AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-363

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:

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In this edition: * SKN on OSCAR 2009 This Week * AO-51 Schedule to Support SKN and Kids Day * Richard Garriott Interview Available Online * ARISS 25th Commemorative Event to Feature L/V Repeater This Week * ARISS Status - 22 December 2008

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.01 SKN on OSCAR 2009 This Week

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.01

Ray Soifer, W2RS extends the annual cordial invitation to all radio amateurs worldwide to participate in AMSAT's Straight Key Night (SKN) on OSCAR 2009.

Participating in SKN on OSCAR 2009 is easy. No rules, no scoring and no need to send in a log. Just operate CW through any OSCAR between 0000 and 2400 UTC on 1 January 2009, using a straight hand key.

In keeping with the friendly nature of this event, all participants are encouraged to nominate someone they worked for "Best Fist." Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you heard, just of those you worked. Please send your nomination to w2rs@amsat.org. A list of those nominated will appear in ANS and The AMSAT Journal. CU SKN!

[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.02 AO-51 Schedule to Support SKN and Kids Day

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.02

AMSAT VP of Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, reminds everyone that AO-51 will be configured to support two upcoming special events. For the first time AO-51 will be configured to support CW operations during the annual SKN Event. Following SKN the uplink will be reconfigured back to the more traditional FM/FM up and downlinks to support the ARRL's Kids Day event.

December 29 - January 2

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

SSB/FM Repeater, V/U (CW QSOs only on Straight Key Night) Uplink: 145.880 MHz USB Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM

January 3

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

FM Repeater, V/U (ARRL Kid's Day, QSOs between or with kids ONLY) Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM

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

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.03 Richard Garriott Interview Available Online

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.03

Space traveler Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, ha been interviewed by science fiction writer Tracy Hickman about Garriott's recent visit to the International Space Station. During the session, W5KWQ talked about his experience of operating amateur radio on orbit and conversing with the ham community worldwide.

The entire interview is 2 hours and 45 minutes in duration. Its available in 3 installments. You will find it at http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dragonhearth

[ANS thanks Newsline for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.04 ARISS 25th Commemorative Event to Feature L/V Repeater This Week

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.04

To date, the ISS crew has configured the radio to support cross-band repeater operations, they have supported some SSTV downlinks and we have had the opportunity to participate in a special test of 9600 baud packet radio operations on the simplex frequency of 145.825 MHz.

Specifically, December 28-January 3, we plan to reconfigure the Crossband repeater for a special experiment. This will be a test of our L-Band uplink capability, which, to date, has not been proven out. Plan for an uplink of 1269.65 MHz and and downlink on the standard frequency 145.80 MHz using low power. Given the substantial cable losses of the L-band system, we hope some "big guns" are able to penetrate through, keep up with doppler, and make the connection.

We will provide more updates in the near future. We would like to remind everyone that ISS flight requirements related to EVA and vehicle activity may require the radio to be off for some portion of this schedule. And school contacts and general QSO opportunities by the crew will also preempt this schedule for short periods of time. (But remember that if you hear these, you still qualify for a commemorative certificate).

Frank concluded, "In the meantime, enjoy the ARISS ops on ISS! And congratulations to Owen Garriott, W5LFL, on the 25th anniversary of his historic flight!!"

[ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, AMSAT-NA V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs and ARISS International Chairman for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.05 ARISS Status - 22 December 2008

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.05

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Technopolis in Mechelen, Belgium on Monday, December 29 at 11:43 UTC via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. The mission of Technopolis is to bring science and technology to the public. The center has permanent and temporary exhibits and organizes workshops, school activities and other outreach activities. The ARISS contact will be open to all school children 6 -18 years of age and will be supported through a workshop, lecture or science show.

2. Canadian School Contact Successful

Students from King George Elementary School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada took part in a question and answer session with Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place on Monday, December 15. Ten students were able to ask one question each of the astronaut as an audience of 320 looked on. Ray Boughen, Minister of Education Provincial Parliament, Dale McBain, City of Moose Jaw Mayor (both former educators) and Brenda Edwards, Director of Education for Prairie South School Division attended. Television stations taped the event and interviewed the children. Radio station CHAB interviewed the school coordinator. The Moose Jaw Times Herald printed an article covering the contact. See: http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=201052&sc=3

The story includes links to the contact video: http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?main=broadcast&bcid=10109

Principal Ward Milligan commented, "It was an awesome 'once in a lifetime experience' that will become more important in the lives of these students as they look back upon this event in years to come. Having a personal contact with someone in space increased the students' interest in space by three fold. Sandra Magnus was very enthusiastic and answered the students' questions in a manner they could relate to. She was very encouraging of the students. It was an inspirational and moving experience."

3. Italian Students Radio ISS

On Thursday, December 18, students from Scuola Elementare Faleriense "Gianni Rodari" in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT as over three hundred students, teachers and parents gathered for the event. Twenty-one students questioned the astronaut and Season's Greetings were exchanged. RAI3 Regional Television and some local media and newspapers covered the event. The audio was fed into the EchoLink servers. For more information, including photos and audio, go to: www.ariss-eu.org/2008_12_18.htm

The Corriere News ran an article (in Italian): http://www.corrierenews.it/index.php/corrierenews3100/content/view/full/2202...

ESA mentions the recent Marco Polo, Circolo Didattico San Giuseppe and Gianni Rodari contacts in this story (also in Italian): http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMXK4TTGOF_Italy_2.html

4. ARISS International Meeting Held

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team meeting was held on Tuesday, December 16. Agenda items included the next face-to-face meeting, SuitSat-2 development status and the ARISS special event. Minutes have been posted to the ARISS Web site. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2008-12-16.htm

5. Astronaut Training Status

Astronaut Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ, took a refresher course on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) equipment and operations on Wednesday, December 17. Barratt is looking forward to supporting the program during his time on board the ISS as an Expedition 19 crew member. Expedition 19 is the first half of the planned 6 person crew.

6. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) printed 4 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news items in its January 2009 issue of QST.

Under "Media Hits" (page 12) is a lengthy paragraph about how the media coverage for Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, was very prolific.

A story on pages 59-60 is about Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, a student at Georgia Tech who's a ham and was quite interested in ARISS. She was friends with a ham teacher at a middle school near her middle school; the teacher had applied for an ARISS contact. The story is called "DXpedition to Planet Mars" and is about Andrea's involvement in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). It says at the end that she wants to be an astronaut.

Two columns under "Happenings" (page 63) are titled "Richard Garriott; W5KWQ Back on Terra Firma" which is about Richard and ARISS. It carries two pictures - one of the students in Austin who contacted him during his mission in space and the other is a photo of Richard.

"Grants Focus on the Future of Amateur Radio" (page 95) covers three groups that won ARRL Foundation grants. One grant was given to the Eagle Scouts of Indiana who took part in an ARISS contact at the Space Jamboree 2008. The grant received was used to fund equipment for electronic building projects at the Space Jamboree which helped scouts complete the electronics merit badge. The equipment also served other regional and national scout gatherings to introduce amateur radio. Another group that received an award was the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum which is scheduled for an ARISS contact on December 27. The money received funded a ham station (and antenna) in the museum lobby.

7. ARRL and AMSAT Articles on ARISS Special Event

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a Web story about the 25th anniversary of ham radio in space. It includes the latest news covering the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) special event. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/18/10509/?nc=1

The ARRL also issued a W1AW bulletin on the same subject and an article was published in the ARRL Letter. See: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/08/1219/

[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