AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-246

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: * Deadline for Submitting AMSAT BoD Ballots Approaching * Dr. Scott Sanford, AMSAT Symposium Tour Speaker * 2006 AMSAT Symposium Final Call for Papers * AO-51 Operating Schedule for September 2006 * JAMSAT Announces a New Satellite Operating Award * Commission Probing Dnepr Crash Presents Preliminary Conclusions * ARISS Status - 28 August 2006

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.01 Deadline for Submitting AMSAT BoD Ballots Approaching

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.01

If you have not mailed your AMSAT ballot , now is the time to do so! The ballot must arrive at the office by September 15th. Look over the bios at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/2006_Board_Candidates/ and VOICE YOUR CHOICE and VOTE!!!

[ANS thanks Martha at AMSAT HQ for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.02 Dr. Scott Sanford, AMSAT Symposium Tour Speaker

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.02

AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, is very pleased to announced that NASA Principal Investigator, Dr. Scott Sanford has generously accepted our invitation to provide a key presentation during the Symposium tour of the Ames Exploration Center. Dr. Sanford, who is co-director of the NASA Ames Astrochemistry Laboratory, will speak about sample return from comets and asteroids in general, and specifically about the Stardust Sample and Return Mission to Comet Wild 2.

Dr. Sanford was one of the original team members to propose capturing dust from a comet and bringing it back to Earth. Stardust was launched in February 1999, and in January 2004 approached Wild 2 within 150 miles of the nucleus, collecting samples and capturing detailed imagery of the comet's surface. On January 15th 2006 Stardust re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and successfully completed it's mission after landing in the salt flats of northwestern Utah.

So be sure to join us Sunday afternoon for what promises to be an exciting event.

The 2006 Space Symposium will be a joint meeting with the ARISS International Delegates and will also include the IARU Satellite Advisory Panel annual meeting, and a meeting of AMSAT International Delegates. For additional information and to register for transportation to the Ames Exploration Center please visit the AMSAT website at http://www.amsat.org/symposium.

73, Emily Clarke, N1DID Symposium Chair

[ANS thanks Emily, N1DID, for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.03 2006 AMSAT Symposium Final Call for Papers

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.03

2006 AMSAT North America Space Symposium 6-8 October 2006, Foster City, California Call for Papers: Final Call http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2006CallForPapers.php

Invitation: Speakers are invited to submit and present papers dealing with the science of Amateur Radio Satellites and associated technologies for the AMSAT 2006 Space Symposium. The Symposium will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City, California approximately 10km south of San Francisco International Airport. This is an annual Symposium, however the 2005 Symposium was cancelled due to hurricane damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Speakers originally scheduled for the 2005 Symposium are invited to re-submit papers for the 2006 Symposium.

Topics: Recommended topics include but are not limited to the following categories:

· AMSAT P3E · AMSAT Eagle · Microsatellite Projects · Cubesat and Nanosatellite Projects · ARISS · Attitude Determination and Control · Propulsion · Communications · Mechanical · Antennas · Groundstations · Digital Modes · Education and Outreach · Launch Opportunities · Status Reports

Other Activities: · The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet on 5-6 October. · The AMSAT Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on 6 October. · AMSAT International will meet 8 October · The IARU Satellite Committee will meet during the Symposium and will hold a public round table discussion on frequency coordination on 8 October · The ARISS International Delegates Meeting will be held on 9-10 October · "Birds of a Feather" sessions (BOFS) will be available on request

Deadline: Applications for papers must be received ASAP. Papers must be submitted no later than 12 September 2006.

Procedure: The planning committee has created an online registration system where you can submit your abstract and track it. Using this system you will allow you to submit your paper and any subsequent changes online.

Visit the 2006 Symposium Paper Registration webpage for instructions: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2006PapersProcedure.php

Contact Emily Clarke, N1DID for additional information or Jean Fletcher KG6IAK for additional information

Venue: See the 2006 Space Symposium web page for additional information about the venue.

[ANS thanks Emily, N1DID, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.04 AO-51 Operating Schedule for September 2006

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.04

Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, has posted the AO-51 operating schedule for September. Drew explains, "We've tried to include a little bit of everything this month". Drew also requests that all requests to the ao51-modes@amsat.org list include "AMSAT" in the subject line. This will help sort out the valid requests from the waves and waves of spam that must be filtered through to be forwarded to the rest of the Committee.

Mode changes generally occur at ~0200Z on the dates indicated below.

September 1 to September 4 FM Repeater, V/S Uplink: 145.920 Mhz FM, No PL Tone Downlink: 2401.200 Mhz FM

September 4 to September 11 FM Repeater, V/U, High Power Mode Uplink: 145.920 Mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone Downlink: 435.300 Mhz FM

September 11 to September 18 FM Repeater, L/S Uplink: 1268.700 Mhz FM, No PL Tone Downlink: 2401.200 Mhz FM

September 18 to September 24 "Normal" Mode FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 Mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone Downlink: 435.300 Mhz FM 9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS) Uplink: 145.860 Mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital Downlink: 435.150 Mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital

September 24 to October 2 38k4 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS (Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS) Uplink: 145.860 Mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital Downlink: 435.150 Mhz FM, 38k4 PBP Digital

73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT LM2332 For the AO-51 Operations Group

[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.05 JAMSAT Announces a New Satellite Operating Award

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.05

Mikio Mouri, JA3GEP, President of Japan-AMSAT (JAMSAT) announced the availability of the new JAMSAT Five Stars Award on August 17, 2006.

JAMSAT's goal is to get more activity on amateur radio satellite communications, to get more hams interested in this aspect of the hobby,and to protect the frequency allocation of the amateur satellites.

This Award is opened for world wide, with following rules.

1. The applicant is required to establish a QSO with five(5) different stations over five (5) different Satellites. (Total 25 QSL Cards required)

2. Each specific satellite is counted once, even the QSO was made on different mode or band on the same satellite.

3. Valid only for 2way QSOs. Cross mode QSOs are not valid on this award.

4. The QSOs using Digital mode and SSTV are valid, however you are requested to get QSL Cards. (e-QSL is not acceptable.)

5. No specific endosement (eg. CW, SSB) is provided.

6. QSOs made after the January 1st, 2006 at 00:00 UTC are valid.

7. As for the application, no specific format is provided. You can use your own QSO list, however it is recomended to use formats used by ARRL or JARL. You need to have your application certified by 2 local radio amateurs, but please DO NOT send QSL cards to us. (We can not take any responsiblity for them.)

8. Fee on the application: Outside of Japan please send Ten(10) "NEW" IRCs with the application. Japanese radio amateurs should include 800 yen by Postal Money Order. (If you are a member of the JAMSAT, then 400 yen is applicable).

9. Donations are welcomed: This is not a requirement, but any donations to build new amateur satellites will be most welcome. If you wish to donate, please add this amount to your award application fee. JAMSAT will remit your donations to AMSAT-DL and/or AMSAT-NA accordingly. (Please understand that the JAMSAT-Board is entitled to divide the sum of donations for each party and project.)

10. Mailing address--Please forward your application to the following.

JAMSAT AWARD OFFICE For the attention of Mr. S. Murakami PO Box 26, Mizushima Post Office, Kurashiki, Okayama 712-8691, Japan

11. Questions and Information If you have had any questions, please send your message by e-mail to: madoguchi@jamsat.or.jp

[ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.06 Commission Probing Dnepr Crash Presents Preliminary Conclusions

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.06

The commission investigating the crash of the Dnepr launch vehicle in Kazakhstan in July has come to its preliminary conclusions regarding the cause of the accident, Kosmotras, the company responsible for the rocket's launch, said in a press release and reported by Interfax.

"The conclusions presented by the commission in its preliminary report indicate that the command system functioned without a hitch during the rocket's launch," the release reads.

The report continues, "A brief malfunctioning of the hydraulic gear of one of the combustion chambers of the first stage's engine unit is the reason behind the abortive launch. The cause of the hydraulic gear's failure has been established. The commission is preparing recommendations on how to repair this problem".

[ANS thanks the Moscow Staff Writers at SpaceDaily.com for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-246.07 ARISS Status - 28 August 2006

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 246.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 3, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-246.07

1. Japanese School Contact

Sendai Municipal Yoshinari Junior High School in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan experienced an ARISS contact on Friday, August 25. Only five students were able to have their questions answered due to technical difficulties the school experienced with the audio. An audience of approximately 240 students, teachers and parents attended. Four television stations including NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and five newspapers covered the contact.

2. Change Made to Spaceflight Participants

Japanese businessman and space visitor Dice-K Enomoto was expected to fly on the next Soyuz flight in September. He has experienced some medical issues and will not be able to participate. His backup, Iranian American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari, will take his place. The ARISS team is making arrangements for her training and school contacts. News of the switch may be found in the following articles:

"American Businesswoman Could Step In as Next Civilian Space Traveler" http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/08/21/100/?nc=1

"Space Adventures' Client, Anousheh Ansari, Prepared to Take Flight" http://www.spaceadventures.com/media/releases/2006-08/424

3. ARRL Articles on SSTV Testing, SuitSat-1 and Upcoming Atlantis Flight

ARRL covered the Slow Scan Television (SSTV) testing that has been carried out on the ISS in an article, "ISS Crew, ARISS Team Troubleshooting Slow-Scan TV System." See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/08/22/2/?nc=1

SuitSat-1 was deployed on February 3, 2006. It is expected to reenter the earth's atmosphere in the very near future. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/08/24/1/?nc=1

ARRL posted a short story on the upcoming shuttle flight entitled "Two radio amateurs to be aboard shuttle Atlantis." See: http://www.arrl.org/?artid=6709

4. ARRL Article on Australian Contact

On August 18, Australian Reece and Devonport High School students experienced an ARISS contact. ARRL's article, "Astronaut, Tasmanian Students Work Through ISS Ham Radio Contact Glitches," may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/08/24/2/?nc=1

5. ARRL Magazine QST Articles

Several ARISS related articles were published in the September issue of QST. The first is an article by ARRL writer Rick Lindquist, N1RL, about Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, (with his picture) being delivered to the ISS as a new crew member. It is titled "Shuttle Drops off New ISS Ham Radio Crew Member." There is another story by Lindquist which covers Bill McArthur earning the Worked All States (WAS) award and inspiring students to pursue science, space and radio. It includes a picture of ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer awarding a special WAS plaque to McArthur and is entitled, "Astronaut Honored for WAS, Inspiring Others from Space." A column written by ARRL's Steve Ford, WB8IMY, is entitled "APRS and the ISS" and talks about how to try APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) with the ISS, and how this activity is educational and entertaining.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI 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.

73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org