[jamsat-news:2561] ANS-286B AMSAT Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-286B

**************************************************************
***  2008 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting ***
***            October 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia           ***
**************************************************************

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

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat.org


In this edition:
* AMSAT Symposium 2 Weeks Away
* More info on XW-1
* AMSAT Awards
* SSTV Adventures
* ARISS Status - 6 October 2008

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-286.01
AMSAT Symposium 2 Weeks Away

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 286.01
   From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 12, 2008
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-286.01

The AMSAT Symposium is only 2 weeks away.  Scheduled in Atlanta this
year, there are many new ideas and directions the BOD wants to steer the
organization towards.  Remember, the BOD meeting is open to the general
membership.  You can sit in the audience and watch the
progress of the BOD as they finalize decisions.
The rest of the weekend will include a fine lineup of presentations by
those "rocket scientists" we've heard so much about.  Talk to the
various committee members and ask your important burning questions on
your favorite subjects. Saturday night is the Banquet for all to enjoy.
Join the fun and sign up at the AMSAT website by following the keys to
the symposium forum.

Special Note:
Daniel Schultz,  N8FQV will be that Banquet speaker at the 2008 AMSAT
Symposium. Dan will be talking about the upcoming Hubble Repair Mission.
Be sure and sign up soon for the Symposium and Banquet, it is only two
weeks away.
You can count on Dan presenting and entertaining and informative talk
and bring along some great NASA photographs.
Information and reservations for the 2008 Symposium can be found on the
AMSAT web site at  www.amsat.org .
ICOM has donated an IC-910 to give away to one of the people attending
the Symposium, so register soon and attend.

Thanks,
Gould

[ANS thanks the 2008 Symposium Committee & Gould, WA4SXM, for the above
information]

/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-286.02
More info on XW-1

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 286.02
   From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 12, 2008
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-286.02

Here are some details about upcoming Chinese XW-1:
>
> Orbit: Sun Synchronous Orbit
> Altitude: 499km
> Inclination: 98 degrees
> Period: 94 minutes
>
> Weight: 35kg
> Size: 550mm * 350mm
> Temperature: -20 to +45C
> Power: Li ion battery: 16Ah
> Long-term maximum power: 8W
> Short-term maximum power: 18W
>
> Payload:
>     Amateur radio payload: 5.2kg
>     Youngster's experiment payload: 1.6kg
>     CMOS camera: 0.2kg
>
> About amateur radio payload:
> Beacon: 435Mhz, CW 20dBm
> Linear transponder: RX: 145Mhz, TX: 435Mhz, 40KHz, 30dBm
> FM Transponder: RX: 145Mhz, TX: 435Mhz, 16KHz, 30dBm
> Digital store and forward transponder: RX: 145Mhz, TX: 435Mhz, 16KHz, 
30dBm
>
> 145Mhz RX Antenna: 2dBi, 135 degree, LHCP, unpacked by remote control 
after entering the orbit.
> 435Mhz TX antenna: 2dBi, 135 degree, RHCP, unpacked by remote control 
after entering the orbit.
>

[ANS thanks Michael, BD5RV/4, for the above information]

/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-286.03
AMSAT Awards

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 286.03
   From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 12, 2008
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-286.03

I am catching up with awards that were delayed due to hurricane Ike. If
you don't see your name in this list, drop me an email as I might have
lost an email or two.

We would like to welcome the following to the satellite community. They
have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT
Satellite Communicators Club.

Cherouvim Christos, SW1EIX
Joseph Seibert, AL1F
David Worboys, KG4ZLB

The following have earned the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement
Award.

Robert Netzband, NA2H #467
Allen Vinegar, W8KHP #468
Marc Sullivan, WA2S #469
Peter Carr, WW3O #470
Eddie Lawrence, KF4ZMT #471
David Gendle, K4DLG #472
Tim Lilley, N3TL #473
Dwight Fletcher, N1RCN #474

The following have earned the AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications
Achievement Award.

Robert Netzband, NA2H #US123
Allen Vinegar, W8KHP #US124
Luc Leblanc, VE2DWE #US125
Marc Sullivan, WA2S #US126

The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI Satellite Communications
Achievement Award.

Doug Papay, KD8CAO #52


To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or
http://www.amsatnet.com

Bruce Paige, KK5DO
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]

/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-286.04
SSTV Adventures

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 286.04
   From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 12, 2008
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-286.04

The ARISS team has a lot of exciting activities planned for the next few
weeks, including the flight of Soyuz 17S to space station with Richard
Garriott, W5KWQ and Mike Fincke, KE5AIT on-board.  The following
represents some new information and capabilities that we are rolling out
to the community to prepare for Richard's and Mike's flight.  Please go
to www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, www.arrl.org and www.issfanclub.com for
real-time information updates.

The ARISS SSTV team announces the new ARISS SSTV Web Gallery and Blog.

A website has been established to enable amateur radio operators to
share their pictures received from the International Space Station's
SSTV system. People wishing to view photos captured from the ISS or
upload their own captured pictures can go to
http://www.amsat.com/ARISS_SSTV/.  There is also
a blog in which the ARISS SSTV Team will post announcements and
additional information about the project.  The blog can be viewed at
http://www.ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/.

To prepare for the upcoming SSTV operations, you are welcome to "try
out" the new Web Gallery by posting past SSTV images (on-orbit and
terrestrial). These will be deleted prior to the ARISS SSTV events that
are planned for this weekend and during ISS Expedition 17 and Richard
Garriott's flight (see below).

ISS SSTV Operations Planned for October 12

The ARISS team received word from ARISS Russia delegate Sergey Samburov,
RV3DR, that the current ISS crew expect to transmit SSTV on October 12
from 18:00-21:00 UTC.  This is your opportunity to test out your SSTV
reception capability and to post images on the ARISS SSTV Gallery.  The
planned downlink for this operation will be 145.80 MHz with Robot 36 as
the expected SSTV mode of operation.

Good luck receiving SSTV images this weekend, and from the ISS during
Richard Garriott's flight.

Richard Garriott Operations

As stated previously, Richard plans to perform several school contacts
and downlink SSTV images during his flight.  He also plans to contact
the general ham community in his free time and perform random scout
contacts during Jamboree on the Air.  SSTV downlinks are planned on
145.80.  SSTV uplinks are not currently planned.  The standard general
contact frequencies will be used to support the Jamboree on the Air and
general QSO passes.

So that you are not calling CQ for naught, Richard's school contacts,
thanks to Will Marchant, KC6ROL, Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, and Sergey
Samburov, RV3DR, are tentatively scheduled as follows:

Challenger Learning Center Combined Contact #1,
telebridge via W6SRJ; on Thu  2008-10-16 16:39 UTC
Howard B. Owens Science Center's Challenger Center (Lanham, MD)
Challenger Learning Center of Columbia (Columbia,  SC)
Verizon Challenger Learning Center at MOSI (Tampa, FL)
Brownsburg  Challenger Learning Center (Brownsburg, IN)

Budbrooke Primary School, Warwick, England,  direct via GB4OBS Fri
2008-10-17 11:05 UTC

Challenger Learning Center Combined Contact #2,
telebridge via  W6SRJ; on Fri 2008-10-17  15:30 UTC
Indianapolis Challenger Learning Center (Indianapolis,  IN)
Challenger Learning Center at Paducah (Paducah, KY)
Challenger  Learning Center St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

Austin Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy, Austin, TX, direct via K5LBJ Sun
2008-10-19 13:14 UTC

Pinehurst School, Ashland, Oregon, telebridge via  W6SRJ Mon 2008-10-20
15:13 UTC

National  Planetarium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, direct via 9M2RPN Tues
2008-10-21 08:30 UTC

73,  Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
AMSAT-NA V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs
ARISS International Chairman

[ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, for the above information]
/EX



SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-286.05
ARISS Status - 06 October 2008

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 286.05
   From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 12, 2008
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-286.05

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
October 6, 2008


1.	Upcoming School Contacts

Scuola Media Statale  Donato Forlani in Conversano, Bari, Italy has been
scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact on Tuesday, October 7 at 11:29 UTC. Students have been
introduced to amateur radio and have covered the importance of space
missions. Media coverage is expected to include newspapers, radio and
television.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has
been scheduled with Buchanan High School in Clovis, California on
Saturday, October 11 at 16:10 UTC.  Telebridge station NN1SS in
Greenbelt, Maryland will assist with the contact. This event has been
requested to coincide with the schoolÃÔ Å¤olumbia Mission,a
student-organized mock shuttle mission.

Challenger Learning Centers in Lanham, Maryland, Columbia, South
Carolina, Tampa, Florida and Brownsburg, Indiana have been scheduled for
an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on
Thursday, October 16 at 16:39 UTC. The contact will be made possible
through telebridge station W6SRJ in Santa Rosa, California.

Budbrooke Primary School in Warwick, Warwickshire, England has been
scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact on Friday, October 17 at 11:05 UTC.  Students have been
learning about space exploration and how it has changed in the last 40
years. Spaceflight participant Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, intends to take
part in this contact.

Challenger Learning Centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Paducah, Kentucky
and St. Louis, Missouri have been slated for an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 17 at
15:30 UTC. Telebridge station W6SRJ will assist with the contact.

The Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) High School in Austin, Texas
has been scheduled for a direct Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) contact on Sunday, October 19 at 13:14 UTC. The school
is an advanced academic magnet school in the Austin Independent School
District and hosts gifted and talented students from all over the
District.  Ninth through twelfth graders are enrolled in the Å´ciTechcourse in which they develop skills in mechanical engineering and
computer processing, and űlanet Earthwhich focuses on the dynamic
relationship between the planet and its life, tracing it through the
EarthÃÔ geologic history.  They are also taking Å¢natomy and Physiologyand Å®edical Microbiology. Space and space travel has been
incorporated into these courses. An elective course in Amateur Radio is
offered as part of the curriculum and covers radio waves and
frequencies, antenna systems and designs, and satellite tracking and
communications. Spaceflight participant Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, expects
to take part in this contact.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has
been scheduled for Pinehurst School in Ashland, Oregon on Monday,
October 20 at 15:13 UTC via the telebridge station W6SRJ in California.
Pinehurst is a small rural school with grades K-8. Students have been
learning about the International Space Station and the history and
technology of space travel.  They have also been engaged in amateur
radio projects. Guest speakers have been scheduled to give presentations
on space related subjects. Newspaper, television and radio coverage is
anticipated.

The National Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has been scheduled
for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact
with spaceflight participant Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, on Tuesday,
October 21 at 08:30 UTC. The contact was requested for ŵhe National
Space Challenge, Prime MinisterÃÔ Trophy 2008,which will be held on
October 21-25, 2008. The National Space Challenge is a program that was
created in an effort to instill talents and desire in students,
especially those at the primary school levels, towards the understanding
of space. A total of 32 schools are involved in this challenge, and each
school will send two student participants. Students have been building
solar system models. They have participated in quizzes and treasure
hunts that involve space related objects.  They have also participated
in public speaking, giving presentations about various space topics.  At
night, telescope workshops and observation sessions have allowed
students to observe and learn more about space objects. Media coverage
is planned.

2.	Astronaut Training Status

On Thursday, September 25, JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP,
participated in a simulated contact during an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) training session.  Noguchi is an
Expedition 20 crewmember and will fly in November 2009.

3.	ARISS Presentations at 2008 AMSAT-NA Symposium

The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) will hold its Annual
Meeting and Space Symposium on October 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia. ARISS
(Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) Hardware Manager Lou
McFadin, W5DID, will give a presentation on the SuitSat-2 status and
ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, will give an update on the ARISS
program.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]

/EX


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

73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
nb2f at amsat dot org


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