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ANS-215 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark Johns, K0JM 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-215 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(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * ISS MAI-75 SSTV Activity Planned For Aug 4-5 * AMSAT Awards Update * How Many Satellite Awards Have Been Issued? * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for August 2020 * First Demonstration Of Orbit Control On A 1U CubeSat * Burns Fisher, WB1JF, Featured Speaker at AMSAT SA Symposium * NASA to Provide Coverage of Astronauts' Return from ISS on SpaceX * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-215.01 ANS-215 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 215.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 August 02 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-215.01 ISS MAI-75 SSTV Activity Planned For Aug 4-5 Russian cosmonauts will transmit amateur radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images from the International Space Station (ISS) during August 4-5 on 145.800 MHz FM (likely using PD-120). On July 9, ESA Education had Tweeted: “We are expecting the ISS to transmit pictures in the next weeks for the 45th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz test project. This is a perfect opportunity to try this activity for yourself!” https://twitter.com/ESA__Education/status/1281140713237946370 Apollo–Soyuz was the first international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in mid-July 1975. An announcement made July 27 on the ARISS SSTV Blog says: The final crew schedule for the week of Aug 3-9 was released recently and it showed a MAI-75 activity scheduled for Aug 4 and 5. This is soon after the Space X Demo-2 undock so changes to that event could impact the schedule. The current dates and times of the planned activity are as follows: Aug 4 (12:25-18:10 UTC) is setup and day 1 operations. Aug 5 (11:15-18:45 UTC) is day 2 operations and close out. This is the Moscow Aviation Institute SSTV experiment that is active for orbital passes over Moscow, Russia. It has traditional been PD-180 or PD-120 and transmitting on 145.800 MHz. Source ARISS STV Blog http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it. Many FM mobile and base station rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM (25 kHz channel spacing). Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard. The space agency ESA has released a video ‘How to get pictures from the International Space Station via Amateur Radio’ along with a collection of Tutorial videos explaining how to receive ISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) pictures for different computers and mobile devices https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/08/esa-promote-amateur-radio-iss-sstv/ Read the Raspberry Pi article Pictures from space via ham radio https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/pictures-from-space-via-ham-radio/ ISS SSTV info and links https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Awards Update Here are the awards issued in the last two months. The AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award is given to any operator for having made their first contact: Anthony Rizi, NR1Z Edward Hartzel, W3HMK James Brooks, KB3EFH Vilanova University ARC, W3YP Robin Shelley, G8VVY ------ The Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for working 20 contacts on any satellite: Anthony Rizi, NR1Z, #628 Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ, #629 ------ The AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award is given for 60 satellite contacts: Stephan Greene, KS1G, #187 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, #188 ------ The AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for 25 different stations on Phase 2 (LEO) satellites: Anthony Rizi, NR1Z, #US230 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, #US231 Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ, #US232 ------ The Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award is awarded for the submission of 1,000 satellite contacts on OSCAR-6 or later satellites: W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) Mitchell Whitman, N4DCW, #110 Mark Johns, K0JM, #111 David Hoffman, KL1XI, #112 Phillip Sauvey, AK7DD, #113 Dennis Love, N7EGY, #114 Kell Bodholt, KI7UXT, upgrade to 2000 ------ AMSAT Rover Award is based on a point system and is awarded to those who put grids on the air away from their home QTH: Rover Call ===== ======== #054 N0TEL #055 AK7DD #056 KE0WPA ------ GridMaster Award is presented to those who confirm QSOs with all 488 grids in the Continental U.S.: GridMaster Call ========== ======== #11 KO4MA #12 N4UFO #13 W5CBF To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org and click on Services then Awards. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- How Many Satellite Awards Have Been Issued? When Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, was asked by a ham last week how many awards he has issued, his response was, "You know, I really had no idea." Paige took over doing the AMSAT awards in May, 2001. Most of the awards have computer records. However, the Satellite Communicator Club award, he did not start keeping track of until 2003. So, you ask, how many awards has he issued? Paige says, "Satellite Communicator 407+ but my records only go back to 2003 South Africa Satellite Communication Achievement 167 AMSAT Satellite Communication Achievement 273 Sexagesimal (60 QSOs) 64 Century (100 QSOs) 24 W4AMI (1,000 QSOs) 81 W4AMI endorsements (each additional 1,000 QSOs) 66 W4AMI 5000 (5,000 QSOs) 25 Rover 55 GridMaster 13 and if I added correctly, it comes out to 1,165 plus whatever Satellite Communicator awards were issued in 2001 and 2002. That's a lot of certificate paper, a lot of ink and a bunch of envelopes and stiffeners to get them safely to their owners." Do you have one on your wall? If not, maybe you should submit for one or more so that one day I will hit 2,000 or 3,000 who knows. Visit the awards page at https://www.amsat.org/awards-2/ [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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for August 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period July 1, 2020 through August 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! WOW! Long list this month! CALL July August W7QL 478 510 WI4T 301 461 N7EGY 405 456 PS8ET 350 434 AF5CC New 425 N9FN 303 403 HP2VX 351 377 WB7VUF 319 370 KC9UQR 301 332 W4ZXT 252 327 WA9JBQ 326 326 W4DTA 263 275 AK7DD New 255 N1PEB * 138 255 K4RGK 175 214 VE6WK New 207 S57NML 179 205 AC9O 108 204 YV1DIG 146 200 AA4FL 181 187 N3CAL 160 171 WD9EWK (DM23) 137 152 N7AME 128 148 WB7QXU New 140 K3HPA 102 128 VE2NGO 100 128 HB9WDF New 114 N5EKO 102 108 KP4RV 100 105 XE1R New 105 KB9STR New 104 N2ZN New 103 IK1IYU New 101 KF6JOQ New 101 N5MIG New 101 LU3FCA New 100 M0KDS New 100 N6RVI New 100 * For some reason, this call dropped off the list from February to now. If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at W5RKN at W5RKN dot com. 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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- First Demonstration Of Orbit Control On A 1U CubeSat The University Wuerzburg Experimental Satellite 4 (UWE-4) successfully used its propulsion system in order to conduct orbit control. The 1U CubeSat, developed and built at the Chair for Robotics and Telematics, is equipped with the electric propulsion system NanoFEEP which has been developed by TU Dresden. Several manoeuvres have been performed within 11 days between June 23 and July 3, 2020 such that the altitude of the CubeSat was reduced by more than 100 meters, compared to an average of 21 meters with natural decay. This marks the first time in CubeSat history that a 1U CubeSat changed its orbit using an on-board propulsion system. As chance would have it, the team of UWE-4 received a conjunction data message (CDM) in the morning of July 2, 2020 from the United States Air Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron. A conjunction of UWE-4 with a non- operational Iridium satellite (ID: 34147) in the morning of July 5, 2020 with a minimum range of about 800 meters was a threat to the safety of UWE-4. An analysis has shown that the altitude of UWE-4 would already be below the Iridium satellite at the time of conjunction. Thus the on-going altitude lowering manoeuvre could only improve the situa- tion and can be considered as a collision avoidance manoeuvre. No furt- her CDMs have been issued regarding this possible conjunction. An anal- ysis of the orbit of the two spacecraft after July 5, 2020 results in a closest approach of more than 6000 meters. Lowering the altitude of a spacecraft in low earth orbit (LEO) is equivalent to a reduction of its lifetime, since satellites in LEO usually burn up during re-entry due to the friction with the Earth’s atmosphere. Thus, this experiment is a concept demonstration of a de- orbiting manoeuvre shown at the smallest class of spacecraft in LEO. Today, there is no commitment to carry a propulsion system for space- craft. However, due to the vastly increasing number of satellites in mega constellations such obligations are being discussed in the space agencies of several space faring countries. The experiment of UWE-4 presents a de-orbiting solution for the fraction of space debris of operational but unused satellites of today and for the mega constella- tions of tomorrow. [U.S. regulations make the ability to de-orbit a requirement for HEO amateur satellites in the future -- Ed.] Stay tuned for more updates on UWE-4 and the upcoming launch of NetSat, a formation flying nano-satellite mission from the Center for Telema- tics which is expected to be launched September 2020! Kind regards, The UWE-4 Team UWE-4: First NanoFEEP thruster ignition https://amsat-uk.org/2019/03/04/uwe-4-first-nanofeep-thruster-ignition/ UWE-4 435.600 MHz https://bit.ly/39FdrPt [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Burns Fisher, WB1JF, Featured Speaker at AMSAT SA Symposium AMSAT of South Africa (AMSAT SA) has converted its annual Space Sympo- sium into a live online event to take place from 08:00z to 17:00z on Saturday 22 August with a lunch break to have your sandwiches at home. Burns Fisher, WB1JF, IHU Software Engineer and key volunteer in the construction of the Fox1 series of satellites, will join the symposium from the USA with two presentations. In one of his papers Burns will present a small, easy-to-deploy telemetry station called Fox-in-a-Box, a good way for amateurs to get started in satellite telemetry collec- tion with a modest investment. There will be features about AMSAT OSCAR 7, the longest operating ama- teur satellite, as well as about SATNOGs and how to track and decode thousands of small satellites in orbit with simple hardware/software requiring minimal outlay. Dr. Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, and his team will present the latest developments in the AfriCUBE project. To book, visit www.amsatsa.org.za. Members of the SARL or AMSATSA and may register before 15 August for a cost of only R30. Non-members may register prior to this date for a cost of R100 (approximately $6 U.S.) but the AMSAT SA website only offers instructions for registration via postal mail. Contact AMSAT SA to explore other possible options. [ANS thanks SARL News and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above informa- tion] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ NASA to Provide Coverage of Astronauts' Return from ISS on SpaceX NASA will provide live coverage of activities leading up to, during, and following the return of the agency's SpaceX Demo-2 test flight with the agency's astronauts Robert Behnken, KE5GGX, and Douglas Hurley from the International Space Station. The duo arrived at the orbiting laboratory on May 31, following a suc- cessful launch on May 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Ken- nedy Space Center in Florida. NASA and SpaceX are targeting 7:34 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 1, for un- docking of the Dragon "Endeavour" spacecraft from the space station and 2:42 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, for splashdown, which will be the first re- turn of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station. Coverage on NASA TV and the agency's website will begin at 20.30z on Aug. 1, with a short farewell ceremony on station and resume at 21.00z with departure preparations through splashdown and recovery at one of seven targeted water landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Watch at https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. 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. The most recent contact was with the American School of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS on Thursday, 2020-07-30 at 16:41:42 UTC. The scheduled astronaut was Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact was successful, and the recording may be found at https://youtu.be/MSyfzEHYwrE [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 Quick Hits: Do you need Hawaii? NH7WN on AO-7 Most days. Reach out for a schedule. EN57, EN56, EN67, 8/2 – 8/8: N8MR, will be in EN57 from August 2nd through August 8th. He may also activate EN56 and 67. Roving will be holiday style. DM97/98 & EM08/09, 8/29 & 8/30: Super Rover @AD0DX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. Major Roves: AD0HJ, is heading out again for the South Dakota Super Rove Part I Rove Map: Grids DN74, DN75, DN84, DN85, DN94, DN95, EN04, EN05, EN14, EN15, EN16, and EN17. July 31st through August 7th. See the Twitter post at https://twitter.com/AD0HJ/status/1284669314637930499 to get passes and times. Then as if that isn’t enough, there is more: South Dakota Super Rove Part II Rove Map: Grids DN73, DN82, DN83, DN92, DN93, EN02, EN03, EN12, EN24, and EN25. August 17th through August 21st. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, 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 cancelled 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. 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 + Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC), September 11 - 13. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year's conference will be held online. Papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings; authors do not need to participate. Submit papers by August 15 via email to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB. (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information) + AMSAT-UK has announced the OSCAR Satellite QSO Party, aimed at en- couraging radio amateurs around the world to get on the air and make contacts via satellite during summer in the Northern Hemisphere. While points are given per contact, AMSAT-UK says the OSCAR Satellite QSO Party is not a contest. The event starts at 0000 UTC on August 1 and continues until 2359 UTC on September 22. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information) + W5KUB's high-altitude balloon went down around July 21 between Green- land and Norway after 72 days aloft and more than three trips around Earth. "It got stuck in the Arctic for several weeks, making loops," Tom Medlin, W5KUB, said. "We are getting ready to launch W5KUB-21, an SBS-13 balloon with lithium polymer (LiPo) battery. Testing on ground is showing that we are getting 24-hour tracking. We hope to launch that in the next week or two." (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information) + NASA's latest rover, Perseverance, launched to Mars on July 30 carry- chips with 10.9 million names submitted by people all over the world. Anyone can sign up to send their name on a future Mars mission at https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020/ (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + Kerry Banke, N6IZW, was featured in an article published in the La Mesa Courier newspaper of La Mesa, Calif. on July 24. The article highlighted Kerry's association with ARISS, particularly his work on the new special power supply that converts the space station power to the levels that are required by ham radio equipment aboard the ISS. See the full story at https://lamesacourier.com/space-radio/ (ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, for the above information) + NASA and its international partners have assigned crew members for Crew-2, which will be the second operational SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station as part of NASA?s Commer- cial Crew Program. Crew-2 is targeted to launch in spring 2021. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will serve as space- craft commander and pilot, respectively, for the mission. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, will join as mission specialists. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + The 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference, SmallSat 2020, is going virtual, August 1-6, 2020. Admission is free of charge at: https://smallsat.org/conference/registration (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + The public disclosure copy of AMSAT's 2019 IRS filing (Form 990) has been posted to the AMSAT website at: https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Partners with UMaine's Wise-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite
by Paul Stoetzer 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-204 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 Partners with UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-204 ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 204.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE July 22, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-204.01 AMSAT Partners with UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite The University of Maine Wireless Sensing Laboratory (WiSe-Net Lab) and AMSAT have signed an agreement to collaborate on building and operating MESAT1, Maine’s first small satellite, to be launched in space in the next three years. MESAT1 is Maine's first CubeSat — one of 18 small research satellites selected by NASA to carry auxiliary payloads into space between 2021– 23. It is part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative that provides opportunities for nanosatellite science and technology payloads built by universities, schools and nonprofit organizations to ride share on space launches. UMaine’s WiSe-Net Lab, established in 2005, is involved in aerospace and space research. The lab was founded by Ali Abedi, KB1VJV, assistant vice president for research and director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. Lab researchers have developed the first wireless sensor network for NASA’s lunar habitation project and launched wireless leak-detection to the International Space station. The MESAT1 initiative will enable K–12 students and teachers in Maine to access space data for educational and research purposes, and encourage students to pursue STEM careers. AMSAT will provide a Linear Transponder Module (LTM) along with integration and operational support for MESAT1. AMSAT's LTM incorporates a VHF/UHF telemetry beacon, command receiver, and linear transponder. It will be available for radio amateurs worldwide to use when the satellite is commissioned. AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, celebrated the announcement. "This is a great day for AMSAT and UMaine's Wise-Net Lab. This partnership is a true win-win for both education and the amateur radio community. The collaborative effort under AMSAT's engineering and operations teams has once again succeeded to bring another opportunity to AMSAT." [ANS thanks AMSAT and UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS-201 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by Frank Karnauskas 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-201 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * AMSAT Board of Directors Election Packages Mailed July 14 * HO-107 is Back! * First Call for Papers - Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium * New D-STAR Reflector for AMSAT Use * SpaceX to Launch AMSAT-EA EASAT-2 and Hades Satellites * DARC Finds Unauthorized Transmissions in 144 MHz Satellite Band * 1240-1300 MHz Discussed at CEPT SE-40 Meeting * IARU Coordinates Two New Satellites * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-201.01 ANS-201 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 201.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. July 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-202.01 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Packages Mailed July 14 Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary reports that the ballots, candidate statements, and return envelopes for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election were prepared by Paladin Commercial Printing of Newington, Connecticut. Paladin mailed the packages from Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday, July 14, to members of record on July 1. Non-US addresses were sent first class (the only option for overseas). US addresses were sent pre-sorted standard, which is routine for mail that requires a two-way response time measured in weeks, as this does. Allowing for postal delivery standards and guard time, the Secretary will not consider a ballot as lost in post any earlier than August 12 (four weeks after the mailing). This timing permits a replacement ballot to be mailed first class in both directions, even internationally, with time to spare under prevailing postal delivery standards. Paladin has shipped materials for 100 blank election packages to Price. Price will use these materials to assemble and mail replacement or substitute packages as necessary. These requests and packages will be tracked and accounted against the voter list and returned ballots to guard against duplicates, and will be identifiable against the package mailed by Paladin for further verification and accounting by the tellers. Members desiring a replacement ballot package should contact Price no earlier than August 12. The package is clearly labeled as election-related and contains: 1) An instruction and ballot sheet, with the ballot perforated, 2) A sheet of candidate statements, and 3) A No 9 return envelope, which bears the address to which ballots should be returned and the member's name and address for verification against the voter list and any replacement ballot requests. Secrecy at the time of counting will be maintained by separating the ballot from the envelope without inspection, placing the ballot in a receptacle, and scrutinizing the ballots after all have been separated from the envelopes. Ballots should be returned in the return envelopes provided to arrive at the designated Post Office Box in Vienna, Virginia, by 5 p.m. Thursday, September 15, 2020. Separation of the ballots from the envelopes and counting will occur as soon thereafter as practicable, and no later than September 30. Brennan can be reached at brennanprice(a)verizon.net for a query about membership status at any time or a replacement ballot after August 12. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HO-107 is Back! On the evening of July 17, 2020, Vlad Chorney, EU1SAT, tweeted "Husky-1 ACTIVE!" with a screenshot from FoxTelem showing that he had received telemetry from HO-107 (HuskySat-1) which had been silent for nearly two months. About an hour after EU1SAT's tweet, the satellite passed over the eastern United States and AMSAT command stations KO4MA and N8MH copied telemetry. On subsequent passes, the satellite was successfully commanded. Please continue to copy telemetry in FoxTelem. If you have removed HO-107 from your tracked satellites during its period of inactivity, please add it back. The transponder remains disabled while AMSAT Operations evaluates the telemetry from the satellite. [ANS thanks AMSAT Operations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- First Call for Papers - Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium This is the first call for papers for the Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on October 17, 2020. Proposals for papers and symposium presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. Further details regarding the virtual event will be announced shortly. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with the final copy to be submitted by October 5, 2020 for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv(at)amsat.org [ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New D-STAR Reflector for AMSAT Use It has been nearly two years since Walter Holmes, K5WH and friends created the AMSAT DMR Talkgroup 98006 and has been working with great success. About one year ago they created a YSF US AMSAT Reflector 11689 to pull in others using Yaesu System Fusion digital radios. As these were working so well, they decided to bridge the two systems together so it would longer matter which of these digital technologies users had. Users could cross communicate between all users of both systems. After success with the DMR talkgroup and the YSF reflector for more than a year, there was plenty of interest in adding D-STAR capability to the same system. Walter is happy to announce the creation of a new D-STAR reflector for that purpose. It supports four different reflector names such as XLXSAT, XRFSAT, DCSSAT, and REFSAT that are all linked together so that all of these work the same. As most people that are familiar with D-STAR reflectors know, they usually have numbers for the reflectors, but it seemed more appropriate to switch from the number system to the Alpha name like SAT to make it easier to find in the list. For those using hotspots, they will need to refresh or update their Pistar or BlueDV host files to see these entries before they will see this one in the pull-down list. Walter adds, "We recommend that users use module C for the AMSAT conversations but several other modules are available if we find a need to stretch out a bit. But, the C module is the one also linked to a few other repeaters. "The D-STAR SAT reflector is not currently bridged into the system as are the DMR and YSF reflectors, but we hope to have that linked in very soon after a little more testing. "If you have D-STAR capability, we invite you to give it a try and see how it works for you." [ANS thanks Walter Holmes, K5WH for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- SpaceX to Launch AMSAT-EA EASAT-2 and Hades Satellites Spain's national amateur radio society URE says SpaceX expect to launch the EASAT-2 and Hades satellites in December 2020. AMSAT-EA, the URE satellite group, is building the satellites together with the European University of Madrid. The launch has been managed through the space broker Alba Orbital based in Glasgow. EASAT-2 and Hades will be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit between 500 km and 600 km and their main function is to act as analog and digital repeaters for radio amateurs. There is also a camera for SSTV transmissions provided by the Czech Republic that has already flown on the United States Marine Academy PSAT-2 satellite, and has now been adapted to fit into the PocketQube satellites. Both satellites are based on the PocketQube 1.5P (7.5 x 5 x 5 cm) architecture and represent an evolution of the previous GENESIS platform, whose GENESIS-L and GENESIS-N satellites are expected to fly before the end of the year with Firefly, in a joint collaboration with Fossa Systems and LibreSpace, which also launch their own satellites, all of them within the Picobus dispenser, developed by the latter. IARU has coordinated these frequencies: - Hades - uplink 145.925 MHz, downlink 436.888 MHz - EASAT-2 - uplink 145.875 MHz, downlink 436.666 MHz [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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ DARC Finds Unauthorized Transmissions in 144 MHz Satellite Band The DARC reports unauthorized transmissions are taking place in the 144 MHz satellite segment of the 2M amateur radio primary allocation. A translation of the DARC post reads: "In the 144.010 MHz to 144.020 MHz range, illegally operated transmitters are increasingly being operated as "water vitalizers" or "water energizers". The manufacturer specifies 144.015 MHz as the transmission frequency in its product description. "The DARC EMC department asks for further information with location information about conspicuous signals in this frequency range, in preparation for collective complaints. "The devices apparently generate fields with considerable field strength and a long range. The signals appear increasingly in the morning or in the evening. The illegal transmitters are typically in operation for 5 to 60 minutes (integer multiples of 5 minutes). The signal is generally very stable in frequency, but occasionally shows short-term fluctuations of up to a few 100 Hz. Otherwise the carrier is not further modulated. The frequency range 144.000 MHz to 146.000 MHz is assigned to the Amateur Radio service in Germany as the primary exclusive user." A video of the interference caused by these devices and a map showing some of the cases so far detected in Germany can be seen at https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/emv/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1240-1300 MHz Discussed at CEPT SE-40 Meeting The 69th meeting of CEPT ECC Working Group SE-40, held June 23-25, discussed the Amateur Radio 1240-1300 MHz band, the meeting documents are now available. Several contributions were received for the ECC Report dealing with the coexistence between the radionavigation-satellite service and the amateur service in the frequency band 1240 - 1300 MHz. The contributions were incorporated in the draft ECC Report. The CPG arrangements for the preparation of WRC-23 for AI 9.1 topic b) was noted. The Russian Federation noted: - 1240-1260 MHz is by the GLONASS system - 1260-1300 MHz are used by EU's Galileo, Beijing's Beidou, Japan's QZSS and is planned to be used by Korea's KPS. Among the documents available in Input, Info and Minutes are: - SE40(20)052 Amateur Repeaters - IARU-R1 - SE40(20)051 Section 2 update WI_39 - IARU-R1 - SE40(20)050 Annex Draft report RNSS Amateur - Russian Federation - SE40(20)049 Suggestions for RNSS and Amateur Service Compatibility, Russian Federation - Info 1 Amateur repeaters 23 cm - IARU-R1 - Info 3 Letter to SE40 chairman on updated of ITU-R M.1092 - European Commission - Minutes - SE40(20)56A3 (1) Draft Report Amateur vs RNSS Download the meeting documents from https://tinyurl.com/ANS-201-CEPT. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Coordinates Two New Satellites - HIAPO HIAPO is a 1U CubeSat mission that is a unique platform being used to provide engaging meaningful hands-on STEM curriculum for Hawaii students K-12. Part of this curriculum involves obtaining data about solar flares solar particle events and the disturbances of the Earth's magnetic field. The students can also collect data on solar events with relation to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back towards the Earth from the ionosphere. During the lifespan of this mission that data will be available for amateur operators to download directly from the satellite. The Hawaii Science & Technology Museum was awarded a no-cost flight of the launch and a limited resources will not allow the development of an Amateur Radio digipeater. However if the launch date slips they plan to work with resources at AMSAT to develop a digipeater. Proposing a UHF downlink using 9k6 FSK with AX25. Planning a Firefly launch from Vandenberg in July 2020 into a 300 km orbit with 137 degree inclination together with Serenity and Spinnaker 3. A downlink on 437.225 MHz has been coordinated. - VZLUSAT-2 VZLUSAT-2 is 3U CubeSat project of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and Czech Aerospace Research Centre. Students from four Czech technical universities are involved along with members of an Amateur Radio community from The Czech Republic. The primary payload is the experimental Earth observation camera with an expected resolution around 30 to 50 m GSD. Secondary payloads of the mission are Radiation Orbital Monitor, Gama Ray Burst detector, X-ray detector and other sensors. This mission is fully open to Radio Amateurs who were also involved in the development of the satellite. The space segment uses two Amateur bands for communication: An S-band for payload data downlink (DVBS2 ETSI EN 302 307 standard, 2 MBd, QPSK), and UHF downlink beacon (GMSK 1200 Bd), telecommand uplink ( GMSK, 1200 Bd - 9600 Bd) and telemetry downlink (GMSK 4800, 9600 Bd). All the information is in an open format and everything needed for decoding is or will be published at: https://www.pilsencube.zcu.cz/vzlusat2/transmission.pdf. Planning a launch from Cape Canaveral in the time window from December 2020 to March 2021 into SSO 500-600 km. A downlink on 437.325 MHz has been coordinated. [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: - Need Hawaii? On AO-7 Most days. NH7WN for a schedule. - EN85, 86 and maybe 75 and 76, July 11-25. @AA8CH for a schedule. - FN44/54, 7/22 - 7/31, KQ2RP: Just like last time, FM only. - FN11+21 then 12+22 grid lines, 7/25, @NS3L Steve is heading out to these lines. Schedule to come. - EN20/30 Line, July 28-31, @KX9X Sean is moving quickly towards his VUCC/R award by heading out again for two more grids. Watch his Twitter for details. - DM97/98 & EM08/09: Super Rover @AD0DX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. Major Roves: - @WY7AA is heading out again! Mon 7/20 DN67/68. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Tue 7/21 DN57/58. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Wed 7/22 Travel day no sats. Thu 7/23 DN55/56. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Fri 7/24 DN65/66. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Watch his QRZ page for details and updates. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events No events posted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News No pending school operations. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shorts from All Over - Sean Kutzko, KX9X To Present "Working Satellites" at DXE Virtual Hamfest and DX Academy July 25, 2020 Join Sean on Saturday, July 25, 2020 at 10:15 EDT for his thirty- minute presentation on Amateur Radio satellites. Sean's presentation is part of the DX Engineering Virtual Hamfest and DX Academy. The event is free and open to all. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-201-Sean - Behind Scenes SpaceX Crew Dragon Mission You Haven't Seen NASA has just released a new video. It starts with "You saw history made with the first crewed launch and docking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, but you didn't see the flurry of activity on board the International Space Station...until now. "Join Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy and his crew mates as they prepare their cameras to document the DM-2 launch, and look over their shoulders to witness the new American spacecraft dock to the station and deliver their new crew mates." Watch the twelve minute video at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-201-Dragon. [ANS thanks http://spaceref.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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ANS-194 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 12 Jul '20

12 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-194 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: * AMSAT Leadership Explains 2018-2020 Legal Expenses * Update on HO-107 (HuskySat-1) * AMSAT-DL Proposes LunART - Luna Amateur Radio Transponder * Buffalo Soldiers Special Event on the Satellites * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-194.01 ANS-194 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 194.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE July 12, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-194.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Leadership Explains 2018-2020 Legal Expenses On July 10, 2020, AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, sent the following letter to AMSAT members regarding legal expenses incurred during the 2018-2020 timeframe. The letter was co-signed by Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO, Martha Saragovitz, Keith Baker, KB1SF, Robert Bankston, CPA, KE4AL, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, Dr. Mark Hammond, N8MH, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-194-Letter [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Update on HO-107 (HuskySat-1) AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, posted the following update on HO-107 (HuskySat-1) on the AMSAT-BB: While it is disappointing that the transponder did not see a longer period of use following the science missions, the overall HuskySat-1/HO-107 project and mission were quite beneficial for our partner and for AMSAT. The HuskySat-1 team were able to command their satellite and experiments and receive the telemetry they sought, and AMSAT was able to work through the extensive process of making a new design for a "black box" radio module that can be integrated into a non-AMSAT spacecraft and fly in the space environment. The LTM (Linear Transponder Module) on HO-107 worked for over three months after HuskySat-1 came alive following its deployment. The failure of the LTM came during or just after a period of full sun where LTM temperatures reached over 80 degrees Celsius. While licensed and operated as an amateur radio satellite by AMSAT during the transponder use, there are some facts that set HO-107 apart from our Fox-1 CubeSats and other AMSAT satellites. 1. It's not our satellite. We have no control and may not have any insight into how a partner actually uses the LTM. While we see the LTM temperatures and many of the other typical data fields that we downlink to FoxTelem regarding LTM health, data such as temperature of the host environment as well as other specific information like power and the state of the other systems in a host satellite may or may not be available to us. Whether LTM is operated within design limits is entirely up to the host. The University of Washington HuskySat Labs team was very cooperative with us on this mission, however there are things regarding their mission that we do not know because they are processing and studying their data for use in their thesis and classes and preparing it for release in a specific way typical of such an institution today. AMSAT is generally more forthcoming with information about our missions but what we can and have said about this mission is determined by UW. That is really no different to certain aspects of our own missions. Most members are likely familiar with the vague wording I provide for some of our launch timelines and that is the result of the same thing, in the owner of the launch vehicle or LSP/APIC determining what we can say to the public and when. 2. HO-107 was the first ever use of a new product, the AMSAT LTM. The LTM idea was first put forth at the AMSAT leadership strategic planning meeting in 2017 and is now coming into availability for other non-AMSAT CubeSats to fly amateur radio on their mission. HO-107 is the pilot production of LTM and was developed in partnership with UW HuskySat-1. It was the first CubeSat radio module designed and built by AMSAT for use in other host CubeSats, and UW was key in working with us through the design and processes needed to provide such a module. They did not buy it as, nor did we give it to them as an "off the shelf" product as we plan to for future LTM production. LTM was developed from the Fox-1E linear transponder design, and provided in a partnership with UW that started in November 2014 when we made an agreement with University of Washington to fly an amateur radio on their CubeSat mission. Overall, the HuskySat-1 team were quite happy with the telemetry and command performance even with the LTM anomalies showing up toward the end of their experiments. In the process of getting HuskySat-1 to orbit several students became interested in amateur radio, and we have already had preliminary discussions of future joint mission plans. The ability to provide more LTM to new and future partners will increase the number of orbiting satellites carrying amateur radio, at a low cost to AMSAT and the partner, keeping amateur radio in space even as we develop newer and more capable satellites. There is no doubt that HO-107 was a success in many ways beyond the operational life of the transponder. As usual, the AMSAT Engineering team of volunteers deserve the praise for putting yet another amateur radio in space be it in our own satellite, or in a partner satellite! [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT-DL Proposes LunART - Luna Amateur Radio Transponder AMSAT-DL has submitted a proposal to the European Space Agency to place an amateur radio communications link on the Large European Lander. This system would support direct communication with earth through amateur radio frequencies in the microwave bands, support University and Student Payloads with direct access to their experiments, allow Radio Science for a huge community of radio amateur operators and scientists worldwide. It would also provide an important back-up communication capability and capacity during emergency or when the ESA network is busy. More details can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-LunART AMSAT wishes our friends at AMSAT-DL the best of luck on their proposal. This would be a great resource for amateur radio should it come to fruition. [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Buffalo Soldiers Special Event on the Satellites In honor of Buffalo Soldiers Month and to commemorate the formation of the United States Army 9th and 10th Calvary Buffalo Soldiers Regiments the Texas Parks and Wildlife will take part of a worldwide amateur radio special event on July 25th - 26th, 2020. Transmissions will begin transmitting at 8am CST Saturday morning July 25 and will end 8pm CST Sunday July 26. Commemorative QSL cards and Certificates will be available (see the callsign W5W or W5B at the QRZ.com web site for QSL information). Operations will be held on: Voice 10, 15, 20, 40 and 80 meters Digital FT8 on 20, 40 and 80 meters CW on 20, 40 meters Satellite Listen for the FCC assigned callsigns: W5W or W5B Shortwave Listeners (SWL) are encouraged to participate. For those without amateur radio privileges to transmit or listen in, please join us Saturday July 25 at 1pm CST on Facebook Live, look for Buffalo Soldiers Program - Texas Parks and Wildlife, for participation and a chance at a special QSL Card and Commemorative Certificate. For additional information about the Buffalo Soldiers legacy and an excellent video history about the Buffalo Soldiers with commentary from Judge Joe Green please visit www.qrz.com and enter W5W or W5B into the search box. [ANS thanks Rudy Hardy, W5HRH, 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. 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. No events are currently scheduled. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: EM57 & EM67 (Saturday 7/11 & 7/12) N4DCW may also stop in EM58, passes posted on his QRZ page. FN45 & FN46, VE2FUA, 7/12 & 7/13: Chris is heading out to a little known (to rovers at least) called Maine. Might want to get him while he is there. DN44, 7/13 – 7/17, @N7AGF FM for sure may bring linear gear if it fits. FM13 & FM03, 7/12 & 7/13, Wz4M is heading out Holiday Style EN20/30 Line, July 28-31, KX9X : Sean is moving quickly towards his VUCC/R award by heading out again for two more grids. Watch his Twitter for details. DM97/98 & EM08/09: Super Rover @ADoDX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. @WY7AA is heading out again!!! Mon. 7/13 Drive day possible FM passes from DN63 Tues – Sat. 7/14 – 7/18 SSB and FM passes from DN64 Burgess Junction, WY. Some HF POTA K-4534 Big Horn National Forest Sun. 7/19 Travel day no sats, but internet updates Mon 7/20 SSB and FM passes from DN67/68. Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00 Tues 7/21 SSB and FM passes from DN57/58. Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00 Wed. 7/22 Travel day no sats Thurs 7/23 SSB and FM passes from DN55/56. Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00 Fri 7/24 SSB and FM passes from DN65/66. Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00 Watch his QRZ page for details and updates. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr(a)gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Don Bosco Haacht Technisch en Beroepsonderwijs, Haacht, Belgium, Multi -point telebridge via AB1OC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact was successful: Fri 2020-07-10 10:49:51 UTC 27 deg (***) International Aerospace School, Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Ivan Vagner Contact is go for Fri 2020-07-17 19:10 UTC [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over +Congratulations to Kevin Manzer, N4UFO, on earning AMSAT GridMaster Award #12 for working all 488 continental US grids. Kevin notes that it took him just over five years, from 2013-2018, to accomplish this goal. More information regarding the GridMaster Award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/ (via KK5DO and N4UFO) +F4DXV and R9LR have set another new satellite distance record - this time on LilacSat-2. The 4,561 km QSO occured on 10-Jul-2020 at 04:23 UTC. Records are listed at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-SatDist (via F4DXV and N8HM) +An article about the first amateur radio communication system in lunar orbit, aboard LO-94, has been published at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-194-LO-94 (via BG2BHC on Twitter). +Congratulations to KP4RV for being the first station in Puerto Rico to receive the VUCC Award on amateur satellites (via KF7R on Twitter). +The European Space Agency recently published a how-to video regarding reception of ISS SSTV pictures. An ISS SSTV transmission is expected within the next few weeks in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of Apollo/Soyuz: https://youtu.be/HtC-BPcMruA +All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT's new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT's Symposium Proceedings are also available for members If you're a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/ +The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted + The AMSAT Folding at home team continues to climb the rankings. Now in the top 900 of all teams at the time of this writing, the team has grown to 48 members with 67 active CPUs within the past 50 days and includes 12 members in the top 100,000 of all users. Alex Free, N7AGF, is our top contributor with over 159,000,000 points credited to AMSAT's team. For more information about the Folding at 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS-187 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark Johns, K0JM 04 Jul '20

04 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-187 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(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Successful Launch of BY70-2 With FM-to-Codec2 Transponder * AMSAT Responds to Allegations of Unauthorized Legal Expenses * New Satellite Distance Records Set * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for July 2020 * Virginia Air and Space Center Discontinues KE4ZXW Demo Station * AMSAT 2020 Board of Directors Election Upcoming * CAS-6 Becomes TO-108, Added to AMSAT TLE Distribution * San Diego Microwave Group Discusses ARISS Possibilities * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-187.01 ANS-187 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 187.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 July 05 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-187.01 Successful Launch of BY70-2 With FM-to-Codec2 Transponder Wei Mingchaun, BG2BHC, reports on Twitter that BY70-2 was launched on July 3 at 03:10z from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on a CZ-4B launch vehicle. BY70-2 will serve as a replacement for BY70-1, a 2U CubeSat which launched on December 26, 2016. Due to a booster failure, BY70-1 was placed in an elliptical orbit with a low perigee and the satel- lite's orbit decayed in February 2017. Unlike BY70-1, which carried an FM transponder, BY70-2 carries an FM-to-Codec2 transponder similar to the ones on board LO-90 and Taurus-1. More information about working this type of transponder can be found in an article entitled "Digital Voice on Amateur Satellites: Experiences with LilacSat-OSCAR 90" by Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, in the January/February 2019 issue of The AMSAT Journal. The article can also be found on the AMSAT website at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-166-BY70-2. BY70-2 is in a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of approximately 500 km. As a replacement, the satellite is sharing BY70-1's IARU coord- ination and ITU API notification. The uplink frequency is 145.920 MHz and the downlink frequency is 436.200 MHz. [ANS thanks Wei Mingchaun, BG2BHC, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Responds to Allegations of Unauthorized Legal Expenses The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) has been made aware of public comments alleging financial mismanagement in the form of “unauthorized” legal expenditures. AMSAT takes these allegations very seriously and in full disclosure, has investigated these claims for many months. AMSAT’s corporate records give a full accounting of all expenditures and are provided to its Directors upon request, in compliance with our governing documents and law of the District of Columbia (D.C.) Our office remains closed due to COVID-19, where those documents reside. Furthermore, AMSAT complies with IRS rules for 501(c)(3) disclosure of public financial documents, such as the Form 990 available on the AMSAT website. Financial review and accounting services from a third- party firm of Certified Public Accountants are utilized by the corporation to ensure governance to best practice and law. The Corporation vehemently denies false statements alleging “unauthorized” expenditures. On behalf of AMSAT, Clayton Coleman, W5PFG President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Satellite Distance Records Set Two new distance records have been established in the past week! New records are added regularly to the AMSAT Satellite Distance Records page: https://amsat.org/satellite-dist Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, and Vladimir Vassiljev, R9LR, have claimed the distance record on TO-108 (CAS-6) with a 4,458 km QSO on 28-Jun-2020 at 10:11 UTC between JN04ft91dd in France and MO27qf72nd in Russia. Congratulations to Jérôme and Vladimir! Also, congratulations to Alain Combelles, TR8CA, and Philippe Chateau, EA4NF, for a new AMSAT distance record on the CAS-4A Satellite on 27-Jun-2020 at 13:30 UTC. The contact was completed between IN80fl in Spain and JJ40ql in Gabon. These are the latest in a series of new records set over the past few months, including: EO-88 – 4,086 km. F4DXV in JN04iu <> VO1FOG in GN37in. 02-Apr-2020 at 23:20 UTC. PO-101 (FM) – 5,128 km. EA4SG in IN80cp77em<> R9LR in MO27qf72nd. 06-May-2020 at 23:03 UTC. RS-44 – 8,357 km. W5CBF in EM30jf35qi <> DL4EA in JN48ko94cw. 26-May-2020 AO-92 (L/V) – 4,202 km. OA4/XQ3SA in FH17lv <> XE1MEX in EK08mu. 03-Jun-2020 at 04:07 UTC. AO-27 – 5,682 km. E21EJC in OK03fp <> R9LR in MO27qf. 09-Jun-2020 at 23:45 UTC XW-2B – 4,978 km. KE9AJ in DM79iq47 <> FG8OJ in FK96ig17. 20-Jun-2020 at 11:14 UTC. Congratulations to all of these operators for their patience and their operating skill. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice-President, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for July 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period June 1, 2020 through July 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL June July N0JE 637 652 WD9EWK (DM43) 600 612 NS3L 551 575 KI7UNJ 510 527 AD0HJ 425 450 KE8FZT 400 428 AA4QE 305 408 K5IX 375 402 ND0C 346 377 KC9UQR 275 301 WA9JBQ 275 300 N4YHC 250 270 W4DTA 261 263 KA9P 212 259 KS1G 170 233 KE0WPA 200 229 VU2LBW 114 200 N3CAL 100 160 K7TEJ 102 126 N7ZO New 116 AC9O New 108 DJ3GZ New 108 WD9EWK (DM45) 100 106 K3HPA New 102 WA9WUD New 102 KI5HHK New 101 N8URE New 101 KD9NGV New 100 KP4RV New 100 W8LR New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at W5RKN [at] W5RKN.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was develop- ed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a vis- ual 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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Virginia Air and Space Center Discontinues KE4ZXW Demo Station The Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton,Virginia has ended its twenty-five year relationship with the KE4ZXW Amateur Radio Demonstra- tion Station. Robert Griesmer, Executive Director and CEO of the Vir- ginia Air and Space Center has directed that the KE4ZXW Amateur Radio Demonstration Station located at the Virginia Air and Space Center (VASC) be disassembled and removed from the Center by June 30. In his June 5,2020, update Mr. Griesmer advised the following to the KE4ZXW group : “I am writing to you to inform you that, after careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue the Ham Radio Station Ex- hibit effective July 1st upon the re-opening of the Center.” Randy Grigg, WB4KZI, president of the Amateur Radio group, thanked the volun- teers who have supported and operated the station for the last 25 years. The station has spent the last quarter of a century demonstrating the use of Amateur Radio, its applications as a STEM Activity, communica- tions skills and communications through amateur satellites to school groups. The station also made contacts to the International Space Sta- tion. The KE4ZXW Amateur Radio station's equipment has found a new home with K4KDJ, the Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association in Blacksburg, Va. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT 2020 Board of Directors Election Upcoming The nomination period for this year's AMSAT Board of Directors election ended June 15. The following candidates have been found to have their membership in good standing and their nomination credentials in order: Howard DeFelice, AB2S Mark Hammond, N8MH Jeff Johns, WE4B Robert McGwier, N4HY Bruce Paige, KK5DO Paul Stoetzer, N8HM This year, AMSAT will be electing three voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be two alternates chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. Further details regarding the mechanics of the election will appear in ANS in the near future. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT membership by July 15th based on a membership list that will be generated as early as July 1. Members are encouraged to use the AMSAT Membership Portal at launch.amsat.org to verify that their membership is in good standing and their mailing address is correct. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAS-6 Becomes TO-108, Confusion Ensues At the request of CAMSAT and the CAS-6 team, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations & OSCAR Number Administrator announced last week that CAS-6 (TQ-1) would receive the official designation of TQ-OSCAR 108 (TO-108). Since that designation, TO-108 was added to the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satel- lite Status Page at https://www.amsat.org/status/ However, an entry for CAS-6 also remains on that page. Further, AMSAT TLE distributions continue to list the satellite as CAS-6 (NORAD Cat ID 44881). Operators should be aware that the designations CAS-6 and TO-108 both refer to the same satellite, and should be on the lookout for changes in the naming on websites and in TLE distribution sets. It many take a week or two before consistent naming filters through all systems. Frequencies for the intended radio amatuer mission are: • CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.910 MHz • AX.25 4.8kbps GMSK Telemetry: 145.890 MHz • U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.925 MHz, 20 kHz bandwidth • U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.280 MHz, Inverted Operator reports indicate that the transponder is active only for brief intervals of about 2 seconds, spaced approximately 5 seconds apart. With patience, and quick transmissions, QSOs have been completed. [ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ San Diego Microwave Group Discusses ARISS Possibilities Participants in the San Diego Microwave Group's (SDMG) 29 June 2020 Zoom meetup discussed the possibility of the AREx broadband digital microwave design being potentially deployed on the International Space Station (ISS). Since the project has focused heavily on high earth orbit, geostation- ary orbit, and the lunar opportunity with Gateway, the challenges of low earth orbit (ISS) now need to be addressed. This will be an ongoing process. Here's what participants recommended at SDMG: Since there are LEO constellations up to and including Ka band, the tracking and doppler have been done. It's just a question of learning the requirements, design patterns, limitations, and techniques. Since the project already incorporates the near-space communications recommendations from Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), little has to be done in that regard. HamTV on ISS is at 2.4 GHz, which while lower than the projected 5 GHz and 10 GHz, has all the other aspects of broadband digital. There is plenty to be learned from those experiments, and meetings are being set up to begin to collaborate with the principals of HamTV on deeply appreciated advice & next steps. There was strong advice to eliminate antenna pointing. Use of an anten- na system in space and on the ground that does not require tracking would dramatically increase adoption. With Adaptive Coding and Modula- tion, all sorts of systems can be accommodated. However, a ground sta- tion that does track can use a directional antenna with a lot more gain, and get a much higher bitrate, while a station with a 120 degree field of view would get a lower bitrate, but would not have to track at LEO. This needs thorough link budgeting. There are several link budgets in Jupyter Notebook in progress at https://github.com/phase4space/payload-dmt Others interested in help- ing here are most welcome. Testing for human rated spacecraft incurs a substantial increase in engineering, paperwork, and time requirements. Putting the equipment outside instead of inside does not eliminate the testing requirements. This is going to require advice/direction from ARISS. Space heritage of this type, where equipment is an external payload only requiring power, makes hosted payload options easier to negotiate. There are 5-6 GEO missions going up in the next 3 years that could be targeted. Doppler is a factor here, and SDMG participants received strong recom- mendations about talking with particular ARISS team members with exper- ience. SDMG will be learning from and incorporating their advice in the very near future. [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, Member of the AMSAT Board of Directors, for the above report] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Scheduled contacts and events: Don Bosco Haacht Technisch en Beroepsonderwijs, Haacht, Belgium, Multi-point telebridge via AB1OC. (A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home.) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact is go for Friday, July 10 at 10:49:51 UTC (27 degrees maximum elevation). 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. [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 Quick Hits: Email from @KS1G: K2B (VA, me) and K2F (MD) are both on sats for the 13 Colonies event through Tuesday evening. K2F told me K2A (NY) is also on. He will also post schedules to twitter!!! DN08, 7/4 & 7/5, @KC7JPC, John is heading out roving. Yippeeeeee!!!! DN18 / DN28, 7/11: KI7UXT and KC7JPC EM57 & EM67 (Saturday 7/11 & 7/12) N4DCW may also stop in EM58, passes posted on his QRZ page. FN45 & FN46, VE2FUA, 7/12 & 7/13: Chris is heading out to a little known (to rovers at least) called Maine. Might want to get him while he is there. FM13 & FM03, 7/12 & 7/13, WZ4M is heading out Holiday Style <- Updated Grids EN20/30 Line, July 28-31, @KX9X : Sean is moving quickly towards his VUCC/R award by heading out again for two more grids. Watch his Twitter for details. Major Roves: @KM4LAO is heading out on 7/3 – 7/9 through Texas, Colorado and Kansas. FMs for sure and maybe linears. The tentative schedule is as follows: 7/3 (evening) – 7/4: DM95 7/5: DM86/96 gridline and possibly DM85/95 line as well 7/6: DM87/88 or DM97/98 gridline based on family schedule 7/6-7/9: DM87 Details will be posted on Twitter @KM4Ruth @N5BO is heading out into the Murder Hornet territory: EM43/44 on 7/3 Starting at 15:05 EM53/54 on 7/4 Starting at 14:54 EM52 on 7/5 Starting at 16:37 Click here for pass scheduled and frequencies @WY7AA is heading out again!!! Starting July 13th DN63 (Some Day passes) DN64 fir a few days of fly fishing then DN55 – DN68, and getting home on July 31st…. ** Postponed ** DL88: Ron (@AD0DX) and Doug (@N6UA) are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, TX. As we know they tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. Today the tentative date is Monday July 6th, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, 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 cancelled 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: * Shelby NC Hamfest (Contact N4HF for info or if you want to help.) Phil Jenkins, N4HF, is planning to present a forum – and set-up/man an info table – at the Shelby NC Hamfest Friday/Saturday Sept 4 & 5. (the ‘fest runs Sept 4-6, but he’ll probably only be there Friday and Saturday). Demos possible if additional volunteers step up. 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 + There has been further work on trying FT8 for EME, this time on 1296. It turns out that, contrary to the original news item, the Doppler spread on the lower bands is not an issue, since the energy distribu- tion of the EME signal is mainly concentrated in a much narrower spectrum than the maximum total Doppler spread. This means that it can work probably with little degradation on bands up to and includ- ing 1296, under most circumstances. For a writeup of this work please see http://bobatkins.com/radio/FT8_EME_1296.html (ANS thanks Charles Suckling, G3WDG, via Southgate ARC, for the above information) + Two ISS astronauts, including newly-arrived Bob Behnken, KE5GGX, per- formed a spacewalk to replace batteries on the outside of the station (and dropped a handheld mirror which promptly became the newest piece of space debris). (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above infor- mation) + Hackster recently featured a nice little project using a Raspberry Pi to display the current location of the International Space Station (ISS) and its trajectory over time, using an ePaper Display, Proto- Stax Enclosure and some Python code. See https://bit.ly/2Ao9HVa (ANS thanks to hackster.io and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information) + The Space Science Center at Morehead State University (Kentucky) is accepting applications for a full-time position as a Space Systems Engineer – Software Engineer. For details and to apply, see: https://moreheadstate.peopleadmin.com/postings/9284 Please note: The preferred closing date has passed, but they are still accepting applications! (ANS thanks Morehead State and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information) + The Benchmark Space Systems team is excited to sponsor and present a complimentary “Propulsion Systems 101” workshop Wednesday July 8 at 1:00 p.m. EST (1700z) The workshop will provide satellite integrators and constellation developers with a broad overview of propulsion technologies and their associated operational capabilities. Register at: https://www.lrainstitute.com/event_post/0720-propulsion-systems/ (ANS thanks Benchmark Space Systems and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, 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, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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ANS-186 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Responds to Allegations of Unauthorized Legal Expenses
by Paul Stoetzer 04 Jul '20

04 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-186 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 Responds to Allegations of Unauthorized Legal Expenses SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-186 ANS-186 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 186.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE July 4, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-186.01 AMSAT Responds to Allegations of Unauthorized Legal Expenses The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) has been made aware of public comments alleging financial mismanagement in the form of “unauthorized” legal expenditures. AMSAT takes these allegations very seriously and in full disclosure, has investigated these claims for many months. AMSAT’s corporate records give a full accounting of all expenditures and are provided to its Directors upon request, in compliance with our governing documents and law of the District of Columbia (D.C.) Our office remains closed due to COVID-19, where those documents reside. Furthermore, AMSAT complies with IRS rules for 501(c)(3) disclosure of public financial documents, such as the Form 990 available on the AMSAT website. Financial review and accounting services from a third- party firm of Certified Public Accountants are utilized by the corporation to ensure governance to best practice and law. The Corporation vehemently denies false statements alleging “unauthorized” expenditures. On behalf of AMSAT, Clayton Coleman, W5PFG President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, 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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ANS-180 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark Johns, K0JM 27 Jun '20

27 Jun '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-180 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(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Now Available to AMSAT Members * Ham Talk Live Episode on Satellite Etiquette * ASEE Presentation on CubeSatSim * CAS-6 Becomes TO-108, Added to AMSAT TLE Distribution * AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2020 Board of Directors Election * ARISS Volunteer VK5ZAI Named Member of the Order of Australia * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-180.01 ANS-180 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 180.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 June 28 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-180.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Now Available to AMSAT Members All editions of the AMSAT Symposium Proceedings dating back to 1986 are now available as a benefit of AMSAT membership via the Member Resources section of our new membership portal at launch.amsat.org. If you're a current member and have not yet logged on to the portal, please do so to ensure that your information is accurate in the database and check out the online resources we have made available to all members, including Proceedings, all issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014, and a printable frequency chart listing currently available amateur satellites. If you're not a current member, now is a great time to sign up. Visit https://launch.amsat.org/ today! (ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ham Talk Live Episode on Satellite Etiquette Popular internet podcast "Ham Talk Live!" this past week featured an episode on Satellite Etiquette. The podcast, which uses the format of a radio call-in show, streams live on Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (0100z in the current Daylight Time regimine), can be replayed on You- Tube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF1FnCczwUikw1aKsTqMR9g as Episode 218. Podcast host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, conducted interviews with Kevin Zari, KK4YEL and Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services about basic satellite operating etiquette as well as how to conduct satellite operations special event stations, such as roamers and during events such as Field Day. [ANS thanks @HamTalkLive on Twitter 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ CAS-6 Becomes TO-108, Added to AMSAT TLE Distribution The CAS-6 (TQ-1) microsatellite was launched December 20, 2019 on a CZ-4B launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China. CAS-6 (TQ-1) was developed by the Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) and in cooperation with China’s commercial satellite manufac- turer. CAMSAT completed the design and manufacture of the amateur radio payload, and manages the on-orbit operation of the payload. The satel- lite carries CW and digital telemetry beacons and a linear transponder. The deployment of the amateur antennas was delayed due technical and COVID-19 issues, but was completed on June 20, 2020. Currently the beacons are carriers only, and the transponder operates with about 2 seconds on and 5 seconds off. At the request of CAMSAT and the CAS-6 team, AMSAT hereby designates CAS-6 (TQ-1) as TQ-OSCAR 108 (TO-108). We congratulate the owners and operators of TO-108, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them continued success on this and fu- ture projects. Frequencies for the intended radio amatuer mission are: • CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.910 MHz • AX.25 4.8kbps GMSK Telemetry: 145.890 MHz • U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.925 MHz, 20 kHz bandwidth • U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.280 MHz, Inverted Operator reports indicate that the transponder is active only for brief intervals of about 2 seconds, spaced approximately seconds apart. With patience, and quick transmissions, QSOs have been completed. CAS-6 (NORAD Cat ID 44881) has been added to the AMSAT distributions of Two Line Element (TLE) sets beginning from June 25, 2020. Watch for possible future changes to the satellite name in future TLEs. [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations & OSCAR Number Administrator; Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager; and Alan Kung, BA1DU, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ASEE Presentation on CubeSatSim At this week's American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) virtual national conference, AMSAT's VP of Educational Relations, Alan Johns- ton, Ph.D., KU2Y, presented a paper on the use of the AMSAT CubeSatSim in the classroom. His paper "The CubeSat Mini Project: Experiences with an Introductory Freshman Electrical and Computer Engineering Course" described the use of the CubeSatSim in the spring of 2019 at Villanova University. In addition to building CubeSatSims, the students also built tape mea- sure Yagi-Uda antennas, tracked amateur radio satellites, and listened to morse code telemetry using SDRs. The CubeSatSim is a low cost sat- ellite emulator that runs on solar panels and batteries, transmits UHF radio telemetry, has a 3D printed frame, and can be extended by addi- tional sensors and modules. It can be built for about $200. Details about the design and use of the simulator are in a series of articles in the AMSAT Journal. More information on the AMSAT CubeSatSim is available at https://cubesatsim.org or by contacting Alan at ku2y at amsat dot org or on Twitter @alanbjohnston. [ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP Educational Relations for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2020 Board of Directors Election The nomination period for this year's AMSAT Board of Directors election ended June 15. The following candidates have been found to have their membership in good standing and their nomination credentials in order: Howard DeFelice, AB2S Mark Hammond, N8MH Jeff Johns, WE4B Robert McGwier, N4HY Bruce Paige, KK5DO Paul Stoetzer, N8HM This year, AMSAT will be electing three voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be two alternates chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. Further details regarding the mechanics of the election will appear in ANS in the near future. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT membership by July 15th based on a membership list that will be generated as early as July 1. Members are encouraged to use the AMSAT Membership Portal at launch.amsat.org to verify that their membership is in good standing and their mailing address is correct. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS Volunteer VK5ZAI Named Member of the Order of Australia Veteran Amateur Radio on the International Radio Station (ARISS) volun- teer Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, has been honored as a Member of the Order of Australia in Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Honours List. Hutchison was recognized “For significant service to amateur radio, particularly to satellite and space communication.” The Australian Government’s Depart- ment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet noted that Hutchison is one of 10 official ARISS telebridge stations to the International Space Sta- tion, as well as a HamTV ground station. Hutchison’s station has served as the ham radio contact point for ISS crew members to speak with schools and groups on Earth via ham radio, when a contact location is not within the footprint of an ISS pass. The students connect via a teleconference line from their school to the telebridge station, and then with the astronaut using ham radio. Hutchison provided communication support for contacts with Australian astronaut Andy Thomas, VK5JAT/VK5MIR, during Thomas’s tour on the Rus- sian Mir space station, and he enabled the first school contact with Mir in 1993. As part of ARISS, he helped 65 schools prepare for ARISS contacts and used his telebridge station for 58 ARISS contacts through- out the world. He is a member of AMSAT-VK. “Tony’s been an ARISS mentor for years, and was lead of Australia’s mentors,” ARISS-International Secretary Rosalie White, K1STO, said. “He enjoyed talking to the Mir crews long before.” White said that Hutchison, who is in his early 80s, remains involved in the ARISS pro- gram. Licensed in 1960, Hutchison became interested in satellite com- munication in 1965 with OSCAR-3. “Although I received the honour, I would like to share it with all team members I work with,” Hutchison said. “If it wasn’t for the work that all the ARISS-International volunteers do, this award would never have been given.” An investiture ceremony is tentatively set for this fall. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. [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 Upcoming Roves: Quick Hits: CM86, 6/26. W6KSR: Will be on a few passes on Friday from CM86, EM19, 6/27 & 6/28 KE9AJ : Will be at the farm with FM and Linear gear. FM25 and Maybe FM26, @KM4LAO Now though 6/28. Ruth will be at the beach, no schedule yet! EM58/EM59, 6/29 @KX9X will be heading out to the grid line between 14:00 and 22:00. Watch his twitter feed for updates. <- Updated EM57 & EM67 (Saturday 7/11 & 7/12) N4DCW <-Change of grids! FN45 & FN46, VE2FUA, 7/12 & 7/13: Chris is heading out to a little known state (to rovers at least) called Maine. Might want to get him while he is there. Major Roves: @WY7AA is heading out again!!! Starting July 13th DN63 (Some Day passes) DN64 fir a few days of fly fishing then DN55 – DN68, and getting home on July 31st…. DL88: Ron (@AD0DX) and Doug (@N6UA) are making another run at the elu- sive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, TX. As we know they tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. Today the tentative date is Monday July 6th, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More in- formation is available at the K5Z QRZ Page. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, 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 cancelled 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: * Shelby NC Hamfest (Contact N4HF for info or if you want to help.) Phil Jenkins, N4HF, is planning to present a forum – and set-up/man an info table – at the Shelby NC Hamfest Friday/Saturday Sept 4 & 5. (the ‘fest runs Sept 4-6, but he’ll probably only be there Friday and Saturday). Demos possible if additional volunteers step up. 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 + Rohit Bokade, VU3OIR, has started a petition requesting a change to the Amateur Radio license in India to permit all grades of license to use the amateur radio satellites. In India, holders of the Restricted grade of license (VU3 prefix) are not permitted to use amateur radio satellites or communicate with the International Space Station. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information) + NASA's Perseverance rover is getting ready to launch to Mars in July, and it'll carry some very special messages with it. We already knew about the 11 million names and the statement "explore as one" writ- ten in Morse code. NASA revealed last week it'll also take a tribute to health care workers all the way to the red planet. The Persever- ance team installed a small aluminum plate showing Earth on top of a serpent-wrapped rod, a nod to the ancient Rod of Asclepius symbol for medicine. NASA said the plaque commemorates the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic and pays tribute to the perseverance of health care work- ers around the world. (ANS thanks cnet.com for the above information) + NASA has agreed to allow its astronauts to fly on reused Crew Dragon spaceships and Falcon 9 boosters beginning as soon as SpaceX’s third launch of a crew to the International Space Station, a mission expec- ted to launch next year. The space agency has modified its contract with SpaceX to permit reuse of spacecraft and rocket hardware. NASA had not previously approved the use of previously-flown spacecraft and rockets on missions carrying the agency’s astronauts into orbit. NASA said the contract modification allows for the extension of the Crew Dragon’s Demo-2 test flight — which launched May 30 with astro- nauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, KE5GGX — from two weeks to up to 119 days. (ANS thanks SpaceflightNOW for the above information) + NASA announced this week that it will rename its Washington headquar- ters after its first black female engineer, Mary Jackson, whose story was told in the hit film "Hidden Figures." Jackson was a research mathematician who was later promoted to become the agency's first black female engineer. The move by NASA comes as weeks of protests in the United States have sparked a national reckoning about systemic racism and racial inequality. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + Congratulations to Drew Blasbrenner, KO4MA, who has been awarded the first AMSAT issued GridMaster Award (#11)! The GridMaster award is available to all amateurs worldwide who submit proof with confirma- tion of contacts with each of the 488 maidenhead grids located within the contiguous United States of America. Contacts must be confirmed in writing, preferably in the form of QSL cards or via Logbook of the World (LoTW). This award was first introduced by Star Comm Group in 2014. AMSAT thanks Damon Runion, WA4HFN, and Rick Tillman, WA4NVM, for not only sponsoring this award since its inception, but, also, entrusting AMSAT with the honor of carrying on this important award for the benefit of the entire AMSAT community. (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director, Contests & Awards, for the above infor- mation) + The San Diego Microwave Group will hold a Zoom meeting this Monday, June 29 at 7 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time (0200 UTC on June 30) with a pre- sentation by Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, concerning challenges of plac- ing an amateur microwave payload in space. Microwave on the ISS was raised as a possibility this past week from the ARISS/AREx hardware summit meetings. The San Diego Microwave Group meeting is a regular technical roundtable on amateur microwave activities, questions, op- erations, and experiments. Join Zoom Meeting ID: 819 2711 2936 using Password: 487697. (ANS thanks AMSAT Board Member Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, for the above information). + Congrats to Joe Werth, KE9AJ, and Burt Demarcq, FG8OJ, for setting a new distance record on XW-2B on June 20. This was also the longest QSO recorded on any of the XW-2 series of satellites. FG8OJ located at FK96ig17, to KE9AJ at DM79IQ47 is 4,978 km. (ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, AMSAT Executive Vice-President, 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, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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ANS-173 AMSAT New Service Weekly Bulletin
by KI7UNJ Tucker 20 Jun '20

20 Jun '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-173 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: * AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2020 Board of Directors Election * AMSAT Announces GridMaster Award * CAS-6 Online * Amicalsat - Aurora Pictures * Raspberry Pi FUNcube Satellite Telemetry Decoder Now Available * ORI Announces ARRL Foundation Grant Award * ORI Announces YASME Foundation Grant Award * 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Moving to Virtual Event * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-173.01 ANS-173 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 173.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 21, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-173.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2020 Board of Directors Election The nomination period for this year's AMSAT Board of Directors election ended June 15. The following candidates have been found to have their membership in good standing and their nomination credentials in order: Howard DeFelice, AB2S Mark Hammond, N8MH Jeff Johns, WE4B Robert McGwier, N4HY Bruce Paige, KK5DO Paul Stoetzer, N8HM This year, AMSAT will be electing three voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be two alternates chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. Further details regarding the mechanics of the election will appear in ANS in the near future. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT membership by July 15th based on a membership list that will be generated as early as July 1. Members are encouraged to use the AMSAT Membership Portal at launch.amsat.org to verify that their membership is in good standing and their mailing address is correct. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Announces GridMaster Award Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director and Contest and Awards Manager, announced AMSAT is now the official sponsor of the GridMaster Award, effective June 15, 2020. This award was first introduced in 2014 by the Star Comm Group. AMSAT thanks Damon Runion, WA4HFN, and Rick Tillman, WA4NVM, for not only developing and sponsoring this award since its inception, but, also, entrusting AMSAT with the honor of carrying on this important award for the benefit of the entire AMSAT community. The GridMaster Award is available to all amateurs worldwide who submit proof with written confirmation of contacts with each of the 488 maidenhead grids located within the 48 contiguous United States of America. Two-way communication must be established via amateur satellite with each grid. There is no minimum signal report required. Contacts must be made from the same location, or from locations no two of which are more than 200 kilometers apart. The applicant’s attestation in the award application serves as affirmation of abidance to the distance rule. There are no endorsements and no recognized tiers of progression; however, amateur operators may apply for and be granted multiple GridMaster awards, when operating from separate and unique 200-kilometer circles. A numbered and dated certificate will be awarded to each person who qualifies for the award at no cost. In addition, awardees may purchase an engraved plaque to commemorate their achievement. Since its introduction, ten amateur satellite operators have claimed the title of Grid Master: 01 John Papay, K8YSE 02 Doug Papay, KD8CAO 03 Rick Tillman, WA4NVM 04 Glenn Miller, AA5PK 05 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG 06 Alvaro De Leon R., XE2AT 07 Fernando Ramirez, NP4JV 08 Ron Oldham, N8RO 09 Randy Kohlwey, WI7P 10 Frank Westphal, K6FW So, who will be awarded AMSAT's GridMaster Certificate No. 11? Are you up for the challenge? Please visit amsat.org/gridmaster/ for further details. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAS-6 Online The CAS-6 V/UHF antenna has been deployed today. Due to some OBC failures, CW beacon and GMSK telemetry are not working properly. At present, only the carriers are transmitted on the two frequencies, the linear transponder has been put into operation. We will then try to diagnose and then determine whether the CW and telemetry data stream transmission can be recovered. CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.910MHz AX.25 4.8kbps GMSK Telemetry: 145.890MHz U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.925MHz, 20kHz bandwidth, Inverted U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.280MHz TLE: CAS-6(2019-093C) 1 44881U 19093C 20170.81187924 -.00001118 00000-0 -13581-3 0 9991 2 44881 97.9575 246.8556 0015830 36.2280 323.9959 14.81412013 26893 [ANS thanks Alan Kung, BA1DU for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Amicalsat - Aurora Pictures The Vega rocket (VV16) was scheduled to launch from Kourou on 19 June 2020 01:51:10 GMT with 53 satellites on board. Due to wind conditions this launch has been delayed until at least 21 June. One of the satellites that will be leaving is the Amicalsat satellite built by the CSUG (Centre Spatial Universitaire Grenoblois). The measurements made by the satellite will be available to all. They will allow radio amateurs to use them for propagation predictions. The project's website (in English) has just been put online: http://amicalsat.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/. The Amsat-Francophone supported this project: http://site.amsat-f.org/amicalsat/ Software (Linux & Windows) is provided for decoding the telemetry and sending it to the database (SatNogs). The user manual is available (in English) https://tinyurl.com/Amicalsat-User-Manual *Beacon* *Frequency* *Modes* *Callsign* UHF 436.1 MHz AFSK 1200 RS17S S band 2,415.3 MHz GFSK 1000 kb/s http://amsat-f.org/AMSATLIST/SatellitePage/UK/0Amicalsat.html Reports are welcome. Thank you for your help. [ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, AMSAT-F Chairman 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Raspberry Pi FUNcube Satellite Telemetry Decoder Now Available The FUNcube Team has announced the availability of FUNcube CubeSat sat- ellite telemetry decoder software for the popular Raspberry Pi computer board. The original FUNcube telemetry decoder and Dashboard was designed to run on Windows devices and the FUNcube team did publish the telemetry format in accordance with the Amateur Satellite Service traditions and requirements. The Team had planned to opensource the Telemetry Decoder and provide an implementation on Linux, but several new missions after the original FUNcube-1 delayed their plans somewhat. Late 2019, the Team had the opportunity to develop a low power/low im- pact ground station, based on Docker containers, for use at the Neu- mayer III Antarctic base at DP0GVN. This led us to evolve the code such that it would run on a Raspberry Pi. The Linux implementation is suitable for use on Raspberry Pi versions from 2B+ to 4 and with a FUNcube dongle (Pro or Pro+). The software will tune a dongle to search for and track all three FUNcube compatible spacecraft currently operational. The Telemetry Decoder is configured with five active decoders operating concurrently so it can deal with situations where more than one of the spacecraft are overhead at the same time. The decoder and warehouse uploader run as a Docker container for con- venience shell scripts have been provided to launch the container in one of two modes: • “Interactive Mode” is when the Telemetry Decoder operates in the fore- ground , when FUNcube compatible telemetry is received, the correspond- ing hex data is displayed on the terminal screen. • “Background Mode” allows the telemetry decoder to run as a Docker image in the background where it operates much like any other back- ground service on Linux. This mode allows for the automatic restarting of the telemetry decoder after a shutdown or reboot of the Raspberry Pi, therefore making it suitable for a remote deployment situation. *Both modes, when connected to the internet, will upload the received data to the FUNcube Data Warehouse and the totals displayed on the Ranking Page in the normal manner. *Uploading to the warehouse requires online registration with the FUN- cube Data Warehouse. All the code for the telemetry decoder, and the scripts to build the Docker images, are now published online under a GPL Open Source License at the FUNcube-Dev GitHub account https://github.com/funcube-dev Alternatively, it possible to buy a pre-formatted microSD card for the Pi from the AMSAT-UK shop at https://shop.amsat-uk.org/ Full instructions PDF can be downloaded from https://tinyurl.com/RPi-FUNcube-Decoder FUNcube Data Warehouse http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/missions [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ORI Announces ARRL Foundation Grant Award ORI, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to open source research and development in amateur radio, has been awarded a $3,000 grant from the ARRL Foundation. This grant, the maximum amount, will be immediately applied to Phase 1 of the Digital Multiplex Transponder research and development program. This grant allows hardware prototypes for broad- band microwave digital payloads to proceed much more quickly. Established in 1973 by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL) as an independent and separate 501(c)(3) organization, the ARRL Foundation administers programs to support the Amateur Radio community. Funded entirely by the generous contributions of radio amateurs and friends, ARRL Foundation administers programs for Amateur Radio award scholarships for higher education, award grants for Amateur Radio projects, and award special Amateur Radio program grants for The Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive Program and The Jesse A. Bieberman Meritorious Membership Program. [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NVY, CEO and Director, ORI for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ORI Announces YASME Foundation Grant Award ORI, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to open source research and development in amateur radio, has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Yasme Foundation. This grant completes the Phase 1 fundraising campaign and allows ORI’s communications prototype work for geosynchronous and interplanetary amateur radio satellites to proceed. The Yasme Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation organized to support scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio, including DXing (long distance communication) and the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in developing countries. Yasme supports various projects relating to amateur radio, with an emphasis on developing amateur radio in emerging countries and encouraging youth participation in amateur radio. The Yasme Foundation makes supporting grants to individuals and organizations providing or creating useful services for the amateur radio community. Regardless of originality or novelty, Yasme supports these programs in order to further the development of amateur radio around the world. [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NVY, CEO and Director, ORI for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Moving to Virtual Event The 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting in-person event scheduled to be held in Bloomington, Minnesota has been canceled. The event will be shifted to a virtual, online platform. This comes after a decision made between AMSAT's Senior Leadership and Board of Directors in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While AMSAT recognizes the national challenges related to recent events in Minneapolis, they have no bearing on the Symposium decision whatsoever. We anticipate holding the 2021 Annual Space Symposium at the previously announced 2020 venue. The in-person event was scheduled to occur Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18. As the 2020 virtual event plans are developed, they will be announced via the usual AMSAT channels. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations + Quick Hits DN65/66 (Sunday 6/22/2020) N7EGY + Major Roves: DL88: Ron (@AD0DX) and Doug (@N6UA) are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, TX. As we know they tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn't get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. Today the tentative date is Monday July 6, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page. https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/ Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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. No upcoming events reported 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 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. *No events currently scheduled 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 the COVID-19 pandemic. Check https://twitter.com/Diwata2PH for the daily activation schedule [ANS thanks DIWATA-2 Ground Team for the above information] + The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed From this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution: 1KUNS-PF - NORAD Cat ID 43466 (Decayed from orbit June 11, 2020 per Space-Track). + A new organization, the National Radio Society of Ireland (NRSI) has has been newly founded this year, 2020. Membership is open to all amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners who are either full- time residents or who have, in the past, spent a minimum of two months in Ireland as a visitor. NRSI became member association of the European Radio Amateurs' Organization (EURAO) on June 11. For details, see https://www.nrsi.ie [ANS thanks EURAO 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-162 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Moving to Virtual Event
by Paul Stoetzer 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-162 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: * 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Moving to Virtual Event SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-162.01 ANS-162 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 162.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 10, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-162.01 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Moving to Virtual Event The 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting in- person event scheduled to be held in Bloomington, Minnesota has been canceled. The event will be shifted to a virtual, online platform. This comes after a decision made between AMSAT's Senior Leadership and Board of Directors in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While AMSAT recognizes the national challenges related to recent events in Minneapolis, they have no bearing on the Symposium decision whatsoever. We anticipate holding 2021's Annual Space Symposium at the previously announced 2020 venue. The in-person event was scheduled to occur Friday, October 16th - Sunday, October 18th. As the 2020 virtual event plans are developed, they will be announced via the usual AMSAT channels. [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

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ANS-159 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 06 Jun '20

06 Jun '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-159 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: * Newly Revised 2020 Digital Edition of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites” Now Available * Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Team in the United States Creates a New Organization: ARISS-USA * AMSAT President's Statement on Creation of ARISS-USA * Back Issues of The AMSAT Journal Available to AMSAT Members * AO-73 Now in Full-Time Transponder Mode * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for June 2020 * KG5FYJ Assigned to Upcoming ISS Mission * A New Way to Obtain GP Data (aka TLEs) * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-159.01 ANS-159 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 159.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 7, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-159.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Newly Revised 2020 Digital Edition of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites” Now Available The 2020 edition of AMSAT's "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. This definitive reference is written for the new satellite operator, but includes discussions for the experienced operator who wishes to review the features of amateur satellite communications. The new operator will be introduced to the basic concepts and terminology unique to this mode. Additionally, there are many practical tips and tricks to ensure making contacts, and to sound like an experienced satellite operator in the process. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Joining the cover art for the first time this year is a depiction of the next generation of AMSAT satellites - AMSAT's GOLF series of 3U CubeSats. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Team in the United States Creates a New Organization: ARISS-USA In late May, the USA team of the ARISS International working group became an incorporated non-profit entity in the state of Maryland, officially becoming ARISS-USA. This move allows ARISS-USA to work as an independent organization, soliciting grants and donations. They will continue promoting amateur radio and STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math within educational organizations and inspire, engage and educate our next generation of space enthusiasts. ARISS-USA will maintain its collaborative work with ARISS International as well as with US sponsors, partners, and interest groups. The main goal of ARISS-USA remains as connecting educational groups with opportunities to interact with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). ARISS-USA will expand its human spaceflight opportunities with the space agencies, beyond low Earth orbit, starting with lunar opportunities including the Lunar Gateway. ARISS-USA will continue to review and accept proposals for ISS contacts and expand its other educational opportunities to increase interest in space sciences and radio communications. Becoming an independent organization has been discussed for quite some time. ARISS-USA lead Frank Bauer, KA3HDO said “The scope and reach of what ARISS accomplishes each year has grown significantly since its humble beginnings in 1996. Our working group status made it cumbersome to establish partnerships, sign agreements and solicit grants. These can only be done as an established organization.” Bauer further elaborated, “The ARISS-USA team remains deeply indebted to our working group partners—ARRL and AMSAT, who enabled the birth of ARISS—and our steadfast sponsors, NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab (INL).” ARISS-USA aims to keep earning high regards from all these partners and sponsors. While ARISS-USA is now an incorporated non-profit entity, we are in the process of applying for tax exemption as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scientific or educational organization. Until that status is approved by the USA Internal Revenue Service, donations made directly to ARISS-USA will not be tax deductible for taxpayers in the USA. Those wanting to make a tax deductible donation for the benefit of ARISS-USA can, in the meantime, continue to make donations to ARISS sponsor AMSAT-NA through the ARISS website at: www.ariss.org. As ARISS-USA begins a new era as a human spaceflight amateur radio organization, it acknowledges those who were so instrumental in the formation of human spaceflight amateur radio. These include Vic Clark, W4KFC and Dave Sumner, K1ZZ from the ARRL; Bill Tynan, W3XO and Tom Clark, W3IO from AMSAT; Roy Neal, K6DUE a major guide for SAREX and ARISS; and NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL. Also remembered is Pam Mountjoy, NASA education, who had the vision to develop the ARISS working group as a single amateur radio focus into the space agencies. All of these giants’ shoulders are what ARISS-USA rests upon. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT President's Statement on Creation of ARISS-USA Announced June 5, 2020, ARISS-USA has been formed as a non-profit corporation to operate independently of The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Since the formation of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) in the mid-1990s, AMSAT has been a consistent supplier of technical expertise, funding, and operational logistics. AMSAT will work with ARISS-USA to ensure a smooth transition for operations and funding. Over the years, as the scope and activity of ARISS grew, AMSAT continued its financial backing in times of need, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund projects and operations. Many of AMSAT’s members are an integral part of the ARISS team. The human spaceflight element of AMSAT’s vision has been realized through these contributions. I offer my best wishes to ARISS-USA for a successful future. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Back Issues of The AMSAT Journal Available to AMSAT Members All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT's new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. Stay tuned for additional member benefits coming soon. If you're a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today. https://launch.amsat.org/ [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, and Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AO-73 Now in Full-Time Transponder Mode After some eight months in continuous sunlight, AO-73 (FUNcube-1) has now started to see some eclipses during each orbit. The telemetry received has shown that the spacecraft continued to function perfectly during this period and the on board temperatures did not reach excessively high levels. After this became clear, our next concern was the battery. Having been kept fully charged for this period, would it actually hold a charge and do its job when in eclipse? After three weeks of increasing eclipse periods we can now see that indeed the Li battery appears to be ok and the bus voltage has not yet dropped below 8.1 volts. So today we have changed the operating mode from high power telemetry educational mode to continuous amateur mode with the transponder ON. The telemetry continues to be available, albeit at low power. We will, of course, continue to carefully monitor the data but are planning to leave the spacecraft in this mode for at least the next week. Please enjoy using it! [ANS thanks Graham Shirville, G3VZV, of the FUNcube Team, and AMSAT-UK 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for June 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period May 1, 2020 through June 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL May June W5CBF 564 657 K9UO 565 575 KI7UNJ New 510 WA9JBQ 250 275 W4DTA 240 261 W4ZXT 202 252 KE0WPA 152 200 W5CBF(EM21) 179 184 DL4ZAB 172 178 KE4BKL 101 125 N4BAF 100 118 AA0CW New 105 N5EKO New 102 W8EH New 101 W8EH New 100 KN4GQB New 100 KX9X New 100 W9TTY 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] -------------------------------------------------------------------- KG5FYJ Assigned to Upcoming ISS Mission NASA has assigned astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, to a six-month mis- sion to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 63/64 crew. Rubins, along with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, are scheduled to launch Oct. 14 on the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakh- stan. Among some of the hundreds of experiments ongoing during her mission, Rubins will conduct research using the Cold Atom Lab to study the use of laser-cooled atoms for future quantum sensors, and will work on a cardiovascular experiment that builds on an investigation she completed during her previous mission. NASA selected Rubins as an astronaut in 2009, she was licensed as a Technician class amateur in 2015, and she completed her first space- flight in 2016 as an Expedition 48/49 crew member. She launched July 6, 2016, and spent 115 days in space, during which she conducted two space- walks totaling 12 hours and 46 minutes before her return to Earth Oct. 29, 2016. During her stay on the space station, Rubins helped advance i mportant science and research and became the first person to sequence DNA in space. Born in Farmington, Connecticut, and raised in Napa, California, Rubins received a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego, in 1999 and a doctorate in cancer biology in 2005 from Stanford University School of Medicine’s Depart- ment of Biochemistry and Department of Microbiology and Immunology in Palo Alto, California. Before joining NASA, Rubins worked as a fellow/ principal investigator at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Re- search in Cambridge and headed 14 researchers studying viral diseases that primarily affect Central and West Africa. [ANS thanks NASA 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ A New Way to Obtain GP Data (aka TLEs) The US government has provided GP or general perturbations orbital data to the rest of the world since the 1970s. These data are produced by fitting observations from the US Space Surveillance Network (SSN) to produce Brouwer mean elements using the SGP4 or Simplified General Perturbations 4 orbit propagator. Many of you are familiar with this data in the form of TLEs or Two- Line Element Sets. TLEs were designed to provide the minimum data necessary to propagate the orbit of a resident space object (RSO) at a time when both bandwidth for transmission or digital storage were extremely limited. In fact, at the time, transmission might be via fax, hard copy (postal delivery), or even read over the phone and storage was handled using punch cards or magnetic tape. While this format has served us well for many decades, it has not been without its share of problems. For example, the choice of a two-digit year caused many problems approaching Y2K—problems that were side- stepped by redefining what those two digits represented—but that Y2K problem persists fully 20 years into the 21st century. And now we are approaching another milestone where we will no longer be able to catalog all the objects we track within the 5-digit catalog number limitation of the TLE format. One of the key drivers forcing us to consider tracking more than 100,000 objects is the activation of the Space Fence on Kwajalein Atoll. The Space Fence reached initial operational capability (IOC) on 2020 Mar 27 and is expected to track far more than the ~26,000 objects currently tracked by the SSN—perhaps by as much as an order of magnitude. And we are expecting to see public availability of data from the Space Fence starting some time this summer (2020). The 18th Space Control Squadron (18 SPCS) has already transitioned internally to using 9- digit catalog numbers in support of these changes and we expect 18 SPCS to release data from the Space Fence using 9-digit catalog numbers. For the complete article, please see: https://celestrak.com/NORAD/documentation/gp-data-formats.php [ANS thanks Dr. T.S. Kelso of CelsTrak for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. 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. The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED: June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX [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 Quick Hits: EN55: @KC9KKA Currently planning the somewhat elusive EN67 on June 12 for a couple passes and some POTA. EM98, EM98 and EM97: @NoTEL_0738, I will be in West Virginia from June 10-13. I will be in EM88/98 and possibly EM97. FM sats only. I will probably activate a couple different grids going to WV on June 9 and returning home on June 14 (no set plans). W6KSR (@W6KSR) He’s goin’ fishin’ end of this week in DM06. Be up there June 4th through 7th, working Panther Martin lures and FM satellites exclusively. CN81: Friday 6/5. @WB7VUF will be on AO91 and AO92 from 18:07 to 19:48 and may try SO50 FN54 and Maybe the FN44/54 line: KQ2RP/1 from June 6th to the 12th, Holiday style, listen for him on the FM birds. Hey you guys from the EU: @N4DCW be in EM56 June 5-7 with a semi- decent N-E horizon from his sister-in-law’s house. He will be on RS-44 and AO-7 looking for y’all. Major Roves: AD0DX is heading out again! Check out his QRZ page for details! Friday, June 12th: DM77, DM76 and DM75 Saturday, June 13th: DM65, DM75 Sunday, June 14th: DM66,DM67,DM76 and DM77 Corner DN98, 97, 96 & EN08,07,06,17,18,27 and 28: @AD0HJ North Dakota Mega Rove Part II: Another trip out to North Dakota between June 10th and June 14th to rove the grids I missed there (blue grids) two weeks ago. Look for a simplified pass schedule to be posted early next week. Ron (@AD0DX) and Doug (@N6UA) are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, TX. As we know they tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. Today the tentative date is Monday, July 6th, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + FoxTelem / Fox-in-a-Box Tips: 1) Use a short USB extension cord to physically isolate your SDR dongle from the computer/Pi. There will be less mechanical stress, and a better electrical connection, which will give fewer errors. 2) If you use an RTL-SDR dongle (not really supported, but mostly works), don't turn on DUV and High Speed at the same time. You will get an error when the decoder starts. Note especially if you have it set up to start when the satellite comes over the horizon. [ANS thanks Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer, and Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, for this information] + The Harbin Institute of Technology released a short cartoon video entitled "Longjiang-2: Journey to the Moon" about LO-94, the world's smallest spacecraft which entered lunar orbit independently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGi1aACPA4A&feature=youtu.be [ANS thanks the Harbin Institute of Technology for this information] + Kylee Shirbroun, KE0WPA, posted a short portion of the science fair video she made about amateur radio satellites. It can be found at https://twitter.com/kylee_ke0wpa/status/1267867729320534016 [ANS thanks Kylee Shirbroun, KE0WPA, for this information] + Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL, maintains a Doppler.sqf file for using active amateur satellites in SatPC32. It can be found at: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/Doppler.sqf + The AMSAT Folding at home team continues to climb the rankings. Now in the top 1,200 of all teams at the time of this writing, the team has grown to 44 members with 77 active CPUs within the past 50 days and includes ten members in the top 100,000 of all users. Alex Free, N7AGF, is our top contributor with over 92,000,000 points credited to AMSAT's team. For more information about the Folding at 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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

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