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[jamsat-news:2893] ANS-325 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-325
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:
* CubeSat Launch Includes Amateur Radio Missions
* AMSAT Rolls Out Web Fund Raising Widgets
* FUNCube Comes to Life at Martlesham, First Command & Telemetry Success
* WAS-Satellite Certificate Now Accepted as Credit for AMSAT Awards
* FO-29 Returns to Service
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* CubeSat Winter Session and IAA Conference in Rome, January 24-29
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.01
CubeSat Launch Includes Amateur Radio Missions
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.01
A Minotaur-4 launch from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska,
managed by Alaska Aerospace Corp. on November 19 lifted seven
satellites into a 400 mile high circular orbit.
Four of the satellites will be of interested to amateur radio
operators:
+ FASTRAC (science and amateur radio mission)
+ RAX - Radio Aurora eXplorer (science and amateur radio mission)
+ NanoSail-D
+ O/OREOS
FASTRAC
-------
http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/for_radio_operators/overview.php
Status: Beacon copied and decoded after launch.
The FASTRAC mission consists of two satellites built by students
at UT-Austin. This mission is divided into two basic phases, both
phases relying heavily on the participation of the amateur radio
community.
The first phase is the science portion of the mission. During this
phase the two satellites will be sharing GPS data as long as they
are within range of each other. The GPS data will be processed on
board each satellite and then stored in flash memory to calculate
an on-orbit relative navigation solution.
Also, the satellites will be performing attitude determination with
the GPS receiver. FASTRAC 1 will be firing the micro-discharge plasma
thruster whenever the thrust vector is within 15 degrees of the anti-
velocity vector. The data will be relayed to the ground when the sat-
ellite is in communication with a ground station. A coordination plan
is being developed so that participating amateur radio ground stations
can play a major role in collecting this data and relaying it back to
the FASTRAC web site.
The second phase of the mission begins by reconfiguring the satel-
lites for use by the amateur radio community. The capabilities of
these satellites are governed largely by the functionality of the
Kantronics KPC9612-Plus TNC. The satellites will be reconfigured
after the primary mission to serve on the APRS network.
FASTRAC 1 "Sara Lily" FASTRAC 2 "Emma"
--------------------- ----------------
Downlink 437.345 MHz FM 145.825 MHz FM
Beacon 437.345 MHz* 145.825 MHz*
Uplink (1200 Baud) 145.980 MHz FM 435.025 MHz FM
Uplink (9600 Baud) 145.825 MHz FM 437.345 MHz FM
* AX.25 1200 AFSK beacon data format
RAX (Radio Aurora eXplorer)
---------------------------
http://rax.engin.umich.edu/
Status: Beacon copied and decoded after launch.
RAX is a space weather science spacecraft carrying a 9600 baud UHF
transceiver that will transmit telemetry in the amateur satellite
bands. This mission also consists of a primary scientific experiment
with future reconfiguration for amateur radio experimentation.
In the science phase the satellite will use a a radar receiver capable
of 1 MHz I/Q sampling of select bandwidths between 400-500 MHz, includ-
ing the amateur satellite bands.
The primary objective of the mission is to use the onboard radar rece-
iver in conjunction with a powerful radar station in Alaska to study
the formation of a plasma anomaly known for causing the scintillation
of radio signals in the UHF and higher bands. This scintillation effect
is known to inhibit our space radar tracking capabilities and ground-
space communications.
The RAX team is looking for amateur ground stations to help acquire
RAX's 437.505 MHz beacon during the next few weeks of early launch and
continue to help collect telemetry throughout the mission.
The amateur radio phase of the mission is still under development. The
RAX team will invite the AMSAT community to get involved with submit-
ting proposals on how the radar receiver could be used for amateur radio
experiments after the primary mission objective is achieved. They will
issue a call for proposals which will be posted to the AMSAT-BB in the
next few months.
NanoSail-D
----------
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/nanosaild.html
NanoSail-D is a test of solar sail mechanism technology. The solar
sail is designed to operate predominantly as a drag sail and will
cause it to de-orbit in less than 100 days as a test of small
satellite de-orbiting techniques. The amateur radio beacon will
transmit a one-half second data signal every 5 seconds on 437.270 MHz.
The satellite will operate primarily on battery power because of the
short duration of the mission.
O/OREOS
-------
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/oreos/main/index.html
Status: Beacon copied and decoded after launch.
O/OREOS is a biological test spacecraft developed by scientists and
engineers at NASA Ames Research Center. O/OREOS is a triple cube
spacecraft planned to perform two tests during its 1-year mission.
The first experiment will test how microorganisms survive and adapt
to the stresses of space; the other will monitor the stability of
organic molecules in space. O/OREOS includes an amateur radio beacon
operating on 437.305 MHz. This satellite also includes a novel de-
orbit mechanism design by a Santa Clara University graduate student.
AX.25 437.305 MHz O/OREOS Beacon decoding information:
http://beacon.engr.scu.edu/BeaconProcessingSystem/OOREOSBeaconDecoding.pdf
If you are able to capture the beacon telemetry, please take the time
to file a report at http://beacon.engr.scu.edu/Submission.aspx which
is an interface to the Beacon Data Processing System.
An overview of the Kodiak launch can be found on-line at:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/stps26/101112launchpreps/
Photos of the payloads during integration with the launcher can
be found on-line at:
http://spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/stps26/101112cleanroom/
[ANS thanks the CubeSat Teams and SpaceFlightNow.com for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.02
AMSAT Rolls Out Web Fund Raising Widgets
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.02
AMSAT-VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA announced AMSAT is now
using a new web based fund raising tool on Facebook called Fundrazr
along with a web widget from PayPal Labs you can add to other web
pages. He hopes this will stimulate additional fund raising support
for ARISSat-1 and AMSAT-FOX. He is looking for help rolling these
web page widgets out to the public. Both are designed to be spread
virally and attract donations from those outside the normal AMSAT
circles.
For those with private webpages or blogs, we have a PayPal widget that
can also be added to your own webpages and blogs. It has been added to
the front page at http://www.amsat.org . Please consider adding it to
your own webpages and blogs in a prominent place.
Drew concludes, "I'm proud to announce that the Facebook and PayPal
widget campaign has raised $1,000 over the last 48 hours! This is a
great first step towards replenishing the funds used in the construc-
tion of ARISSat-1, and beginning the design and construction of
AMSAT-FOX. Thank you to those who posted the fundraiser to their own
pages, and to those who donated."
Drew's Facebook page at http://bit.ly/c861N7 now prominently includes
the Fundrazr widget that you can share or post. Drew has also added
the PayPal Labs widget on his QRZ.com entry, see:
http://www.qrz.com/db/KO4MA or http://www.qrz.com/db/K9JKM
For the FundRazr app on Facebook, go to Drew's Facebook page and click
share. For the PayPal widget on all other web sites, use the "add to
site" button. It will prompt you how to do it. It also lets AMSAT see
who and where it has been posted, and how much money has been raised
from each location.
Please let Drew know if you add either of these so he can track results!
(e-mail: ko4ma@amsat.org)
[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.03
FUNCube Comes to Life at Martlesham, First Command & Telemetry Success
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.03
The UK Martlesham Microwavers Round Table weekend also included an
AMSAT-UK FUNCube developer meeting. The aim of the working session
was to build a `stack' of the various boards which will make up FUNcube
and see if they worked!
Congratulations are in order to the FUNCube team being able to report
success on these milestones:
+ Prove that we could command the satellite remotely via RF.
+ Receive and examine the telemetry from the stack remotely using the
FUNcube dongle.
+ Command the antennas to deploy.
+ Command the satellite to change modes between transponder mode to
education mode, and back again.
The main 'new' PCBs that arrived were David's PA, Wouter's RF board,
and the CCT board from Jason and his team.
Photos of the meeting and FUNCube construction and testing videos can
be viewed on-line at:
http://funcube.org.uk/working-meetings/cubesat-mtg-1314-nov-2010/
A screenshot of the first captured telemetry from FUNCube can be seen
on-line at: http://www.funcubedongle.com/?p=195
The Spectravue plot to the right shows the satellite's downlink received
using a FUNcube Dongle. To the right hand side of the plot, the solid
green `hump' is the telemetry and the signal to the right of that being
simultaneous transponded SSB voice traffic.
To the bottom left, old hands will recognise the AO-40RCV window being
used to decode raw frames. The basic telemetry specification is based
heavily on AO-40's FEC model.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT-UK FUNCube developers and Howard, G6LVB for the
above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.04
WAS-Satellite Certificate Now Accepted as Credit for AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.04
AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO says
congratulations are in order for these radio amateurs who earned
operating awards this month:
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for
making their first satellite QSO:
Club Station, SP9PEX
Rick Tejera, K7TEJ
Merle Olmsted, AA4QE
Zachary Beougher, KD8KSN
George Heath, KF5IRG
Anthony Sirianni, Sr., KD8OEE
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award:
Ronald Oldham, N8RO #521
Ryan Case, KB9RID #522
Merle Olmsted, AA4QE #523
Zachary Beougher, KD8KSN #524
The following have earned the South Africa AMSAT Communications
Achievement Award:
Ronald Oldham, N8RO #US152
Bob Herrell, AJ5C #US153
Ryan Case, KB9RID #US154
Merle Olmsted, AA4QE #US155
Zachary Beougher, KD8KSN #US156
The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award:
Ronald Oldham, N8RO #154
Zachary Beougher, KD8KSN #155
Bob Herrell, AJ5C #156
Terry Moorby, VE3DIJ #157
The following have earned the AMSAT Century Club Award:
Nick Kucij, KB1RVT #40
The following have earned the W4AMI 5000 Satellite Communications
Achievement award:
Zeljko Ulip, 9A2EY #25
Bruce also said that in some cases he can credit holders of the ARRL
Worked All States (with the Satellite endorsement) toward appropriate
AMSAT Satellite Operating Awards. He will accept a scanned copy of your
Worked All States-Satellite certificate as proof of 50 of the 60 con-
tacts to fill in the missing states for the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award or
to qualify for the AMSAT Communication Achievement Award. Contact
Bruce via e-mail (kk5do@amsat.org) with your specific details to see
if you qualify.
