From ans @ amsat.org Sun Aug 2 09:00:00 2020 From: ans @ amsat.org (Mark Johns, K0JM via ANS) Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2020 19:00:00 -0500 Subject: [jamsat-news:3721] [ans] ANS-215 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-215 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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 @ amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * ISS MAI-75 SSTV Activity Planned For Aug 4-5 * AMSAT Awards Update * How Many Satellite Awards Have Been Issued? * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for August 2020 * First Demonstration Of Orbit Control On A 1U CubeSat * Burns Fisher, WB1JF, Featured Speaker at AMSAT SA Symposium * NASA to Provide Coverage of Astronauts' Return from ISS on SpaceX * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-215.01 ANS-215 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 215.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 August 02 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-215.01 ISS MAI-75 SSTV Activity Planned For Aug 4-5 Russian cosmonauts will transmit amateur radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images from the International Space Station (ISS) during August 4-5 on 145.800 MHz FM (likely using PD-120). On July 9, ESA Education had Tweeted: “We are expecting the ISS to transmit pictures in the next weeks for the 45th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz test project. This is a perfect opportunity to try this activity for yourself!” https://twitter.com/ESA__Education/status/1281140713237946370 Apollo?Soyuz was the first international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in mid-July 1975. An announcement made July 27 on the ARISS SSTV Blog says: The final crew schedule for the week of Aug 3-9 was released recently and it showed a MAI-75 activity scheduled for Aug 4 and 5. This is soon after the Space X Demo-2 undock so changes to that event could impact the schedule. The current dates and times of the planned activity are as follows: Aug 4 (12:25-18:10 UTC) is setup and day 1 operations. Aug 5 (11:15-18:45 UTC) is day 2 operations and close out. This is the Moscow Aviation Institute SSTV experiment that is active for orbital passes over Moscow, Russia. It has traditional been PD-180 or PD-120 and transmitting on 145.800 MHz. Source ARISS STV Blog http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it. Many FM mobile and base station rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM (25 kHz channel spacing). Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard. The space agency ESA has released a video ‘How to get pictures from the International Space Station via Amateur Radio’ along with a collection of Tutorial videos explaining how to receive ISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) pictures for different computers and mobile devices https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/08/esa-promote-amateur-radio-iss-sstv/ Read the Raspberry Pi article Pictures from space via ham radio https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/pictures-from-space-via-ham-radio/ ISS SSTV info and links https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Awards Update Here are the awards issued in the last two months. The AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award is given to any operator for having made their first contact: Anthony Rizi, NR1Z Edward Hartzel, W3HMK James Brooks, KB3EFH Vilanova University ARC, W3YP Robin Shelley, G8VVY ------ The Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for working 20 contacts on any satellite: Anthony Rizi, NR1Z, #628 Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ, #629 ------ The AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award is given for 60 satellite contacts: Stephan Greene, KS1G, #187 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, #188 ------ The AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for 25 different stations on Phase 2 (LEO) satellites: Anthony Rizi, NR1Z, #US230 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, #US231 Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ, #US232 ------ The Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award is awarded for the submission of 1,000 satellite contacts on OSCAR-6 or later satellites: W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) Mitchell Whitman, N4DCW, #110 Mark Johns, K0JM, #111 David Hoffman, KL1XI, #112 Phillip Sauvey, AK7DD, #113 Dennis Love, N7EGY, #114 Kell Bodholt, KI7UXT, upgrade to 2000 ------ AMSAT Rover Award is based on a point system and is awarded to those who put grids on the air away from their home QTH: Rover Call ===== ======== #054 N0TEL #055 AK7DD #056 KE0WPA ------ GridMaster Award is presented to those who confirm QSOs with all 488 grids in the Continental U.S.: GridMaster Call ========== ======== #11 KO4MA #12 N4UFO #13 W5CBF To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org and click on Services then Awards. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- How Many Satellite Awards Have Been Issued? When Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, was asked by a ham last week how many awards he has issued, his response was, "You know, I really had no idea." Paige took over doing the AMSAT awards in May, 2001. Most of the awards have computer records. However, the Satellite Communicator Club award, he did not start keeping track of until 2003. So, you ask, how many awards has he issued? Paige says, "Satellite Communicator 407+ but my records only go back to 2003 South Africa Satellite Communication Achievement 167 AMSAT Satellite Communication Achievement 273 Sexagesimal (60 QSOs) 64 Century (100 QSOs) 24 W4AMI (1,000 QSOs) 81 W4AMI endorsements (each additional 1,000 QSOs) 66 W4AMI 5000 (5,000 QSOs) 25 Rover 55 GridMaster 13 and if I added correctly, it comes out to 1,165 plus whatever Satellite Communicator awards were issued in 2001 and 2002. That's a lot of certificate paper, a lot of ink and a bunch of envelopes and stiffeners to get them safely to their owners." Do you have one on your wall? If not, maybe you should submit for one or more so that one day I will hit 2,000 or 3,000 who knows. Visit the awards page at https://www.amsat.org/awards-2/ [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for August 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period July 1, 2020 through August 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! WOW! Long list this month! CALL July August W7QL 478 510 WI4T 301 461 N7EGY 405 456 PS8ET 350 434 AF5CC New 425 N9FN 303 403 HP2VX 351 377 WB7VUF 319 370 KC9UQR 301 332 W4ZXT 252 327 WA9JBQ 326 326 W4DTA 263 275 AK7DD New 255 N1PEB * 138 255 K4RGK 175 214 VE6WK New 207 S57NML 179 205 AC9O 108 204 YV1DIG 146 200 AA4FL 181 187 N3CAL 160 171 WD9EWK (DM23) 137 152 N7AME 128 148 WB7QXU New 140 K3HPA 102 128 VE2NGO 100 128 HB9WDF New 114 N5EKO 102 108 KP4RV 100 105 XE1R New 105 KB9STR New 104 N2ZN New 103 IK1IYU New 101 KF6JOQ New 101 N5MIG New 101 LU3FCA New 100 M0KDS New 100 N6RVI New 100 * For some reason, this call dropped off the list from February to now. If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at W5RKN at W5RKN dot com. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. 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 Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- First Demonstration Of Orbit Control On A 1U CubeSat The University Wuerzburg Experimental Satellite 4 (UWE-4) successfully used its propulsion system in order to conduct orbit control. The 1U CubeSat, developed and built at the Chair for Robotics and Telematics, is equipped with the electric propulsion system NanoFEEP which has been developed by TU Dresden. Several manoeuvres have been performed within 11 days between June 23 and July 3, 2020 such that the altitude of the CubeSat was reduced by more than 100 meters, compared to an average of 21 meters with natural decay. This marks the first time in CubeSat history that a 1U CubeSat changed its orbit using an on-board propulsion system. As chance would have it, the team of UWE-4 received a conjunction data message (CDM) in the morning of July 2, 2020 from the United States Air Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron. A conjunction of UWE-4 with a non- operational Iridium satellite (ID: 34147) in the morning of July 5, 2020 with a minimum range of about 800 meters was a threat to the safety of UWE-4. An analysis has shown that the altitude of UWE-4 would already be below the Iridium satellite at the time of conjunction. Thus the on-going altitude lowering manoeuvre could only improve the situa- tion and can be considered as a collision avoidance manoeuvre. No furt- her CDMs have been issued regarding this possible conjunction. An anal- ysis of the orbit of the two spacecraft after July 5, 2020 results in a closest approach of more than 6000 meters. Lowering the altitude of a spacecraft in low earth orbit (LEO) is equivalent to a reduction of its lifetime, since satellites in LEO usually burn up during re-entry due to the friction with the Earth’s atmosphere. Thus, this experiment is a concept demonstration of a de- orbiting manoeuvre shown at the smallest class of spacecraft in LEO. Today, there is no commitment to carry a propulsion system for space- craft. However, due to the vastly increasing number of satellites in mega constellations such obligations are being discussed in the space agencies of several space faring countries. The experiment of UWE-4 presents a de-orbiting solution for the fraction of space debris of operational but unused satellites of today and for the mega constella- tions of tomorrow. [U.S. regulations make the ability to de-orbit a requirement for HEO amateur satellites in the future -- Ed.] Stay tuned for more updates on UWE-4 and the upcoming launch of NetSat, a formation flying nano-satellite mission from the Center for Telema- tics which is expected to be launched September 2020! Kind regards, The UWE-4 Team UWE-4: First NanoFEEP thruster ignition https://amsat-uk.org/2019/03/04/uwe-4-first-nanofeep-thruster-ignition/ UWE-4 435.600 MHz https://bit.ly/39FdrPt [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Burns Fisher, WB1JF, Featured Speaker at AMSAT SA Symposium AMSAT of South Africa (AMSAT SA) has converted its annual Space Sympo- sium into a live online event to take place from 08:00z to 17:00z on Saturday 22 August with a lunch break to have your sandwiches at home. Burns Fisher, WB1JF, IHU Software Engineer and key volunteer in the construction of the Fox1 series of satellites, will join the symposium from the USA with two presentations. In one of his papers Burns will present a small, easy-to-deploy telemetry station called Fox-in-a-Box, a good way for amateurs to get started in satellite telemetry collec- tion with a modest investment. There will be features about AMSAT OSCAR 7, the longest operating ama- teur satellite, as well as about SATNOGs and how to track and decode thousands of small satellites in orbit with simple hardware/software requiring minimal outlay. Dr. Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, and his team will present the latest developments in the AfriCUBE project. To book, visit www.amsatsa.org.za. Members of the SARL or AMSATSA and may register before 15 August for a cost of only R30. Non-members may register prior to this date for a cost of R100 (approximately $6 U.S.) but the AMSAT SA website only offers instructions for registration via postal mail. Contact AMSAT SA to explore other possible options. [ANS thanks SARL News and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above informa- tion] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ NASA to Provide Coverage of Astronauts' Return from ISS on SpaceX NASA will provide live coverage of activities leading up to, during, and following the return of the agency's SpaceX Demo-2 test flight with the agency's astronauts Robert Behnken, KE5GGX, and Douglas Hurley from the International Space Station. The duo arrived at the orbiting laboratory on May 31, following a suc- cessful launch on May 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Ken- nedy Space Center in Florida. NASA and SpaceX are targeting 7:34 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 1, for un- docking of the Dragon "Endeavour" spacecraft from the space station and 2:42 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, for splashdown, which will be the first re- turn of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station. Coverage on NASA TV and the agency's website will begin at 20.30z on Aug. 1, with a short farewell ceremony on station and resume at 21.00z with departure preparations through splashdown and recovery at one of seven targeted water landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Watch at https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancella- tions or postponements of school contacts. The most recent contact was with the American School of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS on Thursday, 2020-07-30 at 16:41:42 UTC. The scheduled astronaut was Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact was successful, and the recording may be found at https://youtu.be/MSyfzEHYwrE [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men- tors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: Do you need Hawaii? NH7WN on AO-7 Most days. Reach out for a schedule. EN57, EN56, EN67, 8/2 ? 8/8: N8MR, will be in EN57 from August 2nd through August 8th. He may also activate EN56 and 67. Roving will be holiday style. DM97/98 & EM08/09, 8/29 & 8/30: Super Rover @AD0DX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. Major Roves: AD0HJ, is heading out again for the South Dakota Super Rove Part I Rove Map: Grids DN74, DN75, DN84, DN85, DN94, DN95, EN04, EN05, EN14, EN15, EN16, and EN17. July 31st through August 7th. See the Twitter post at https://twitter.com/AD0HJ/status/1284669314637930499 to get passes and times. Then as if that isn’t enough, there is more: South Dakota Super Rove Part II Rove Map: Grids DN73, DN82, DN83, DN92, DN93, EN02, EN03, EN12, EN24, and EN25. August 17th through August 21st. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been cancelled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon. A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download from: https://bit.ly/2ygVFmV This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC), September 11 - 13. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year's conference will be held online. Papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings; authors do not need to participate. Submit papers by August 15 via email to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB. (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information) + AMSAT-UK has announced the OSCAR Satellite QSO Party, aimed at en- couraging radio amateurs around the world to get on the air and make contacts via satellite during summer in the Northern Hemisphere. While points are given per contact, AMSAT-UK says the OSCAR Satellite QSO Party is not a contest. The event starts at 0000 UTC on August 1 and continues until 2359 UTC on September 22. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information) + W5KUB's high-altitude balloon went down around July 21 between Green- land and Norway after 72 days aloft and more than three trips around Earth. "It got stuck in the Arctic for several weeks, making loops," Tom Medlin, W5KUB, said. "We are getting ready to launch W5KUB-21, an SBS-13 balloon with lithium polymer (LiPo) battery. Testing on ground is showing that we are getting 24-hour tracking. We hope to launch that in the next week or two." (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information) + NASA's latest rover, Perseverance, launched to Mars on July 30 carry- chips with 10.9 million names submitted by people all over the world. Anyone can sign up to send their name on a future Mars mission at https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020/ (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + Kerry Banke, N6IZW, was featured in an article published in the La Mesa Courier newspaper of La Mesa, Calif. on July 24. The article highlighted Kerry's association with ARISS, particularly his work on the new special power supply that converts the space station power to the levels that are required by ham radio equipment aboard the ISS. See the full story at https://lamesacourier.com/space-radio/ (ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, for the above information) + NASA and its international partners have assigned crew members for Crew-2, which will be the second operational SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station as part of NASA?s Commer- cial Crew Program. Crew-2 is targeted to launch in spring 2021. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will serve as space- craft commander and pilot, respectively, for the mission. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, will join as mission specialists. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + The 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference, SmallSat 2020, is going virtual, August 1-6, 2020. Admission is free of charge at: https://smallsat.org/conference/registration (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + The public disclosure copy of AMSAT's 2019 IRS filing (Form 990) has been posted to the AMSAT website at: https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans From ans @ amsat.org Sun Aug 9 09:00:06 2020 From: ans @ amsat.org (Paul Stoetzer via ANS) Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2020 17:00:06 -0700 Subject: [jamsat-news:3722] [ans] ANS-222 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-222 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * German Satellite Demonstrates Orbit Control on 1U CubeSat * AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Now Transmits SSTV * AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party Ongoing * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-222.01 ANS-222 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 208.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE August 9, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-222.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ German Satellite Demonstrates Orbit Control on 1U CubeSat The University of Wuerzburg Experimental Satellite 4 (UWE-4) success- fully used its propulsion system in order to conduct orbit control. The 1-unit (1U) CubeSat is equipped with an electric propulsion system called NanoFEEP, developed by the Technical University in Dresden. This marks the first time in CubeSat history that a 1U CubeSat has changed its orbit using an onboard propulsion system. Several man- euvers were performed within 11 days, between June 23 and July 3, lowering the CubeSat's altitude by more than 100 meters (328 feet), compared to an average of 21 meters (69 feet) with natural orbital decay. Coincidentally, on July 2, the UWE-4 team received a "conjunction data message" from the US Air Force, indicating a potential safety threat from a non-operational Iridium satellite, although UWE-4 was already below the Iridium satellite at the projected time of conjunction. Lowering the altitude of a spacecraft in low-Earth orbit (LEO) has the negative effect of reducing its lifetime, because low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites usually burn up during re-entry. "Thus, this exper- iment is a concept demonstration of a deorbiting maneuver shown at the smallest class of spacecraft in LEO," the university said. While satellites are not yet required to carry propulsion systems to facilitate a planned deorbiting, such an obligation is under serious discussion, due to the vastly increasing number of satellites in mega constellations. "The experiment of UWE-4 presents a deorbiting sol- ution for the fraction of space debris of operational, but unused, satellites of today and for the mega constellations of tomorrow," the university said. AMSAT notes that US regulations make the ability to deorbit a requirement for high-Earth-orbit amateur satellites in the future. The first activation of the NanoFEEP thruster on UWE-4 took place in early 2019. UWE-4 transmits telemetry on 435.600 MHz. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Now Transmits SSTV Did you have fun receiving SSTV images from the ISS this past week? A new development branch of the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator now transmits SSTV images! See https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/tree/dev for details. A video of FlatSat testing can be found at: https://twitter.com/CubeSatSim/status/1291493708488232964 More information about the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator project can be found at http://cubesatsim.com/ [ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational Relatioons, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE ? a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party Ongoing The objective of the AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party is to encourage all radio amateurs around the world to get on the air and make contacts via satellites during northern hemisphere summer. We would like to attract both seasoned die-hard operators as well as all newcomers who are just getting involved. While points are given per QSO this isn’t a contest, but we hope it will encourage people to get on the air and enjoy the excitement of making contacts through satellites. The AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party will be supported by an online leaderboard which will be available from the start of the event which runs from 00:00 GMT on 1st August until 23:59 GMT on 22nd September. Prizes will be awarded to those from first to thirteenth place and are open to both AMSAT-UK and non-members around the world. ● First Place £250 Amazon Voucher ● Second Place £150 Amazon Voucher ● Third Place £50 Amazon Voucher ● Fourth to Thirteenth Place One Year AMSAT-UK Membership Download the rules for the AMSAT-UK OSCAR QSO Party at https://tinyurl.com/OSCAR-QSO-Party Leaderboard https://leaderboard.amsat-uk.org/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been canceled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed. QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo - August 9, 2020 Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, will present "Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites" at 22:45 UTC. Details on accessing this presentation at https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Misc Items: Do you need Hawaii? NH7WN on AO-7 Most days. Reach out for a schedule Quick Hits: EM50, EM51 8/8 ? 8/9 @KB5FHK is heading home to MS! DM59, 8/8 ? 8/10, @Ledger (Sorry AK7DD): FM and Linear. Maybe even the 58/59 gridline. EM22, EM23, 8/10/20 @W4IPA, heading out for a mint rove! DM97/98 & EM08/09, 8/29 & 8/30: Super Rover @AD0DX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. Major Roves: @AD0HJ, is heading out again for the South Dakota Super Rove Part II Grids DN73, DN82, DN83, DN92, DN93, EN02, EN03, EN12, EN24, and EN25. August 17th through August 21st. EA8, CANARY ISLANDS (Reminder/Satellite Op/Rare Grid). Philippe, EA4NF, will be operating on the satellites from Lanzarote Island, Canary Islands (AF-004, WW Loc. IL38 & IL39), as EA8/EA4NF between August 10-17th. A special focus will be from the very rare IL39 Grid. Portable activation will be with a FT818 and a FT817ND operating in full Duplex with an Alaskan Arrow Antenna. Activity will be on the FM and Linear Satellites. QSL via LoTW as EA8/EA4NF. Keep an eye on Philippe's Twitter feed for further updates and passes at: https://twitter.com/EA4NF_SAT (Via the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1475) Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, was the keynote speaker at the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society's International Microwave Symposium's Amateur Radio Social on August 4. If video from the event is made public, it will be shared via AMSAT social media and ANS. + Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Engineering, will deliver two presentations at the AMSAT South Africa Symposium on August 22, 2020. The virtual event will take place between 08:00 - 13:00 UTC. Attendees may register at http://www.amsatsa.org.za/. + Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store, including a set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT round logo, and more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase price goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. + AMSAT Remove Before Flight keychains are again available on the AMSAT store. Purchases help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain/ + Ballots for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election were mailed on July 14th via presorted standard mail to US addresses and via first class mail to overseas addresses to all members in good standing as of July 1st. Members desiring a replacement ballot package should contact AMSAT Secretary Brennan Price, N4QX, at brennanprice @ verizon.net no earlier than August 12th. AMSAT members may log on to the membership portal at launch.amsat.org to verify that their address was correct as of July 1st. (via N4QX) + All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT's new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT's Symposium Proceedings are also available for members. If you're a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/ + The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans From ans @ amsat.org Sun Aug 16 09:04:00 2020 From: ans @ amsat.org (Frank Karnauskas via ANS) Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2020 19:04:00 -0500 Subject: [jamsat-news:3723] [ans] AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin ANS-229 Message-ID: <001b01d67360$bef41450$3cdc3cf0$@gokarns.com> AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-229 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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://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 dot org. In this edition: * Two-Minute Engineering Video Update Available * CubeSat.org Announced CubeSat Design Specification Rev.14 * US Department of Defense to Share 3450 ? 3550 MHz with 5G Commercial Operations * QSO Today Virtual Expo Satellite Presentations Still Available * Chinese Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully received by AMSAT-DL * SmallSat 2020 Virtual Conference Proceedings Available Online * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-229.01 ANS-229 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 229.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. August 16, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-229.01 Two-Minute Engineering Video Update Available Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Vice President-Engineering has published a two- minute video update on the progress of AMSAT projects. Among the highlights are: - The RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E satellite is ready for delivery and integration and is expected to launch by the end of the year. - The University of Maine will use an AMSAT LTM-1 module for command and control of their upcoming CubeSat mission, MESAT-1. The LTM-1 also provides a linear transponder for amateur radio use. AMSAT is in discussions with additional partners about flying LTM-1 modules. - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, vendors have been delayed in supplying printed circuit boards for the GOLF-TEE project. The impact of the pandemic has also affected the amount of time AMSAT's volunteer engineers have for their hobby work. Completion of GOLF-TEE is expected by the end of June 2021. - Dependent on fulfilling its primary mission, the GOLF-TEE satellite may include a X-band downlink parrot of the V-band uplink and L/S band uplinks which are planned for GOLF-1. - Research is underway to place GOLF-1 into a higher orbit while meeting regulatory requirements. - GOLF-TEE is a candidate for a launch on an upcoming DoD mission. You can view Jerry's update at: https://youtu.be/9H4iM1hoVG4. [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Vice President-Engineering for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSat.org Announced CubeSat Design Specification Rev.14 The Cal Poly CubeSat Lab has announced that a draft version of the newest CubeSat Design Specification (CDS) is available. Feedback before the official release of the 14th revision is welcome. There are a number of changes, which are detailed in the Appendix of the document. But overall, the document has been updated to act as more of a guide for CubeSat designers, rather than a ?how-to? manual. The original CDS introduced the CubeSat Standard to the world almost two decades ago. It defined the physical and electrical characteristics for a 1U and 3U size CubeSat and included requirements for interfacing with the only CubeSat dispenser available at the time, the Poly-Pico Orbital Deployer (P-POD). Since then the industry has expanded to include more standard sizes and additional dispensers with more available options. To accommodate these new advancements, the CDS has been retooled to be more flexible and inclusive of developments within the industry. Requirements that were originally written specifically for the P-POD will encompass requirements for all dispensers currently available. It is also the intention for the new revision of the CDS to identify the available options on dispensers that are widely available for use. Currently that list is limited to dispensers that publish their specifications online, but can be updated as dispenser companies make that information available to us. The CDS will also define all U configurations in one document with one set of requirements for ease of reference. The new CDS should be the first stop for any developer beginning their CubeSat design. A complete copy of the revised specification can be seen at: https://www.cubesat.org/cds-announcement [ANS thanks Cal Poly CubeSat Lab for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ US Department of Defense to Share 3450 ? 3550 MHz with 5G Commercial Operations The FCC will auction sharing rights to the upper 50 MHz of the 3300 ? 3500 MHz secondary amateur radio allocation to commercial 5G interests in the wake of the Department of Defense (DoD) agreement to share spectrum at 3450 ? 3550 MHz. The entire band currently supports a variety of military operations, and amateur radio has a long history of peaceful coexistence with the Department of Defense as a secondary user of this spectrum. Late last year, the FCC proposed to delete the amateur secondary 3300 ? 3500 MHz secondary allocation as well as the amateur-satellite allocation at 3400 ? 3410 MHz. The FCC could auction the 100 MHz of spectrum in early 2022. This latest move makes a contiguous band of spectrum from 3450 ? 3980 MHz available for commercial 5G networks. ?For a number of years, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and FCC have focused on the 3450 ? 3550 MHz band as the spectrum most conducive to sharing with commercial users,? said ARRL Washington Counsel David Siddall, K3ZJ. ?Monday?s statements announced that a framework for sharing has been worked out.? In December 2019, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in WT Docket 19-348 proposing to delete the 3300 ? 3500 MHz secondary amateur band. ARRL strongly opposed the move in its comments on the NPRM, which put forward the FCC?s plans to remove ?existing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur allocations? in the 3300 ? 3500 MHz band and to consider options for relocating incumbent non-federal operations. Siddall said the spectrum below 3450 MHz presents a more difficult government/commercial sharing scenario, and that future sharing there remains uncertain. ?We continue to argue that the amateur secondary allocation should not be deleted in this band,? he said. ?We recognize that our access is secondary, and ask only to be given a chance to use our considerable technical skills to work around whatever future uses may be implemented in this spectrum.? The complete article can be seen at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-229-5G. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- QSO Today Virtual Expo Satellite Presentations Still Available Congratulations to Tom Schuessler, N5HYP of Irving, Texas for his outstanding presentation, "Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites." Tom's thirty-three minute presentation provided an excellent review of the basics needed to enjoy this aspect of the hobby, on-the-air-demonstrations, and prominent promotion of AMSAT as the center of Amateur Radio Satellite activity. Also presented at the Virtual Expo was 4Z1ZV, Zvi Segal's overview of the Qatar Oscar-100 Satellite running seventeen minutes. Watch the presentations at https://qsotoday.vfairs.com/. Even if you didn't register for the original event, you can still register to watch the presentations which will be available until September 9, 2020. With over 14,000 participants each day of the August event, organizers are already the next QSO Today Virtual Expo for March 13-14, 2021. [ANS thanks QSO Today for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Chinese Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully received by AMSAT-DL Soon after its launch on July 23rd, the Chinese Mars mission Tianwen-1 has been received by AMSAT-DL with its 20m ground station in Bochum, Germany. Amateur radio observers Paul Marsh M0EYT and his #hearsat group have been tracking Tianwen-1 since its launch from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. As no trajectory data was published Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ used the coordinated observations to generate an estimated trajectory which allows narrowing down the search area. After some reformatting of the data by James Miller G3RUH, AMSAT-DL gave it a first try during on July 24th and 25th with successful detection of the Tianwen-1 telemetry on 8430.911 MHz. An initial guess suggests a BPSK modulation with residual carrier and data modulated on a subcarrier. More than 2 GB of baseband data have been recorded and are being analyzed by the #hearsat group. This report not only demonstrates the capabilities of Amateur Radio operators when it comes to deep space missions but also the flexibility and performance of the AMSAT-DL 20m ground station in Bochum which (except for scheduled maintenance on site) can be operated fully remotely. The complete story can be seen at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-229-Tianwen-1 [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- SmallSat 2020 Virtual Conference Proceedings Available Online The 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference was a virtual event hosted by SmallSat.org and Utah State University, Logan, Utah. The event attracted 8,100 participants over three days August 1-3, 2020. With the conference theme, "Space Mission Architectures - Infinite Possibilities", the conference explored the realm of possible space mission architectures and how they can be practically achieved to support the diverse needs of the global space community. Organized along twelve technical tracks, all 162 presentations are available to the public. Additionally, literally hundreds of posters can be downloaded for viewing. Especially useful is a search function on the site that can search keywords to help find presentation and posters that deal with specific topics. For those interested in the future of small satellites, including those in the Amateur Radio Satellite Service, there is one especially pertinent presentation entitled " Small Satellite Regulation in 2020" with attorneys Lynne Montgomery and Christopher Bair of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP. In this twelve minute presentation, Ms. Montgomery thoroughly covers the range of regulations affecting small satellite operations, the agencies involved, licensing procedures and what future legal burdens are looming for small satellite operators. The complete collection of presentations and posters can be seen at: https://smallsat.org/. [ANS thanks SmallSat.org for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations * Quick Hits: DM97/98 & EM08/09, 8/29 & 8/30: Super Rover @ADoDX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. IL38 EA8/EA4NF 8/10-8/17 IL38/39 * Major Roves: @AD0HJ, is heading out again for the South Dakota Super Rove Part II Rove: Grids DN73, DN82, DN83, DN92, DN93, EN02, EN03, EN12, EN24, and EN25. August 17th through August 21st. @WA9JBQ is heading out to Idaho DN24,DN25,DN26 DN34, DN16, DN15, and DN14 starting August 15th. Then moving into Montana for DN35,DN36, DN37, DN38 DN49 DN47. He will be out a total of 5-6 weeks. Mostly FM some linear. Will post to twitter details. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News * Upcoming Contacts: Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY, direct via K2ZRO. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. he scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR. Contact is go for Friday, August 21, 2020 at 18:23:40 UTC. 29 deg. Watch for live stream starting about 20 to 30 minutes ahead of AOS at: https://youtu.be/1Pwcc2rilz0 NOTE: AS of August 14, 2021, this contact has been rescheduled again due to ISS hatch closures for leak detection activity. * Completed Contacts GAGARIN FROM SPACE. Performing a radio amateur session with school children of Tatarstan, Russia, direct via RZ4PXO. The ISS callsign was RSØISS. The scheduled astronaut was Ivan Vagner. Contact was successful on August 7, 2020 at 11:18 UTC. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over * NASA At Home Offerings Updated Regularly As was reported before, NASA continually offers a variety of videos, podcasts, virtual tours, e-books and activities. This service has offerings that are of interest to adults as well as students with an interest in space exploration. The lineup changes weekly so, if you haven't been back in a while, take a moment to see the current assortment at: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/nasaathome/index.html [ANS thanks NASA for the above information.] * Build a Simple ISS Tracker with Raspberry Pi Fancy tracking the ISS?s trajectory? Looking for a project beyond using your smart phone app? All you need is a Raspberry Pi, an e-paper display, an enclosure, and a little Python code. Check out The MagPi Magazine issue #96. The download is free and can be found at: https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/issues/96. [ANS thanks RaspberryPi.org for the above information.] * Another Distance Record Claimed Another distance record claimed by Jerome LeCuyer, F4DXV this time on AO-92 (U/v). Jerome worked Dana Rushton, VE1VOX in Nova Scotia at 12:54 UTC on August 10, 2020, a distance of 5,011 km. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8MH, AMSAT Executive Vice President for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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 student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB @ amsat.org. 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 member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans From ans @ amsat.org Sun Aug 23 09:00:00 2020 From: ans @ amsat.org (KI7UNJ Tucker via ANS) Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2020 17:00:00 -0700 Subject: [jamsat-news:3724] [ans] ANS-236 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-236 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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://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 dot org. In this edition: * Ballot Return Date is September 15 * Two-Minute Engineering Video Update Available * New Distance Records * ORI's Digital Microwave Broadband Communication System Determined to be Free of ITAR * SmallSat 2020 Virtual Conference Proceedings Available Online * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-236.01 ANS-236 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 236.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. August 23, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-236.01 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ballot Return Date is September 15 With four weeks of balloting remaining, I think a reminder of procedures is warranted. Ballots for the AMSAT board of directors election must be received by 5 p.m. US Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 15. If you have received your ballot and wish to vote, please mail your ballot with sufficient time to arrive by this time. If you have not received your ballot and were a member of AMSAT on July 1, please email me at brennanprice @ verizon.net to request a replacement ballot. All such requests that were made by today (Monday, August 17) have been fulfilled no later than today. A note to non-US based members: The printed return envelope does not specify that the return address is in the United States. The design of the envelope (my effort alone) may be fairly criticized on this basis. Several non-US members have added USA to the printed return address and successfully returned the ballot. This is my recommended remedy, but if for whatever reason it's too late for that (and I know of one such case), I will gladly send a replacement (as I have in said case). I am verifying envelopes against the voter list and keeping them unopened until the time of counting, when they will be opened face down and separated from the ballot without immediate counting to maintain secrecy. This is a key part of verifying that each ballot going out generates no more than one ballot coming back in. Presumably out of an understandable but self-defeating desire to ensure the secrecy of the ballot beyond this procedure, about ten members have sought to obscure the return address or use a different envelope, either with no return address or a different return address. In all but one of those cases, the printed address was insufficiently obscured, or the alternate address was traceable to a member who had not yet voted. The attention required to verify the nonconforming envelope in each case substantially exceeded the attention normally necessary, and actually increased the possibility of me inadvertently discerning the contents without opening the envelope through inspection I would ordinarily forego. Nevertheless, these envelopes have been accepted for eventual accounting. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Two-Minute Engineering Video Update Available Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Vice President-Engineering has published a two- minute video update on the progress of AMSAT projects. Among the highlights are: - The RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E satellite is ready for delivery and integration and is expected to launch by the end of the year. - The University of Maine will use an AMSAT LTM-1 module for command and control of their upcoming CubeSat mission, MESAT-1. The LTM-1 also provides a linear transponder for amateur radio use. AMSAT is in discussions with additional partners about flying LTM-1 modules. - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, vendors have been delayed in supplying printed circuit boards for the GOLF-TEE project. The impact of the pandemic has also affected the amount of time AMSAT's volunteer engineers have for their hobby work. Completion of GOLF-TEE is expected by the end of June 2021. - Dependent on fulfilling its primary mission, the GOLF-TEE satellite may include a X-band downlink parrot of the V-band uplink and L/S band uplinks which are planned for GOLF-1. - Research is underway to place GOLF-1 into a higher orbit while meeting regulatory requirements. - GOLF-TEE is a candidate for a launch on an upcoming DoD mission. You can view Jerry's update at: https://youtu.be/9H4iM1hoVG4. [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Vice President-Engineering for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- New Distance Records Congratulations to Jerome LeCuyer, F4DXV and Joseph Werth, KE9AJ on extending their record distance on AO-7 by another 140 km! The new record stands at 8,204.592 km. KE9AJ was in DM79IQ58 and F4DXV was in JN14CH76. Jerome also claimed two other records during his trip to JN14. First, on 10-Aug-2020, he worked VE1VOX in Nova Scotia on AO-92, a distance of 5,011 km. Three days later, a QSO with Nathan White, N5LEX in FN11 set a new record distance covered of 6,183 km on AO-91. The QSO occurred at 13:37 UTC on 13-Aug-2020. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8MH, AMSAT Executive Vice President for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ORI's Digital Microwave Broadband Communication System Determined to be Free of ITAR The United States Department of State has ruled favorably on Open Research Institute's commodity jurisdiction request, finding that specified “Information and Software for a Digital Microwave Broadband Communications System for Space and Terrestrial Amateur Radio Use” is not subject to State Department jurisdiction under ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Export regulations divide both technical information and actual hardware into three categories. The most heavily restricted technologies fall under ITAR, which is administered by the State Department. Technologies subject to more routine restrictions fall under EAR, the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the Department of Commerce. Technologies that are not subject to either set of regulations are not restricted for export. On 20 February 2020, Open Research Institute (ORI) filed a Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) Request with the US State Department, seeking to establish that key technologies for amateur radio are not subject to State Department jurisdiction. “Information and Software for a Digital Microwave Broadband Communications System for Space and Terrestrial Amateur Radio Use” was assigned the case number CJ0003120. On 11 August 2020, the case received a successful final determination: the technology is not subject to State Department jurisdiction. The Final Determination letter can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-236-ORI [ANS thanks Open Research Institute, Inc., for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ SmallSat 2020 Virtual Conference Proceedings Available Online The 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference was a virtual event hosted by SmallSat.org and Utah State University, Logan, Utah. The event attracted 8,100 participants over three days August 1-3, 2020. With the conference theme, "Space Mission Architectures - Infinite Possibilities", the conference explored the realm of possible space mission architectures and how they can be practically achieved to support the diverse needs of the global space community. Organized along twelve technical tracks, all 162 presentations are available to the public. Additionally, literally hundreds of posters can be downloaded for viewing. Especially useful is a search function on the site that can search keywords to help find presentation and posters that deal with specific topics. For those interested in the future of small satellites, including those in the Amateur Radio Satellite Service, there is one especially pertinent presentation entitled " Small Satellite Regulation in 2020" with attorneys Lynne Montgomery and Christopher Bair of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP. In this twelve minute presentation, Ms. Montgomery thoroughly covers the range of regulations affecting small satellite operations, the agencies involved, licensing procedures and what future legal burdens are looming for small satellite operators. The complete collection of presentations and posters can be seen at: https://smallsat.org/. [ANS thanks SmallSat.org for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations * Quick Hits: DM97/98 & EM08/09, 8/29 & 8/30: Super Rover @ADoDX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. * Major Roves: @WA9JBQ is heading out to Idaho DN24,DN25,DN26 DN34, DN16, DN15, and DN14 starting August 15th. Then moving into Montana for DN35,DN36, DN37, DN38 DN49 DN47. He will be out a total of 5-6 weeks. Mostly FM some linear. Will post to twitter details. [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News * Upcoming Contacts: Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY, direct via K2ZRO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Wed 2020-08-19 18:21:55 UTC 85 deg Watch for live stream starting about 20 to 30 minutes ahead of AOS at: https://youtu.be/1Pwcc2rilz0 [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over * NASA At Home Offerings Updated Regularly As was reported before, NASA continually offers a variety of videos, podcasts, virtual tours, e-books and activities. This service has offerings that are of interest to adults as well as students with an interest in space exploration. The lineup changes weekly so, if you haven't been back in a while, take a moment to see the current assortment at: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/nasaathome/index.html [ANS thanks NASA for the above information.] * Build a Simple ISS Tracker with Raspberry Pi Fancy tracking the ISS’s trajectory? Looking for a project beyond using your smart phone app? All you need is a Raspberry Pi, an e-paper display, an enclosure, and a little Python code. Check out The MagPi Magazine issue #96. The download is free and can be found at: https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/issues/96. [ANS thanks RaspberryPi.org for the above information.] *ARS Technica Review Launch Prospects ARS reviews four smallsat rockets that might launch this year: Astra (this month?), Firefly (November?), Virgin Orbit (EOY?), and ExPace’s Kuaizhou-11 (?). Read it at https://bit.ly/3gkyLv6. [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information] *Faster Than the Speed of Light? If you’re a fan of science fiction, chances are you've encountered spaceships that use a warp drive, “fold space,” or “jump” drive. Unfortunately, the immutable laws of physics tell us that this is simply not possible. Those same laws, however, also tell us that near-light-speed travel comes with all sorts of challenges. Luckily for all of us, NASA addresses these in a recently-released animated video that covers all the basics of interstellar travel! See it at: https://youtu.be/l4u4wV_dOi0 [ANS thanks Universe Today for the above information] *NASA Investigating Air Leak on ISS NASA is tracking down the source of a minor air leak on the International Space Station. Crewmembers of the station's current Expedition 63 are in no immediate danger and will spend the weekend in the orbiting laboratory's Russian segment, inside the Zvezda service module, NASA officials said in an update on Thursday, 20 August. Full story at https://bit.ly/34lVnZZ [ANS thanks Space.com for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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 student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ ki7unj at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. 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 member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! _______________________________________________ Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans From JBH02173 @ nifty.com Wed Aug 26 10:02:08 2020 From: JBH02173 @ nifty.com (Mikio_Mouri) Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2020 10:02:08 +0900 Subject: [jamsat-news:3725] =?utf-8?b?SkFNU0FUX05ld3NsZXR0ZXIgTm8yOTgg55m66YCB44Gu44GU5qGI?= =?utf-8?b?5YaF?= In-Reply-To: <46d2786d-9c47-9c9b-d2e1-60af6d908cab@nifty.com> References: <1835319848.411751524483798137.jbh02173@nifty.com> <9e04ae0e-b0d6-5b0d-4353-324f0f3717e7@nifty.com> <2b93e0b6-3d73-a0ef-1af0-f0ed52111ac7@nifty.com> <33237bd5-b884-b057-6fec-36ab90742d73@nifty.com> <31ed968c-ff2a-3b66-2845-66e8846b62e6@nifty.com> <46d2786d-9c47-9c9b-d2e1-60af6d908cab@nifty.com> Message-ID: JAMSAT会員のみなさまへ 会誌JAMSAT Newsletter 298号を昨日、京都の郵便局から発送いたしました。 到着まで今しばらくお待ちください。 主な内容: ・Newsletter298号PDF閲覧のための 短縮URL・QRコードを用意 ・ハムフェア中止、JAMSATミ―ティングを毎月Web(ZOOM)で開催 ・衛星アワード、Newletter300号記念、JAMSAT設立50周年など アイデア募集 目次 1. ハムフェア中止 JAMSATミーティングはWeb化 2. CubeSat NEXUS(FO-99) 3. FO-99 NEXUS衛星地上局JS1YAW変更検査 4. 最近の衛星運用に一言 5. 天問1号信号受信にAMSAT-DLが成功 6. QO-100 Portable Transceiver 7. Gateway AREx打ち上げが2026年へ2年延期 8. ESAが月面のEL3を活用するアイデアを公募 9. AMSAT-DLが月面トランスポンダ LunART提案 10. Epsilon 4号機で打ち上げられた仲間たちのその後 11. 砂漠を抜けて QO-100 DXペディション 12. AMSAT OSCAR Satellite QSO Party 開催中 13. JAMSAT Web Meeting第1・2回(6/20,7/18) 14. 小さな設備でも衛星は楽しめる! 15. 新入会員からのひと言 16. 年間JAMSAT/AMSAT関連催し物 開催予定 17. 最近のJARL・AMSAT関連 会誌 18. JARL最新バンドプラン(2020/04/21施行) 19. いま使える低軌道衛星 送信受信周波数一覧 20. 理事会から 衛星通信に興味をお持ちで、もしJAMSAT会員でない方は、ぜひ入会を 検討下さい。 https://www.jamsat.or.jp/?page_id=9 ご感想・ご意見をお寄せ下さい。よろしくお願いします。 JA3GEP 毛利幹生 Newsletter編集担当 From ans @ amsat.org Sun Aug 30 09:00:00 2020 From: ans @ amsat.org (Mark Johns, K0JM via ANS) Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2020 19:00:00 -0500 Subject: [jamsat-news:3726] [ans] ANS-243 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-243 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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 @ amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Member David Minster, NA2AA, Elected ARRL CEO * Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU, Joins Starliner Mission To ISS * ANS Editors Wanted * CubeSat Challenge Seeks To Inspire, Prepare Students * Amateur License Fee Proposal From FCC * AO-92 (FOX-1D) Reverting to Safe Mode * GRBAlpha Frequency Coordination Completed * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-243.01 ANS-243 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 243.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 August 30 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-243.01 AMSAT Member David Minster, NA2AA, Elected ARRL CEO The ARRL Board of Directors has elected David Minster, NA2AA, of Wayne, New Jersey, as ARRL’s new Chief Executive Officer, starting on Septem- ber 28. Minster is currently Managing Partner at Talentrian Partners, a management consulting firm serving the consumer goods and luxury goods industries. Minster began his career as a software engineer, moving into management at Unilever, as a Chief Information Officer and moved on to several other companies in the course of his career, as CIO, COO, and CEO. Minster got his Novice license, WB2MAE, in 1977, when he was in his teens. He progressed from Advanced to Amateur Extra and, after a stint as NW2D, he settled on the vanity call sign NA2AA in the 1990s as a way to honor a mentor, N2AA, and the contest station that he used to fre- quent, K2GL, in Tuxedo Park, New York. Minster’s ham radio pursuits have ranged far and wide over the years. His background includes National Traffic System training and participa- tion in public service events, as well as contesting from home, club stations, and contest stations in the Caribbean ? particularly on Bon- aire, where he is a member of PJ4G. Primarily a CW operator, Minster collects unique and vintage bugs and keys. Minster earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from The Ohio State University and has a special interest in satellites, digital communications, remote operation, and ham radio computing and software. He has written keyer software for the commercial market, and contest logging, packet, and satellite telemetry software for personal use. In addition to being an ARRL member, Minster is a member of AMSAT, the Frankford Radio Club, the Straight Key Century Club, CWops, and the North American QRP CW Club. “I spend every day of my life, one way or another, engaged in amateur radio. It is more than just a hobby for me; it is my community. It is where I live; where I have built lifelong friendships, and friendships that span the globe. Amateur radio allows me to dream and to experi- ment. I can’t wait to bring my energy and boundless enthusiasm in service to ARRL.” ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, said, “We are excited to welcome David as our new CEO, and look forward to his progressive leadership. His experience in management and operations, plus his activities in amateur radio, will serve our organization and members well.” Minster will succeed Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY, who was CEO in 2018, and who has been serving as ARRL’s Interim CEO since January 2020. Shelley had been ARRL’s Chief Financial Officer since January 1992. (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU, Joins Starliner Mission To ISS NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU, NASA's Boeing Starliner-1 mis- sion, the first operational crewed flight of Boeing?s CST-100 Star- liner spacecraft on a mission to the International Space Station. Epps will join NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, and Josh Cas- sada, KI5CRH, for a six-month expedition planned for a launch in 2021 to the ISS. The spaceflight will be the first for Epps, who earned a doctorate in aerospace engineering in 2000 from the University of Maryland, College Park. [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ANS Editors Wanted Are you the sort of ham who may not have the skills to put together a satellite, but who does a pretty good job of putting *WORDS* together? The AMSAT News Service (ANS) prepares and distributes weekly news bul- letins about the world of amateursatellites, and ANS is in need of ad- ditional rotating editors. Editors take turns putting together the weekly bulletins, one week each month, more or less. They also help one another out by seeking news items to pass along to the editor of the week, and proofreading. Online training and mentoring is provided. Time commitment is usually 4-6 hours per month, once trained and up to speed. This is a great way for wordsmiths to contribute to AMSAT and to serve your fellow amateurs. Contact k0jm [at] amsat.org with questions or to volunteer. [ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, ANS Senior Editor, for the above inform- ation] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ CubeSat Challenge Seeks To Inspire, Prepare Students The U.S. Department of Education has launched CTE Mission: CubeSat, a national challenge to inspire students to build technical skills for careers in space and beyond. High school students from across the coun- try are invited to design and build CubeSat prototypes, or satellites that aid in space research, bringing space missions out of the clouds and into the classroom. “This is such an exciting way to rethink education and get students engaged in hands-on learning in the growing aerospace and technology fields,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. “I look forward to seeing the innovative prototypes students develop and hope this challenge inspires our next generation of American space explorers.” Investors predict that space will be the next trillion-dollar industry, and as missions in space continue to expand, so do the career opportun- ities. This multi-phase challenge offers high school students across the United States the chance to build CubeSat prototypes while learning creative, collaborative, and technical skills for 21st century careers. Schools interested in entering CTE Mission: CubeSat should form a team and submit a mission proposal by 5:59 p.m. ET, on Oct. 16, 2020 ? no in-person collaboration or prior experience with CubeSats is required. The online submission form asks for school information, a team profile, a project proposal, and anticipated learning outcomes. Curated educa- tional resources are available to students and teachers online in the CTE Mission: CubeSat resource hub. To learn more, schools can join a virtual information session on Sept. 1. Up to five finalists will be selected to receive prizes and participate in Phase 2, which runs from January to May 2021. Finalists will have access to expert mentorship and additional virtual resources as they build CubeSat prototypes and plan flight events to launch their proto- types. The Department understands that due to current conditions, schools will need flexibility to safely collaborate when designing and building prototypes during the challenge. The Department looks forward to the creative solutions in the mission proposals it receives as challenge entries. Each finalist will receive an equal share of the $25,000 cash prize pool, as well as satellite development, hardware, and software kits. Challenge sponsors include Arduino, Blue Origin, Chevron, EnduroSat, LEGO Education, Magnitude.io, MIT Media Lab, and XinaBox. “Developing a CubeSat prototype is an opportunity for students to learn competitive skills and explore a wide range of careers in space ? or their own communities,” said Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education Scott Stump. “Through CTE Mission: CubeSat, we aim to bring students new learning opportunities to build valuable techni- cal skills for in-demand and rewarding careers.” For details, see https://www.ctemissioncubesat.com/ [ANS thanks the U.S. Department of Education for the above informa- tion] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur License Fee Proposal From FCC The FCC has published a proposal to reinstate a $50 fee for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees. The The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270. The ARRL team in Newington and Washington D.C. are crafting a response to the NPRM. The ARRL is committed to opposing all fees for any aspect of the amateur radio service. Deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once the NPRM appears in the Federal Register. File comments by using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), posting to MD Docket No. 20-270. This docket is already open for accepting comments even though deadlines have not yet been set. For more information see https://bit.ly/3hyNQuB [ANS thanks Matt Holden, K0BBC, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AO-92 (FOX-1D) Reverting to Safe Mode AO-92 has been experiencing low battery voltage during many night time passes over the last several weeks. While the satellite is in eclipse voltage has been dropping low enough (3.6v IIRC) to cause an automatic shift to safe mode. It emerges from eclipse toward the end of night passes over North America and the transponder will then switch on, us- ually with a minute or two remaining in the pass. As we move to winter in the northern hemisphere, the end of the eclipse should shift over the pole and to the beginning of the descending part of the orbit, and this issue should change for at least the northern hemisphere ops. [ANS thanks Andrew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations, and Nate White, N5LEX, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ GRBAlpha Frequency Coordination Completed The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has approved frequency co- ordination for GRBAlpha, a 1U CubeSat built by students at the Techni- cal University of Kosice, Slovakia, with contribution by students in Hungary and Japan. In addition to a gamma ray sensor, the satellite will have a digipeater functionality with 4k8 or 9k6 GFSK AX25 down- links. A downlink on 437.025 MHz and an uplink on 145.905 MHz have been coordinated. Launch should take place in the third quarter of 2020 from Baikonur into a 600 kmm Sun-Synchronous Orbit. For more information see https://om3ksi.sk [ANS thanks IARU for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Information and Technologies Branch, Department of Education-Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via AB1OC The contact was successful: Mon 2020-08-24 09:32:57 UTC. The ISS call- sign was NA1SS, and the astronaut was Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR The KMO Kolska Wyspa, Koło, Poland, telebridge via VK6MJ. Is scheduled for Wednesday, 2020-09-02 12:58:11 UTC. The 75 degee maximum elevation pass will be heard across Australia. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancella- tions or postponements of school contacts. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men- tors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: Ron is heading out for the Kansas QSO Party, catch him on HF or DM96, 8/27 From 00:00 to 02:00, @AD0DX DM97,98, EM07,08, 8/29 from 15:00 to 20:00 @AD0DX RJ is also heading out for the party… DN80 & DN90, 8/28 FM passes, @WY7AA DM99/EM09 AO92 8/29 03:55, @WY7AA EL97, 8/29, @KK4YEL, details and passes to come. FM15, FM25, FM14, FM04, 8/29 and 8/30 Holiday Style, @N4LAZ. Bob Keating, N6REK, will be on vacation next week in the Eastern Sierra and plans to work AO-91, AO-92 and PO-101 from the DM07/08 gridline on a holiday schedule from Wednesday, Sept. 2 to Saturday, Sept. 5. Major Roves: @WA9JBQ is heading out to Idaho DN24,DN25,DN26 DN34, DN16, DN15, DN14 starting August 15th. Then moving into Montana for DN35,DN36, DN37, DN38 DN49 DN47. He will be out a total of 5-6 weeks Mostly FM some linear. Will post to twitter details. [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Clint Bradford K6LCS has booked his “Work the FM Voice Satellites With Minimal Equipment” presentation for the clubs. 09/02/2020 ? Garden State ARA, New Jersey 09/14/2020 ? North Agusta Belevedere Radio Club 10/27/2020 ? Cherryland ARC / Traverse Bay ARC TBD ? Antelope Valley (CA) ARC TBD ? A private presentation for a Boy Scout troop in Danville, Penn. These will be Zoom presentations. Participants are asked to update their copies of the Zoom application ? by directly visiting Zoom.us. [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + NASA will broadcast a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket full-scale booster test at 2:40 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 2, on NASA Television and the agency’s website, followed by a media teleconference. The Flight Support Booster-1 test builds on three full-scale development test firings and two qualification test firings NASA and Northrop Grumman successfully completed with the five-segment solid rocket motor in preparation for the first three Artemis missions. (ANS thanks NASA JPL and Joanne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above infor- mation) + NASA JPL provides a web application, "Eyes on the Solar System", to track the Mars 2020 mission. Fully interactive, Eyes on the Solar System. doesn't just let you track Perseverance in real time as it travels to the Red Planet. Dozens of controls on pop-up menus allow you to customize not just what you see ? from faraway to right "on board." Give the Mars 2020 Perseverance spacecraft a spin at: https://go.nasa.gov/32uc3Mo (ANS thanks NASA JPL and Joanne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information) + OSIRIS-REx just performed its last dress rehearsal before gathering a sample from asteroid Bennu in October. This dress rehearsal maneu- ver took the craft down to 40 m and resulted in high resolution images of the site. October’s sampling maneuver will use optical nav- igation to slowly bring the craft down, with minimal thruster firings to avoid contaminating the surface with hydrazine propellant. The craft will briefly touch down, dissipating momentum in the spring- loaded Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) arm, and fire a burst of nitrogen to blow particles into its sample collection head. These samples will eventually make it back to Earth in fall of 2023. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + Masten Space Systems announced on August 26 that it has selected SpaceX to launch Masten Mission One (MM1). As part of MM1, Masten’s lunar lander will deliver nine NASA-sponsored science and technology demonstration experiments and several commercial payloads to the lunar south pole. Masten’s first mission to the Moon, MM1 is a col- laboration with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Pro- ject Office. The Masten XL-1 lunar lander is scheduled to touch down on the lunar south pole in 2022, carrying a suite of NASA-sponsored scientific instruments and various payloads from commercial space customers. (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) + In early August a cable snapped at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, causing substantial damage to one of the largest single dish radio telescopes in the world. In an episode of the National Public Radio podcast, Short Wave," planetary scientist Edgard Rivera-Valen- tín explains what's at stake until the damage can be repaired, and he unique role the telescope plays in both scientific research and popular culture. Listen to the 12-minute program at: https://one.npr.org/?sharedMediaId=906366009:906835109 (ANS thanks npr.org for the above information) + Malcolm "Mal" Preston, NP2L, an AMSAT life member and longtime sup- porter, died last month at the age of 85. Mal retired in 1991 and moved to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he practiced accounting through 1997. An active volunteer, Mal served on the church vestry, was treasurer of St. John’s yacht and hiking clubs. He assumed many leadership roles in ham clubs and won many international champion- ships as a member of the Contesting Consortium PJ2T. He was the Assistant Section Manager for the American Relay League in the USVI. (ANS thanks John Shew, N4QQ, and Joanne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information) + NASA's associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, Kathy Lueders, has named Robyn Gatens as acting director of the In- ternational Space Station at NASA Headquarters. The appointment was effective Aug. 25. Sam Scimemi, the former director, has assumed new responsibilities as a special assistant for the agency's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. In this role, Gatens will lead strategy, policy, integration, and stakeholder engagement for the space station program at the agency level, working closely with International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Gatens will provide technical advice for the program, as well as overseeing program execution and managing risks. Gatens has 35 years of experience at NASA in both the space station program and in development and management of the life support systems for human spaceflight missions. --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans