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AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-124
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The
AMSAT Journal Now Available
* AMSAT President Hails Launch of Wild Apricot Membership Portal
* Call for Nominations - 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
* RS-44 Transponder Now Active
* Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 Takes Stunning Photos, Additional
Passes Planned Tuesday, May 5th
* Redesigned AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Launched
* Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 30, 2020
* FCC Adopts Updated Orbital Debris Mitigation Rules
* VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020
* Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge Virtual Hackathon, May 30-31
* On-Line Student STEM: TI Codes Contest 2020
* First Guatemalan Satellite Deployed from the ISS
* Former AMSAT Area Coordinator, Prominent DXer Herb Schoenbohm,
KV4FZ, SK
* During the COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstra-
tions of School Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio
Approach
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-124.01
ANS-124 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 124.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE May 3, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-124.01
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/
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New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The
AMSAT Journal Now Available
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the AMSAT office, the
March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal will not be printed and
mailed to members. Instead, a full-color PDF is being made available
on the AMSAT website. The issue can be downloaded below:
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal
This issue includes detailed information about AMSAT's new online
membership portal, now active at https://launch.amsat.org. AMSAT
members are encouraged to review this article, which includes detailed
instructions on accessing your membership account. Stay tuned for
more features, including members-only content coming soon.
Articles in the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal:
* Apogee View - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG
* Engineering Update - Jerry Buxton, N0JY
* Treasurer's Report - Robert Bankston, KE4AL
* AMSAT's New Member and Event Portal - Robert Bankston, KE4AL
* amsatLink — Proposed Wireless Communications Network - Robert
Bankston, KE4AL
* Educational Relations Update - Alan Johnston, KU2Y
* A New Design for the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator - Alan Johnston, KU2Y;
Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM; David White, WD6DRI; Pat Kilroy, N8PK
* For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IV - Keith Baker,
KB1SF/VA3KSF
* PSAT 1U — A Low-Cost, EasyBuild 1U CubeSat - George Downey, Robert
Bruninga, WB4APR
* Gridmaster Heat Map - Paul Overn, KE0PBR
[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT President Hails Launch of Wild Apricot Membership Portal
Friday, May 1, 2020 brings a significant change to AMSAT's member
experience. The launch of our Wild Apricot-based member portal on this
date retires the dBase database system launched in the early 1980s by
then-President Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO (then W3IWI) and is the result of a
process authorized by the Board of Directors in 2016. Members now have
control over the own profiles. Member communications will be handled
via email, resulting in significant cost reduction.
Wild Apricot will not only serve AMSAT as our member management plat-
form. Other capabilities will be released in the future such as event
management, communications, and access to member-only content. Stay
tuned for new capabilities being launched over the coming months.
As this is a totally new system for AMSAT, we may face challenges
ahead. I ask for your patience as the User Services team works through
these challenges to provide our members the best user experience poss-
ible. Ultimately, Wild Apricot is the right solution moving AMSAT for-
ward both technologically and operationally.
This effort would not have been possible without the hard work and
leadership of Robert Bankston, KE4AL, in his position as Vice Pres-
ident of User Services at AMSAT. Significant hours were put into this
project. I applaud and congratulate Robert for a successful launch.
73,
Clayton
W5PFG
AMSAT President
[ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above
information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Call for Nominations - 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors
election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of
the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2020 and will be
filled by this year's election: Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH;
and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be
elected for one-year terms.
A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either
one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing
to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s
name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators'
names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the
AMSAT Secretary:
Brennan Price, N4QX
300 Locust St SE, Unit E
Vienna VA 22180-4869
brennanprice(a)verizon.net
A copy should be sent to AMSAT Manager, Martha Saragovitz, at
martha(a)amsat.org.
The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the
form specified by the Secretary. In light of the ongoing pandemic and
the resulting closure of the physical office, the Secretary has
elected to accept written nomination materials in electronic form,
including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax trans-
missions cannot be accepted due to the closure of the office.
No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the
Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qual-
ifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as
petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nom-
inations are in order by the end of June.
[ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above
information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
RS-44 Transponder Now Active
The amateur satellite world was surprised to wake up to the news on
April 30th that a new transponder was activated for testing and open
for use by amateurs worldwide
Constructed by specialists at Information Satellite Systems and
Students at Siberian State Aerospace University, DOSAAF-85 was
launched on a Rockot/Breeze-KM launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmo-
drome on December 26, 2019. The satellite apparently failed to
separate from the upper stage of the launch vehicle and remains
attached. The satellite’s name commemorates the 85th anniversary of
the Voluntary Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and
Navy (DOSAAF), the organization responsible for the military training
of Soviet youth.
Designated RS-44, or Radio Sputnik 44, the satellite carries a 60 kHz
wide V/u linear transponder and a CW beacon. With an orbit of 1511 km
x 1175 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees, this is the highest
orbiting functioning amateur satellite available worldwide. Due to the
1511 km apogee, regular DX contacts should be easy to make. The first
claimed DX record came from Joe Werth, KE9AJ, and Jérôme LeCuyer,
F4DXV, who reported a 6,993 km trans-Atlantic QSO between EN50gn09 in
Illinois and JN04iu40 in France. This was quickly eclipsed less than
24 hours later when Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, and Tetsurou Satou, JA0CAW,
reported the first trans-Pacific QSO between CN93jw (Oregon, USA) and
PM97nw (Niigata, Japan), a distance of 7,859 km. The theoretical max-
imum range for QSOs via RS-44 is 7,942 km.
The NORAD ID is 44909, object 2019-096E.
Initial reports from the first days of operation suggest that the
transponder is very sensitive and easily workable with low power and
handheld antennas, however significant periodic fading is reported,
likely due to the fact that the satellite remains attached to the
upper stage of the launch vehicle and is unable to deploy its gravity
gradient boom to stablize itself.
The satellite is planned to remain continuously available for testing
purposes until May 11th at which time a decision on further operations
will be made.
The Keplerian elements for RS-44 have been added to the AMSAT and
CelesTrak distributions, as well as several popular tracking apps.
The ARRL has released version 11.10 of the TQSL configuration file to
add support for RS-44 to LoTW.
RS-44 – V/u Inverting Analog SSB/CW
Uplink (LSB) 145.935 MHz through 145.995 MHz
Downlink (USB) 435.610 MHz through 435.670 MHz
CW Beacon 435.605 MHz
[ANS thanks Dmitry Pashkov, R4UAB, Igor Blinov, RW3XL, Nico Janssen,
PA0DLO, the ARRL, and others for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 Takes Stunning Photos, Additional Passes
Planned Tuesday, May 5th
The Virginia Tech camera on board AO-92 was activated on two passes
over North America on Tuesday, April 28th. Several great photos were
taken, captured by amateur stations running FoxTelem, and uploaded to
the AMSAT Central Scrutinizer. All of the photos taken by AO-92 can be
viewed on the AMSAT website at the link below.
The Virginia Tech camera will be activated again on Tuesday, May 5th
during morning passes over the United States. The camera remains
active for 45 minutes after being enabled by a ground station.
Stations in the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and
South America are encouraged to set their stations up to receive and
upload high speed telemetry in FoxTelem. FoxTelem downloads and
instructions can be found at https://www.g0kla.com/foxtelem/index.php
AO-92 Camera Image Archive:
https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4
[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President - Operations
for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Redesigned AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Launched
A new design for the CubeSatSim, the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator is now
available on GitHub (http://cubesatsim.org/code). The CubeSatSim is a
Raspberry Pi Zero W-based functional model of a “1U” CubeSat nano-
satellite for demonstrations and educational outreach. It has a 3D-
printed frame structure and is designed to act, as reasonably as poss-
ible, as one flying in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The simulator runs on
rechargeable battery power and solar panels and transmits its authentic
voltage, current, and temperature telemetry on the UHF Amateur Radio
band. The CubeSatSim has been presented at the AMSAT Space Symposium
the past two years and at Hamvention last year.
The new design was developed to reduce the cost to build and to im-
prove functionality. Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM, and David White, WD6DRI,
are prominent STEM advocates and school mentors in the San Diego area.
They offered to help redesign the hardware and collaborated with Alan
Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP Educational Relations, and Pat Kilroy, N8PK,
over the past nine months. The resulting design has reduced the cost
to build in half (from around $400 to around $200) and added a new
Fox-1 emulation mode. In addition to the AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift
Keying) and 1200 bps APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) telemetry
in AO-7 format of the original design, the new version supports DUV
(Data Under Voice) FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) 200 bps telemetry com-
patible with Fox-1A through Fox-1D and BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying)
1200 bps telemetry compatible with HuskySat-1 and the upcoming Fox-1E.
Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ, the author of AMSAT’s FoxTelem satellite
telemetry software, has put out a testing version 1.09 of the software
that supports the CubeSatSim. Instructions on how to download and con-
figure this test version are on the GitHub Wiki.
http://cubesatsim.org/wiki
Also new to the CubeSatSim is a STEM Payload board with a STM32F103C8T6
“Blue Pill” Arduino compatible microcontroller. The board also has a
built-in BME-280 Temperature Humidity Barometric Pressure Sensor and
an MPU-6050 (GY-521) 3-Axis Accelerometer and Gyro. Also new is a tape
measure dipole or monopole or SMA antenna, an integrated Band Pass
filter, and a sturdy new 3D printed frame and more powerful solar
panels.
A new Twitter account @CubeSatSim has also been launched. Follow to get
the latest updates on the CubeSatSim including videos and photos. Links
to all CubeSatSim resources are at CubeSatSim.org.
More details on the redesigned CubeSatSim can be found in the March/
April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal, available at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal
The CubeSatSim team wishes to thank the AMSAT board, President, and all
AMSAT members for their ongoing support of this educational project.
[ANS thanks Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational
Relations for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 30, 2020
The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been
removed from this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution:
ALMASAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 38078 (Decayed from orbit April 25, 2020).
nSIGHT1 - NORAD Cat ID 42726 (Decayed from orbit April 25, 2020).
The following satellite has been activated and added to this week's
AMSAT TLE Distribution:
RS-44 - NORAD Cat ID 44909.
Per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO concerning RS-44:
"The new amateur payload DOSAAF 85 (RS-44) appears to work very well.
Doppler measurements confirm that it is indeed object 44909,
2019-096E. The satellite identifies itself as "RS44" (i.e. Radio
Sputnik 44) on its CW beacon on 435.6043 kHz. The passband is
about 63 kHz wide. It may also have a downlink between 2400 and
2485 MHz. The frequencies of RS44/DOSAAF 85 have not been IARU
coordinated. The satellite is in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of
1175 km, an apogee of 1511 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees.
The payload is apparently attached to the Breeze-KM upper stage of
a Rokot launch vehicle that launched three Gonets satellites on
December 26, 2019. It was originally expected to launch in 2015.
It is based on the Yubileiniy platform."
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the
above information]
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Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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FCC Adopts Updated Orbital Debris Mitigation Rules
On April 23rd, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a
Report and Order (R&O) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(FNPRM) updating rules on orbital debris mitigation for the first time
since 2004. The newly adopted regulations increase the disclosure re-
quirements for pre-space notifications submitted for amateur space
stations.
In the draft version of the R&O, released in early April, the FCC had
included the adoption of additional requirements regarding indemni-
fication and maneuverability. AMSAT, ARRL, university researchers, and
satellite industry groups opposed certain aspects of these rules. In
response, the Commission moved those provisions to a FNPRM for further
comment.
In addition to maneuverability and indemnification requirements for
amateur space stations, the Commission also seeks comment on a disposal
bond requirement for certain spacecraft. AMSAT is evaluating the FNPRM
and will file comments expressing our views of the proposed regula-
tions.
The adopted R&O / FNPRM can be found at
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-54A1.pdf
[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for
the above information]
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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020
Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the
ARRL for the period April 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020.
Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!
CALL Apr May
KO4MA 1750 1753
K7TAB 531 600
AE5B 442 450
ND0C 301 346
N4DCW 201 300
KC9UQR 252 275
WA9JBQ 225 250
W4DTA 217 240
WI6K New 200
S57NML 126 179
DL4ZAB 150 172
KS1G 134 170
YO2CMI 100 168
KE0WPA 108 152
ZS5LEE New 105
VE3CGA 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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge Virtual Hackathon, May 30-31
NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Explora-
tion Agency) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers,
storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to partici-
pate in a virtual hackathon May 30-31 dedicated to putting open data
to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from a-
round the world will create virtual teams that - during a 48-hour per-
iod - will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID-
19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that
causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on
the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May.
"There's a tremendous need for our collective ingenuity right now,"
said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mis-
sion Directorate. "I can?t imagine a more worthy focus than COVID-19
on which to direct the energy and enthusiasm from around the world with
the Space Apps Challenge that always generates such amazing solutions."
The unique capabilities of NASA and its partner space agencies in the
areas of science and technology enable them to lend a hand during this
global crisis. Since the start of the global outbreak, Earth science
specialists from each agency have been exploring ways to use unique
Earth observation data to aid understanding of the interplay of the
Earth system -- on global to local scales -- with aspects of the COVID-
19 outbreak, including, potentially, our ability to combat it. The
hackathon will also examine the human and economic response to the vi-
rus.
ESA will contribute data from the Sentinel missions (Sentinel-1, Sent-
inel-2 and Sentinel-5P) in the context of the European Copernicus pro-
gram, led by the European Commission, along with data from Third Party
contributing Missions, with a focus on assessing the impact on climate
change and greenhouse gases, as well as impacts on the economic sector.
ESA also is contributing Earth observation experts for the selection
of the competition winners and the artificial-intelligence-powered
EuroDataCube.
"EuroDatacube will enable the best ideas to be scaled up to a global
level," said Josef Aschbacher, director of Earth Observation Programm-
es at ESA. "The pandemic crisis has a worldwide impact, therefore in-
ternational cooperation and sharing of data and expertise with partners
like NASA and JAXA seems the most suitable approach."
JAXA is making Earth observing data available from its satellite mis-
sions, including ALOS-2, GOSAT, GOSAT-2, GCOM-C, GCOM-W, and GPM/DPR.
"JAXA welcomes the opportunity to be part of the hackathon," said JAXA
Vice President Terada Koji. "I believe the trilateral cooperation among
ESA, NASA and JAXA is important to demonstrate how Earth observation
can support global efforts in combating this unprecedented challenge."
Space Apps is an international hackathon that takes place in cities
around the world. Since 2012, teams have engaged with NASA's free and
open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space. The
COVID-19 Challenge will be the program's first global virtual hacka-
thon. Space Apps 2019 included more than 29,000 participants at 225
events in 71 countries, developing more than 2,000 hackathon solutions
over the course of one weekend.
Space Apps is a NASA-led initiative organized in collaboration with
Booz Allen Hamilton, Mindgrub, and SecondMuse. The next annual Space
Apps Challenge is scheduled for October 2-4.
For more information about NASA Space Apps Challenges, visit:
https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Line Student STEM: TI Codes Contest 2020
Texas Instruments and NASA have announced the "TI Codes Contest 2020".
This STEM activity invites student teams to connect and learn together
remotely to let their imaginations reach new heights by solving this
unique challenge during the 20th anniversary of humans on the Inter-
national Space Station (ISS):
Propose a way to automate or optimize a process or product for
living and working on the ISS. Then use coding and Texas Instru-
ments (TI) technology to design and build a model of the solution.
Stage 1: Pitch your idea - is running now. Teams connect virtually
with up to five students, ages 13–19, plus an adult sponsor. (A spon-
sor can be a teacher, parent or other adult who can mentor students
remotely.) Then, determine which process or product your team wants
to automate or optimize that would help the International Space Station.
The deadline for submissions: May 21, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Central time.
Access full contest rules, prize lists, NASA STEM resources, and enter
your team at: https://education.ti.com/en/promotion/codescontest
[ANS thanks Texas Instruments and NASA for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
First Guatemalan Satellite Deployed from the ISS
Guatemala’s first satellite, a small CubeSat called QUETZAL-1, was de-
ployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, April 28,
2020.
Its primary mission is to test a sensor for remote data acquisition for
natural resource management, which could be used to monitor water qual-
ity in inland water bodies.
QUETZAL-1 LogoThe satellite is part of the Japanese Kibo cubesat pro-
gram, a product of the cooperation between, among others, the United
Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Universidad del Valle
de Guatemala (UVG), and more institutions. The operational frequencies
were chosen through cooperation from Guatemalan radio amateurs and the
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).
Downlink 4800 bps GMSK on 437.200 MHz.
The Quetzal-1 project team director is Guatemalan engineer José Bagur,
TG8JAV, a graduate from mechatronics engineering at Universidad Del
Valle.
Source: IARU Region 2 https://iaru-r2.org/
IARU Quetzal-1
http://amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=653
Quetzal-1 Telemetry info https://uvg.edu.gt/cubesat-en/
Quetzal-1 Telemetry decoder http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=75524
Follow Quetzal-1 on Twitter https://twitter.com/quetzal1_uvg
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Former AMSAT Area Coordinator, Prominent DXer Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ,
SK
Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, became a silent key on Wednesday, April 29th
at his home in the U. S. Virgin Islands. A prominent contester and
DXer, Herb served as an AMSAT Area Coordinator in the Caribbean in the
1970s and 1980s. Activating Anguilla as VP2EFZ, he gave Pat Gowen,
G3IOR, the last country he needed on OSCAR 7 to complete the first
DXCC via satellite.
[ANS thanks The Daily DX, QRZ.com, and former AMSAT Vice President -
Operations Rich Zwirko, K1HTV, for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstra-
tions of School Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio
Approach
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased
to announce the first use of a concept called Multipoint Telebridge
Contact via Amateur Radio, allowing school contacts for Stay-At-Home
students and simultaneous reception by families, school faculty and
the public.
During the last several weeks, efforts to contain the spread of the
COVID-19 virus have resulted in massive school closures worldwide. In
addition, the Stay-At-Home policies invoked by authorities, initially
shut down opportunities for ARISS school contacts for the near future.
To circumvent these challenges and keep students and the public safe,
ARISS is introducing the Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur
Radio concept. First operation of this experimental system occurred
during a contact with a group of Northern Virginia Students located
in Woodbridge, VA on Thursday, April 30 at 13:35 UTC (9:35EDT). During
this event, an ARISS telebridge radio ground station linked to the
astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS)ham radio station
and each Stay-At-Home student and their teacher was individually
linked to the telebridge station. Under the teacher’s direction, each
student, from their home, takes a turna sking their question of the
astronaut.
Quoting ARISS Chair Frank Bauer, “This approach is a huge pivot for
ARISS, but we feel it is a great strategic move for ARISS. In these
times of isolation due to the virus, these ARISS connections provide a
fantastic psychological boost to students, families, educators and the
public. And they continue our long-standing efforts to inspire, engage
and educate students in STEAM subjects and encourage them to pursue
STEAM careers.”
An archive of the April 30th contact can be viewed at
https://youtu.be/Cu8I9ose4Vo.
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a
cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the
space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In
the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corp-
oration (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS
National Lab, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science,
technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing
scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the
ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during
these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities
learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more
information, see www.ariss.org
[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, 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/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
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.
Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have
been canceled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the
information contained below is correct, there may be some that we
missed.
We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you
soon.
Current schedule:
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX
The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been
CANCELED:
May 8-9, 2020, Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User
Services, 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
AD0DX has announced a tentative activation of DL88 in Big Bend Nat-
ional Park for Sunday, May 31st. At this time, the park remains closed
but the team hopes it will reopen soon. Doug Tabor, N6UA, will join
him for this activation. Details about the plans can be found on the
K5Z QRZ.com page: https://www.qrz.com/db/K5Z
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User
Services, for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ The May 2020 issue of Aerospace America, the monthly magazine of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) features
an article entitled "Cosmic GPS" describing the emerging use of GPS
on spacecraft flying beyond the GPS constellation altitude and,
eventually, to the moon. Above-constellation use of GPS was first
demonstrated on AMSAT-OSCAR 40. AMSAT Vice President - Human Space-
flight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, is extensively quoted in this article.
Read it at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/cosmic-gps/
+ AMSAT's Zazzle store has added a few new products, including a water
bottle, car flag, and fanny pack. A wide variety of other products
are also available, including the popular new OSCAR t-shirt. Check
out the store at https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear. 25% of the
purchase price of each product goes to AMSAT to help Keep Amateur
Radio in Space.
+ Scientists from NASA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and
the Lunar Planetary Institute have created a detailed new map of the
lunar surface in stunning color. Called the Unified Geological Map of
the Moon, it marries decades of surveys of the moon’s surface going
as far back as Armstrong and Aldrin’s Apollo mission, with more re-
cent data from NASA and JAXA. It doesn’t just look pretty — the map
will greatly help NASA and other organizations plan future landing
sites optimized for scientific missions. NASA's Artemis project could
take humans to the moon as early as 2024. AMSAT, along with ARISS,
partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way
communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar or-
bit as part of an Artemis precursor initiative. The digital map is
available for the public at: https://on.doi.gov/2YnZGAO
+ Scott Chapman, K4KDR, is featured in Scott Manley's new video about
the Iranian Noor satellite. https://youtu.be/SPTz7Ig9RQE
+ As another part of the RSGB "Get on the air to care" campaign, the
May edition of RadCom is being made available to radio amateurs
around the world to read online as a sample edition. A number of
IARU national societies have taken a similar step and the RSGB is
happy to join those societies in supporting the worldwide amateur
radio community during these difficult times:
https://www.rsgb.org/sampleradcom
+ In a Public Notice released on April 30th, the FCC confirmed that
amateur license examinations may be conducted remotely. The full
Public Notice can be found at the link below:
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-467A1.pdf
+ The AMSAT Folding@home team continues to climb the rankings. Now in
the top 2,500 of all teams at the time of this writing, the team has
grown to 37 members with 70 active CPUs within the past 50 days and
includes five members in the top 100,000 of all users. Alex Free,
N7AGF, is our top contributor with over 21,000,000 points credited
to AMSAT's team. For more information about the Folding@home project
and how you can contribute to scientific research, including the
fight against COVID-19, see https://foldingathome.org/. AMSAT's team
number is 69710: https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/69710
+ In advance of their move to a new headquarters location, the FCC has
updated their offical seal. The new seal includes a satellite and
ground station, reflecting the increasing importance of space
communications. https://twitter.com/FCC/status/1255882365936775171
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available
by Paul Stoetzer 01 May '20
by Paul Stoetzer 01 May '20
01 May '20
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-122
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of
The AMSAT Journal Now Available
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122
ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 122.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE May 1, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-122.01
New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The
AMSAT Journal Now Available
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the AMSAT office, the
March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal will not be printed and
mailed to members. Instead, a full-color PDF is being made available
on the AMSAT website. The issue can be downloaded below:
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal
This issue includes detailed information about AMSAT's new online
membership portal, now active at https://launch.amsat.org. AMSAT
members are encouraged to review this article, which includes detailed
instructions on accessing your membership account. Stay tuned for
more features, including members-only content coming soon.
Articles in the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal:
* Apogee View - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG
* Engineering Update - Jerry Buxton, N0JY
* Treasurer's Report - Robert Bankston, KE4AL
* AMSAT's New Member and Event Portal - Robert Bankston, KE4AL
* amsatLink — Proposed Wireless Communications Network - Robert
Bankston, KE4AL
* Educational Relations Update - Alan Johnston, KU2Y
* A New Design for the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator - Alan Johnston, KU2Y;
Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM; David White, WD6DRI; Pat Kilroy, N8PK
* For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IV - Keith Baker,
KB1SF/VA3KSF
* PSAT 1U — A Low-Cost, EasyBuild 1U CubeSat - George Downey, Robert
Bruninga, WB4APR
* Gridmaster Heat Map - Paul Overn, KE0PBR
[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Contributing Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-117
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* March/April 2020 Edition of Apogee View Posted
* Long-Lost U.S. Military Satellite Found By Amateur Radio Operator
* Let's Take Some Pictures
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* The W4AMI Award and How to Obtain One
* New OSCAR T-Shirt Available from AMSAT Zazzle Store
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* ARISS News
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.01
ANS-117 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 117.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 April 26
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-117.01
March/April 2020 Edition of Apogee View Posted
The March/April 2020 edition of Apogee View, a comprehensive update
on AMSAT's activities from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG,
has been posted to the AMSAT website.
https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/
[ANS thanks AMSAT the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-Lost U.S. Military Satellite Found By Amateur Radio Operator
Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, has made the news once again for tracking down
yet another "zombie" satellite. Scott was the subject of a report
broadcast on National Public Radio on Friday, April 24.
This time, he managed to identify signals from LES-5, an experimental
military UHF communications satellite built by the Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory and launched in 1967. Even
though the satellite was supposed to shut down in 1972, it's still go-
ing. As long as the solar panels are in the sun, the satellite's radio
continues to operate.
In 2018, Tilly found a signal from a NASA probe called IMAGE that the
space agency had lost track of in 2005. With Tilley's help, NASA was
able to reestablish contact. He has rediscovered several other long-
forgotten birds, including Transit 5B-5, a nuclear-powered U.S. Navy
navigation satellite launched in 1965.
Scott announced his findings on LES-5 through his Twitter account,
@coastal8049, on March 24. The full NPR story may be found at:
https://n.pr/2x64aAZ.
[ANS thanks NPR.org 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/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Let's Take Some Pictures
The command team has had a few requests for camera mode on AO-92 over
the last few weeks, and it’s been a while, so let’s take some pictures
next week.
Next Tuesday morning, April 28th, we’ll attempt to command the camera
on at approximately 1440Z and 1612Z. We’ll also try the 1750Z pass.
If we can’t command on the 1750Z pass, we’ll find a suitable pass
later in the week for the west coast.
Take a look at
https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/
for a guide on how to set up FoxTelem, and
https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4 for near-live images
as we go. Remember, the more stations submitting telemetry during
the event, the better the chance of complete images!
[ANS thanks Andrew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations,
for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
Last week's AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin (ANS-110.01) contained
a news item entitled "Receiving SMOG-P and ATL-1 Nano Satellites With
an RTL-SDR" from Zoltan Doczi, HA7DCD.
Please note that on December 19, 2019 AMSAT designated SMOG-P as
Magyar-OSCAR 105 (MO-105) and ATL-1 as Magyar-OSCAR 106 (MO-106).
In the AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution, the TLEs for these two Hungarian
satellites are shown as follows:
MO-105 is NORAD Cat ID 44832 (SMOG-P)
MO-106 is NORAD Cat ID 44830 (ATL-1)
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The W4AMI Award and How to Obtain One
Just a little history, Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI, was a very prolific
operator and in his honor this certificate was created and the first
certificate was issued to him on June 27, 1994. He has since become an
SK and his local club has taken over his call sign. The award was
originally the W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award. The local
club asked me not to use their call sign for the award. I changed the
award to The Robert W. Barbee, Jr. W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement
Award. And here we are today, finally having issued over 100
certificates and over 30 of the 5,000 certificates.
This award is for making 1,000 contacts with any station any time. You
can say hello to your friend on every satellite on every pass every day
and count those contacts. That being said, any contact you log counts.
The award has endorsements for making 1,000 more contacts up to 4,000.
Another 1,000 contacts will earn a special W4AMI 5,000 certificate.
To submit for the award, please email me an extract from your log either
in Microsoft Excel XLS(X) format or ADI(F) format. Either will work just
fine. Then wait for me to get back to you notifying you to go online and
make your payment. I need nothing from LoTW, confirmed contacts are not
an issue, this award is for simply making a contact.
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-robert-w-barbee-jr-w4ami-award/
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards,
for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
New OSCAR T-Shirt Available from AMSAT Zazzle Store
Thanks to an post on Twitter from Michael Styne, K2MTS, AMSAT is
pleased to offer a new t-shirt on the AMSAT Zazzle Store. This t-
shirt design is available in variants suitable for printing on either
dark or lightly colored shirts.
The shirt features a representation of AMSAT-OSCAR 7 in orbit with the
tagline "OSCAR - Adventure and Excitement in Space Age Communication"
This image was used in advertisements for the 1978 ARRL book "Getting
to Know OSCAR." The ARRL has granted AMSAT permission to republish
this classic image as a t-shirt.
Get yours today! 25% of the purchase price goes towards Keeping
Amateur Radio in Space.
https://www.zazzle.com/oscar_t_shirt_dark-235643945481104970
https://www.zazzle.com/oscar_t_shirt_light-235449229998854129
[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Satellite Operations
ZW8, BRAZIL (Special Event). Operators Freddy/PY3YD, Joselito/PS8BR,
Fernando/PS8CW, Raimundo/PS8DX, Jose/PS8ET, Milton/PS8HF, Nelson/PS8NF,
Pirajah/PS8RF, Dalton/PS8TV and Andre/PT9AL are using the special event
callsign ZW8THANKS as a tribute to health care professionals fighting
COVID-19. Activity will be on all bands and modes including the satel-
lites. QSL via direct, eQSL or LoTW.
(ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1461 for the above information)
Due to COVID-19, there are no other announced satellite operations at
this moment. Any roving activity of which AMSAT becomes aware will be
posted at:
https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/
Until then, stay safe and keep making contacts from home.
Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services 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
ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking
directly with crew members of the International Space Station, inspir-
ing them to pursue interests in careers in science, technology,
engineering and math, and engaging them with radio science technology
through amateur radio.
Northern Virginia Schools Group, Woodbridge VA, Multi-point telebridge
contact via AB1OC is scheduled for Thursday, April 30. The ISS call-
sign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut
is Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact is go for 13:35:00 UTC at a max-
imum elevation of 62 degrees. Stations in the eastern U.S. should be
able to listen in on this contact on 145.80 MHz FM. A multi-point tele-
bridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from
their own home.
The ARISS team continues to test and firm up a plan to transform ARISS
contacts and how ARISS interacts with youth and education institutions.
ARISS will provide distance learning with every student and staff mem-
ber in their own homes (even quarantined).
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet-
ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have
been canceled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the
information contained below is correct, there may be some that we
missed. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest
near you soon.
Current schedule:
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX
September 26, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior, WI
The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been
CANCELED:
May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra
Vista, AZ
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download from:
https://bit.ly/2ygVFmV This color brochure is designed to be printed
double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout.
To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration,
please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Diwata-2 (PO-101) has been active daily to provide emergency access
during Covid-19 pandemic. Check https://twitter.com/Diwata2PH
For Daily activation schedule
(ANS thanks DIWATA-2 Ground Team for the above information)
+ On this 50th anniversary of the flight of Apollo 13, the BBC has pro-
duced a documentary video series, "13 Minutes to the Moon," along
with associated web resources and podcasts. The documentary can be
accessed worldwide at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2
(ANS thanks Peter Green, G0ABI, for the above information)
+ Happy 30th anniversary, Hubble! The Hubble Space Telescope was laun-
ched into LEO on April 24th, 1990 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery
STS-31 launch video). Featuring a 2.4 m mirror and optics that are
smooth to 10 nanometers (but were in the wrong shape until corrected
by the first of five servicing missions in 1993), Hubble takes images
of the Universe with never-before-seen quality. The telescope may
work into the 2040s, hopefully being joined by its more-advanced sib-
ling, the JWST, next year. Take a moment to browse some of Hubble’s
most stunning snapshots of the Universe at:
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/
(ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)
+ Astronauts onboard the International Space Station have gotten a
first good look at the controversial Starlink satellites. On April
13th, they photographed a train of 16 Starlinks cutting through
Southern Lights over the Antarctic. Learn more about their unique
photo + corresponding ground-based sightings on Spaceweather.com
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information)
+ SpaceX launched 60 more spacecraft Wednesday to join the Starlink
fleet. The successful launch Wednesday marked the 84th flight of a
Falcon 9 rocket since June 2010. That makes SpaceX’s Falcon 9 the
most-flown orbital-class U.S. launcher currently in operation, ex-
ceeding the 83 missions performed by the Atlas 5 rocket built by
rival United Launch Alliance. With Wednesday’s launch, SpaceX has
delivered 422 Starlink satellites to space. The company is seeking
regulatory approval to fly 4,400 of the satellites in the project's
first phase. SpaceX’s next Starlink launch after Wednesday could
happen as soon as early May on another Falcon 9 rocket mission. That
will be followed by SpaceX’s first launch with astronauts on-board —
scheduled for May 27 — to begin a test flight of the company’s Crew
Dragon spaceship to the International Space Station.
(ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information)
+ A series of unusually severe spring storms parading across the south-
eastern USA had residents taking shelter this week from hail and tor-
nadoes. High above the maelstrom, sprites were dancing. Sprites are
a form of electricity in powerful storm clouds. While regular light-
ning lances down, sprites leap up. They can reach all the way to the
edge of space 90 km or more above Earth’s surface.
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC and spaceweatherarchive.com for the above
information)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor, Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ
ki7unj at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-089
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator
* AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice
* First Satellite Contact to be Noted in May QST
* Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message
* Ham Talk Live! Interviews Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
* ISS Crew Transition Affected by CoViD-19
* Upcoming ARISS Contacts
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-089.01
ANS-089 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 089.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 Mar 29
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-089.01
Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator
AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment
of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, as Volunteer Coordinator.
First licensed in 1982 as KA9NGH, Kutzko served as both ARRL Contest
Branch Manager (2007-2013) and ARRL Media and Public Relations Mana-
ger (2013-2017). He was the creator and co-administrator of the ARRL
National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. An active HF and
VHF contester, DXer and backpack QRP enthusiast, Kutzko started work-
ing satellites in 2011 and has transmitted from over fifty different
grid squares. He has written instructional materials on satellite op-
erating for the AMSAT website, QST, and blogs regularly on satellite
topics for the DX Engineering blog "On All Bands."
"It's an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT," Kutzko said. "When
[new AMSAT president] Clayton [Coleman, W5PFG] asked if I would help
coordinate a team of volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. AMSAT is
a great organization and helping find good volunteers who are willing
to help all areas of AMSAT's growth and development is the least I
could do for the organization that has given me a lot of enjoyment and
technical skill."
Outside of Amateur Radio, Kutzko is a freelance PR/communications
consultant and voiceover artist, as well as a baker of artisan breads,
pizza and pastries. He also plays drums in a classic rock/country
band, Silverweed. He lives in Urbana, Illinois.
[ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in-
formation]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice
Due to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order closing all non-essential
businesses in the State of Maryland in response to the COVID-19 pan-
demic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice, effective to-
day at 5:00pm EDT.
While the office is closed, AMSAT will continue to accept new and
renewal memberships. However, membership packets will not be mailed
until the office reopens. T-shirts, hats, and other items stocked in
the office will also not be available until the office reopens. Dig-
ital downloadable content, including SatPC32 and MacDoppler will re-
main available from the AMSAT store. Antenna, name badge, and awards
orders will be forwarded for processing.
The March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal will be produced on time.
However, it may only be possible to publish it in digital format. Stay
tuned for further updates.
Any questions about memberships, orders, or office operations can be
sent to info at amsat.org. Please note that no mail or phone service
will be available until the office reopens. Vendors billing AMSAT for
goods or services may email the above address to arrange payment.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
First Satellite Contact to be Noted in May QST
Those who are ARRL members may be interested in the Technical Corres-
pondence article in the forthcoming May 2020 QST, entitled "The 60th
Anniversary of the First Satellite Contact."
The contact to which it refers took place on February 6, 1960, six
months before NASA's Project Echo, between W2RS and K3JTE (now W3PK),
making use of a propagation mode first reported by W8JK (SK), which he
called "the satellite ionization phenomenon."
The May 2020 QST article describes what we did and what has been learn-
ed since then about the ionosphere and how W8JK's mechanism works.
For further reading about the contact, see the article in Proceedings
of the Institute of Radio Engineers, September 1961. For more about
the satellite ionization phenomenon, see the chapter by W8JK in S.F.
Singer, ed., Interactions of Space Vehicles With an Ionized Atmosphere,
Pergamon Press, 1965.
The May issue of QST is expected to be published in mid-April.
[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message
Indonesia’s national amateur radio society ORARI reports the ham radio
satellite LAPAN-A2 (IO-86) is being used to send a Fight Coronavirus
message using APRS.
A translation of the ORARI post says:
The satellite spreads the text message “Stay Healthy, Stay at Home
#LawanCorona”.
This was conveyed by Researcher of the Center for Satellite Technology,
Sonny Dwi Harsono when contacted, Friday, March 20, 2020.
Sonny explained, this action was a form of support for government pol-
icies on social distancing. The policy encourages all of us to reduce
activities outside the home and interactions with others. “So this mes-
sage was sent by the LAPAN A2 satellite via the APRS (Automatic Packet
Reporting System) beacon which was transmitted throughout Indonesia.
APRS is a text based communication system for short messages such as
SMS on mobile phones. But this APRS message can only be received
through HT (Handie Talkie) which has the recipient of the APRS mess-
age,” he said.
Sonny explained, messages that have been disseminated can be received
by anyone by setting the HT radio frequency to 145.825 MHz. To date
corona’s message has been received by dozens of members of the Indo-
nesian Radio Amateur Organization (ORARI) spread throughout Indonesia.
The dissemination of the message was carried out starting March 20.
For the time being the message dissemination was carried out on the
APRS mission only. But it will try to spread the message one time at a
LAPAN-A2 / LAPAN-ORARI track every 100 minutes. “Later if possible, we
try to distribute 24 hours nonstop every 100 minutes under certain con-
ditions. Currently we are discussing the technicalities. The messages
from the government can also be disseminated via the LAPAN-A2 satel-
lite," he concluded.
Source ORARI https://tinyurl.com/IndonesiaORARI
Follow LAPAN-A2 https://twitter.com/lapansat
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Ham Talk Live! Interviews Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
Ham Talk Live! host Neal Rapp, WB9VPG recently interviewed Frank Bauer,
KA3HDO, for an informative look at recent events in the ARISS program.
Bauer, who is AMSAT Vice President, Human Spaceflight and ARISS Inter-
national Chair was interviewed on Thursday, March 26, 2020.
In the interview Bauer covers ARISS' four-year effort to update the
ISS Amateur Radio station with its next generation radio system, the
Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS consists of a specially
modified JVC-Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver and the AMSAT-NA developed
multi-voltage power supply.
The complete interview can be heard at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-089-Bauer
[ANS thanks Neil Rapp, WB9VPG for the above information.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ISS Crew Transition Affected by CoViD-19
The International Space Station Expedition 62 crew, consisting of NASA
Flight Engineer Jessica Meir, Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan, KI5AAA,
and Commander Oleg Skripochka, RA0LDJ, are readying their Soyuz MS-15
crew ship for departure on April 17. Meanwhile, the crew that will re-
place them is nearing its launch scheduled for April 9 aboard the Soyuz
MS-16 crew ship. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, and Roscosmos
cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner arrived this week at the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final training. The Expedition
63 trio is due to live aboard the station for 195 days with Cassidy as
commander.
(ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information)
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy’s family will be watching remotely from
halfway around the world when he blasts off April 9 from Kazakhstan to
begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. That’s
because travel restrictions and stringent social distancing guidelines
instituted to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will
limit the ability for family members to travel to the Baikonur Cosmo-
drome for the launch. Launch day at Baikonur is usually a festive af-
fair. “But it’ll be completely quiet,” Cassidy said in a satellite in-
terview from Star City, Russia. “There won’t be anybody there."
(ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information)
NASA already has a long-held strategy in place for preventing astro-
nauts from carrying any nasty bugs with them to space. All astronauts
going to orbit must go through a two-week period of quarantine called
“health stabilization,” according to NASA. That way, the agency can
make sure the crew is not incubating any illnesses before launch. How-
ever, NASA said it “will continue to evaluate and augment this plan,
in coordination with its international and commercial partners” if
needed.
In the meantime, Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, has de-
cided to shut down all media activity surrounding the Soyuz launch,
barring journalists from covering the mission in person. Russia will
still live stream the launch, and NASA typically airs all of its crew-
ed launches on its own online TV channel.
The return of the Expedition 62 crew in mid-April would typically in-
volve large numbers of recovery personnel. SpaceX will be ready to send
its first crew of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station
aboard its Crew Dragon capsule sometime in May. NASA has not provided
any details if those operations would change in light of the pandemic.
(ANS thanks theverge.com for the above information)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming ARISS Contacts
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.
Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via RKØJ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka
Possible contact on Tuesday 2020-03-31 08:50 UTC
ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools
and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancella-
tions or postponements of school contacts. As always, ARISS will try
to provide everyone with near-real-time updates at the ARISS webpage:
https://www.ariss.org/
The contact scheduled for Wednesday 2020-03-25 with SPDW Voortrekker
Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD was postponed
due to COVID-19 concerns.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men-
tors 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
River Bend Wireless Rove
(EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April 2-4, 2020
Mitch Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ, is looking to add six more grids to his ro-
ver basket just before the April 4 AMSAT presentation/demonstration
at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, Minn.
Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the
EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April
4th, 2020. Watch Mitch’s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a de-
tailed schedule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ
>From the Mountains to the Bay
(CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020
R.J. Bragg, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming
to Vacaville, Calif. He’s attending a class from April 15-19, so most
of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered in-
clude: CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass
details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter
(https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches.
Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Nothing to do while quarantined by Covid-19? How about making a paper
model of the satellite, DIWATA-1, the first satellite designed and
built in the Philippines: https://tinyurl.com/ujukexd
(ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information)
+ There has been lengthy discussion this week on the AMSAT email bul-
letin board, amsat-bb, about inconsiderate operators on FM satel-
lites. A document by Sean Kutzko, KX9X, published back in 2017, is
still an excellent guide to best practices on these birds. See it at
https://tinyurl.com/ybw5e2ng
(ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, for the above information)
+ The coronavirus has had effects on many space activities this week:
Virgin Orbit is reassessing schedules, Blue Origin in hard-hit Seat-
tle is mostly working online, Arianespace suspended launches from
French Guiana and Russia recalled and quarantined its personnel, ESA
mission control is working from home, and some spaceports are closed
worldwide.
(ANS thanks orbitalindex.com for the above information)
+ One thing astronauts have to be good at: living in confined spaces
for long periods of time. Find yourself in a similar scenario? NASA
astronaut Anne McClain recently posted a lengthy Twitter thread with
pro-tips for getting through your time at home. It begins at:
https://tinyurl.com/tqh3hke
(ANS thanks orbitalindex.com for the above information)
+ At least on the ISS astronauts don't have the added task of caring
for and educating kids. If your current confinement capsul is equip-
ped with youngsters in grades K-4, there are resources for you at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stem-at-home-for-students-k-4.html
(ANS thanks NASA for the above information)
+ The Folding@home project is a distributed computing project that is
currently running calculations to analyze protein structures on the
COVID-19 project. Donate your spare computer time to help this project
and consider joining AMSAT's team (#67910). More information at
https://foldingathome.org/covid19/. AMSAT's team standings can be
found at https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/69710
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor,
K0JM at amsat dot org
1
0
ANS-083.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Mar '20
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Mar '20
23 Mar '20
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-083.02
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-083.02
ANS-083.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 083.02
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE March 23, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-083.02
AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice
Due to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order closing all non-essential
businesses in the State of Maryland in response to the COVID-19 pan-
demic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice, effective to-
day at 5:00pm EDT.
While the office is closed, AMSAT will continue to accept new and
renewal memberships. However, membership packets will not be mailed
until the office reopens. T-shirts, hats, and other items stocked in
the office will also not be available until the office reopens. Dig-
ital downloadable content, including SatPC32 and MacDoppler will re-
main available from the AMSAT store. Antenna, name badge, and awards
orders will be forwarded for processing.
The March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal will be produced on time.
However, it may only be possible to publish it in digital format. Stay
tuned for further updates.
Any questions about memberships, orders, or office operations can be
sent to info at amsat.org. Please note that no mail or phone service
will be available until the office reopens. Vendors billing AMSAT for
goods or services may email the above address to arrange payment.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Contributing Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
ANS-083 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Mar '20
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Mar '20
23 Mar '20
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-083
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-083
ANS-083 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 083.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE March 23, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-083.01
Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator
AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment
of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, as Volunteer Coordinator.
First licensed in 1982 as KA9NGH, Kutzko served as both ARRL Contest
Branch Manager (2007-2013) and ARRL Media and Public Relations Mana-
ger (2013-2017). He was the creator and co-administrator of the ARRL
National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. An active HF and
VHF contester, DXer and backpack QRP enthusiast, Kutzko started work-
ing satellites in 2011 and has transmitted from over fifty different
grid squares. He has written instructional materials on satellite op-
erating for the AMSAT website, QST, and blogs regularly on satellite
topics for the DX Engineering blog "On All Bands."
"It's an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT," Kutzko said. "When
[new AMSAT president] Clayton [Coleman, W5PFG] asked if I would help
coordinate a team of volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. AMSAT is
a great organization and helping find good volunteers who are willing
to help all areas of AMSAT's growth and development is the least I
could do for the organization that has given me a lot of enjoyment and
technical skill."
Outside of Amateur Radio, Kutzko is a freelance PR/communications
consultant and voiceover artist, as well as a baker of artisan breads,
pizza and pastries. He also plays drums in a classic rock/country
band, Silverweed. He lives in Urbana, Illinois.
[ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in-
formation]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Contributing Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-079
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079
ANS-079 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 079.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE March 19, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-079.01
AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now
AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG has put out a call for new and
renewing AMSAT members to act now and register online.
Coleman says, "All things considered, cancellation of Hamvention 2020
was the right thing to do and we recognize the difficult decision
that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association Executive Committee had to
make.
"The cancellation of Hamvention will have a dramatic effect on the
well-being of many vendors and associations that serve the Amateur
Radio community. AMSAT is no exception. Hamvention has always been
a major fund-raising tool for both recruiting and renewing members
as well as selling AMSAT branded merchandise, software, books and
antennas. The loss of this important venue has the potential to
adversely affect the projects that AMSAT has underway already and
planned for the months and years ahead.
"This is a very exciting time for Amateur Radio in Space with the new
Interoperable Radio System for ARISS, the GOLF satellite program,
updating member services and launching our Youth Initiative. It has
been many years since we have seen this kind of excitement and
interest in space communications. We would hate to lose that
momentum and fall behind.
"I am asking everyone to act now and join or renew their AMSAT
membership NOW while it is on our minds. Your immediate willingness
to act will help strengthen AMSAT and help ensure our mission of
'Keeping Amateur Radio in Space'. There are membership
opportunities for everyone to consider:
- Basic Membership from $44
- Student Membership from $22
- Additional Household Memberships from $22
- School and Club Memberships from $80
- QRO Membership from $80
- Lifetime Membership $880 (or only $74/mo. For twelve months)"
Coleman also adds, "And, while you're at it, don't be afraid to kick
in a few extra dollars with a one-time or sustaining donation to
AMSAT's general operating fund. Especially appreciated are those
Amateurs who can make an extra difference by contributing to the
President's Club with contributions of $120 or more. Whatever you
can contribute, please understand that every dollar counts.
"Additionally, with Hamvention's cancellation, we lost the
opportunity to personally greet and thank all of AMSAT's membership
and to share our enthusiasm for the upcoming year. Watch for
upcoming news on our plans and launches for 2020. We'll be talking
soon."
[ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President for
the above information]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Memberships, both new and renewals, as well as can be made at:
https://www.amsat.org/shop
For a limited time, AMSAT is making the
"Getting Started With Amateur Satellites"
book available for a limited time as a download with any paid
new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store!
Make your online donations at:
https://www.amsat.org/donate
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
/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
Office.
73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Contributing Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-075
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced
* Update from the AMSAT President
* ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS
* Minor Update to FoxTelem Released
* Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now!
* ARISS News
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-075.01
ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 075.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE March 15, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-075.01
38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced
AMSAT is pleased to announce that the 38th Annual AMSAT Space Sym-
posium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, October 16th
- Sunday, October 18th at the Crowne Plaza Suites: MSP Airport - Mall
of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The Crowne Plaza Suites is conveniently located adjacent to the Amer-
ican Blvd station on the Metro Blue Line, providing easy access to the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, downtown Minneapolis,
and the Mall of America.
The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday, October 14th and
Thursday, October 15th at the hotel.
Further details, including hotel reservation information, tours, and
other events will be shared in the coming months.
[ANS thanks the 2020 AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above infor-
mation]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Update from the AMSAT President
The past six weeks since becoming AMSAT President has flown by with
great speed. Thankfully I’m not travelling at 27,000 km/hour like our
popular satellite AO-91. Speaking with many of our volunteers and
members, I’ve felt the level of excitement and enthusiasm for the
great launch opportunities ahead.
As mentioned in ANS-047, one of my tasks was to speak with the
Directors and convene a meeting to conduct AMSAT corporate business.
Tuesday, March 3, AMSAT held an informal working session for the Board
of Directors. We are moving forward with a called Board of Directors
meeting scheduled on Tuesday, March 17. The next meeting will allow
Directors to put forward motions for new business, hear a status
update from our officers, and set future trajectory.
The amateur radio community has felt the impact of COVID-19
(Coronavirus) with the cancellation of some regional events. Even as
this health emergency has been raised to World Health Organization
(WHO)’s highest level, its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
remains hopeful that COVID-19 can be curtailed. AMSAT is closely
monitoring the upcoming 2020 Hamvention being held over 60 days away
in Xenia, Ohio. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has
publicly stated they are following guidance from the State of Ohio and
Greene County. Barring further information from DARA, AMSAT will
continue to make plans for our representation at the 2020 Hamvention.
AMSAT officers are also working on contingency plans if Hamvention is
canceled. These plans include virtual presentations and other real-
time online activities during Hamvention weekend.
Our next edition of the AMSAT Journal will be going through the
editing review process soon. It will contain more detailed information
about the health of AMSAT, its mission status, and share exciting news
for 2020. If you’re not a member receiving the Journal, please
consider joining at our website www.amsat.org.
73,
Clayton
W5PFG
AMSAT President
[ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in-
formation]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS
On Friday, March 6, 2020 at 11:50 EST, SpaceX CRS-20 was successfully
launched from Pad 40 at Kennedy Space Center. This was also a signif-
icant launch for ARISS since this cargo mission was carrying our
Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station.
This system will greatly enhance our capabilities on board Station
involving our school contacts with the crew and both our current and
planned future educational experiments. A special thanks to all who
have donated and continue to donate to our ARISS Next-Generation Hard-
ware Upgrade Fundrazr at our website www.ariss.org. You are making it
all happen!!
I was able to attend the launch along with several other ARISS volun-
teers and have created a short video of the experience from our view-
ing location at the Banana Creek ViewPoint. Please note that you will
hear two moderators on the video. One is actually at our site,
announcing the launch. Another audio feed is coming from the PA system
there and is delayed 30 seconds from real time, so try not to get too
confused as you listen in.
Hope you enjoy the video.
Dave, AA4KN, ARISS PR
The video can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-075-ARISS
[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations for the above
information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Minor Update to FoxTelem Released
FoxTelem has been updated to version 1.08z5 and the latest version is
here:
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/
This is not a mandatory upgrade. It fixes some minor bugs that caused
crashes and corrects the calculation of the bit SNR for the Dot Pro-
duct BPSK detector.
If you use the Dot Product detector and you care about the measured
bit signal to noise ratio, then you want to upgrade. Note that if you
use Find Signal in IQ mode then the bit SNR level is used to determine
if the signal is found. Because the level has changed you will need to
adjust the threshold value. Email Chris Thompson at g0kla at arrl.net
if you need more information.
Please let me know if you see any issues, or log them on GitHub here:
https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues
[ANS thanks Chris Thompson, AC2CZ/G0KLA, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer for
the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now!
Amid reports that NO-84's battery is weakening, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR,
shared the following message:
Before PSAT (NO-84) dies, don’t miss out on trying out its HF 28.120
PSK31 uplink transponder (435.350 MHz FM downlink). Apparently its
battery is weakening and cannot make it through some eclipses. And
the orbit only has 2 years left (Battery probably wont last that
long).
But in the sun, it should work fine. PSK31 Xponder is always enabled,
all it needs is to see PSK31 on the Ten-meter uplink.
It will also send down an SSTV image (in the same waterfall) once
every 2 minutes if the sun power is good.
[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for the above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA
Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg
The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/
Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operations Team, 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/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
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.
Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events' web-
sites for up-to-date status information.
Current schedule:
March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ
March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ
April 4, 2020 River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society Presentation
Faribault, MN
April 18, 2020 Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Brainerd, MN
May 2, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior, WI
May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX
The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been
CANCELED:
March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN
March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services 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
- Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020
Ron AD0DX and Doug N6UA will operate from Big Bend National Park to
put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come
available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their
individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx and
https://twitter.com/dtabor
- Red River Gorge, KY (EM87) March 19-24, 2020
Michael, N4DCW will be in Red River Gorge, Kentucy, March 19th
through 24th. Watch Michael’s Twitter feed for more info
https://twitter.com/MWimages
- Midwinter Madness Rove: (EN24, EN25, EN34) March 20-21, 2020
Mitch, AD0HJ, will roving three central Minnesota grids just prior to
the Midwinter Madness Hobby Electronics Show in Buffalo, MN on March
21st, 2020. Look for him to activate grids EN24/EN25/EN35 on the eve-
ning of March 20th through the evening of March 21st, 2020. Check
Mitch’s Twitter feed for updates on his planned satellite pass sche-
dule: https://twitter.com/AD0HJ
- River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April
2-4, 2020
Mitch AD0HJ is looking to add six more grids to his rover basket just
before the April 4th AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River
Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, MN. Mitch will be
activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid
line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4th, 2020.
Watch Mitch’s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a detailed sche-
dule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ
- From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,
11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020
RJ, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vaca-
ville, CA. He’s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the
roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered include:
CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details
will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter
(https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ A Doppler.sqf file posted on the AMSAT-UK website listed FM freq-
uencies for several satellites carrying linear transponders. Operators
are reminded that FM is not to be used on linear transponders. (ANS
thanks AMSAT-UK for this information)
+ On March 10th, March 10, 2020, the AMSAT-SM group was formed in
connection with the closure of the AMSAT-SM organization. The process
of creating AMSAT-SM for the future began after the 2019 annual meet-
ing and now we are ready to continue with AMSAT-SM in a new and simp-
ler way. All activities that were part of the old AMSAT-SM are now
transferred to the new group. The website will be updated in March
with new steering guidelines and other relevant information. Welcome
with us into the future. AMSAT-SM is Amateur Radio via Satellite!
(ANS thanks SM0TGU from AMSAT-SM for this information)
+ ARRL has announced a new book entitled "Amateur Radio Satellites for
Beginners" by Steve Ford, WB8IMY. It can be purchased at
http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Satellites-for-Beginners/ (ANS
thanks the ARRL for this information)
+ The CAS-4B beacon is again sending telemetry after sending only a
continuous tone for the past few weeks. (ANS thanks John Papay, K8YSE,
for this information)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
1
0
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-068
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS
publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on
the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who
share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun-
icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* Welcome Back XW-2D
* PSAT3 Launch CANCELED
* AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
* The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe
* Replacing the International Space Station?
* FO-29 Operational Schedule
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-068.01
ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 068.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 Mar 08
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-068.01
Welcome Back XW-2D
XW-2D has come back from its apparent issues and is back in action.
No official report for the satellite owner, but reports from operators all
over the world have shown the satellite is back in operation:
Frequency:
UPLINK LSB 435.210 MHz to 435.230 MHZ
DOWNLINK USB 145.860 MHz to 145.880 MHZ
Make sure to post your reception reports for all satellites at
https://www.amsat.org/status/
[ANS thanks Hasan Schiers, N0AN, for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PSAT3 Launch CANCELED
Four days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the launch has been
canceled.
The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE:
https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html
The challenge (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver
a rocket with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and
where they would launch from. And then to do it again only 30 days
later. We were on the second launch.
But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch provider was scrubbed at
T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch window (and DARPA
challenge deadline) had passed. Therefore the CHALLENGE is over, there
was no winner, and we lost the launch.
So, if anyone hears of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup
replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html
[ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique
opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM,
linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit.
AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to
5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc-
ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio.
The $85 registration fee includes:
• Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced
amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most
accomplished AMSAT operators.
• Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi-
tion ($15 value)
• One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value)
• Pizza Buffet Lunch
• Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub
and Eatery in Fairborn.
Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds,
no cancellations.
Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at
https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for
the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 committee is al-
ready actively participating in the regulatory work taking place in
the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administra-
tions (CEPT) to consider coexistence between the secondary amateur and
amateur satellite services and the primary radio navigation satellite
service, in the 1.2 GHz band. The principal issue is Europe's Galileo
system of global navigation satellites.
The Galileo services are delivered in a number of bands and one occu-
pies the 1260-1300 MHz band. The Galileo team has witnessed interfer-
ence from amateur TV transmissions which resulted in station shut down
and has experienced interference from high power EME operations too.
Work is at an early stage and the IARU will continue to try tp mini-
mise the impact on amateur operations however it is likely that some
changes will be necessary to the way we use the band.
The topic is closely related to the agenda of the next World Radio-
communication Conference coming up in 2013 (WRC-23) at which represen-
tatives of the United Nations countries who are members of the Inter-
national Telecommunication Union will agree on coordinated radio regu-
lations.
For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/tcrdm4j
[ANS thanks Jacques Verleijen, ON4AVJ, and the IARU Region 1 Newsletter
for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Replacing the International Space Station?
Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), humanity has managed to
maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low Earth orbit for just shy of
20 years. But as the saying goes, what goes up must eventually come
down. The ISS is at too low of an altitude to remain in orbit indef-
initely, and core modules of the structure are already operating years
beyond their original design lifetimes. As difficult a decision as it
might be for the countries involved, in the not too distant future the
$150 billion orbiting outpost will have to be abandoned.
Naturally there’s some debate as to how far off that day is. NASA of-
ficially plans to support the Station until at least 2024, and an ex-
tension to 2028 or 2030 is considered very likely. However, one commer-
cial partner is betting on a longer-term future. Axiom has been select-
ed by NASA to develop a new habitable module for the U.S. side of the
Station by 2024.
While the agreement technically only covers a single module, Axiom
hasn’t been shy about their plans going forward. Once that first module
is installed and operational, they plan on getting NASA approval to
launch several new modules branching off of it. Ultimately, they hope
that their “wing” of the ISS can be detached and become its own inde-
pendent commercial station by the end of the decade.
Read the full article at https://bit.ly/39tsc6V
[ANS thanks Hackaday for the above information]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
FO-29 Operational Schedule
The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the
transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and
time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time.
The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control)
operates.
[Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)]
March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40
March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25
March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15
March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00
March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05
March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50
March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40
Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the
transmitter may be turned on for a short time.
[ANS thanks JARL for the above information.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
An International Space Station (ISS) school contact with an Australian
school on 13 March will be audible in USA! The ISS will be over North
America at the time, and the Australians will link to it by land line
"Telebridge" via a U.S. amateur radio station.
The contact will be with the Australian Air League - South Australia
Wing, Parafield, South Australia, but via Telebridge Station K6DUE in
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to
be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA.
The contact is scheduled at 08:56 UTC with downlink signals from ISS
heard above Maryland and nearby areas on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM.
[ANS thanks Rudy Parisio, IW2BSF, and Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the
ARISS Operation Team, 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 Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15
AMSAT will be supporting the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club
during the ScienceCity science fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and
Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the University of Arizona campus in
Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is supported by several
organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction with the
Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend. More
information about ScienceCity is available at:
http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/
Information about the K7UAZ radio club is available at:
http://k7uaz.com/
The K7UAZ radio club will have a booth in the "Science of Everyday
Life" area at ScienceCity. This booth will showcase different facets
of amateur radio, including amateur satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly
other call signs, should be heard during demonstrations of satellite
operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you hear us, please call
and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of Arizona campus
is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be determined
by the call sign used for QSOs. WD9EWK will upload to Logbook of the
World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please e-mail
Patrick the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get a card).
K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted on
QRZ.com.
During the weekend, the @WD9EWK Twitter account will be used to post
updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can view these
updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account at:
http://twitter.com/WD9EWK
[ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, AMSAT Board Member, for the
above information]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club
meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
Current schedule:
March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
(see above)
March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN
March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ
March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ
March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA
May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above information.]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Upcoming Satellite Operations
- Shorts
Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM)
- K7U ROVE March 7-8, 2020
Casey KI7UNJ and Kel KI7UXT will be operating as K7U from CN93,
CN94, DN03, DN04 a CN92. Details are posted on QRZ
https://www.qrz.com/db/k7u Updates from the road on their individual
Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and
https://twitter.com/KI7UXT
- Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020
Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend
National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added
here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep
an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx,
https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5
- #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020
David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically
activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a
ide road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even
live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the
way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all
of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday,
March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM
satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there
but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has completed frequency
coordination HSU-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat to be released from the ISS
sometime in the coming year. The satellite will include capability of
a camera image dowlinked by Slow Scan Television (SSTV). The camera
will take a photograph of the Earth at image pixel size 320x240. The
photograph taken will then be converted into analog SSTV signal, and
sent by FM-SSTV downlink on 437.280 MHz. This be part of the
satellite's main mission, test of a three-axis attitude control
system. More info at shorturl.at/dizP0 and shorturl.at/puNW7
(ANS thanks IARU and AMSAT-UK for the above information)
+ The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) reports that a number of ama-
teur radio events planned for March have been cancelled as a result
of coronavirus warnings. JARL, in line with government policy, has
requested that all events scheduled for the next two weeks be can-
celed or postponed for the time being. Also, Dayton Hamvention offi-
cials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) sit-
uation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 – 17 event
nears, but they’re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue.
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC and ARRL for the above information)
+ SpaceX-20, a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International
Space Station launched at 0449 GMT Saturday from Cape Canaveral’s
Complex 40 launch pad. The mission carrying, as a primary payload,
the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS is the foundational
element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. If all
goes according to plan, the Dragon cargo capsule will dock with the
space station on Monday, 9 March.
(ANS thanks SpaceflightNow for the above information)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ
ki7unj at amsat dot org
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ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
by Paul Stoetzer 05 Mar '20
by Paul Stoetzer 05 Mar '20
05 Mar '20
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-065
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
* AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-065
ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 065.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE March 5, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-065.01
Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique
opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM,
linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit.
AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to
5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc-
ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio.
The $85 registration fee includes:
• Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced
amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most
accomplished AMSAT operators.
• Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi-
tion ($15 value)
• One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value)
• Pizza Buffet Lunch
• Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub
and Eatery in Fairborn.
Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds,
no cancellations.
Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at
https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for
the above information]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Contributing Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org
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