AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-283
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:
* ARISSat-1 Delivered to JSC Houston; Next Journey to Russia * AMSAT Board of Directors Names Senior Officers for 2010-2011 * AMSAT's Educational Outreach Reaches New High * AO-51 Repeater Mode to Support JOTA Operations * AO-51 Revised Schedule for October * Call for Volunteers AMSAT at the NASM, Washington DC October 16 * SA AMSAT Presentation at South African Space Congress * KiwiSat Team Requires FPGA Chips * AMSAT Awards * Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.01 ARISSat-1 Delivered to JSC Houston; Next Journey to Russia
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.01
AMSAT ARISSat Project Manager, Gould Smith, WA4SXM reported, ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf V, was shipped from Orlando, Florida to the Johnson Space Center in Houston and has arrived. From there it will be sent to Russia in early October. In Russia it will have the Kursk experiment added to the spaceframe.
The next milestone, the NASA Phase 2 Safety Review, is scheduled for October 13 - 14, 2010. The ARISSat-1 team says that actually two satellites (flight and backup) were ready for the trip to Russia.
A new Russian Orlan suit battery will be shipped to the ISS sep- arately to be installed into the satellite (called the Amateur Radio Experiment) onboard the ISS. ARISSat-1 is scheduled to be sent to the ISS aboard Russian Progress vehicle 41P in January 2011 and deployed during EVA R-28 in February 2011.
[ANS thanks whomever for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.02 AMSAT Board of Directors Names Senior Officers for 2010-2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.02
Election of AMSAT's Senior Officers was one of the first orders of business to be settled once the AMSAT Board of Directors meeting opened on October 7, prior to the start of the 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium held near Chicago, IL.
The following positions were voted upon and filled:
President Barry Baines, WD4ASW Vice-President Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Vice President User Services Gould Smith, WA4SXM Vice-President Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX Secretary Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Treasurer Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF Manager Martha Saragovitz
The following Senior Officer positions remained open at this time awaiting appointments: Executive Vice President Vice-President Human Spaceflight Vice-President Marketing
The AMSAT Board of Directors elected on September 15 include:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW Dr. Thomas A. Clark, K3IO Lou McFadin, W5DID Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Gould Smith, WA4SXM Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
The First Alternate member on the Board of Directors remains open at this time due to the resignation of Board Member Bill Ress, N6GHZ. First Alternate Board Member Tony Monteiro, AA2TX assumed Bill's seat on the Board according to AMSAT's Bylaws.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.03 AMSAT's Educational Outreach Reaches New High
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.03
AMSAT President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW announced at the 2010 Symposium that the Board of Directors voted to approve the Memorandum of Under- standing between AMSAT and the University of Florida, Gainesville to embark upon an educational outreach program.
Discussion with University of Florida's Dr. Norman Fitz-Coy, who leads a graduate Cubesat development program, has revealed several opportuni- ties for AMSAT members to mentor the students on electronics and system engineering issues including on-orbit satellite management learned from operating AMSAT's fleet of spacecraft. AMSAT will also offer assistance with ground station development and operation.
The AMSAT Board of Directors also voted to continue with the educational outreach project between AMSAT, Binghamton University - SUNY, and IBM's Heritage Corridor Center for Advanced Studies. The NextGen Satellite Program is lead by Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP. During the first year of this cooperative effort the NextGen student team characterized supercapacitor performance in vacuum and developed an engineering model of deployable solar cells on a 3U cubesat.
AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX discussed plans for development of AMSAT's Project Fox cubesat. One goal for pro- ject Fox is to establish development of "standardized" cubesat com- ponents including reliable software-defined transponders, telemetry downlink, and spacecraft power management. A stable, well-documented, standardized "cubesat bus" can be made available to university cubesat development teams, freeing them to concentrate on the science of their research programs. This will have the net effect of having an amateur transponder flying in many cubesats in the future.
The NextGen partnership with AMSAT-SUNY-IBM will perform the system engineering leveraging on AMSAT's pioneering Project Fox Cubesat.
AMSAT's educational outreach program provides several advantages to ensure the continued growth of amateur radio in space by training the next generation of space engineers:
+ AMSAT establishes a presence on major universities with state-of-the- art facilities and satellite development teams.
+ Potential for student projects focused on AMSAT needs.
+ Broadening of AMSAT's presence in the wider university community.
+ Increased potential for involvement with research/development grant- funded opportunities for AMSAT and AMSAT members.
+ Establishing a program that offers significant traction for further education outreach.
This is developing news with ongoing details to be reported in future news bulletins, the AMSAT web, and the AMSAT Journal magazine.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.04 AO-51 Repeater Mode to Support JOTA Operations
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.04
AO-51 Command Station Mark Hammond N8MH, said that the AO-51 Operations Team will configure the satellite to support the Jamboree-On-The-Air (JOTA) for Scouting October, 16 - 17:
AO-51 FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM
No transmitter power or antenna restrictions usually associated with the QRP mode of AO-51 operation on this repeater apply to JOTA stations. Use good amateur practice during your operations.
Non-scouting users are asked to use 10 watts or less, and omni- directional or handheld antennas on this repeater. Last minute schedule changes may be required due to the power budget aboard AO-51. Also non-scouting stations please give way to JOTA stations or QSOs with JOTA stations
The 2010 Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, will begin on Saturday, October 16, 2010, at 00:00 hours local time, and end on Sunday, October, 17, 2010, at 23:59 hours local time.
This is an annual Scouting and amateur radio event sponsored by the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Thousands of amateur radio stations around the world participate.
In the United States, Cub Scout dens and Boy Scout patrols visit a local amateur's ham shack during JOTA. Amateurs set up stations giving Scouts and leaders a chance to exchange greetings with Scouts from other areas. The exchanges typically include information such as Name, QTH, Scout rank, Hobbies, and Age. Full details from the World Scout Bureau can be found on-line at: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/intl/pdf/130-218.pdf
Scouts and Amateur Radio operators may also find the ARBONET III high altitude balloon launch for JOTA interesting. ARBONET has published full details of their mission on-line at: http://www.arbonet.net/ARBONET%20FLIGHTS.html
Launch Date: Saturday, Oct 17, 2009 9:30 AM CDT, Clarksville, Texas Launch Net: K5FRC - 3.910MHz +/-, Starting at 9:00AM CST Payloads: 2M Voice Beacon: ID: K5ARB - 144.390 MHz FM 2M APRS: ID: K5ARB-1. 144.390 MHz. 2M CW Homing Beacon ID: K5ARB. Comprised of FM carrier with CW tone at 147.475 MHz 2M APRS: K5ARB-2 144.390 MHz. 70CM / 2M FM Cross-Band Repeater: K5ARB - 445.800 MHz UP, 145.560MHz Down 20M CW Homing Beacon ID: K5RWK - 14.058 MHz
A DX-cluster for spotting JOTA activity can be accessed via telnet at pi4raz.nl port 7300. This cluster will be available for scouting purposes all year round, not just for JOTA.
[ANS thanks Mark N8MH, World Scouting, and ARBONET for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.05 AO-51 Revised Schedule for October
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.05
The AO-51 Command Team and Operations Group has released this revised schedule for October, 2010:
October 3 (late UTC) -------------------- FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U Uplink: 1268.708 MHz FM at 9600 baud Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud
October 10 (late UTC) --------------------- FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
QRP (Oct. 10-15) and JOTA (Oct. 16-17) Only FM Repeater, V/U Please give way to JOTA stations or QSOs with JOTA stations Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM
October 18 (late UTC) --------------------- FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U Uplink: 1268.708 MHz FM at 9600 baud Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud
Monitor http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php for the latest Command Team and Operations Group AO-51 News.
[ANS thanks Mark Hammond N8MH for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.06 Call for Volunteers AMSAT at the NASM, Washington DC October 16
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.06
Samudra Haque, N3RDX is leading the AMSAT outreach activity at the Hispanic Heritage Month Family Day - Argentina in Air and Space which will held be at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. The event will take place between 10 AM - 3 PM. Details can be found at: http://www.nasm.si.edu/
Samudra says he needs help with the AMSAT display and if you can vol- unteer any exhibition/display resources including pictures, posters. AMSAT members would set-up tables with equipment, posters, and other items of interest to visitors. These tables would be staffed throughout the day by AMSAT members. You are welcome to volunteer for a couple of hours or the whole day. Free parking will be provided to all, and lunch will be provided for people who volunteer the whole day.
Contact Samudra via e-mail (samudra.haque@gmail.com) if you need more information or can help out.
[ANS thanks Samudra Haque, N3RDX for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.07 SA AMSAT Presentation at South African Space Congress
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.07
Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV representing SA AMSAT presented a paper at the First Annual South African Space Congress in Cape Town at the SA Astronomical Observatory on 7 and 8 October 2010.
The paper entitled 'Amateur Radio's significant contribution to satellite communication' will trace the many facets of Amateur Radio's involvement in space.
ZS6AKV reviewed the major contributions made by Amateur Radio to satellite communication and focused on some of the current projects both world-wide and in South Africa. His paper will also touched on other space related activities such as SETI and Radio Telescopes.
SA AMSAT stated a copy of the paper will be available for download from http://www.amsatsa.org after the event.
[ANS thanks SA AMSAT and SouthGateARC site for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.08 KiwiSat Team Requires FPGA Chips
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.08
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.08
Terry Carrell, ZL3QL sent a request on behalf of the AMSAT-ZL KiwiSAT team. They require four (4) Cypress CY7C383A-0JC or QuickLogic QL12x16-2PL68C FPGA chips, used & un-programmed.
To date the team had 2 lots of 4 from two different sources but all proved to have been compromised and could not be programmed. Terry wrote, "We had a small stock but they have all been used during our development work and while we can purchase new units, the source requires us to buy a significant number more than our requirement which is proving to be very expensive. We are happy to pay for good units once we have confirmed they are clean. These chips will fly so it is important we have perfect units."
If you help in any way, please let Terry, ZL3QL know. Terry can be contacted via e-mail: tcarrell@xtra.co.nz
[ANS thanks Terry, ZL3QL and AMSAT-ZL for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.09 AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.09
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.09
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO says congratul- ations are in order for the awards that he processed over the last month.
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO:
Jay Kendall, N2JK Darek Dabek, SP9TTX Marisuz Kocot, SQ9MES
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award:
Bob Herrell, AJ5C #517 Jim Adams, K0BAM #518 Leo Hucin, OK2UUJ #519 Jay Kendall, N2JK #520
The following have earned the South Africa AMSAT Communications Achievement Award:
Jim Adams, K0BAM #US149 Jay Kendall, N2JK #US150 Marisuz Kocot, SQ9MES #US151
The following have earned the AMSAT Century Club Award: John Papay, K8YSE #39
The following have earned the W4AMI Satellite Communications Achievement award:
Bob Herrell, AJ5C, #64 Zachary Beougher, KD8KSN #65 Mariusz Kocot, SQ9MES, #66 (plus 1 endorsement) Darek Dabek, SP9TTX, #67 (plus 3 endorsements)
The following have earned the W4AMI 5000 Satellite Communications Achievement award:
Darek Dabek, SP9TTX #24
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bruce KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.10 Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.10
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-283.10
+ Congratulations to Sebastian, W4AS for attaining Satellite VUCC Award #200!
+ A humorous overview of the review process for the upcoming MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission to Mars has been posted by NASA. NASA gave the mission a green light to continue development which will investigate the mystery of how Mars lost much of its atmosphere: http://www.universetoday.com/75011/so-you-want-to-build-a-satellite/ Additional information about the MAVEN mission can be found at the MarsDaily.com web site: http://tinyurl.com/27zvovx
+ A good overview of HO-68 Operating has been posted by Henk, PA3GUO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6oDgUTHCwg
+ A short video introduces the Firefly mission, a CubeSat built by undergraduate students with the partnership of Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Science Foundation. http://tinyurl.com/22tm3z5 (SoutGateARC site)
+ For those interested in building your own satellite antennas check out this article by Derek Hilleard, G4CQM considering three different state-of-the-art 7 element yagi designs for 144MHz. http://g4cqm.www.idnet.com/2M%20YAGI/ (via SouthGate)
+ This is not satellite related but you guys are going to like this one anyway. Watch this helmet-mounted camera video as our two heroes make a stomach-churning climb to the top of this 1,768 foot mast just to change a Xenon flasher: http://tinyurl.com/2c3nmul (SouthGate)
+ ARISS Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF invites you to view the photos and listen to a a mp3 recording of the successful ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) school contact with Norwegian Museum of Science, Technology and Medicine: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2010_09_25.htm
+ The next Hudson Valley Satcom Group net is Thursday Oct. 14, starting at 8PM EDT (UTC - 4) on the 146.970 MHz repeater (Down 600 & Pl. 100) and an Echo link node of: N2EYH-L. More info: http://www.hvsatcom.org (via Stu, WA2BSS)
+ Videos of the 2010 annual meeting of AMSAT-Italy held at Esrin south of Rome are available on the ESA website. http://download.esa.int/flv/amsat-i_2010_part1.flv (ISS) http://download.esa.int/flv/amsat-i_2010_part7.flv http://download.esa.int/flv/amsat-i_2010_part4.flv (ISS Digital ATV) http://www.esa-spaceweather.net/sda/ionosfera/amateur_radio.html
+ Paul 2E1EUB says starting this weekend and for the next 14 days he will be active at his 2M1EUB location in Scotland for the first 7 days. He will operate the last 7 days from the north west coast of Scotland.
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. And, with that, please keep this advice in mind for your next antenna project, working together, two men can do the work of three. The trick is convincing those two other suckers to work together.
73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org