[jamsat-news:1979] ANS-009 AMSAT Weekly Bulletin

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE

ANS-009


ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North
America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the
activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share
an active interest in designing, building, launching and
communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat.org

In this edition:
* ISS News
* UCISAT-1 News
* Straight Key Nite
* Tulsa, OK ISS Activity
* AMSAT 51 Award

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-009.01
ISS News

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 009.01
> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 9, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-009.01

* Expedition 10 Operates Robot Arm; Elektron Working*
Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan
Sharipov completed a work schedule filled with a wide range of activities.

Efforts to troubleshoot the Elektron oxygen-generation system appear to
be successful. The Elektron, which stopped operating on New Year's Day,
was reactivated Thursday morning and was operating late Thursday
afternoon on a backup pump, after being restarted a second time.

Later in the day, Chiao took the controls at the Robotics Work Station
to move the Station robotic arm, Canadarm2, into position for an
upcoming spacewalk. Flight controllers will use the camera on the arm to
view Chiao and Sharipov during the Jan. 26 excursion.

Chiao also completed U.S. cargo transfers from the ISS Progress 16 cargo
ship to the Station.

[ANS thanks Arthur, N1ORC for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-002.02
UCISAT-1 News

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 009.02
> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 9, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-009.02

Fellow AMSAT members and enthusiasts,
I am writing today to notify you of an exciting new cubesat project
begun at the University of California, Irvine. Our mission: to launch a
nano satellite (dubbed UCISAT-1) with an on-board CMOS camera into LEO
by October 2005. This project began almost a year ago with a handful of
engineers, but has now grown to a group of 20 dedicated team members and
10 major sponsors, including Boeing and Parker Hannifin. When launched,
the satellite will transmit scheduled telemetry and imagery at 500 to
1000 mW back to our ground station on the UCI campus. Best of all, if
proper authorization is obtained, the satellite operating frequency will
be allocated in the UHF Amateur Radio Band! This will give amateur
operators the opportunity to experiment with a smaller satellite and
intercept imagery in a familiar band.

At this moment, the project is moving into its final stage of planning
and development before moving to sub-assembly of the actual satellite. A
ground station is already in place, and has been used in several
successful QSOs on AO-27 and AO-51 with my call, KF6RTB. Although this
is a good first step, there are still many more objectives and
challenges ahead, and we need your help! The AMSAT Bulletin Board is a
fantastic resource, and many of you have already provided us with
valuable information thus far. However, we still require additional
information and parts, and have a limited budget to work with. So, if
anyone has any useful electronics gear, software, or books lying around
and would like to donate to the project, please send a reply! I will
post a more specific list in the near future. All donors will be
recognized on our website, receive frequent status reports by email, and
(if located in the area) are welcome to our technical meetings as well
(Did I mention tax break??).
If there is enough interest, I can also post monthly progress reports
on the bulletin board to keep everyone up to speed.



For additional information, please visit our new website at
www.ucisat.net .

Thank you all for time and interest. See you on the Sats!


[ANS thanks Matt Bennett, KF6RTB for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-009.03
Straight Key Nite

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 009.03
> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 9, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-009.03


Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2005 15:26:55 -0500

OSCAR SKN 2005 is now history.  Activity was up significantly from last
year's level.  A number of Best Fist nominations are already in, but if
you participated and haven't yet sent in yours, please take a moment to
do so.  Remember, the operator you nominate need not have the best fist
of all whom you heard, just of those you worked.  Please send all Best
Fist nominations to w2rs@amsat.org.  A list of nominees will be
published via the AMSAT News Service in early February, and in The AMSAT
Journal.


[ANS thanks Ray, W2RS for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-009.04
Tulsa, OK ISS Activity

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 009.04
> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 9, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-009.04

Tulsa Oklahoma ISS CONTACT MADE 5x9 !!!!!!

With the help of MANY hours of work and planning from Bill Griffin NI5X
and Keith Pugh W5IU of AMSAT there was a successful contact between
students at the Tulsa Air & Space Museum and the International Space
Station, as it sailed 250 miles above Tulsa on the morning of Wednesday
Dec 22nd, 2004.

Bill began calling NA1ISS this is WA5LVT and right about 9:12 am CST
CONTACT!   The kids we able to work in all 20 question and as well as
wishing the ISS crew a Merry Christmas.  WOW!

There was lots of media on hand KTUL-ABC TV, KOTV-CBS TV, FOX23 TV, The
Tulsa World, Borken Arrow Ledger, and CQ Magazine. Job well done by
everyone who played a part in this important project.  Thanks!

73 Mark Conklin N7XYO
President Tulsa Repeater Organization,
Public Information Coordinator
ARRL Oklahoma Section
n7xyo@arrl.net

[ANS thanks Mark Conklin,N7XYO for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-009.05
AMSAT 51 Award

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 009.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 9, 2005
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-009.05

The AMSAT 51 on 51 Award new!
The AMSAT 51 on 51 Award is given to any station that makes contact with
51 different stations on AMSAT's newest satellite, AO-51, during the
year 2005. The award is designed to promote friendship, and encourage
contact with handheld and first-time satellite users. Applicants are
encouraged to include contacts with stations making their first
satellite contacts.

Contacts may be in any mode (Voice/Packet/PSK-31) and on any band (V/U,
V/S, L/S, L/U, H/U). To receive the award, you must submit your log
entries either electronically or by photocopy. Entries must indicate
date and time (UTC) of the contact, callsign and grid square of the
contacted station, and mode used. Only contacts made between 1 January,
2005 and 31 December, 2005 are eligible. Logbooks may be submitted until
30 April, 2006. QSL cards are not required, however logbooks may be
checked against other applicant's logs.

Production costs for this award have been underwritten by an anonymous
donor to honor Robin Haighton VE3FRH who served as AMSAT President
during the construction and launch of AO-51. Consequently all award fees
will be applied to the AMSAT Eagle fund.

The donation for the award is $10.00 (US Funds) and AMSAT members
receive a $5.00 discount. Award fees may be paid through the AMSAT
Online Store once you have received confirmation of eligibility from the
Director of Contests and Awards.

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]

/EX

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional
benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.

--

73,
This weeks ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
g4dpz at amsat dot org
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