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ANS-171 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 18 Jun '16

18 Jun '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-171 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. In this edition: * 2016 Candidates for the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Announced * May/June 2016 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Sent To Press * Amateur Radio Geostationary Satellite Phase 4B Information * ISRO PSLV-C34 will Launch 20 Satellites from Space Centre at Andhra Pradesh June 22 * Data Modes on Ham Radio Satellites * LibreCube Initiative Invites Comments on CubeSat PC Board Standardization * Special Calls From Brazil on the Satellites * Special Event Station K1D to Operate Satellites on Field Day 2016 * ARISS Delivers the Excitement of Space Exploration to UK Students * NASA Astronaut Scott Tingle Earns Amateur Radio License, KG5NZA * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-171.01 ANS-171 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 171.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 19, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-171.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Candidates for the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Announced The 2016 candidates, in alphabetical order by last names are: Tom Clark, K3IO Clayton Coleman, W5PFG Mark Hammond, N8MH Bruce Paige, KK5DO Paul Stoetzer, N8HM This year AMSAT-NA will be electing three voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be two alternates chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT-NA membership by July 15, 2016 and must be received at the AMSAT office by September 15, 2016 in order to be counted. Those sent outside North America will go by air mail. If you have not received your ballot package in a reasonable time for your location, please contact the AMSAT office. Completed ballots should be returned as promptly as possible, and those from outside North America preferably by air mail. Election of Board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT. Please take the time to review the candidate statements that will accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board. You have the option to vote for up to three candidates. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Secretary, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- May/June 2016 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Sent To Press The May/June 2016 issue of The AMSAT Journal has gone to press and should be arriving in member's mailboxes soon. In this issue: *Dateline Dayton - Notes from Hamvention 2016 - Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK and Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF *Tom Clark, K3IO, Receives ARRL President's Award *GNU Radio Companion Protoype for a Dual Analog/Digtal Transponder System for the AMSAT GEO Mission - Dr. William C. Headley, KM4KAL, Dr. Robert McGwier, N4HY, and Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO *Orbital Debrief - Paul Stoetzer, N8HM *Member Footprints - John Smith, KI4RO *An Arduino Controlled GPS Corrected VFO - Gene Marcus, W3PM/GM4YRE *On the Grids - Melvin C. Vye, W8MV *AMSAT Activites at Greater Houston Hamfest 2016 - Allen F. Mattis, N5AVF and Andy MacAllister, W5ACM *GOTA Station Demos Satellites to Over 400 Students - Richard Siff, WA4BUE [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Secretary, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Radio Geostationary Satellite Phase 4B Information At website hosted by the Hume Center for National Security and Technology at Virginia Tech lists the relevant information available for the Phase 4B HEO Satellite. The beginning parts of the brochure state: Hands on, Minds on; RF and Security Research at Virginia Tech: • On-orbit learning laboratory to develop new capabilities in satellite communications and amateur radio • Digital protocols to enable push-to-talk, WiFi, streaming video, etc. • Onboard processing - geolocation, co-channel, machine learning • App development and real time experimentation • Beam steering and coordinated collection • User authentication and prioritization • Open cryptography AMSAT Phase4B Project Program Specifications: • SDR-based 5 & 10 GHz amateur satellite payload being designed to take advantage of a geosynchronous launch opportunity • Rideshare opportunity on the US Air Force Remote Sensing Program Office Wide Field of View (WFOV) geosynchronous satellite being designed by Millennium Space Systems • Software-defined radio (SDR) payload from Rincon Research Corporation Dr. McGwier has promised upcoming articles for the AMSAT Journal and QST. see the full description at: http://www.hume.vt.edu/geo/ [ANS thanks Bob McGwier, N4HY, and the Hume Center for National Security and Technology at Virginia Tech, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISRO PSLV-C34 will Launch 20 Satellites from Space Centre at Andhra Pradesh June 22 The Indian Space Agency has announced that it would be launching twenty satellites from its Sriharikota barrier Island base off the southeast coast on June 22. According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will lift off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh with 20 satellites at 9.25 am that day. While the rocket’s main cargo will be India’s 725.5 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation, the other 19 satellites weighing around 560 kg are from Canada, Germany, Indonesia and the United States as well as one satellite each from Sathyabama University, Chennai, and the College of Engineering, Pune, said the Indiatoday.in report. The satellites will be launched from the second launch pad with a total payload of 1,288 kg. The whole mission will take approximately 26 minutes for its completion. The images sent by the Cartosat satellite will be useful for cartographic, urban, rural, coastal land use, water distribution and other applications. The Cartosat series of satellites was originated in India and is a part of Indian Remote Sensing Program. According to Indiatoday.in, the Swayam satellite weighing 1kg from Pune will provide point-to-point messaging services to the HAM radio community. HAM Radio, or Amateur Radio, is a popular service that brings people, electronics and communication together. People use ham radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or mobile phones. The 1.5 kg Sathyabamasat from Sathyabama University will collect data on greenhouse gases. Satellite Uplink Downlink Beacon Mode ------------ ------- -------- ------- --------------- BEESAT-4 . 435.950 435.950 4800bps GMSK,CW BIROS . 437.525 . 4800bps GMSK LAPAN-A3 435.880 145.880 145.825 FM,APRS Max Valier . 145.860 145.960 CW Sathyabamasat . 145.980 . 2400bps BPSK Swayam COEP . 437.025 437.025 1200bps BPSK,CW Venta-1 . . 437.325 CW ------------ ------- -------- ------- --------------- see http://www.newsgram.com/in-a-single-mission-on-june-22-isro-will-launch-20- satellites-from-space-centre-at-andhra-pradesh/ https://amsat-uk.org/2016/05/25/amateur-satellite-launch-from-india/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and newsgram.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Data Modes on Ham Radio Satellites Tony Bombardiere, K2MO has released a video showing operation of PSK31, PSK63, and Hellshreiber on the amateur radio satellites. He demonstrates WinPSK and IZ8BLY’s Hellschreiber which both have satellite capabilities. Essentially, the applications make it easy for the operator to monitor digital signals on the satellites downlink while simultaneously transmitting on the satellites uplink; it’s accomplished by utilizing the sound cards full-duplex operation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaaHy02g9cM https://amsat-uk.org/2016/06/17/data-modes-on-ham-radio-satellites/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Tony Bombardiere, K2MO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- LibreCube Initiative Invites Comments on CubeSat PC Board Standardization On June 16 Cubesat.org announced on their cubesat(a)cubesat.org e-mail list that the LibreCube Initiative, a community-driven initiative to provide open source solutions for space and earth exploration, is seeking input to formalize the mechanical specification of the stacked PC/104 circuit boards utilized in most CubeSat designs. The LibreSat project invites inline comments into the draft document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vEx4Wg5NjpI21a7JNdPjHnXPRjmNMTzArlYTK1sg 1Ng/edit?usp=sharing You may also discuss about it in the forum: http://librecube.net/forums/topic/librecube-board-specification/ When finalized, this specification shall become binding for future LibreCube open source CubeSat projects, but may be useful to other members of the CubeSat community as well. More information about the LibreCube project can be found on their web page: http://www.librecube.net The e-mail contact provided on the announcement is: Email: artur.scholz(a)librecube.net [ANS thanks CubeSat.org and LibreCube.net for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Calls From Brazil on the Satellites The Brazilian Amateur Radio Satellite Community of ARSATC, is celebrating its first "birthday" on the air with the calls ZV8SAT, ZX9SAT, ZV1SAT, and ZV2SAT until the end of the month. They will be QRV on the Satellites; QSL for all calls via PT9BM and LoTW. More information is on-line at: http://www.arsatc.org/home.html [ANS thanks the DXNL 1993 - June 15, 2016 DX Newsletter for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Event Station K1D to Operate Satellites on Field Day 2016 Field Day is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and running through 2059 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2016 is June 25-26. In an effort to encourage more kids and their families to get involved in the hobby, the kids at Ham Radio (dot) World are working to put an all-kids Special Event ARRL Field Day station on the air in 2016. This station will have the special event call sign of K1D and it will be set-up, operated, and put away by kids who are ham radio operators. Kids of all ages and their parents (both licensed hams and non-hams alike) are encouraged to come out and participate in this exciting event. New hams and even non-hams can experience the excitement of talking to people around the world with the Get On the Air (GOTA) station, which will have the callsign K4G. Both stations will operate from grid EL99IA in Deland, Florida, USA. The kids will be on the HF bands and on the Amateur Radio satellites. K1D will be joined by AMSAT’s Vice-President Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, who will be a kid-for-a-day to help get the kids on the linear satellites. Look for them and give them a shout! The K1D Special Event Field Day station will be built by the kids prior to the Field Day activities. The kids have built a solar power solution–from scratch–to use to power their K1D Special Event Field Day station. Kyocera Solar and West Mountain Radio have graciously donated parts to this solar power supply – THANK YOU! They also plan on using a Genasun MPPT Charge Controller to manage charging the battery. Emmett of Radiowavz.com is providing a Sentinel Expedition Hex Beam for K1D. Finally, the kids have built their own W7FG True Ladder Line antenna with parts provided by TrueLadderLine.com and are building additional antennas to use for Field Day. Keep watching Ham Radio (dot) World for videos of the kids as they build their Special Event Station. Join WX4TVJ (Zechariah), who was licensed at 12 years old, AE4FH (Faith Hannah), who was licensed at 10 years old, KM4IPF (Hope), who was licensed at 8 years old, & 7 year old Grace (KM4TXT)for Field Day 2016. Listen for them on the air and give them a break by making K1D one of your 2016 Field Day contacts. For helping to encourage youth in amateur radio, stations who work K1D and/or K4G during the 2016 ARRL Field Day will be eligible for a special K1D/K4G Commemorative QSL card. More information at http://hamradio.world/ [ANS thanks James, WX4TV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Delivers the Excitement of Space Exploration to UK Students Two stories shared in UK media capture the excitement and reward of the UK’s ARISS ham radio operations team’s efforts in connection with Tim Peake’s Principia Mission. Carole Cadwalladr, a writer from The Guardian (a UK national newspaper) was present for the ARISS contact on May 9 at The King’s School, Ottery St. Mary in Devon, UK. In the Sunday, May 29 edition, she posted a story that beautifully captures the spirit of space adventure and how the ARISS program brings that excitement to students, their educators, and their communities in profound ways. The story is at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/may/29/tim-peake-ground-control- revive-science-interest-schools-space TXFactor produced a documentary about the ARISS program’s interface with Tim Peake’s Principia Mission. The documentary describes the process UK schools undertook to apply for a scheduled radio interview with Peake, and preparations for the contact opportunity by the King’s School in Devon. It details the station set up by the ARISS UK Operations team which accomplished successful radio contacts between 10 UK schools during Peake's Principia endeavor. Seven of these ten contacts included the reception of HamTV signals both at the school (using a mobile based ATV reception facility) and a 3.8m dish located at the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station. Watch the video on YouTube at: http://www.txfactor.co.uk/txf011.shtml [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Astronaut Scott Tingle Earns Amateur Radio License, KG5NZA NASA Astronaut Scott Tingle Earns Amateur Radio License. He is now the owner of call sign KG5NZA and will support ARISS on upcoming ISS Expeditions 53 and 54. NASA Astronaut Scott D. Tingle has just earned his Amateur Radio license, passing his exam on June 3, 2016. The FCC issued the call sign, KG5NZA, to him on June 8. In January, as he began some NASA training in Russia he requested the license study material. He had heard about ARISS during his astronaut training, and in January, decided to study on his own. The astronaut training program runs for at least two years, is intense, and heavily loaded with all types of required studies, and Amateur Radio is optional. Tingle earned his technician license and plans to use it to support ARISS during his scheduled time on the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 53 crew. Launch is tentatively planned for fall of 2017. His stay continues into Expedition 54. Tingle graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in 1988 with a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in fluid mechanics and propulsion. A captain in the United States Navy, he has served as a combat pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan and has earned copious awards and commendations. He was selected for the astronaut program in 2009 as one of 14 members of NASA Astronaut Group 20, and graduated in 2011. ARISS Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said, "The ARISS Team is excited to see continuing great interest among the Astronauts and Astronaut Candidates who are looking forward to supporting Amateur Radio activities through the ARISS platform." About ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, go to: www.ariss.org www.amsat.org www.arrl.org Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN and ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Wednesday, 6 July 2016 – Chehalis Valley Amateur Radio Society meeting in Chehalis WA *Saturday, 13 August 2016 – KL7KC Hamfest in Fairbanks AK [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Sucessful Contacts * A telebridge contact via VK4KHZ with students at Briargreen Public School, Nepean, ON, Canada was successful Mon 2016-06-13 at 15:19:15 UTC 31 deg. Astronaut Timothy Peake, KG5BVI answered 15 questions for an audience of 250 students along with parents and visitors. Briargreen is an amazing K-6 open-concept school nestled in a suburban community of west Ottawa in Ontario, Canada. It is a caring community of diverse students, teachers and parents, who love to share both our in-class and out-of-class experiences with each other. Some of our noteworthy special events include our Kindergarten Chinese New Year parade, Terry Fox Run activities and junior community games days. Our learning community has some of the most wonderful students in the world! Visit our website at briargreenps.ocdsb.ca/Pages/home.aspx * Glenmore State High School, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut was Tim Kopra KE5UDN A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students at Glenmore State High School, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia was successful Mon 2016-06-06 08:39:31 UTC 31 deg. The audience assembled in the school’s 500 seat sports stadium. All seats were filled with an additional 100 persons standing as astronaut Tim Kopra, KE5UDN provided answers to questions from students. Glenmore High School is a modern, progressive secondary school providing quality education for students from years 7 to 12. Since its establishment in 1975 Glenmore High School has earned a reputation for high quality educational programs and services which develop a passion in students for learning and life. Glenmore SHS runs an extension Science/Math program named “SCOPE” where students enroll and work through year levels at an accelerated rate, which allows them to finish traditional schooling early and conduct further studies at our local university, to which we are partnered (Central Queensland University), during their final year of schooling. Students in the “SCOPE- Science” program are encouraged to participate in our schools astronomy club and robotics club as an extra curricula activity. The schools astronomy club works with local primary schools, teaching about space and running viewing evenings. * Bouze Island Elementary and Junior High School, Homeji, Japan, direct via 8N3B The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut was Timothy Peake KG5BVI A direct contact via 8N3B with students at Bouze Island Elementary and Junior High School, Homeji, Japan, was successful Sat 2016-06-04 08:31:09 UTC 74 deg. Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI answered 16 questions for students and an audience of 500. Watch a video of the interview at http://www.ariss.jp/bouze/bouze.wmv Bouze Island is one of the Ieshima small Islands which are located in the Seto Inland sea of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. There are about 1400 people on the island and are part of the marine products industry. They live with simplicity and are friendly. But the students of this Island have not had a chance for scientific experience as part of their school education because of their remote location. There are 140 persons in the elementary school and 100 persons in the junior high school. Upcoming Contacts * Chuvash Republic, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka RN3FU Contact is a go for Sun 2016-06-19 09:30 UTC Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT Argentina Balloon Flight with Crossband Repeater AMSAT Argentina plans a high altitude balloon launch carrying a crossband repeater from Las Heras in the Mendoza province on July 9, 2016. Launch is currently planned for 10:00 AM local time, depending on weather conditions. AMSAT Argentina will also present news of their satellite plans. NEA-1 Repeater Information -------------------------- Uplink: 145.725 Mhz FM (123.0 Hz CTCSS) Downlink: 436.725 Mhz FM APRS information will be relayed via: http://aprs.fi/?call lu7aa-1 BALLOON NEA - 1 [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina 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, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-164 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 11 Jun '16

11 Jun '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-164 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. In this edition: * 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nomination Deadline This Week * ARRL Network Maintenance Set for Sunday, June 12 * 38 Years of Satellite Contacts Nets Satellite WAS for K8BL * Special Event Station K1D to Operate Satellites on Field Day 2016 * K6R Expedition to Santa Rosa Island and CM93 * Download Planetary Society's LightSail-2 Morse Beacon as a Ringtone SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.01 ANS-164 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. June 12, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.01 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nomination Deadline This Week It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Three director's terms expire this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, and Lou McFadin, W5DID. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA at AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to (301)822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Secretary, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Network Maintenance Set for Sunday, June 12 The ARRL IT Department will conduct network maintenance on Sunday, June 12, to improve reliability and security. The work will occur between 1100 UTC and 2300 UTC. During this period some or all systems may be temporarily unavailable, including the website. Among services that will be affected are the ARRL Store, the National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) page, Logbook of The World (LoTW), the DXCC page, and the ARRL VEC page. E-mail also will be offline, but all messages will be queued for later delivery. Telephone service to ARRL Headquarters also may be affected. ARRL apologizes for any inconvenience. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 Years of Satellite Contacts Nets Satellite WAS for K8BL Congratulations are in order to Bob Liddy, K8BL, for achieving Worked All States via satellite and earning WAS Satellite Award #341. The con- tacts for his award spanned 38 years. Bob's oldest satellite QSL card was from W7LSV in Oregon, 10/13/78 for an Oscar 8 Mode A CW contact. Bob's last state contacted was North Dakota W0N for a contact with Wyatt, AC0RA, via SO50 FM on 11/13/15. An AMSAT member since 1979, Bob wrote via the amsat-bb, "Earlier this year, I was going through my paper QSL's getting ready to make some submissions for various ARRL Awards at the Dayton Hamvention. Sorting through the cards, I made a stack of Satellite QSL's. I started to notice that I had quite a few States confirmed and wondered if I was finally close to WAS even though I wasn't really int he hunt very seriously. Would you believe I had them ALL worked but was only missing a QSL from Vermont?!! Happily, it was Nick, KB1RVT who I KNEW was always good for a confirmation which he quickly returned confirming our contact via SO-50 FM on 1/4/16. 50 Paper QSL's, 38 Years!! WHEW!! Thanks to all who helped." [ANS thanks -and, congratulates - Bob Liddy, K8BL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Event Station K1D to Operate Satellites on Field Day 2016 Field Day is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and running through 2059 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2016 is June 25-26. In an effort to encourage more kids and their families to get involved in the hobby, the kids at Ham Radio (dot) World are working to put an all-kids Special Event ARRL Field Day station on the air in 2016. This station will have the special event call sign of K1D and it will be set-up, operated, and put away by kids who are ham radio operators. Kids of all ages and their parents (both licensed hams and non-hams alike) are encouraged to come out and participate in this exciting event. New hams and even non-hams can experience the excitement of talking to people around the world with the Get On the Air (GOTA) station, which will have the callsign K4G. Both stations will operate from grid EL99IA in Deland, Florida, USA. The kids will be on the HF bands and on the Amateur Radio satellites. K1D will be joined by AMSAT’s Vice-President Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, who will be a kid-for-a-day to help get the kids on the linear satellites. Look for them and give them a shout! The K1D Special Event Field Day station will be built by the kids prior to the Field Day activities. The kids have built a solar power solution–from scratch–to use to power their K1D Special Event Field Day station. Kyocera Solar and West Mountain Radio have graciously donated parts to this solar power supply – THANK YOU! They also plan on using a Genasun MPPT Charge Controller to manage charging the battery. Emmett of Radiowavz.com is providing a Sentinel Expedition Hex Beam for K1D. Finally, the kids have built their own W7FG True Ladder Line antenna with parts provided by TrueLadderLine.com and are building additional antennas to use for Field Day. Keep watching Ham Radio (dot) World for videos of the kids as they build their Special Event Station. Join WX4TVJ (Zechariah), who was licensed at 12 years old, AE4FH (Faith Hannah), who was licensed at 10 years old, KM4IPF (Hope), who was licensed at 8 years old, & 7 year old Grace (KM4TXT)for Field Day 2016. Listen for them on the air and give them a break by making K1D one of your 2016 Field Day contacts. For helping to encourage youth in amateur radio, stations who work K1D and/or K4G during the 2016 ARRL Field Day will be eligible for a special K1D/K4G Commemorative QSL card. More information at http://hamradio.world/ [ANS thanks James, WX4TV for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- K6R Expedition to Santa Rosa Island and CM93 The K6R Satellite Expedition to Santa Rosa Island and CM93 is a go for September 16th-18th, 2016. Permissions have been secured and arrangements made to get to the island, spend 2 nights camping, and operate on a number of Satellite passes – as well as some terrestrial and HF too. Updates will be on the K6R QRZ.com page at https://www.qrz.com/lookup/K6R and over the coming months FAQs, pictures, and more information will be added. [ANS thanks Wyatt, AC0RA & Dave, KG5CCI, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Download Planetary Society's LightSail-2 Morse Beacon as a Ringtone On the Planetary Society's Blog Jason Davis wrote about reception of the morse code beacon from the upcoming LightSail-2 mission ... "Many off-the-shelf CubeSat software packages also have an option to transmit Morse code beacons, and for the LightSail 2 mission, we're activating this feature. Every 45 seconds, the spacecraft will transmit "L-S-2," and radio operators tuned in to the spacecraft's 437.325 megahertz frequency should be able to hear it." The Blog provides details of how to make the LightSail-2 morse code beacon into a ringtone on your phone: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2016/20160609-lightsail-2-morse- code.html [ANS thanks the Planetary Society for the above information and wishes them success with their LightSail-2 mission] /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, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-157 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 05 Jun '16

05 Jun '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-157 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. In this edition: * 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice * French Schools to Talk to ISS * A Dozen Schools/Organizations Move Closer to Hosting a Ham Radio Contact with the ISS Crew * Amateur Satellite Launch from India * ÑUSAT-1 SSB/CW Transponder Satellite Launched * ZF2AE from Grand Cayman via Satellite * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157.01 ANS-157 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 5, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Three director's terms expire this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, and Lou McFadin, W5DID. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA at AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to (301)822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Secretary, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- French Schools to Talk to ISS ARISS-F and AMSAT-F have announced the 13 French schools that have been selected for amateur radio contacts with ISS astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG. He is planned to launch to the International Space Station in November 2016. The 13 French schools selected represents 66% of planned ARISS contacts for Europe. AMSAT-F article in Google English http://tinyurl.com/ARISS-Thomas-Pesquet ARISS-F list of selected schools http://tinyurl.com/ARISS-F Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG on Twitter https://twitter.com/Thom_astro [ANS thanks ARISS-F and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- A Dozen Schools/Organizations Move Closer to Hosting a Ham Radio Contact with the ISS Crew The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program has announced that 12 schools or organizations that submitted proposals to host an Amateur Radio contact with a member of the ISS crew have moved into the next stage of the selection process. Contacts would take place during the first half of 2017. The 12 semifinalists, in eight states, must now complete an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once the ARISS technical team approves the equipment plan, the selected schools/organizations will be scheduled, matching their availability and flexibility with the scheduling opportunities that NASA can offer. The schools and organizations are: Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, Indiana Brook Haven School, Sebastopol, California Greater Niagara Frontier Council BSA, Buffalo, New York McBride High School, Long Beach, California Palmetto Scholars Academy, North Charleston, South Carolina Rainbow Middle School, Rainbow City, Alabama SCaN/Glenn Research Center, Brook Park, Ohio Space Center Houston, Houston, Texas St Joseph School, Ronkonkoma, New York Student Space Technology Association, Knoxville, Tennessee Virginia Reinhardt Elementary School, Rockwall, Texas Warwick Valley Central School District, Warwick, New York The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities and raise their awareness of space exploration, space communications and related areas of study and career possibilities. [ANS thanks ARISS and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Satellite Launch from India Mineo Wakita JE9PEL reports on the Indian ISRO PSLV-C34 amateur radio satellite launch planned for June 10, 2016 at 0355 UT into a 500 km 98 degree inclination orbit. Main Payload, Cartosat-2C, Earth Observing PSLV-XL(C-34), Satish Dharwan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India Satellite Uplink Downlink Beacon Mode ------------ ------- -------- ------- --------------- BEESAT-4 . 435.950 435.950 4800bps GMSK,CW BIROS . 437.525 . 4800bps GMSK LAPAN-A3 . . . Non-Amateur Max Valier . 145.860 145.960 CW Sathyabamasat . 145.980 . 2400bps BPSK Swayam COEP . 437.025 437.025 1200bps BPSK,CW Venta-1 . . 437.325 CW ------------ ------- -------- ------- --------------- http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/be4lapan.htm Among the satellites being launched is Swayam-1 developed by students at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP). It will provide a text messaging facility using the COEPSAT protocol. see http://amsatindia.org/coep-satellite-swayam-project/ http://www.coep.org.in/csat/track-swayam/ UPDATE: Yono YD0NXX reports the Indonesian built LAPAN-A3 does not have an amateur radio payload. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ÑUSAT-1 SSB/CW Transponder Satellite Launched ÑUSAT-1, carrying an amateur radio 435/145 MHz linear transponder and a 436 MHz telemetry beacon, was launched May 30, 2016 at 0317 UT on a CZ-4B rocket from Taiyuan. With ÑUSAT-1 on the launch was its sister satellite ÑUSAT-2 which has a 437 MHz beacon. UPDATE May 30, 2016 at 1300 UT: ÑUSAT-1 and ÑUSAT-1 launched and deployed successfully, signals reported from both telemetry beacons. Satellogic reports “All Systems: Nominal”. AMSAT-LU reports both satellites are sending strong TLM on 436.445/437.445 at 9K6/19K2 GFSK. During first few days they are being stabilized, after that the U/V linear transponder will be activated on ÑUSAT-1. A notice will be given on the AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB). As we quoted when the announcement of the launching of this experiment, Amsat Argentina has been working for several years to keep alive the dream of many Argentine amateurs to get back into Space with their own satellite as a follow- on of the legendary 1990’s LUSAT-1, reaping the benefits of Technological advancement of our days. We believe technical activities and developments of experiments in near space share the same goals: preserving the human group, enhancing their capabilities as well as disseminate and guiding the education and development of the activity, meanwhile contributing to Space available resources. Our agreement with Satellogic Enterprises, which already launched three low orbit satellites: Captain Beto, Manolito y Tita, two of which transmit telemetry and data currently in UHF identifying themselves with callsign LU7AA, allowed us to ride a linear analog amateur radio transponder and corresponding antenna aboard one of their next satellite, ÑUSAT-1 AMSAT-LU provides simultaneously, support for this mission and the ÑUSAT-2 mission, by operating one of the control stations at Tortuguitas, Prov. Of Bs.As. The experiment Amsat-LU developed, evolved from original design of our colleague and partner William, PE1RAH, while electronic adaptation, mechanical and software was made by the LU Satellite Experiment group, mounted on a 10 x 10 centimeters radiating plate, in which components of the power supply as well as a duplexer and dual band antenna where also incorporated. This set was installed on the Ñusat-1 bus, which supplies power and becomes part of several other experiments this satellite will make. The transponder receives UHF which is broadcasted in VHF, has a bandwidth of 30 kHz. with an output power of 250 mW. 435.935 ~ 435.965 are LSB/CW uplink passband 145.965 ~ 145.935 are USB/CW downlink passband 145.900 Basic CW Telemetry The launch will be from a Chinese launcher in a polar orbit at 500 km. height, with inclination of 97 degrees from Equator. see http://www.amsat.org.ar https://www.facebook.com/Amsat.LU http://lusex.org.ar http://amsat.org.ar/pass.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-Argentia for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ZF2AE from Grand Cayman via Satellite Cayman Islands (EK99) - Adrian, AA5UK will be QRV as ZF2AE from Grand Cayman, IOTA NA-016 from June 27, 2016 - July 2, 2016. Activity is holiday style on 40 to 6 meters mostly RTTY/PSK, including satellite activity from grid EK99HI41RB. He will also be active in the DL DX RTTY contest in the Single Operator, Multiband, Single Radio category. QSL to home call, bureau, LOTW preferred. For pass updates, see @AA5UK on Twitter http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=3921 [ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Friday and Saturday, 10-11 June 2016 – Ham-Com 2016 in Irving TX *Saturday, 11 June 2016 – Prescott Hamfest in Prescott AZ *Wednesday, 6 July 2016 – Chehalis Valley Amateur Radio Society meeting in Chehalis WA *Saturday, 13 August 2016 – KL7KC Hamfest in Fairbanks AK [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Sucessful Contacts * Venta School, Carp, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Mon 2016-05-30 19:01:25 UTC 32 deg A telebridge contact via IK1SLD with students at Venta School,Carp, Ontario, Canada was successful 2016-05-30 19:01:25 UTC 32 deg. Astronaut Jeff Williams answered 12 questions for an audience of 150 students and teachers. Venta Preparatory School is a small co-ed day and boarding school from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 10, located just outside of Ottawa in Carp, Ontario. We foster and continually enhance an environment where each student can grow and achieve their highest potential. Upcoming Contacts * Bouze Island Elementary and Junior High School, Homeji, Japan, direct via 8N3B The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-06-04 08:31:09 UTC 74 deg Bouze Island is one of the Ieshima small Islands which are located in the Seto Inland sea of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. There are about 1400 people on the island and are part of the marine products industry. They live with simplicity and are friendly. But the students of this Island have not had a chance for scientific experience as part of their school education because of their remote location. There are 140 persons in the elementary school and 100 persons in the junior high school. * Glenmore State High School, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-06-06 08:39:31 UTC 31 deg Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over N5AFV Reaches 57,000 Satellite Contacts George, WA5KBH reports on the AMSAT-BB that on the FO29 west pass on May 29 I had the privilege of being Allen's (N5AFV) 57,000th contact! Well done, My Good friend!!! And Hector (W5CBF) was his 57,001th! [ANS thanks George, WA5KBH 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, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-150 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 28 May '16

28 May '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-150 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. In this edition: * Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D Launch No Earlier Than July 28, 2016 * 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice * AMSAT's Bob Carpenter W3OTC Inducted into CQ Hall of Fame * AMSAT Demonstration Station at the Dayton Hamvention Recap * A Tiny Satellite of Your Very Own * New VHF, UHF, uW Handbook Available for Download * Amateur Satellite Launch from India * UWE-3 Status Report * Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat Video * Es’Hail-2 Geostationary P4-A Transponder Frequencies * ÑUSAT-1 SSB/CW Transponder Satellite * ESA Announces Winning Radio Amateurs * Symposium to Address Interference-free Satellite Services * DCC Call for Papers * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-150.01 ANS-150 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 150.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE May 29, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-150.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D Launch No Earlier Than July 28, 2016 This week AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, announced at the Dayton Hamvention AMSAT Forum on Saturday that the launch for Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D is now NET (No Earlier Than) July 28, 2016. Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D will be integrated onto the Spaceflight Sherpa platform for its maiden flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. http://www.amsat.org/?p=5219 Not a member of AMSAT yet? You're invited to join on-line at: http://store.amsat.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=32 Please consider making a donation to support the Fox-1 series of cubesats using the links on the front page http://www.amsat.org. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Three director's terms expire this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, and Lou McFadin, W5DID. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA at AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to (301)822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Secretary, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT's Bob Carpenter W3OTC Inducted into CQ Hall of Fame Bob Carpenter, W3OTC, a longtime devoted AMAST volunteer became a Silent Key Friday, January 8th. Bill Tynan, W3XO, wrote a memorial item in ANS-024 http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2016/000893.html AMSAT has received the news that Bob has been inducted into the CQ Hall of Fame. CQ ANNOUNCES 2016 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES (Press Release, Date May 20th): CQ magazine today announced its 2016 Hall of Fame inductees, including only the second non-amateurs elected to the CQ DX Hall of Fame, two new inductees to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame and 21 new members of the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio; and those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to amateur radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The 2016 inductees (listed alphabetically) are: Bob Arnold, N2JEU (SK) - Co-developer (with Keith Lamonica, W7DXX, see below) of the first internet-controlled remote base Grant Bingeman, KM5RG (SK) - Developed "method of moments" antenna modeling software for AM broadcast stations and 160-meter amateur antennas Bob Carpenter, W3OTC (SK) - Pioneer of meteor scatter and FM stereo broadcast technology; longtime AMSAT volunteer David Dary, W5ZAX - Journalist, author, journalism educator - former correspondent for CBS and NBC News, journalism professor at University of Kansas and University of Oklahoma, author of over 20 books on the American West Matt Ettus, N2MJI - Software defined radio pioneer; developed first Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) with GNU radio software support Terry Fox, WB4FJI - Packet radio pioneer; primary developer of AX.25 amateur packet protocol Elmer "Bud" Frohardt, Jr., W9DY (SK) -- The original "Elmer" for whom ham radio mentors are named (courtesy of a 1971 QST "How's DX?" column by Rod Newkirk, W9BRD/VA3ZBB) Fred Gissoni, K4JLX (SK) - Adaptive technology pioneer; co-developer of the Porta-Braille and Pocket-Braille note-taking devices for the visually impaired, as well as many other devices Ken Kellerman, K2AOE - Radioastronomer; pioneer of radio interferometry; co-developer of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), which permits multiple telescopes to function as a single instrument Keith Lamonica, W7DXX - Co-developer (with the late Bob Arnold, N2JEU) of the first internet-controlled remote base George Mitchell, K6ZE (SK) - Member of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II and 2007 recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal for his wartime service Les Mitchell, G3BHK (SK) - Founder of Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), annual event to introduce amateur radio to scouts and guides around the world William Moerner, WN6I - Co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in high-resolution microscopy Leigh Orf, KG4ULP - Co-developer of tornado simulator using computer modeling to simulate conditions under which tornadoes form Joe Rudi, NK7U - Former Major League baseball player; 3-time All-Star Wes Schum, W9DYV (SK) - Co-founder of Central Electronics, developed first commercially-manufactured amateur radio SSB transmitter Garry Shandling, ex-KQ6KA/KD6OY (SK) - Well-known comedian, actor, writer and television personality Mason Southwirth, ex-W1VLH (SK) - Head of ARRL International Geophysical Year (IGY) Propagation Research Project in 1958-59; conducted additional propagation research at Stanford University Boris Stepanov, RU3AX (ex-UW3AX) - Leading Russian amateur, deputy editor of Russian Radio magazine; pioneer of computerized contest logging and log-checking; developed prototype for World Radiosport Team Championships (WRTC); first to propose "glass cockpit" for ham transceiver, combining frequency readout and spectrum scope on front panel display Rufus Turner, W3LF (SK) - Believed to be the first African-American radio amateur in the U.S.; helped develop 1N34A diode; wrote 1949 article in Radio-Electronics magazine on how to "Build a Transistor" Perry Williams, W1UED (SK) - Longtime ARRL Washington Coordinator and League archivist; convinced Congress to approve vanity call- sign program and not to impose a license application fee on amateurs; persuaded FCC to retain large amateur microwave al- locations and to create primary amateur allocation at 2.4 GHz [ANS thanks CQ Magazine for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Demonstration Station at the Dayton Hamvention Recap This was my first year running the AMSAT demonstration station at the Dayton Hamvention after Keith Pugh, W5IU, had run it for many years. After volunteering at the demo station the past couple of years, I knew what to expect: a poor horizon to the north (due to the arena), high levels of RF (including lids running FM simplex inside the satellite subband on 2m), and lots of fun demoing satellite operation to curious newcomers as well as meeting many satellite operators I've worked on the satellites in person. The core of the demo station was similar to past years. I brought my pair of Yaesu FT-817s (known fondly among many satellite operators as a Yaesu FT-1634) as well as a Windows 10 tablet and a FUNcube Dongle Pro+. The antenna was an Arrow II 146/437-10BP and I also brought a cheap Optera camera tripod. In addition, John Papay, K8YSE, brought his Icom IC-910H, laptop, and Arrow antenna on a speaker stand with a mount that allowed a smooth way to change polarity throughout the pass. With this mix of equipment, we were able to demonstrate several methods of satellite operating: computer controlled Doppler tuning of a transceiver designed for satellite operating, manual Doppler tuning with a pair of VHF/UHF all-mode transceivers, and use of an SDR receiver with a VHF/UHF all-mode receiver for full-duplex operating on linear transponders. The demo area was up and running by the time the outdoor areas of the Hamvention opened at 8:00am on Friday morning. Our first pass was an XW-2A pass at 8:17am, with K8YSE operating his IC-910H and KD8CAO running the antenna. The demos were generally a two man operation with one operator at the radio and one serving as the antenna rotor. After this pass, we listened to the 70cm PSK31 signal from NO-84 and a few packet bursts from the ISS using the FUNcube Dongle Pro+ and Windows 10 tablet before a pair of AO-85 passes and an XW-2F pass operated by K8YSE. By special request, the AO-73 transponder was activated a day area and was available for Friday morning's demos. I operated the 10:51am pass with my pair of Yaesu FT-817s. A video of this pass is available on the AMSAT North America Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7828379515/permalink/10154235785829516/ Later, I operated an SO-50 and FO-29 pass with that pair of FT-817s as well, but had to fight strong desense. After those two passes, I grabbed a diplexer I had brought and placed it on the 2m transmit side (to filter out the third harmonic from the transmitter) and experienced no further desense problems with my setup. PY5LF captured part of the SO-50 pass on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVPb1a9NqxQ K8YSE then operated the rest of the FO-29, AO-7, and SO-50 passes that afternoon. On Saturday morning, we opened with listening (and decoding a bit) to the PSK31 beacon on NO-84. Unfortunately, we did not have HF transmit capability. The signal from NO-84's PSK31 transponder is very good and I highly recommend anyone who can transmit on 10m at 25-50 watts and receive a 70cm FM signal give it a try. After working an XW-2F pass with the pair of FT-817s, I decided to give the SDR receiver a try and made one QSO each on XW-2C and XW-2A using the SDR as a downlink receiver. This was the first time I had tried doing this and it was fun, though I definitely need some more practice with it! I also tried the SDR receiver on AO-73 and FO-29 and made a couple of QSOs. Shortly after the ARRL Youth Forum ended around noon, a large crowd began to arrive at the demo area. Nine-year old Hope Lea, KM4IPF, who had given a talk at the Youth Forum operated a pass of SO-50 around 12:19pm and made many QSOs from coast-to-coast. A video of this pass is available from the AMSAT North America Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/james.g.lea/videos/10154297928734363/ After the SO-50 pass, we made several QSOs on FO-29 and then listened to the SPROUT digitalker. The SPROUT digitalker is generally active on Saturday passes. A video of this pass is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRNZkMb5yM K8YSE then operated the Saturday afternoon passes of FO-29, AO-7, and AO-85 with his Icom IC-910H setup. Highlights included several of us passing around the microphone to work Paulo, PV8DX, in Brazil. We got an early start on Sunday morning, operating a pass of AO-85 to the northeast using my dual FT-817 setup just prior to 8:00am. Although I was the only person in the demo area, I made three QSOs on AO-85, holding the antenna myself and leaning over the table to operate the radio. After this, I operated a pass of XW-2F around 8:30am. For the 8:44am XW-2A pass, ARRL Media & Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, took the microphone and made several QSOs on that pass while I pointed the antenna. Although I did have a tripod for the antenna, I was simply using the stock camera tripod mount and had no way to adjust polarity. Since polarity is so critical while operating satellites, the operators who pointed the antenna while using my Arrow generally took the antenna off the tripod and held it in their hand for quick polarity adjustments. K8YSE's speaker stand mount demonstrated a good way to mount an Arrow antenna on a tripod while retaining adequate control over polarity. The next pass after this was a low western pass of XW-2C where I made several QSOs. At 9:37am, we operated a pass of AO-85 and made QSOs from coast-to-coast. A video of AMSAT VP of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, at the microphone is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrmzym39X5E I would note that we were using a pair of FT-817s, barefoot, on that pass and were able to make several QSOs with just 5 watts, mostly full quieting. Though AO-85 can often take a bit more power to get in to, QSOs using 5 watts and an Arrow antenna are very possible. Passes of SO-50, AO-73, and FO-29 rounded out the demos for the Hamvention and we were QRT at 12:12pm on Sunday, but not before working MI6GTY in Northern Ireland on FO-29. It was nice to get Europe in the log from the Dayton Hamvention demo station and it was our last QSO of the 2016 Hamvention. The AMSAT demo station has been a fun place to spend a majority of the last three Dayton Hamventions and I would encourage all satellite operators and those curious about satellite operation to visit the station outside of Ball Arena (near the ARRL and AMSAT booth areas) next May. Volunteers and guest operators are always sought! A few pictures are posted on the AMSAT North America Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7828379515/permalink/10154235785829516/ (The AMSAT North America Facebook group is very active - in fact, traffic has likely surpassed the traffic on the AMSAT-BB. If you are not a member, I would encourage you to check it out https://www.facebook.com/groups/7828379515/?qsefr=1) Thanks to the following for volunteering at the demo station (and apologies if I missed anyone): Mark Hammond, N8MH Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA John Papay, K8YSE Doug Papay, KD8CAO Art Payne, VE3GNF Wyatt Dirks, AC0RA Michael Kirkhart, KD8QBA John Brier, KG4AKV Jeff Griffin, KB2M Hope Lea, KM4IPF Sean Kutzko, KX9X Thanks to the following for providing equipment for the demo station: Mike Young, WB8CXO (Batteries) Keith Pugh, W5IU (DC power distribution) Washington, DC P. S. I did not keep logs at the demo station, though I will remember if I worked you! If you need a card or LoTW upload for EM79, please let me know. -Paul, N8HM [ANS thanks to AMSAT-NA Secretary, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM and his team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- A Tiny Satellite of Your Very Own They're not just for rocket scientists anymore Satellites used to be the exclusive playthings of rich governments and wealthy corporations. But increasingly, as space becomes more democratized, these sophisticated technologies are coming within reach of ordinary people. Just like drones before them, miniature satellites are beginning to fundamentally transform our conceptions of who gets to do what up above our heads. As a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences highlights, these satellites hold tremendous potential for making satellite-based science more accessible than ever before. However, as the cost of getting your own satellite in orbit plummets, the risks of irresponsible use grow. The question here is no longer “Can we?” but “Should we?” What are the potential downsides of having a slice of space densely populated by equipment built by people not traditionally labeled as “professionals”? And what would the responsible and beneficial development and use of this technology actually look like? Some of the answers may come from a nonprofit organization that has been building and launching amateur satellites for nearly 50 years. Just a few inches across and ready for orbit. The technology we’re talking about Having your own personal satellite launched into orbit might sound like an idea straight out of science fiction. But over the past few decades a unique class of satellites has been created that fits the bill: CubeSats. The “Cube” here simply refers to the satellite’s shape. The most common CubeSat (the so-called “1U” satellite) is a 10 cm (roughly 4 inches) cube, so small that a single CubeSat could easily be mistaken for a paperweight on your desk. These mini, modular satellites can fit in a launch vehicle’s formerly “wasted space.” Multiples can be deployed in combination for more complex missions than could be achieved by one CubeSat alone. Within their compact bodies these minute satellites are able to house sensors and communications receivers/transmitters that enable operators to study the Earth from space, as well as space around the Earth. They’re primarily designed for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – an easily accessible region of space from around 200 to 800 miles above the Earth, where human- tended missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station (ISS) hang out. But they can attain more distant orbits; NASA plans for most of its future Earth-escaping payloads (to the moon and Mars especially) to carry CubeSats. Because they’re so small and light, it costs much less to get a CubeSat into Earth orbit than a traditional communication or GPS satellite. For instance, a research group here at Arizona State University recently claimed their developmental “femtosats” (especially small CubeSats) could cost as little as US$3,000 to put in orbit. This decrease in cost is allowing researchers, hobbyists and even elementary school groups to put simple instruments into LEO, by piggybacking onto rocket launches, or even having them deployed from the ISS. The first CubeSat was created in the early 2000s, as a way of enabling CalPoly and Stanford graduate students to design, build, test and operate a spacecraft with similar capabilities to the USSR’s Sputnik. Since then, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and even Boeing have all launched and operated CubeSats. There are more than 130 currently operational in orbit. The NASA Educational Launch of Nano Satellite (ELaNa) program, which offers free launches for educational groups and science missions, is now open to U.S. nonprofit corporations as well. Clearly, satellites are not just for rocket scientists anymore. Thinking inside the box The National Academy of Sciences report emphasizes CubeSats' importance in scientific discovery and the training of future space scientists and engineers. Yet it also acknowledges that widespread deployment of LEO CubeSats isn’t risk- free. The greatest concern the authors raise is space debris – pieces of “junk” that orbit the earth, with the potential to cause serious damage if they collide with operational units, including the ISS. Currently, there aren’t many CubeSats and they’re tracked closely. Yet as LEO opens up to more amateur satellites, they may pose an increasing threat. As the report authors point out, even near-misses might lead to the “creation of an onerous regulatory framework and affect the future disposition of science CubeSats.” More broadly, the report authors focus on factors that might impede greater use of CubeSat technologies. These include regulations around earth-space radio communications, possible impacts of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (which govern import and export of defense-related articles and services in the U.S.), and potential issues around extra-terrestrial contamination. But what about the rest of us? How can we be sure that hobbyists and others aren’t launching their own “spy” satellites, or (intentionally or not) placing polluting technologies into LEO, or even deploying low-cost CubeSat networks that could be hijacked and used nefariously? As CubeSat researchers are quick to point out, these are far-fetched scenarios. But they suggest that now’s the time to ponder unexpected and unintended possible consequences of more people than ever having access to their own small slice of space. In an era when you can simply buy a CubeSat kit off the shelf, how can we trust the satellites over our heads were developed with good intentions by people who knew what they were doing? Some “expert amateurs” in the satellite game could provide some inspiration for how to proceed responsibly. Guidance from experienced amateurs In 1969, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) was created in order to foster ham radio enthusiasts' participation in space research and communication. It continued the efforts, begun in 1961, by Project OSCAR – a U.S.-based group that built and launched the very first nongovernmental satellite just four years after Sputnik. As an organization of volunteers, AMSAT was putting “amateur” satellites in orbit decades before the current CubeSat craze. And over time, its members have learned a thing or two about responsibility. Here, open-source development has been a central principle. Within the organization, AMSAT has a philosophy of open sourcing everything – making technical data on all aspects of their satellites fully available to everyone in the organization, and when possible, the public. According to a member of the team responsible for FOX 1-A, AMSAT’s first CubeSat: This means that it would be incredibly difficult to sneak something by us … there’s no way to smuggle explosives or an energy emitter into an amateur satellite when everyone has access to the designs and implementation. However, they’re more cautious about sharing info with nonmembers, as the organization guards against others developing the ability to hijack and take control of their satellites. This form of “self-governance” is possible within long-standing amateur organizations that, over time, are able to build a sense of responsibility to community members, as well as society more generally. How does responsible development evolve? But what happens when new players emerge, who don’t have deep roots within the existing culture? Hobbyist and student “new kids on the block” are gaining access to technologies without being part of a longstanding amateur establishment. They are still constrained by funders, launch providers and a tapestry of regulations – all of which rein in what CubeSat developers can and cannot do. But there is a danger they’re ill-equipped to think through potential unintended consequences. What these unintended consequences might be is admittedly far from clear. Certainly, CubeSat developers would argue it’s hard to imagine these tiny satellites causing substantial physical harm. Yet we know innovators can be remarkably creative with taking technologies in unexpected directions. Think of something as seemingly benign as the cellphone – we have microfinance and text- based social networking at one end of the spectrum, improvised explosive devices at the other. This is where a culture of social responsibility around CubeSats becomes important – not simply for ensuring that physical risks are minimized (and good practices are adhered to), but also to engage with a much larger community in anticipating and managing less obvious consequences of the technology. This is not an easy task. Yet the evidence from AMSAT and other areas of technology development suggest that responsible amateur communities can and do emerge around novel technologies. For instance, see the diy-bio community, where hobbyists work in advanced community biotech labs. Their growing community commitment to safety and responsibility is highlighting how amateurs can embrace responsibility in research and innovation. A similar commitment is seen within open-source software and hardware communities, such as the members of the Linux Foundation. The challenge here, of course, is ensuring that what an amateur community considers to be responsible, actually is. Here’s where there needs to be a much wider public conversation that extends beyond government agencies and scientific communities to include students, hobbyists, and anyone who may potentially stand to be affected by the use of CubeSat technology. See the Houston Chronicle website for further readings: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Your-own-persona… satellite-7947152.php?t=756e94597b438d9cbb [ANS thanks Elizabeth Garbee and Andrew Maynard from Arizona State University for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- New VHF, UHF, uW Handbook Available for Download Version 7.5 of the IARU Region 1 VHF Handbook is now available for download. The key Amateur Satellite section is on pages 123-131. There are also chapters on Band Planning, Contests, Propagation Research, Operating Procedures. Page 116 defines which way to thread a helical beam antenna. http://www.iaru-r1.org/index.php/documents/Documents/VHF/Handbook-7.50.pdf/ [ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Satellite Launch from India Mineo Wakita JE9PEL reports on the Indian ISRO PSLV-C34 amateur radio satellite launch planned for June 10, 2016 at 0355 UT into a 500 km 98 degree inclination orbit. Main Payload, Cartosat-2C, Earth Observing PSLV-XL(C-34), Satish Dharwan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India Satellite Uplink Downlink Beacon Mode ------------ ------- -------- ------- --------------- BEESAT-4 . 435.950 435.950 4800bps GMSK,CW BIROS . 437.525 . 4800bps GMSK LAPAN-A3 . . . Non-Amateur Max Valier . 145.860 145.960 CW Sathyabamasat . 145.980 . 2400bps BPSK Swayam COEP . 437.025 437.025 1200bps BPSK,CW Venta-1 . . 437.325 CW ------------ ------- -------- ------- --------------- http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/be4lapan.htm Among the satellites being launched is Swayam-1 developed by students at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP). It will provide a text messaging facility using the COEPSAT protocol. see http://amsatindia.org/coep-satellite-swayam-project/ http://www.coep.org.in/csat/track-swayam/ UPDATE: Yono YD0NXX reports the Indonesian built LAPAN-A3 does not have an amateur radio payload. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UWE-3 Status Report On May 21, 2016 the CubeSat UWE-3 celebrated 2.5 years in space without any significant failures. Batteries, EPS, OBC and ADCS are fine, nevertheless we were confronted with a minor problem with one of the radios UWE-3 autonomously recovered from. Since then UWE-3 is in a very stable condition again. Some weeks ago we have re-initiated operations with UWE-3 on an interim basis. The goal is to test new magnetic control algorithms in space. Therefore we operate the satellite on the 436.395200 MHz frequency and perform data downloads from time to time. In the figure below the satellite’s rotation rate w is shown for one of the experiments. The goal was to establish a rotation about the satellite’s X-axis at 10 deg/s while the Y/Z-axes should be at 0 deg/s. In general the desired rotation rate could be achieved but with major deviations from the setpoint. With the intention of optimizing the relevant control laws we will continue with these experiments within the next days and weeks. During our experiments we received an outstanding support from the radio community from all over the world we are very thankful for. The received packets were instantaneous injected into our algorithms and delivered an important contribution to our research work. We would like to express our special thanks to DK3WN, PE0SAT, DL8MCO, EU1XX, ON4HF, Rainer, JA5BLZ, JA6PL, CU2JX, LU4EOU, JA1GDE, SP7THR, G7GQW, YC3BVG, JF1EUY, JE9PEL, JE1CVL, JO1PTD, ZL4JL, EA7ADI, K4KDR, JA0CAW, JH4XSY, PA2EON, SM0TGU. THANK YOU! Yours sincerely, UWE-3 Team UWE-3 was launched with FUNcube-1 on November 21, 2013. Latest UWE-3 news at http://www7.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/forschung/space_exploration/projects /uwe_3/uwe_3_news/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat Video The Russian space agency Roscosmos has released a video of the Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat commemorative transmission from the International Space Station. The satellite was developed by students at the Tomsk Polytechnic University to test new space materials technology and is the world’s first space vehicle with a 3D-printed structure. It was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on March 31, 2016 in a Progress-MS-2 cargo vessel. It will be deployed by hand during a future Russian spacewalk (EVA), which is why unlike other CubeSats this one has a handle. The call sign of the satellite is RS4S. Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat Callsign RS4SIn May 2016 the Tomsk Polytechnic University celebrated its 120th anniversary. As part of the celebrations on May 10/11 the Tomsk-TPU-120 was activated in the ISS and transmitted a greeting to Earth inhabitants, recorded by students of the university in 10 languages: Russian, English, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, Tatar, Indian, Kazakh and Portuguese. The greeting message was transmitted once a minute on 437.025 MHz FM. One of the Kenwood transceivers on the ISS provided a cross-band relay, re- transmitting the signal on 145.800 MHz FM. The video, recorded in the Russian ISS Service Module, shows the CubeSat and the amateur radio station. The video is in Russian. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnYIjgGU4vQ The next Russian spacewalk appears to be EVA-43 which is expected to take place in early 2017 http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/ World’s First 3D-printed Satellite http://tpu.ru/en/news-events/760/ Dmitry R4UAB operates a WebSDR which you can use to receive the transmissions when the ISS is over Russia http://websdr.r4uab.ru/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Es’Hail-2 Geostationary P4-A Transponder Frequencies The launch of the Es’Hail-2 satellite into a geostationary orbit at 25.5 degrees East is planned for December 2016. The coverage area of the amateur radio Narrowband (NB) and Wideband (WB) transponders should extend from Brazil to Thailand. Es’hail 2 will carry two “Phase 4” amateur radio non-inverting transponders operating in the 2400 MHz and 10450 MHz bands. A 250 kHz bandwidth linear transponder intended for conventional analogue operations and an 8 MHz bandwidth transponder for experimental digital modulation schemes and DVB amateur television. Narrowband Linear transponder 2400.050 - 2400.300 MHz Uplink 10489.550 - 10489.800 MHz Downlink Wideband digital transponder 2401.500 - 2409.500 MHz Uplink 10491.000 - 10499.000 MHz Downlink Equipment requirements: X-Band 10 GHz Downlink: – 89 cm dishes in rainy areas at EOC like Brazil or Thailand – 60 cm around coverage peak – 75 cm dishes at peak -2dB – NB: linear vertical polarisation – WB: linear horizontal polarisation S-Band 2.4 GHz NB-Uplink: – narrow band modes like SSB, CW – 5W nominal Uplink power (22.5 dBi antenna gain, 75cm dish) – RHCP polarisation S-Band 2.4 GHz WB-Uplink (DATV): – wide band modes, DVB-S2 – peak EIRP of 53 dBW (2.4m dish and 100W) required – RHCP polarisation Presentation on Es’hail by Peter Guelzow DB2OS, President of AMSAT-DL, at the 2013 AMSAT-UK Colloquium http://www.batc.tv/streams/amsat1306 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-DL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ÑUSAT-1 SSB/CW Transponder Satellite The launch of ÑUSAT-1, the second AMSAT ARGENTINA amateur satellite on May 30, will mark an extraordinary event for our Institution and fostering of hope for satellite community. As we quoted when the announcement of the launching of this experiment, Amsat Argentina has been working for several years to keep alive the dream of many Argentine amateurs to get back into Space with their own satellite as a follow- on of the legendary 1990’s LUSAT-1, reaping the benefits of Technological advancement of our days. We believe technical activities and developments of experiments in near space share the same goals: preserving the human group, enhancing their capabilities as well as disseminate and guiding the education and development of the activity, meanwhile contributing to Space available resources. Our agreement with Satellogic Enterprises, which already launched three low orbit satellites: Captain Beto, Manolito y Tita, two of which transmit telemetry and data currently in UHF identifying themselves with callsign LU7AA, allowed us to ride a linear analog amateur radio transponder and corresponding antenna aboard one of their next satellite, ÑUSAT-1 AMSAT-LU provides simultaneously, support for this mission and the ÑUSAT-2 mission, by operating one of the control stations at Tortuguitas, Prov. Of Bs.As. The experiment Amsat-LU developed, evolved from original design of our colleague and partner William, PE1RAH, while electronic adaptation, mechanical and software was made by the LU Satellite Experiment group, mounted on a 10 x 10 centimeters radiating plate, in which components of the power supply as well as a duplexer and dual band antenna where also incorporated. This set was installed on the Ñusat-1 bus, which supplies power and becomes part of several other experiments this satellite will make. The transponder receives UHF which is broadcasted in VHF, has a bandwidth of 30 kHz. with an output power of 250 mW. 435.935 ~ 435.965 are LSB/CW uplink passband 145.965 ~ 145.935 are USB/CW downlink passband 145.900 Basic CW Telemetry The launch will be from a Chinese launcher in a polar orbit at 500 km. height, with inclination of 97 degrees from Equator. see http://www.amsat.org.ar https://www.facebook.com/Amsat.LU http://lusex.org.ar http://amsat.org.ar/pass.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-Argentia for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ESA Announces Winning Radio Amateurs On April 21, 2016, ESA’s Education Office set a challenge for the worldwide radio amateur community to start listening out for three new orbiting CubeSats. The results have now been released. ESA’s Education Office published the transmission frequencies of the student- built satellites that were about to be launched as part of the Fly Your Satellite! Program, and invited the radio amateur community to listen out for them. The first three radio amateurs to send a recorded signal from AAUSAT4, e-st@r- II or OUFTI-1 would receive a prize from ESA’s Education Office. Hundreds of radio amateurs from around the world joined in the friendly competition. The CubeSats started sending signals after their release from the Soyuz VS-14 rocket and the triggering of their automatic activation sequence. Participants from Russia, USA, Poland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, Denmark, and more tuned their receivers and listened. Thanks to skill and patience on the ground, the winners come from Russia, the United States of America, Germany, and the Netherlands. Contact with the first CubeSat came at 00:53:51 UT on April 26, 2016, within an hour of its separation from the launcher. Dmitri Paschkow R4UAB, Russia, heard the signal from OUFTI-1 using two receiving stations, in Kemerovo and Ruzaevka. Upon hearing OUFTI-1, he communicated the news immediately. “I understand that the students are worried [to hear from their satellite] and decided to please them!” says Paschkow. Just over an hour after the first signal from OUFTI-1 was recorded, the next CubeSat checked in. AAUSAT-4 was heard over California, US, by Justin Foley KI6EPH of California Polytechnic State University. He had a personal interest in the mission because some of his colleagues had developed the P-POD deployer that was used to eject the CubeSats into orbit. He was ready at the receiver from the moment of deployment but heard nothing on that first pass, probably because the activation sequence had not yet completed. The signal came through on the second pass, arriving at 02:02 UT. “It was extremely exciting to see signals from the newly launched satellite, and witness the beginning of a space mission”, says Foley. Then the wait began for e-st@r-II. At 05:40:58 UT, something dimly lit the screen of Mike Rupprecht DK3WN in Germany. But something was not quite right. It certainly looked like a signal from the last remaining CubeSat, but why was the message so faint? It galvanized the amateur radio community to look harder. Jan van Gils PE0SAT had to wait until May 2 at 16:38:05 UT to receive a signal from e-st@r-II that was strong enough to be decoded. Why e-st@r-II was only transmitting weak signals is under investigation, but the most important news is that all three CubeSats are functioning and transmitting, and their signals can be decoded. A special mention goes to a young radio amateur who scored a personal best. Twelve year-old space enthusiast Matteo Micheletti from Belgium caught the OUFTI-1 signal with a portable log periodic antenna and a portable receiver. His triumph occurred on May 1, 2016 between 17:34 and 17:39 UT. To mark their success, the radio amateur winners will each receive a Fly Your Satellite! Poster, a goodie bag and a scale 1:1 3D printed model of a CubeSat from ESA’s Education Office. Read the full ESA story at http://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_- _Fly_Your_Satellite/CubeSats_competition_winners [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Symposium to Address Interference-free Satellite Services Experts are planning to meet in Geneva, 13-14 June for a Symposium to address interference-free satellite services. Geneva, 4 May 2016 - The ITU International Satellite Communication Symposium to be held in Geneva, 13-14 June, will explore measures to prevent and combat interference in satellite communications. International experts will examine the current situation and the latest technologies to detect, identify, locate and mitigate harmful interference, which may severely impact satellite services, including safety operations. Discussions will also focus on International space law, protecting space science services, radio astronomy, global navigation satellite services, and cybersecurity as well as ensuring interference-free satellite broadcast services. A special session will be dedicated to innovation in satellite systems, focusing on technical characteristics and benefits arising from new generations of non-geostationary satellite orbit (non-GSO) constellations and High Throughput Satellites (HTS). What: ITU International Satellite Communication Symposium 2016 When: 13-14 June 2016 Where: ITU Tower Building, Popov Room Why: To provide an overview of ongoing progress on regulations, technologies and measures to prevent and combat interference in satellite communications and to share experiences on the latest developments and innovations. Who: Experts from the satellite industry, operators, regulators and broadcasters from around the world. For more information, please contact: Sanjay Acharya Chief, Media Relations & Public Information, ITU telephone +41 22 730 5046 tel +41 79 249 4861 email sanjay.acharya(a)itu.int Grace Petrin Communication Officer ITU Radio Communication Bureau telephone +41 22 730 5810 tel +41 79 599 1428 email brpromo(a)itu.int see http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2016/Advisory-06.aspx [ANS thanks the ITU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- DCC Call for Papers Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 35th Annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, to be held September 16-18 in St Petersburg, Florida. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is July 31, 2016. The ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference is an international forum for technically minded radio amateurs to meet and present new ideas and techniques. Paper/presentation topic areas include -- but are not limited to -- software defined radio (SDR), digital voice, digital satellite communication, digital signal processing (DSP), HF digital modes, adapting IEEE 802.11 systems for Amateur Radio, Global Positioning System (GPS), Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS), Linux in Amateur Radio, AX.25 updates and Internet operability with Amateur Radio networks. Submit papers to via e-mail to maty(a)arrl.org<mailto:[email protected]>, or via postal mail to: Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Papers will be published exactly as submitted, and authors will retain all rights. Please do not email zip files as these will be rejected by our servers. 73 . . . Steve Ford, WB8IMY QST Editor in Chief and Publications Manager ARRL -- the National Association for Amateur Radio tel 860-594-0287 sford(a)arrl.org<mailto:[email protected]> [ANS thanks the ARRL, TAPR, and Steve Ford, WB8IMY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Saturday, 4 June 2016 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ *Friday, Saturday, & Sunday 10-12 June 2016 – Ham-Com in Irving, TX *Saturday, 11 June 2016 – Prescott Hamfest in Prescott AZ *Wednesday, 6 July 2016 – Chehalis Valley Amateur Radio Society meeting in Chehalis WA *Saturday, 13 August 2016 – KL7KC Hamfest in Fairbanks AK [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center, Garden City, New York, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Mon 2016-05-23 12:57:05 UTC 43 deg The ARISS contact with Jeff Williams by the students at Westbury Magnet Academy at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York was successful. Jeff answered 19 questions before loss of signal. Dan Dalby did a great job of operating at W6SR. The telebridge contact with students at Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center, Garden City, New York, USA was successful Mon 2016-05-23 12:57:05 UTC 43 deg. Astronaut Jeff Williams KD5TVQ answered 19 questions for the students at Westbury Magnet Academy who were on site at the Museum. A local news channel filed this report: Students Take Call from Astronaut on ISS see NBC New York http://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Students-Take-Call-from-Astrona… -on-ISS_New-York-380581991.html?_osource=mobilesharebar The Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center, located in Garden City, New York, opened in 2002. The mission of the museum is to inspire students with the spirit of discovery through the exploration of air and space technologies, and to encourage them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The museum is home to the Westbury Magnet Academy at the Cradle of Aviation, the first magnet school to open on Long Island. The Museum and Academy offer two summer STEM enrichment programs for students entering the seventh and ninth grades. The ARISS event will be an invaluable tool to supplement classroom instruction and research. Upcoming Contacts * Venta School, Carp, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-05-30 19:01:25 UTC 32 deg Venta Preparatory School is a small co-ed day and boarding school from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 10, located just outside of Ottawa in Carp, Ontario. We foster and continually enhance an environment where each student can grow and achieve their highest potential. * Bouze Island Elementary and Junior High School, Homeji, Japan, direct via 8N3B The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-06-04 08:31:09 UTC 74 deg Bouze Island is one of the Ieshima small Islands which are located in the Seto Inland sea of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. There are about 1400 people on the island and are part of the marine products industry. They live with simplicity and are friendly. But the students of this Island have not had a chance for scientific experience as part of their school education because of their remote location. There are 140 persons in the elementary school and 100 persons in the junior high school. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over St. Paul Island Satellite Ops Word Getting Around The DXer pages are picking up on the news of satellite operation from CY9C St. Paul Island. This something of a blog and the May 23 update mentions AMSAT often: http://www.dxcoffee.com/eng/2016/cy9c-st-paul-island/ [ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM for the above information] GK4LOH Received Over 3467km on 144 MHz by Reflection off ISS A reflection from the structure of the International Space Station enabled a 144.175 MHz signal from Tim GK4LOH in Cornwall to cross the Atlantic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vii8DmG3ftc The YouTube description reads: 02:40 UTC May 24th 2016 ISS Flypast. Signal heard 2 minutes 45 into the recording and continues for over a minute. The CW transmitted message was “GK4LOH GK4LOH T T T T T T T T T T” As soon as ISS set in GN37 I stepped outside the shack and watched as the ISS fly right over here:-) Recorded by Frank VO1HP using the remote receiver beacon VO1FN. GK4LOH Blog http://www.g4loh.com/ The RSGB VHF Manager John Regnault G4SWX has received a Canadian station on 144 MHz which on investigation was also found to be by ISS reflection, see http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/july/uk_radio_ham_copies_canadian_144… _signal.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-143 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 22 May '16

22 May '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-143 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. In this edition: * Island on the Air Satellite Activation - Isle of Arran * FoxTelem Release 1.04: New Graphs, Better Performance, and Upcoming Launches * Upcoming ARISS Contact with Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center * CubeSats with Amateur Radio payloads deploy from ISS * ULA Cubesat Launch Application Deadline Approaching SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-143.01 ANS-143 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 143.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. May 22, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-143.01 Island on the Air Satellite Activation - Isle of Arran EU-123. Members of the Camb-Hams will be active as GS3PYE/P from the Isle of Arran on the west part of the island near Balliekine (IO75HO) between May 22-29th. Activity will be on the HF bands, 6/4/2m, and the satellites. The location on the island favors the South/West/North as there's a hill to the east, but hopefully that will not limit them. Peter, 2E0SQL, reports: "We'll be taking along an ICOM IC-910, Wimo X-Quads, Preamps and Yaesu G-5500 rotator all controlled by our favorite bit of software SatPC32 for backup. I'll have my FT-817 and Arrow, but this kit hasn't let us down yet for the last few trips." They plan to operate on all satellites both FM/SSB/CW, if you want a CW QSO you'll need to contact them as Peter will need to find a suitable CW operator. Peter will try to post regular updates on Twitter either using his own account @2e0sql or the groups account @g3pye and also posting updates on their Web site at: http://dx.camb-hams.com [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1266 for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- FoxTelem Release 1.04: New Graphs, Better Performance, and Upcoming Launches From FoxTelem developer Chris Thompson, G0KLA / AC2CZ: This is a quick note to say that FoxTelem Version 1.04 is being released. There is a lot in this version so I have written some blog posts to summarize new features. See below. You can download FoxTelem for your platform from one of these links: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/foxtelem_1.04f_windows.zip http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/foxtelem_1.04f_linux.tar.gz http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/FoxTelem_1.04f_mac.zip Broadly speaking the changes fit into the following categories: 1. Full support for Fox-1Cliff, Fox-1D and RadFXSat including better High Speed decoding and a better find signal algorithm. 2. Additional analytical capabilities so you can plot one telemetry variable against another. I hope this will inspire more people to analyze the telemetry from the spacecraft and post comments on what they see. I have put some of my own thoughts online here: http://www.g0kla.com/workbench/2016-05-07.php 3. Enhanced tools to analyze your ground station with SkyPlots for satellite measurements like Signal to Noise ratio and graphs for pass measurements. Skyplots in particular need a bit of explanation, so I have written more details here: http://www.g0kla.com/foxtelem/skyplot.php You can read a full list of the changes here on github: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues?q= is%3Aissue+milestone%3A%22Release+1.04%22+is%3Aclosed [ANS thanks Chris G0KLA/AC2CZ for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact with Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center, Garden City, New York on 23 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:57 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible over the state of California and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. The Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center, located in Garden City, New York, opened in 2002. The mission of the museum is to inspire students with the spirit of discovery through the exploration of air and space technologies, and to encourage them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The museum is home to the Westbury Magnet Academy at the Cradle of Aviation, the first magnet school to open on Long Island. The Museum and Academy offer two summer STEM enrichment programs for students entering the seventh and ninth grades. The ARISS event will be an invaluable tool to supplement classroom instruction and research. [ANS thanks Dave, AA4KN, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSats with Amateur Radio payloads deploy from ISS Monday, May 16, 2016 saw the deployment of five CubeSats carrying amateur radio payloads. UK astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI / GB1SS deployed the first two satellites MinXSS-1 and CADRE from the Japanese ISS Kibo module at 1005 UT. The Slow Scan Television (SSTV) satellite STMSat-1, built by Elementary students at Saint Thomas More Cathedral School (STM), was deployed along with the pair of NODES CubeSats built by students at Santa Clara University at 1440 UT. STM is thought to be the first Elementary school to build their own satellite, even Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade students were involved in the project. It is designed to transmit a Robot36 SSTV signal. IARU Coordinated Frequencies: http://amsat.org.uk/iaru • STMSat-1 437.800 MHz FM SSTV Robot36 UPDATE May 18: STMSat-1 Twitter feed suggests listening 437.000 MHz FM • MinXSS-1 437.345 MHz 9600 bps FSK • CADRE 437.485 MHz 9600 bps FSK and 3.404 GHz • NODES 437.100 MHz 1200 bps AX.25 and 2401.2-2431.2 MHz 115.2 kbps spread spectrum FSK STMSat-1 https://twitter.com/STMSAT11 https://www.facebook.com/stmsat1/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/491135804399695/ http://www.stmsat-1.org/ MinXSS CubeSat http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/minxss/ CADRE CubeSat http://exploration.engin.umich.edu/blog/?page_id=961 NODES mission dashboard http://nodes.engr.scu.edu/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ULA Cubesat Launch Application Deadline Approaching If you are a U.S. College or University, please don't forget to submit an application for a FREE LAUNCH opportunity to the ULA CubeSat Launch Program! Applications are due no later than June 1st, 2016 by 5pm PST, which is only a week and a half away. Information about how to apply can be found at http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx [ANS thanks the Ryan Nugent 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, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN - ARISS-US Kicks Off Major Fundraising Initiative with Challenge Coin Door Prize at 2016 Dayton Hamvention
by E.Mike McCardel 17 May '16

17 May '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-139.01 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. In this edition: * ARISS-US Kicks Off Major Fundraising Initiative with Challenge Coin Door Prize at 2016 Dayton Hamvention SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-139.01 ANS-139 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 139.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. [MONTH DAY, YEAR] To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-139.01 ARISS-US Kicks Off Major Fundraising Initiative with Challenge Coin Door Prize at 2016 Dayton Hamvention The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Team has donated two of its handsome ARISS Challenge Coins to the Dayton Amateur Radio Association as a 2016 Hamvention door prize. The two keepsake coins are positioned side by side in a beautiful display box so that each side of the coin is seen from either direction. The Challenge Coin Door Prize can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ANS139-ARISSCoin The commemorative ARISS Challenge Coin is the premium received by donors who give $100 or more to ARISS. Dayton Hamvention General Chairman Jim Tiderman, N8IDS, agreed to feature the ARISS keepsake coin by holding a special prize drawing immediately following the introduction of the winners of the 2016 Dayton Hamvention national awards at 2 pm on Sunday. The ARISS Team kicks off its 2016 fund-raising campaign at the Dayton Hamvention to raise money for the very high cost of replacing its aging radio system on the ISS and to help defray the cost of continuing ARISS operations. This special Hamvention prize drawing is the first step of the campaign. ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, noted the importance of this fundraising campaign: "ARISS is in need of critical upgrades of our on-orbit equipment. The radio system in the Columbus module is over 17 years old and underpowered. We need a 21st Century next generation solution. This fundraising campaign will enable these upgrades and, as a result, significantly improve ARISS operations and provide the funding necessary to better support our stakeholders and the amateur radio community." Those wanting to support the ARISS fundraising campaign can donate to ARISS online via the AMSAT Website, www.amsat.org (select the "ARISS Donate" button) or the ARISS web page, www.ariss.org (select the "Donate" tab). ARISS representatives will also be at the AMSAT Booth during the Hamvention with Challenge Coins ready for people ready to donate $100 or more. Be sure to go to the Hara Arena at the Dayton Hamvention on Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 2 pm for the major door prize drawings … and good luck! About ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, go to: www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org , and www.arrl.org . Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) / Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Contact: David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org [ANS thanks ARISS and David AA4KN 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, This Special's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM former KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-136 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 14 May '16

14 May '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-136 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. In this edition: * STMSat-1 SSTV CubeSat to deploy from ISS May 16 * 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice * AMSAT/TAPR Banquet at the Dayton Hamvention ^TUESDAY MAY 17th SIGN UP DEADLINE^ * Dayton AMSAT Demonstration Plans * ÑuSat-1 to Carry AMSAT Argentina Linear Transponder * ARISS at Dayton Hamvention * CY9C DXpedition to St. Paul Island Announces Satellite Operation * Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton HAMVENTION * Saturday AMSAT Dayton Forum * AMSAT Thursday Dinner and Beverages at Tickets Pub and Eatery * ARISS News SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.01 ANS-136 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. [MONTH DAY, YEAR] To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-136.01 STMSat-1 SSTV CubeSat to deploy from ISS May 16 A Slow Scan TV (SSTV) CubeSat developed by students at Saint Thomas More Cathedral School (STM) in Arlington, VA, is set to be deployed from the International Space Station between 1400 and 1500 UT on May 16. For latest date/time check https://twitter.com/STMSAT11. STM is thought to be the first Elementary school to build their own satellite, even Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade students were involved in the project. The satellite, a 1U CubeSat called STMSat-1, will transmit a SSTV Robot36 mode signal on 437.800 MHz. Middle School Students took the initiative to begin exploring how to receive data from the CubeSat and formed a Ham Radio Club. There, they learned the basics of operating a ham radio station and explored Slow Scan Television as an option for receiving images once the satellite is deployed. How Did 400 Grade School Students Built A Nano-Satellite? http://tinyurl.com/ANS136-NanoSat Watch the CBS This Morning show report on the satellite http://tinyurl.com/ANS136-CBS-MorningShow STMSat-1 https://twitter.com/STMSAT11 https://www.facebook.com/stmsat1/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/491135804399695/ http://www.stmsat-1.org/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Three director's terms expire this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, and Lou McFadin, W5DID. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA at AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to (301)822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. Paul Stoetzer, N8HM AMSAT-NA Secretary [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT/TAPR Banquet at the Dayton Hamvention The tenth annual joint AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held on Friday evening, May 20th. This dinner is one of the main AMSAT activities during the Hamvention. Tickets ($35 each) may be purchased from the AMSAT store at www.amsat.org. THE BANQUET TICKET PURCHASE DEADLINE IS TUESDAY, MAY 17th. The Banquet will take place at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center, 4572 Presidential Way, Kettering, OH 45429 (just south of Dayton). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a cash bar with the buffet dinner served at 7:00 p.m. AMSAT and TAPR alternate the task of providing a speaker for the banquet. It is AMSAT¹s responsibility this year. Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, will present "It¹s just software, right?" She will survey the AMSAT Ground Terminal: Who, what, when, where, why, and how we¹re designing open source radio solutions for the next generation of AMSAT payloads. Michelle is AMSAT¹s Team Leader for the design and execution of the AMSAT Ground Terminal. The goal is to create a ³5 and Dime² (5 and 10 GHz) digital SDR transceiver that will support both voice and data modes, for both general QSOs and emergency communication, for the Phase 4B satellite and for future AMSAT projects. This is an effort to design an inexpensive ground terminal for amateurs that would cost tens of thousands of dollars commercially, for as much under $1,000 as we can get it. A true renaissance woman, in addition to being an engineer and a licensed amateur radio operator, Michelle has worked for Qualcomm, attends Burning Man, and is a longtime DEFCON participant. She is also the lead for Organ Donor (an AI pipe organ). Her Phase 4B Weekly Ground Engineering Reports are fascinating reading. Seating is limited to the number of meals we reserve with the Kohler caterers based on the number of tickets sold by the deadline. Tickets purchased online may be collected at the Books, Shirts & Memberships corner of the AMSAT booth (445-446). [ANS thanks Steve N9IP and the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dayton AMSAT Demonstration Plans AMSAT will again have a demo station at the Dayton Hamvention this year. The station will be located outside the main entrance to Ball Arena, near the AMSAT booth. This year, the focus of many of the demonstrations will be on the use of inexpensive software defined radio (SDR) equipment as a downlink receiver. Using an SDR like a FUNcube Dongle Pro+, SDRPlay, or AirSpy allows owners of common all-mode transceivers with VHF/UHF functionality (such as the Yaesu FT-817, Yaesu FT-857, Icom IC-706MKIIG, or Icom IC-7100) to add full duplex satellite capability for use with linear transponder satellites at minimal cost. The receiver used will consist of a FUNcube Dongle Pro+ with a low cost 10.1" Windows 10 tablet. We may also use other radio combinations during the weekend. Demos will take place during satellite passes from 8:00am (12:00 UTC) until 5:00pm (21:00 UTC) on Friday and Saturday and from 8:00am until 12:00pm (16:00 UTC) on Sunday. Please keep in mind that the RF environment at the Hamvention is challenging and the arena blocks low elevations to the north and northwest. Due to these factors, we will only be attempting passes with a peak elevation greater than 10 degrees. Please stop by for any satellite pass or at any other time if you have questions about satellite operating. A special demonstration on SO-50 will take place during the 12:19pm (16:19 UTC) pass on Saturday May 21st. Nine year old Hope Lea, KM4IPF, will operate that pass after completing her talk at the ARRL Youth Forum. If you are not attending the Hamvention, please call us if you hear the AMSAT demo station on the air! AMSAT DAYTON HAMVENTION DEMOS - 2016 TZ = UTC N 39.820328 W 84.255224 ELEV. 296 M MIN PEAK ELEV. = 10 DEG GRID = EM79ut * = Listen Only Pass - Telemetry, Doppler, Ant. Perf, etc. WinAos QTH: -84.3/39.8 T#: 14019 Sat.: 12 [Standard] ---------------------------------------------------------- Day Objects AOS (U) LOS Period maxEl AZ ---------------------------------------------------------- 20.05.2016 XW-2A 12:17 12:26 09 62 016 - 187 20.05.2016 ISS * 12:28 12:37 09 40 300 - 143 20.05.2016 NO-84 * 12:28 12:38 10 21 294 - 168 20.05.2016 AO-85 12:45 12:59 14 62 200 - 036 20.05.2016 XW-2F 12:52 13:01 09 19 351 - 224 20.05.2016 AO-85 14:26 14:40 14 23 249 - 025 20.05.2016 AO-73 14:51 15:02 11 56 018 - 185 20.05.2016 EO-79 * 15:04 15:14 10 14 119 - 004 20.05.2016 SO-50 15:53 16:06 13 50 332 - 137 20.05.2016 FO-29 16:01 16:17 16 18 111 - 358 20.05.2016 AO-73 16:28 16:36 08 11 343 - 242 20.05.2016 EO-79 * 16:39 16:50 11 49 180 - 343 20.05.2016 SPROUT * 16:50 16:59 09 14 039 - 152 20.05.2016 UKUBE-1 * 16:57 17:08 11 30 025 - 171 20.05.2016 SO-50 17:34 17:45 11 17 309 - 187 20.05.2016 FO-29 17:43 18:02 19 88 163 - 348 20.05.2016 AO-07 18:12 18:28 16 15 099 - 356 20.05.2016 SPROUT * 18:25 18:36 11 44 004 - 209 20.05.2016 UKUBE-1 * 18:33 18:44 11 22 357 - 225 20.05.2016 FO-29 19:31 19:46 15 16 219 - 331 20.05.2016 AO-07 20:01 20:22 21 67 150 - 346 WinAos QTH: -84.3/39.8 T#: 14020 Sat.: 12 [Standard] ---------------------------------------------------------- Day Objects AOS (U) LOS Period maxEl AZ ---------------------------------------------------------- 21.05.2016 NO-84 * 12:04 12:14 10 22 295 - 167 21.05.2016 XW-2F 12:39 12:49 10 26 358 - 217 21.05.2016 AO-85 13:11 13:25 14 59 222 - 030 21.05.2016 XW-2C 13:12 13:20 08 11 345 - 238 21.05.2016 XW-2A 13:17 13:26 09 19 353 - 223 21.05.2016 SO-50 14:38 14:50 12 17 340 - 108 21.05.2016 AO-85 14:54 15:05 11 12 274 - 021 21.05.2016 AO-73 15:10 15:21 11 80 011 - 196 21.05.2016 EO-79 * 15:16 15:26 10 18 127 - 004 21.05.2016 SO-50 16:19 16:31 12 61 324 - 157 21.05.2016 FO-29 16:49 17:08 19 39 137 - 353 21.05.2016 EO-79 * 16:51 17:02 11 36 187 - 339 21.05.2016 SPROUT * 17:04 17:15 11 21 029 - 163 21.05.2016 UKUBE-1 * 17:14 17:26 12 45 020 - 182 21.05.2016 FO-29 18:34 18:53 19 42 189 - 342 21.05.2016 SPROUT * 18:40 18:51 11 30 360 - 217 21.05.2016 UKUBE-1 * 18:51 19:00 09 15 349 - 237 21.05.2016 AO-07 19:03 19:22 19 31 122 - 351 21.05.2016 AO-85 20:04 20:14 10 15 345 - 100 21.05.2016 AO-07 20:54 21:15 21 61 173 - 341 WinAos QTH: -84.3/39.8 T#: 14021 Sat.: 12 [Standard] ---------------------------------------------------------- Day Objects AOS (U) LOS Period maxEl AZ ---------------------------------------------------------- 22.05.2016 ISS * 12:19 12:27 08 17 288 - 162 22.05.2016 XW-2F 12:27 12:37 10 36 001 - 210 22.05.2016 XW-2A 12:44 12:54 10 47 006 - 203 22.05.2016 XW-2C 13:00 13:09 09 16 350 - 229 22.05.2016 AO-85 13:37 13:51 14 29 242 - 026 22.05.2016 AO-73 13:53 14:02 09 12 037 - 147 22.05.2016 SO-50 15:04 15:16 12 35 337 - 128 22.05.2016 EO-79 * 15:28 15:39 11 24 135 - 359 22.05.2016 AO-73 15:29 15:40 11 48 005 - 206 22.05.2016 FO-29 15:56 16:12 16 17 110 - 359 [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ÑuSat-1 to Carry AMSAT Argentina Linear Transponder Launch Scheduled for May 30, 2016. The Argentinian earth observation satellite ÑuSat-1 will carry a linear transponder built by AMSAT Argentina. The satellite is scheduled to launch on a CZ-4B rocket from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China on May 30, 2016 into a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.5 degrees and a Local Time of the Ascending Node (LTAN) of 10:30. The AMSAT Argentina U/v inverting transponder, named LUSEX, wiil have an uplink of 435.935 MHz to 435.965 MHz and a downlink of 145.935 MHz to 145.965 MHz. Total power output is 250 mW. There will also be a CW beacon at 145.900 MHz with a power output of 70 mW. For more information, see the AMSAT Argentina Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/Amsat.LU/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS at Dayton Hamvention If you will be attending Hamvention next week, be sure to stop by the AMSAT area in the Ball Arena. We will have members of the ARISS team on-hand at all times and some of our ISS hardware (radios and an antenna) on display. During the AMSAT Forum (Saturday, 11:15-1:30), Frank Bauer will be presenting ARISS status and future plans. Also on Saturday, from 2:30-3:00, we will have a face-to-face meeting for anyone interested in ARISS. We’d like to see members of the ARISS team there. We will meet outside near AMSAT’s Satellite Demo area (outside the Ball Arena entrance) or, if it’s raining, inside at the ARISS display. [ANS thanks Dave W8ASS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CY9C DXpedition to St. Paul Island Announces Satellite Operation The CY9C DXpedition to St. Paul Island, scheduled for August 19, 2016 – August 29, 2016, has announced that Lee Imber, WW2DX, has joined the DXpedition team and will add satellite operations, as well as 2 meter EME and 6 meter operations, to the DXpedition plans. St. Paul Island is located in gridsquare FN97 in the Cabot Strait between Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and Cape Ray, Newfoundland and is a separate entity on the ARRL DXCC list. It also counts as a country for the AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award, AMSAT OSCAR Sexagesimal Award, and AMSAT OSCAR Century Award. Most of Europe and North America should be easily workable from this location. St. Paul Island has not been activated on satellite since July 1998. For further information about the DXpedition, please see the CY9C DXpedition website (http://www.cy9dxpedition.com/) This operation and other planned amateur satellite grid/DX operations are posted on the AMSAT Upcoming Satellite Operations page (http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=3921) [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton HAMVENTION 10. Rub shoulders with 25,000 of your best friends at the largest hamfest in the United States, including all of the AMSAT Directors and senior officers. See the latest equipment from Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Flex, Alinco, M2, Arrow, and many other manufacturers of amateur radio equipment and accessories. Take advantage of discounted pricing you won't find anywhere else. 9. Find out how to organize a contact with the astronauts on the International Space Station for your local school or youth group from our Education and ARISS experts. 8. Pickup the latest AMSAT golf shirts, T-shirts, and hats. Get your copy of the updated "Amateur Satellite Frequency Guide" (laminated frequency chart) and Gould Smith's just revised "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" (book). We'll also have assembled wide-band preamps and antennas that are great for portable operation. 7. See demonstrations of SatPC32 and MacDoppler satellite tracking software, and get your operational questions answered. Meet Don Agro, author of MacDoppler (Friday & Saturday, 2-3 p.m.). See a demonstration of the LVB Tracker, a computer interface to the Yaesu azimuth-elevation rotors. Talk with Mike Young, who has built more LVB Trackers than anyone else. Assembled LVB Trackers will be available. 6. Hear a team presentation at the joint AMSAT/TAPR dinner on the new AMSAT Ground Terminal (AGT). AGT is using Five and Dime (5 GHz uplink, 10 GHz downlink) technology that is being developed for the Phase 3E (P3E) HEO satellite, the Phase 4B (P4B) geosynchronous satellite, and the Cube Quest Challenge (CQC) lunar mission. While much of the P3E and P4B *satellite* development is classified, the AGT is all open source and public information. 5. Hear the latest on the *five* Fox satellites, P3E, P4B, CQC, the International Space Station, other current and future satellites, education news, and an AMSAT update at the AMSAT Forum Saturday, from 11:15 to 1:30. 4. Get one-on-one guidance on setting up your satellite station and making contacts at our "Beginner's Corner". Witness live demonstrations of contacts through satellites AO-7, AO-73, AO-85, FO- 29, SO-50, XW-2A, XW-2C, and XW-2F using handheld antennas. 3. Meet and interact with some of the Engineering Team members working on the Fox-1 satellites and our new Five and Dime AMSAT ground terminal. Learn all of the public information and get breaking news on the Virginia Tech plans for the Phase 3E and Phase 4B satellites. 2. Get satellite station and operating tips from some of the best satellite operators in the country, including John Papay K8YSE (1,575 grids confirmed), Doug Papay KD8CAO (1,159 grids), Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA (1,343 grids), Paul Stoetzer (450 grids), and Wyatt Dirks AC0RA (938 grids). 1. Receive special premiums when you join or renew your AMSAT membership at Dayton, including an updated "Amateur Satellite Frequency Guide" (laminated frequency chart), and special pricing on the SatPC32 satellite tracking software. [ANS thanks Steve N9IP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday AMSAT Dayton Forum The AMSAT forum will be Saturday morning from 11:15 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. in Forum Room 5. See the commercial vendor layout map in the Hamvention program or the Hamvention website for the location of Forum Room 5 (same as the last few years). The following speakers will be presenting at the AMSAT Forum, moderated by Mark Hammond, N8MH: “AMSAT Status Report” Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT-NA President, will highlight recent activities within AMSAT and discuss some of our challenges, accomplishments, projects, and any late breaking news. “AMSAT-NA Satellite Program” Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT-NA Engineering Vice President, will review the upcoming launches of four Fox spacecraft and exciting new engineering developments. “AMSAT’s HEO and GSO Plans” Bob McGwier, N4HY, AMSAT-NA Director, will discuss AMSAT-NA opportunities for High Earth Orbit and Geo- Synchronous Orbit satellites. “AMSAT Satellite Operations” Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT-NA Operations Vice President, will survey the current operational amateur satellites, as well as those planned for launch in the next year. “ARISS Report 2016” Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human Spaceflight, will discuss ARISS developments & operation on the International Space Station. “Teaching STEM Using the Fox Satellites” Joe Spier, K6WAO, AMSAT-NA Educational Relations Vice President, will explain how the Fox MEMS gyroscopes, radiation experiments, and cameras will be used to teach Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Thursday Dinner and Beverages at Tickets Pub and Eatery Dinner and beverages at Tickets Pub and Eatery Thursday night, 1800-2000. The annual AMSAT “Dinner at Tickets” party will be held Thursday, May 19, at 1800 EDT at the Tickets Pub & Eatery. Everyone is invited regardless of whether or not they helped with setup or plan to work in the booth. You’ll find a great selection of Greek and American food and excellent company! No program or speaker, just good conversation. Food can be ordered from the menu; drinks (beer, wine, sodas and iced tea) are available at the bar. Come as you are. Bring some friends and have a great time the night before Hamvention®. Tickets Pub and Eatery, 7 W. Main St. Fairborn, OH 45324 (937) 878-9022 http://www.ticketspub.com/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between The Kings School, Ottery St Mary, Devon, UK and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign GB1SS. The contact began 2016-05-09 09:26 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via GB1OSM. ARISS Mentor was Ciaran MØXTD. + A Successful contact was made between H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India and Astronaut Tim Kopra KE5UDN using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-05-12 08:11 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was Satoshi 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between AstroNuts Kids Space Club Academy, David Dunlap Observatory, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-05-14 17:37:12 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was Steve VE3TBD. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-05-13 06:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Essex Heights Primary School, Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia, telebridge via VK5ZAI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-05-20 08:35:16 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN 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, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM, former KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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ANS-129 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 08 May '16

08 May '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-129 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. In this edition: * RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Launch Date * Tomsk-TPU-120 Active On-board ISS May 10-11 * AMSAT at ARRL Nevada State Convention Last Weekend - report * Contact Lost with SamSat-218D Nanosatellite * Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton * AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention -- Last Call for Volunteers * AIST-2D and SamSat-218D Satellites Launched * No Need for Panic Regarding Synthetic Aperture Radars on 70 Centimeters, ARRL CTO Says * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-129.01 ANS-129 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 129.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE May 8, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-129.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Launch Date This week AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said that January 20, 2017 is the planned launch date for the RadFxSat (Fox-1B) cubesat. This cubesat will fly with the Vanderbilt University radiation experiments. RadFxSat (Fox-1B) pre-launch frequencies include: Uplink: 435.250 MHz FM 67.0 Hz CTCSS tone Downlink: 145.960 MHz FM (Frequencies may vary slightly after launch; changes will be announced) The latest versions of the Fox-1 Operating Guide can be found on AMSAT's Station and Operating Hints page at: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=2144 AMSAT pioneered the concept of small satellites in low orbits. AMSAT's Project Fox consists of a series of cubesats that will provide FM transponders with a 70 cm uplink with a 2 meter downlink that will match the ground performance of previous FM satellites. AMSAT is dedicated to keeping amateur radio in space. Its membership includes a worldwide group of radio hams who monitor amateur radio satellite signals and use satellites for QSOs. They also design and build the satellites, and control them once in orbit. Not a member of AMSAT yet? You're invited to join on-line at: http://store.amsat.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=32 Please consider making a donation to support the Fox-1 series of cubesats using the links on the front page http://www.amsat.org. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomsk-TPU-120 Active On-board ISS May 10-11 As part of Tomsk Polytechnic University 120th anniversary celebrations on May 10-11, Tomsk-TPU-120 will be activated in the ISS and will transmit a greeting to Earth inhabitants, recorded by students of the University in 10 languages: Russian, English, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, Tatar, Indian, Kazakh, and Portuguese. The 3U CubeSat was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on March 31, 2016 in a Progress-MS-2 cargo vessel. It will be deployed by hand during a future Russian spacewalk (EVA), so it has a handle. The satellite was developed by students at the Tomsk Polytechnic University to test new space materials technology and will be the world’s first space vehicle with a 3D-printed structure. The Tomsk-TPU-120 satellite on-board the ISS will be activated May 10 from 07:55 UTC and switched off on May 11 at 10:10 UTC. The satellite has been connected to an external ISS antenna and will transmit messages of 20-30 seconds in 11 languages, then pause 1 minute on the satellite's transmission frequency of 437.025 MHz. The ISS will simulcast the signal utilizing ARISS equipment on a frequency of 145.800 MHz. Reception reports from both the ISS and from the Tomsk-TPU-120 satellite are requested from the international amateur radio community and should be sent to Sergi at rv3dr(a)mail.ru Amateurs are requested to refrain from transmitting on either frequency as any transmissions would interfere with reception of the test transmissions. [ANS thanks Sergi, RV3DR and ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at ARRL Nevada State Convention Last Weekend - report AMSAT's long-time Area Coordinator in southern Nevada, Frank Kostelac N7ZEV, along with his wife Linda KC7IIT, usually have a booth at these events in Las Vegas and other locations in Nevada. With Linda working in a variety of roles at the convention, Frank and I took care of the AMSAT booth. Frank also had other convention-related tasks, and he was definitely busy throughout the weekend. When I arrived at the convention Friday afternoon, Frank had the booth ready to go. I set out some flyers, some equipment, and spent most of the weekend around the booth. The day before I arrived in Las Vegas, the region had a big rainstorm. Another storm blew through southern Nevada on Saturday morning, which made travel around Las Vegas a mess, and washed out my plans for demonstrations at the convention. Instead of being outside in the rain, I had set up a couple of tablets to run videos of past demonstrations, show off SatPC32, and show what software-defined receivers can do. Frank and I talked almost non-stop for the weekend. I posted photos from the convention throughout the weekend on my @WD9EWK Twitter feed. If you want to see those photos, but don't do Twitter, you can get to the photos with a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK/media Just because there was rain that washed out the demonstrations I planned to do at the convention, that didn't ruin plans for me to work satellites from Nevada. I'll post a separate message describing my operating from around Las Vegas and while driving to and from Las Vegas. I have to thank Frank and Linda for letting me help with the AMSAT booth over the weekend. I had asked Frank about this convention a while back, and I am glad I made the trip. The NVCON organizers were all friendly, and the crowds were good, despite the Saturday rain. There were a bunch of people who came over from California, and a few from Arizona that I also saw. I will seriously consider heading back to Las Vegas the next time this event takes place up there. [ANS thanks Patrick, WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact Lost with SamSat-218D Nanosatellite The tiny nanosatellite SamSat-218, which was launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on April 28, has failed to establish radio contact with mission control, several Russian media outlets are reporting. According to Interfax news agency, although the spacecraft was placed into orbit as planned, it is sending only fragmentary signals to Earth. “Currently, fragmentary Morse code signals are being heard coming from the nanosatellite, against the background of the noise during the satellite’s pass over the receiving station,” Interfax said in a press release. SamSat-218, built by the Samara State Aerospace University (SSAU), is a two- unit CubeSat with a mass of only 8.8 pounds (4 kilograms) and an additional empty one-unit compartment for aerodynamic stabilization. The tiny spacecraft was designed to demonstrate attitude stabilization by using aerodynamic forces. It was expected to develop algorithms necessary for nanosatellite orientation control. The nanosatellite was launched along with the Mikhailo Lomonosov (MVL-300) and Aist-2D spacecraft atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from Vostochny on the Cosmodrome’s opening mission. The flight, lasting several hours, ended in the separation of the satellites from the launch vehicle. However, after SamSat-218 was placed into orbit, it started to spin around rapidly and probably failed to switch on. “There are currently no sufficient grounds to believe the nanosatellite established contact. There were fragmentary weak signals at the frequency of 145.870 MHz against a background of noises when the nanosatellite was in the area of [radio visibility] of the ground control center, which can’t be with confidence interpreted as signals from the satellite,” Igor Belokonov, the head of the SamSat-218 project told TASS. The designers of the satellite are currently analyzing the data received in order to understand the nature of the problem and look for possible solutions. According to Belokonov, the student mission control center of SSAU is continuing with attempts to receive signals from the satellite during passes above Samara. The satellite is equipped with a radio beacon, which transmits the word “SamSat-218”. Russia’s radio enthusiasts are also engaged in the activities to help establish contact with the satellite when it is in the area of the antenna systems’ coverage. Read more at http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/roscosmos/russia-loses- contact-with-its-nanosatellite-launched-from-vostochny/ [ANS thanks Bernhard, VA6BMJ and Spaceflightinsider.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton 10. Rub shoulders with 25,000 of your best friends at the largest hamfest in the United States, including all of the AMSAT Directors and senior officers. See the latest equipment from Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Flex, Alinco, M2, Arrow, and many other manufacturers of amateur radio equipment and accessories. Take advantage of discounted pricing you won't find anywhere else. 9. Find out how to organize a contact with the astronauts on the International Space Station for your local school or youth group from our Education and ARISS experts. 8. Pickup the latest AMSAT golf shirts, T-shirts, and hats. Get your copy of the updated "Amateur Satellite Frequency Guide" (laminated frequency chart) and Gould Smith's just revised "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" (book). We'll also have assembled wide-band preamps and antennas that are great for portable operation. 7. See demonstrations of SatPC32 and MacDoppler satellite tracking software, and get your operational questions answered. Meet Don Agro, author of MacDoppler (Friday & Saturday, 2-3 p.m.). See a demonstration of the LVB Tracker, a computer interface to the Yaesu azimuth-elevation rotors. Talk with Mike Young, who has built more LVB Trackers than anyone else. Assembled LVB Trackers will be available. 6. Hear a team presentation at the joint AMSAT/TAPR dinner on the new AMSAT Ground Terminal (AGT). AGT is using Five and Dime (5 GHz uplink, 10 GHz downlink) technology that is being developed for the Phase 3E (P3E) HEO satellite, the Phase 4B (P4B) geosynchronous satellite, and the Cube Quest Challenge (CQC) lunar mission. While much of the P3E and P4B *satellite* development is classified, the AGT is all open source and public information. 5. Hear the latest on the *five* Fox satellites, P3E, P4B, CQC, the International Space Station, other current and future satellites, education news, and an AMSAT update at the AMSAT Forum Saturday, from 11:15 to 1:30. 4. Get one-on-one guidance on setting up your satellite station and making contacts at our "Beginner's Corner". Witness live demonstrations of contacts through satellites AO-7, AO-73, AO-85, FO-29, SO-50, XW-2A, XW-2C, and XW-2F using handheld antennas. 3. Meet and interact with some of the Engineering Team members working on the Fox-1 satellites and our new Five and Dime AMSAT ground terminal. Learn all of the public information and get breaking news on the Virginia Tech plans for the Phase 3E and Phase 4B satellites. 2. Get satellite station and operating tips from some of the best satellite operators in the country, including John Papay K8YSE (1,575 grids confirmed), Doug Papay KD8CAO (1,159 grids), Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA (1,343 grids), Paul Stoetzer (450 grids), and Wyatt Dirks AC0RA (938 grids). 1. Receive special premiums when you join or renew your AMSAT membership at Dayton, including an updated "Amateur Satellite Frequency Guide" (laminated frequency chart), and special pricing on the SatPC32 satellite tracking software. [ANS thanks Steve Belter, N9IP, Dayton Team Leader for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention -- Last Call for Volunteers The Dayton Hamvention is less than two weeks away, May 20-22! If you’ve been waiting to volunteer until you’d firmed up your plans, we need to hear from you ASAP! If you're an experienced satellite operator, we can use you and your experience. If you've never operated a satellite before, we can use your help too. Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please send an e-mail to Steve, n9ip(a)amsat.org if you can help. Thank you! [ANS thanks Steve Belter, N9IP, Dayton Team Leader for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AIST-2D and SamSat-218D Satellites Launched Two Russian satellites AIST-2D and SamSat-218D operating in the Amateur bands were launched on April 28, 2016 at 02:01 UT on a Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome located in the Amur Oblast. The satellites were placed into a 471 km × 485 km orbit with a 97.3° inclination. AIST-2D weighs 500 kg and is a technology demonstration and scientific research satellite developed at Samara Aerospace University. The 3U CubeSat SamSat-218 was developed by students at the Samara State University and weighs just 4 kg. Frequency information from Dmitry R4UAB http://r4uab.ru/?p=11842 AIST-2D / RS-48 Downlinks • 435.3065 – 435.3235 MHz Telemetry Data • 435.3565 – 435.3735 MHz Telemetry Data • 433 – 438 MHz 200 watt Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) • 8025 – 8393 MHz Remote Sensing Data http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-lomonosov/aist-2d/ SamSat-218D • 145.870 MHz Morse CW beacon transmits “SamSat-218D” every 150 seconds (or 30 seconds) • 145.850 – 145.890 MHz TRXSSAU downlink • 435.590 – 435.610 MHz TRXSSAU uplink http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-lomonosov/samsat-218d/ Russian post on SamSat-218D http://zelenyikot.livejournal.com/94190.html Google English translation https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2 Fzelenyikot.livejournal.com%2F94190.html&sandbox=1 432-438 MHz was allocated to the Earth Exploration Satellite Service (Active) at WRC-03 https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/sa/R-REC-SA.1260-1-200305-S!!PDF-E… September 2003 issue of QST magazine has an article on page 44 by VE3PU on satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in 432-438 MHz (ARRL members only) http://p1k.arrl.org/pubs_archive/104721 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- No Need for Panic Regarding Synthetic Aperture Radars on 70 Centimeters, ARRL CTO Says A recent BBC news article regarding a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) contract award for operation within the 70 centimeter band has raised some concern within the Amateur Radio community. The contract to Airbus Space would involve determining the density of Earth’s forests using a P-band (432-438 MHz) SAR. That band segment was allocated for use by the Earth Exploration Satellite (Active) Service at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03). ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, said SAR activity has not been found to be a significant problem to Amateur Radio activity on the 70 centimeter band. Both EESS (Active) and Amateur Radio are secondary on the band in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regions 2 and 3 (Amateur Radio is co-primary with the Radiolocation Service in ITU Region 1), and Price said SAR operation is subject to significant constraints. “The interference potential from one orbiting SAR to one fixed Amateur Radio station is on the order of less than 1 minute over an orbital period of more than 10 days,” Price said. “Practically speaking, nearby electrical lines and Part 15 devices are more likely to be bothersome.” Price said news items in articles aimed at the general public are “often notoriously short” on technical details. ITU-R Recommendation RS.1260-11 — incorporated by reference in the ITU Radio Regulations and binding on EESS (Active) stations — spells out the WRC-03 consensus on SARs operating at 70 centimeters. Among other things, RS.1260-1 states that EESS (Active) instruments operation profile “shall be campaign-oriented, targeted to specific geographical areas and shall limit the instrument active time to the minimum required to achieve the campaign objectives. Thus, the measurements carried out by the instrument do not require continuous operation of the instrument, and intervals of months between successive measurements on the same area can be expected.” The Recommendation further states that the operational duty cycle of an SAR in campaign mode will be 15 percent (typically 10 percent). A Russian satellite, AIST-2D, launched on April 28, will conduct SAR work as a technology demonstration and scientific research satellite developed at Samara Aerospace University. Its 200 W SAR will operate in the 433-438 MHz band. It will also transmit telemetry in the 70 centimeter band. http://www.arrl.org/news/view/no-need-for-panic-regarding-synthetic- aperture-radars-on-70-centimeters-arrl-cto-says [ANS thanks the ARRL and Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Saturday, 14 May 2016 – Matanuska Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Wasilla AK *Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, 20-22 May - HamVention at Harra Arena Dayton, Ohio *Saturday, 4 June 2016 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ *Saturday, 13 August 2016 – KL7KC Hamfest in Fairbanks AK [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * A direct contact via GB1APS with students at Ashfield Primary School, Otley, West Yorkshire, UK, was successful Thu 2016-05-05 08:08:09 UTC 46 deg. Astronaut Timothy Peake, KG5BVI answered 16 questions for an audience of 200 students. Ashfield Primary School is in Otley, West Yorkshire, a historic market town to the north west of Leeds. The school has a fantastic semi-rural location with extensive grounds encompassing a playground, school field, wildlife area, magic garden and a specific outdoor area for Early Years. The school is a community primary school with one form entry. We have 240 children aged 3 to 11. Ashfield is also the site for the North West Leeds Area Inclusions Partnership’s Learning Support Center. The Orchard Center educates pupils from the area who are experiencing difficulties which affect their learning. Our vision is that children, parents and carers, staff and governors work actively together to ensure children receive a rich inspiring and engaging education enabling each child to become lifelong learners, aspiring to high standards of achievement in all areas of their life. As part of this rich inspiring and engaging education, pupils run a stall at the annual Otley Science Festival and recently hosted a space themed Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths festival within the school. All Ashfield classes ran stalls to inform, challenge and entertain each other. We had visitors from all seven local schools, who designed informative exhibitions to share. Exhibitors also came from Otley Amateur Radio Society, Leeds University, The Radio Society of Great Britain, Bradford Astronomy Society and Eureka Museum and worked with the children on STEM related topics. Dr Marty Jopson also created and presented a space related science show in the evening.” * All Saints STEAM Academy (AS2A), Middletown, Rhode Island, direct via N1ASA The ISS callsign was NA1SS The astronaut was Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Fri 2016-05-06 16:43:47 UTC The contact went well, all 24 questions were answered and there was still time for a “73 Round.” An exceptional video is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTkq5btNW_U Upcoming Contacts * A direct contact via GB1OSM with students at The Kings School, Ottery St Mary, Devon, UK, is scheduled for Mon 2016-05-09 09:26:30 UTC 62 deg The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI. Watch for HamTV during this contact. The King’s School is an 11-18 comprehensive school with approximately 1150 students of which 230 are in the Sixth Form. It has a long and proud history that can be traced back to a fourteenth century choir school which was replaced in 1545 by Henry VIII in 1545 with “The King’s School”. Although The King’s School became an academy in 2011 we continue to work in close partnership with Devon County Council and our fellow secondary schools to ensure that we offer the best educational opportunities possible. Our inclusive philosophy of “Achievement for All” encapsulates our belief that every person who enters The King’s School has unique skills and potential which we believe we have the creativity and ability to unlock. We were graded Outstanding by OfSTED in 2011, and in the latest 2014 OfSTED inspection we were again graded Outstanding but this time in every category. The report endorsed the school’s belief that its ethos has a hugely positive impact on student achievement. We are extremely proud of our students and of the brilliant examination results they achieve year on year. However, we are also incredibly proud of the myriad of extra-curricular activities in which they are involved. This richness of opportunity is central to what we believe develops our students into well rounded young people. We are very much a community school, working very closely with our hugely supportive parents, Governors, excellent partner primary schools, local business representatives and a wide range of other agencies to provide opportunities for all. * A telebridge contact via K6DUE with students at H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India is scheduled for Thu 2016-05-12 08:11:20 UTC 79 deg. The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN. Nestled in cozy, lush green and safe sphere is the prestigious education hub HAL School has inscribed a saga of success! Installed in 1974, the school has come a long way. The visionary founders dreamed of an ideal and prosperous institution whose torch bearers and pupils would write a history of academic excellence besides versatility in additional activities. Teachers burnt midnight oil and left no stone unturned and the students responded with equal dedication and brought laurels. Being a member of HAL factory, school frequently bore the responsibility of hosting memorable guests from Russia and celebrities like first Indian astronaut Wg.cdr Rakesh Sharma (Retd), President (Late) APJ Abdul Kalam etc. The school not only organized but also participated in major events organized by HAL Factory year by year. The recent activity which has caught momentum is ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) which is active all the world over and now has come as a great opportunity for HAL School to be the first in state (Uttar Pradesh) to contact with International Space Station and eminent astronauts, participate in seminars, presentations and workshops and associate themselves with radio academically. The School has been involved in many Amateur Radio activities like Amateur radio demonstration for students, JOTA for Scouts & Guides etc. There were 6 students who took the Amateur Radio licenses during their studies in school. Workshops by eminent counselors/experts/guest faculty/agencies from various fields benefited the students in personality development and career counseling/awareness/advice. Year by year the number of such sessions has multiplied and continues till date. The concrete and farsighted plans and strategies are being worked upon. Innovation, modification, changes and publicity efforts are on to make better the things. The improved education, basic facilities, performance of both teacher and taught, inclusion of teachers training/orientation programs are in pipe line for makeover of the school. * A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students at AstroNuts Kids Space Club Academy, Duncan Observatory, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, is scheduled for Sat 2016-05-14 17:37:12 UTC 33 deg. The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI. The “Whats up in Space” Camp & STEM Contest was created by a 13 year-old, Brett Bielecki and father Ray, 5 years ago in order to ignite the curiosities of hundreds of elementary school children to learn about “all things space”. Our volunteer-based space camp is held at the world famous David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill Ontario where the children are engaged and inspired by 20 volunteer space educators, multiple Skype guests and educational activities in a fun and educational setting. The children’s STEM contest brings together dozens of innovative future astronauts, scientists educators and engineers in the spirit of competition. Our space camp was launched because of the high interest for space education by elementary school students, their parents and teachers when they recognized the value of the “AstroNuts kids space club." Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over Biomass 432-438 MHz Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite BBC News report: UK wins satellite contract to 'weigh' Earth's forests with P-Band 432-438 MHz Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36195562 BBC news story says P-Band 432-438 MHz Synthetic Aperture Radar has never before been flown in space - this is not strictly true as AIST-2D launched a few days ago carries one. [ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA 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, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 30 Apr '16

30 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-122 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Three New CubeSats Now in Orbit * Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat Celebrates University Anniversary * Audio Recordings of FO-12 and AO-15 Requested * ZACUBE-1 Beacon Preparations to be Presented at AMSAT SA Space Symposium * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule * Possible Satellite Activation CY9C St. Paul Island August 2016 * IARU Region 2 Call for EmComm Workshop Papers, Presentations SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122.01 ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 122.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. May 1, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-122.01 Three New CubeSats Now in Orbit Signals have been received from the three CubeSats launched April 25 on Soyuz flight VS14 from the Kourou spaceport in South America. The three CubeSats were developed by student teams under the European Space Agency (ESA) Education Office “Fly Your Satellite!” program, which is aimed at training the next generation of aerospace professionals. The satellites are OUFTI-1, Université of Liège, Belgium; e-st@r-II, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy; AAUSAT-4, University of Aalborg, Denmark. The signal from the e-st@r satellite 1200 bps beacon is very weak which may indicate an antenna deployment issue or unexpectedly low transmit power. ESA report the e-st@r team is working to consolidate the radio communication link with their satellite. OUFTI-1 carries the first dedicated amateur D-Star satellite transponder, further information and frequencies of all three CubeSats are at https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/05/d-star-satellite-to-launch-from-kourou/ Daniel Estévez EA4GPZ used a FUNcube Dongle Pro+ and a handheld Arrow Satellite antenna to receive a signal from AAUSAT-4, call sign OZ4CUB. http://destevez.net/2016/04/first-signals-from-aausat-4/ OUFTI-1 reports http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?cat=321 e-st@r reports http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?cat=84 AAUSAT-4 reports http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?cat=8 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat Celebrates University Anniversary The Russian Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat is different from other CubeSats – it has a handle! The 3U CubeSat was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on March 31, 2016 in a Progress-MS-2 cargo vessel. It will be deployed by hand during a future Russian spacewalk (EVA), which is why it has a handle. The satellite was developed by students at the Tomsk Polytechnic University to test new space materials technology and will be the world’s first space vehicle with a 3D-printed structure. In May 2016 Tomsk Polytechnic University celebrates its 120th anniversary. As part of the celebrations on May 10-11 Tomsk-TPU-120 will be activated in the ISS and will transmit a greeting to Earth inhabitants, recorded by students of the university in 10 languages: Russian, English, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, Tatar, Indian, Kazakh and Portuguese. The greeting signal will be transmitted once a minute on 437.025 MHz FM. One of the Kenwood transceivers on the ISS will provide a simulcast of the signal on 145.800 MHz FM. Dmitry Pashkov R4UAB reports that on May 5 the Russian ISS crew will charge the satellite battery, connect the antenna and configure the Kenwood transceiver for simulcast operation, they will then make a test transmission. Dmitry operates a WebSDR which you can use to receive the transmissions when the ISS is over Russia http://websdr.r4uab.ru/ The next Russian spacewalk appears to be EVA-43 which expected to take place in early 2017 http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/ Use Google translator to read original article by Dmitry Pashkov R4UAB http://r4uab.ru/?p=11845 World’s First 3D-printed Satellite http://tpu.ru/en/news-events/760/ [ANS thanks Gunter's Space Page, R4UAB, and AMSAT-UK for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Audio Recordings of FO-12 and AO-15 Requested Mathias, DD1US, maintains a homepage at www.dd1us.de Included is a section called "Sounds from Space". More than 1000 recordings of various satellite and space objects have been collected and are available for listening. Mathias is still searching for various recordings of Amateur Radio Satellites, especially for Fuji-OSCAR-12 and UoSAT-OSCAR-15. If you have old tapes or cassettes with recordings of Ham Radio Satellites he will be happy to digitize them and add them to the archive. [ANS thanks Mathias, DD1US, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ZACUBE-1 Beacon Preparations to be Presented at AMSAT SA Space Symposium Students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology will present a paper at the AMSAT SA Space Symposium on the high frequency beacon transmitter developed to test a three element direction finding array constructed at SANSA Space Science in Hermanus to receive the 14 099 kHz HF beacon signal from ZACUBE-1 and future ZACUBE-i space weather missions. A ground-based transmitter was developed for verification and calibration of this array. The signal will be used to verify the operation of the hardware and software used to determine the direction of arrival of the incoming signal. More about the symposium on 28 May 2016, details on the many papers to be presented and how to register for the event can be found on www.amsatsa.org.za [ANS thanks the SARL weekly news in English 2016-4-30 for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Ashfield Primary School, Otley, West Yorkshire, UK, direct via GB1APS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Thu 2016-05-05 08:08:09 UTC 46 deg (***) All Saints STEAM Academy (AS2A), Middletown, Rhode Island, direct via N1ASA