AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-115
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to ans-editor at amsat dot org.
In this edition:
* AMSAT Bylaws Amendment * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 22, 2021 * Smithsonian Magazine Features Amateur Radio Aboard the ISS * FO-29 Operation Schedule for May 2021 * CubeSat Developers Workshop Virtual Conference April 27–29, 2021 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.01 ANS-115 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.01 From AMSAT HQ PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027 April 25, 2021 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-115.01
AMSAT Bylaws Amendment
The AMSAT Board of Directors approved an amendment to our Bylaws on March 2, 2021. As required by our Bylaws, a notice of the amendment was mailed to all members. AMSAT members may also view the documents by logging on to the Member Portal. Along with a copy of the Bylaws Committee Report to our Board of Directors, members will find a "red-line" version of the changes that will allow you to see exactly what has been added and what has been removed.
To view each document, please click the following links:
"Red-Line" version of our Bylaws, as approved by the AMSAT Board of Directors during a Special Meeting, held on March 2, 2021. https://launch.amsat.org/resources/Documents/Bylaws_Amended_Draft_Redline.pd... Report of the AMSAT Bylaws Committee: Recommended Revisions to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Bylaws https://launch.amsat.org/resources/Documents/Report%20of%20the%20Bylaws%20Co...
In accordance with Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation Bylaws, as amended in 1989, Article IV requires AMSAT to provide written notice to all members of the approved amendments to our Bylaws. This approved amendment will be effective thirty days from the mailing of this letter, unless written objection is received from at least ten percent of the Members, in which case a vote shall be conducted by the Secretary in the manner specified for election of Directors.
Written notice was mailed on April 9, 2021. As such, any objection should be sent to AMSAT, PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027 and must be received by May 9, 2021. I apologize for requiring you to mail in your objections, but this is a requirement of our Bylaws (as amended in 1989) and exactly why we feel it is necessary to bring our Bylaws into the 21st Century.
As part of our modernization efforts, we felt a review and update of our Bylaws was essential to ensure AMSAT's continued success. A summary of those changes is listed below.
* The Bylaws have been amended to allow for electronic communications with our members, voting in our elections, and the conduct of meetings. * The Bylaws have been amended to clarify the member application process, the grace period for lapses in membership, and the membership inclusion date for establishing election roles. * The Bylaws have been amended to further define the duties and responsibilities of the Officers. * The Bylaws have been amended to require three years of continuous membership for nominees for the position of Director and that Directors be required to remain in good standing throughout their elected term.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President, for the above information]
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 22, 2021
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA (OSCAR Number Administrator) announced April 18, 2021 in AMSAT News Service Bulletin ANS-108 that SMOG-1 has been designated Magyar-OSCAR 110 or MO-110. Thus, SMOG-1 (NORAD Cat ID 47964) is now shown as MO-110 in this week's TLE distribution.
The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
GRBAlpha - NORAD Cat ID 47959 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO)
In the Credit Where Credit Is Due Department: Ray Hoad, WA5QGD reports, "Last week David Williams, G7GQW noted that GRIFEX (NORAD Cat ID 40379) is still active after I had dropped it from the TLE distribution. I forgot to credit him for that observation. Thanks, David."
As always, the current and all previous Keps elements can be viewed at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/keps@amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.]
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Smithsonian Magazine Features Amateur Radio Aboard the ISS
The April issue of the Smithsonian magazine ran a feature on how ISS crew members spend their leisure time. The story began with a bit of detail on early space crews’ heavy workloads and needing time off. The writer moved to now, with space crews continuing to be more productive when schedules include relaxing—with making music being quite popular. The story cited the importance of ham radio as an engaging onboard leisure activity, as Doug Wheelock realized during his 2010 ISS mission. Speaking about the myriad of radio signals he heard from Earth’s ham operators, Doug said, “That started a trend for me where I made thousands of contacts across the world. That really became part of my connection back to the planet.” Referring to deep space missions, he said, “I can’t imagine doing a long-duration mission without that connection to the planet. It’s a huge psychological hurdle that we’re going to have to figure out.” The article is at tinyurl.com/ANS-115-Smithsonian.
A post about the story was added to the ISS Ham Twitter page and to ARISS Facebook and Twitter pages.
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.]
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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/
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FO-29 Operation Schedule for May 2021
The JARL has published the FO-29 operation schedule for May 2021:
May 2021 (UTC) 1st 00:06- 01:50- 2nd 00:55- 02:41- 3rd 00:03- 01:45- 4th 00:50- 02:36- 5th 01:40- 03:27- 8th 23:47- 9th 01:31- 15th 01:16- 03:02- 16th 00:21- 02:06- 22nd 00:07- 01:51- 23rd 00:56- 02:42- 29th 00:42- 02:27- 23:48- 30th 01:32-
The UTC time represents the start time for each operating period. The satellite will remain in operation until the battery voltage falls to a preset level.
[ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU for the above information.]
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CubeSat Developers Workshop Virtual Conference April 27–29, 2021
This year's virtual workshop features a mix of pre-recorded and live events. Before Workshop begins on April 27, pre-recorded presentations from the Live Q&A panelists will be released. Registrants will have time before the Live Q&A Panels to watch the pre-recorded presentations. Then, based on the published schedule, registrants can listen and ask questions to the panelists about their presentation in real-time. There will also be dedicated times before and after Live Q&A Panels for registrants to visit and network with our amazing Exhibitors and Sponsors through virtual exhibit booths and side meetings.
AMSAT will have a virtual booth and poster presentation at the workshop. The virtual booth will be staffed by Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Vice President of Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, and Vice President of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA. AMSAT's poster presentation examines the impact of proposed orbital debris mitigation regulations on CubeSat development and STEM education."
Registration for the 2021 Virtual CubeSat Developers Workshop is free for all interested individuals. For complete information on the conference, visit https://www.cubesatdw.org.
[ANS thanks Cubesat.org for the above information.]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it!
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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
None reported.
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
EM86; April 17 - May 2, 2021 WY7AA operating vacation style FM and SSB. "I plan to have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there."
DM05 - EM04; ~May 17, 2021 N6AJ will be headed to OK from CA around May 17, 2021. "DM74 AND DM75 are on the list for sure. I will be on FM and SSB. As it closer I hope to have a schedule."
Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail dot com.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.]
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ARISS News
+ Upcoming Contacts
St Scholastica's College, Glebe, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover, KI5BKC. Contact is go for Monday, April 6, at 08:34:51 UTC.
St. Margaret's School, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB. Contact is go for Monday, April 26, 2021 at 10:12:59 UTC. Watch for live stream at: www.ariotti.com.
The latest information on the ISS operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html.
+ Completed Contacts
Winmalee Public School, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS. The ISS callsign was OR4ISS. The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz The astronaut was Victor Glover, KI5BKC. Contact was successful: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 08:28:39 UTC.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]
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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
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Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ Young Mauritians Introduced to Satellite/Space Technology
The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) organized a series of training workshops for secondary school students on the building of a simplified antenna for satellite data reception. The aim was to initiate young Mauritians to Satellite/Space Technology and create awareness of these fields’ numerous possibilities for the Republic of Mauritius. The specific objectives were to provide hands-on training on the building of antenna for satellite data reception, data reception and communication with Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites and ground-station operation using specific software. Read the complete story at https://africanews.space.
[ANS thanks Space in Africa for the above information.]
+ International Special Events Stations on Satellites
- Italy: Members of AMSAT Italia commemorate Gagarin's flight into space until the end of the year with the callsign II0SAT on HF and via satellite. - Spain: AM500MMM draws attention to Fernando de Magellan's voyage and the explorer's death on the island Mactan. QRV between April 24 and May 1 on HF (CW, SSB, digital modes) and via satellite. - Chichi/ Haha/ Muko Islands (aka Bonin Islands): Takio/JH3QFL activates Komagari Chichijima Island between April 23 and April 30 as JD1BQA. QRV on HF and RS-44 on CW.
[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM and the DX Newsletter for the above information.]
+ Radio Amateur G3YJO on BBC Radio
Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, G3YJO was the guest on the Radio 4 show The Life Scientific that was broadcast on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Sweeting pioneered the original SmallSats revolutions with the UOSAT-1 and UOSAT-2 spacecraft that carried Amateur Radio payloads and launched in the early 1980’s. They led to the founding of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) of which he is Executive Chairman. You can listen to an MP3 recording of the BBC show which mentions Amateur Radio and AMSAT from the BBC website at https://bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v7pb.
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73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org
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