AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-112
ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS 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.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor@amsat.org
In this edition: * Dnepr/Cubesat Launch 17 April 2007 * 2007 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Announcement * OSCAR-11 REPORT * AMSAT Offerings at Dayton * AMSAT Banquet Tickets * AMSAT Awards * ARBONET-2 High Altitude Balloon Flight Set for an April 28th Launch
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.01 Dnepr/Cubesat Launch 17 April 2007
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.01
Hi all,At 0645 UTC April 17, a Dnepr rocket lifted off from Kazakhstan and sucessfully deployed 7 CubeSats (along with 7 other satellites from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Ukraine) into orbit.We offer our sincerest congratulations to everyone on a successful launch! We offer our special congratulations to Colombia on the successful launch of their first satellite! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this mission! We hope that you all are able to help us track the satellites. We expect CAPE 1 and Libertad-1 to start beaconing by the time you receive this email, with CP3 and CP4 turning on 2 hours after launch. We will update the TLE's on our website, www.cubesat.org, as soon as we receive them to ensure accurate tracking. Thank you all for your help and support.
[ANS thanks Lori Brooks for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.02 2007 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Announcement
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.02
2007 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Announcement
The Wireless Association of South Hills Amateur Radio Club would like to announce that the 2007 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium will be held at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel on Friday, October 26 through Sunday, October 28, 2007.
This is the same hotel (then known as the Pittsburgh Airport Wyndham Hotel) that at a moments notice hosted the 2005 AMSAT Board of Directors meeting, 2005 Annual meeting, and Eagle Project meeting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
This year we are focusing efforts to attract local middle and high school students to the Saturday sessions of the symposium and special programs by contacting local gifted and science teachers. As part of this there will be available on site a fully operational satellite station for demonstrations and use. More will be announced as this program develops.
Our keynote speaker this year will be Mr. Sy Liebergot, a former EECOM controller responsible for the electrical and environmental systems onboard the Apollo Command Module. He was part of the team that guided Apollo 13 back to Earth following the explosion which crippled the spacecraft. For movie buffs, in the Apollo 13 movie, Sy Liebergot was played by Clint Howard, the brother of director Ron Howard.
The Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel has fine accommodations including wireless internet access. Shopping and dining venues are easily accessible from the hotel as well scenic views of downtown Pittsburgh. Marriott has not yet provided a reservation code but it will be announced as soon as we have it. An announcement will be issued by mid May 2007 that reservations for the symposium and hotel will be taken from the 2007 Space Symposium page of AMSAT.org.
Finally the Call For Papers announcement will follow shortly.
Basic Information:
Preliminary Symposium Information: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2007/index.php
Where: Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel 777 Aten Road (Moon Run exit of PA 60) Coraopolis, PA 15108 Phone: 1-412-788-8800 Fax: 1-412-788-0743 Toll-free: 1-800-328-9297
http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/pitmc-pittsburgh-airport-marriott/
Symposium Rate: Single $104 per night (this is a special Symposium rate)
When: October 25, 26, 27, & 28, 2007
Preliminary Agenda:
Thursday, October 25 through Friday noon, October 26, 2007 BOD meeting Friday, October 26, 2007 Symposium First Session; 1:00 to 5:00 PM Annual meeting; 5:00 to 6:00 PM Introduction to Amateur Satellites by Gould Smith; 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Saturday, October 27, 2007 Symposium Second Session; 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Symposium Third Session; 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM Cocktails & Hors D'ourves; 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM Banquet (Keynote Speaker Mr. Sy Liebergot); 7:30 PM till ?
Sunday, October 28, 2007 Area Coordinators meeting; 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Tour (details to be announced);
9:00 AM to ?
The Wireless Association of South Hills Amateur Radio Club and area AMSAT members are excited and eager for the chance to provide attendees a great Pittsburgh Pennsylvania experience.
Sincerely,
Kevin Smith, N3HKQ Pat Sanford, KC4WTT Co-chairs 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium
[ANS thanks Kevin and Pat for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.03 OSCAR-11 REPORT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.03
RECEPTION REPORTS REQUESTED!
OSCAR-11 is expected to switch ON around 22:00 UTC 21 April. This is just after the start of solar eclipses, which may cause the satellite to switch OFF for 21 days. In the past the satellite has been very sensitive to the start of eclipse season, although the duration of the eclipses is initially very short. Please send reception reports to the address below or post to amsat-bb. If you are able to record the satellite as a WAV file, please do so, but let Clive know what you have, before sending it!
If you need to hear what the satellite sounds like, please visit http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ The satellite transmits on 145.826 MHz NBFM.
During the period 22 March to 17 April 2007, the satellite's 145.826 MHz. beacon was heard from 01 to 11 April . Excellent signals have beeen heard on most passes, and good copy of the telemetry obtained.
If the satellite's watchdog timer continues to operate normally, the beacon should switch ON around 21/22 April 2007. However, solar eclipses are expected to start on 20 April and will continue until 23 August. If the satellite performs as it did last year, it is unlikely to be heard, for any length of time, during the eclipse season.
Clive said, "I am indebted to David G8OQW, Jeff KB2M, Edward BX1AD, Sil ZL2CIA, Gene WA4UKX and Rik, ON4GJ for their reports. Many thanks."
The spacecraft computer and active attitude control system have switched OFF, ie. the satellite' attitude is controlled only by the passive gravity boom gradient, and the satellite is free to spin at any speed. When telemetry was last received it showed that one of the solar arrays had failed, and there was a large unexplained current drain on the main 14 volt bus. After 22 years in orbit the battery has undergone around 100,000 partial charge/discharge cycles, and observations suggest that it cannot power the satellite during eclipses, or sometimes during periods of poor solar attitude.
The Beacon frequency is VHF 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry
73 Clive G3CWV g3cwv@amsat.org (please replace xxxxx by g3cwv)
[ANS thanks Clive, G3CWV, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.04 AMSAT Offerings at Dayton
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.04
In addition to free gifts with your membership renewal or joining AMSAT, we will have a number of other offerings at the Dayton AMSAT booth.
Updated Frequency Chart Updated "2007 Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book ***New*** Black Computer backpacks with AMSAT logo ***New*** G6LVB computer controlled rotor tracker boards (bare with parts list) ***New*** White SS Golf shirts with AMSAT logo ***New*** Blue LS heavy tee shirt with AMSAT logo ***New*** Blue baseball cap with AMSAT logo ***New*** AMSAT lanyards with badge clips ***New*** Digital CD with 1200 - 38k4 test signals, WiSP software and other digital items ***New*** Green medium weight jacket with AMSAT logo and name/callsign ***New*** 2006 San Francisco Symposium Proceedings AMSAT Journal CDs Arrow Antennas SatPC32, Nova for Windows, SCRAP and IT tracking software AMSAT clocks Eagle Decals and Patches ARISS Patches AO-7 QSL cards
The Eagle area will have an operational SDX (Software Defined Transponder) demonstration, 70cm receiver, 1/2 scale model of the Eagle sturcture, Eagle power generation system, Ultra cap and NiCd battery and SuitSat 2 hardware.
The outdoor satellite demonstration area will be upgraded and be working FM and SSB satellites all day, each day.
Gould is also looking for additional volunteers to work 2 hours shifts in the AMSAT booth on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Email your availability to wa4sxm@amsat.org
Make your plans for the Thursday evening Pizza Party, Friday AMSAT Forum, Banquet and booth visits, Satellite Demonstrations and Eagle area for the latest information and hardware.
[ANS thanks Gould WA4SXM for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.05 AMSAT Banquet Tickets
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.05
Attendees to the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet on Friday night in Dayton are asked to pick up their tickets at the AMSAT Booth during the day on Friday. Please make sure you order your tickets at the AMSAT website before Monday May 14th as a count must be given to the Banquet people. Remember, the ticket includes being admitted to the museum before the banquet and browsing after until 10pm.
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.06 AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.06
Burce KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards says. "Awards this week include the following who we would like to welcome to the satellite community:
These amateurs have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club:
Rafael Valdez XE2PWF Francis Geraci WB1FXX Edgar Hoey III N1YXW I. Made Sudarsana YB9AY
AMSAT Communication Achievement Award Stephen Ayling, SO5AS, #448
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-112.07 ARBONET-2 High Altitude Balloon Flight Set for an April 28th Launch
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 112.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 22, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-112.07
Members of the ARBONET (Amateur Radio Balloons Over NorthEast Texas) organization are making final preparations for the April 28th launch of ARBONET-2. The second in an on-going series of high altitude bal- loon flights carrying Amateur Radio, ARBONET-2 is being dedicated to the memory of Kim R. Miles, N9IS SK, a long time contributor to the central Indiana Windtrax Amateur Radio High Altitude Balloon team who passed away March 27th at the age of 51.
ARBONET-2 will be launched from the JD Trissell Airport in Clarksville, TX which is located in the northeast corner of the Lone Star State. Launch time is scheduled for 9:00 AM CDT on Saturday April 28th. Current winds aloft forecasts indicate the ground track of the flight will carry the amateur payloads into the southwest corner of the state of Arkansas. If ARBONET-2 reaches its expected altitude of 96,000 ft, radio amateurs in parts of as many as seven states should be able to monitor the beacons and communicate through the cross band repeater onboard the near space vehicle.
The compliment of payloads aboard ARBONET-2 include:
A plain language homing beacon that will transmit navigation data to the ground on 146.560 MHz in plain English thus allowing anyone with a scanner or 2 meter hand-held in the coverage zone to follow the progress of the flight without the need for additional equipment to process the data.
An APRS beacon operating on 144.390 MHz to report vehicle location data throughout the duration of the flight and to aid in the recovery of the packages following descent.
A 70 cm Up / 2 meter Down Cross band FM repeater (445.800MHz Up 147.560 MHz Down) will support two way communications during the duration of the ARBONET-2 flight.
A 10 meter CW beacon experiment produced by the Richardson Wireless Klub, K5RWK will transmit a 500 milliwatt signal on 28.061 MHZ.
In addition, ARBONET-2 will carry a number of secondary payloads that will perform remote data collection functions for analysis once the payloads are recovered. These payloads include a 4 mega pixel digital camera configured to capture images every 30 seconds through the dura- tion of the flight, a self contained balloon burst video system design- ed to capture images of the balloon burst event, a three axis acceler- ometer and other environmental data loggers.
Operators are encouraged to submit reception reports from the ARBONET-2 flight to team members via the ARBONET web site: www.arbonet.net. A special commemorative QSL card will be made available to everyone who submits reception reports to the ARBONET team.
An ARBONET Launch Information HF net will be held on 7.260 MHz ( ± 10 KHz)
beginning at 8:30 AM CDT to report the progress of flight preparations and to provide real time coverage of the expected 2 and a half hour flight.
The ARBONET team encourages radio amateurs throughout the flight's coverage zone to make use of the payloads aboard ARBONET-2.
Additional updates will be posted to the ARBONET web site in the days leading up to the mission. In the event weather conditions cause a post- ponement of the launch, the next launch attempt is scheduled for the following Saturday, May 5th.
[ANS thanks ARBONET Membes for the above information]
73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org