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[jamsat-news:2715] ANS-235 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-235

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

*******************************************************************************************
* 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
*   Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore 
Washington Airport                 *
*  Details - http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php         *
********************************************************************************************

In this edition:
* SuitSat-2 Gets A New Name
* AMSAT Ballot Deadline Approaching
* Wallops Suborbital Launch With APRS
* ARISS Status - 17 August 2009

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-235.01
SuitSat-2 Gets A New Name

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 235.01
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 23, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-235.01

The SuitSat-2 project now has a new name to go with its new shape, ARISSat-1 .

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, the ARISS Chairman announced the new name for the
satellite and project this week. The project team 
is moving ahead using the same
hardware that was to fly in the Russian Orlan suit. The team is re-configuring
some of the modules to fit into the new structure being designed by Bob Davis,
KF4KSS and his team.

[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-235.02
AMSAT Ballot Deadline Approaching

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 235.02
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 23, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-235.02

The deadline for returning the gold "corrected" ballot to the AMSAT office
is September 15th.  If you need biographical information on the candidates,
it can be found on the AMSAT website.


[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-235.03
Wallops Suborbital Launch With APRS

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 235.03
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 23, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-235.03

There will be a launch to 300+ km of an APRS payload on a
sounding rocket out of Wallops Island VA, this 
fall.  Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, says,
"I don't want to steal anyone's thunder, but they said I could give this
heads up".  More details will be posted when available.

It is only 300 milliiwatts and will be on the National APRS
frequency 144.39 to make sure everyone can track it.  The total
mission duration is on the order of 10 minutes from launch to
re-entry.

AMSAT stations with beams in the mid-Atlantic states will be
valuable.

APRS stations with Igates with beams will be even better so the
student builders half way across the country can get their
packets live via the APRS-IS (internet)...

OMNI antennas in quiet locations should be able to hear the
packets direct, so nearby Igates with omni's probably need no
enhancement.

[ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-235.04
ARISS Status - 17 August 2009

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 235.04
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 23, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-235.04

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been
approved for Tension Woods College in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The
contact is scheduled for Monday, August 24 at 07:19 UTC via telebridge station
W6DUE in Maryland. The contact will be integrated into the curriculum’s
astronomy and physics units through participation in hands-on activities.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been
scheduled for Volkssterrenwacht Urania in Hove, Antwerp, Belgium on Monday,
August 24 at 10:22 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California, assuming
STS-128 launches on August 24.  (If STS-128 is delayed, the contact will be
rescheduled for Monday, August 24 at 11:30 UTC 
through telebridge station VK4KHZ
in Australia.)  Urania is a public observatory that raises public awareness of
astronomy, meteorology and astronautics. A range of activities and services are
available:  lessons for beginners and the experienced, guided tours of the
observatory, an extended documentation center, various publications, stargazing
evenings, conferences, Urania Mobile (Flanders' first mobile observatory) and
the astroshop. This "Space Talk" will boost activities at the start of the new
season.


2. ARISS Contact Between Robert Thirsk and Ottawa Sports Camp

On Tuesday, August 11, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact was held between Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Astronaut Robert
Thirsk, VA3CSA and Ottawa South United Sports Camp held at the Walter Baker
Sports Centre in Ontario, Canada. Telebridge station W6SRJ in California
facilitated the connection. All 18 questions prepared for the contact were
answered with enough time left over for one additional question. Approximately
130 people attended the event. The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and
JK1ZRW conference room servers and the IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project)
Discovery Reflector 9010.


3. ARISS Contact with Euro Space Center, Night of Stars Event

On Thursday, August 13, approximately 200 people attending the Euro Space
Center, Night of Stars Event in Transinne, 
Belgium gathered for an Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station (ARISS) 
contact. Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN on the
ISS participated in the contact, answering 20 questions. Telebridge station
W6SRJ in California assisted with the contact. The audio was fed into the
EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW conference room servers and the IRLP (Internet Radio
Linking Project) Discovery Reflector 9010.


4. ARISS Promoted at Quebec Hamfest

On August 1, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Canadian
Delegate Maurice-André Vigneault set up an ARISS display and satellite
communication demonstration station at the Quebec City Hamfest in nearby
St-Romuald. ARISS Delegate Daniel Lamoureux also participated in the Hamfest.
Pamphlets explaining the purpose of ARISS and AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation) were handed out.  The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) also provided
handouts, stickers and decals. The delegates will next visit the Ottawa Hamfest
in nearby Carp, Ontario, on September 12 to promote the ARISS program.


5. Astronaut Training Status

Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR/SA0AFS, was given a review of the Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station (ARISS) radio system in preparation for an
expected contact during the STS-128 mission time frame. Information on his
upcoming mission may be found here:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM56UE3GXF_index_0.html

On Thursday, August 13, an introduction course 
was also provided to Dan Burbank,
KC5ZSX.  Burbank is scheduled to fly on a future ISS expedition.


6. Electronics Weekly Interviews ARISS Member

AMSAT-UK’s FUNcube satellite has been featured on the front cover of the August
12-18 issue of Electronics Weekly. The full FUNcube article titled, “Bringing
FUN back to the classroom,” by Steve Bush may be 
found on page 8 and contains an
interview with Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) member
Graham Shirville, G3VZV.  See: http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1D4a803d8814a11352.cde


7. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published two small ARISS (Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station) related news items in its September 2009
issue of QST. One item pointed readers to the article on the Garriotts, "Two
Generations of Hams in Space" that ran in The Bridge, printed by the Electrical
and Computer Engineering Honor Society.  The 
second item was a notice to readers
that space shuttle Endeavour carried three astronauts to the ISS who are hams
and would be doing ARISS educational activities.

The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000.

[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,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org


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