- ANS - mailman.amsat.org

ANS-083.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Mar '20

23 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-083.02 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-083.02 ANS-083.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 083.02 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 23, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-083.02 AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice Due to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order closing all non-essential businesses in the State of Maryland in response to the COVID-19 pan- demic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice, effective to- day at 5:00pm EDT. While the office is closed, AMSAT will continue to accept new and renewal memberships. However, membership packets will not be mailed until the office reopens. T-shirts, hats, and other items stocked in the office will also not be available until the office reopens. Dig- ital downloadable content, including SatPC32 and MacDoppler will re- main available from the AMSAT store. Antenna, name badge, and awards orders will be forwarded for processing. The March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal will be produced on time. However, it may only be possible to publish it in digital format. Stay tuned for further updates. Any questions about memberships, orders, or office operations can be sent to info at amsat.org. Please note that no mail or phone service will be available until the office reopens. Vendors billing AMSAT for goods or services may email the above address to arrange payment. [ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-083 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Mar '20

23 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-083 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-083 ANS-083 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 083.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 23, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-083.01 Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, as Volunteer Coordinator. First licensed in 1982 as KA9NGH, Kutzko served as both ARRL Contest Branch Manager (2007-2013) and ARRL Media and Public Relations Mana- ger (2013-2017). He was the creator and co-administrator of the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. An active HF and VHF contester, DXer and backpack QRP enthusiast, Kutzko started work- ing satellites in 2011 and has transmitted from over fifty different grid squares. He has written instructional materials on satellite op- erating for the AMSAT website, QST, and blogs regularly on satellite topics for the DX Engineering blog "On All Bands." "It's an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT," Kutzko said. "When [new AMSAT president] Clayton [Coleman, W5PFG] asked if I would help coordinate a team of volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. AMSAT is a great organization and helping find good volunteers who are willing to help all areas of AMSAT's growth and development is the least I could do for the organization that has given me a lot of enjoyment and technical skill." Outside of Amateur Radio, Kutzko is a freelance PR/communications consultant and voiceover artist, as well as a baker of artisan breads, pizza and pastries. He also plays drums in a classic rock/country band, Silverweed. He lives in Urbana, Illinois. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-079 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
by Frank Karnauskas 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-079 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079 ANS-079 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 079.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-079.01 AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG has put out a call for new and renewing AMSAT members to act now and register online. Coleman says, "All things considered, cancellation of Hamvention 2020 was the right thing to do and we recognize the difficult decision that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association Executive Committee had to make. "The cancellation of Hamvention will have a dramatic effect on the well-being of many vendors and associations that serve the Amateur Radio community. AMSAT is no exception. Hamvention has always been a major fund-raising tool for both recruiting and renewing members as well as selling AMSAT branded merchandise, software, books and antennas. The loss of this important venue has the potential to adversely affect the projects that AMSAT has underway already and planned for the months and years ahead. "This is a very exciting time for Amateur Radio in Space with the new Interoperable Radio System for ARISS, the GOLF satellite program, updating member services and launching our Youth Initiative. It has been many years since we have seen this kind of excitement and interest in space communications. We would hate to lose that momentum and fall behind. "I am asking everyone to act now and join or renew their AMSAT membership NOW while it is on our minds. Your immediate willingness to act will help strengthen AMSAT and help ensure our mission of 'Keeping Amateur Radio in Space'. There are membership opportunities for everyone to consider: - Basic Membership from $44 - Student Membership from $22 - Additional Household Memberships from $22 - School and Club Memberships from $80 - QRO Membership from $80 - Lifetime Membership $880 (or only $74/mo. For twelve months)" Coleman also adds, "And, while you're at it, don't be afraid to kick in a few extra dollars with a one-time or sustaining donation to AMSAT's general operating fund. Especially appreciated are those Amateurs who can make an extra difference by contributing to the President's Club with contributions of $120 or more. Whatever you can contribute, please understand that every dollar counts. "Additionally, with Hamvention's cancellation, we lost the opportunity to personally greet and thank all of AMSAT's membership and to share our enthusiasm for the upcoming year. Watch for upcoming news on our plans and launches for 2020. We'll be talking soon." [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President for the above information] +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Memberships, both new and renewals, as well as can be made at: https://www.amsat.org/shop For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available for a limited time as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store! Make your online donations at: https://www.amsat.org/donate +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-075 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced * Update from the AMSAT President * ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS * Minor Update to FoxTelem Released * Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now! * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-075.01 ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 075.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 15, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-075.01 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced AMSAT is pleased to announce that the 38th Annual AMSAT Space Sym- posium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, October 16th - Sunday, October 18th at the Crowne Plaza Suites: MSP Airport - Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Crowne Plaza Suites is conveniently located adjacent to the Amer- ican Blvd station on the Metro Blue Line, providing easy access to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, downtown Minneapolis, and the Mall of America. The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday, October 14th and Thursday, October 15th at the hotel. Further details, including hotel reservation information, tours, and other events will be shared in the coming months. [ANS thanks the 2020 AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above infor- mation] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from the AMSAT President The past six weeks since becoming AMSAT President has flown by with great speed. Thankfully I’m not travelling at 27,000 km/hour like our popular satellite AO-91. Speaking with many of our volunteers and members, I’ve felt the level of excitement and enthusiasm for the great launch opportunities ahead. As mentioned in ANS-047, one of my tasks was to speak with the Directors and convene a meeting to conduct AMSAT corporate business. Tuesday, March 3, AMSAT held an informal working session for the Board of Directors. We are moving forward with a called Board of Directors meeting scheduled on Tuesday, March 17. The next meeting will allow Directors to put forward motions for new business, hear a status update from our officers, and set future trajectory. The amateur radio community has felt the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) with the cancellation of some regional events. Even as this health emergency has been raised to World Health Organization (WHO)’s highest level, its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remains hopeful that COVID-19 can be curtailed. AMSAT is closely monitoring the upcoming 2020 Hamvention being held over 60 days away in Xenia, Ohio. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has publicly stated they are following guidance from the State of Ohio and Greene County. Barring further information from DARA, AMSAT will continue to make plans for our representation at the 2020 Hamvention. AMSAT officers are also working on contingency plans if Hamvention is canceled. These plans include virtual presentations and other real- time online activities during Hamvention weekend. Our next edition of the AMSAT Journal will be going through the editing review process soon. It will contain more detailed information about the health of AMSAT, its mission status, and share exciting news for 2020. If you’re not a member receiving the Journal, please consider joining at our website www.amsat.org. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS On Friday, March 6, 2020 at 11:50 EST, SpaceX CRS-20 was successfully launched from Pad 40 at Kennedy Space Center. This was also a signif- icant launch for ARISS since this cargo mission was carrying our Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station. This system will greatly enhance our capabilities on board Station involving our school contacts with the crew and both our current and planned future educational experiments. A special thanks to all who have donated and continue to donate to our ARISS Next-Generation Hard- ware Upgrade Fundrazr at our website www.ariss.org. You are making it all happen!! I was able to attend the launch along with several other ARISS volun- teers and have created a short video of the experience from our view- ing location at the Banana Creek ViewPoint. Please note that you will hear two moderators on the video. One is actually at our site, announcing the launch. Another audio feed is coming from the PA system there and is delayed 30 seconds from real time, so try not to get too confused as you listen in. Hope you enjoy the video. Dave, AA4KN, ARISS PR The video can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-075-ARISS [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Minor Update to FoxTelem Released FoxTelem has been updated to version 1.08z5 and the latest version is here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/ This is not a mandatory upgrade. It fixes some minor bugs that caused crashes and corrects the calculation of the bit SNR for the Dot Pro- duct BPSK detector. If you use the Dot Product detector and you care about the measured bit signal to noise ratio, then you want to upgrade. Note that if you use Find Signal in IQ mode then the bit SNR level is used to determine if the signal is found. Because the level has changed you will need to adjust the threshold value. Email Chris Thompson at g0kla at arrl.net if you need more information. Please let me know if you see any issues, or log them on GitHub here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues [ANS thanks Chris Thompson, AC2CZ/G0KLA, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now! Amid reports that NO-84's battery is weakening, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, shared the following message: Before PSAT (NO-84) dies, don’t miss out on trying out its HF 28.120 PSK31 uplink transponder (435.350 MHz FM downlink). Apparently its battery is weakening and cannot make it through some eclipses. And the orbit only has 2 years left (Battery probably wont last that long). But in the sun, it should work fine. PSK31 Xponder is always enabled, all it needs is to see PSK31 on the Ten-meter uplink. It will also send down an SSTV image (in the same waterfall) once every 2 minutes if the sun power is good. [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operations Team, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events' web- sites for up-to-date status information. Current schedule: March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ April 4, 2020 River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society Presentation Faribault, MN April 18, 2020 Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Brainerd, MN May 2, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior, WI May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED: March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX and Doug N6UA will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx and https://twitter.com/dtabor - Red River Gorge, KY (EM87) March 19-24, 2020 Michael, N4DCW will be in Red River Gorge, Kentucy, March 19th through 24th. Watch Michael’s Twitter feed for more info https://twitter.com/MWimages - Midwinter Madness Rove: (EN24, EN25, EN34) March 20-21, 2020 Mitch, AD0HJ, will roving three central Minnesota grids just prior to the Midwinter Madness Hobby Electronics Show in Buffalo, MN on March 21st, 2020. Look for him to activate grids EN24/EN25/EN35 on the eve- ning of March 20th through the evening of March 21st, 2020. Check Mitch’s Twitter feed for updates on his planned satellite pass sche- dule: https://twitter.com/AD0HJ - River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April 2-4, 2020 Mitch AD0HJ is looking to add six more grids to his rover basket just before the April 4th AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, MN. Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4th, 2020. Watch Mitch’s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a detailed sche- dule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ - From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10, 11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020 RJ, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vaca- ville, CA. He’s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered include: CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + A Doppler.sqf file posted on the AMSAT-UK website listed FM freq- uencies for several satellites carrying linear transponders. Operators are reminded that FM is not to be used on linear transponders. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for this information) + On March 10th, March 10, 2020, the AMSAT-SM group was formed in connection with the closure of the AMSAT-SM organization. The process of creating AMSAT-SM for the future began after the 2019 annual meet- ing and now we are ready to continue with AMSAT-SM in a new and simp- ler way. All activities that were part of the old AMSAT-SM are now transferred to the new group. The website will be updated in March with new steering guidelines and other relevant information. Welcome with us into the future. AMSAT-SM is Amateur Radio via Satellite! (ANS thanks SM0TGU from AMSAT-SM for this information) + ARRL has announced a new book entitled "Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners" by Steve Ford, WB8IMY. It can be purchased at http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Satellites-for-Beginners/ (ANS thanks the ARRL for this information) + The CAS-4B beacon is again sending telemetry after sending only a continuous tone for the past few weeks. (ANS thanks John Papay, K8YSE, for this information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by KI7UNJ Tucker 07 Mar '20

07 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-068 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Welcome Back XW-2D * PSAT3 Launch CANCELED * AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention * The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe * Replacing the International Space Station? * FO-29 Operational Schedule * ARISS News * AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-068.01 ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 068.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Mar 08 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-068.01 Welcome Back XW-2D XW-2D has come back from its apparent issues and is back in action. No official report for the satellite owner, but reports from operators all over the world have shown the satellite is back in operation: Frequency: UPLINK LSB 435.210 MHz to 435.230 MHZ DOWNLINK USB 145.860 MHz to 145.880 MHZ Make sure to post your reception reports for all satellites at https://www.amsat.org/status/ [ANS thanks Hasan Schiers, N0AN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- PSAT3 Launch CANCELED Four days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the launch has been canceled. The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE: https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html The challenge (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver a rocket with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and where they would launch from. And then to do it again only 30 days later. We were on the second launch. But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch provider was scrubbed at T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch window (and DARPA challenge deadline) had passed. Therefore the CHALLENGE is over, there was no winner, and we lost the launch. So, if anyone hears of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html [ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM, linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit. AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc- ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio. The $85 registration fee includes: • Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most accomplished AMSAT operators. • Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi- tion ($15 value) • One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value) • Pizza Buffet Lunch • Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub and Eatery in Fairborn. Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds, no cancellations. Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 committee is al- ready actively participating in the regulatory work taking place in the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administra- tions (CEPT) to consider coexistence between the secondary amateur and amateur satellite services and the primary radio navigation satellite service, in the 1.2 GHz band. The principal issue is Europe's Galileo system of global navigation satellites. The Galileo services are delivered in a number of bands and one occu- pies the 1260-1300 MHz band. The Galileo team has witnessed interfer- ence from amateur TV transmissions which resulted in station shut down and has experienced interference from high power EME operations too. Work is at an early stage and the IARU will continue to try tp mini- mise the impact on amateur operations however it is likely that some changes will be necessary to the way we use the band. The topic is closely related to the agenda of the next World Radio- communication Conference coming up in 2013 (WRC-23) at which represen- tatives of the United Nations countries who are members of the Inter- national Telecommunication Union will agree on coordinated radio regu- lations. For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/tcrdm4j [ANS thanks Jacques Verleijen, ON4AVJ, and the IARU Region 1 Newsletter for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Replacing the International Space Station? Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), humanity has managed to maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low Earth orbit for just shy of 20 years. But as the saying goes, what goes up must eventually come down. The ISS is at too low of an altitude to remain in orbit indef- initely, and core modules of the structure are already operating years beyond their original design lifetimes. As difficult a decision as it might be for the countries involved, in the not too distant future the $150 billion orbiting outpost will have to be abandoned. Naturally there’s some debate as to how far off that day is. NASA of- ficially plans to support the Station until at least 2024, and an ex- tension to 2028 or 2030 is considered very likely. However, one commer- cial partner is betting on a longer-term future. Axiom has been select- ed by NASA to develop a new habitable module for the U.S. side of the Station by 2024. While the agreement technically only covers a single module, Axiom hasn’t been shy about their plans going forward. Once that first module is installed and operational, they plan on getting NASA approval to launch several new modules branching off of it. Ultimately, they hope that their “wing” of the ISS can be detached and become its own inde- pendent commercial station by the end of the decade. Read the full article at https://bit.ly/39tsc6V [ANS thanks Hackaday for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News An International Space Station (ISS) school contact with an Australian school on 13 March will be audible in USA! The ISS will be over North America at the time, and the Australians will link to it by land line "Telebridge" via a U.S. amateur radio station. The contact will be with the Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, but via Telebridge Station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is scheduled at 08:56 UTC with downlink signals from ISS heard above Maryland and nearby areas on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM. [ANS thanks Rudy Parisio, IW2BSF, and Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operation Team, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15 AMSAT will be supporting the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club during the ScienceCity science fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is supported by several organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction with the Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend. More information about ScienceCity is available at: http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/ Information about the K7UAZ radio club is available at: http://k7uaz.com/ The K7UAZ radio club will have a booth in the "Science of Everyday Life" area at ScienceCity. This booth will showcase different facets of amateur radio, including amateur satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly other call signs, should be heard during demonstrations of satellite operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you hear us, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of Arizona campus is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be determined by the call sign used for QSOs. WD9EWK will upload to Logbook of the World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please e-mail Patrick the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get a card). K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted on QRZ.com. During the weekend, the @WD9EWK Twitter account will be used to post updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can view these updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (see above) March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - K7U ROVE March 7-8, 2020 Casey KI7UNJ and Kel KI7UXT will be operating as K7U from CN93, CN94, DN03, DN04 a CN92. Details are posted on QRZ https://www.qrz.com/db/k7u Updates from the road on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and https://twitter.com/KI7UXT - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a ide road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has completed frequency coordination HSU-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat to be released from the ISS sometime in the coming year. The satellite will include capability of a camera image dowlinked by Slow Scan Television (SSTV). The camera will take a photograph of the Earth at image pixel size 320x240. The photograph taken will then be converted into analog SSTV signal, and sent by FM-SSTV downlink on 437.280 MHz. This be part of the satellite's main mission, test of a three-axis attitude control system. More info at shorturl.at/dizP0 and shorturl.at/puNW7 (ANS thanks IARU and AMSAT-UK for the above information) + The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) reports that a number of ama- teur radio events planned for March have been cancelled as a result of coronavirus warnings. JARL, in line with government policy, has requested that all events scheduled for the next two weeks be can- celed or postponed for the time being. Also, Dayton Hamvention offi- cials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) sit- uation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 – 17 event nears, but they’re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue. (ANS thanks Southgate ARC and ARRL for the above information) + SpaceX-20, a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched at 0449 GMT Saturday from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The mission carrying, as a primary payload, the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS is the foundational element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. If all goes according to plan, the Dragon cargo capsule will dock with the space station on Monday, 9 March. (ANS thanks SpaceflightNow for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ ki7unj at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
by Paul Stoetzer 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-065 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-065 ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 065.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 5, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-065.01 Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM, linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit. AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc- ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio. The $85 registration fee includes: • Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most accomplished AMSAT operators. • Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi- tion ($15 value) • One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value) • Pizza Buffet Lunch • Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub and Eatery in Fairborn. Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds, no cancellations. Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by Frank Karnauskas 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-061 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: * Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch * FO-29 Operational Schedule * Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation * K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 * New QO-100 Band Plan Announced * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-061.01 ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 061.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 01, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-061.01 Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch The spouse of ARISS Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out that the ARISS next generation radio system, the InterOperable Radio System (IORS) is prominently described as a primary payload, not secondary, on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission which will be launched no earlier than March 6, 2020 (ET). The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone that has contributed to helping ARISS realize this major milestone It should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on IORS development and final certification. While certified for launch and stowage on ISS, the team is still in deep into the final certification of the IORS for flight operations. Also, the build of the second flight unit is in progress in Florida and in San Diego. While CRS-20 represents the launch of SN 1001, the first flight unit, it also represents the beginning of the "ARISS factory build" and certification of all ten units. The ARISS team also notes that November 13, 2020 will represent the 20th year of ARISS continuous amateur radio operation on ISS! [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO AMSAT Vice President, Human Space Flight for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 1 04:00- 14:05 March 2 04:45- 14:55 March 7 03:40- 05:25- 13:50 March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation The Glenn Lightsey Research Group, Space Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology is sponsoring a 1U CubeSat mission. The primary function of GT-1 is to be an educational proof of concept and satellite bus demonstrator. It will use this mission as an opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in all parts of a space mission, from design to implementation and sustainment. It will test a prototype deployable antenna and solar panels, which can be used for future missions derived from the same baseline design, and with inclusion of additional experimental equipment. It will operate with AX.25 protocol to collect telemetry data. In partnership with the W4AQL Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, the satellite will also host a digital contact ROBOT payload, inspired by the Russian ham satellites RS-12 and RS-13. It will collect QSO information from individuals who contact the ROBOT as it orbits. The satellite will also function as a standard digipeater. Proposing a 9k6 UHF downlink using G3RUH FSK modulation. Planning a JAXA deployment from the ISS in October 2020. A downlink on 437.175 MHz has been coordinated. [ANS thanks IARU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 In preparation for the upcoming Space Camp at Biosphere 2 , members of the University of Arizona K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club are helping with the placement of an Amateur Radio satellite ground station. The first step was to mount the Yaesu G-5500 az-el rotor system to a Rohn 45 tower. The complete station will include circularly polarized M2 beam antennas for 2m and 70cm, an Icom IC-9700, computers and tracking software. Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, Station Manager for the K7UAZ club reports that Space Camp management is enthusiastic about having UAZ students help with the installation and setup of the station. Student involvement will also include calibrating the rotator system, mapping the artificial horizon for the tracking software and integration and testing the tracking software with the radio. Now in its third year, Space Camp at Biosphere 2 will be held August 3-8, 2020. Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is a joint effort with the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, the Arizona NASA Space Grant Consortium, and the University of Kyoto, Japan. Students attending the camp will experience college-level curriculum and activities focusing on the biological/environmental facets of space travel. More information on Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is available at https://spacegrant.arizona.edu/research/spacecamp [ANS thanks Curt Laumann, K7ZOO for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New QO-100 Band Plan Announced Just in time for the 1-year anniversary of the successful commissioning of the two transponders of Qatar-OSCAR 100, an encore is pending: The capacity of the NB transponder will be expanded from about 250 KHz to almost 500 KHz. In addition to extended areas for the various operating modes, more space is also being created in particular for "mixed mode" and other special operating cases. In addition to frequencies reserved for emergency radio operations, more experiments are to be made possible here. But all this only with a maximum bandwidth of 2.7 kHz. Automatic operation requires a special license from the local licensing authorities and must be coordinated with the operator beforehand; this task is performed by AMSAT-DL on behalf of QARS and Es'hailSat. To take account of user behavior, AMSAT-DL has almost doubled the SSB range in particular. Detailed information is available at https://amsat-dl.org/en/neuer-qo-100-bandplan/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News * Upcoming Contacts River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. Direct via WA3YFQ. The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA. The contact is a go for Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 15:17:44 UTC. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over AMSAT SA Space Symposium Announced * The AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on July 11, 2020. Prospective authors are invited to propose papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za before Friday, February 28, 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box, Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. More information available at http://www.sarl.org.za/ [ANS thanks SARL for the above information.] * MEMESat-1 Proposed Let's Go to Space, Inc.'s first satellite mission is the Mission for Education and Multimedia Engagement, better known as MEMESat-1. This spacecraft will be a 1U amateur radio CubeSat. It's primary mission is to serve as an FM Repeater and to downlink donor submitted memes via UHF SSTV protocol. MEMESat is also being created to engage people through the sharing of memes from space and help fund small satellite focused research. More information available at https://letsgo2space.com/memesat-1-3/ [ANS thanks Michael Frazier, KJ5Z for the above information.] * Two Commercial Satellites Link Up for First Time A Northrop Grumman robotic servicing spacecraft has hooked up with an aging Intelsat communications satellite more than 22,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean, accomplishing the first link-up between two commercial satellites in space, and the first docking with a satellite that was never designed to receive a visitor. Northrop Grumman's first commercial Mission Extension Vehicle, or MEV 1, will take over propulsion responsibilities for Intelsat 901, which is running low on fuel after more than 18 years in service relaying data and television signals. MEV 1 is the first spacecraft of its kind, and officials say the successful link-up with Intelsat 901 is a harbinger for a new era of commercial satellite servicing. The automated docking early Tuesday also marked the first connection of two satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the equator where spacecraft move at speeds that match the rate of Earth's rotation. Complete information at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-061-Grumman [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.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

1 0

ANS-054 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 22 Feb '20

22 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-054 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: * QARMAN and Phoenix CubeSats Deployed from ISS * AMSAT Files Comments Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band * NEMO-1 Buoy Report * GNU Radio Conference - Tickets and Call for Papers * U.S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 Scheduled to Launch in Mid-March * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Available with Membership * ARISS Radio Telebridge Stalwart Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, SK * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-054.01 ANS-054 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 054.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 23 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-054.01 QARMAN and Phoenix CubeSats Deployed from ISS The von Karman Institute in Belgium (VKI) reports the successful de- ployment of the QARMAN satellite from the International Space Station on Wednesday, 19 February. QARMAN is one of several cubesats that were scheduled for deployment this week. Also, Arizona State University reports that its Phoenix CubeSat was successfully deployed from the ISS as scheduled at 9:35 UTC Wednesday. Roughly 30 minutes after deployment, its beacon was heard for the first time at an amateur radio ground station located in Indonesia. VKI also reports successful reception and decoding of telemetry from QARMAN. It is important to note that both of these satellites are using the same frequency, 437.35 MHz, for telemetry transmissions, and that they are in very similar orbits. Both satellites also follow the AX.25 protocol at 9600 baud, with GMSK modulation. It will take some trial and error before each spacecraft’s TLEs can be confirmed. Operators of these satellites are actively seeking observations from amateurs. Please report to: https://community.libre.space/c/satellites-observations ANS is awaiting reports regarding the other satellites that were scheduled for deployment on Wednesday, as listed below: CubeSat Downlink (MHz) Uplink (MHz) Scheduled Deployment Time (UTC) RadSat-u 437.425 437.425 7:10 CryoCube 2261.00 2082.004 12:55 AztechSat-1 437.3 437.3 12:55 SOCRATES 914.7 914.7 14:30 Argus-02 437.29 437.29 16:00 HARP 468.0 450.0 16:00 SORTIE 468.0 450.0 17:40 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, VKI, and Arizona State for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Files Comments Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band AMSAT has filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which proposes to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz (9 cm) amateur band, including the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz amateur sat- ellite service allocation. In the comments, AMSAT opposes the deletion of this allocation and em- phasizes the necessity of adequate microwave spectrum for future ama- teur satellite projects, including AMSAT's GOLF program and the Lunar Gateway. AMSAT further notes that the most desirable allocations for use as up- links are the allocations between 2.4 and 5.67 GHz. These allocations total 80 MHz. The most desirable allocation for downlink use is the 10.45 - 10.50 GHz allocation, totaling 50 MHz. As many of the proposed uses include amateur television and high-speed data transmission with satellites in high earth orbit or lunar orbit, these allocations may quickly become inadequate. AMSAT also notes that the 2.4 and 5.67 GHz allocations are widely used for ISM and consumer devices, such as WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled devices. The 3.4 GHz allocation is shared be- tween amateur use and other non-federal and federal licensees, but is free from the unpredictable interference of consumer devices. While acknowledging that the 3.4 GHz amateur satellite service allo- cation is not currently used by any amateur satellites and that it is unsuitable for worldwide communication since it is not available in ITU Region 1, AMSAT identifies a number of potential future uses for the band as worldwide usage of the other available allocations in- creases. These potential uses include a future amateur satellite in geostationary orbit above the Americas. In the comments, AMSAT also noted several non-amateur satellite uses of the broader 3.3 - 3.5 GHz amateur service allocation, including its wide use in mesh networking, EME communications, and contesting. The full text of the comments as filed can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-054-FCC Interested parties may file reply comments on or before March 22, 2020 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/ The proceeding is WT Docket No. 19- 348. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Executive Vice President. for the ab- ove information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEMO-1 Buoy Report AMSAT ARGENTINA launched the NEMO-1 buoy into the Atlantic sea on Jan- uary 30th at noon, using the callsign LU7AA. It was transported 70 km east of Mar del Plata by the fisherman's ship 'Porteño', from Sandokan. The buoy, which emits in WSPR mode at 14095.6 KHz and FM VHF in APRS mode, navigated drifting free for 12 days traveling about 1100 kilo- meters, until on February 11th it was sighted and taken out of the water by the tuna vessel 'Juan Pablo II'. The captain of the ship, Rinaldi Yaco, considered that the buoy was sailing semi-sunk and decided to rescue it, informing Amsat Argentina of that event. The NEMO-1 then traveled eight more days aboard the tuna vessel, con- tinuing its mission of data capture and broadcasting, until on Feb-19 it arrived at the port of Mar del Plata, where colleagues from the Mar del Plata Radio Club picked it up and kept in custody. A group of AMSAT-LU is traveling to recover NEMO-1. The buoy will be reconditioned and a new launch is planned. It will be tried to take it, on this occasion, to more than 200 km offshore, so that it will con- tinue to navigate freely, reaffirming the commitment and contribution of radio amateurs to QRPp propagation research also helping navigation and the community. AMSAT ARGENTINA especially thanks the Captains and crews of the 'Porteño', the 'Juan Pablo II' ships and the Mar del Plata RClub in the persons of its Secretary, Jose Luis Hermida (LU9DHJ) and Jorge Garelli (LU5EOR) for the help provided and to the more than 100 'trav- elers' in NEMO-1, who supported this project helping to carry it out. http://amsat.org.ar?f=ce Adventure photos: http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy [ANS thanks LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ GNU Radio Conference - Tickets and Call for Papers GNU Radio is used by spacecraft and ground station developers around the world. GRCon is the annual conference for the GNU Radio project and community. GRCon20 will be held September 14-18, 2020 in Charlotte, N.C. The GNU Radio Conference celebrates and showcases the substantial and remarkable progress of the world’s best open source digital signal processing framework for software-defined radios. In addition to pre- senting GNU Radio’s theoretical and practical presence in academia, industry, the military, and among amateurs and hobbyists, GNU Radio Conference 2020 will have a very special focus: Speed, latency, delay, and timing! Enjoy our racing theme throughout the conference, featured in our con- tests and a high-octane Thursday night dinner. Papers and presentations on theme will be recognized at the conference with an award. But wait, there’s more! We’ll be co-located and coordinated with the TAPR Digital Communications Conference. It’s the weekend immediately preceding GRCon20. Find out more at: https://tapr.org/?page_id=68 Registration and an online and mobile-friendly schedule will be posted at https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon/grcon20/ Developers and users from the GNU Radio Community are invited to pre- sent projects, presentations, papers, posters, and problems at GRCon20. Submit talks, demos, and code! Please share this Call widely. To sub- mit your content for the conference, visit the dedicated conference submission site at: https://pretalx.gnuradio.org/grcon20/cfp First round closes 17 April 2020. If accepted, your content will be immediately scheduled. Notifications go out 26 June 2020. Final round closes 1 September 2019. Submissions received between 18 April 2020 and 1 September 2020 are accepted space permitting, and notifications will be sent out on a rolling basis. Those with questions or need assistance with submitting then please write grcon(a)gnuradio.org [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 Scheduled to Launch in Mid-March The U. S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 payload is scheduled to launch in mid- March from the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska in Kodiak, AK. PSAT3 is functionally equivalent to NO-104 (PSAT2), but does not in- clude PSK31 functionality. It carries a 145.825 MHz APRS digipeater and SSTV downlink capability. PSAT3 will not be a free-flying satellite. It will remain attached to the upper stage of the launch vehicle. Consequently, the mission dur- ation will be limited to a few months, when the rocket body will de- orbit. More information about PSAT3 can be found at http://aprs.org/psat3.html [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and the IARU for the above infor- mation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this weeks AMSAT TLE Distribution: SwampSat-2 NORAD CAT ID 45115 (Deployed from Northrop Grumman NG-12 Cygnus 2-3-2020.) (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) Sadly, AO-85 (Fox-1A) has been declared at end of mission. But, I think I will retain AO-85 in the TLE distribution for a while just in case there are some last comments from our friend. (Remember AO-7?) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Avail- able for New or Renewing Members While HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. 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 PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Radio Telebridge Stalwart Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, SK When the International Space Station (ISS) orbit is not favorable for a direct Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) con- tact with a particular school or location scheduled to speak with an astronaut, ARISS radio telebridge stations bridge the gap. Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, of Parklands, South Africa, one of the “regulars” during the earlier years of the ARISS program, died on February 1 at age 95. Klatzko served as an ARISS radio telebridge station in South Africa for many years until he retired. ARISS telebridge stations establish the direct ham radio link and feed two-way audio into a telebridge line for delivery to the contact site. John Sygo, ZS6JON, described Klatzko as “always bright and cheerful and a great operator,” who made major contributions to the amateur service. “He was one of the first to experiment with slow-scan television,” Sygo said. “For many years, he assisted NASA to link astronauts with their families using amateur radio links from Mir, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. For over 2 decades he was the co- producer and presenter of Amateur Radio Mirror International.” [ANS thanks ARRL 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 ARISS Contacts ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station. A con- tact is scheduled with the Kittredge Magnet School, Atlanta, GA, direct via KQ4KMS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is go for: Monday, 2020-02-24 at 18:23:55 UTC (31 degrees elevation). A contact is also scheduled with the Celia Hays Elementary School, Rockwall, Texas, direct via W5SO. The ISS callsign is presently sched- uled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is go for: Tuesday, 2020-02-25 at 17:35:18 UTC (31 degrees) Watch for live stream at https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=NWM5NW The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS operation team 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. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Arizona March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. 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 Vice President - User Serv- ices, 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 #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ There is a possibility that Joe may have to make a pit stop in EM54 and EM53 on his way down South on February 1st. Monitor Twitter for updates. Culebra Island, PR (FK78) February 22-23, 2020 Radio Operadores del Este, Inc, KP3E will be returning to Culebra Island February 21-23. Listen for Rafael, KP4RV, on FM satellites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xSbPgIyhtA&feature=youtu.be Vidalia, LA (EM41) February 28 – March 1, 2020 Brian, KG5GJT, will will be operating from the bank of the Missis- sippi River in Vidalia, La. (EM41), where Jim Bowie was seriously wounded in the Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827. This will be vacation style, so keep an eye on Brian’s Twitter feed for updates: https://twitter.com/KG5GJT DN26/36 Mar 14-15 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from “The Loneliest Road in America.” Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It’s for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there, but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Students in the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington have confirmed via their Facebook page that they have been commanding HuskySat-1 to various transmitter power levels and beacon intervals. Some amateurs tracking the bird, which carries a linear transponder to be activated later, had feared that the varying levels were a sign of problems. But this is part of the experimentation. The Husky- Sat team has been providing updates on their operations on their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/UWCubeSat/posts/ You should not need a Facebook account to view that link. (ANS thanks UW CubeSat Team for the above information) + NASA will accept applications for its next astronaut class March 2 to 31. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a master's degree in a STEM field and two years of relevant professional experience. To sign up, see: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts (ANS thanks NASA HQ News for the above information) + International Astronomical Youth Camp will take place in Spain from 12 July to 1 August 2020. The camp typically hosts around 65 parti- cipants, aged between 16-24 years old. The IAYC’s main aims are to promote knowledge on astronomy and related sciences in a unique, in- ternational atmosphere. Participants work on a research project of their own choosing over the course of the three weeks, culminating in a final report. See https://www.iayc.org/ for details. (ANS thanks Carys Herbert, IAYC Leaderteam, for the above informa- tion) + The ARISS-UK Team have announced that the Electromagnetic Field 2020 event is to host an ARISS contact during the weekend of July 23-26. The event will be held at Easton Manor Deer Park, near Ledbury in Herefordshire, UK. Information and event tickets available at: https://blog.emfcamp.org/2020/02/14/ticket-sales-dates/ (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information) + The maiden flight of the Long March-5B rocket carrying a trial ver- sion of China's new-generation manned spaceship is expected to take place in April, indicating the imminent start of construction of China's space station. The rocket, the prototype core capsule of the space station, and the experimental manned spaceship are undergoing tests at the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of south China's island province of Hainan. https://bit.ly/2VcjXrO (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + A new version of the game of "chicken" is evolving in outer space. According to Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force Chief, Russian "inspector" satellites are threatening the tenuous stand-off stabil- ity between adversarial spacefaring nations. Since Novemeber, the U.S. Space Command has been tracking a satellite known as Cosmos- 2542 which ejected a smaller, nested satellite referred to as Cosmos- 2543. The Russian satellites have been actively maneuvering near USA 245, a classified military imaging satellite. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + Amazon has patented a mechanism for throwing satellites into space with a multi-drone-guided whip, mounted on a boat. See details at: https://bit.ly/37KWPmL Note, though, that Amazon (and other tech companies) have a history of patenting things that they’ll never actually build, such as Amazon’s underwater fulfillment centers: https://bit.ly/2Tf7DV9 Has April Fool come early? (ANS thanks The Orbital Index 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, K0JM at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-047 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 15 Feb '20

15 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-047 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-OSCAR 85 Declared End of Mission * HuskySat-1 Update * Update from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG * Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Available for New or Renewing Members * Apogee View - January/February 2020 * 5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Satellites * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 13, 2020 * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Upcoming AMSAT Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-047.01 ANS-047 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 047.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 16, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-047.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF-TEE satellite recently reached a major milestone when prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time. Help support AMSAT's path back to HEO by donating today! https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT-OSCAR 85 Declared End of Mission After a long decline in the health of its batteries, AO-85 has gone silent. Having not been heard throughout the most recent period of full illumination, it is reasonable to believe the batteries have deteriorated to the point of no longer being able to power the trans- mitter. Should some future event cause a cell to open, it is possible the satellite may be heard again, but for now it is time to declare end-of-mission. AO-85 was conceived as the first AMSAT cubesat, and was designed to be a successor to the popular AO-51 microsat. Accepted into the NASA CubeSat Launch Initative in February 2012, AO-85 was launched October 8, 2015. AO-85's success led to further Fox satellites AO-91, AO-92, AO-95, and RadFxSat2 / Fox-1E which will be launched later this year. The Fox-1E transponder was also spun off into a radio system now in orbitonboard HuskySat-1, and soon to be in several other university cubesats. Development continues on GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1, which will include a legacy V/u linear transponder and a SDR-based multiband uplink and 10 GHz downlink radio system. Your continued support of AMSAT by member- ship and donations will help us Keep Amateur Radio in Space. [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President - Operations for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HuskySat-1 Update Students in the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington have been celebrating successes since HuskySat-1, a student built sat- ellite weighing about 9 lbs, deployed into space on Friday, January 31st: • After being deployed, HuskySat turned on, deployed the antennas on the first attempt, and start transmitting in a designated "safe mode". • On the first active pass over Seattle, just 2 hours after deploy- ment, students used the UW ground station to command the satellite to change operational modes. • With help from AMSAT and the network of amateurs across the globe, the HuskySat team has been able to closely track the health of the satellite. Health data includes temperatures, battery charge state, and solar panel charging. • Over the weekend, the camera payload took and transmitted the first pictures from space! The camera included collaboration with Raisbeck Aviation High School and nonprofit Quick2Space. Commissioning of the satellite systems is still underway. The sat- ellite has actually been in space inside a Nanoracks deployer since launch on Nov 2nd. The main research goal of satellite is to demon- strate the new propulsion and communication technologies on the sat- ellite. At the completion of the research phase, the satellite will be utilized as an amateur transponder. The mission of the UW program, housed in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, is to foster interdisciplinary student participation in space systems research, to inspire and train future space scien- tists and engineers, and to advance spacecraft capabilities at the University of Washington. On February 15th, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, hosted a Twitch stream to discuss the AMSAT Linear Transponder Module (LTM-1) and HuskySat-1. You can see a replay of the livestream at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/552209241 [ANS thanks Paige Northway of the HuskySat-1 team and Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG I am humbled by the greetings and congratulatory messages received over the past ten days since becoming the President of AMSAT. Please join me in expressing gratitude to our immediate past president Joe Spier, K6WAO, for his dedication to AMSAT’s mission of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. It was a pleasure to speak with many of our members at the Orlando Hamcation last weekend. Attending Hamcation afforded me the opportun- ity to meet with many of our volunteers and reach out to other organi- zations in amateur radio such as the ARRL and the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. My priority, now underway, is to ensure all Directors have equal access to AMSAT resources to perform their duties. AMSAT complies with Section 29-413.05 of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act of 2010. Most of the information Directors use to perform their duties are already publicly available on the Internet on our website, published in the AMSAT News Service (ANS), and often in print as part of The AMSAT Journal. These resources are not password protected and can be viewed by members and non-members alike. Once I’ve had an opportunity to speak individually with the Directors, I will convene a Board of Directors teleconference to address out- standing business. At any time, three Directors may call on the Pres- ident to schedule a Board of Directors meeting, per our bylaws Article II, Section 5, Paragraph A. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Avail- able for New or Renewing Members While HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. 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 PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Apogee View - January/February 2020 Happy New Year! 2020 promises to be an exciting year filled with new satellites to work and significant progress towards our next genera- tion of satellites. By the time you read this, HuskySat-1 should be in orbit and completing its science mission before being turned over to AMSAT for amateur radio use. I want to congratulate all those involved with this project both at the University of Washington and on AMSAT’s Engineering and Operations teams who worked to make this mutually beneficial partnership happen. More details about HuskySat-1 and our partnership with the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washing- ton can be found elsewhere in the January/February 2020 issue of The AMSAT Journal. While we look forward to the completion of HuskySat-1's primary miss- ion, we also await the launch of the final Fox-1 satellite, RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E, which is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than the first quarter of this year on the ELaNa XX mission. The ELaNa XX miss- ion will fly on the second flight of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne ve- hicle. As the Fox project wraps up its series of five 1U CubeSats, progress continues on GOLF, the next generation of AMSAT satellites. A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint – Technology Evaluation En- vironment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14th. During the test, the boards were laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The inter- connected boards included: • An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit - i.e., computer) prototype, • A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and • A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the team has reached this point, AMSAT Engineering has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, our ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got us this far, with much work yet to be done before the assembly of flight units. The GOLF-TEE satellite is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). The work on GOLF is intended for our CubeSat missions to higher orbits. However, much as the Fox-1E linear transponder was adapted as a payload for HuskySat-1, components developed for GOLF, such as the RT-IHU and the microwave SDR transponder, can be adapted to serve as the basis for a hosted payload on a commercial or government sat- ellite in geostationary orbit or perhaps an educational CubeSat des- tined for MEO or GTO. Should an opportunity arise, the work being done on GOLF means that we will be ready to build such a hosted payload. While we continue our work on these satellites, we face the prospect of regulatory roadblocks. Last year, we submitted comments on the Federal Communication Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking re- garding the mitigation of orbital debris. The proposed rules as worded would severely limit the type of missions AMSAT could pursue. While the Commission has not yet issued final rules, we are hopeful that the near-unanimous opposition of commenters to the more harmful as- pects of the rules, such as the requirement for satellite operators to indemnify the United States Government for any potential claims regarding their satellites, will limit the negative impact. Another serious concern is our access to spectrum. While international threats that arose in the months before the 2019 World Radiocommunica- tion Conference to the 144 MHz – 146 MHz and 1260 MHz – 1270 MHz ama- teur satellite service bands have subsided for the time being, other threats appear on the horizon. This past December, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would delete the amateur alloca- tion at 3.3 GHz – 3.5 GHz, including the amateur satellite service allocation at 3.4 GHz – 3.41 GHz. While that band has not yet been used for any amateur satellites as it is not available in ITU Region 3 (Asia & Oceania), it is still a potentially useful resource for a future amateur geostationary payload over the Americas. Additionally, we know that many AMSAT members also use this band for other purposes, such as mesh networking, contesting, and EME commun- ications. Access to microwave spectrum is crucial for many of our planned activities, including GOLF and amateur radio on the Lunar Gateway, and we must vigorously defend our spectrum allocations. AMSAT is currently drafting comments opposing this proposed rule, and, working alongside the ARRL, we continue to monitor potential legis- lative and regulatory actions that could limit or even preclude some of our current and planned activities. On a final note, I wanted to let the membership know that AMSAT's ser- vers will be migrating to a new operating system and a new hosting service later this year. This is necessary as the operating system currently running AMSAT's servers will reach its end of life in Nov- ember. While AMSAT's capable IT team led by Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, will do their best to minimize any disruptions to AMSAT services, this type of transition can often result in unforeseen problems. Continue to monitor the AMSAT-BB and AMSAT's Twitter and Facebook accounts for any updates. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Satellites The DX Engineering blog On All Bands recently published an article en- titled "5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Sat- ellites" by Sean Kutzko, KX9X. The article can be found at: https://www.onallbands.com/ham-radio-satellite-operating-etiquette/ [ANS thanks Sean Kutzko, KX9X, and DX Engineering for the above infor- mation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 13, 2020 The following Amateur Radio satellite's name and NORAD CAT ID have been changed: 1. HuskySat 1 satellite name is now HuskySat-1. 2. Based on changes in Space-Track TLE data, HuskySat-1's new NORAD CAT ID is now object 45119. (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Maple Dale Elementary School, Cincinnati, OH, direct via K8SCH The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Thu 2020-02-20 18:20:28 UTC 48 deg The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS [ANS thanks Charlie Sulfana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, 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 AMSAT 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. Current schedule: + March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX + March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ + March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN + March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ + March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ + March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA + May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ + May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ + May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH + June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-Hamfest 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 Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 13-16 DM22 AD7DB and N7JY FM Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (Twitter @ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ St. Barthelemy Island (FK87) February 15-22, 2020 Operators Pat/N2IEN, Ray/W2RE, Rockwell/WW1X, and Lee/WW2DX will be signing FJ/homecalls from St. Barthelemy (NA-146) between Feb. 15 and 22. QRV holiday-style on 160 to 6m and via satellite on CW, SSB, and digital modes. QSL cards for all calls via NR6M. Vidalia, LA (EM41) February 28 – March 1, 2020 Brian, KG5GJT, will will be operating from the bank of the Miss- issippi river in Vidalia, La. (EM41), where Jim Bowie was serious- ly wounded in the Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827. This will be vacation style, so keep an eye on Brian’s Twitter feed for up- dates: https://twitter.com/KG5GJT Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For up- dates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The Nanoracks deployment of several CubeSats has been delayed until no earlier than February 17 due to delays with the launch of Cygnus NG-13. CubeSats scheduled to deploy are RadSat-u, Phoenix, QARMAN, CryoCube, AztechSat-1, SOCRATES, Argus-02, HARP, and SORTIE. + AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Editor Slade Stevens, 2E0SQL, is soliciting articles for the next issue. Send submissions to 2E0SQB at amsat.org + The AMSAT-UK shop is now stocking a 5 watt 2.4 GHz amplifier kit for use with the QO-100 geostationary satellite. For more details, see https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-QO-100 + The first crewed mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon may launch on May 7th. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-SpaceX + Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG, recently released a composite video show- ing all currently orbiting FUNcube family satellites being launched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdjXzPEsuxw + The EIRSAT-1 CubeSat has passed both environmental and vibration testing: https://twitter.com/EIRSAT1/status/1225810684065259520 + Spaceflight Industries recently signed a deal to sell its satellite rideshare launch business Spaceflight, Inc. to Mitsui & Co., in part- nership with Yamasa Co., Ltd. AMSAT purchased the launches for AO-92 and AO-95 from Spaceflight, Inc. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-Spaceflight [ANS thanks everyone 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, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

1 0

ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 08 Feb '20

08 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-040 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: * Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President * Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment * New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following * Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project * 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process * AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-040.01 ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 040.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 09 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-040.01 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President At a special meeting held via teleconference, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President. Coleman previous- ly served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and also served as AMSAT's Secretary during this time. He has also volun- teered in several other capacities for AMSAT, including chairing the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium held aboard the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. Coleman’s first introduction to amateur radio in space was with SAREX and Mir. An interest in setting up an AX.25 BBS and nodes led to him trying out the Mir Personal Message System (PMS) and digipeater to make contacts in the early 1990s. It wasn’t until a visit from a friend in 2011 that Coleman was bitten by the OSCAR bug and began his AMSAT journey chasing operating awards. Having held other leadership roles in his community, nonprofits, and critical infrastructure, Coleman’s desire is working with constituents to improve organizational processes and align them with strategic goals. Professionally, Coleman works in the industrial process con- trol sector as both a consultant and business development manager. He resides in the North Texas area with his spouse and two children. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors and AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment Several CubeSats are scheduled to be deployed from the ISS into orbit on 12 Feb. Among them is the Phoenix CubeSat, which is a 3U CubeSat developed by Arizona State University to study the effects of Urban Heat Islands through infrared remote sensing. Following deployment, the Phoenix operations team would appreciate as much help as possible with identifying the spacecraft and verifying that it is operational. Phoenix is scheduled for a deployment time of *8:30 UTC* on 12 Feb. Please note that two CubeSats being deployed on this date operate on the same frequency. Both Phoenix and QARMAN share the frequency of *437.35 MHz*, and both utilize an AX.25 9600 baud protocol with GMSK modulation. Both CubeSats will also be deployed within 1.5 hours of each other, and will therefore be close to each other in orbit. Please be mindful of this situation, and if you have any doubt about the Cube- Sat that you are receiving, please get in touch with Sarah Rogers, Project Manager, Phoenix CubeSat, sroger13 [at} asu.edu with any ques- tions or concerns. To read more about the Phoenix CubeSat, it's transmitter characteris- tics, and how you can decode the signal, please see the website at http://phxcubesat.asu.edu/content/amateur-operations! [ANS thanks Sarah Rogers, KI7OOY, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 A video by astronauts Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan posted on the European Space Agency YouTube channel on January 26th, 2020 shows Luca going inside the Cygnus NG-12 vehicle, which took cargo, as well as several satellites, including HuskySat-1, to the ISS. Even more relevant to HuskySat-1 and the the amateur radio satellite community, Luca mentions the "delivery system" they planned to install on the vehicle before it was released, which happened on January 31st. HuskySat-1 was deployed from the delivery system later that day. Luca says he thinks it's really cool that the delivery system provides another way to gain access to space, and I couldn't agree more. The Cygnus tour begins at 24:42 into the video, and the delivery system is mentioned at 26:57. This link to the video goes directly to 24:42: https://youtu.be/Snn1k_qEx20?t=1482 [ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following satellite's NORAD CAT ID has been changed in this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OCULUS-ASR is now object NORAD CAT ID 44348 The following satellites have been deleted from this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OBJECT H - NORAD CAT ID 44346 (non-amateur satellite TEPCE, decayed February 1,2020) OBJECT J - NORAD CAT ID 44347 (non-amateur satellite FALCONSAT-7) TBEX-A - NORAD CAT ID 44356 (non-amateur satellite) The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this week's TLE distribution: HuskySat 1 - NORAD CAT ID 45117 (Cygnus NG-12 Spacecraft deployment, 1/31/2020). (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following Initial reports indicate considerable interest among amateurs in tracking and capturing data from the newly deployed HuskySat-1. The satellite, designed at the University of Washington, was launched to the ISS by Cygnus NG-12 on November 2, 2019. It was deployed to a higher orbit from the ISS by Cygnus on January 31, and began telemetry transmissions on 435.800 MHz. HuskySat-1’s 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT’s FoxTelem software. FoxTelem is available at https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem HuskySat-1 is a CubeSat, and will demonstrate onboard plasma propul- sion and high gain telemetry for low Earth orbit that would be a pre- cursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital inser- tion at the Moon. HuskySat-1 is expected to carry out its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for activation of a 30 kHz wide V/U linear trans- ponder for SSB and CW. Initially it looked like object 2019-071G was HuskySat-1, but our friends at the 18th Space Control Squadron published data on addi- ional objects in recent days, and there is considerable evidence suggesting that HuskySat-1 is actually one of those instead. Element sets for objects 2019-071H and 2019-071J are now distributed in nasabare.txt as candidates for the "Real" HuskySat-1. Usually element sets are good for a week or more, at least for ham purposes where we have fairly wide beam widths. The exception is the ISS, the only spacecraft we have in nasabare.txt that maneuvers, and we keep its element sets "fresh" by applying updates from Johnson Spaceflight Center several times per day. Husky-Sat 1 will be testing a thruster early in its mission, and endeavors to demonstrate a delta- V of 100m/sec or more. This could cause the accuracy of element sets to degrade more quickly than usual. [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project amsatLink is a proposed three-phased program to ultimately establish a constellation of nanosatellites, linked in a peer-to-peer voice commun- ications network for amateur satellite service. As a wireless ad hoc network, future satellites can be added to the network and ground stations, moving in and out of a nanosatellite node’s footprint, can easily join and exit the network. The proposal is to create an IEEE 802.11 wireless ad hoc network, op- erating within the FCC Part 97 amateur radio frequency allocation of the 2.4 GHz microwave band. Individual satellite and ground nodes would connect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate with one another to create one virtual network that can efficiently route data from/to clients. While the idea of cross-link communication between satellites is not new, amsatLink hopes to continue the efforts of NASA’s PhoneSat, EDSN constellation, and NODES missions, by expanding the network to include ground-based nodes, demonstrating the use of voice over internet pro- tocol communications, and organizing nodes into clusters, where each cluster consists of one nanosatellite node and any visible ground nodes. amsatLink will continue NASA’s design philosophy by utilizing commer- cial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objec- tives as simple as possible. Estimated total hardware cost per satel- lite is less than $5,000. Proposed ground stations will also use off the shelf equipment with a total estimated cost of less than $150. For more details, see https://ke4al.github.io/amsatLink/ Robert seeks further discussion of this proposal among AMSAT members. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the schools and host organizations selected for the second half of 2020. Of the proposals submitted during the recent proposal window, 10 were accepted to move forward in the selection process for a scheduled amateur radio contact with a crew member on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities. The schools and host organizations are now engaged in the next step of the acceptance process. When ready, they will be put in the scheduling queue for a contact during the July to December 2020 time period. Al- though ARISS expects to schedule all 10 during this period, changes to NASA crew availability might force some delays to the next time period. The schools and host organizations are: Estes Park Elementary School Estes Park, CO Green Bank Elementary School Green Bank, WV Tecumseh Public School Tecumseh, OK RSU #21 Kennebunk, ME JFK High School Denver, CO Oregon Charter School Mill City, OR Newcastle High School Newcastle, WY Tarwater Elementary School Chandler, AZ Kopernik Observatory Vestel, NY Salem-South Lyon District Library South Lyon, MI [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 AMSAT will be at the Yuma Hamfest, which is also serving as the 2020 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, on Friday and Saturday, 14-15 February 2020. The hamfest will be at the Yuma County Fairgrounds, along 32nd Street, across the street from Yuma International Airport and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, south of Interstate 8. More about the hamfest is available at: http://www.yumahamfest.org/ WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on a pass, please call and join in the demonstration. The hamfest site is in grid DM22, in Arizona's Yuma County. QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on request (please e-mail WD9EWK directly with the QSO details). Patrick will tweet updates from the hamfest using the @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can see the tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK In addition to the WD9EWK demonstration, AMSAT member Dave Bartholomew, AD7DB, will give a presentation "Getting Started on FM Satellites" on Saturday (15 February) morning at the hamfest. Dave's presentation is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ (see details above) February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale (AZ) Amateur Radio Club Hamfest March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. 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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (@ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ Key West and Boca Grande Key (EL94, EL84+) February 9-11,2020 Clayton, W5PFG, will be in Key West, Florida (EL94) February 9 through the 11, 2020. Monday, February 10, 13:15-17:30 UTC, Clay- ton will operate FM & SSB satellites from EL84xm, Boca Grande Key. Listen for W5PFG near these dates for additional Florida grids, such as EL79, EL89, EL99, EL86, EL96, & EL95. Keep an eye on Clay- ton’s Twitter feed for announcements https://twitter.com/w5pfg Del Carmen Island (EK48cp) February 9, 2020 Ismael, XE1AY, will operate from Del Carmen Island (DL87th) on Sun- day 9 February, using the callsign 4A2L (see QRZ). Ismael only expects to operate FM satellites for a couple of hours. In addi- tion, they plan to operate CW, SSB, and FT8. Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 – 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Eduardo/XE2YW and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters (possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For updates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + After setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman, NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth on Feb. 6, along with Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. Koch launched March 14, 2019. Her first journey into space of 328 days is the second-longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astro- naut and also places her seventh on the list of cumulative time in space for American astronauts. Full story: https://bit.ly/386BTrc (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) + SpaceX has been garnering all the headlines when it comes to satel- lite constellations. Their Starlink system will eventually have thou- sands of tiny satellites working together to provide internet access. But on Thursday, Feb. 6, OneWeb launched 34 satellite from the Bai- konur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz launch vehicle. Eventually, OneWeb intends to have as many as 5,000 satellites in orbit. (ANS thank universetoday.com for the above information) + An industry report forecasts demand for 14,000 to 20,000 new satel- lites to be launched in the next decade. The report suggests that launch slot availability will be a challenge for satellite operators, and that delays due to longer lead times and additional costs will put pressure on research, commercial, and military operators. (ANS thanks satmagazine.com for the above information) + NASA declared the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16-year mission complete on Thursday, Jan. 30 after sending final commands for the spacecraft to enter hibernation as it drifts farther from Earth. The Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA’s original four “Great Observatories,” studied the most distant galaxy ever observed in the universe, gathered data on the characteristics of planets around other stars, and detected a new ring around Saturn. (ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information) + Finnish amateur photographers have discovered a new auroral form. Named 'dunes' by the hobbyists, the phenomenon is believed to be caused by waves of oxygen atoms glowing due to a stream of particles released from the Sun. In the study, published in the journal AGU Advances, the origins of the dunes were tracked to a wave guide formed within the mesosphere and its boundary, the mesopause. (ANS thanks astrowatch.net for the above information) + The JAMSAT general meeting and space symposium will take place at the Tokyo, Odaiba, Science Museum on March 14 and 15. (ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information) + Bob Atkins KA1GT has documented his recent observations of interfer- ence to 1296 EME from the Galileo navigation satellites' E6 mode. Read Bob's article at https://bobatkins.com/radio/galileo-1296.html (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information) + Minutes of the 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors meeting are now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/ The December 2018 Annual Financial Review report is also now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/ (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. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org

1 0