Unfortunately, the ARRL W.A.S. certificate cannot be used towards the
South Africa AMSAT Award. As all contacts for this award must be done on
LEO satellites, there is no way to determine if LEO or HEO was used on
the certificate.
Full information on all of the AMSAT Satellite Operating Awards can
be found on-line at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/awards/
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.05
FO-29 Returns to Service
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.05
Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reported that the FO-29 Command Team succeeded
in bringing FO-29 back in service on 07:46UTC, 16 Nov 2010. Good
signals have been reported. Rick, WA4NVM reported, "I caught Kerry,
WC7V with a booming signal at 2 degrees elevation. Its nice to hear
this bird again!"
Two weeks ago, Yutaka Murata, JA1COU reported that the JARL FO-29
command team hypothesized that recent shutdowns of the satellite
may have been caused when the temperature aboard FO-29 became too
high to allow continuous operations and to accept commands or any
other satellite operations.
The FO-29 command team expected that the temperature aboard FO-29
would drop as the length of eclipse increases:
Eclipse of FO-29 is:
November 1 0% (full illumination)
November 20 14%
November 30 17%
[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL and Yutaka Murata, JA1COU for the
above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.06
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.06
+ An article and accompanying video on the SouthGate Site shows
how terrestrial operation can impact satellite operations when
the operators unwisely choose their frequency:
http://tinyurl.com/24r4bdx (SouthGate)
+ Congratulations to Loren, K7CWQ on being awarded Satellite WAS
#323 from the ARRL. His first contact was on 11-6-2009 with K8YSE.
All of his contacts have been with an HT and an Arrow antenna from
his driveway.
+ NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace have launched a new
planetary rover engineering competition called Exploration Robo-Ops
Student Challenge. University teams are eligible to win as much as
$10,000 for designing and building a planetary rover. Teams are
required to submit a project plan proposal by Dec. 15. More info
can be found at SpaceDaily.com http://tinyurl.com/28nsglr
+ Tom, W5KUB was on Memphis, TN Channel 5 news with his amateur
radio contact with the ISS. Video at http://tmedlin.com/iss.wmv
+ ReadySat Go is a store-and-forward CubeSat being developed by
students at San Jose State University. They have posted a video
showing construction of the satellite on the SouthGate site:
http://tinyurl.com/274f7wq
+ NASA's Eyes on the Solar System is a browser application that
gives you a 3D environment operating in real time, so you can
virtually tag along with our robot spacecraft. More information
and the stuff you need to download can be found at:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes/
+ Check out the Ten Years Of the ISS in Pictures feature on-line
at UniverseToday.com ... http://tinyurl.com/27nglfh
+ The Daily Mail had a feature showing astronaut Tracy Caldwell
Dyson and the views from the ISS Cupola: http://tinyurl.com/38eryox
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-325.07
CubeSat Winter Session and IAA Conference in Rome, January 24-29
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 325.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 21, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-325.07
The 1st IAA Conference on University Satellites Missions and Cubesat
Conference which will be held in Rome, Italy on January 24-29, 2011.
Submissions are due by December 18, 2010. Early registration begins
on January 10, 2011.
The conference is organized by a team of professors, students and
researchers from the School of Aerospace Engineering of Sapienza
University of Roma (GAUSS - Gruppo di Astrodinamica dell'Universitą
degli Studi Sapienza - Group of Astrodynamics of Sapienza University)
The Conference is supported by several authorities including:
+ The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA)
+ The European Space Agency (ESA)
+ Kosmotras)
+ The Von Karman Institute (VKI)
+ The Centro Ricerche Progetto San Marco
+ Sapienza Universitą di Roma
+ Morehead State University
Two days of the Conference will be entirely dedicated to the Winter
Session of the Cubesat Workshop, for the first time in Europe.
More information can be found at: http://www.gaussteam.com under the
section 'events'. An e-mail contact for the conference is:
gauss.group@gmail.com
[ANS thanks Group of Astrodynamics, Sapienza University of Roma 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. And, with that
please keep in mind the young ham expressing his frustration of his
radio battery dying so his therapist recommended that he find an outlet.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans