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[jamsat-news:2824] ANS-136 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-136
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:
* AMSAT Forum at Dayton - News of Amateur Radio in Space
* Reminder: The Dayton $5000 Challenge Extended to September 1
* Two More Astronaut Hams
* IARU Publishes Revised Requirements for the Amateur Satellite Service
* Venus Bound UNITEC-1 Amateur Radio Forum Web Pages Established
* AMSAT-India Reports Several University Cubesats Under Development
* Vietnamese CubeSat Under Development
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.01
AMSAT Forum at Dayton - News of Amateur Radio in Space
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.01
This weekend was the Dayton Hamvention and one of the features
included the 2010 AMSAT Forum on Saturday, May 15 from 11:15 am
to 1:30 pm. See the list of topics introduced by AMSAT Board
Member Alan Biddle, WA4SCA:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT President, presented the "AMSAT Status
Report" as a mid-year update about what is happening within AMSAT.
Barry highlighted current activities within AMSAT and discusses some
of the challenges facing the organization.
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations, told attendees about
"AMSAT Satellite Operations and International Satellite Operations".
Drew discussed operational AMSAT satellites and updates on new and
future International Satellites.
Mike Forsythe, AC2V, Team Leader of the successful K4T DXpedition
spoke about "Integrating Satellite Operations into DXpeditions". Mike
discussed how to have satellite operations as a major part of DXpedi-
tions,involving youth and making it all work on green power!
Gould Smith, WA4SXM,AMSAT VP User Services, and AMSAT Project Manager
for ARISSat-1 spoke on "Getting ARISSat-1 Ready to Fly". Gould's talk
covered the current status of the satellite project, testing and the
delivery of two satellites to Russia in July.
Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP, Systems Engineer with IBM, and the NextGen
CubeSat Program Manager reported progress on the "NextGen CubeSat
Program Update". A team of Binghamton University engineering students
have been modifying the power systems from ARISSat-1 for use in a 3U
CubeSat, with a U/V linear transponder, for AMSAT.
Watch for more AMSAT news from Dayton in future ANS reports!
[ANS thanks AMSAT Team at Dayton for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.02
Reminder: The Dayton $5000 Challenge Extended to September 1
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.02
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) will match one-for-one any
donations made to AMSAT between now and September 1, 2010 up to a maxi-
mum of $5,000. Please support "Getting AMSAT Back into Space" and help
us raise the funds needed for our next satellite project.
AMSAT's Project "Fox" is a cubesat that will provide a 2 meter-70 Centi-
meter FM transponder that will match the ground performance of AO-51.
You can send your donation to: AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave #600, Silver Spring
MD 20910. If you prefer, you can call Martha at the AMSAT office (US
call toll free at 888-322-6728 or 301-589-6062) and contribute with a
credit card.
We will be accepting 'Getting AMSAT Back into Space' donations at
various hamfests where AMSAT has a presence, including the Hamvention.
You can also make contributions online in the AMSAT Store:
http://www.amsat-na.com/store/donation.php
[ANS thanks Martha at the AMSAT Office for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.03
Two More Astronaut Hams
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.03
The ARISS Status Report this week says two more astronauts have
received their Amateur Radio Licenses.
Ron Garan of Expedition 27 completed testing for his amateur radio
license and has been issued KF5GPO.
Kevin Ford has been issued the callsign of KF5GPP and is currently
training for a future expedition crew assignment.
Andre Kuipers had an ISS amateur radio review session on May 4 in
preparation for his tour on the ISS as part of the Expedition 30 crew.
Don Pettit will join him as part of that crew.
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.04
IARU Publishes Revised Requirements for the Amateur Satellite Service
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.04
In preparation for frequency allocation negotiations the IARU has pub-
lished a full specification at http://www.iaru.org/ac-09spec.pdf
Items of interest to the Amateur Satellite Service include:
+ An allocation for the Amateur Satellite Service is sought in the
50-54 MHz range to bridge the gap between 28 MHz and 144 MHz.
+ The Amateur Service requires retention of the existing allocations
in the 420-450 MHz band and opposes new uses by other services or
low-power devices except where sharing or compatibility studies
have been satisfactorily concluded. Because of the crowding of the
existing band 435-438 MHz with unmanned amateur satellites and
manned space stations, it is desirable to study expansion of the
band.
+ The Amateur Service seeks retention of the band 1240-1300 MHz. The
Amateur-Satellite Service seeks retention of the band 1260-1270 MHz
and deletion of the "Earth-to-space only" restriction.
[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.05
Venus Bound UNITEC-1 Amateur Radio Forum Web Pages Established
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.05
As reported previously, on May 17 Japan's Space Agency JAXA plans to
launch its Planet-C Venus Climate Orbiter "AKATSUKI" mission to Venus.
Also aboard will be UNITEC-1, a 15 kg, 35cm cubed nano-satellite devel-
oped by twenty-two universities and colleges of UNISEC (University
Space Engineering Consortium).
UNITEC-1 be inserted into a Venus encounter trajectory and will become
the world first university satellite which goes beyond Lunar orbit. The
main mission of UNITEC-1 is to perform technological experiments of
on-board computers and test long-range, inter-planetary communication
using amateur radio frequencies:
Downlink Frequency: 5840.000MHz, band width 20MHz
Transmission Power: 4.8W/antenna, 9.6W total
Antenna: 2 Microstrip patch antennas
Modulation: AFSK/FM 1200bps during LEO flight
CW 1bps during Interplanetary flight
Callsign: JQ1ZUN
UNITEC will rely heavily on amateur radio stations around the world
to receive its microwave downlink signal. The team has created an
Amateur Radio forum which is planned to evolve into a site for the
latest information as well as provide a path to upload received data.
See: http://sites.google.com/site/unitec1ops/amservice
Software to aid in the tracking of the satellite and decoding the
received telemetry is posted at:
http://sites.google.com/site/unitec1ops/swdownload
This includes the Initial Orbit Estimation Sheet, Unitec 1 Orbit
Estimation, and Receiving Data Analyzer
A forum to upload received UNITEC-1 data is under construction at:
http://sites.google.com/site/unitec1ops/amservice/amuploader
Many additional details are available on the UNITEC-1 Operations page:
http://sites.google.com/site/unitec1ops/
The UNITEC-1 team will use a special version of Spectran, that pro-
duces a log file of all the frequency peaks found. This will allow
them to do an offline analysis. You can download this special ver-
sion of Spectran from I2PHD, Alberto's site:
http://www.weaksignals.com
[ANS thanks the UNITEC-1 Team and Alberto, I2PHD for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.06
AMSAT-India Reports Several University Cubesats Under Development
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.06
AMSAT-India attended the first Indian Small Satellite Systems Con-
ference at ISRO Bangalore. VU2POP reported that 26 univerities in
India have established amateur radio clubs and are in various stages
of Amateur Radio Satellite development.
VU2POP wrote, "As of now most of the university satellites are either
digital with only beacon downlink and no voice transponder. AMSAT
India has two linear tranponders ready. We are asking ISRO for a higher
orbit to cover a larger foot print and longer pass duration for future
AMSAT-India satellites".
As a reminder, on VO-52's 5th Birthday the HAMSAT team and ISTRAC has
requested user feedback from the Amateur Radio community. Send your
feedback to Mani, VU2WMY at wmy@isac.gov.in or vu2wmy_mani@yahoo.com.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-India Technical Director, Pop VU2POP for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.07
Vietnamese CubeSat Under Development
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.07
News has been received from Vu Trong Thu, XV9AA, in Hanoi of a
Vietnamese 2U CubeSat under development. Thu wrote, "We hope to
complete the F-1 satellite by the end of 2010 and launch it to
Sun-synchronous, 98 deg inclination LEO. At the moment we are
negotiating with several launch providers to find a way into
orbit but the high launch cost is really an issue. If we can
solve the budget issue, we'll be ready to launch our cubesat
in 2011."
The satellite carries several low-resolution cameras to take photos
of the Earth along with temperature and magnetic sensors to study
space environment. Some of the project goals for the F-1 satellite
include:
+ Students to learn about aerospace engineering.
+ Demonstrate the application of COTS products to reduce cost and
time developing a small satellite.
+ Survive in space environment for at least a year.
The satellite will use amateur VHF and UHF frequencies. The IARU has
coordinated at downlink frequency of 437.485 MHz to support a 1200 baud
AX.25 telemetry link. The F-1 satellite will also transmit a beacon us-
ing a modulated Morse code audio signal on FM carrier when it is not in
range of the earth station in Hanoi. In case of emergency, DTMF tones
can be used to control the satellite to some extent. The satellite also
carries a COTS transceiver (using UHF frequency) from Microhard Systems
to experiment with higher data transmission speed.
A breadboard model of the satellite has been built and the communication
link has been tested at a range of 50km. The team is now working on the
Engineering Model of the satellite and more tests are planned including
shock, vibration and thermal tests.
The F-1 team leader Thu can be reached at: thuvt@fpt.com.vn
Their web page is at: http://fspace.fsoft.com.vn/
[ANS thanks Thu, XV9AA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-136.08
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 136.08
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 16, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-136.08
+ This week the ISS activated SSTV over Europe for the MAI-75 experi-
ment. If you have received images please send them via the ARISS SSTV
submission page: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/submit.php
Also see the ARISS SSTV gallery page:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/
+ NASA Science News says a unique sky view will be visible as Venus
and the Moon are gathering for a sunset conjunction on Sunday,
May 16th. On that night, the ISS is going to be flying over many
US towns and cities. And if space shuttle Atlantis launches on
schedule people could witness a rare meeting of the shuttle, sta-
tion, Venus and the Moon. Details and observing tips may be found
in the story from Science@NASA: http://tinyurl.com/334954k
+ Congratulations to Bobby, KF4GTA for being selected to participate
in NASA's STS-132 Tweetup from the final launch of the space shuttle
Atlantis which took place on Friday, May 14. Bobby's tweets were
published at: http://www.twitter.com/kf4gta
+ UniverseToday has posted a very interesting video hosted by Astro-
naut Mike Massimino about what he describes as, "This is the deepest,
darkest secret about spaceflight. People always ask us about UFOs
and aliens, and we've got nothing for them. But they don't know about
this!" Watch at: http://tinyurl.com/25gdzxq (UniverseToday.com)
+ The Camb-Hams DX'Pedition to Harris 2010 operated on satellites. They
have a video of us assembling the HyGain 2m and 70cm OSCAR antennas
on a 2 inch mast at about 12 feet. Watch - How To Build Satellite
Antennas in 30 Seconds at http://tinyurl.com/23mmvww (SouthGate ARC)
+ Henk Hamoen PA3GUO has made available some videos about Amateur Radio
CubeSats. See: http://tinyurl.com/2gybunt (SouthGate ARC)
+ A YouTube video shows how to use WebSDR which enables you to receive
the LF and HF amateur radio bands via a web controlled receiver that
supports multiple users. WebSDR is a free website that anyone can use
to receive short wave ham radio. It will function on SSB and CW modes.
Watch at: http://tinyurl.com/23ol4j7 (Please click the quality button
and raise it to 720p before making the video full screen to see all
the details. The WebSDRs can be found on-line at: http://www.websdr.org.
[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 in mind the radio amateur who was LED to believe it was a
good time for this humor: His friends were shocked and their stomach
did flip-flops but he soon rectified the situation and that phase soon
passed. We were no longer choked up and encountered no more impedance
to our progress.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans