<div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small" class="gmail_default"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b>AMSAT News Service</b></span></font><div class="entry-content"><p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
ANS-082<br>
March 23, 2025</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">In this edition:</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">* January/February 2025 Issue of <em>The AMSAT Journal</em> is Now Available<br>
* Fram2Ham SSTV Transmissions Planned<br>
* Alba Orbital Assists AMSAT-EA With HADES-ICM Project<br>
* Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lander Photographs Eclipse From The Moon<br>
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution<br>
* ARISS News<br>
* Upcoming Satellite Operations<br>
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities<br>
* Satellite Shorts From All Over</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and
information 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
communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The news feed on <a href="http://www.amsat.org">http://www.amsat.org</a> publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><strong style="font-family:georgia,serif">Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] <a href="http://amsat.org">amsat.org</a></strong></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: <a href="https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/">https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/</a></span></font></p>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">January/February 2025 Issue of <em>The AMSAT Journal</em> is Now Available</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The January/February 2025 issue of <em>The AMSAT Journal</em> is now available to members on AMSAT’s Member Portal.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><em>The AMSAT Journal</em> is a bi-monthly digital magazine for
amateur radio in space enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur
Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Each issue is your source for hardware
and software projects, technical tips, STEM initiatives, operational
activities, and news from around the world.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-wp-image-60164 gmail-size-medium" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-AMSAT-Journal-January-February-2025-232x300.jpg" alt="" width="232" height="300"></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><strong style="font-family:georgia,serif">Inside the Current Issue:</strong></font></p>
<ul><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Apogee View – Robert Bankston, KE4AL</span></font></li><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Engineering Update – AMSAT News Service</span></font></li><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Mitigating and Monitory Space Traffic and Debris – Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK</span></font></li><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Transceivers for Satellite Operation – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF</span></font></li><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">New England Sci-Tech Updates AMSAT TLE Bulletins – RJ Fitzgerald, N1BGA, et al.</span></font></li><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Determination of Spacecraft Orbital Elements from In-flight GNSS Measurements – Joseph DiVerdi, Ph.D., MBA, K0NMR</span></font></li><li><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">SpaceX Launches Hamsats on Rideshare Mission – AMSAT News Service</span></font></li></ul>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">AMSAT members may access the issue, and a library of back issues, by logging into their member account at <a href="https://launch.amsat.org/Sys/Login">https://launch.amsat.org/Sys/Login</a>. Non-members may join AMSAT at <a href="https://launch.amsat.org/Membership">https://launch.amsat.org/Membership</a> in order to access <em>The AMSAT Journal</em> and to receive a variety of other member benefits.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>The 2025 AMSAT President’s Club Coins Have Just Arrived!</strong><br>
<strong>Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight</strong><br>
<strong>Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.</strong></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-size-medium gmail-wp-image-59641" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-PC-Coin-2-Sided-Color-Web-300x148.jpg" alt="2025 PC Coin Set" width="300" height="148"></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help</strong><br>
<strong>Keep Amateur Radio in Space!</strong><br>
<strong><a href="https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/">https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/</a></strong></span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Fram2Ham SSTV Transmissions Planned</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Astronaut and radio amateur, Rabea Rogge LB9NJ / KD3AID, will be
transmitting amateur radio Slow Scan TV images from space during the
SpaceX Fram2 mission, planned for launch on March 31.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The Fram2 mission is set to become the first human space flight in
polar orbit – flying over the North and South poles. Named after the
famous polar exploration ship Fram, which completed voyages to both the
Arctic and Antarctica. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four
astronauts from Europe and Australia into orbit for 3-5 days.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-wp-image-60167 gmail-size-large" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/rabea-rogge-lb9nj-kd3aid-photo-credit-dlr-1024x512.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="512"><br>
<em>Rabea Rogge LB9NJ / KD3AID [Photo credit: DLR]</em></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">During the Fram2 mission Rabea Rogge, LB9NJ (Norway) and KD3AID
(USA), will be operating the onboard amateur (ham) radio system sending
SSTV images as part of a high school and university student competition.
These SSTV images will also be available to be received by the general
public during the mission.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The International Space Station simulated the Fram2 SSTV mode PD-120
transmissions from February 13-17 on 437.550 MHz FM to enable people to
gain proficiency in receiving the signals before the mission.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Fram2Ham is an experimental radio competition open to high school and
university ages. Rogge will send pictures of three geographical
locations via an onboard ham radio, but here’s the twist: they’ll be cut
into pieces and mixed up! Participants will receive only fragments of
the locations and need to guess where on Earth they are and what their
role in polar history was. While anyone can receive the pictures,
forming an international team may help you solve the puzzle!</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">There are several challenges like low transmit power, variations of
antenna orientation, and a short, 3-day mission duration, with only a
limited time assigned for the SSTV operation. These challenges require
operating proficiency and the use of the best attainable radio station
and this simulation shall give the possibility to exercise this.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">For more information on the Fram2 mission and for youth organizations
interested in participating in the Fram2Ham SSTV competition, see <a href="https://fram2ham.com/">https://fram2ham.com/</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">First human Spaceflight to Earth’s polar regions <a href="https://f2.com/">https://f2.com/</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Fram2Ham on Discord <a href="https://discord.com/invite/GYQzmSh5sp">https://discord.com/invite/GYQzmSh5sp</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Competition details <a href="https://fram2ham.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/amapay_user_manual-ver-2-7-2025.pdf">https://fram2ham.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/amapay_user_manual-ver-2-7-2025.pdf</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and FRAM2 Ham for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><strong style="font-family:georgia,serif">Need new satellite antennas?</strong></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-size-medium gmail-wp-image-3846 gmail-aligncenter" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/M2_LeoPack_Hi-300x298.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="298"></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store.</strong><br>
<strong>When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards</strong><br>
<strong>Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.</strong><br>
<a href="https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/"><strong>https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/</strong></a></span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Alba Orbital Assists AMSAT-EA With HADES-ICM Project</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Alba Orbital (UK, USA, Germany) is the world’s leading PocketQube
company that has delivered 53 pico-satellites on-orbit to date. These
include five PocketQube satellites from three different countries
recently flown on-board SpaceX’s Transporter-13 Rideshare mission.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-wp-image-60162 gmail-size-large" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AlbaOrbital-deployer-846x1024.jpg" alt="" width="846" height="1024"><br>
<em>Alba Orbital’s AlbaPod [Photo: Alba Orbital]</em></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The satellites were integrated into Alba Orbital’s PocketQube
Deployer, AlbaPod, at their new facilities in Hillington Industrial
Estate, Glasgow, the world’s first PocketQube factory. After
integration, the cluster of pocket-sized satellites were shipped out to
SpaceX and then hitched their ride to LEO.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4">PocketQubes<span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> are highly miniaturized satellites, typically 5 cm cubed
per unit (‘P’), that can be launched to orbit for as little as 25K euros
via Alba Orbital’s rideshare services. PocketQubes are cost-effective,
quicker to build, and provide versatile options for a variety of
missions that range from educational projects to advanced technological
demonstrations.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-size-large gmail-wp-image-60163" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/HADES-ICM-PQube-1.5p-b-L-6-1024x792.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="792"><br>
<em>Payloads aboard this mission include HADES-ICM – HYDRA SPACE / IC MERCURY / SMART IR [Photo: Alba Orbital]</em></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">HADES-ICM, a 1.5p PocketQube, this smallsat is carrying an open voice
transponder for the radio amateur community. It will be operated by the
non-proft organization AMSAT-EA. The PocketQube includes the UK based
Smart IR’s technology experiment that will be conducted on-orbit as well
as an icMercury experiment. Inspiring space sustainability text
messages that will be broadcasted periodically by HADES-ICM.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks Alba Orbital for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lander Photographs Eclipse From The Moon</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander snapped a gorgeous photo of a solar
eclipse from the Moon in which Earth covers up most of the Sun, leaving
only the so-called diamond ring effect.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-wp-image-60165 gmail-size-full" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/BlueGhostEclipse.png" alt="" width="959" height="541"><br>
<em>[Photo: Firefly Aerospace]</em></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The lander snapped the photo at around 05:30z on Friday March 14, as
the Earth slowly blocked a view of the Sun. The solar eclipse on the
Moon occurred at the same time as a total lunar eclipse here on Earth.
Terrestrial viewers saw the lunar surface turn a red hue.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-size-full gmail-wp-image-60166" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/BlueGhost002.png" alt="" width="634" height="496"><br>
<em>[Photo: Firefly Aerospace]</em></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The eclipse lasted for around five hours at the lunar landing site in
Mare Crisium. Firefly released another image from the earlier part of
the eclipse that shows the lander’s solar panel as the Sun starts to
hide behind Earth’s shadow.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander was launched on January 15 and
successfully touched down on the Moon on Sunday, March 2 at around
07:30z. It landed upright, with no issues, unlike the Intuitive Machines
lander which toppled over on landing on March 6.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">This is Firefly’s first mission to the Moon, so Blue Ghost is packed
with ten NASA instruments designed to probe the lunar surface and gather
data to (hopefully) support upcoming human missions to the natural
satellite. This is all part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services
(CLPS) initiative.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Not long after sunset at the end of the lunar day on March 16, 2025,
the Lander’s batteries were depleted, communications were lost and the
spacecraft’s mission was officially declared ended at 23:25z.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks Engadget for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<p class="gmail-has-text-align-center" style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>AMSAT Remove Before Flight Key Tags Now Available<br>
<em>Yes, These are the Real Thing!</em></strong></span></font></p>
<div style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-wp-image-35322 gmail-aligncenter" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Keytag1D-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155"></span></font></div>
<p class="gmail-has-text-align-center" style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>Your $20 Donation Goes to Help Fly a Fox-Plus Satellite<br>
Includes First Class Postage (Sorry – U.S. Addresses Only)<br>
Order Today at <a href="https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain">https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain</a></strong></span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 21</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or
keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard
mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking
programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur
satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of
the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after
reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More
information may be found at <a href="https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/">https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/</a>.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>NOTICE:</strong> In an effort to minimize confusion between
sources of two line element sets, AMSAT is adopting the convention of
listing the USSF/NORAD Satellite Catalog name first, followed by any
secondary name or names in parentheses. For example, “POEM 4 (BGS
ARPIT)” was added recently where “POEM 4” is the name that appears in
the U.S. Space Force Satellite Catalog, and “BGS ARPIT” is the name best
known within the amateur satellite community. Expect name changes for
affected satellites in the coming weeks as this change is fully
implemented.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">ARISS NEWS</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Canadian Elementary School Maple Bear, Sofia, Bulgaria, direct via LZ1KRN<br>
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS<br>
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit, KD5MDT<br>
The ARISS mentor is IN3GHZ<br>
Contact is go for: Mon 2025-03-24 14:23:27 UTC 42 deg</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD<br>
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS<br>
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksey Ovchinin<br>
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR<br>
Contact is go for Thu 2025-03-27 09:00 UTC</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Yonezawa 5th Junior High School, Yonezawa, Japan, direct via 8N7Y5JH<br>
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS<br>
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit, KD5MDT<br>
The ARISS mentor is 7M3TJZ<br>
Contact is go for: Fri 2025-03-28 09:56:00 UTC 30 deg</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Aznakaevsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, direct via TBD<br>
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS<br>
The scheduled crewmember is Ivan Vagner<br>
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR<br>
Contact is go for Fri 2025-03-28 12:50 UTC</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">City of St. Petersburg School, St. Petersburg, Russia, direct via TBD<br>
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS<br>
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksey Ovchinin<br>
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR<br>
Contact is go for 2025-04-03 12:45 UTC</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Ufa City School, Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD<br>
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS<br>
The scheduled crewmember is Ivan Vagner<br>
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR<br>
Contact is go for 2025-04-04 10:25 UTC</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Congratulations and welcome home to Sunita Williams, KD5PLB! She has
done 92 events/78 contacts. She has the lead at the moment!</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The crossband repeater continues to be ACTIVE (145.990 MHz up {PL 67}
& 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they
have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on
the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The packet system is also ACTIVE (145.825 MHz up & down).</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4">Ham<span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> TV – (2395.00 MHz down) is currently STOWED.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your
own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the
listed time.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The latest information on the operation mode can be found at <a href="https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html">https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at <a href="https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html">https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Upcoming Satellite Operations</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">None listed at this time.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on <a href="https://hams.at">https://hams.at</a>.
By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive
information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid
squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score
between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also
being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible
from your location.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">AMSAT Ambassador Activities</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club
meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-size-large gmail-wp-image-60174" src="https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-03-22-09.31.54-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768"></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><font size="4"><em style="font-family:georgia,serif">AMSAT Ambassador Mitch Ahrenstorff,
ADØHJ, speaks with an interested attendee at the Midwinter Madness
Hamfest in Buffalo, Minn. on Saturday, March 22. Ambassadors Paul Overn,
KEØPBR, and Mark Johns, KØJM, </em></font><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><i>were also kept busy at the table during the event</i></font></span><font size="4"><em style="font-family:georgia,serif">.
[Photo: KØJM]</em></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>March 27, 2025</strong><br>
AMSAT Update and Info<br>
West Fork Amateur Radio Club<br>
Paradise Fire Dept.<br>
303 Main St.<br>
Paradise, TX 76073<br>
<a href="https://wfarc.org/">https://wfarc.org/</a><br>
W5ITR</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>April 4 – 5, 2025</strong><br>
Southeastern VHF Conference 2025<br>
Quality Inn<br>
3095 Wilma Rudolph Blvd<br>
Clarksville, TN 37040<br>
W4FCL</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>April 5, 2025</strong><br>
RARSfest<br>
Jim Graham Building<br>
NC State Fairgrounds<br>
Youth Center Drive, Gate 5<br>
Raleigh NC<br>
<a href="https://www.rarsfest.org/index.php">https://www.rarsfest.org/index.php</a><br>
K4EB, N4AEW, W1DCM, KK4HG, N4HF</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>May 16-18, 2025</strong><br>
Dayton Hamvention<br>
Greene County Fair and Expo Center<br>
210 Fairground Road, Xenia, OH<br>
<a href="https://hamvention.org/">https://hamvention.org/</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]</span></font></p>
<hr>
<h2><font size="6"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Satellite Shorts From All Over</span></font></h2>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">+ The four members of the Crew-9 mission — Nick Hague, KG5TMV; Sunita
Williams, KD5PLB; Barry “Butch” Wilmore; and Roscosmos cosmonaut
Aleksandr Gorbunov — splashed down in the Gulf near Tallahassee, Florida
shortly before 2200 UTC on Tuesday, March 18. Hague and Gorbunov
launched to the ISS onboard the Dragon Freedom spacecraft in September
2024 and returned to Earth after logging 171 total days in space. Their
colleagues, Williams and Wilmore, returned to Earth with 286 days in
space after originally arriving at the space station onboard the Boeing
CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched on June 5, 2024. Prior to the
departure of Starliner, two extra seats were created inside Dragon
Endeavour (which brought up Crew-8) so that in the case of an emergency,
Williams and Wilmore would have a way to return home. Thus, they were
never actually “stranded” in space, as some media have reported. (ANS
thanks SpaceFlight Now for the above information.)</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">+ The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) annual conference will be
held October 21-23, 2025. NRO brings together the best in academia and
the private sector to keep America at the forefront of space-based
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance technology. NRO is
soliciting abstracts for paper presentations at the conference. Previous
topics included: Quantum Technologies, Artificial Intelligence,
Advanced Manufacturing, Remote Sensing, Microelectronics, RF
Technologies, Space Situational Awareness, & Other Enabling
Technologies. Abstract deadline is April 18, 2025. See <a href="https://www.nro.gov/SRL/">https://www.nro.gov/SRL/</a> for details. (ANS thanks David Vine, WA1EAW, for the above information.)</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">+ Researchers have broken a distance record in quantum communication
by sending a secret encryption key nearly 13,000 km from China to South
Africa, using a cheap, lightweight ‘microsatellite’. The satellite was
able to send pulses of laser light, put into special quantum states,
from a rooftop in Beijing to another at Stellenbosch University near
Cape Town. The pulses formed a quantum key that was used to encrypt two
images — one of China’s Great Wall and one showing part of
Stellenbosch’s campus. The feat, a kind of encryption known as quantum
key distribution (QKD), is a step towards being able to send
ultra-secure messages between any two locations, however distant. (ANS
thanks Nature.com for the above information.)</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">+ The increasing threat from space debris calls for both higher
maneuverability in orbit and a reduction of the amount of junk. British
startup Magdrive claims it can help with both, via a new propulsion
system for spacecraft that will launch into space for the first time
later this year and will be fueled by solid metal. The first incarnation
of the Magdrive system — called Warlock — is set to launch into orbit
in June 2025. It works by creating power using onboard solar panels to
ionize metal. Once detonated, the metal is turned into extremely hot and
dense plasma, or electrically charged gas. For now, the system is not
refuelable. In the more distant future, however, the system could obtain
its fuel from existing space junk, by harvesting dead satellites for
metal to use as propellant. (ANS thanks CNN Science for the above
information.)</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">+ In the next few months, from its perch atop a mountain in Chile,
the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will begin surveying the cosmos with the
largest camera ever built. But the rising number of satellites in orbit
can be a problem for scientists because the satellites interfere with
ground-based astronomical observations, by creating bright streaks on
images and electromagnetic interference with radio telescopes. Until
recently, astronomers had no centralized reference for tracking
satellites. Now, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has a
virtual Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from
Satellite Constellation Interference (CPS), which serves as an
information hub. One of the centre’s tools, called SatChecker, draws on a
public database of satellite orbits, fed by information from observers
and companies that track objects in space. Astronomers can use
SatChecker to confirm what satellite is passing overhead during their
observations. (ANS thanks Nature.com for the above information.)</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></font></p>
<hr>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Join AMSAT today at <a href="https://launch.amsat.org/">https://launch.amsat.org/</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).<br>
* Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.<br>
* Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status
shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary
years in this status.<br>
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Contact info [at] <a href="http://amsat.org">amsat.org</a> for additional membership information.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!</span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM<br>
mjohns [at] <a href="http://amsat.org">amsat.org</a></span></font></p>
<p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002</span></font></p>
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