AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-105.01

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org.

In this edition:

* Russian SSTV Event to Celebrate Cosmonautics Day * AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Speaker - Jeri Ellsworth, AI6TK * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 2018 * Balloons launched BLT-49.1 still afloat and heading for Florida * Upcoming ARISS contact with Pinson Valley HS, Pinson, AL * Major Rove Announcement * JSpOC Approves AMSAT for Re-distribution of Keplerian Elements * ARRL and CQ Magazine Announce Launch of CQ’s WAZ Award Support on ARRL's Logbook of the World * Call for Papers and Presentations - Central States VHF Society, Inc. Conference * AMSAT Announces Hamvention Forum Speaker Line Up * AMSAT Activities for Hamvention 2018

Russian SSTV Event to Celebrate Cosmonautics Day

ARISS Russia is planning a special Slow Scan Television (SSTV) event from the International Space Station in celebration of Cosmonautics Day. The transmissions are to begin on April 11 at 11:30 UTC and run through April 14 ending at 18:20 UTC.

Supporting this event is a computer on the ISS Russian Segment, which stores images that are then transmitted to Earth using amateur radio, specifically the onboard Kenwood TM-D710E transceiver. Transmitted images will be from the Interkosmos project period of the Soviet space program (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interkosmos). Images received can be posted and viewed at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php .The transmissions which were coordinated with the ARISS scheduling team, will be broadcast at 145.800 MHz using the PD-120 SSTV mode.

Please note that the event is dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and are subject to change at any time.

Please check for news and the most current information on the AMSAT.org and ARISS.org websites, the [email protected], the ARISS facebook at Amateur Radio On The International Space Station (ARISS) and ARISS twitter @ARISS_status.

About ARISS

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Center for the Advancement of Science in space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

Also join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)

Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status

[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information} --------------------------------------------------------------------

AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Speaker - Jeri Ellsworth, AI6TK

The twelfth annual joint AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held on Friday, May 18 at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center, 4572 Presidential Way, Kettering, OH 45429 (just south of Dayton). Doors open at 6:30 PM for a cash bar with the buffet dinner served at 7:00 PM.

Jeri Ellsworth, AI6TK, will present on her innovative ideas and adventures in Amateur Radio. Jeri is an American entrepreneur, self-taught engineer, and an autodidact computer chip designer and inventor.

She gained notoriety in 2004 for creating a complete Commodore 64 system on a chip housed within a joystick, called C64 Direct-to-TV. That "computer in a joystick" could run 30 video games from the early 1980's, and at peak, sold over 70,000 units in a single day via the QVC shopping channel.

Ellsworth co-founded CastAR (formerly Technical Illusions) in 2013 and stayed with the company until its closure on June 26, 2017. In 2016, she passed all three amateur radio exams, earned her Amateur Extra license, and received the AI6TK callsign. This has now launched new adventures into Amateur Radio. She has been featured in January 2017 QST and in YouTube videos from Quartzfest earlier this year. Jeri has been given a free hand to speak on whatever topic she wishes (as long as it's amateur radio, somewhat).

[ANS thanks AMSAT's Havention 2018 Team for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 2018

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period March 1, 2018 through March 31, 2018. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!

There were several calls which decreased by one this month. These are not listed below.

CALL 1Mar18 1Apr18

KK5DO 780 781 WA5KBH 659 728 N4UFO 715 724 N9IP 574 589 W5RKN 554 575 N9EAT 410 428 WD9EWK 400 425 KE4AL 252 317 K7TAB 274 306 W7QL 275 300 AA8CH 104 175 PT2AP 102 172 PS8ET 127 157 N3GS 101 130 N7AGF 101 126 G0ABI 116 122 AL6D 112 (NEW VUCC) W1AT 102 (NEW VUCC)

If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement.

This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for March 1, 2018. and April 1, 2018. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work!

[ANS thanks for Ron Parsons for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Balloons launched March 17 - BLT-49.1 still afloat and heading for Florida

Ballons were launched 17 March from the Houston Hamfest, we had a great balloon launch talk byAndy MacAllister, W5ACM, followed by two successful balloon launches. The first launch at 9:05am was BLT-49.2 and was a 300g 'popper' latex balloon carrying a digital Fireball smart beacon sending the temperature in CW on 14.318 MHz & 28.322 MHz. We copied the weak CW beacon until 11:45am and believe it burst at well over 110,000 feet based on the time aloft and temperatures we were receiving. Very successful flight!

