[jamsat-news:2119] ANS-310 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins for approval

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-310

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:
* SSETI Express Status
* AMSAT Journal Submissions
* Five Years of Ham Radio on the ISS
* AMSAT Store
* AO-51 New Schedule
* ARISS Status - 31 October 2005
* Suitsat Info available at AMSAT.ORG

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.01
SSETI Express Status

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.01

On Thursday, October 27, at 22:20 CEST SSETI Express went into a safe
mode due to an undervoltage caused by battery charging problems. The
operations team is working actively to resume nominal operations of the
satellite and isreceiving tremendous help in the process from the
amateur radio community.
At the time of the anomaly many mission milestones had already
successfully been met.

Careful analysis of the data received, coupled with ground-based
computer simulations and hardware tests, strongly support the proposed
theory of a specific component failure in the excess power dissipation
system.

Ground-based hardware tests confirm the possibility of a further failure
mode of the specific component, which would allow the batteries to
charge and the spacecraft to operate once again.

Testing is ongoing to ascertain the specific likelihood of this, and to
investigate other possible alternative explanations.

Given that the spacecraft is currently inoperable, the mission cannot
continue as planned. It is therefore on indefinite "standby", pending
the technical possibility of re-activation of the spacecraft.

The team remain hopeful and vigilant. The primary groundstation and
mission control centre are being configured for autonomous monitoring of
the spacecraft, such that if it reactivates the team will be immediately
alerted and ready to resume the mission.

The educational goals of the mission continue to be met daily as we try
to analyse and understand the events since the launch.

Neil Melville - Project Manager


[ANS thanks Neil Melville of the SSETI Project Team for the above
information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.02
AMSAT Journal submission

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.02

Everyone,

Ed Long is appealing for articles for the next AMSAT Journal issue. The
Sep/Oct issue has been at the printer for a while now and I'm working on
the Nov/Dec issue.

If you have something to contribute, hints and kinks, antenna you have
found that actually works, how to build a satellite feed etc. or even an
experience on one of the birds please submit it to Ed no later
than Monday, November 21. That is slightly less than 3 weeks away. If
you have something you would like to contribute, contact Ed and let him
know that you're working on something.

Thanks for all your support of the Journal and get busy!!!


[ANS thanks Ed, WA4SWJ for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.03
Five Years of Ham Radio on the ISS

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.03

==>HAM RADIO HAS ROLE IN FIVE YEARS OF CONTINUOUS ISS HUMAN HABITATION

Five years ago this week, the International Space Station Expedition 1
crew of US astronaut and Expedition 1 Commander William "Shep" Shepherd,
KD5GSL, and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR,
became the first humans to inhabit the ISS on a long-term basis. Bill
McArthur, KC5ACR, who commands Expedition 12, the current ISS crew
increment, took note of the occasion when he spoke with reporters this week.

"We've done things that were just inconceivable 50 years ago," McArthur
said. "I think that we have demonstrated that human beings can live and
work in space, and, given the will, we can return to the moon not just
to visit but to stay there permanently and in not-too-distant future,
send people to Mars."

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations,
called the five-year milestone the first leg of a much longer journey
"The experiences we're having on station with crews on long-duration
missions are teaching us what it will take to send astronauts on longer
missions to the moon and into the solar system," he said.

It was on October 31, 2000, that a Russian Soyuz transporter carrying
the ISS space pioneers blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan and docked with the ISS November 2. At the time, Shepherd was
only the second US astronaut to go into space aboard a Russian launch
vehicle. Krikalev went on to serve as commander of the ISS Expedition 11
crew.

Each of the 12 crews that have lived on the ISS to conduct assembly and
research activities has included at least one US radio amateur. McArthur
just this week completed the 200th successful Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) school group contact. Crews also
have gone on the air to participate in such events as ARRL Field Day and
scouting's Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) as well as to make casual QSOs.
The Expedition 12 crew of McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev
will remain on the ISS until next April.

The initial ARISS gear already was aboard the space station by the time
the first crew arrived. The Expedition 1 team installed and activated
the VHF gear on FM voice and packet under the US call sign NA1SS and the
Russian call sign RS0ISS.

In late 2003, the ARISS program attained another milestone with the
installation and checkout of the Phase 2 Amateur Radio gear. A Kenwood
TM-D700E transceiver is at the heart of the Phase 2 station, located in
the ISS Zvezda Service Module--the crew's living quarters. Crew members
now routinely use the Phase 2 station to conduct ARISS school group
contacts.
ARISS is looking forward to activation of a Yaesu FT-100 HF/VHF/UHF
transceiver and a slow-scan television (SSTV) system in the near future.

NASA has been marking the fifth anniversary of continuous ISS human
occupancy with special activities and has set up a special Web site
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/5_year_anniversary.html>.

The largest and most complex spacecraft ever built, the ISS is the
result of a 16-nation partnership led by the US. More ISS information
and photos are on NASA's Space Station page.

ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by
ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.--some information from NASA

[ANS thanks the ARRL Letter Vol. 24 No. 43 for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.04
AMSAT Store

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.04


The AMSAT store is open for business and is a great place to get AMSAT
publications to learn more about a particular mode or satellite.  There
are items for sale for you to "show the colors" at your local club
meeting.  You can get the latest data on the satellite object you are
most interested in.
A perfect way to ensure your next idea of what satellite is put into
orbit is to donate to a particular fund for it. You can even watch the
fund grow into a sufficient launch campaign.

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, AMSAT Store Manager, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.05
AO-51 Schedule

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.05

The new schedule for AO-51 is posted on the AMSAT web site.  It has a
very interesting mode of ops coming up that you might find interesting -
a VHF USB uplink Mode.  The versatile satellite is proving that the
planning before launch is paying off.

[ANS thanks Kyle Yoksh, K0KN  for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.06
ARISS Status - 31 October 2005

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.06
ARISS Status
October 31, 2005



1.	Tomioka Elementary School Contact Successful

On October 24, Tomioka Elementary School of Urayasu in Urayasu City,
Chiba, Japan had a successful contact with Bill McArthur, KC5ACR.
Fourteen students asked one question each of the astronaut.
Approximately 650 students, parents, teachers and other interested
parties were present for the contact, as two television stations and ten
newspapers covered the event. Audio and video of the contact are
available on ARISS member Satoshi YasudaÃÔ website. See:
http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/tomioka.html.en

2.	Upcoming School Contacts

Kawachi Citizen's Committee for Youth in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan has
been approved for a direct contact on Thursday, November 3 at 07:44 UTC.

A contact for Istituto Comprensivo F. Negri in Casale Monferrato, Italy,
has been scheduled for a contact on Wednesday, November 9 at 10:28 UTC
via the telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii.

Furtherwick Park School in Canvey Island, Essex, United Kingdom, has
been approved for an ARISS contact.  It is scheduled for Wednesday,
November 9, 2005 at 17:45 UTC, and will be direct via GB2FPS.

3.	ARRL Article on Tomioka Contact

ARRL covered the Tomioka Elementary School contact in the article, ůew
ISS Commander Delights Japanese Youngsters via Ham Radio. See:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/10/27/4/?nc=1

4.	Astronaut Training

Astronauts Nicole Stott and Garrett Reisman wrapped up their amateur
radio license training sessions on Wednesday, October 26.

5.	Expedition 11 Crew Debrief

The U.S. debrief session with Expedition 11 crew member John Phillips,
KE5DRY, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 8 at 4:00 pm ET.

6.	NASA Night Article

Pine Ridge Middle School, located in Naples, Florida, held a ůASA
Nighton September 27 to educate parents, teachers and students about
NASA programs.  The Southgate Amateur Radio Club set up an amateur radio
station at the school so that children could speak with and ask
questions of NASA employees. An article covering the event has been
posted to the clubÃÔ website. See:
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2005/nasa_night.htm

7.	SuitSat Status

Progress 19P was launched on September 8, carrying the SuitSat hardware.
The Russian EVA to deploy SuitSat has been tentatively scheduled for
December 8, 2005.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-310.07
SuitSat Info Available on AMSAT.ORG Web

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 310.07
> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 6, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-310.07

Now is the time to begin preparing your amateur radio station
to receive signals from SuitSat, the most unusual Amateur Radio
satellite ever orbited. SuitSat amateur radio equipment will be
installed inside a surplus Russian Orlan spacesuit. It will become
an independently orbiting satellite once it is deployed by the
crew of the International Space Station during an extravehicular
activity, tentatively planned around December 8, 2005.

Interested amateur radio operators are invited to read the whole
story on the web on AMSAT's front page, http://www.amsat.org.
Follow the links to see the photos and video of this exciting
new opportunity for amateur radio in space.

[ANS thanks the ARISS and SuitSat project teams 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,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
nb2f at amsat dot org
----
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