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ANS-056 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb. 25
by Mark Johns, K0JM 24 Feb '24

24 Feb '24

*ANS-056 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins* February 25, 2024 by Frank Karnauskas <https://www.amsat.org/author/n1uw/> In this edition: - Bob Twiggs Keynote Address at 2024 AMSAT Space Symposium Now Available - Updated Hamfest Handouts Now Online - UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport to Launch Amateur Radio Satellites - AO-73 Goes on Hiatus - Bochum Space Conference 2024 - Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 23, 2024 - ARISS News - Upcoming Satellite Operations - Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. *Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat [dot] org.* You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-056 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 FEB 25 Bob Twiggs Keynote Address at 2024 AMSAT Space Symposium Now Available For those who missed Bob Twiggs, KE6QMD, keynote address at the 2023 AMSAT Space Symposium, now is your chance to catch up on this delightful and informative presentation. You can view Bob’s 36-minute presentation at https://youtu.be/uDPJ4SHAF74?si=c9f3xM8G1KFUjZPw. Sorry, there are no advanced mathematical formulas or complex orbital mechanics to be found here. Bob is a consummate story teller who brings warmth and humanity to the pioneering days of amateur satellites. If you weren’t in Dallas for the live event, this is the next best thing to being there. Robert J. Twiggs is a professor of Astronautics and Space Science at Morehead State University. He is responsible, along with Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic State University, for co-inventing the CubeSat reference design for miniaturized satellites which became an Industry Standard for design and deployment of the satellites. Twiggs earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Idaho in 1961 and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in microwave devices from Stanford University in 1964. From 1985 to 1994, Twiggs was the director of the Weber State University Center for Aerospace Technology. He served as a consulting professor in the Stanford University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics from 1994 to 2008. At Stanford, he established the Space Systems Development Laboratory. Bob Twiggs became a professor at Morehead State University in 2009 in an effort to push the PocketQube standard leveraging the university’s large aperture space tracking system, and to help develop a space economy in the state of Kentucky. In 2019, Twiggs designed and proposed another smaller, simpler satellite form factor called ThinSat which could enable high school students to design and build satellites. [ANS thanks AMSAT and Wikipedia for the above information and David Beaujean, N8EPF, for his excellent work in editing the video presentation for our enjoyment.] ------------------------------ Updated Hamfest Handouts Now Online Realizing that the hamfest season runs from January 1st through December 31st every year, AMSAT needed to update its venerable tri-fold handout. While AMSAT finalizes its plans for reinvigorating its Ambassador program, it wanted to make immediately available a fresh set of handouts for use at hamfests, maker-faires, and so on. Some of the considerations to be factored into an updated program are the increased costs of printing and shipping small quantities of handouts here and there. Conversely, the cost of printing and shipping literature has to be balanced against the inevitable “waste” factor of literature simply tossed into, at best, a nearby recycling bin by passer-by’s who feel obligated to take a handout offered to them as they walk by a display. Considerable thought is being given to this situation. For a few recent hamfests, a few AMSAT Ambassadors have been testing the concept of displaying a poster with a QR code that interested parties can scan to download literature. Although it is too soon to say this approach is a smashing success, AMSAT Ambassadors testing the concept feel positive about the reaction of hamfest participants visiting their displays. In tests, a QR code on a small poster can be successfully decoded at up to 20 feet away. You can view or download the QR code poster at AMSAT Hamfest QR Code <https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Scan-Here-QR-Pos…> . The QR code used brings the ham to a “landing” site of the AMSAT website. The landing site offers the person - A link to join AMSAT online, - A two-page summary brochure as to why they should join AMSAT, - A comprehensive brochure describing AMSAT activities, and - A link to the AMSAT Store to buy a downloadable copy of “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites.” You can view the landing page at https://www.amsat.org/getting-started-with-amsat/. This page has been specially formatted for use on smart phones. You can click on each of the images to view or download each of the documents or links. Since this is a test period for this approach, these pages are not cataloged on the web site. After we receive feedback from AMSAT membership and especially AMSAT Ambassadors, access to these documents and the QR code poster will be open to general membership. The AMSAT Ambassador team looks forward to your feedback on how to improve AMSAT’s presence at local and regional hamfests, maker-faires and other events that can boost interest in amateur satellites and AMSAT membership. Please send your comments and/or questions to info(a)amsat.org. If you are interested in becoming an AMSAT Ambassador, please send an email with a short resume to volunteer(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.] ------------------------------ UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport to Launch Amateur Radio Satellites Two more amateur radio satellites, MARIA-G (HADES-F) and UNNE-1 (HADES-E), are planned to launch from the UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport later in 2024. Previously announced amateur radio payloads on the launch are: ERMINAZ-1U and -1V from AMSAT-DL GENESIS-MA and -ME from AMSAT-EA QUBIK 5, SIDLOC-PQ-1 and -PQ-2 from Libre Space Foundation *MARIA-G* A 1.5u Pocketqube. MARIA-G will offer radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to relay FM voice and AX.25 / APRS 300 / 1200 bps communications. The satellite will also transmit telemetry with its status and voice and CW messages. This all will be achieved by implementing a SDR based FM and FSK repeater. The FM / FSK repeater will be available all time and opened by squelch level without the need of a PL tone/CTCSS. Main mission for MARIA-G is to be a FM repeater but it will also include a simple guess game being implemented by students at Maria Guerrero High School in Collado Villalba – Madrid (Spain). The satellite will send a clue each week in CW so radio amateurs will have to solve the mystery by having all the clues. A small experiment, developed by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft research organization (Germany) will also fly on the satellite to make proof of concept transmissions of a TS-UNB waveform from a low Earth orbit. It will transmit a TS-UNB message according to the ETSI standard ETSI-TS-103-357. It is intended solely as a research and development project with no commercial intent, all its data public and open. ITU modulation classification would be 100K W2DWW but the bandwidth will be narrowed. The operation of this experiment will be managed by AMSAT-EA. *UNNE-1* A 1.5u Pocketqube. UNNE-1 will offer radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to relay FM voice and AX.25 / APRS 300 / 1200 bps communications. The satellite will also transmit telemetry with its status and voice and CW messages. This all will be achieved by implementing a SDR based FM and FSK repeater. The FM / FSK repeater will be available all time and opened by squelch level without the need of a PL tone/CTCSS. A small guessing-game is being implemented by students of Universidad de Nebrija (Spain). The satellite will send a clue each week in its telemetry so radio-amateurs will have to solve the mystery by having all the clues. Game will be detailed in AMSAT-EA and Universidad de Nebrija websites. The main mission for the satellite is acting as a FM voice repeater although due to its SDR nature it can repeat data too. This satellite is based on the hardware of HADES-D (SO-121) that’s currently being used to amateurs worldwide. The guess game implemented by the University is a small challenge for the radio-amateurs and its mission is to make the reception of signals from the satellite fun for youngsters, expecting them to be future radio amateurs. Proposing a UHF downlink, VHF Uplink for FM voice, FSK data up to 1200 bps, APRS up to 1200 bps and FSK telemetry and experimental data up to 1600 bps and CW. These two satellites are part of the Erminaz mission, a joint effort by AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-EA and Libre Space Foundation. Planning a DLR/ESA launch from the UK SaxaVord Spaceport in Summer 2024 into 500/600 km polar orbit. For more information see: IARU satellite frequency coordination pages https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/index.php AMSAT-DL ERMINAZ https://amsat-dl.org/en/erminaz/ AMSAT-EA projects https://www.amsat-ea.org/proyectos/ Libre Space Foundation projects https://libre.space/projects/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] ------------------------------ *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and helpKeep Amateur Radio in Space!https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-clu <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/>*b/ <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> ------------------------------ AO-73 Goes on Hiatus A messages from the FC1 operations team reads, “After a good period of transponder activity FUNcube batteries need a short rest. We plan to switch the transponder OFF between March 3rd to 15th subject to operational conditions. The satellite will be placed Safe mode and will still provide low power telemetry [ANS thanks David Johnson, G4DPZ for the above information.] ------------------------------ M2 LEO-Pack Antenna *Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,* *and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through* *AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> ------------------------------ Bochum Space Conference 2024 From September 20-22, 2024, AMSAT-DL is organizing a symposium, flea market and general meeting in the radome of the Bochum Observatory. The radome will once again be dedicated to satellite and space research. AMSAT Deutschland e.V. and the Bochum Observatory are taking the positive experience of the anniversary conference in 2023 as an opportunity to inform AMSAT members and other space enthusiasts about current and future prospects for national and international space projects with a varied program. As the radome is also the location of ESA’s education office in Germany (esero Germany), they want to make the symposium even more attractive in future and at the same time focus even more on current European space travel. The planning so far envisages the following schedule: Friday, September 20, 2024 Come-together in the afternoon including short guided tours in the radome. Saturday, September 21, 2024 From 9:00 a.m. AMSAT symposium with lecture program. Amateur radio flea market in the radome. Sunday, September 22, 2024 From 10:00 a.m. General meeting Further information on the AMSAT-DL space conference in Bochum will follow in the course of 2024. The conference program is expected to be available on our website beginning in July. Speakers with interesting topics wanted, please get in touch! For further information see https://amsat-dl.org/en/bochum-space-conference-2024/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] ------------------------------ *Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* *Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff* *from our Zazzle store!* *25% of the purchase price of each product goes* *towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space* *https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear* <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear> ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 23, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution: CAPE-3 NORAD Cat ID 47309 Decayed from orbit on or about 17 February 2024 GRIFEX NORAD Cat ID 40379 Decayed from orbit on or about 22 February 2024 [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information.] ------------------------------ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *Completed Contacts* Girl Scout Troop 1089, Sacramento, CA, direct via N6NA. The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The crewmember was Loral O’Hara, KI5TOM. The ARISS mentor is AA4KN. Contact was successful on Thursday February 22, 2024. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system is reported to be active on the ARISS status page (145.825 MHz up & down) but the AMSAT satellite status page shows no recent contacts as of the time of this writing. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information.] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations No operations listed at this time. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information.] ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. CubeSat Developers Workshop 2024 April 23–25, 2024 Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo https://www.cubesatdw.org/ Dayton Hamvention 2024 May 17, 2024 – May 19, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road, Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org 38th Annual Small Satellite Conference Logan, UT, USA August 3-8, 2024 https://smallsat.org/ ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The European Space Agency Academy’s CubeSat Summer School is open for applications. Taking place over four weeks from 5 to 30 August 2024 at ESEC-Galaxia (Transinne, Belgium), applications are now open for university students with engineering, physics and business management backgrounds. During the Summer School, ESA and external experts will deliver an extensive mix of lectures and hands-on activities. The entire project lifecycle of a satellite mission will be covered, from design to verification, launch and operations, including typical milestone reviews and new methodologies. Students will be introduced to legal, cybersecurity, and economic aspects of space projects. The Summer School will even introduce space entrepreneurship skills, offering support in devising methods of turning a CubeSat into a viable and profitable business opportunity. More information at http://tinyurl.com/ANS-056-ESA-Summer-School. [ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information.] + NASA is developing a plan to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its lifetime, currently scheduled for 2030. Since the 356-foot-wide laboratory is too big to completely vaporize if left to naturally burn in Earth’s atmosphere, the space agency intends to send a US spacecraft to help deorbit the station and direct its reentry over the unpopulated South Pacific. The goal is to give the ISS an extra “space tug” to help it move more than it could with its own thrust, and guide the final burns for ISS to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The space tug is expected to cost $1 billion, agency officials had said earlier this year. Earlier this year, Russia agreed to stay onboard ISS through 2028, rather than its previous timeline of 2024, after which it may focus on building its own station in low-Earth orbit. Other partner countries have agreed to continue their presence through 2030, but it is not clear precisely how they will contribute to retiring the ISS. More information at http://tinyurl.com/ANS-056-ISS-Tug. [ANS thanks the SpaceRef.com for the above information.] + Martians Wanted: NASA has opened the call for a simulated yearlong Mars mission. If you’re looking for an extended vacation next year, NASA is seeking applicants to participate in its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission to help inform the agency’s plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) is scheduled to kick off in spring 2025. Each CHAPEA mission involves a four-person volunteer crew living and working inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The habitat, called the Mars Dune Alpha, simulates the challenges of a mission on Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, and other environmental stressors. Crew tasks include simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth. More information at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-056-Mars-Mission. [ANS thanks the NASA for the above information.] ------------------------------ *Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org <https://launch.amsat.org/>*/ <https://launch.amsat.org/> In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. - Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw [at] amsat [dot] org

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ANS-049 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb 18
by Mark Johns, K0JM 17 Feb '24

17 Feb '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-049 In this edition: * SpaceX Delays Crew-8 Astronaut Launch to Make Way for Private Moon Mission * Upcoming Rideshare Launch to Include Amateur Payloads * Bill Introduced to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio * Small Launch Companies Seek Niches to Compete With SpaceX Rideshare * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 16 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. *Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-049 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 Feb 18 SpaceX Delays Crew-8 Astronaut Launch to Make Way for Private Moon Mission NASA’s next astronaut launch will delay nearly a week to let a moon mission leave Earth first. NASA’s Crew-8 astronauts, who will launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, will fly to space no earlier than Feb. 28. The delay from Feb. 22 will make room for the expected launch of Intuitive Machines’ moon lander from the same launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Odysseus, a robotic lunar lander built by the Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida early in the morning on Thursday, Feb. 15. If all goes according to plan, Odysseus (designated IM-1) will touch down near the moon’s south pole on Feb. 22, becoming the first-ever private spacecraft to ace a lunar landing. Success would also be a big deal for the United States, which hasn’t been to the lunar surface since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission more than half a century ago. “NASA and SpaceX will continue to assess Crew-8 readiness and may adjust the Crew-8 launch date following a successful IM-1 launch,” agency officials wrote in a statement on Feb. 13, while announcing the delay. The astronaut mission will serve as relief for Crew-7, which flew to space on Aug. 26 for an International Space Station mission expected to last six or seven months. *SpaceX Crew-8 crew. From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, KCØTOR, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU.* Crew-8 includes NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, KCØTOR (commander), Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ (pilot), and Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU (mission specialist), along with Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin. Both the ISS crew and the IM-1 launch are using a pad SpaceX leases at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The moon mission has a fairly narrow launch window as the IM-1 lander needs specific landing conditions to land at the lunar south pole, which is part of why the launch date for Crew-8 may be adjusted. Crew-8, as the name implies, is the eighth crewed operational mission by SpaceX that sends commercial crews to the ISS on NASA’s behalf. Starliner, the second vendor, may fly its first test crew in mid-April 2024. [ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.] ------------------------------ *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!* *Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help* *Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/>* ------------------------------ Upcoming Rideshare Launch to Include Amateur Payloads The SpaceX F9 Transporter-10 Rideshare mission has been scheduled for launch on 1 March 2024. In addition to a half dozen commercial payloads, two amateur satellites are on the launch manifest: SONATE-2 from Germany and CroCube from Croatia. *SONATE-2* SONATE-2 is a 6U+ CubeSat designed and built by the University of Wuerzburg in Germany. As for many university satellites, the mission objectives of the SONATE-2 satellite can be divided into three different parts: – The operation of an amateur radio payload – The development and operation of the satellite for the education of students. – The operation of a novel payload as a technology demonstration in space. The amateur payload of SONATE-2 consists of a VHF transceiver that was already built for the predecessor mission SONATE over the course of several student theses. For SONATE-2 additional student theses extended the transceiver functionalities. It will provide regular SSTV downlinks with images from the optical sensors included in the AI payload as well as an APRS digipeater and CW beacon. On the education side, the mission will serve as a foundation for different aspects of the university aerospace and computer science engineering program. In the context of practical courses, theses or as student assistants, students can participate in the development of all subsystems of the space and ground segment, including the amateur radio payload and the technology demonstration payload. In the context of mandatory lectures and exercises on space operations every student will also be included in the operations of the satellite. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) offers a School Lab for high school students at the location of our external ground station in Neustrelitz, Germany. Besides experiments on space and satellites, the School Lab includes amateur radio contacts to the ISS under the supervision of licensed local radio amateurs, which they wish to extend to other satellites like in this cooperation with the SONATE-2 mission. In addition to the amateur and educational mission parts, the SONATE-2 mission also has a research objective for the demonstration of novel artificial intelligence technology in the space environments. While the AI payload is mainly operated using a separate up/downlink in the space operation service in S-band, the satellite bus and the amateur payloads are operated in the amateur service. Housekeeping telemetry in the amateur service also contains status information of the non-amateur payload. Proposing CW, SSTV using Martin M1 and APRS downlinks on VHF and a 9k6 G3RUH AX25 telemetry downlink on UHF. Planning a launch into a 550 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). More info at https://go.uniwue.de/hk. Downlinks on 437.025 MHz, 145.825 MHz, 145.840 MHz and 145.880 MHz have been coordinated by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). *CroCube* CroCube is a 1U CubeSat mission to support the Croatian, but also worldwide amateur radio community with many HAM services and activities. The mission’s goal is also to facilitate the technological development of Croatia, create an advanced society focused on prosperity and innovation, and increase participation in the global space sector. Also, drive Croatia into the space era, increase interest in astronomy and space projects, and develop STEM and tech entrepreneurship, create a platform for founding a space center in Croatia, increase investments and employment in robotics, technology and ICT and finally reduce unemployment and prevent brain drain. The CroCube satellite is designed for HAM radio activities. The main purpose is to provide services for radio amateurs in Croatia and worldwide, and also for students of technical universities to get hands-on experience with satellite communication and get radioamateur licences. One of the project goals is to popularize HAM activities across the common population, students and children in Croatia. CroCube will provide these HAM services: – AX.25 telemetry – CW beacon – Digipeater – Anniversary/special occasions AX.25 & CW messages for community engagement – Experimental SSDV transmissions – SATNOGS integration, decoder, dashboard Proposing a UHF downlink using 9k6 G3RUH GFSK with AX25 telemetry. Planning an Exolaunch deployment into a 510 km SSO. More info at https://drustvo-evo.hr . A downlink on 436.775 MHz has been coordinated by IARU. [ANS thanks Libre Space, Jan van Gils, PE0SAT, and IARU for the above information] ------------------------------ *Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,* *and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through* *AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> ------------------------------ Bill Introduced to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (MS) and Richard Blumenthal (CT) introduced S.3690 on January 30, 2024, the Senate companion bill to H.R.4006, introduced last June. Both bills reflect the Congressional campaign efforts by ARRL to eliminate homeowner association land use restrictions that prohibit, restrict, or impair the ability of an Amateur Radio Operator to install and operate amateur station antennas on residential properties they own. Amateur Radio Operators repeatedly are relied upon to provide essential communications when disaster strikes, but their ability to do so is being impaired by the exponential growth of residential private land use restrictions that hinder their ability to establish stations in their homes with which to train and provide emergency communications when called upon. In announcing the introduction of S.3690, Senator Wicker said: “Because communication during natural disasters is often hindered, we should be making every attempt to give folks more options. Reliable access can make the difference between life and death in an emergency. Our legislation removes roadblocks for amateur radio operators looking to help their friends, families, and neighbors.” In a similar announcement, Senator Blumenthal stated: “Our measure will help clarify the rules so ham radio enthusiasts can successfully continue their communications. In the face of emergency or crisis, they help provide vital, life-saving information that allow listeners to properly and safely respond, but prohibitive home association rules and confusing approval processes for installing antennas have been an unnecessary impediment. The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act resolves these bottlenecks and ensures that radio operators can function successfully.” ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, and Director John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, Chair of the ARRL’s Government Affairs Committee, both extended on behalf of ARRL, its Members, and the Amateur Radio community their thanks and appreciation for the leadership of Senator Wicker and Senator Blumenthal in their continuing efforts to support and protect the rights of all Amateur Radio Operators. [ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information] ------------------------------ Small Launch Companies Seek Niches to Compete With SpaceX Rideshare Small launch vehicle developers are working to carve out niches in a market for smallsat launches that is increasingly dominated by SpaceX’s Transporter rideshare missions. The Transporter missions, which fill a Falcon 9 often with more than 100 smallsats, offer per-kilogram prices significantly below dedicated small launch vehicles. SpaceX has seen high demand for those missions and announced plans last year for a related line of missions called Bandwagon that will go to mid-inclination orbits. “The Transporter program was created a few years ago with, in my opinion, the sole purpose of trying to kill new entrants like us,” said Sandy Tirtey, director of global commercial launch services at Rocket Lab, during a panel at the SmallSat Symposium in Mountain View, Calif. on Feb. 7. “Yet, we are still flying because we offer something unique.” That uniqueness, he argued, is the ability to fly missions to specific orbits not served by Transporter rideshare missions. An example is Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch, which will place into orbit the ADRAS-J inspector satellite for Astroscale. That mission requires a specific, precise orbit so that ADRAS-J can rendezvous with a derelict Japanese upper stage. *A Rocket Lab Electron launched four smallsats for NorthStar Earth and Space Jan. 31. Credit: Rocket Lab* “Electron is really the only vehicle capable of delivering such a complex mission on an expedited timeline,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in a Feb. 7 statement about the launch, scheduled for Feb. 19 (New Zealand time). Rocket Lab said the specific launch time will be determined just a day before launch, with a near-instantaneous launch window. “Most of the missions that we fly are enabled by the fact that we offer dedicated services,” Tirtey said, citing the upcoming ADRAS-J launch. “There is no way you could do this on a rideshare.” Other panelists said they are targeting customers with specific requirements or needs that make them less price-sensitive than those who opt for the less expensive Transporter launches. That includes dedicated orbits and high reliability, said Pablo Gallego, senior vice president of sales and customers at Spanish launch company PLD Space. “We are offering a premium service for the ones that are willing to pay.” That argument, though, is in danger of being undercut by the combination of rideshare launches and orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), which can take satellites to their desired orbit after being deployed from a Transporter or similar launch. Several companies are offering such vehicles and using them on Transporter launches. While that combination may still be less expensive than dedicated launches, it still doesn’t offer sufficient flexibility, launch providers argued. “We are excited to partner with a lot of OTV providers in providing that service to our customers, but it comes down to performance and how quickly you can get there,” said Robert Sproles, chief technology officer of launch services company Exolaunch. “If it takes you multiple months on orbit to get to that final destination, there’s a strong argument to be made to going dedicated.” Tirtey said that maneuvers that require plane changes can take months to complete, adding that current OTV providers have yet to demonstrate the ability to perform such complex maneuvers. “It could be useful, but you can’t expect a revolution because of physics.” However, on another panel at the conference Feb. 6, industry officials said they see challenges for small launch vehicles coming from SpaceX’s Starship, which promises much greater performance at significantly lower prices. “If you’re a smallsat company, your business model should be looking forward to the model of the Starship rideshare,” a scaled-up version of Falcon 9 rideshare, said Abhishek Tripathi, director of mission operations at the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Lab and who previously worked at SpaceX. He said that the introduction of Starship could change how spacecraft are designed, allowing the use of heavier but cheaper materials and components. “You can throw mass and power and volume at your problem and thereby scale up your satellite bus and still be cheap.” [ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information] ------------------------------ *Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* *Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff* *from our Zazzle store!* *25% of the purchase price of each product goes* *towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space* *https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear>* ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 16 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. - Lume-1 NORAD Cat ID 43908 Decayed from orbit on or about 13 February 2024 - FEES NORAD Cat ID 48082 Decayed from orbit on or about 12 February 2024 [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ------------------------------ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *COMPLETED CONTACTS* School TBD, Naro-Fominsk, Russia, direct via UB3AYC The ISS callsign was RSØISS The crewmember was Nikolay Chub The ARISS mentor was RV3DR Contact was successful for Thu 2024-02-15 08:22 UTC Congratulations to the Naro-Fominsk students, Nikolay, and mentor RV3DR! B. Russell High School, Rome, Italy, direct via IKØUSO The ISS callsign was OR4ISS The crewmember was Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor was IKØUSO Contact was successful: Thu 2024-02-15 11:32:10 UTC 54 deg Congratulations to the B. Russell High School students, Jasmin, and mentor IKØUSO! Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0YEgMvzbn8 Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, Russia, direct via R2FDB The ISS callsign was to be RSØISS The crewmember was Konstantin Borisov The ARISS mentor was RV3DR Contact was successful for: Fri 2024-02-16 09:10 UTC Congratulations to the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University students, Konstantin, and mentor RV3DR! *SCHEDULED CONTACTS* Girl Scout Troop 1089, Sacramento, CA, direct via N6NA The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled crewmember is Loral O’Hara KI5TOM The ARISS mentor is AA4KN Contact is go for: Thu 2024-02-22 18:26:02 UTC 89 deg The crossband repeater continues to be *active* (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system is also *active* (145.825 MHz up & down). As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations Jonathan Eernisse, N4AKV has been QRV from FM05/FM06 and FM15/FM16 this week. Both LEO and IO-117. Details available on hams.at A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. + 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html + Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The JAMSAT Annual General Meeting and Symposium 2024 will be held in Sagano, Kyoto on 23-24 March 2024. To join the Symposium by ZOOM, please send e-mail to Ueda-san, ja0fkm(a)gmail.com, with your Callsign and Name by 16 March. He will send you invitation email including Zoom URL. If you are adept at reading Japanese (or have a good translation program) the latest edition of the JAMSAT Newsletter is packed with excellent articles, including a full report of satellite operations by the JAMSAT VK9QO DXpedition to Cocos (Keeling) Island, amateur transmissions from the moon by the SLIM LEV-1/LEV-2 landers, and a how-to on restoring a Yaesu G-5500 rotator. Visit the JAMSAT website at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/ to learn more. (ANS thanks Mikio Mouri, JA3GEP, JAMSAT Newsletter Editor, for the above information.) + An unspecified defect in early model Starlink satellites has prompted SpaceX to preemptively deorbit the units before they potentially fail and become hazards in low Earth orbit. The company has already initiated the disposal of 406 units from the nearly 6,000 satellites launched to date. Among these, 17 are currently non-maneuverable but are expected to naturally decay and eventually burn up in Earth’s atmosphere in the coming years. However, the decision to deorbit a large batch of approximately 100 satellites within a brief amount of time is certainly out of the ordinary. (ANS thanks Gismodo for the above information.) + The European Space Agency’s Cluster mission, which has spent 24 years revealing the secrets of Earth’s magnetic environment, is coming to an end. The first of the four satellites in the Cluster quartet, named ‘Salsa’, will reenter Earth’s atmosphere in September 2024. This month, spacecraft operators carried out a series of manoeuvres to ensure this reentry will take place over a sparsely populated region in the South Pacific. The end of the Cluster mission offers a rare chance to study the safe atmospheric reentry of four identical satellites under different conditions. (ANS thanks The European Space Agency for the above information.) + Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme, has confirmed that January 2024 was the warmest January on record. Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said: “2024 starts with another record-breaking month – not only is it the warmest January on record but we have also just experienced a 12-month period [with a mean global average temperature] more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial reference period. Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing.” (ANS thanks https://climate.copernicus.eu for the above information.) + Voyager 1, humanity’s most distant scientific outpost, is currently careening away from Earth at 17 kilometers every second and unable to transmit useful scientific or engineering data back to us across nearly a light-day of space. The problem with the 46-year-old spacecraft cropped up back in November, when Voyager started sending gibberish back to Earth. Flight controllers have determined that the problem lies within the one remaining flight data system (FDS) computer on board, most likely thanks to a single bit of corrupted memory. The team has tried rebooting the FDS, to no avail. With most of the engineers who originally built the spacecraft long gone now, the team is treading very carefully. (ANS thanks Hackaday for the above information.) ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. * Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM k0jm [at] amsat.org Categories AMSAT News <https://www.amsat.org/category/amsat-news/>, AMSAT News Service <https://www.amsat.org/category/amsat-news-service/>, ANS <https://www.amsat.org/category/ans/> ANS-042 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins <https://www.amsat.org/ans-042-amsat-news-service-weekly-bulletins/>

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ANS-042 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mitch Ahrenstorff (AD0HJ) 10 Feb '24

10 Feb '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-042 In this edition: * ESA Satellite Communications Group Explores Future Amateur Satellite Payload * GreenCube IO-117 Continues Operations Beyond Expected February 5th Passivation * JS1YMG: Decoding the First Moon-Based Ham Radio Station's Telemetry Signals * GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers February 2024 Rankings * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 9, 2024 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on https://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<http://amsat.org> You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org ANS-042 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 Feb 11 ________________________________ ESA Satellite Communications Group Explores Future Amateur Satellite Payload Frank Zeppenfeldt, PDØAP, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), provided key insights during a presentation on February 4th at the FOSDEM 2024 conference held in Brussels, Belgium. The discussion centered around ESA's initiative to collaborate with the amateur satellite community in defining a prospective payload for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) or Geostationary Orbit (GEO). The ESA's involvement aims to build upon the success of the QO-100 payload in geostationary orbit, fostering innovation and technological advancements. During the FOSDEM conference, the ESA Satellite Communications Group outlined preliminary ideas, stressing the significance of engaging with the Software-Defined Radio (SDR) community. The primary objectives include consolidating requirements, exploring diverse payload options, addressing user segments, and thoroughly examining financing, procurement, and operational scenarios for a potential MEO/GEO amateur payload. The project's scope encompasses the consideration of various payload options and trade-offs, encompassing aspects such as frequency bands, analog or digital transmission, on-board SDR/Linux/GPU-box configurations, potential applications, technical risks, inter-satellite links, geographical coverage, degree of centralization, and educational components. [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Support_for_MEO_…> Proposed Planning for ESA MEO/GEO Amateur Payload. [Credit: Frank Zeppenfeldt, ESA Satellite Communications Group] To ensure a comprehensive and well-informed approach, the ESA plans to actively involve the amateur community. This engagement seeks to gather valuable input on lessons learned from the QO-100 experience, amateur requirements and interests, as well as suggestions for payload options. The consultation process extends to reaching out to AMSAT and other relevant groups, alongside dialogues with satellite operators, primes, and various stakeholders. Looking ahead, the ESA has outlined a timeline for the project. In March 2024, the agency intends to solicit input from the amateur satellite community and other stakeholders, guided by valuable insights from the AMSAT community. By May 2024, detailed payload options will be presented for discussion at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, with the support of technical expertise. More information from this presentation including the ten page Slide Deck can be found https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-2084-design-of-a-follow-…. The culmination of this extensive process is expected in September 2024 at the World Satellite Business Week, where dedicated discussions with satellite operators will be organized. The ESA envisions proposing a selection of payload options at a subsequent FOSDEM conference in 2025, further demonstrating the collaborative commitment of ESA and the amateur satellite community to propel advancements in satellite communications and explore innovative possibilities for future amateur satellite payloads in both GEO and MEO orbits. [ANS thanks Frank Zeppenfeldt, PDØAP, ESA Satellite Communications Group, for the above information] ________________________________ GreenCube IO-117 Continues Operations Beyond Expected February 5th Passivation GreenCube IO-117 satellite continues to function beyond the initially scheduled shutdown of the amateur radio digipeater on February 5, 2024, at 0000 UTC. There have been no recent developments regarding the fate of this widely-used satellite since AMSAT Italia's announcement on February 2nd that the Italian Space Agency is considering revisiting the decision to decommission it. Originally designed for scientific purposes and placed in MEO orbit, GreenCube satellite has successfully completed its primary mission. The "Save the GreenCube Satellite Digipeater" petition initiated by Peter Goodhall, 2MØSQL, has gained significant traction, garnering over 2,000 signatures to date. The petition, accessible at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greencube-satellite-digipeater, remains open for further support. [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greencube-satellite-digipeater> Save the GreenCube Satellite Digipeater petition continues to gather signatures. [Credit: Change.org] The support from the amateur radio satellite community for the GreenCube IO-117 digipeater has been exceptionally robust. Carsten Groen, OZ9AAR, has introduced significant enhancements to his GreenCube Terminal in the latest Version 1.0.0.88, which can be accessed at https://moonbounce.dk/hamradio/greencube-terminal-program.html. Notable improvements encompass SatNOGS Integration, GPS Integration, "AMSAT Sheriff" Wyatt, and Live World View. The Oscarwatch GreenCube Reporter map, developed by Peter Goodhall, 2MØSQL, is available at https://oscarwatch.org/greencube, serving as a valuable resource for monitoring real-time activity on GreenCube. The recent success of the TX5S Clipperton Island DXpedition, which made numerous GreenCube digipeater contacts, can be attributed to these enhancements and the collaboration of operators adhering to the recently released IO-117 Code Of Conduct recommendations. To get a comprehensive view of the considerable amateur radio activity on the GreenCube digipeater, you can explore the GreenCube IO-117 Users Map curated by Doug Papay, K8DP, accessible at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Y7O-rWll2QHFTjbBa4ThmZ3AG9ls8Io. According to the latest update, GreenCube has facilitated digipeating for 1,576 unique callsigns and 999 unique grids. This encompasses digipeats from 121 DXCC entities, all 50 US states, all 47 JA prefectures, and 36 out of 40 CQ Zones. Since its launch in July 2022, 846 ground stations have contributed over 3.4 million telemetry and 6.2 million digipeater frames to the SatNOGS database. The top five contributors to the database, in terms of total submissions, are Doug Papay, K8DP, with 1.1M submissions; Dave Webb, KB1PVH, with 734k submissions; Dave Fisher, KGØD, with 576k submissions; Shige Nasu, JH8FIH, with 507k submissions; and Jacob Mol III, N8JCM, with 498k submissions. [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Y7O-rWll2QHFTjbBa4ThmZ3AG9ls8Io&ll> GreenCube IO-117 Users Map [Credit: Doug Papay, K8DP] GreenCube IO-117 exemplifies the strong backing the amateur radio satellite community extends to satellite missions incorporating telemetry data alongside communication opportunities for radio amateurs. The forthcoming challenge for satellite missions lies in soliciting input from the amateur radio satellite community and ensuring tools are available prior to launch. Leveraging its unique orbit and capabilities, GreenCube has enabled many to attain challenging awards on satellites, such as ARRL DXCC, ARRL Worked All States (WAS), and the JARL Worked All Japan Prefectures Award (WAJA). AMSAT, alongside thousands of amateur radio operators, remains steadfast in their support for the GreenCube mission, with hopes for its sustained success in the future. [ANS thanks Doug Papay, K8DP, Peter Goodhall, 2MØSQL, and Carsten Groen, OZ9AAR for the above information] ________________________________ The 2024 Coins Are Here Now! Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join<https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> the AMSAT President's Club today! [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Coin-Both_5…]<https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/2024-coin-both_586/#ma…> ________________________________ JS1YMG: Decoding the First Moon-Based Ham Radio Station's Telemetry Signals JQ1ZVI (JAXA Ham Radio Club, JHRC) recently obtained a radio station license from Japan for the lunar rover LEV-1, designated JS1YMG, marking a historic moment as the first amateur radio station on the moon. This milestone achievement follows Japan's SLIM lunar mission, which saw the deployment of two lunar excursion vehicles, LEV-1 and LEV-2. LEV-1, designed for hopping mobility, features direct-to-Earth communication capabilities via UHF band antennas from the MINERVA and OMOTENASHI projects. Equipped with two wide-angle visible light cameras, LEV-1 conducts lunar exploration while carrying essential science payloads, including a thermometer, radiation monitor, and inclinometer, providing valuable insights into lunar conditions and terrain. It actively receives data from its companion rover LEV-2, and this information is transmitted to Earth using its 1 Watt UHF circular polarization antenna, employing Morse code on a IARU coordinated frequency of 437.410 MHz. [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/JAXA_SLIM_LEV1_L…> <https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/JAXA_SLIM_LEV1_L…>JAXA's SLIM mission delivered probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2, to the lunar surface. [Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency] Decoding efforts by Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ, and others have shed light on the telemetry data transmitted by LEV-1. Utilizing captures from the 25-meter radio telescope at Dwingeloo in the Netherlands, Estévez identified the telemetry format as PCM/PSK/PM with a symbol rate of 64 baud and a 2048 kHz subcarrier. The residual carrier is modulated in amplitude with Morse code, introducing an unusual element to the signal. Despite challenges posed by amplitude shift keying in the signal, a phase-locked loop (PLL) has proven effective in tracking the phase of the residual carrier. Estévez's decoding journey involved unraveling the CCSDS coding, a task that posed initial challenges. While the IARU coordination sheet hinted at bitrates and coding specifics, the signal's unique characteristics required a thorough investigation. The BCJR decoder, a tool used successfully in previous decoding efforts, validated the presence of convolutional coding. The output provided log-likelihood ratios, offering confidence in the correctness of the convolutional code. Further investigations led to the identification of the syncword 0xFAF320, a crucial element in understanding the structure of the transmitted frames. [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LEV-1_Demodulato…> <https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LEV-1_Demodulato…>GNU Radio LEV-1 Demodulator GUI displaying Residual Carrier Amplitude from LEV-1 [Credit: Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ] One intriguing aspect of the decoded data is the Morse code modulating the residual carrier in amplitude. Despite initial confusion caused by an inverted amplitude representation, subsequent analysis revealed recognizable Morse code sequences. The meaning behind these Morse code transmissions remains a mystery, inviting collaboration from the broader radio amateur community and the LEV-1 team. As decoding efforts continue, the telemetry data's contents remain unknown, emphasizing the need for more documentation from the LEV-1 team. The spacecraft's utilization of the amateur satellite service and its completion of the IARU coordination process suggest that technical documentation may become publicly available in the future. More details on the ongoing efforts to decode LEV-1's amateur radio transmissions can be found at Daniel Estévez's website at https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/. This achievement in establishing the first amateur radio station on the Moon opens up new possibilities for lunar communications and amateur radio enthusiasts worldwide. The collaborative efforts of radio amateurs contribute significantly pave the way for future advancements in space communication technologies. [ANS thanks Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ, and Hackaday for the above information] ________________________________ GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers February 2024 Rankings The February 2024 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap<https://twitter.com/GridMasterMap> on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr<http://gridmaster.fr> website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr in order to provide more accurate data. Updated: 2024-02-07 1 ND9M 26 K8BL 51 F4DXV 76 DF2ET 2 NJ7H 27 KE4AL 52 KE9AJ 77 WA9JBQ 3 N5UC 28 LU5ILA 53 JL3RNZ 78 W8LR 4 JA9KRO 29 DL2GRC 54 KM4LAO 79 OE3SEU 5 DL6AP 30 KI7UNJ 55 VE1CWJ 80 VE3GOP 6 WI7P 31 VE3HLS 56 PA3GAN 81 KJ7NDY 7 UT1FG 32 KB5FHK 57 VK5DG 82 KB2YSI 8 HA3FOK 33 LA9XGA 58 N4UFO 83 K0FFY 9 N9IP 34 N7AGF 59 KI7QEK 84 CU2ZG 10 N6UA 35 F4BKV 60 SM3NRY 85 N0TEL 11 WY7AA 36 XE3DX 61 N8RO 86 DL4EA 12 K5ZM 37 N6DNM 62 PT2AP 87 W8MTB 13 AD0DX 38 KE0PBR 63 W1AW 88 KG4AKV 14 W5PFG 39 KE0WPA 64 VA7LM 89 VE6WK 15 DP0POL 40 JO2ASQ 65 XE1ET 90 VE7PTN 16 AK8CW 41 PR8KW 66 AA8CH 91 HB9GWJ 17 AD0HJ 42 AC0RA 67 M1DDD 92 AF5CC 18 WD9EWK 43 K7TAB 68 VA3VGR 93 DK9JC 19 ON4AUC 44 W7WGC 69 VE1VOX 94 PT9ST 20 KG5CCI 45 EB1AO 70 FG8OJ 95 JM1CAX 21 KX9X 46 JK2XXK 71 PT9BM 96 KI0KB 22 ND0C 47 EA4NF 72 KI7UXT 97 VO2AC 23 N5BO 48 AA5PK 73 LU4JVE 98 LW2DAF 24 F5VMJ 49 SP5XSD 74 YU0W 99 N4AKV 25 DJ8MS 50 AD7DB 75 N4DCW 100 N6UTC [ANS thanks @GridMasterMap for the above information] ________________________________ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 9, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources. AO-92 NORAD Cat ID 43137 Decayed from orbit on or about 02 February 2024 NO-116 NORAD Cat ID 51031 Decayed from orbit on or about 04 February 2024 Editor's Note: Thanks AO-92 for all the contacts, memories, and friends that you provided us! Miss you Veronica :( [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ________________________________ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!<https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/cm/LEO-Pack1-300x298.png] ________________________________ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. + Recently Completed Lilburn Elementary School, Lilburn, GA, direct via K4RGK The ISS callsign was NA1SS The crewmember was Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor was K4RGK Contact was successful: Wed 2024-02-07 14:24:10 UTC Congratulations to the Lilburn Elementary School students, Jasmin, and mentor K4RGK! Watch the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlwg2rof0LA School of Telecommunications Engineering, ETSIT Valencia (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia), Valencia, Spain, direct via EA5RKP The ISS callsign was OR4ISS The crewmember was Loral O'Hara KI5TOM The ARISS mentor was IKØUSO Contact was successful: Fri 2024-02-09 08:12:46 UTC Congratulations to the ETSIT Valencia students, Loral, and mentor EA5RKP! Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMdKcM2Fw8 + Upcoming Contacts School TBD, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Nikolay Chub The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for 2024-02-15 08:20 UTC B. Russell High School, Rome, Italy, direct via IKØUSO) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled crewmember is Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor is IKØWGF Contact is go for: Thu 2024-02-15 11:32:10 UTC Baltic Federal University. I. Kanta, Kaliningrad, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Konstantin Borisov The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for Fri 2024-02-16 09:10 UTC The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html<https://gridmaster.fr> The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ________________________________ Upcoming Satellite Operations From Jonathan N4AKV: Next week I am hoping to head to a few of the FM grids, namely FM05, 06, 15, 16, 25, and 26. Plans and dates not finalized yet but will post here and on http://hams.at as usual when I figure them out. Hopefully GC will remain active. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information] ________________________________ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html 2024 CubeSat Developer's Workshop April 23-25, 2024 San Luis Obispo, CA https://www.cubesatdw.org/ Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says, Had a marvelous time last night with the South Pasadena (CA) ARC. BUT - I might have to "tighten up" my trivia questions throughout: They knew the answers IMMEDIATELY to all of them!!! Twenty-one members joined via Zoom. The rainstorms here made Zoom-ing the best-available option for the show. Next up: Bellingham WA, Orange County CA, and Brea CA! Think a lively and informative 75-minute presentation on "working the easy satellites" would be appropriate for your event or club? Just let us know! Clint Bradford K6LCS clint(a)k6lcs.org<mailto:[email protected]> 909-999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ________________________________ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store<https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear>! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AMSAT-Car-Flag-2…] ________________________________ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom successfully concluded its three-week private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by splashing down off the Florida coast on February 9th. Commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, KE5GTK, the Ax-3 mission lifted off on January 18 and included pilot Walter Villadei, IUØRWB, along with mission specialists Alper Gezeravcı, KJ5DIY, and Marcus Wandt, KJ5COO, who represented the European Space Agency. Despite a nearly week-long extension due to poor weather, the spacecraft's reentry and descent went according to plan, marking Axiom Space's third private astronaut mission to the ISS. This mission served as a precursor to Axiom's installation of commercial modules on the ISS, which will form the basis of a future standalone space station. Additionally, SpaceX announced plans for five or six crewed missions in 2024, including Ax-4 and NASA's Crew-8 and Crew-9 missions, while the Polaris Dawn mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is expected to launch in the summer for a historic Crew Dragon spacewalk. (ANS thanks Jeff Foust, SpaceNews, for the above information) + NASA's PACE satellite, aimed at studying ocean health, air quality, and climate change effects, was successfully launched into orbit at 1:33 a.m. EST on February 8th aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Signal acquisition was confirmed five minutes post-launch, with the satellite performing as anticipated. With instruments to study microscopic life in oceans and particles in the atmosphere, PACE aims to uncover crucial factors affecting global warming, aligning with the Biden-Harris Administration's climate agenda. The satellite's capabilities include tracking phytoplankton distribution globally and monitoring atmospheric aerosols and cloud properties. PACE's data will significantly advance understanding of the Earth system, particularly in relation to climate change impacts on oceans and phytoplankton dynamics, offering valuable insights for coastal communities and industries. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + NASA is preparing for the launch of Intuitive Machines' first lunar lander, Nova-C, as part of the CLPS initiative and Artemis campaign. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than 12:57 a.m. on February 14 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Nova-C lander is expected to land on the Moon on February 22, carrying NASA science and technology instruments for various purposes. Live launch coverage will be available on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website, starting from February 12. The payload includes instruments focusing on plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and communication/navigation for autonomous navigation technologies. NASA's virtual guest program allows the public to attend the launch virtually, and social media engagement is encouraged with the hashtag #Artemis. The CLPS initiative aims to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through partnerships with U.S. companies, with a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + Virgin Galactic has temporarily halted its operations after a small part, an alignment pin, unintentionally detached from the mothership of its rocket-powered space plane during the Galactic 06 space tourism flight on January 26. The company assured that the part's loss did not compromise the mission's safety. The alignment pin is crucial for pre-flight procedures, ensuring the spaceship aligns with the mothership. Virgin Galactic discovered the issue during routine checks and promptly notified government regulators on January 31. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will conduct a mishap investigation, requiring Virgin Galactic's final report and corrective actions approval before resuming flights. The alignment pin's absence did not affect the safety of the successful Galactic 06 mission, and the company plans to provide further updates after the FAA review for the upcoming Galactic 07 mission in the second quarter of 2024. (ANS thanks Jackie Wattles, CNN, for the above information) + Ongoing efforts persist in the bid to resolve the critical computer glitch affecting NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object in space, which has disrupted telemetry data transmission since November 14. The glitch, impacting the Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) developed five decades ago, has prevented access to vital information regarding the spacecraft's propulsion, power, and control systems. Suzanne Dodd, the Voyager project manager, acknowledges the severity of the situation, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the issue due to Voyager 1's age and declining nuclear battery power. A dedicated team of experts is actively crafting a plan to transmit commands aimed at isolating and potentially correcting the corrupted FDS memory. The unique challenge lies in the absence of simulators for testing commands, making decision-making a complex process requiring a delicate balance between thorough analysis and prompt action. Despite the intricate troubleshooting process, NASA remains resolute in its commitment to resolving the issue and ensuring the continued success of the historic Voyager 1 mission. (ANS thanks Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, for the above information) ________________________________ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. * Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half-time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org<http://amsat.org> for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week's ANS Editor, Mitch Ahrenstorff, ADØHJ ad0hj [at] amsat.org<http://amsat.org>

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ANS-035 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 03 Feb '24