The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be TBD The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN or Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-05-06 16:43:47 UTC 56 deg (***) [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Possible Satellite Activation CY9C St. Paul Island August 2016 CY9C, ST. PAUL ISLAND DXPEDITION (August 19-29th). Randy, N0TG, reports the following on April 16th: As was reported previously, we will have two separate sites...separated approximately 1.5 miles. Site 1 will be the Atlantic Cove site with 6 operators. We will try to keep 4-5 radios running and more if 12/10m opens. Our plan is to have a RTTY station active at all times. From this site 160 will be given lots of attention with the Battle Creek Special antenna. Site 2 - the Northeast Point separate island will be enhanced to include 4 -5 operators active at all times, thus the dxpedition in total can potentially have 8-10 radios working most of the time. We are seriously considering 6m EME and Satellite, however, we need to work out the planning details. And, as always, budget matters are a significant consideration as we expand operations. We appreciate the support by many to date. The desire is to make this a very complete operation that will offer fun and meeting needs for all interests. The CY9C Web page is: http://www.CY9Dxpedition.com [ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1263 for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Region 2 Call for EmComm Workshop Papers, Presentations International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 (IARU-R2) will hold an Emergency Communications Workshop in Chile this fall, in conjunction with the 19th IARU Region 2 General Assembly. The conference committee is inviting papers and presentations the event. The workshop on October 11 in Viña del Mar, Chile, will offer an opportunity for Region 2 emergency coordinators and other national- level Amateur Radio emergency communication experts to network and to share information on Amateur Radio emergency response as well as to augment the capabilities of the region’s amateurs to react to large-scale, multinational communication emergencies. The event is open to radio amateurs in IARU Region 2 with high-level expertise in providing disaster and emergency communication. Attendees will be responsible for their travel and lodging costs. A block of rooms will be available at the O’Higgins Hotel in downtown Viña del Mar. Link to Register online: http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-region-2-calls-for-emergency-communications- workshop-papers-presentations Call for Papers Delegates representing IARU Region 2 member societies, national or international Amateur Radio emergency communication organizations, or national/international- level subject matter experts in Amateur Radio emergency communication are invited to submit proposals and informational papers. Topics must be related to Amateur Radio emergency communication, disaster response, technology, or operating standards. Documents must be in electronic form (MS Word or Power Point). When laying out the document format, use A4 paper with at least 3-centimeter margins on all sides. The title page should have a top margin of at least 6 centimeters. Do not insert page headers or footers. The deadline to submit is July 1. The IARU Region 2 Emergency Communications Workshop Committee will select the most appropriate papers for presentation. All other submitted materials will be compiled for distribution to all delegates and will be posted on the Region 2 website for downloading. Direct submissions in English to ecw(a)iaru-r2.org; direct submissions in Spanish to tce(a)iaru-r2.org. The Emergency Communications Workshop will be held on Tuesday, October 11, at the Hotel O’Higgins in Viña del Mar from 9 AM until 6 PM. [ANS thanks the ARRL and IARU 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, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 23 Apr '16

23 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-115 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. In this edition: * IARU-R1: Global APRS Harmonisation and Satellite Coordination * United Launch Alliance Opens Competition for Free Cubesat Launches * TAPR Dayton Hamvention Digital Forum Announces Presenters * OUFTI-1 Telemetry Decoder App * Commemorative ARISS Slow-Scan TV Transmissions a Success * Be The First to Catch a Signal From Fly Your Satellite! From Space! * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.01 ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE April 24, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-115.01 IARU-R1: Global APRS Harmonisation and Satellite Coordination The IARU Region 1 Interim Meeting was held April 15-17, 2016 in Vienna. Minutes for the C5 VHF/UHF/Microwave committee are now available. Some 70 delegates from over 20 Member Societies discussed a wide range of issues in the VHF/UHF/Microwave, HF and EMC Committees. Recommendations from the meeting will be considered by the Region 1 Executive Committee at its meeting in early May 2016. If approved by the EC, these recommendations will become interim Region 1 policy until the next General Conference in 2017, at which time all Societies present will have the opportunity to ratify the proposals. Among the key items in the minutes are: 4.1. Report of satellite coordinator C5_04 Graham Shirville G3VZV presented the report of satellite coordinator. G3VZV emphasized that the frequency coordination between the three Regions has to be improved for avoiding interference incidents like PC-Sat and some of the XW2 satellites. Due to current reports from MS about some observations of harmful interference, RSGB is asked to prepare a statement for publishing to inform MS and members how to take care. C5 chairman is asked to bring up the issue on EC meeting, because further AC action is required. 5.2. Band Planning 5 GHz: C5_10 VIE16_C5_Rec_06: To correct the satellite segment the table in chapter 4.9 by deleting “5790”, inserting “5830” and adding the footnote: “Any wideband system shall protect narrowband applications”. 6.1. General matters: C5_26 VIE16_C5_Rec_11A: To discuss an even more extended [Grid Square] locator system that is used for ATV (including IARU ATV contest) and for other purposes by using the Wiki and prepares a document for GC 2017 if necessary. (Note this will clarify the definition of 10 digit [character] locators used for microwaves etc see example at http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html ) 7.2. APRS Harmonisation: C5_41 VIE16_C5_Rec_23: The C5 chairman to answer Regions 2 and 3 that: • 144.390 MHz is not suitable for Region 1 and that Region-3 should consider 144.800 • To consider an additional 144 MHz frequency (that might be compatible) with Region 2 and 3 • To also consider 435 MHz usage and newer APRS technologies (for the 2017 GC) Download the C5 VHF/UHF/Microwave Vienna 2016 Minutes http://tinyurl.com/IARU-R1-Vienna-2016-C5-Minutes The input papers are available as a matter of record: HF Papers http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-HFpapers VHF/UHF/Microwave papers http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-MicrowavePapers EMC Papers http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-EMCpapers [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- United Launch Alliance Opens Competition for Free Cubesat Launches United Launch Alliance has begun accepting applications from colleges and universities across the U.S. to compete for free cubesat launch slots aboard upcoming Atlas 5 rockets. The educational opportunity will use excess performance aboard rockets launching to space to carry the tiny student-made craft made of science and technology experiments. “Universities pioneered cubesat development, and there is a growing need for launch access and availability,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “Our goal is to eventually add university cubesat slots to nearly every Atlas and Vulcan Centaur launch – with potential for 100 rides per year.” Cubesats are baselined at 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm (4 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches) and approximately 1.3 kg (3 lbs). The craft are housed in a box-like Aft Bulkhead Carrier on the Centaur upper stage, next to the RL10C-1 engine, and ejected from the dispenser into orbit. ULA has successfully launched 55 cubesats through the company’s 106 flights to date. Those opportunities were via National Reconnaissance Office, Air Force and NASA initiatives. Now, ULA is giving the miniature hitchhiker payloads free rides on Atlas 5 boosters and the future Vulcan rocket now in development to debut in 2019. The company is the first launch provider to make free cubesat flight opportunities available on its own. “ULA’s cubesat program revolutionizes access to space for these payloads while ensuring that the next generation of rocket scientists and space entrepreneurs has the opportunity to continue driving on- orbit innovation,” Bruno said. The competitive program is available to all U.S. accredited colleges and universities. They are encouraged to partner with K-12 schools to further expand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The deadline to apply is June 1. The winning cubesats will be announced later this summer. The selection committee will look at a proposal’s mission objectives in science and STEM, outreach plans for their local community, technical requirements and the likelihood of meeting the development schedule. Safety to the flight’s primary payload and ensuring the cubesat will not threaten or do any harm to the mission will be judged, too. Each application will face the following criteria: * Technical Requirements — 25% * Mission Objective — 25% * Outreach Component — 25% * Proposal Credibility — 15% * Quality of Proposal — 10% Six cubesat launch slots are available in this first round of the program, each payload sized at “1U” in cubesat-speak, for two Atlas 5 missions. The first launch will likely be a geosychronous transfer orbit mission targeted for mid-2017. The second flight, also to GTO, is planned for mid-2018. To apply, visit: http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- TAPR Dayton Hamvention Digital Forum Announces Presenters TAPR has announced the presentations for its Dayton Hamvention® Digital Forum, moderated by Scotty Cowling, WA2DFI, on Friday, May 20, at 9:15 AM. Among the presentions will be “SatNOGS — A network of open source satellite ground stations,” by Corey Shields, KB9JHU. CubeSat operators tend to have few ground stations of their own and rely on radio amateurs to help collect telemetry. The SatNOGS Project is a Network of Open Source Satellite Ground Stations, focusing on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Shields will introduce SatNOGS as a way to increase the amount of data collected and reported from these CubeSats. Bryan Fields, W9CR, will present “HamWAN High-Speed IP Radio Network,” an Amateur Radio high-speed IP backbone concept that uses the same techniques enabling the Internet. The topic of a presentation by Chris Testa, KD2BMH, will be “SDR Disrupt.” It will review the landscape and advancements in SDR technologies over the past year, as numerous technologies are driving the power-price-performance curve to a new level of efficiency. Latest developments in digital voice will also be discussed. “Spectrum Monitoring with Software Defined Radio,” by Mike Ossmann, AD0NR, will follow. More information about TAPR activities at Dayton is on the TAPR website. http://www.tapr.org/dayton.html [ANS thanks TAPR and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- OUFTI-1 Telemetry Decoder App The OUFTI-1 D-STAR CubeSat team have released the format of the CW telemetry beacon and a Decoder App. The launch, on a Russian Soyuz- STA Fregat-M from Kourou in South America, is expected to take place at 21:02:13 UT on Friday, April 22, 2016. OUFTI-1 is a nano-satellite entirely developed by the students of the University of Liege (ULg), Belgium, along with two other engineering schools. It is the first satellite to carry a dedicated amateur radio D-STAR transponder. OUFTI-1 amateur radio information including Keps http://events.ulg.ac.be/oufti-1/radioamateurs/ The PDF of the article ‘D-STAR digital amateur communications in space with OUFTI-1 CubeSat’ by Jonathan Pisane ON7JPD, Amandine Denis ON4EYA and Jacques Verly ON9CWD can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-OUTFIT-1 IARU coordinated frequencies for all CubeSats on the Russian Soyuz launch http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/ OUFTI-1 – 145.950 MHz FSK AX25 and D-STAR (uplink 435.045 MHz) – CW beacon 145.980 MHz e-st@r-II – 437.485 MHz CW and 1k2 AFSK AAUSAT-4 – 437.425 MHz [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Commemorative ARISS Slow-Scan TV Transmissions a Success The recent commemorative Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) slow-scan television (SSTV) transmissions from April 11 to April 14 were successful, with images received by many stations around the world. The SSTV transmissions marked the 15th anniversary (in 2015) of continuous Amateur Radio operations on the International Space Station. The first ISS crew conducted its inaugural ham radio contact from NA1SS in November 2000, and the first ARISS school/group contact took place the following month. Since then more than 1000 ARISS school/group contacts have been completed. Images received from the ISS have been posted on the gallery website. Anyone who received SSTV images from the ISS also may post them there. The SSTV transmissions were in PD180 format. Additional “MAI-75 Experiment” SSTV transmissions took place on April 14 and April 15, and these have been posted as well. The commemorative SSTV images showed a few of the radio amateurs who have served aboard the ISS. The gallery of images can be viewed at http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ [ANS thanks ARISS and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Be The First to Catch a Signal From Fly Your Satellite! From Space! It is time to start listening to space. To celebrate the upcoming launch of the three Fly Your Satellite! student-built CubeSats into low Earth orbit, ESA’s Education office challenges the amateur radio community to listen out for the tiny satellites. The first three radio amateurs to send a recorded signal from either AAUSAT4, E-st@r-II or OUFTI-1 will receive a prize from ESA's Education Office. The satellites will be launched on 22 April onboard the Soyuz VS-14 flight from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Together with CNES’ Microscope scientific satellite, they will be auxiliary payloads in the launch of ESA’s Earth observation satellite Sentinel- 1B, the main passenger on this flight. Soon after being deployed into their final orbit, the CubeSats will begin transmitting signals to Earth that can be picked up by anyone with common amateur radio equipment. ESA challenges anyone to record the signal and send it to cubesats(a)esa.int, and to the CubeSat team. For each CubeSat, the first email received for which the signal is confirmed to belong to the CubeSat will be awarded with the following prizes: ESA Fly Your Satellite! poster ESA Education goodie bag Scale 1:1 3D printed model of a CubeSat Radio Contact Information: Please consult the following links to obtain specific information for radio contact for each of the three CubeSats. AAUSAT4 Downlink frequency 437.425 MHz For more HAM radio information see http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-AAUSAT4 Contact: aausat4 (at) space.aau.dk E-st@r-II Downlink frequency 437.485 MHz For more HAM radio information see http://www.cubesatteam-polito.com/operations/radio-amateurs Contact: cubesat.team (at) polito.it OUFTI-1 Downlink frequency 145.980 MHz For more HAM radio information see http://events.ulg.ac.be/oufti-1/radioamateurs/ Contact: oufti-1 (at) ulg.ac.be What your email should contain: Sound recording of the CW beacon Your Name Callsign Snailmail address for QSL Reception time of CW beacon CW beacon decoded Location A few lines about your equipment More information about Fly Your Satellite! can be found at http://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-_Fly_Your_Satellite [ANS thanks ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between STEM Trajectory Initiative with Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Astronaut Jeff Williams KD5TVQ using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-04-22 17:32:37 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via NM5HD. ARISS Mentor was Tim W6MU. + A Successful contact was made between TBD Saratov, Russia and Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP using Callsign RS0ISS. The contact began 2016-04-23 09:06 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct. Mentor was Sergey RV3DR. + A Successful contact was made between Wellesley House School, Broadstairs, Kent, UK and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign GB1SS. The contact began 2016-04-23 12:10:50 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via GB1WHS. ARISS Mentor was Ciaran MØXTD. HamTV coverage??? Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Republic of Chuvashia, direct via TBD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP (***) Contact is a go for Sun 2016-04-24 09:50 UTC The Derby High School, Bury, UK, direct via GB1DHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-04-25 12:02:27 UTC Istituto Comprensivo Statale “Diego Valeri”, Campolongo Maggiore, Italy, direct via IZ3YRA The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-29 08:34:08 UTC 64 deg [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The article, "Amateur Radio in the STEM Classroom One Tecinical Tool-Countless Lesson Applications" appears in the latest Tech Directions magazine. The article can be read at http://tinyurl.com/ANS115-techdirections The free magazine is at: https://www.techdirections.com/ [ANS thanks ARRL's Illinois Section newsletter for the above information] + Lomonosov, AIST-2D and SamSat-218 Launch First launch from Vostochny - carries a three-satellite payload. The purpose of the mission is to test the infrastructure associated with the new launch site. There is a pair of satellites for sun-synchronous orbit: Lomonosov - Science satellite for studies of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, X-rays and gamma rays in the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere and in near-Earth space. Lomonosov mission website: http://lomonosov.sinp.msu.ru/en/ AIST-2D - Joint project between Samara State Aerospace University and SRC Progress to develop a small light-weight surveillance spacecraft principally for use by the Russian government. The launch will also carry SamSat-218 - 3U Cubesat created by students and scientists from Samara State Aerospace University in Russia as a technology demonstrator and educational satellite. Its main task is to test algorithms for controlling the orientation of nano-satellites. The Volga stage of the launch vehicle will be caused to re-enter over the south Pacific Ocean about six hours after lift-off. Possible webcast (very much "to be confirmed"): http://www.russian.space/306/ [ANS thanks www.zarya.info for the above information] + New Distance Record for AO-85 A new distance record of 5751 kilometers (3565.6 miles) has been claimed for an AO-85 (Fox-1A) satellite contact. Betrand Demarcq, FG8OJ, in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe (FK96ig), worked Jose Elias Diaz Rodriguez, EB1FVQ, in Vigo, Spain (IN52pe), at 19:15 UTC on April 14, 2016. A recording of the contact is available. https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0o1b1as1xlcrjs/eb1fvq.mp3 AMSAT posts records on its AMSAT Satellite Distance Records page. Send new claims to Paul Stoetzer, N8HM. The AO-85 CubeSat was launched last October. It carries a U/V FM transponder. — [ANS thanks Thanks Paul, N8HM and the ARRL for the above information] + Satellite Distance Records can be viewed at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4751 [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive 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, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM (former KC8YLD) kc8yld at amsat dot org

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