thanks to the SpaceDaily.com staff writers for the above information] +SpaceX sticks 75th Falcon rocket landing after launching 60 more Starlink satellites March 4, 2021 Launching through a blanket of low-hanging clouds and light mist, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into the sky over Floridas Space Coast early Thursday and delivered 60 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rockets first stage touched down on SpaceXs floating landing platform in the Atlantic Ocean to complete its eighth trip to space and back. Additional information at: https://bit.ly/3uTFSmX [ANS thanks to Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information] AMSAT Thanks AmazonSmile Shoppers AmazonSmile shoppers who designated Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation as their charity have made a difference during the past holiday shopping season. AmazonSmile reports that it has deposited a total of $498.31 to the AMSAT coffers for purchases made between October 1 and December 31, 2020. You can join the crowd and help AMSAT earn even more. Go to https://smile.amazon.com to create your account and designate "Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation" as your charity. Just remember, when you go shopping start with AmazonSmile so your purchases are credited to AMSAT. Thank you, shoppers! [ANS thanks AMSAT 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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AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin, ANS-059
by Frank Karnauskas 27 Feb '21

27 Feb '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-059 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * Tausat CubeSat with U/V FM Transponder Ready for Deployment from ISS * AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probe * AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 25, 2021 * IARU Coordinates Frequencies for Two New Satellites * 23cm Band in the Spotlight with Regulators * The Perseverance Parachute's Secret Code * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-059.01 ANS-059 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 059.01 From AMSAT HQ 712 H Street NE Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002 February 28, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-059.01 Tausat CubeSat with U/V FM Transponder Ready for Deployment from ISS Tausat, a 3U Cubesat is currently aboard the ISS and is scheduled for deployment in February. The CubeSat was built by the Herzliya Science Center in Israel. It carries two payloads, one being a university student research project that will examine physical space radiation. The experiment will be active for about three months. The second payload is an Amateur Radio U/V FM transponder. The UHF beacon will transmit 9k6 BPSK AX25 telemetry on a downlink frequency of 436.400 MHz. Watch for upcoming details. [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.] -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Join the 2021 President's Club! Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish, Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag By donating today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ You won't want to miss it! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probe Members of the German AMSAT organization, AMSAT-DL, in cooperation with the Sternwarte Bochum Institute in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, have been using the Institute's 20-meter (65.6 foot) diameter dish antenna to listen directly to signals from probes in Mars orbit. Signals have been copied from Tianwen-1, the Chinese spacecraft currently in Mars orbit, and from EMM/Hope, the Emirates Mars Mission, which is also orbiting Mars. Both spacecraft are transmitting in the 8.4 GHz band. Recordings of the signals can be heard on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=413DdMua8ec&feature=emb_imp_woyt and regular updates can be seen by following @amsatdl on Twitter. The Bochum Observatory dish was constructed in 1965 as part of the ground support network for the Apollo missions. Weighing in at 140 tons, it is protected from weather by an air dome 40 meters (131 feet) in height. In 2003, amateurs helped renovate some of the equipment, adding phase-locked receivers in the 2.3 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 10.4 GHz amateur bands, as well as an 8.4 GHz receiver. There is also an S-band, 2.4 GHz amateur transmitter running 250 Watts PEP. In 2006, the dish was used to copy signals from the Voyager 1 spacecraft at a distance of nearly 15 billion kilometers. Since 2009, AMSAT-DL operators have used the dish regularly to copy NASA/NOAA weather satellites. Also in 2009, the dish was used to copy planetary radar echoes bounced off the planet Venus. Since 2001, the dish has copied signals from at least a dozen different deep space probes, including Tianwen-1 and EMM/Hope. In the summer of 2002, AMSAT Germany officially began planning and preparing to send its own space probe to the red planet. It is supposed to fly around Mars as a radio relay, take pictures, carry out scientific experiments and deposit a payload on the surface of Mars. The goal is to create a probe that can be received on amateur radio frequencies using a 2 to 3 meter parabolic antenna. Images and data would be displayed directly on your own computer with the appropriate software. This ambitious plan is a long-term goal of AMSAT-DL, and the work of amateurs tracking the current Mars orbiters at Bochum Institute provides valuable experience toward reaching this goal. [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 25, 2021 Ray Hoad, WA5QGD released updated TLE data on February 25, 2021 and is available for download at: https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/. Also noted by Ray is that the following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: PWSat 2 - NORAD Cat ID 43814 (Decayed 2-23-2021 per Space-Track). For newcomers wondering about TLE's, they are two-line element set (TLE) is a data format encoding a list of orbital elements of an Earth-orbiting object for a given point in time, the epoch. Using a suitable prediction formula, the state (position and velocity) at any point in the past or future can be estimated to some accuracy. For more information, see the Wikipedia article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-line_element_set [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ IARU Coordinates Frequencies for Two New Satellites The International Amateur Radio Union assigned coordinated frequencies for two upcoming Amateur Radio Satellites. - FSI-SAT1 The Institute of Future Science at the Happy Science University in Japan will fly FSI-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat carrying a SSTV camera for transmission on an FM downlink, multispectral wavelength cameras and reception equipment for an infra-red uplink. A UHF downlink at 437.175 will operate CW, analog SSTV, 9k6 GMSK and 1k2 AFSK. A sun synchronous orbit at 500/560 km is planned. - JAGSAT The University of Alabama will fly JAGSAT, a 2U CubeSat designed to measure plasma electron density in the upper F layer of the ionosphere between 400-800 km. The mission will be used to study space weather monitoring, specifically to understand and predict the effects of RF scintillation on Amateur Radio and other communication signals. A UHF downlink has been coordinated at 437.325 using 9k6 2-GFSK modulation with AX.25. JAGSAT is planned to be deployed from the ISS with other ELANA-37 missions in the second quarter of 2022. More information on both satellites is available at: http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 23cm Band in the Spotlight with Regulators The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the meeting of the ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C) on February 15-19 which discussed the amateur radio allocation at 1240-1300 MHz. On the IARU Region 1 site he writes: During the week February 15–19, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C). The WRC agenda item has initiated technical studies on coexistence between the radio navigation satellite service (RNSS) and the amateur services in the 23cm band. As usual, the IARU participated in the meeting and delivered key information on amateur activities in this important microwave band. This information is vital to ensure the amateur services are realistically represented in the studies as they move forward. It remains vital that national amateur communities present their views on the importance of this band to their national regulators in a consolidated and consistent manner. To assist with this the IARU-R1 is developing supporting material that member societies can refer to when addressing the topic with their national regulator. The work on this topic will continue throughout the year and beyond both in ITU-R and in the regional telecommunications organizations and the IARU is committed to ensure every organization understands the amateur position on this important microwave band. Source IARU-R1 https://www.iaru-r1.org/2021/23cm-band-in-the-spotlight-with-regulators/ The ITU-R WP4C Summary Meeting Report notes “The only administration that can be considered supportive towards proper treatment of the Amateur Services in this work is Germany”. Read the report at: https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Report-from-WP4C_Feb-202… [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The Perseverance Parachute's Secret Code A secret coded message was hidden on the gigantic parachute used to land the Perseverance rover safely on the surface on Mars. And no, it wasn't a clandestine message to the Martians. It was a message of inspiration for us humans. But it also came as a challenge. During a news briefing on February 22, Allen Chen, the entry, descent and landing lead for the mission revealed there was a secret message in the parachute. "In addition to enabling incredible science, we hope our efforts in our engineering can inspire others," he said. "Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose, so we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work." Puzzle lovers around the world quickly went to work, and it didn't take long. Adam Steltzner, Perseverance's chief engineer, confirmed "the internet" had cracked the code late Monday night on Twitter. Hidden in the 70-foot (21-meter) parachute's red and white pattern was a binary code with the phrase "Dare mighty things" - a famous expression from President Theodore Roosevelt, espoused by those who work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The outer rings of the pattern also feature GPS coordinates for JPL's offices in Pasadena, California: 34°11'58" N 118°10'31" W. Chen later confirmed on Twitter that the code was the brain child of systems engineer Ian Clark, who helped conduct tests of the supersonic parachute, as well as performing several other tasks for the Perseverance rover team. Clark is a crossword hobbyist, and said only about six people knew about the coded message before this week. Chen expressed how grateful he is for the ability to work with such creative people at JPL. "It's a feeling of being very fortunate at the end… that I get to work at a place with people who are both great engineers and great people, and we still get to dare mighty things together," he said at Monday's briefing. Secret messages on the rovers are not new. The Curiosity rover has holes in its wheels that creates marks in the Mars regolith that spells out "JPL" in Morse Code. It was also revealed that Perseverance bears a plaque depicting all five of NASA's Mars rovers in increasing size over the years - reminiscent of the decals on cars that portray the family riding inside. Deputy project manager Matt Wallace said more hidden "Easter eggs" should start showing up on Perseverance when more images of the rover itself are taken and beamed back to Earth. "Definitely, definitely should keep a good lookout," he said. [ANS thanks Universe Today for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS has the following streaming presentations scheduled: 03/10 – Trenton, New Jersey 03/11 – Clearwater, Florida 03/13 – QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention 03/16 – Palm Springs, CA 03/20 – Bonham, Texas 04/01 – Orem, Utah 06/15 – East Massachusetts More information at: http://www.work-sat.com. [ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 - EM54; March 4-7, 2021 @K8BL will be in EM54 3/4 – 3/7. - EL86, EL96; March 7-14, 2021 Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon. - DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48; March 4-10, 2021 W7LT traveling to DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48. Schedule is subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. Will try to stick to it as best he can. Follow him at: https://twitter.com/WL7T_/status/1364676616002052101. - CM93; May 15, 2021 N6DNM claims a very long shot on CM93 but you "might want to put it on your calendar...if you can figure out where it is. For #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before. - Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr (at) gmail (dot) com. List updated February 21, 2021. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + Upcoming Contacts - Newcastle High School, Newcastle, WY Multi-point telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG. Contact is go for Monday, March 1, 2021 at 16:20:56 UTC. (76 deg) Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/qdQlKQK5mT4. - Peace Corps, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova Telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG. Contact is go for Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 13:09:23 UTC. (27 deg) Watch for live stream at: https://m.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsMoldova/ and https://m.facebook.com/UTMoldova/. + Completed Contacts - John F Kennedy High School, Denver, CO Multi-point telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz. The astronaut was Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG. Contact was successful on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 18:41:13 UTC. - Bishop Guertin HS, Nashua, NH Multi-point telebridge via AB1OC The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB Contact was successful on Friday, February 19, 2021 at 17:56:36 UTC. - Estes Park Elementary School, Estes Park, CO Multi-point telebridge via NØFH The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz. The astronaut was Shannon Walker KD5DXB. Contact was successful on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 17:09 UTC. + The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over + Inside Sunsat — A Look Back at the First-Ever South African Satellite The South African satellite Sunsat was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Base on February 23, 1999. The Sunsat mission introduced the era of space exploration in South Africa, and even on the entire continent. The satellite was constructed by post-graduate engineering students at Stellenbosch University. Niki Steenkamp, a member of the Tech team with Dragonfly Aerospace, was involved in the Sunsat program. He recently shared how the university project grew to a full-fledged mission, proving to be a unique experience for future space engineers and pioneered South African space exploration. Read the story at: https://dragonflyaerospace.com/inside-sunsat-the-first-ever-south-african-s… [ANS thanks Dragonfly Aerospace for the above information.] + Media Hit: JAXA to Deploy Mauritian satellite MIR-SAT1 The satellite was designed by a team of Mauritian Engineers and an experienced Radio Amateur from the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society in collaboration with experts from AAC-Clyde Space UK. Read the full article at: https://www.broadcastprome.com/news/satellite/jaxa-to-deploy-mauritian-sate… [ANS thanks Broadcast Pro Middle East for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half-time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at the amsat dot org for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings see https://www.amsat.org/mailing-list-faq/.

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ANS-052 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 20 Feb '21

20 Feb '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-052 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ In this edition: * Replays of AMSAT Presentations at HamCation Available * FO-29 March Operations Schedule * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 1, 2021 * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for February 18, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 052.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Feb 21 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Join the 2021 President's Club! Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish, Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag By donating today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ You won't want to miss it! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Replays of AMSAT Presentations at HamCation Available AMSAT participated in the 2021 Virtual Orlando HamCation on Sunday, February 14, 2021. Replays of the presentations are available on YouTube: AMSAT CubeSat Simulator - Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational Relations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0eLHJ9vuqc AMSAT: Onward and Upward - Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n974-Jpuu2I and continuing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaX19ohrd-I AMSAT Engineering Updated - Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcQqP-IRlcI [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 March Operations Schedule All times are UTC The operation is until UVC (under-voltage control) operates. The battery dates from 1996, and cannot be fully charged. Note that this seldom allows for operation over North America. DD on times 6 00:45- 02:30- 7 01:35- 03:20- 13 01:20- 03:05- 14 00:25- 02:10- 20 01:55- 03:40- 21 01:00- 27 00:45- 02:30- 28 01:35- 03:20- [ANS thanks Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 1, 2021 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period January 1, 2021 through February 1, 2021. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL Jan Feb WA4NVM 1557 1568 WD9EWK (DM43) 630 632 VE7CEW 501 555 NM3B 481 553 N9FN 499 526 N7EGY 502 501 ?? ND0C 450 500 AC9O 359 475 W0NBC 435 437 PV8DX 373 412 KF6JOQ 353 403 AK7DD 376 390 W8LR 300 328 S57NML 205 291 K5ZM 179 277 VE4MM 227 263 VU2LBW 246 260 VE6WQ New 232 KV4T New 219 DG7YEO New 217 KF0QS 115 205 NA1ME 175 200 W4ALF 102 200 WD9EWK (DM41) 176 187 WA8ZID 126 176 DG3YJB New 103 HB9GWJ New 102 VE6BMX New 102 AA8CH (EN84) New 101 AB0XE New 100 KN4ZUJ New 100 KS4YT New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for February 18, 2021 The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution: UVSQ-SAT - NORAD Cat ID 47438. Thanks to Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, for this satellite identification. Editor's Note: Per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, the identification of UVSQ-SAT as object number 47438 is not yet certain as the distance between objects 47438 and 47437 is less than 25 km. It may take several more weeks for the objects to separate enough to determine which is UVSQ-SAT with 100% certainty. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS News The next contacts are probably going to be via the Kenwood TM-D710E radio located in the Service Module. You may or may not notice a difference in signal when compared to the Kenwood TM-710GA that is in the Columbus module. John F Kennedy High School, Denver, CO, Multi-point telebridge via NA7V The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-24 18:41:13 UTC 48 deg Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/1RgszX0npbQ The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ CAPE-3 CubeSat Launched The University of Louisiana (UL) at Lafayette student-built CAPE-3 satellite was launched on January 17. A 1-U CubeSat, CAPE-3 includes a "digipeater and experimental UHF adaptive radio." An AX-25 telemetry downlink has been coordinated on 145.825 MHz and a 1k2 frequency-shift keying (FSK) downlink has been coordinated on 435.325 MHz, "which may burst to 100 kHz bandwidth," according to the IARU Amateur Satellite Coordination page. CAPE-3 is the third cube satellite in the CAPE series. The primary educational mission is to allow grade-school classrooms to access the Smartphone CubeSat Classroom, and run interactive experiments through an experimental smartphone ground-station grid. The secondary mission is to perform scientific experiments involving radiation detection and take pictures of Earth. The solar-powered spacecraft, created by UL Lafayette's CAPE Satellite Team, was launched with nine other CubeSats as part of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program. A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket attached beneath a wing of a customized Boeing 747 was dropped high above the Pacific Ocean. It climbed about 225 miles above Earth and then ejected the satellite. Information on the ElaNa program can be found in PDF format at https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lsp_elana_20_fact_shee… The CAPE satellites are named for the university's Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment program, designed to prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations ****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.**** Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon. N6UA: I’ve had enough of the arctic zephyr … I’m headed south. I don’t have exact details yet – but the plan is to rove to DM74 for passes on February 19th. I’ll be overnight, so plenty of opportunities. Probably headed down via the “7s” and home into the “8s” CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events , AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is certainly keeping busy! He reports these upcoming satellite presentation dates … 02/17 - St. George, Utah 02/23 - Franklin, Indiana 03/10 - Trenton, New Jersey 03/11 - Clearwater, Florida 03/13 - QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention (https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/) 03/16 - Palm Springs, CA 03/20 - Bonham, Texas 04/01 - Orem, Utah 06/15 - East Massachusetts … and more being scheduled. Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome. Send Clint an email or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, AMSAT Ambassador, and Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Virgin Orbit published a Payload Profiles video that showcases AO-109 (RadFxSat-2). The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2VSpX0vWJI&feature=youtu.be + The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. AMSAT-DL tracked signals from the cruise stage until the rover separated approximately 10 minutes before landing on their 20 meter dish at the Bochum Observatory. A replay is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36CQLyS1Lo + EO-88 (Nayif-1) celebrated its 4th birthday on February 14th. Carrying a FUNcube linear transponder, the satellite continues to provide a high power telemetry downlink when in sunlight and a linear transponder for amateur radio operations in eclipse. + Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store, including a set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT round logo, and more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase price goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear + All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT’s new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT’s Symposium Proceedings are also available for members. If you’re a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/ + The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted. The print edition is $30 plus shipping and is available at https://tinyurl.com/GS2020Print --------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President’s Club donations may be made at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week’s ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS-045 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb 14
by Mark Johns, K0JM 13 Feb '21

13 Feb '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-045 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ In this edition: * What Is Keeping The NA1SS Amateur Station Off The Air? * AMSAT OSCAR-109 Update * Virtual HamCation Is this Weekend - Don't miss AMSAT! * AMSAT 2021 President’s Club Welcomes New Members * Happy New Year on Mars! * Satellite Operating Awards Available * AMICALSAT Award Certificates Deadline Approaching * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 12, 2021 * NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-045 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 045.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Feb 14 What Is Keeping The NA1SS Amateur Station Off The Air? Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and its partners are troubleshooting what is keeping the NA1SS amateur station off the air. ARISS became aware of the problem after an attempted contact with a school in Wyoming, between ON4ISS on Earth and astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG at NA1SS, had to abort when no downlink signal was heard. ARISS has determined that the problem is not with the radio equipment on board the ISS Columbus module. ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, explained that during a 27 January spacewalk to install exterior cabling on the ISS Columbus module, the coax feed line installed 11 years ago was replaced with another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. It included two additional RF connectors to support the Bartolomeo payload-hosting platform installed last spring on Columbus. "On 26 January, prior to the EVA [extravehicular activity], our Columbus next-generation radio system was shut off and the ISS-internal coaxial cable to the antenna was disconnected from the ARISS radio as a safety precaution for the EVA," Bauer said. “During the spacewalk, an external four-connector coax feed line replaced one with two RF connections. This change was made to allow ESA to connect ARISS and three additional customers to Bartolomeo, as compared to ARISS and one additional RF customer," Bauer explained. With the spacewalk completed, the ISS crew restarted the ISS amateur radio station on 28 January, but no voice repeater or automatic packet repeater system (APRS) downlink reports were heard and no downlink signal was heard during an attempted scheduled school contact either. Bauer said that because the exterior cable is not an ARISS cable, ARISS is working with ESA and NASA on a way forward. "NASA has opened a Payload Anomaly Report on this issue. We have talked to both the NASA and ESA representatives," Bauer said. [ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio New for this excellent summary of previously reported information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT OSCAR-109 Update The RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E CubeSat has been designated as AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109). AMSAT engineering and operations teams appreciate the satellite community’s cooperation to date and reiterated their request that users not attempt to use the transponder until further notice. “The proper identification will allow further characterization of the satellite’s condition through additional testing,” AMSAT concluded. RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E was launched on January 17 on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, which carried 10 other satellites into space. AO-109 carries an inverting linear transponder, with uplink at 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz, and downlink at 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz. Telemetry will downlink on 435.750 MHz. [ANS thanks AMSAT Director and Fox Command Team member Mark Hammond, N8MH, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtual HamCation Is this Weekend - Don't miss AMSAT! HamCation 2021 is a virtual 'Online Only' event this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, February 13th and 14th. AMSAT will provide three virtual presentations on Sunday: * 10:00 AM (EST) AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, Alan Johnston KU2Y, AMSAT VP of Educational Relations * 12:00 AM (EST) AMSAT, Onward and Upward, Robert Bankston KE4AL, AMSAT President * 1:00 PM (EST) AMSAT Engineering Update, Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT VP of Engineering. NOTE: > All times are Eastern Standard Time (UTC -05:00) Be sure to check out the full schedule for other topics of interest. https://www.hamcation.com/forums-speakers [ANS thanks AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT 2021 President’s Club Welcomes New Members The following new members of the AMSAT 2021 President’s Club have been added as of January 31, 2021. We thank them for their generous support and helping to keep Amateur Radio in Space! Core Level Gerald Buxton, N0JY Dale Peer, KF7ZBK Alston Simpson, WA5TJB Carl Starnes, W4EAT Richard Steegstra, K1LKR Bronze Level Anton Giroux, KF3BX Edward F. Krome, K9EK Silver Level W. Fisher, WB1FJ Mark Hammond, N8MH Joseph Lynch, N6CL Ronald Parsons, W5RKN David A. Vine, WA1EAW Gold Level Barry Baines, WD4ASW Titanium Level William Brown All members receive a full color certificate, 2" commemorative coin with four accent colors and gold polished finish, and an embroidered "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" key tag. Members at Silver level and above receive a handsome acrylic desk plaque and tickets for symposium events. Join the AMSAT 2021 President’s Club today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/. [ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, VP-Development for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy New Year on Mars! The countdown to a new year is in many ways a defining moment for our lives on Earth. Our age, our seasons, filing our taxes, all depend on the duration of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. On Mars, there are no yearly tax returns, but as the planet also orbits around our Sun, time on Mars is similarly measured in years. However, there are some significant differences between a year on Mars and a year on Earth. February 7, 2021 marked what scientists here on Earth consider the start of Year 36 on Mars. Let’s look at some similarities and differences between a year on the two planets: * One year on Mars equals 687 Earth days. It takes almost twice as long as our Earth to orbit the Sun. This means your age would be a lot less if you lived on Mars! If you would like to feel younger, just divide your current age by 1.88 and casually mention to your friends that that’s your real age...on Mars. * A Martian day is defined, like on Earth, as the time it takes for the planet to make one revolution around its axis. This is called a sol. A sol is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours and 39 minutes. * Mars has four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. They are defined by the planet’s position along its orbit around the Sun. The Martian New Year begins with the northward equinox (northern spring, southern autumn). As Mars travels through its yearly trajectory, the planet’s axial tilt causes the northern hemisphere to receive more sunlight during the northern summer, and the southern hemisphere to receive more sunlight in northern winter – just like on Earth. Unlike Earth’s seasons however, the seasons on Mars are not of equal lengths. This is because the orbit of Mars around the Sun is more elliptical than that of Earth. For example, the northern hemisphere spring (southern hemisphere autumn) lasts the longest, 194 sols, and the northern hemisphere autumn (southern hemisphere spring) is the shortest season at 142 sols. * Mars’ elliptical orbit can have important consequences. During southern spring and summer, Mars swings by the sun closer and faster. The resulting increase in luminosity heats up the atmosphere, causing turbulence to lift up very fine particles from the Martian soil. For this reason, the second half of a Martian year is often marked by fierce dust storms that can sometimes become planet-wide. * Like on Earth, winters are cold and summers are warm on Mars, but the planet’s overall temperature is a lot cooler, it has a yearly average temperature of minus 60 degrees Celsius. The planet experiences different weather phenomena throughout the seasons. A weather phenomenon that reappears every year around the southern spring and summer is the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud, a cloud of ice crystals that can reach up to 1800 kilometres in length. It repeats for at least 80 sols and then disappears again during the rest of the year. * The Martian calendar began fairly recently compared to the one on Earth. The count started in Earth year 1955. This first Martian year coincided with a very large dust storm in its second half, aptly named ‘the great dust storm of 1956.’ If you’re looking for a reason to celebrate, here’s to a Happy New Mars Year! [ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Operating Awards Available Awards are a big part of amateur radio in all of its various manifestations, and the same is true for satellite operations. There are a number of awards that are available for all your hard work on the satellites. AMSAT sponsors a number of these awards, and others are available from other amateur organizations. You may not have even known about some of them, and may have enough QSL cards to qualify now! AMSAT's Satellite Communicators’ Club award is given to any operator for having made their first satellite contact. To apply for this, and other AMSAT awards, you should go to the AMSAT.ORG online store and purchase the award. After completing your purchase, email the AMSAT Awards Manager, kk5do AT amsat DOT org that you have made the purchase and supplying the necessary proof of contacts. The Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for working 20 contacts, on any satellite or combination of satellites, in 20 different states, DXCC countries or Canadian Call Areas. Those that have the RAC CANDADAWARD or ARRL WAS with satellite endorsements, may submit a copy of their certificate as proof of working the 13 Canadian Call Areas or 50 U.S. States. All QSOs must be completed from locations separated by no more than 50 miles or 80 kilometers. The Oscar Sexagesimal Award is the same as the Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award but is given for 60 contacts. All the qualifications and costs are the same. Next there is the Oscar Century Award. This is the same as the other two awards but is for 100 contacts. Qualifications and costs are the same. Please note that the previous 3 awards are aggregated. Once you have worked your 20, that applies towards your 60 so you only need 40 more contacts. The same is true for the 100, once you get your 60, you only need 40 more for your 100. The AMSAT Rover Award is given to those intrepid souls who make our grid counts possible. It is based on a rather complex point system, which is detailed at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/ Finally, AMSAT offers the Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award. It is awarded for the submission of 1,000 satellite contacts on OSCAR-6 or later satellites. There is an endorsement for each additional 1,000 and a special certificate at 5,000. For details on each of the AMSAT awards and how to apply for them, see the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/awards-2/ In addition, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) offers many of their operating awards with satellite endorsements for those who complete the necessary contacts exclusively using satellites. These include the VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) for working 100 different grid squares, and the Worked All States (WAS) for confirmed contact stations in each of the 50 states. Those up for a particular challenge can shoot for the Worked All Continents (WAC) for contacting stations on each of the 8 continents, and DX Century Club (DXCC) for contacting 100 different DXCC countries on satellite. For details on the ARRL awards, begin the search by consulting http://www.arrl.org/awards/ Satellite operating success can earn some impressive wallpaper! [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Awards Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMICALSAT Award Certificates Deadline Approaching Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not yet requested yours, you can do so before 28/02/2021. The satellite has been active since September 3, 2020. The launch of the Vega rocket went well. According to the project team, the commissioning of the satellite is in progress and is proceeding normally. The team has succeeded in stabilizing the satellite and is beginning to test image capture and retrieval. The contributions of radio amateurs have been very important for the project. This has contributed to the commissioning of the satellite. In the case of AMICALSAT, it is possible to send telemetry to the dashboard hosted by the Satnogs network via * a Satnogs station * the AMICALSAT Decoder software provided by AMSAT-F at https://bit.ly/3pdTvcm * the software edited by DK3WN (TLM Forwarder) Data from AMICALSAT Decoder is also sent to the AMSAT-F database ( https://amsat.electrolab.fr/). To date, more than 42 radio amateurs from all over the world have contributed more than 28,000 telemetry frames. In order to thank the radio amateurs who have sent telemetry via AMICALSAT Decoder software before December 31, 2020, AMSAT-F will issue a diploma. Rules for issuing the diploma The diploma in electronic format will be given to all radio amateurs or earphones that have received data from the Amicalsat satellite and sent these data to the AMSAT-F database with the "AMICALSAT Decoder" software. Depending on the number of data received on the AMSAT-F database ( https://amsat.electrolab.fr/), the nature of the diploma will be different depending on the number of frames received before December 31, 2020 23:59 UTC : GOLD Diploma for persons having sent more than 5000 frames to the AMSAT-F database. Silver Diploma for those who have sent between 2500 & 4999 frames to the AMSAT-F database. Bronze Diploma: for those who have sent between 500 & 2499 frames to the AMSAT-F database. Diploma without mention for persons having sent between 1 & 499 frames to the AMSAT-F database The request for a diploma is done by sending an email to amsatf(a)amsat-f.org indicating your callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send the data. Only the received frames actually registered on https://amsat.electrolab.fr/ will be taken into account. [ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, AMSAT-F president, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 February 11, 2021 RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) has been renamed as AO-109 in this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution as follows: AO-109 - NORAD Cat ID 47311. As of February 7, 2021 RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) was designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109) by Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and Command Station. The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: YUSAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 47439. Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for this satellite identification. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the agency’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), the foundational elements of the Gateway. As the first long-term orbiting outpost around the Moon, the Gateway is critical to supporting sustainable astronauts missions under the agency’s Artemis program. After integration on Earth, the PPE and HALO are targeted to launch together no earlier than May 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The total cost to NASA is approximately $331.8 million, including the launch service and other mission-related costs. The PPE is a 60-kilowatt class solar electric propulsion spacecraft that also will provide power, high-speed communications, attitude control, and the capability to move the Gateway to different lunar orbits, providing more access to the Moon’s surface than ever before. The HALO is the pressurized living quarters where astronauts who visit the Gateway, often on their way to the Moon, will work. It will provide command and control and serve as the docking hub for the outpost. HALO will support science investigations, distribute power, provide communications for visiting vehicles and lunar surface expeditions, and supplement the life support systems aboard Orion, NASA’s spacecraft that will deliver Artemis astronauts to the Gateway. About one-sixth the size of the International Space Station, the Gateway will function as a way station, located tens of thousands of miles at its farthest distance from the lunar surface, in a near-rectilinear halo orbit. It will serve as a rendezvous point for Artemis astronauts traveling to lunar orbit aboard Orion prior to transit to low-lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon. From this vantage, NASA and its international and commercial partners will conduct unprecedented deep space science and technology investigations. NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy will manage the SpaceX launch service. The HALO is being designed and built by Northrop Grumman Space Systems of Dulles, Virginia, and the PPE is being built by Maxar Technologies of Westminster, Colorado. NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Gateway program for the agency. NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is responsible for management of the PPE. Learn more about NASA’s Gateway program at: https://nasa.gov/gateway Learn more about NASA’s Artemis program at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Due to antenna problems reported earlier, upcoming ARISS contacts are probably going to be via the Kenwood TM-D710E radio located in the Service Module. You may or may not notice a difference in signal when compared to the Kenwood TM-710GA that is in the Columbus module. A contact with Bishop Guertin High School, Nashua, NH, multi-point telebridge via AB1OC, is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19 at 17:56:36 UTC. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB. Maximum elevation will be 33 degrees. Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/0-Dsel4_7gM Congratulations to NA7V for his first ARISS contact as an ARISS telebridge station! The contact with Red Hill Lutheran School of Tustin, Calif. was completed on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, operating with the station callsign of NA1SS, made contact at 18:26 UTC on a pass with maximum elevation of 65 degrees. Congratulations to the Red Hill Lutheran students and Mike! The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: ****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.**** Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon. N6UA: I’ve had enough of the arctic zephyr … I’m headed south. I don’t have exact details yet – but the plan is to rove to DM74 for passes on February 19th. I’ll be overnight, so plenty of opportunities. Probably headed down via the “7s” and home into the “8s” AD0HJ will be in EN23 2/11 & 2/12. KE0PBR: EL87 Holiday Style FM only Week of 2/14… Might want to reach out if you need it. Major Roves: CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information] QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo; March 13,14 2021 The second QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held on March 13-14, 2021. There is an Amateur Radio speaker track and AMSAT will have a virtual booth during the event. Advance tickets are now on sale. More information at: https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/ [ANS thanks Virtual QSO Ham Expo for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + NASA will provide live coverage on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app of the launch and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station beginning at 11:15 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 14. The unpiloted Russian Progress 77 is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz rocket at 11:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + U.A.E’s Hope (Al Amal) orbiter arrived at Mars on Feb. 9, firing its thrusters for 27 minutes to successfully enter Martian orbit. The U.A.E. is the first Arab country, and the fifth overall, to reach the planet. Meanwhile, China's Tianwen-1 entered Martian orbit on Feb. 10 for a period of checkout before a planned release of its instrument-laden lander and rover sometime in May. And next week, on Thursday, Feb. 18, NASA's Perseverance rover will slam into Mars’ atmosphere at hypersonic velocities and eventually find itself sitting alone on the surface seven minutes later (hopefully all in one piece). The Mars fleet is arriving! (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + After an incredible 43 years and 22 billion kilometers, Voyager 1 and 2 are still delivering science (which takes 21 hours to reach us at the speed of light). Using data from both craft, scientists have found evidence for electrons getting reflected off of shockwaves created by our Sun’s coronal mass ejections, which then spiral along interstellar magnetic field lines while accelerating to great speeds (scientific paper at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/abc337). (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + NASA announced Feb. 9 it wants to obtain a seat on the next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station, launching in just two months, to ensure a U.S. presence on the station in the event of any commercial crew delays. There are no known issues with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, one of which is currently docked to the station for the Crew-1 mission. “Experience has shown that new launch capabilities may encounter unanticipated delays or difficulties maintaining initial schedules,” NASA noted. (ANS thanks Space News for the above information) + If there's an advanced extraterrestrial civilization inhabiting a nearby star system, we might be able to detect it using its own atmospheric pollution, according to new NASA research. The study looked at the presence of nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2), which on Earth is produced by burning fossil fuels. In their study, the team used computer modeling to predict whether NO2 pollution would produce a signal that is practical to detect with current and planned telescopes. They found that for an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, a civilization producing the same amount of NO2 as ours could be detected up to about 30 light-years away. Since NO2 is also produced naturally, scientists will have to carefully analyze an exoplanet to see if there is an excess that could be attributed to a technological society. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + U.S. astronauts living aboard the ISS orbital outpost, on Feb. 14, will break the record for most days in space by a crew launched aboard an American spacecraft, NASA said. "They will surpass the record of 84 days set by the Skylab 4 crew on Feb. 8, 1974", NASA said. Four flight engineers - Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, Victor Glover, KI5BKC, Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG - docked the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the US module last November. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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ANS-038 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb 7, 2021
by Mark Johns, K0JM 06 Feb '21

06 Feb '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-038 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ In this edition: * RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109) * SN9 Starship Test Launch: Otherwise successful test ends in a fireball * CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request * First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia * ARISS Call for Proposals: Contacts for January to June 2022 * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over ANS-038 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 038.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Feb 07 RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109) On January 17, 2021, the RadFxSat-2 cubesat was launched on a LauncherOne vehicle off the coast of California. RadFxSat-2 is a joint mission of AMSAT and the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics at Vanderbilt University. The satellite carries a telemetry beacon and a linear transponder, along with radiation effects experiments. The telemetry beacon has not yet been heard, but the transponder is partially operational at reduced signal strength. Work continues to recover the telemetry beacon and characterize the transponder with the goal of opening it for general use. AMSAT hereby designates RadFxSat-2 as AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109). Testing and characterization of RadFxSat-2/AO-109 continues. After user reports and additional verification that the linear transponder is at least partially functioning with a low level downlink signal, the Engineering and Operations teams made the official designation. Of the several objects have been suspected (D, C, and M), with Object C being suggested recently by Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA. Recently, these satellites have sufficiently spread apart to allow testing to determine which object is RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E. During the 2 Feb 2021 0240 UTC passes, command station Mark Hammond, N8MH, compared Objects D, C, and M for the "best fit" for received signals with Doppler correction on both the uplink and downlink frequencies for each of the candidate objects. Objects D and M were quickly eliminated from further consideration, due to poor frequency predictions of Doppler correction compared to observed signals. The clear best fit is Object C, which is known OBJECT C, INTELDES 2021-002C, and NORAD CAT ID 47311. Therefore, AMSAT is happy to identify Object C/2021-002C/47311U as RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E and make the designation AO-109. Thanks to Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, for support during the identification. The Engineering and Operations teams appreciate the community's cooperation thus far and affirm the request that users do not attempt to use the transponder until further notice. The proper identification will allow further characterization of the satellite's condition through additional testing. (ANS thanks Mark L. Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and the Engineering and Operations Team for the above information) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Join the 2021 President's Club! Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin. This gold finished coin comes with Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag Donate today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ You won't want to miss it! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Another Starship Test Launch: SN9 test ends in a fireball On Tuesday, February 2, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completed SpaceX's second high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in Cameron County, Texas. Similar to the high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8), SN9 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee - approximately 10 kilometers in altitude. SN9 successfully performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent. During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD. The full description and a video of the test launch may be found at: https://bit.ly/3avfkPC [ANS thanks SpaceX Public Relations for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request Rizwan Merchant, KF5BNL, reports: "It seems CAPE-3 is indeed healthy in orbit. Our power system seems to be working as intended and UHF transmitters seem healthy. However, we're suspecting the VHF radio is dead on arrival. We've not seen any indication of it functioning in orbit, which aligns with a fear we had prior to integration. The CAPE-3 team is devising plans to begin testing individual subsystems on the satellite to gauge the health of those. This might take a few more weeks to validate and provide an update on what capabilities we can still carry out, as we update our ground systems." Additional updated information on CAPE-3 may be found at: https://bit.ly/2O6t1Nj Rizwan continues: "If anyone is able to switch their iGates, or make a UHF iGate to help track CAPE-3 email packets, we'd be really grateful for the help! We've turned on one at our University as well. 1.) We are expecting UHF APRS on 437.325, the same as what our FSK and AX.25 packets are coming across on. 2.) From what I can tell, our NORAD ID is 47309. 3.) Currently we are having some issues commanding CAPE-3 from our University lab, so once we are able to transmit commands, we'll be able to set the APRS emails to come across more often, and begin experimenting the tweeting function to see if it works as we intended. I'd like to thank everyone who's helped so far! We got our first email packet from W7KKE-13 earlier this evening (approximately 00:45 UTC Saturday, 02/06/2021). The SatNOGS network is getting packets fairly regularly: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/?future=0&bad=0&unknown=0&failed=0& norad=47309&observer=&station=&start=&end= " [ANS thanks Riswan Merchant, KF5BN, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia Indonesia's national amateur radio society, ORARI, reports on the first contacts from Indonesia via the Qatar-Oscar-100 geostationary satellite transponder The contacts took place on Thursday, January 27, 2021. Those involved were Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, Remco den Besten PA3FYM and Rene Stevens PE1CMO. ORARI's report says a team from the Telkom University Telecommunication Engineering Student Association (HMTT) led by Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, succeeded in conducting the first contact from Bukit Moko (Grid square OI33UD), Bandung, West Java with a satellite elevation of 0.8 degrees at an altitude of 1200m+. Additional information is available at: https://bit.ly/3jgIC8B [ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Call for Proposals New Proposal Window is February 15th, 2021 to March 31st, 2021 February 2, 2021 --- The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is March 31st, 2021. Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on February 25th, 2021 at 8 PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2021.eventbrite.com Additional information may be found at https://www.ariss.org/ [ANS thanks David Jordan AA4KN ARISS PR for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021 The NORAD Cat ID for RadFxSat-2 has been updated in this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution as follows: RadFxSat-2 - NORAD Cat ID 47311. Mark Hammond, N8MH, (AMSAT Director and Command Station) has identified RadFxSat-2 as OBJECT C, NORAD CAT ID 47311. OBJECT C was determined to be the "best fit" for RadFXSAt-2 and OBJECTS D and M were eliminated as contenders. RadFxSat-2/Fox1E has been designated AO-109 as reported above. The following satellites have also been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: SOMP 2b - NORAD Cat ID 47445. IDEASSat - NORAD Cat ID 47458. Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for these two satellite identifications. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-02-06 04:30 UTC Sterling MS, Ashburn, VA, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB (***) Contact is go for: Tue 2021-02-09 14:44:48 UTC 66 deg. Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/qVhBweqjCo4 Red Hill Lutheran, Tustin, CA, telebridge via NA7V. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG. Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-10 18:26:15 UTC 65 deg. Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: N6DNM: There will be a quick run at CM88/89 on Sun 7th, and a good chance of an attempt at CM79 on around Feb 12-13 (if wx holds) . Details will follow. Major Roves: CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before. JD1BQA activation of Ogasawara: Takio Hata, JH3QFL, plans to activate Ogasawara (AS-031) from May 1 to 7 as JD1BQA. QRV on 160, 80, 40, and 6m on FT8/FT4, and via the RS-44 satellite (CW). QSL via JH3QFL (d). Report(Reported in DXNL 2235 - February 3, 2021 DX Newsletter) Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com Updated 02/3/ 2021 [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. AMSAT Ambassador and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS has a couple Zoom presentations lined up to begin 2021. In the first week of February, an "abbreviated" presentation was given to a Southern CA ARES group. Later in the month, a "normal" show will be presented. There are up-to-five spots available for you to attend! Just send Clint an email message for details. Would a 90-minute informative, personalized-to-your-club, FUN presentation on working the "easy" satellites would be appropriate for your club? Send Clint an email message, and let's book a date! Contact: Clint Bradford K6LCS k6lcs at ham-sat dot info 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + UVSQSat update: After a successful launch in December, on 2 Feb. 2021, UVSQSat switched mode from 1200 BPSK(G3RUH) to 9600 BPSK(G3RUH). Frequencies for UVSQSat are telemetry on 437.02 MHz with callsign LATMOS-1 and the repeater: 145.905 MHz Uplink, 437.02 MHz Downlink More information on the UVSQSat mission may be found at: https://bit.ly/3oOPYRy (ANS thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above information). + Two astronauts working outside the International Space Station on January 27 installed a European Space Agency data relay antenna and connected four of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. But the two cables they were unable to connect to the Bartolomeo platform will need to be connected later. Unable to resolve the cable trouble, they capped the two balky connectors and used tie-downs to hold all the cables in place. (ANS thanks SpaceFlight Now for the above information) + An update to the IC-705 Satellite Memory .CSV file has been posted at the AMSAT-SE website. Lars, SM0TGU, has fixed a bug in the PO-101 settings and has added 5 offsets for each of the FM birds. The 5 offset memory settings should make it easier to track the doppler shift of those satellites if an operator is in the field. The revised memory settings files are available at: https://www.amsat.se/2020/11/12/satellite-memory-file-for-ic-705/ (ANS thanks Lars Thunberg, SM0TGU of AMSAT-SE for the above information) + Twelve bottles of Bordeaux wine and dozens of vine shoots are back at home in southwest France after spending months on the International Space Station (ISS) for an unusual astrochemistry experiment. The red wine and 320 mature shoots known as canes arrived February 1 after their return to Earth via a Dragon capsule operated by SpaceX. They will be analysed at the Institute of Vine and Wine Science in Bordeaux to see how the stresses produced by zero gravity affect both grape growth and the finished product, which could spur new agricultural research. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + Sixty more SpaceX-owned Starlink internet satellites rocketed through a moonlit winter sky over Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 launcher early Thursday, while another Falcon 9 stood on a different launch pad a few miles away to loft another 60 Starlink payloads Friday. The first stage's landing punctuated the fifth trip to space and back for this booster, and it broke a record for the fastest turnaround between flights of a SpaceX booster, besting the previous mark of 38 days set last month.(ANS thanks SpaceFlight Now for the above information) + Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not yet requested them, you can do so before 28/02/2021. The request for a diploma is done by sending an email to amsatf(a)amsat-f.org indicating your callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send the data. (ANS thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above information) + The first private Chinese company to reach orbit met with failure Monday (Feb. 1) during its second attempt to go to space. iSpace's four-stage Hyperbola-1 rocket failed after liftoff while attempting to carry the cubesat-sized Fangzhou-2 (Ark-2) satellite into space. Media reports indicate the launch attempt happened around 0815z from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. (ANS thanks Space.com for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ kd4iz at frawg dot org

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