03 Feb '24

*AMSAT *News Service*ANS-035* *February 4, 2024* In this edition: - AO-92 Reenters Earth's Atmosphere - The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon - Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) Amateur Telemetry Received - AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Release – v1.3 - VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of February 1, 2024 - Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 2, 2024 - Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency - ARISS News - Upcoming Satellite Operations - Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------ AO-92 Reenters Earth's Atmosphere After just over six years in orbit, Fox-1D, designated as AMSAT-OSCAR 92 (AO -92), likely re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 3, 2024 (Space-Track had not issued the final decay message as of the time of this writing.) AO-92 was a 1U CubeSat developed and built by AMSAT. It carried a single-channel transponder for mode U/v in FM and also had an L-band converter (the AMSAT L-band downshifter experiment), which allowed the FM transponder to be switched to an uplink in the 23 cm band. In addition to the transponders, the satellite carried the following scientific and technical payloads: - High Energy Radiation CubeSat (HERCI) built by the University of Iowa - Camera Experiment built by Virginia Tech - MEMS GYRO Experiment built by Penn State-Erie The satellite had a single whip antenna for the 70 cm and 23 cm bands (uplink), as well as an antenna for the 2m band (downlink). AO-92 was launched on January 12, 2018 at 03:59 UTC on an Indian PSLV XL rocket, along with the main payloads Cartosat-2F, NovaSAR-S, and 31 other small satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, India. At 05:17 UTC, the antennas were deployed over the North Pole and the satellite began to operate. At 05:28 UTC the first telemetry was received. On the 03:25 UTC pass on January 26, 2018, AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, announced that AO-92 had been commissioned and formally turned the satellite over to AMSAT Operations. AMSAT Vice President – Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, then declared that AO-92 was open for amateur use. *Rick Behma, VE4AMU, working AO-92 in Mode L/v with a Kenwood TM-941 mobile transceiver and Comet CYA-1216E yagi crossed with 2 meter Arrow II elements.* In addition to a very popular U/v transponder, the satellite provided a couple of unique capabilities. First was the L-band downshifter experiment, which was generally activated for 24 hours each Sunday while the satellite was able to support it. Pre-launch estimates suggested that approximately 100 watts ERP would be required to access the satellite, but much lower power outputs proved to be usable. Many stations operated through the satellite with radios such as the Alinco DJ-G7T at 1 watt of output into handheld antennas of between between 10 and 16 elements. At least one station reported accessing the satellite with just a simple whip antenna on 23 cm. The camera, developed by students at Virginia Tech, also proved to be popular and delivered many good pictures, with the last photos received on September 19, 2020. An archive of all of the photos captured by ground stations can be found at https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4. <https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4> The distance record on AO-92's U/v mode was 5,011 km - a transatlantic QSO between F4DXV and VE1VOX that took place on August 10, 2020. The record via the L/v mode was 4,202 km between OA4/XQ3SA and XE1MEX on June 3, 2020. By early 2021, the aging NiCd cells - having been purchased in the early 2010s along with the rest of the Fox-1 battery cells - had degraded to the point where the satellite was entering safe mode on every eclipse. It was rarely operational in recent months. The transponder was occasionally turned on, but usually defaulted into "Safe Mode" at the next eclipse. The last telemetry frame was received from the satellite on October 27, 2023 at 01:36 UTC. By every measure, AO-92 was a tremendously successful amateur radio satellite, providing educational and research benefits to AMSAT's university partners, as well as providing several years of reliable FM communication for amateurs. Its useful life far exceeded the average operational lifespan for commercial or educational CubeSats. *[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information]* ------------------------------ The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon *A rendering of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on the lunar surface. [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, image]* The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed their Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on January 19, 2024. Just before touchdown, SLIM released two small lunar surface probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2. LEV-2 collects data while moving on the lunar surface, and LEV-1 receives the data. The JAXA Ham Radio Club (JHRC), JQ1ZVI, secured amateur radio license JS1YMG for LEV-1, which has been transmitting Morse code on 437.41 MHz since January 19. The probe uses a 1 W UHF antenna with circular polarization and is transmitting "matters related to amateur business." Radio amateurs have been busy analyzing JS1YMG's signal, with Daniel Estévez's, EA4GPZ, blog <https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/> introducing the method and extraction results for demodulating Morse code from the signal, as well as extracting the code string. It's unclear how long signals will be heard. JAXA has said that SLIM was not designed to survive a lunar night, which lasts about 14 days, and is due to return in a few days. SLIM was launched on September 6, 2023, and landed on January 19, 2024, with the mission of analyzing the composition of rocks to aid research about the origin of the moon. SLIM's landing made Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the moon. The landing was achieved with exceptional precision -- within 180 feet of its targeted touchdown location. *[ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information]* ------------------------------ *The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.**Join <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> the AMSAT President’s Club today!* <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/2024-coin-both_586/#ma…> ------------------------------ Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) Amateur Telemetry Received The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed on January 20, 2024, that the Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1), a small robot deployed from the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), successfully conducted activities on the lunar surface. The telemetry data were sent directly from the small robot. According to telemetry data, after deployment from SLIM, LEV-1 executed planned leaping movements and direct communication with ground stations, including inter-robot test radio wave data transmission from the Transformable Lunar Robot (LEV-2, nicknamed "SORA-Q"). On the other hand, image acquisition on the lunar surface has not been confirmed as of now. Currently, LEV-1 has completed its planned operational period on the lunar surface, depleted its designated power, and is in a standby state on the lunar surface. While the capability to resume activity exists contingent on solar power generation from changes in the direction of the sun, efforts will be maintained to continue receiving signals from LEV-1. Both LEV-1 and LEV-2 have become Japan's first lunar exploration robots. Additionally, the small LEV-1 with a mass of 2.1 kg (including a 90g communication device), achieved successful direct communication with Earth from the moon. This is considered as the world's smallest and lightest case of direct data transmission from approximately 380,000 kilometers away. Furthermore, the accomplishment of LEV-1's leaping movements on the lunar surface, inter-robot communication between LEV-1 and LEV-2, and fully autonomous operations represent groundbreaking achievement. It would be regarded as a valuable technology demonstration for future lunar explorations, and the acquired knowledge and experience will be applied in upcoming missions. Moreover, the transmission of UHF band radio waves from LEV-1 as part of outreach efforts has encouraged participation from amateur radio operators globally, and we have been receiving reports of successful signal receptions. This initiative provided an opportunity for the public to be directly engaged in lunar exploration missions. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the LEV-1 mission. LEV-1 has an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) coordinated downlink frequency of 437.410 MHz. A detailed report on receiving and decoding LEV-1 telemetry has been prepared by Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ/M0HXM. It can be found at https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/ An earlier summary of LEV-1 design and specifications is at https://robotics.isas.jaxa.jp/lev /LEV_HAM_Club.html. *[ANS thanks the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ/M0HXM, for the above information]* ------------------------------ AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Release – v1.3 You might have heard about it or seen it at Hamvention or Symposium, but the official release of the new Beta CubeSatSim hardware and software is finally here!! The new beta PCB board set v1.3 is shown in Figure 1, the new board stack is shown in Figure 2, and the new frame and solar panels is in Figure 3. *Figure 1. AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta PCB Board Set. From left to right, battery board, STEM Payload board, and Solar board (the replacement for the Main board)* *Figure 2. AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Board Stack* *Figure 3. AMSAT CubSatSim Beta Frame and Solar Panel* Here are some links to information about the Beta release: The software for the beta release is here: https://CubeSatSim.org/beta <https://cubesatsim.org/beta> The beta wiki instructions are here: https://CubeSatSim.org/wiki-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/wiki-beta> The beta Bill of Materials (BOM) is here: https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/bom-beta> The beta hardware files are here: https://CubeSatSim.org/hardware-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/hardware-beta> The beta frame STL files for 3D printing are here: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/tree/beta/hardware/frame/v1.3.2 Information about the latest beta software release is here: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/releases/tag/v1.3.2 The AMSAT CubeSatSim is a low-cost, fully functional open source model of a CubeSat nano-satellite. It has the following features: - Working solar panels and rechargeable batteries - Multi-channel voltage, current, and temperature telemetry transmitted in the Amateur Radio UHF band generated by a Raspberry Pi Zero single board computer - Telemetry decoding using AMSAT's FoxTelem software or APRS software - STEM Payload board with Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller with sensors - Tape measure dipole or SMA antenna with integrated Low Pass Filter - 3D printed frame Here is a summary of the changes with the new beta hardware and software: - New FM transceiver module for better frequency stability and simple command and control receiver to change telemetry modes using RF - More modern and cheaper Raspberry Pi Pico micro controller on STEM Payload board - Easily connect additional sensors for the Pico or Pi using the Qwiic connector system (https://www.sparkfun.com/qwiic ) - SSTV camera images now display callsign and battery status overlay - Can be modified to fly as a balloon payload with 500mW FM output for SSTV, APRS, or CW transmissions with software support on Pico for a serial GPS module - Lower parts cost and easier to source. All parts can now be sourced from electronics distributors and Amazon including easy to find solar panels. New BOM uses Octopart electronic part inventory site with one click distributor ordering (https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta <https://cubesatsim.org/bom-beta>) - Redesigned for blue INA219 voltage and current sensors instead of more expensive purple ones - Battery board now has integrated voltage and current sensor - Simpler electrical power system with no boost converter or charge control modules - Kits can be built with through hole parts except for a few surface mount parts. Fully assembled boards will hopefully be available in the future using SMT parts - Transmit and receive frequencies easily configurable from default 434.9 MHz and 435 MHz *During this beta period, we ask for your help in testing the new hardware and software and making sure that all the instructions and documentation are accurate. To help with this, I am pleased to announce that past purchasers of the CubeSatSim v1 PCB board sets are eligible for a free beta v1.3.2 set of PCB boards. Just email me ku2y at arrl.net <http://arrl.net>! I will verify the order and ship you a new set of 3 blank boards. The boards will have the surface mount components already mounted. The first one hundred who contact me in the next three months will be eligible to receive them. For other orders, you will be able to choose between the v1 boards or the new beta v1.3.2 boards.* 73, Alan Johnston, PhD KU2Y AMSAT Vice President for Educational Relations P.S. AMSAT has CubeSatSim Loaners available to ship to your event or presentation or STEM outreach activity – just contact me if you have an upcoming event email at ku2y at arrl.net or on social media at @[email protected] <http://%[email protected]/> *[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational Relations for the above information]* ------------------------------ VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of February 1, 2024VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary January 01, 2024 to February 01, 2024 Call 1-Jan 1-Feb WC7V 1451 1457 N8RO 1401 1423 W5CBF 1224 1326 DL5GAC New 1300 DF2ET 1102 1200 KF7R 1075 1100 N0JE 1075 1100 N3GS 986 1038 OZ9AAR 900 1000 N8JCM New 917 EA2AA 875 883 KQ4DO 827 853 W8LR 825 841 W2GDJ 705 822 FG8OJ 737 801 VU2LBW 603 751 WD9EWK (DM43) 734 736 JL1SAM 601 700 N8MR 658 675 AF5CC 646 651 JG6CDH 553 605 N6UTC 551 600 WB7VUF 555 572 N5EKO 500 550 N3CAL 480 525 F6GLJ 400 501 N7ZO 350 501 DL6KBG 331 500 SA0UNX 362 463 LA6OP New 458 AD2DD 356 403 KF2T 111 399 N6PAZ 350 369 JH8RZJ New 328 AG4W 161 314 JI5USJ 236 301 AA0MZ 276 277 NJ2DX 100 260 IK8YTA 162 243 N7GR 205 226 KR7LD New 211 PY2YJ 150 210 WD9EWK (DM22) 198 200 WD9EWK (DM31) 187 195 IK0WRB 123 174 W0SX New 134 WK7G New 118 K7AXA New 104 SP7JS New 104 W6CZ New 103 YO6OEV New 103 BA7LVG New 100 Congratulations to the new VUCC holders! W6CZ is first VUCC Satellite holder from DM07 W0SX is first VUCC Satellite holder from DM37 LA6OP is First VUCC Satellite holder from JP67 YO6OEV is First VUCC Satellite holder from KN26 SP7JS is First VUCC Satellite holder from KO00 BA7LVG is First VUCC Satellite holder from OL63 DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary January 01, 2024 to February 01, 2024 Call 1-Jan 1-Feb HB9BZA 158 188 PS8ET 160 178 F4BKV 150 171 G4GIR 163 167 PA3FWP 127 157 EA2AA 154 156 I3BUI 142 155 AC4G 151 152 OZ9AAR 125 151 EA6VQ 127 145 HB9RYZ 141 145 IK4CIE 133 143 HB9GWJ 129 134 RA3DNC 107 131 W5CBF 100 130 DL2QB 100 120 LA0FA 102 109 N3GS 100 108 IK8YTA New 100 Congratulations to the new DXCC Satellite holders! IK8YTA is first DXCC Satellite holder from JN70 *[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information]* ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 2, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution. *[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]* ------------------------------ *Need new satellite antennas? Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the **AMSAT Store! <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/>**When you purchase through **AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards **Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* ------------------------------ Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency On Thursday, January 25, 2024 S5Lab posted on X that the GreenCube (IO-117) Digipeater would be permanently deactivated on February 5th. Designed and developed by students of Sapienza University of Rome, IO-117 is the first satellite to carry an amateur radio payload into a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of approximately 6,000 km. The message from S5Lab read: *Dear Friends,* *After one year and a half of operations, it is time to conclude the GreenCube operations with the planned de-commissioning activities. After the conclusion of the nominal experiment and with the digipeater payload active for more than one year, we will perform the passivation operations for the satellite.* *The planned passivation operations will be executed on Monday, 5 February 2024, at 00:00 UTC. From that day, GreenCube will be completely passivated and the digipeater will be switched off for good.* *We want to thank everyone that endorsed, supported or participated in the mission and the radio amateur community that enthusiastically became a true part of our project. We hope that GreenCube will somehow be part of your memories of radio amateurs, space engineering enthusiasts, and we hope to involve you soon in many more adventures.* *Thanks once again for the unbelievable memories shared together… See you soon!* *The GreenCube Team at S5Lab* That afternoon, AMSAT sent a letter to S5Lab <https://www.amsat.org/amsat-responds-planned-decommissioning-io-117-greencu…> expressing the organization's desire to leverage our decades of experience and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping IO-117 in service for as long as possible. AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-F, and other amateur satellite organizations also expressed similar sentiments. Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, began a petition on change.org <https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greencube-satellite-digipeater> that garnered over 1,500 signatures from amateur radio operators around the world in one week. On the afternoon of Friday, February 2, 2024, AMSAT Italia made the following announcement: *AMSAT Italia would like to inform the amateur community that its request to the Italian Space Agency, the owner of the GREENCUBE satellite, to reconsider its decision of decommissioning the satellite is under evaluation.* *Waiting for its decision, IO-117 is still operational.* *The GreenCube satellite was born as a scientific experiment placed in MEO orbit which successfully concluded its mission.* *IO-117 is the HAM Radio part of the satellite consisting of a digipeter which was promoted by AMSAT Italia and coordinated by IARU-R1.* *At the moment AMSAT Italia is committed to promoting the continuation of the mission for the HAM Radio part of Greencube.* *AMSAT Italia BoD* During its lifetime, IO-117 has proved to be a popular resource, allowing amateurs all over the world to obtain ARRL's Worked All States (WAS) and DX Century Club (DXCC) awards via satellite and to boost their VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) grid totals. A strong presence by Japanese amateurs has allowed many to work all the Japanese prefectures. A few DXpeditions, such as TX5S to Clipperton Island, have also brought gear for IO-117 along and provided rare DX entities via satellite. Multiple future DXpeditions also plan IO-117 activities. AMSAT is hopeful that the satellite's lifetime can be extended. *[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-IT, AMSAT, Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, and S5Lab for the above information]* ------------------------------ ARISS News Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *Lilburn Elementary School, Lilburn, GA, direct via K4RGK* The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled crewmember is Jasmin Moghbeli KI5WSL The ARISS mentor is K4RGK Contact is go for: Wed 2024-02-07 14:24:10 UTC 57 deg *School of Telecommunications Engineering, ETSIT Valencia (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia), Valencia, Spain, direct via EA5RKP* The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled crewmember is Loral O’Hara KI5TOM The ARISS mentor is IKØUSO Contact is go for: Fri 2024-02-09 08:12:46 UTC 31 deg *School TBD, Russia, direct via TBD* The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Nikolay Chub The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for 2024-02-15 08:20 UTC The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html *[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]* ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite OperationsIO-117!! JR5JAQ/6 will be QRV from *PM53* and *PM62* in *Oita prefecture* for a few days. He will also be active from *PM62* in *Miyazaki prefecture* later in the week. Check hams.at for individual pass times. JS3KKT/3 will be QRV from *PM74* (prefecture unknown) just one day before the planned passivation of Greencube. Refer to hams.at for additional info. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. *[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information]* ------------------------------ * Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store <https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear>! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says, "Think a 75-minute presentation on "working the easy satellites" would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!" Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences. Scheduled Events *Orlando HamCation 2024* Friday February 9th through Sunday February 11th, 2024 Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park 4603 West Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida 32808 https://www.hamcation.com *40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight* Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html *2024 CubeSat Developer’s Workshop* April 23-25, 2024 San Luis Obispo, CA https://www.cubesatdw.org/ *Dayton Hamvention 2024* Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org *[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]* ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts from All Over + NASA announced the crew assignments on January 31 for the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. They will join Expedition 71 and 72 crew members no earlier than August, and will arrive at the space station for a short duration handover with NASA's SpaceX Crew-8. Launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft will be NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman, Pilot Nick Hague, KG5TMV, and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov. The four crew members are preparing to conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities, including ARISS contacts. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + After more than 3 years in orbit, AO-109 remains operational and usable for QSOs using modes such as FT4 despite extremely low power output. SSB QSOs are also possible with high gain receive antennas. Due to a failed final power amplifier transistor, the total output power of AO-109 is approximately 8 mW. + YouTube channel Ham Radio Crash Course has featured IO-117 in two recent videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjW3XOKCmBo and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn_qPVoue3A ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. - Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. *73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *This week's ANS Editor,* *Paul Stoetzer, N8HM* *n8hm [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* *ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002*

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ANS-033 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency
by Paul Stoetzer 02 Feb '24

02 Feb '24

*AMSAT *News Service Special Bulletin*ANS-033* *February 2, 2024* In this edition: - Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------ Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency Moments ago, the AMSAT News Service received the following announcement from AMSAT Italia regarding IO-117 (GreenCube): *AMSAT Italia would like to inform the amateur community that its request to the Italian Space Agency, the owner of the GREENCUBE satellite, to reconsider its decision of decommissioning the satellite is under evaluation.* *Waiting for its decision, IO-117 is still operational.* *The GreenCube satellite was born as a scientific experiment placed in MEO orbit which successfully concluded its mission.* *IO-117 is the HAM Radio part of the satellite consisting of a digipeter which was promoted by AMSAT Italia and coordinated by IARU-R1.* *At the moment AMSAT Italia is committed to promoting the continuation of the mission for the HAM Radio part of Greencube.* *AMSAT Italia BoD* *[ANS thanks AMSAT Italia for the above information]* ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. - Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. *73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *This week's ANS Contributing Editor,* *Paul Stoetzer, N8HM* *n8hm [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* *ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002*

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ANS-028 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Jan. 28
by Mark Johns, K0JM 27 Jan '24

27 Jan '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-028 In this edition: - IO-117 GreenCube to cease operating on February 5 - AMSAT Responds to Scheduled Decommisioning of IO-117 - Apogee View - New, Portable Antenna Satellite Antenna Design is Perfect for ECOM - AMSAT Thanks 2023 President’s Club Members - Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 26, 2024 - ARISS News - Upcoming Satellite Operations - Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. *Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat [dot] org.* You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-028 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 JAN 28 IO-117 GreenCube to cease operating on February 5 At 1622 GMT on Thursday, January 25, 2024 @S5Lab posted on X that the GreenCube IO-117 Digipeater would be permanently deactivated on February 5. Designed and developed by students of Sapienza University of Rome, GreenCube IO-117 was the first satellite to carry an amateur radio payload into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) – 6,000 km. The S5Lab post on X said: Dear Friends, After one year and a half of operations, it is time to conclude the GreenCube operations with the planned de-commissioning activities. After the conclusion of the nominal experiment and with the digipeater payload active for more than one year, we will perform the passivation operations for the satellite. The planned passivation operations will be executed on Monday, 5 February 2024, at 00:00 UTC. From that day, GreenCube will be completely passivated and the digipeater will be switched off for good. We want to thank everyone that endorsed, supported or participated in the mission and the radio amateur community that enthusiastically became a true part of our project. We hope that GreenCube will somehow be part of your memories of radio amateurs, space engineering enthusiasts, and we hope to involve you soon in many more adventures. Thanks once again for the unbelievable memories shared together… See you soon! The GreenCube Team at S5Lab [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] ------------------------------ AMSAT Responds to Scheduled Decommisioning of IO-117 AMSAT leadership, as were all amateurs, saddened to learn that S5Lab plans to decommission IO-117 (GreenCube) and execute a passivation operation on February 5, 2024. AMSAT stands ready to leverage its decades of experience and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping IO-117 in service for as long as possible. This afternoon, AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, sent the following letter to S5Lab expressing its desire to provide any support it can to keep the satellite in operation. January 25, 2024 Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory (S5Lab) Sapienza University of Rome Via Email To The GreenCube Team: Over the past 13+ months, amateur satellite operators around the world have enjoyed the use of the digipeater on GreenCube (IO-117). As amateur radio’s first satellite in a medium earth orbit (MEO), it has opened worldwide long-distance contacts via amateur radio satellite that had not been possible since the loss of AMSAT-OSCAR 40 in 2004. As this letter is being written, a DXpedition to Clipperton Island in the Pacific Ocean has made contact with several hundred amateur operators around the world – the first activation of this rare location on amateur satellite in over 30 years. AMSAT and the amateur satellite community greatly appreciate your team making this wonderful resource available. Not only has this satellite been a great resource to the amateur community, but the amateur community has also assisted GreenCube’s mission by uploading millions of frames of data received – including much data from when the satellite is not within the primary ground station’s footprint. Launches above low earth orbit are rarely available for amateur satellite missions. Since the first amateur radio satellite launched in 1962, fewer than ten have gone to orbits beyond LEO and only QO-100 (available to only part of the world) and IO-117 remain in service. Due to the unique orbit and capabilities, we request that S5Lab postpone the scheduled passivation operation and keep the satellite’s digipeater in service. Amateur satellites have a long tradition of extended lifetimes. Amateur radio operators still utilize AMSAT-OSCAR 7 – launched nearly fifty years ago in 1974 – for communications on a daily basis. Many other amateur radio satellites have been actively used for ten to twenty years. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our 55 years of experience in managing amateur radio satellites and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping GreenCube in service for as long as possible. Sincerely, Robert Bankston, KE4AL President Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.] *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and helpKeep Amateur Radio in Space!https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-clu <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club>*b <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club> *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* Apogee View As 2023 comes to a close, it is a great time to reflect on where we are, what we have accomplished, and what is waiting for us over the next horizon. 2023 has passed by so quickly. Our presence at Hamcation led right into Hamvention, followed by our annual Symposium. We shared the AMSAT story with attendees at the CubeSat Developers Workshop and developed strategic contacts with others in the space industry. Our engineers on the GOLF team found a solution for an attitude determination and control system – a major sticking point in developing GOLF-TEE. The Fox Plus team made significant progress, with the possibility of being able to launch their first satellite at the end of the coming year. Our volunteers in the ASCENT program developed a new packet radio that will fly on an upcoming Fox Plus mission and started work on a software-defined radio (SDR) that will add greater flexibility to how we communicate in future flights. Additionally, if that was not enough, our Education and CubeSat Simulator team is nearing completion of the new v1.3 AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, which incorporates a Raspberry Pi Pico microprocessor. AMSAT should… Not a day goes by when an AMSAT member does not recommend a great idea to advance amateur radio in space, expand our communications footprint, educate new satellite operators, and make our organization more efficient. While I would love to implement each and every one of them, we do not have the resources to make it happen. While we have never been in a better position financially, we need to have the necessary people to bring all these great ideas and dreams into reality. AMSAT is an all-volunteer organization. As such, we rely on our members to not only invest their hard-earned dollars but also roll up their sleeves to design, build, and launch amateur radio payloads into space. Being short-staffed is not the end of the world, nor does it mean we must give up on our dreams. We just need to find creative ways to make it happen. One solution is to partner with other AMSAT organizations worldwide on future satellite projects. We have already proven that together, we can accomplish so much more. Additionally, we can outsource some of the basic satellite systems and components we have already mastered and focus our limited human resources on developing new technologies and communication methods. When AMSAT was formed in 1969, we were the only game in town. Now, you can’t google satellites without stumbling across a trove of commercial vendors who offer complete, flight-proven satellite packages with just a click of a button. This same outsourcing principle can be applied not only to building satellites but to our administrative and back-office tasks, as well. We desperately need someone to assist in providing the quality of service that our members deserve, and our website seriously needs a complete makeover and rewrite. In closing, I want to thank each of our volunteers and members personally. None of this would have been possible without your hard work, dedication, and support. We have an opportunity to achieve so much more with you. As we move forward into the coming year and beyond, I hope your generosity will continue. Until the next time, 73! [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President for the above information.] ------------------------------ New, Portable Antenna Satellite Antenna Design is Perfect for ECOM Researchers at Stanford University and the American University of Beirut (AUB) have developed a portable antenna that could be quickly deployed in disaster-prone areas or used to set up communications in underdeveloped regions. The antenna, described recently in Nature Communications, packs down to a small size and can easily shift between two configurations to communicate either with satellites or devices on the ground. “The state-of-the-art solutions typically employed in [disaster] areas are heavy, metallic dishes. They’re not easy to move around, they require a lot of power to operate, and they’re not particularly cost-effective,” said Maria Sakovsky, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford. The antenna designed by Sakovsky and her colleagues at AUB is made of fiber composites (a material often used in satellites) and resembles a child’s finger-trap toy, with multiple strips of material crossing in spirals. Just like any helix-based antenna, conductive material running through the antenna sends out signals, but thanks to its unique structure, the researchers can adjust the pattern and power of those signals in the new antenna by pulling it into longer shapes or shorter shapes. “Because we wanted the antenna to be able to collapse into a packable shape, we started with this structure that led us to a very untraditional antenna design,” Sakovsky said. At its most compact, the antenna is a hollow ring that stands just over 1 inch tall and about 5 inches across – not much larger than a bracelet – and weighs 1.4 ounces. In this shape, it’s able to reach satellites with a high-power signal sent in a particular direction. When stretched out to about a foot tall, the antenna sends a lower power signal in all directions. “The frequency you want to operate at will dictate how large the antenna needs to be, but we’ve been able to show that no matter what frequency you operate at, you can scale this design principle to achieve the same performance,” Sakovsky said. To be deployed in the field, the antenna would need to be paired with a transceiver to send and receive signals, a ground plane to reflect radio waves, and other electronics, but the whole package would still only weigh about 2 pounds. Read the complete story at http://tinyurl.com/ANS-028-Antenna. [ANS thanks Stanford News and Space Daily for the above information.] *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* * Need new satellite antennas? Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/>* *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* AMSAT Thanks 2023 President’s Club Members AMSAT gratefully recognizes the generous members of the 2023 AMSAT President’s Club. These AMSAT members together contributed $52,542 in 2023 to support AMSAT’s continuing innovations in engineering and educational programs. Since its inception three years ago, President’s Club members have raised well over $150,000 as AMSAT prepares for Amateur Radio’s continued presence in space with the Fox Plus and GOLF programs. AMSAT invites you to become a member of this select group by visiting the announcement at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/. <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> *TITANIUM LEVEL ($4,800+)* Anonymous Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA William Brown, K9LF *PLATINUM LEVEL ($2,400+)* Steve Belter, N9IP Doug Tabor, N6UA *GOLD LEVEL ($1,200+)* John Botti, KC8OKB Burns Fisher, WB1FJ Mark Hammond, N8MH Frank Karnauskas, N1UW John Kludt, K7SYS Glenn Miller, AA5PK Mary Monteiro Michael Stipick, KC4RI *SILVER LEVEL ($600+)* Warren Fugate, W3WE Mark Johns, K0JM Joseph Lynch, N6CL Thomas Oates, KQ4FJW Bruce Paige, KK5DO Peter Pendergast, W2PP Scott Shaheen, WB8OOJ Jason Schwarz, N4JJS *BRONZE LEVEL ($300+)* Allen Kenny, KK4AK Edward Krome, K9EK Donald Lum, WA6ICW Bruce Perens, K6BP Donald Pettigrew, K9ECT Barbara Simpson, KA5CFB Dave Taylor, W8AAS James Tittsler, 7J1AJH David Vine, WA1EAW *CORE LEVEL ($120+)* Arlan Arrison, KB2AYU David Batzie, N2VDY Randy Berger, WA0D Alan Boggs, K7IIV George Carr, WA5KBH Jim Clary, ND9M Richard Dittmer, KB7SAT Todd Dugdale, KD0TLS Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Stephan Greene, KS1G David Hartrum, WA3YDZ Brian Lopeman, KI7WXP Art Payne, VE3GNF Thomas Schaefer, NY4I Larry Schroeder, KD4HSL Martin Shinko, KB3AEV Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Stefan Wagener, VE4NSA Jeremy Wyatt, KA2PFD David York, N8SGZ [ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT VP – Development for the above information.] *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* *Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stufffrom our Zazzle store!25% of the purchase price of each product goestowards Keeping Amateur Radio in Spacehttps://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gea <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear>*r <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear> *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 26, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution: DCBB NORAD Cat ID 40912 Decayed from orbit on or about 21 January 2024 [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information.] ------------------------------ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. *Upcoming Contacts* Omer Cemile Guler Imam Hatip Secondary School, Konya, Selcuklu, Turkey, telebridge via VK4KHZ. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be TC100ISS. The scheduled crewmember is Alper Gezeravci, KJ5DIY. The ARISS mentor is ON6TI. Contact is go for Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 13:36:20 UTC. Bandirma Sehit Guvenc Anatolian High School, Balikesir, Bandirma, Turkey, telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be TC100ISS. The scheduled crewmember is Alper Gezeravci, KJ5DIY. The ARISS mentor is ON6TI. Contact is go for: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 12:10:37 UTC. Bilingual Montessori School of Lund (Stiftelsen BMSL), Lund, Sweden, telebridge via VK4KHZ. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled crewmember is Marcus Wandt, KJ5COO. The ARISS mentor is ON6TI. Contact is go for: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 12:48:03 UTC. Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering, Huntsville, AL, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled crewmember is Jasmin Moghbeli, KI5WSL. The ARISS mentor is W4NTR. Contact is go for: Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 17:31:46 UTC. Thrive Home School Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, direct via AFØS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled crewmember is Loral O’Hara, KI5TOM. The ARISS mentor is KD8COJ. Contact is go for: Friday, February 2, 2024 at 18:17:46 UTC. *Completed Contacts* IC Statale Villa Guardia, Villa Guardia, Italy, telebridge via ZS6JON. The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The crewmember was Walter Villadei, IUØRWB. The ARISS mentor was IZ2GOJ. Contact was successful on Monday, January 22, 2024 at 09:35 UTC. Watch the Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQUWMww9yE. Istituto Comprensivo “Anna Rita Sidoti”, Gioiosa Marea, Italy, direct via IT9DBI. The ISS callsign was IRØISS. The crewmember was Walter Villadei, IUØRWB. The ARISS mentor was IKØWGF. Contact was successful on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 14:37 UTC. Center for Children’s (Youth) Technical Creativity “Young Motorist”, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, direct via UB3T. The ISS callsign was RSØISS. The crewmember was Konstantin Borisov. The ARISS mentor was RV3DR. Contact was successful on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 15:30 UTC. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The Service Module radio, the Kenwood D710GA, normally operating as a APRS packet repeater is currently stowed. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information.] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations None currently listed. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information.] ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. - Orlando HamCation 2024 Friday February 9th through Sunday February 11th, 2024 Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park 4603 West Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida 32808 https://www.hamcation.com - 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html - 2024 CubeSat Developer’s Workshop April 23-25, 2024 San Luis Obispo, CA https://www.cubesatdw.org/ - Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) was named Partner of the Month of the International Space Station National Laboratory, which is managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Using amateur radio, ARISS offers students around the world opportunities to talk with astronauts on the International Space Station. A primary goal of ARISS is to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects and careers among young students. ARISS is a cooperative venture of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, and other international space agencies and international amateur radio organizations around the world. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information.] - Ingenuity, the little Mars helicopter that could, can’t anymore. At least one rotor broke during the robotic flying machine’s most recent flight last week, NASA officials announced on Thursday. Ingenuity remains in contact with its companion, the Perseverance rover, which has been exploring a dried-up riverbed for signs of extinct Martian life. Ingenuity will now be left behind. [ANS thanks the New York Times for the above information.] - The International Space Station might keep flying past 2030. A senior NASA official said there is “no big concern” about the health of the International Space Station (ISS) that would require an operational stop six years from now, when the current agreement expires between most of the ISS partners. “There’s nothing magical that happens in 2030,” according to Steve Stich, the manager of the commercial crew program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Stich said NASA is eyeing the progress of commercial space stations that will host agency astronauts and science in the 2030s. “We want them [the commercial stations] to be supportive, and then when they’re ready to go, that’s when ISS will move out of the way.” [ANS thanks the Space.com for the above information.] ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. - Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw [at] amsat [dot] org

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ANS-025 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Responds to Planned Decommissioning of IO-117 (GreenCube)
by Paul Stoetzer 25 Jan '24

25 Jan '24

*AMSAT *News Service Special Bulletin*ANS-025* *January 25, 2024* In this edition: - AMSAT Responds to Planned Decommissioning of IO-117 (GreenCube) The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------ AMSAT Responds to Planned Decommissioning of IO-117 (GreenCube) We were saddened to learn this morning that S5Lab plans to decommission IO-117 (GreenCube) and execute a passivation operation on February 5, 2024. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our decades of experience and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping IO-117 in service for as long as possible. This afternoon, AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, sent the following letter to S5Lab expressing our desire to provide any support we can to keep the satellite in operation. January 25, 2024 Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory (S5Lab) Sapienza University of Rome Via Email To The GreenCube Team: Over the past 13+ months, amateur satellite operators around the world have enjoyed the use of the digipeater on GreenCube (IO-117). As amateur radio’s first satellite in a medium earth orbit (MEO), it has opened worldwide long-distance contacts via amateur radio satellite that had not been possible since the loss of AMSAT-OSCAR 40 in 2004. As this letter is being written, a DXpedition to Clipperton Island in the Pacific Ocean has made contact with several hundred amateur operators around the world – the first activation of this rare location on amateur satellite in over 30 years. AMSAT and the amateur satellite community greatly appreciate your team making this wonderful resource available. Not only has this satellite been a great resource to the amateur community, but the amateur community has also assisted GreenCube’s mission by uploading millions of frames of data received – including much data from when the satellite is not within the primary ground station’s footprint. Launches above low earth orbit are rarely available for amateur satellite missions. Since the first amateur radio satellite launched in 1962, fewer than ten have gone to orbits beyond LEO and only QO-100 (available to only part of the world) and IO-117 remain in service. Due to the unique orbit and capabilities, we request that S5Lab postpone the scheduled passivation operation and keep the satellite’s digipeater in service. Amateur satellites have a long tradition of extended lifetimes. Amateur radio operators still utilize AMSAT-OSCAR 7 – launched nearly fifty years ago in 1974 – for communications on a daily basis. Many other amateur radio satellites have been actively used for ten to twenty years. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our 55 years of experience in managing amateur radio satellites and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping GreenCube in service for as long as possible. Sincerely, Robert Bankston, KE4AL President Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) A PDF copy of this letter can be found at https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Letter-from-AMSA… *[ANS thanks AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information]* ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: - Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). - Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. - Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. - Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. *73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *This week's ANS Editor,* *Paul Stoetzer, N8HM* *n8hm [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* *ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002*

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RE-SENT: ANS-021 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark Johns, K0JM 21 Jan '24

21 Jan '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-021 [RE-SENT IN PLAIN TEXT MODE] In this edition: * Microwave Ambitions for GOLF Satellites * All-Ham Axiom Crew Launched for Commercial Visit to ISS * AMSAT Argentina Celebrates 34 Years of LUSAT * AMSAT Volunteers Needed For the Upcoming 2024 Orlando Hamcation * IO-117 Project Group Presents the IO-117 Code of Conduct * NASA Program Empowers Students for EZIE-Mag CubeSat Mission * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jan. 18 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-021 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 JAN 21 Microwave Ambitions for GOLF Satellites Recently AMSAT News Service had the opportunity to interview Zach Metzinger, NØZGO, AMSAT Director and Volunteer Engineer, about the work that is being done to add microwave communication bands to the GOLF satellites. ANS: “Zach, I understand that AMSAT will add microwave capability to the new GOLF CubeSat satellites, currently in design and evaluation. Is this correct?” ZM: “Yes, that is correct! AMSAT had microwave capabilities in earlier satellites such as AO-10 and AO-40 and only a 1.2GHz downshifter on the newer CubeSats, that is the Fox series of satellites. The GOLF (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint) satellites are currently under development. GOLF-TEE is the first of these satellites and is the technology demonstrator for the GOLF series, which is in turn the successor to the FOX satellites. GOLF-TEE will have more capability as we increase the capability and functionality of our satellites, including adding microwave bands. “ ANS: “What is driving this increased functionality of the GOLF series?” ZM: “Due to new orbital debris regulations, the FCC will require us to be able to be able to move as well as deorbit satellites, so we are adding the ability to orient and steer the satellite. While this adds complexity, it will also help us to improve the functionality of the satellite. For example: We will now be able to have the satellite maintain direction and orientation which will allow us to point the antenna for improved gain. This increased functionality is causing the increase in size. The GOLF satellites are a 3U size satellite, that is 30 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm. (The predecessor FOX satellites are 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm.) With the increase in size, we can also add other functionality, in this case the microwave capability we are discussing here today.” ANS: “Can you tell us a little about how this is implemented?” ZM: “While GOLF-TEE will have the usual 2m uplink and 70 cm downlink bands, it will also have an X-band (10 GHz) downlink transmitter. The 10 GHz SSPA board has already been demonstrated and works well. The 10 GHz SSPA has a peak power of 1 watt. “We will also use a Software Defined Radio (SDR) which we will purchase. (For the development and demonstration, we have been using the Ettus E310 radio.) This will enable many simultaneous uplink bands, for example 1.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.7 GHz, etc. The whole system is very flexible. For example, the microwave antenna will support frequencies from 1 GHz to 26 GHz.” ANS: “It is very exciting to hear about these improved capabilities. What are the next steps?” ZM: “We continue to test the system and tweak the hardware. We will be ready to be on GOLF-TEE, which is estimated to launch in the second quarter of 2025. If it works well, it could be turned on for general use, but of course we will have to see. We definitely plan to have the microwave bands operational on succeeding GOLF satellites. One more tidbit of information that folks may find interesting: The orbit for GOLF-TEE will be LEO. The next satellite, GOLF-1, could be LEO or perhaps MEO or HEO. ANS: “This is an exciting development. How can we learn more?” ZM: “I gave a 20-minute presentation on this at the AMSAT Annual Space Symposium, which you can see on YouTube.” ANS: Thank you for your time, Zach! Link to Zach Metzinger’s presentation is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcO4-h7bbxs&t=2270s [ANS thanks Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO, AMSAT Director and Volunteer Engineer, and Mark Blackwood, KI5AXK, AMSAT Staff Writer, for the above information.] All-Ham Axiom Crew Launched for Commercial Visit to ISS With retired NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, KE5GTK, and Italian co-pilot Walter Villadei, IUØRWB, at the controls, flanked by Turkish mission specialists Alper Gezeravci, KJ5DIY, and Marcus Wandt of Sweden, KJ5COO, a SpaceX Falcon 9 thundered to life at 21:49 UTC Thursday and climbed away from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center atop a brilliant jet of flaming exhaust. A Falcon 9 lifts off from Kennedy Space Center carrying an international crew on a commercial mission to the space station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. Rocketing away along a trajectory paralleling the East Coast of the United States, the 12-minute climb to space got off to a picture-perfect start, thrilling area residents and tourists with a late-afternoon sky show despite low clouds that limited the view. Adding to the spectacle, the booster’s first stage, heralded by twin sonic booms, flew itself back to a rocket-powered landing at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, chalking up SpaceX’s 43rd landing in Florida and its 265th overall. A few minutes later, the Crew Dragon capsule was released to fly on its own. SpaceX Chief Engineer Bill Gerstenmaier radioed congratulations to the crew “on a great ride to orbit. I think you’re demonstrating the ultimate in reuse — a reused commander, reused Dragon and a reused Falcon.” If all goes well, López-Alegría and Villadei will monitor an automated approach to the space station, catching up from behind and below to set up a docking at the lab’s forward port early Saturday. They’ll be welcomed aboard by the station’s current seven-member crew: Soyuz MS-24/70S commander Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and his two crewmates, Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, KI5TOM, along with NASA Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli, KI5WSL, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ, Japanese flier Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. At least two ARISS school contacts are scheduled with Axiom crewmembers, and participants in previous Axiom missions have activated the ARISS equipment on board the Space Station for casual contacts in the past. Once their experiments are complete, López-Alegría and his crewmates will strap back into their Crew Dragon and undock from the space station on Feb. 3 for a fiery plunge back to Earth and splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Axiom flights are sanctioned by NASA, which is trying to encourage private-sector development in low-Earth orbit. The company is using the “private astronaut missions,” or PAMs, to gain experience with orbital operations before launching its own space station modules later this decade. [ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now! Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Argentina Celebrates 34 Years of LUSAT On Jan-22, 34 years ago was launched LO-19, LUSAT, 1st Argentine Satellite, till now emitting on 437.125 KHz. During ‘LUSAT Week’, from Saturday-20 to Sunday-28 January 2024, AMSAT-LU, several Radio Clubs and collaborators will deliver a QSL commemorative of the 34rd anniversary of LUSAT, see: lusat33qsl.jpg, and the 34rd anniversary silver certificate with 5 (five) contacts or gold with 15 (fifteen) contacts, it will not be mandatory to communicate with LU7AA. This Certificate complies with all the requirements of Argentine Resolution 3635-E/2017, articles 4.5.4 and 4.6.4, and therefore having LU7AA in force Legal Status and being recognized by ENACOM is valid for category promotions. It will be operated by radio means of the radio amateur service only, in multiband/multimode, terrestrial HF/VHF/UHF and via active amateur satellites. More information at LU7AA at qrz.com. Collaborators will be calling: ‘LUxxx collaborating station of AMSAT Argentina, grants Commemorative QSL for the 34rd Anniversary of LUSAT’. Do not miss this Certificate or QSL like the previous ones, it will be a pride to have it and for AMSAT your participation. Radio clubs and radio amateurs were invited to operate as a collaborating station. To sign up as a Collaborating station see: https://forms.gle/iyEYE5F3gskmRdkQ8 Bases: To obtain the QSL you must contact a collaborating station, or as a short wave listener receive a QSO between stations related to the 34rd anniversary event of LUSAT. To obtain the Certificate, it will be necessary to contact (Radio amateurs) or listen (Short Wave Listeners) by radio at least 5 collaborating stations (silver), or 15 stations (gold) in any band and mode. Finalized contacts or listening and after January 29: For radio amateurs, go to https://forms.gle/c2RJE5LyBqz5erh7A and inform your contacts, it is not necessary to send QSLs or images. For Short Wave Listeners, go to https://forms.gle/pkHNsQuWRo4MB21DA and report your listen stations, it is not necessary to send QSLs or images. Issuance of the Certificate: The LUSAT 34rd Anniversary Certificate will be issued free of charge, digitally to the email of each applicant. The Certificate can be printed by the recipient if desired. More information and images: http://amsat.org.ar?f=34 Celebrating its permanence in space, our LUSAT continues to emit a strong carrier after 34 years, receivable at 437.125 KHz. +/- Doppler. See pass schedules at http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=LUSAT Details: http://amsat.org.ar?f=34 http://qrz.com/db/LU7AA https://www.qrzcq.com/call/LU7AA (also in English) Collaborating stations registration open at https://forms.gle/iyEYE5F3gskmRdkQ8 LUSAT could be tracked/seen thru http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=lusat Deeply appreciation to AMSAT-NA than in the eighties develop AO-16 & LO-19 novel pacsat protocol and lead on design and launch. [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Volunteers Needed For the Upcoming 2024 Orlando Hamcation The new year is now upon us and that means the 2024 HamCation in Orlando, Florida (Feb. 9 – 11) is just around the corner. The hamfest began in 1946 and in 2024 celebrates its 78th year having achieved the designation as being the 2nd largest gathering of ham operators in the world annually. Along with a myriad of popular amateur radio vendors and enormous tailgate area to peruse through, AMSAT will also be on hand and we could sure use your help. If last year’s 21,800 attendees are any indication of what’s ahead, we would greatly appreciate you sharing at least 2 to 4 hours of your time at the AMSAT booth sometime during the three-day event, introducing fellow hams to what amateur satellites are all about, helping those who maybe having problems getting on the air and best of all, connecting face to face with hams you’ve talked to on the satellites. So if you would like to join us at the AMSAT booth or have any questions about helping out, please contact David Jordan, AA4KN at aa4kn(a)amsat.org. BTW, the average temp. for Orlando in February is a high 75 deg. and low 54 deg. … hard to beat that!! For more details on 2024 HamCation, visit https://www.hamcation.org [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, AMSAT Ambassador in Central Florida for the above information] IO-117 Project Group Presents the IO-117 Code of Conduct A group of amateurs who regularly work the IO-117 satellite has worked to develop a code of conduct for using this popular digipeating resource. The purpose of the IO-117 Code of Conduct document is to provide suggested operational guidelines that will hopefully optimize everyone’s access to the limited resource single channel digipeater aboard IO-117. If better messaging discipline can be adopted as well as a better understanding of what operating techniques improve or diminish the success of a station’s transmission being digipeated by IO-117, then the entire group of operators on an individual pass will benefit from implementing these standards. Those involved in this project, in alphabetical order, are: 2MØSQL, DF2ET, FG8OJ, IK3ITB, JH8FIH, JK2XXK, KF7R, KGØD, KH6WI, KIØKB, OZ9AAR, and W8LR. IO-117 CODE OF CONDUCT 1. LISTEN MORE TRANSMIT LESS – Consider giving the station you are calling several minutes to return Your call before you call again. The use of Greencube Terminal program by OZ9AAR (GC-T) with its “yoU Heard Me” feature (UHM — available in the latest GC-T version, 1.0.0.85) turned on may aid in this process. The software is available for free download at: https://www.moonbounce.dk/hamradio/greencube-terminal-program.html 2. STATIONS SHOULD USE THE MINIMAL POWER NECESSARY TO ACCESS THE SATELLITE. 3. AVOID CALLING CQ MORE THAN ONCE EVERY 5 MINUTES. 4. AVOID DUPE QSOs – Other than occasional contacts with friends and for testing purposes we should discourage repeat contacts with stations already confirmed in your log, particularly for uncommon or rare DX stations. 5. AVOID 2X – 3X IDENTICAL TRANSMISSIONS IN BACK TO BACK TO BACK DIGIPEATS BY ANY MEANS. The Use of GC-T/UHM ABSOLUTLEY helps you avoid this problem. 6. WHEN CALLING A STATION, TIME YOUR TX TO WHEN THEY WILL MOST LIKELY BE LISTENING FOR NEW CALLS. AFTER THEY SEND A CQ OR SEND ANOTHER STATION THEIR R73 TX. 7. KEEP MESSAGES AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE – Every millisecond saved does make a difference. Four character grids only, not six characters. 8. AVOID SENDING SUPERFLUOUS DATA – 599 is irrelevant on a digipeater. Avoid sending operator names. Use 2-Letter ID for states; don’t include city or regional quantifiers (ie: “SoCal”, just send “CA”). You can shorten “UR 599, DN84fj, Sturgis South Dakota, LoTW, QSL?” to “DN84 SD” with no loss of relevant information for the QSO. 9. CALLING FOR A SPECIFIC STATE IS UNNECESSARY AND UNPRODUCTIVE – That info is available on GC-T and the Greencube Reporter: https://oscarwatch.org/greencube/. 10. WHEN A STATION DECLARES “SKED” IN THE TX MESSAGE DO NOT CALL THAT STATION UNTIL THEY HAVE FINISHED THEIR SCHEDULED CONTACT – Both stations should use SKED GRID in message & use COSI (Callsign of Special Interest). 11. WHEN WORKING A RARE CALL/GRID STATION THAT IS USING THE GC-T MULTICALL FEATURE THEIR “R73” TRANSMISSION SHOULD BE ADEQUATE TO FINISH THE QSO: GC F/H Mode: similar to FT8 F/H mode. 12. FOR ROVERS, PUTTING YOUR ROVING GRID IN THE “R73” TRANMISSION IS ACCEPTABLE, AS WELL AS BEING HELPFUL, TO ALL STATIONS COMING INTO THE FOOTPRINT. 13. SUGGESTED MESSAGE FORMAT: FT8 Format (GC F/H Mode) and GRID Format: 4 Characters only NOT 6 Calling Message: P5ABC CQ PM39 P5ABC 3Y0ABC PM39. P5ABC 3Y0ABC/R/P PM39 Response 73 Message: 3Y0ABC P5ABC R73 or RR73 3Y0ABC/R/P P5ABC R73 JD15 14. AS A FORM OF COURTESY, THE R73 EXCHANGE IS USUALLY BILATERAL BUT ONE MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE SATELLITE, SO THE LAST R73 MAY BE WELCOMED BUT NOT MANDATORY – The use of GC-T/UHM may aid you in this decision process. 15. ROVERS SHOULD ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE STATION, TO INCLUDE THE USE OF THE GC-T/UHM FEATURE WHEN INTERNET ACCESS IS AVAILABLE, IN ORDER TO MAKE AN IO-117 ACTIVATION PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE FOR ALL STATIONS INVOLVED. [ANS thanks Jeff Schwartz, KI0KB, and the IO-117 Project Group for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ NASA Program Empowers Students for EZIE-Mag CubeSat Mission The Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) team at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is extending an invitation to citizen scientists, schools, and researchers to actively participate in NASA’s CubeSat mission set to capture the magnetic signatures of Earth’s upper atmosphere. The project, known as EZIE-Mag, is distributing 700 Raspberry Pi-powered experimentation kits, providing an unprecedented opportunity for enthusiasts to contribute valuable ground-based readings to the mission. Dr. Nelli Mosavi-Hoyer, project manager for EZIE at Johns Hopkins APL, emphasizes the importance of citizen scientists’ involvement, stating, “EZIE-Mag provides the mission with a unique opportunity to engage citizen scientists in this important research. Measurements made by these kits will be complementary to data collected by the three EZIE spacecraft.” The core of NASA’s Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer program consists of three CubeSats, scheduled for launch in the late stages of 2024. These CubeSats will play a pivotal role in recording the magnetic fingerprints of Earth’s auroral electrojets – electrical currents flowing between the outer limits of the atmosphere and surrounding space. While the CubeSats map these currents, the EZIE-MAG initiative aims to enhance the mission with additional ground-based data. Adebayo Eisape, second from left, an electrical engineering doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University, watches as high school students with the Lab’s ASPIRE program assemble the EZIE-Mag kit. (Image credit: Ed Whitman/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory) Dr. Jesper Gjerloev, EZIE project scientist, stresses the inclusive nature of involving citizen scientists in the project, highlighting that it was previously considered unfeasible due to the high costs of custom equipment, ranging from $25,000 to $500,000. The innovative solution involved creating a low-cost sensor connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer. EZIE ground systems engineer Rob Barnes, inspired by a science fair project with his niece and nephew, developed prototypes for the EZIE-Mag kits. These kits, priced at just $200, include a low-cost magnetometer sensor paired with GPS for accurate time and location data, connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero. The cost reduction allows the team to distribute the kits to schools free of charge. Barnes explains, “When we distribute EZIE-Mags, the data that’s going to come in from all these schools and places is actually going to be included as part of the mission database. We’re going to do real science with it. You get all the parts and they just snap together, and you’re done.” The EZIE team will make and freely distribute approximately 700 EZIE-Mag kits to teachers and students across the United States, with a specific focus on Indigenous schools. (Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Ed Whitman) The EZIE-Mag program has also formed partnerships with the Indigenous Education Institute and Little Singer Community School, establishing five Indigenous-based collaborative workspaces equipped with EZIE-Mag kits. In total, up to 700 kits will be distributed to schools in underserved communities. Dr. Gjerloev applauds the active participation of schools, stating, “They’re actively participating, providing data that is used in our solutions. As a middle schooler or high schooler, you can say, ‘I’m actually providing data and making measurements that are important and being used for a NASA mission.’ That’s the way it should be. It’s much more exciting than sending out a flyer.” For those interested in joining the EZIE-Mag project, further information and an application form for the kit are available on the project website: https://ezie.jhuapl.edu/outreach/ezie-mag. [ANS thanks Gareth Halfacree, hackster.io, for the above information] Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jan. 18 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution. [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. IC Statale Villa Guardia, Villa Guardia, Italy, telebridge via ZS6JON The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled crewmember is Walter Villadei, IUØRWB The ARISS mentor is IZ2GOJ Contact is go for: Mon 2024-01-22 09:35:49 UTC 44 degrees elevation Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQUWMww9yE Istituto Comprensivo “Anna Rita Sidoti”, Gioiosa Marea, Italy, direct via IT9DBI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled crewmember is Walter Villadei, IUØRWB The ARISS mentor is IKØWGF Contact is go for: Wed 2024-01-24 14:37:22 UTC 40 degrees elevation Youth Group, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Konstantin Borisov The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for Thu 2024-01-25 15:30 UTC The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system Temporarily stowed. (145.825 MHz up & down). SSTV Status is OFF. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] Upcoming Satellite Operations None scheduled at this time. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. + Orlando HamCation 2024 Friday February 9th through Sunday February 11th, 2024 Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park 4603 West Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida 32808 https://www.hamcation.com + 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html + Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] Satellite Shorts From All Over GridMaster Plaque+ Congratulations to Lyle Hood, WB7VUF, for being awarded GridMaster Award #63! This prestigious award, introduced by Star Comm Group in 2014 and sponsored by Damon Runion, WA4HFN, and Rick Tillman, WA4NVM, is now entrusted to AMSAT for the benefit of the entire AMSAT community. The GridMaster Award recognizes amateurs worldwide who establish two-way communication via amateur satellite with operators in all 488 Maidenhead grids in the contiguous United States of America. More information about this award can be found on the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster. Well done on this remarkable achievement Lyle! (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information) + Kudos to Tom Kenny, NJ2DX, on achieving AMSAT Century Award #60! This distinguished recognition entails confirming satellite contacts with a mix of one hundred USA states, Canadian provinces, or DXCC entities. Tom met the requirements for the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award and AMSAT Sexagesimal Award by respectively establishing satellite contacts with twenty and sixty distinct entities from within a 40-kilometer radius of the same location, paving the way for eligibility for this distinguished honor. For more information about this award, please visit the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/awards. Once again, congratulations to Tom on this exceptional accomplishment! (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information) + Astrobotic’s Peregrine moon lander was launched on January 8 under an experimental new partnership between NASA and private industry intended to reduce costs for American taxpayers and seed a lunar economy. But it experienced an explosion shortly after separating from its rocket and had been leaking fuel, making it impossible to reach its destination. Astrobotic announced that it had lost contact with its spacecraft shortly before 2100 GMT Thursday, January 18, indicating a “controlled re-entry over open water” as it had predicted. Engineers had executed a series of small engine burns to position the golf cart-sized robot over the South Pacific to “minimize the risk of debris reaching land.” (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + After a leisurely, fuel-efficient trip to the Moon, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) SLIM lander (aka “Moon Sniper”) attempted a pinpoint landing at 15:20 UTC on Jan. 19. Pinpoint in this context means shooting for a landing area ellipse of 100 x 100 meters after a 20-minute autonomous descent process. That’s a smaller target area than ever attempted by a lunar lander, though China’s Chang’e 3 lander managed to land 89 meters from the center of its 6,000 x 6,000 meter target in 2013. While the soft landing was a success, JAXA is still analyzing data to determine the precision of the landing. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and JAXA for the above information) + The Chinese Academy of Sciences, ESA, and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany collaborated on the Einstein Probe, an X-ray telescope that launched last week on a Long March 2C. The telescope will observe X-ray bursts from energetic sources such as neutron star mergers and black holes and will monitor how these change over time. It will orbit Earth at 600 km and carry two instruments. The Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) uses hundreds of thousands of square fibers “inspired by the eyes of lobsters” which can collectively image almost a tenth of the celestial sphere at a time. Once sources are identified, they can be imaged in more detail with the narrower but more sensitive, two-module Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT). (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. * Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM k0jm [at] amsat.org

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ANS-021 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark Johns, K0JM 20 Jan '24

20 Jan '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-021 In this edition: * Microwave Ambitions for GOLF Satellites * All-Ham Axiom Crew Launched for Commercial Visit to ISS * AMSAT Argentina Celebrates 34 Years of LUSAT * AMSAT Volunteers Needed For the Upcoming 2024 Orlando Hamcation * IO-117 Project Group Presents the IO-117 Code of Conduct * NASA Program Empowers Students for EZIE-Mag CubeSat Mission * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jan. 18 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. *Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>* You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ *ANS-021 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins* To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 JAN 21 Microwave Ambitions for GOLF Satellites Recently AMSAT News Service had the opportunity to interview Zach Metzinger, NØZGO, AMSAT Director and Volunteer Engineer, about the work that is being done to add microwave communication bands to the GOLF satellites. ANS: “Zach, I understand that AMSAT will add microwave capability to the new GOLF CubeSat satellites, currently in design and evaluation. Is this correct?” ZM: “Yes, that is correct! AMSAT had microwave capabilities in earlier satellites such as AO-10 and AO-40 and only a 1.2GHz downshifter on the newer CubeSats, that is the Fox series of satellites. The GOLF (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint) satellites are currently under development. GOLF-TEE is the first of these satellites and is the technology demonstrator for the GOLF series, which is in turn the successor to the FOX satellites. GOLF-TEE will have more capability as we increase the capability and functionality of our satellites, including adding microwave bands. “ ANS: “What is driving this increased functionality of the GOLF series?” ZM: “Due to new orbital debris regulations, the FCC will require us to be able to be able to move as well as deorbit satellites, so we are adding the ability to orient and steer the satellite. While this adds complexity, it will also help us to improve the functionality of the satellite. For example: We will now be able to have the satellite maintain direction and orientation which will allow us to point the antenna for improved gain. This increased functionality is causing the increase in size. The GOLF satellites are a 3U size satellite, that is 30 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm. (The predecessor FOX satellites are 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm.) With the increase in size, we can also add other functionality, in this case the microwave capability we are discussing here today.” ANS: “Can you tell us a little about how this is implemented?” ZM: “While GOLF-TEE will have the usual 2m uplink and 70 cm downlink bands, it will also have an X-band (10 GHz) downlink transmitter. The 10 GHz SSPA board has already been demonstrated and works well. The 10 GHz SSPA has a peak power of 1 watt. “We will also use a Software Defined Radio (SDR) which we will purchase. (For the development and demonstration, we have been using the Ettus E310 radio.) This will enable many simultaneous uplink bands, for example 1.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.7 GHz, etc. The whole system is very flexible. For example, the microwave antenna will support frequencies from 1 GHz to 26 GHz.” ANS: “It is very exciting to hear about these improved capabilities. What are the next steps?” ZM: “We continue to test the system and tweak the hardware. We will be ready to be on GOLF-TEE, which is estimated to launch in the second quarter of 2025. If it works well, it could be turned on for general use, but of course we will have to see. We definitely plan to have the microwave bands operational on succeeding GOLF satellites. One more tidbit of information that folks may find interesting: The orbit for GOLF-TEE will be LEO. The next satellite, GOLF-1, could be LEO or perhaps MEO or HEO. ANS: “This is an exciting development. How can we learn more?” ZM: “I gave a 20-minute presentation on this at the AMSAT Annual Space Symposium, which you can see on YouTube.” ANS: Thank you for your time, Zach! Link to Zach Metzinger’s presentation is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcO4-h7bbxs&t=2270s [ANS thanks Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO, AMSAT Director and Volunteer Engineer, and Mark Blackwood, KI5AXK, AMSAT Staff Writer, for the above information.] ------------------------------ All-Ham Axiom Crew Launched for Commercial Visit to ISS With retired NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, KE5GTK, and Italian co-pilot Walter Villadei, IUØRWB, at the controls, flanked by Turkish mission specialists Alper Gezeravci, KJ5DIY, and Marcus Wandt of Sweden, KJ5COO, a SpaceX Falcon 9 thundered to life at 21:49 UTC Thursday and climbed away from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center atop a brilliant jet of flaming exhaust. *A Falcon 9 lifts off from Kennedy Space Center carrying an international crew on a commercial mission to the space station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.* Rocketing away along a trajectory paralleling the East Coast of the United States, the 12-minute climb to space got off to a picture-perfect start, thrilling area residents and tourists with a late-afternoon sky show despite low clouds that limited the view. Adding to the spectacle, the booster’s first stage, heralded by twin sonic booms, flew itself back to a rocket-powered landing at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, chalking up SpaceX’s 43rd landing in Florida and its 265th overall. A few minutes later, the Crew Dragon capsule was released to fly on its own. SpaceX Chief Engineer Bill Gerstenmaier radioed congratulations to the crew “on a great ride to orbit. I think you’re demonstrating the ultimate in reuse — a reused commander, reused Dragon and a reused Falcon.” If all goes well, López-Alegría and Villadei will monitor an automated approach to the space station, catching up from behind and below to set up a docking at the lab’s forward port early Saturday. They’ll be welcomed aboard by the station’s current seven-member crew: Soyuz MS-24/70S commander Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and his two crewmates, Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, KI5TOM, along with NASA Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli, KI5WSL, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ, Japanese flier Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. At least two ARISS school contacts are scheduled with Axiom crewmembers, and participants in previous Axiom missions have activated the ARISS equipment on board the Space Station for casual contacts in the past. Once their experiments are complete, López-Alegría and his crewmates will strap back into their Crew Dragon and undock from the space station on Feb. 3 for a fiery plunge back to Earth and splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Axiom flights are sanctioned by NASA, which is trying to encourage private-sector development in low-Earth orbit. The company is using the “private astronaut missions,” or PAMs, to gain experience with orbital operations before launching its own space station modules later this decade. [ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information] *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* *The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!* *Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus* *Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help* *Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/* <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* AMSAT Argentina Celebrates 34 Years of LUSAT On Jan-22, 34 years ago was launched LO-19, LUSAT, 1st Argentine Satellite, till now emitting on 437.125 KHz. During ‘LUSAT Week’, from Saturday-20 to Sunday-28 January 2024, AMSAT-LU, several Radio Clubs and collaborators will deliver a QSL commemorative of the 34rd anniversary of LUSAT, see: lusat33qsl.jpg, and the 34rd anniversary silver certificate with 5 (five) contacts or gold with 15 (fifteen) contacts, it will not be mandatory to communicate with LU7AA. This Certificate complies with all the requirements of Argentine Resolution 3635-E/2017, articles 4.5.4 and 4.6.4, and therefore having LU7AA in force Legal Status and being recognized by ENACOM is valid for category promotions. It will be operated by radio means of the radio amateur service only, in multiband/multimode, terrestrial HF/VHF/UHF and via active amateur satellites. More information at LU7AA at qrz.com. Collaborators will be calling: ‘LUxxx collaborating station of AMSAT Argentina, grants Commemorative QSL for the 34rd Anniversary of LUSAT’. Do not miss this Certificate or QSL like the previous ones, it will be a pride to have it and for AMSAT your participation. Radio clubs and radio amateurs were invited to operate as a collaborating station. To sign up as a Collaborating station see: https://forms.gle/iyEYE5F3gskmRdkQ8 *Bases:* To obtain the QSL you must contact a collaborating station, or as a short wave listener receive a QSO between stations related to the 34rd anniversary event of LUSAT. To obtain the Certificate, it will be necessary to contact (Radio amateurs) or listen (Short Wave Listeners) by radio at least 5 collaborating stations (silver), or 15 stations (gold) in any band and mode. Finalized contacts or listening and after January 29: For radio amateurs, go to https://forms.gle/c2RJE5LyBqz5erh7A and inform your contacts, it is not necessary to send QSLs or images. For Short Wave Listeners, go to https://forms.gle/pkHNsQuWRo4MB21DA and report your listen stations, it is not necessary to send QSLs or images. *Issuance of the Certificate:* The LUSAT 34rd Anniversary Certificate will be issued free of charge, digitally to the email of each applicant. The Certificate can be printed by the recipient if desired. More information and images: http://amsat.org.ar?f=34 Celebrating its permanence in space, our LUSAT continues to emit a strong carrier after 34 years, receivable at 437.125 KHz. +/- Doppler. See pass schedules at http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=LUSAT Details: http://amsat.org.ar?f=34 http://qrz.com/db/LU7AA https://www.qrzcq.com/call/LU7AA (also in English) Collaborating stations registration open at https://forms.gle/iyEYE5F3gskmRdkQ8 LUSAT could be tracked/seen thru http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=lusat Deeply appreciation to AMSAT-NA than in the eighties develop AO-16 & LO-19 novel pacsat protocol and lead on design and launch. [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA, for the above information] *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* *Need new satellite antennas? * *Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,* *and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through* *AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/> *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* AMSAT Volunteers Needed For the Upcoming 2024 Orlando Hamcation The new year is now upon us and that means the 2024 HamCation in Orlando, Florida (Feb. 9 – 11) is just around the corner. The hamfest began in 1946 and in 2024 celebrates its 78th year having achieved the designation as being the 2nd largest gathering of ham operators in the world annually. Along with a myriad of popular amateur radio vendors and enormous tailgate area to peruse through, AMSAT will also be on hand and we could sure use your help. If last year’s 21,800 attendees are any indication of what’s ahead, we would greatly appreciate you sharing at least 2 to 4 hours of your time at the AMSAT booth sometime during the three-day event, introducing fellow hams to what amateur satellites are all about, helping those who maybe having problems getting on the air and best of all, connecting face to face with hams you’ve talked to on the satellites. So if you would like to join us at the AMSAT booth or have any questions about helping out, please contact David Jordan, AA4KN at aa4kn(a)amsat.org. BTW, the average temp. for Orlando in February is a high 75 deg. and low 54 deg. … hard to beat that!! For more details on 2024 HamCation, visit https://www.hamcation.org [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, AMSAT Ambassador in Central Florida for the above information] ------------------------------ IO-117 Project Group Presents the IO-117 Code of Conduct A group of amateurs who regularly work the IO-117 satellite has worked to develop a code of conduct for using this popular digipeating resource. The purpose of the IO-117 Code of Conduct document is to provide suggested operational guidelines that will hopefully optimize everyone’s access to the limited resource single channel digipeater aboard IO-117. If better messaging discipline can be adopted as well as a better understanding of what operating techniques improve or diminish the success of a station’s transmission being digipeated by IO-117, then the entire group of operators on an individual pass will benefit from implementing these standards. Those involved in this project, in alphabetical order, are: 2MØSQL, DF2ET, FG8OJ, IK3ITB, JH8FIH, JK2XXK, KF7R, KGØD, KH6WI, KIØKB, OZ9AAR, and W8LR. *IO-117 CODE OF CONDUCT* 1. LISTEN MORE TRANSMIT LESS – Consider giving the station you are calling several minutes to return Your call before you call again. The use of Greencube Terminal program by OZ9AAR (GC-T) with its “yoU Heard Me” feature (UHM — available in the latest GC-T version, 1.0.0.85) turned on may aid in this process. The software is available for free download at: https://www.moonbounce.dk/hamradio/greencube-terminal-program.html 2. STATIONS SHOULD USE THE MINIMAL POWER NECESSARY TO ACCESS THE SATELLITE. 3. AVOID CALLING CQ MORE THAN ONCE EVERY 5 MINUTES. 4. AVOID DUPE QSOs – Other than occasional contacts with friends and for testing purposes we should discourage repeat contacts with stations already confirmed in your log, particularly for uncommon or rare DX stations. 5. AVOID 2X – 3X IDENTICAL TRANSMISSIONS IN BACK TO BACK TO BACK DIGIPEATS BY ANY MEANS. The Use of GC-T/UHM ABSOLUTLEY helps you avoid this problem. 6. WHEN CALLING A STATION, TIME YOUR TX TO WHEN THEY WILL MOST LIKELY BE LISTENING FOR NEW CALLS. AFTER THEY SEND A CQ OR SEND ANOTHER STATION THEIR R73 TX. 7. KEEP MESSAGES AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE – Every millisecond saved does make a difference. Four character grids only, not six characters. 8. AVOID SENDING SUPERFLUOUS DATA – 599 is irrelevant on a digipeater. Avoid sending operator names. Use 2-Letter ID for states; don’t include city or regional quantifiers (ie: “SoCal”, just send “CA”). You can shorten “UR 599, DN84fj, Sturgis South Dakota, LoTW, QSL?” to “DN84 SD” with no loss of relevant information for the QSO. 9. CALLING FOR A SPECIFIC STATE IS UNNECESSARY AND UNPRODUCTIVE – That info is available on GC-T and the Greencube Reporter: https://oscarwatch.org/greencube/. 10. WHEN A STATION DECLARES “SKED” IN THE TX MESSAGE DO NOT CALL THAT STATION UNTIL THEY HAVE FINISHED THEIR SCHEDULED CONTACT – Both stations should use SKED GRID in message & use COSI (Callsign of Special Interest). 11. WHEN WORKING A RARE CALL/GRID STATION THAT IS USING THE GC-T MULTICALL FEATURE THEIR “R73” TRANSMISSION SHOULD BE ADEQUATE TO FINISH THE QSO: GC F/H Mode: similar to FT8 F/H mode. 12. FOR ROVERS, PUTTING YOUR ROVING GRID IN THE “R73” TRANMISSION IS ACCEPTABLE, AS WELL AS BEING HELPFUL, TO ALL STATIONS COMING INTO THE FOOTPRINT. 13. SUGGESTED MESSAGE FORMAT: FT8 Format (GC F/H Mode) and GRID Format: 4 Characters only NOT 6 Calling Message: P5ABC CQ PM39 P5ABC 3Y0ABC PM39. P5ABC 3Y0ABC/R/P PM39 Response 73 Message: 3Y0ABC P5ABC R73 or RR73 3Y0ABC/R/P P5ABC R73 JD15 14. AS A FORM OF COURTESY, THE R73 EXCHANGE IS USUALLY BILATERAL BUT ONE MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE SATELLITE, SO THE LAST R73 MAY BE WELCOMED BUT NOT MANDATORY – The use of GC-T/UHM may aid you in this decision process. 15. ROVERS SHOULD ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE STATION, TO INCLUDE THE USE OF THE GC-T/UHM FEATURE WHEN INTERNET ACCESS IS AVAILABLE, IN ORDER TO MAKE AN IO-117 ACTIVATION PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE FOR ALL STATIONS INVOLVED. [ANS thanks Jeff Schwartz, KI0KB, and the IO-117 Project Group for the above information.] *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* *Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?* *Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff* *from our Zazzle store!* *25% of the purchase price of each product goes* *towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space* *https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear* <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear> *+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+* NASA Program Empowers Students for EZIE-Mag CubeSat Mission The Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) team at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is extending an invitation to citizen scientists, schools, and researchers to actively participate in NASA’s CubeSat mission set to capture the magnetic signatures of Earth’s upper atmosphere. The project, known as EZIE-Mag, is distributing 700 Raspberry Pi-powered experimentation kits, providing an unprecedented opportunity for enthusiasts to contribute valuable ground-based readings to the mission. Dr. Nelli Mosavi-Hoyer, project manager for EZIE at Johns Hopkins APL, emphasizes the importance of citizen scientists’ involvement, stating, “EZIE-Mag provides the mission with a unique opportunity to engage citizen scientists in this important research. Measurements made by these kits will be complementary to data collected by the three EZIE spacecraft.” The core of NASA’s Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer program consists of three CubeSats, scheduled for launch in the late stages of 2024. These CubeSats will play a pivotal role in recording the magnetic fingerprints of Earth’s auroral electrojets – electrical currents flowing between the outer limits of the atmosphere and surrounding space. While the CubeSats map these currents, the EZIE-MAG initiative aims to enhance the mission with additional ground-based data. *Adebayo Eisape, second from left, an electrical engineering doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University, watches as high school students with the Lab’s ASPIRE program assemble the EZIE-Mag kit. (Image credit: Ed Whitman/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)* Dr. Jesper Gjerloev, EZIE project scientist, stresses the inclusive nature of involving citizen scientists in the project, highlighting that it was previously considered unfeasible due to the high costs of custom equipment, ranging from $25,000 to $500,000. The innovative solution involved creating a low-cost sensor connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer. EZIE ground systems engineer Rob Barnes, inspired by a science fair project with his niece and nephew, developed prototypes for the EZIE-Mag kits. These kits, priced at just $200, include a low-cost magnetometer sensor paired with GPS for accurate time and location data, connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero. The cost reduction allows the team to distribute the kits to schools free of charge. Barnes explains, “When we distribute EZIE-Mags, the data that’s going to come in from all these schools and places is actually going to be included as part of the mission database. We’re going to do real science with it. You get all the parts and they just snap together, and you’re done.” *The EZIE team will make and freely distribute approximately 700 EZIE-Mag kits to teachers and students across the United States, with a specific focus on Indigenous schools. (Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Ed Whitman)* The EZIE-Mag program has also formed partnerships with the Indigenous Education Institute and Little Singer Community School, establishing five Indigenous-based collaborative workspaces equipped with EZIE-Mag kits. In total, up to 700 kits will be distributed to schools in underserved communities. Dr. Gjerloev applauds the active participation of schools, stating, “They’re actively participating, providing data that is used in our solutions. As a middle schooler or high schooler, you can say, ‘I’m actually providing data and making measurements that are important and being used for a NASA mission.’ That’s the way it should be. It’s much more exciting than sending out a flyer.” For those interested in joining the EZIE-Mag project, further information and an application form for the kit are available on the project website: https://ezie.jhuapl.edu/outreach/ezie-mag. [ANS thanks Gareth Halfacree, hackster.io, for the above information] ------------------------------ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jan. 18 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution. [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ------------------------------ ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. IC Statale Villa Guardia, Villa Guardia, Italy, telebridge via ZS6JON The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled crewmember is Walter Villadei, IUØRWB The ARISS mentor is IZ2GOJ Contact is go for: Mon 2024-01-22 09:35:49 UTC 44 degrees elevation Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQUWMww9yE Istituto Comprensivo “Anna Rita Sidoti”, Gioiosa Marea, Italy, direct via IT9DBI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled crewmember is Walter Villadei, IUØRWB The ARISS mentor is IKØWGF Contact is go for: Wed 2024-01-24 14:37:22 UTC 40 degrees elevation Youth Group, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled crewmember is Konstantin Borisov The ARISS mentor is RV3DR Contact is go for Thu 2024-01-25 15:30 UTC *The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down).* If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. *The packet system Temporarily stowed. (145.825 MHz up & down). SSTV Status is OFF.* As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ------------------------------ Upcoming Satellite Operations None scheduled at this time. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] ------------------------------ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. + Orlando HamCation 2024 Friday February 9th through Sunday February 11th, 2024 Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park 4603 West Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida 32808 https://www.hamcation.com + 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html + Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ------------------------------ Satellite Shorts From All Over [image: GridMaster Plaque] + Congratulations to Lyle Hood, WB7VUF, for being awarded GridMaster Award #63! This prestigious award, introduced by Star Comm Group in 2014 and sponsored by Damon Runion, WA4HFN, and Rick Tillman, WA4NVM, is now entrusted to AMSAT for the benefit of the entire AMSAT community. The GridMaster Award recognizes amateurs worldwide who establish two-way communication via amateur satellite with operators in all 488 Maidenhead grids in the contiguous United States of America. More information about this award can be found on the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster. Well done on this remarkable achievement Lyle! (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information) + Kudos to Tom Kenny, NJ2DX, on achieving AMSAT Century Award #60! This distinguished recognition entails confirming satellite contacts with a mix of one hundred USA states, Canadian provinces, or DXCC entities. Tom met the requirements for the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award and AMSAT Sexagesimal Award by respectively establishing satellite contacts with twenty and sixty distinct entities from within a 40-kilometer radius of the same location, paving the way for eligibility for this distinguished honor. For more information about this award, please visit the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/awards. Once again, congratulations to Tom on this exceptional accomplishment! (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information) + Astrobotic’s Peregrine moon lander was launched on January 8 under an experimental new partnership between NASA and private industry intended to reduce costs for American taxpayers and seed a lunar economy. But it experienced an explosion shortly after separating from its rocket and had been leaking fuel, making it impossible to reach its destination. Astrobotic announced that it had lost contact with its spacecraft shortly before 2100 GMT Thursday, January 18, indicating a “controlled re-entry over open water” as it had predicted. Engineers had executed a series of small engine burns to position the golf cart-sized robot over the South Pacific to “minimize the risk of debris reaching land.” (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + After a leisurely, fuel-efficient trip to the Moon, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) SLIM lander (aka “Moon Sniper”) attempted a pinpoint landing at 15:20 UTC on Jan. 19. Pinpoint in this context means shooting for a landing area ellipse of 100 x 100 meters after a 20-minute autonomous descent process. That’s a smaller target area than ever attempted by a lunar lander, though China’s Chang’e 3 lander managed to land 89 meters from the center of its 6,000 x 6,000 meter target in 2013. While the soft landing was a success, JAXA is still analyzing data to determine the precision of the landing. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and JAXA for the above information) + The Chinese Academy of Sciences, ESA, and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany collaborated on the Einstein Probe, an X-ray telescope that launched last week on a Long March 2C. The telescope will observe X-ray bursts from energetic sources such as neutron star mergers and black holes and will monitor how these change over time. It will orbit Earth at 600 km and carry two instruments. The Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) uses hundreds of thousands of square fibers “inspired by the eyes of lobsters” which can collectively image almost a tenth of the celestial sphere at a time. Once sources are identified, they can be imaged in more detail with the narrower but more sensitive, two-module Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT). (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) ------------------------------ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. * Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM k0jm [at] amsat.org

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ANS-014 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mitch Ahrenstorff (AD0HJ) 13 Jan '24

13 Jan '24

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-014 In this edition: * ARISS Announces NASA Astronaut Tony England WØORE as Speaker for 40th Anniversary Celebration * AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Assist with AMSAT Booth at 2024 HamCation in Orlando Florida * Vulcan Centaur Triumphs in Maiden Voyage, Peregrine Lander Faces Lunar Setback * GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers January 2024 Rankings * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 12, 2024 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts from All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on https://www.amsat.org<https://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<http://amsat.org/> You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org ANS-014 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2024 Jan 14 ________________________________ ARISS Announces NASA Astronaut Tony England WØORE as Speaker for 40th Anniversary Celebration Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has announced NASA astronaut Tony England WØORE as the latest addition to the esteemed lineup for the "40th Anniversary Conference: Celebrating the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight" event at Kennedy Space Center, set to occur from February 22 to 24, 2024. Tony England will be the third astronaut speaker at the event, in addition to Richard Garriott, W5KQW, and Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. Tony England, the second astronaut to make ham radio contacts from space and the first to engage in Slow-Scan Television (SSTV) transmissions from orbit, brings a wealth of experience to the event. Selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967 at the age of 25, he holds the distinction of being the youngest candidate selected up to that time. England completed rigorous academic and flight training, earning his wings with distinguished honors in April 1969. His contributions to space missions include serving as a support crewman for Apollo 13 and 16 flights. Notably, England played a crucial role during the Apollo 16 mission as the Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Capcom, providing instructions to astronauts exploring the lunar surface. His expertise also extended to the development and communication of instructions for constructing lithium hydroxide canisters on Apollo 13. In the summer of 1985, England was a part of the STS-51-F mission, which carried a seven-man crew and Spacelab-2. This mission marked the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the debut of the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). England's responsibilities included activating and operating Spacelab systems, operating the IPS and the Remote Manipulator System, assisting with experiment operations, and being prepared for a contingency Extra-Vehicular Activity if needed. The mission successfully completed 126 orbits of the Earth. Richard Garriott W5KQW, a second-generation space traveler, ARISS veteran, and entrepreneur, has been announced as the keynote conference speaker. The 40th Anniversary Celebration event will also feature other distinguished speakers, including Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, a NASA Astronaut with experience on the Shuttle, Mir, and the International Space Station (ISS), and Mike Kincaid, NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Engagement. The 40th Anniversary Conference is scheduled to occur at the Center for Space Education, located next to the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Center in Florida. This event is not only a reflection on past achievements but also a platform to showcase the exciting potential of amateur radio in future human spaceflight endeavors. The discussions will encompass potential operations on commercial space stations, lunar exploration, and even ventures toward Mars. The celebration is poised to offer a retrospective of notable achievements and delve into the evolving role of amateur radio in shaping the trajectory of human space exploration. More details can be found on the ARISS website at https://www.ariss.org/overview.html. [ANS thanks Amateur Radio on the International Space Station for the above information] ________________________________ AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Assist with AMSAT Booth at 2024 HamCation in Orlando Florida As the new year unfolds, the spotlight shifts to HamCation 2024, scheduled for February 9th to 11th in Orlando, Florida. Celebrating its 78th year since its establishment in 1946, HamCation proudly holds the distinction of being the second-largest annual gathering of ham operators globally. Hosted at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park, the 87-acre lakefront fairground transforms into a bustling center for radio-centric activities during HamCation. This cornerstone event in the amateur radio community is sponsored by the Orlando Amateur Radio Club and supported by volunteers from radio clubs across the region. For a detailed itinerary and logistical information about the 2024 HamCation, interested individuals are encouraged to visit the official website at https://www.hamcation.org<https://www.hamcation.org/>. One of the standout features of HamCation is the rich variety of attractions it offers. Participants have the opportunity to navigate through a vast tailgate area, browse exhibits presented by well-known amateur radio vendors, participate in informative forums, and establish connections with individuals who share similar interests. Beyond merely showcasing equipment, the event places a strong emphasis on fostering connections, exchanging knowledge, and celebrating the collective passion for radio communication. AMSAT extends a warm invitation to all attendees to visit their booth, where the fascinating world of amateur radio satellites can be discovered. With last year's attendance reaching an impressive 21,800 participants, AMSAT is actively seeking volunteers from their membership to dedicate at least two to four hours of their time during the three-day event. Volunteer tasks include introducing fellow hams to the world of amateur radio satellites, assisting those facing challenges in getting on the air, and best of all, connecting face to face with hams that you have talked to on the satellites. Robert Bankston, KE4AL, President of AMSAT, will be presenting information on Saturday, February 10th at 1:00 PM EST. His presentation, titled "AMSAT - Shaping the Amateur Radio Satellite World of Tomorrow," will involve an open discussion on designing the next generation of amateur radio satellites. The HamCation Forums and Speakers Guide are continually being updated with the latest information and can be viewed online at https://www.hamcation.com/forums-speakers. For those eager to be part of AMSAT's presence at HamCation or request more information about volunteering, David Jordan, AA4KN, serves as the point of contact. Interested individuals can drop him an email at aa4kn [at] amsat.org to express their interest or seek clarification on any questions they may have. Your involvement goes beyond contributing to the event; it's an opportunity to contribute to the vibrant community spirit that defines amateur radio. [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN for the above information] ________________________________ The 2024 AMSAT President's Club coins are here now! Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Coin-Both_5…] Join the AMSAT President's Club today and help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ ________________________________ Vulcan Centaur Triumphs in Maiden Voyage, Peregrine Lander Faces Lunar Setback Vulcan Centaur, a new heavy-lift booster developed by United Launch Alliance (ULA), successfully completed its inaugural flight. However, the mission took a bittersweet turn as the Peregrine lander, set to be the first American spacecraft to touch down on the lunar surface since 1972, faced significant challenges shortly after separation from the Centaur upper stage. United Launch Alliance (ULA), known for its 100% mission success rate with the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets since 2006, faced a changing commercial launch landscape by the early 2010s. SpaceX's Falcon 9 was offering cheaper alternatives, prompting ULA to develop a more cost-effective and agile solution. The result was the Vulcan Centaur, a combination of a new first stage and an evolved Centaur III second stage. Originally planned for launch in 2019, the Vulcan program encountered delays, primarily due to the slower-than-expected development of the BE-4 engines by Blue Origin. Despite setbacks and an explosion during Centaur upper stage testing in March 2023, the January 8th launch marked a significant achievement for ULA. Powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox), the Vulcan Centaur demonstrated successful flight, a milestone for American orbital rockets using this propellant combination. ULA's CEO Tory Bruno expressed satisfaction with the launch, labeling it one of the smoothest in his career. The successful flight positions ULA to compete more effectively in the evolving space launch market. While the Vulcan Centaur celebrated success, the fate of the Peregrine lander took a dramatic turn. Developed by Astrobotic Technology, Peregrine had ambitious plans, including bringing memorials, time capsules, scientific instruments, the Iris rover, and small robots to the lunar surface. Initial reports suggested a promising start when Peregrine separated from the Centaur and established communications with ground control. However, soon after enabling its propulsion systems, the lander faced difficulties maintaining its orientation, leading to a rapid depletion of its batteries. Astrobotic attempted to stabilize the craft, but it was confirmed that a leak was destabilizing Peregrine and draining essential propellants needed for a lunar landing. Astrobotic ruled out any possibility of a lunar landing, and as of the latest update, the team faces the challenge of navigating Peregrine as close to the Moon as possible before its propellant runs out. With communication uncertain, the fate of the lander remains uncertain. January 8th showcased both success and setbacks in space exploration. The Vulcan Centaur's triumphant launch demonstrated progress in rocket technology, while the Peregrine's struggles highlighted the inherent difficulties of space missions. As technology advances, the moon remains an enticing destination, with the upcoming Nova-C lander's launch in February offering renewed hope for successful lunar exploration. The events of this day remind us that despite the challenges, the pursuit of space exploration continues unabated. [ANS thanks Tom Nardi, Hackaday.com, for the above information] ________________________________ GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers January 2024 Rankings The January 2024 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum number of QSOs logged on the GridMasterMap website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr<https://gridmaster.fr/> in order to provide more accurate data. Updated: 2024-01-01 1 ND9M 26 K8BL 51 F4DXV 76 DF2ET 2 NJ7H 27 KE4AL 52 KE9AJ 77 WA9JBQ 3 N5UC 28 LU5ILA 53 JL3RNZ 78 W8LR 4 JA9KRO 29 DL2GRC 54 KM4LAO 79 OE3SEU 5 DL6AP 30 KI7UNJ 55 VE1CWJ 80 VE3GOP 6 WI7P 31 VE3HLS 56 PA3GAN 81 KJ7NDY 7 UT1FG 32 KB5FHK 57 VK5DG 82 KB2YSI 8 HA3FOK 33 LA9XGA 58 N4UFO 83 K0FFY 9 N9IP 34 N7AGF 59 KI7QEK 84 CU2ZG 10 N6UA 35 F4BKV 60 SM3NRY 85 N0TEL 11 WY7AA 36 XE3DX 61 N8RO 86 DL4EA 12 K5ZM 37 N6DNM 62 PT2AP 87 W8MTB 13 AD0DX 38 KE0PBR 63 W1AW 88 KG4AKV 14 W5PFG 39 KE0WPA 64 VA7LM 89 VE6WK 15 DP0POL 40 JO2ASQ 65 XE1ET 90 VE7PTN 16 AK8CW 41 PR8KW 66 AA8CH 91 HB9GWJ 17 AD0HJ 42 AC0RA 67 M1DDD 92 AF5CC 18 WD9EWK 43 K7TAB 68 VA3VGR 93 DK9JC 19 ON4AUC 44 W7WGC 69 VE1VOX 94 PT9ST 20 KG5CCI 45 EB1AO 70 FG8OJ 95 JM1CAX 21 KX9X 46 JK2XXK 71 PT9BM 96 KI0KB 22 ND0C 47 EA4NF 72 KI7UXT 97 VO2AC 23 N5BO 48 AA5PK 73 LU4JVE 98 LW2DAF 24 F5VMJ 49 SP5XSD 74 YU0W 99 N4AKV 25 DJ8MS 50 AD7DB 75 N4DCW 100 N6UTC [ANS thanks @GridMasterMap for the above information] ________________________________ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/cm/LEO-Pack1-300x298.png] Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware ________________________________ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 12, 2024 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/. The following satellites have been removed from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE distribution: DELFI-PQ NORAD Cat ID 51074 Decayed from orbit on or about 06 January 2024 Pegasus NORAD Cat ID 42784 Decayed from orbit on or about 07 January 2024 [ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] ________________________________ ARISS News Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. No contacts have been scheduled from 2023-12-21 to 2024-01-14. The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2023-12-21 05:00 UTC. The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed. Targeting return to service once a new computer has been delivered for SSTV use with this system. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] ________________________________ Upcoming Satellite Operations No scheduled operations are listed at this time. A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at<https://hams.at/>. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information] ________________________________ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. + Orlando HamCation 2024 Friday February 9th through Sunday February 11th, 2024 Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park 4603 West Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida 32808 https://www.hamcation.com<https://www.hamcation.com/> + 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Thursday February 22nd through Saturday February 24th, 2024 Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation Kennedy Space Center, M6-306 405 State Road, FL 32899 https://www.ariss.org/overview.html + Dayton Hamvention 2024 Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th, 2024 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 120 Fairground Road Xenia, OH 45385 https://hamvention.org<https://hamvention.org/> [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] ________________________________ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! [https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AMSAT-Car-Flag-2…] 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear ________________________________ Satellite Shorts from All Over + Liftoff of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) is scheduled for 22:11 UTC Wednesday, Jan. 17, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting outpost aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. The Ax-3 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría, KE5GTK, Pilot Walter Villadei, IU0RWB, of Italy, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı, KJ5DIY, of Turkey, and ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Marcus Wandt, KJ5COO, of Sweden. Watch live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities, as well as docking operations on the NASA+ streaming service at https://plus.nasa.gov<https://plus.nasa.gov/>. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information.) + ARISS is calling for proposals from U.S. educational institutions to host an Amateur Radio contact with ISS crew members between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. They seek organizations drawing large participation to integrate the contact into an education plan. Proposals are due by February 29, 2024, with details at https://www.ariss.org<https://www.ariss.org/>. A 10-minute Q&A session with astronauts provides students a firsthand experience of space life and research. Amateur Radio organizations worldwide, with support from NASA and international space agencies, facilitate these contacts. An ARISS Introductory Webinar on January 17, 2024, at 7 PM ET via Zoom is available for those interested. Inquiries can be directed to education [at] ariss-usa.org. ARISS aims to promote STEM exploration through radio contacts between ISS crew members and students. (ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations, for the above information) + India has marked another significant milestone in space exploration with the successful placement of the Aditya L-1 spacecraft into a periodic Halo orbit approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. This accomplishment follows India's pioneering achievement of landing an unmanned spacecraft on the moon's southern polar region four months earlier. Named after the Hindu god of the sun, Aditya-L1 is strategically positioned at Lagrange Point 1, providing an uninterrupted five-year study of the sun's outer layer. This achievement underscores India's unique capability to travel vast distances in space, setting it apart as the first in Asia to do so. With a focus on understanding space weather, the spacecraft is equipped with seven scientific instruments to monitor solar wind particles and magnetic fields. (ANS thanks Anjana Pasricha, Voice of America, for the above information) + NASA has announced delays to its Artemis program, pushing back the anticipated return of astronauts to the moon to 2026. The Artemis 2 mission, originally scheduled for November 2024, is now set for September 2025, while the Artemis 3 moon-landing mission, initially targeted for late 2025, is rescheduled for September 2026. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized that safety is the top priority, allowing more time for teams to address challenges with first-time developments, operations, and integration. Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator, underscored the decision's focus on crew safety. Various new systems and technologies, such as facilities at Kennedy Space Center and improvements to the Orion capsule, are still being tested ahead of Artemis 2. Despite setbacks, NASA remains enthusiastic about Artemis 2, seeing it as a representation of national and global achievements in space exploration. (ANS thanks Brett Tingley, Space.com, for the above information) + The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully inserted the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) into lunar orbit on December 25, 2023, at 16:51 (JST). SLIM's elliptical lunar orbit, connecting the Moon's north and south poles, has a 6.4-hour period, ranging from approximately 600km at perilune (closest point to the Moon) to 4,000km at apolune (furthest point). The orbit adjustment proceeded as planned, and the spacecraft is currently in normal condition. Over the next few weeks until mid-January 2024, SLIM's apolune point will be lowered, transitioning the orbit to a circular one at around 600km altitude. Subsequently, preparations for landing will commence, with the perilune point scheduled to be lowered to 15km on January 19, initiating the descent towards the lunar surface around 00:00 AM (JST) on January 20, and landing expected at approximately 00:20 AM (JST) on the same day. (ANS thanks Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the above information) ________________________________ Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org<https://launch.amsat.org/> In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. * Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half-time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org<http://amsat.org/> for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week's ANS Editor, Mitch Ahrenstorff, ADØHJ ad0hj [at] amsat.org<http://amsat.org/>

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