The second launch of BLT-49.1 occurred about 9:06am and was a 'floater' balloon (1m Qualatex Mylar) carrying a PecanPico 5 APRS tracker. It rose very slowly into the sky, escorted by several drones videoing the event, headed north then shot off to the east passing over Houston, Beaumont and New Orleans. After avoiding a few thunderstorms along the way, it is currently just below Panama City, FL at ~30,000 feet heading for Orlando & KSC! It can be tracked on aprs.fi or tracker.habhub.org (see links below). After crossing Florida, we're hoping to hear from it again on the other side of the Atlantic https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=11&call=a%2FAB5SS-11 https://tracker.habhub.org/#!mt=roadmap&mz=6&qm=1_day&mc=29.9735... 84.9113&f =AB5SS-11

[ANS thanks John, AB5SS for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Upcoming ARISS contact with Pinson Valley HS, Pinson, AL

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Pinson Valley HS, Pinson, AL on Apr. 10. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:02 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and KN4BBD. The contact should be audible over the state of Alabama and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Pinson Valley High School is located in Central Alabama near the city of Birmingham and is one of 57 schools in the Jefferson County School system. We are a very diverse school with approximately 1100 students in grades 9-12. At PVHS students have many options for academic programs and extracurricular involvement. We have opportunities for students to take Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment classes, a growing career technical education academy, and a very popular fine arts academy. We hope that our participation in the ARISS contact will build an increased interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) course pathways. There are many sport teams for both male and female athletes. On December 8, 2017 our football team won the Alabama 6A State Championship, a first for our school. Our motto is "At Pinson Valley High School we promote achievement, respect, and success." Go Indians!

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. By having zero gravity, what type of exercises you have to do to keep your

body from losing mass?

2. What prompted your interest or love of space?

3. Psychologically, what is the most challenging aspect of being in space?

4. What type of research are you currently conducting on the ISS?

5. When you receive food supplies in space can you make special request for

certain foods?

6. What can a high school student do now to prepare for a potential career in

aerospace?

7. How much education and training does an astronaut typically have?

8. Theoretically could NASA power future rockets/spaceships via nuclear

fusion, similar to the sun?

9. What is the scariest part of space travel; the launch, living on the ISS,

or re-entry?

10. What happens if someone was to have a heart attack, get sick, or have

another medical emergency in space?

11. What is a typical day aboard the ISS like?

12. Since the ISS hosts astronauts from different countries, what language is

spoken aboard the ISS?

13. Besides your family, what do you miss most about life on earth?

14. What fuels the ISS?

15. What kind of medical testing does an astronaut have to go through to be

physically and mentally ready for duty?

16. Can you easily communicate with your family members while you are aboard

the ISS?

17. What are some hazards in space?

18. Have any organisms been born or conceived in space?

19. What happens if a fire occurs on the ISS?

20. Since you cannot really take a good shower in space, is the ISS smelly?

[ANS thanks AMSAT EDU News for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Major Rove Announcement

Announcing a major rove for satellite operators; the Springtime Rove to The Great White North! Doug Tabor, N6UA and Ken Alexander, VE3HLS will be teaming up to travel north to the James Bay area of Quebec to activate as many FO grids as are accessible by road, in the time we have. Our plan is to leave Toronto on May 5th, entering FO the next day, and spending 7 to 8 days activating rare grids. This area is extremely remote. The James Bay Road is the main corridor through the area and was built by Quebec Hydro to support construction of a province-wide network of hydroelectric projects. It's 610 km long. There are gas stations at each end and another somewhere in the middle. Likewise, the Route du Nord is a 406 km gravel road with no services. There is no cellphone service once you leave Matagami, QC, the southern terminus of the James Bay Road. We will only have internet access when we get to a town. The road will take us through, and give us access to FO01/02/03/10/11/12/13/20/21/22/23. With so many satellites currently available, having two operators will insure that everyone will have a chance to work one of us. If two satellites are in view at the same time, we'll be on both of them! We will also allocate ourselves so as to be present on as many FM satellites as are available to us. Our plans aren't complete yet. We may activate other grids, or be forced to rein in our expectations depending on available time and the conditions we encounter. We will provide updates in the coming weeks.

[ANS thanks Ken, VE3HL & SDoug, N6UA for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

JSpOC Approves AMSAT for Re-distribution of Keplerian Elements

AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, says, "I am pleased to announce that AMSAT's request to re-distribute JSpOC Keplerian elements from SpaceTrack has been approved for the period April 1, 2018 to April 1, 2019. Our USSTRATCOM ODR (Orbital Data Request) to distribute the AMSAT-NA TLEs was approved on March 27, 2018."

Thanks to JSpOC, Perry Klein, W3PK and Paul Williamson, KB5MU for their help in this process.

We are "good to go" for another year.

On another note, sadly, the PICSAT team has announced today that PICSAT is no longer operational. But, Ray will continue to carry PICSAT TLEs for now.(Remember AO-07?)

[ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

ARRL and CQ Magazine Announce Launch of CQ’s WAZ Award Support on ARRL's Logbook of the World

Newington, CT and Hicksville, NY – April 2, 2018 Officials from CQ magazine and ARRL, The national association for Amateur Radio®, are excited to announce the launch of support for CQ magazine’s Worked All Zones (WAZ) award program on ARRL’s Logbook of the World (LoTW) system, effective Monday, April 2, at 10:00 a.m. EDT (14:00 UTC).

The goal of the project was to create the proper technical support system to enable amateur radio operators to submit LoTW confirmations for WAZ credit and that has been accomplished, say CQ and ARRL officials.

“We are very pleased that participants in CQ's WAZ award program will now be able to use their LoTW confirmations for award credit,” said CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU. “CQ WPX Award participants have found it very helpful and we are sure it will be equally helpful for those pursuing WAZ and its many variations.”

ARRL First Vice President Greg Widin, K0GW, concurred. “Users of LoTW have been telling us for some time that they would like to use QSLs from LoTW to apply for the WAZ award. They will now be able to select confirmations to be used for WAZ credit.”

Beta testing for bringing CQ magazine's WAZ award program into ARRL’s LoTW system had been underway since mid-December. Any problems in the implementation discovered by testers were corrected by the technical support team. Also, the documentation has been improved by feedback from the testers. At the same time, each LoTW user was given an additional WAZ account.

Standard LoTW credit fees and separate CQ award fees will apply.

Logbook of the World is ARRL's electronic confirmation system for amateur radio contacts. It provides a confirmation when both stations in a contact submit their logs to the system and a match between the logs is confirmed. LoTW has supported the CQ WPX Award program since 2012.

CQ Communications, Inc. is publisher of CQ Amateur Radio magazine and is the world's largest independent publisher of amateur radio magazines, books and videos. Worked All Zones is the second-oldest active award program in amateur radio, behind only the International Amateur Radio Union's Worked All Continents award.

ARRL The national association for Amateur Radio®, represents the interests of Amateur (or “ham”) Radio operators across the country. Founded in 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim as The American Radio Relay League, ARRL has a proud history of achievement as the standard- bearer in amateur affairs. Now in its second century, the organization remains focused on “advancing the art, science, and enjoyment of Amateur Radio.”

[ANS thanks CQ Communications, for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Call for Papers and Presentations - Central States VHF Society, Inc. Conference

The Central States VHF Society, Inc. is soliciting both authors for the "Proceedings of the Central States VHF Society" and presenters for the technical sessions at its 2018 Conference to be held in Wichita, KS July 26-29, 2018.

Further information for both authors and presenters may be found on the 2018 Conference website <www.2018.CSVHFS.org under "Guidance Documents."

Topics for both papers and presentations include all topics related to weak-signal VHF and above amateur radio activities, including: * Antennas: including Modeling, Design, Arrays, and Control * Test Equipment: including Homebrew, Commercial, and Measurement Techniques & Tips * Construction of equipment: such as Transmitters, Receivers, and Transverters * Operating: including Contesting, Roving, and DXpeditions * RF power amps: including Single and Multi-band Vacuum Tube, Solid-state, and TWTAs * Propagation: including Ducting, Sporadic E, Tropospheric, Meteor Scatter, etc. * Pre-amplifiers (low noise) * Digital Modes : such as WSJT, JT65, FT8, JT6M, ISCAT, etc. * Regulatory topics * Moon Bounce (EME) * Software-defined Radio (SDR) * Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Topics such as FM, repeaters, packet radio, etc., are generally considered outside of the scope of papers being sought. However, there are always exceptions. Please contact either Kent Britain, WA5VJB (wa5vjb (at) wa5vjb.com) or Donn Baker, WA2VOI (wa2voi (at) mninter.net) if you have any questions about the suitability of a particular topic.

For presenters, we would appreciate a brief abstract of your presentation topic on or before Tuesday, May 15th to help us with the program schedule. The final presentation materials (i.e., PowerPoint, etc. files) are due at the Conference on Friday morning (July 27th). However, for supporting material (NOT the presentation itself) to be published in the Proceedings, it must be received by Tuesday, May 15th.

For papers to be published in the Proceedings, final copies must be received by Tuesday, May 15th. Note that you do not have to attend the Conference nor present your paper to have it published in the Proceedings.

[ANS thanks Donn, WA2VOI for the above information] ---------------------------------------------------------------------

AMSAT Announces Hamvention Forum Speaker Line Up

The AMSAT Forum at Hamvention 2018 will be held on Saturday, May 19 in Forum room 4 at 2:45-3:45 PM. The speaker and topic line up includes:

+ Moderator: Keith Baker, KB1SF / VA3KSF

+ "AMSAT Status Report" by Joseph Spier, K6WAO, AMSAT-NA President, who will highlight recent activities within AMSAT and discuss some of our challenges, accomplishments, projects, and any late breaking news.

+ "AMSAT Engineering Program" by Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT-NA Vice President for Engineering, will talk about the Fox-1 and Golf (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint) Projects.

+ "ARISS Report 2018" by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human Spaceflight will discus ARISS' "Next Generation ARISS Radio System" on the International Space Station.

[ANS thanks Forum Moderator Keith baker, Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------

AMSAT Activities for Hamvention 2018

AMSAT Booth ----------- Stop by the AMSAT booth (1007-1010 & 1107-1110) Friday 9am-6pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 9am-1pm to meet board members, officers, and active satellite operators. You'll be able to ask questions and see demonstrations of AMSAT's current and upcoming technologies.

Well dressed satellite operators will look forward to picking up the latest AMSAT "swag" and fashions for 2018. Gould Smith's book, "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites", has been updated for 2018 and will be on sale during the Hamvention.

AMSAT Forum ----------- The AMSAT Forum at Hamvention 2018 will be held on Saturday, May 19 in Forum room 4 at 2:45-3:45 PM.

Amateur Satellite Demonstrations -------------------------------- Amateur Satellite operation demonstrations will be held every day outside the main Maxim Hall (Building 1 or E1) entrance. AMSAT will be be demonstrating actual contacts with the operational amateur satellites. We especially invite youth to make a contact via an amateur satellite. All are invited to observe, participate and ask questions. Satellite pass times will be posted at the AMSAT booth and in the demo area.

Annual AMSAT "Dinner at Tickets" Party -------------------------------------- The annual AMSAT "Dinner at Tickets" party will be held Thursday at 1800 EDT at Tickets Pub & Eatery at 7 W. Main St, Fairborn, OH. Feast on a great selection of Greek and American food and great company! No program or speaker, just good conversation. Food can be ordered from the menu, drinks (beer, wine, sodas and iced tea) are available at the bar. Leave room for dessert, there's an in-house ice cream shop! Come as you are. Bring some friends and have a great time the night before Hamvention.

AMSAT/TAPR Banquet ------------------ The twelfth annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held at the Kohler Presidential Center on Friday at 1830 EDT. This dinner is always a highlight of the AMSAT and TAPR activities during the Dayton Hamven- tion. We are pleased to announce that Jeri Ellsworth, AI6TK will be our speaker. Jeri will present her innovative ideas and adventures in Amateur Radio.

Banquet seating is limited to the number of meals reserved with the Kohler caterers based on the number of tickets sold by the deadline.

Tickets ($37 each) may be purchased from the AMSAT store: https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-at-hamvention/

The banquet ticket purchase deadline is Tuesday, May 15. Banquet tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the AMSAT booth. There will be no tickets to pick up at the AMSAT booth. Tickets purchased on-line will be maintained on a list with check-in at the door of the banquet center.

[ANS thanks AMSAT's Havention 2018 Team for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-042.01 ANS-105.01 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 105.01

From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.

April 8. 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-105.01

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Karhu Koti has created a mutual window calculator for satellites between two locations. See: https://www.karhukoti.com/webtracker

+ An interesting twitter post about the 'live' on-line tracking sites

interesting:https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/980549243701268 482

+ Not your typical space junk article. It leads with the release of 100+ sats by the same Indian rocket that launched AO- 92.https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-need-satellitesa-speeding-mass-of- space-junk-puts-them-at-risk-1505226427

+ Here's something to think about. L band is a lot of fun. We do get 24 hours once a week (not complaining). With several ISS passes every day. It is a good reflector. Plus we can use CW, SSB, many digi modes. Just google it.

+ Next Rocket Lab launch window is starting 20th April 00:30 UTC for 4 hours. This window repeats for the following 14 days.

See: http://rocketlabusa.com/news/updates/rocket-lab-to-launch-first- commercial-mission-this-month/ It will be probably be watchable live from their web site.

73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

+ AMSAT's plans for Hamvention 2018 for the dates May 17-20 have been posted: https://www.amsat.org/other-events/amsat-activities-at-hamvention- 2018/

---------------------------------------------------------------------

/EX

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.

Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.

73, This week's ANS Editor, Chris Bradley, AA0CB aa0cb at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb