[jamsat-news:3034] ANS-359 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-359

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:
* Help AMSAT to Fly Fox-1: Solar Panel Campaign Begins
* SKN On OSCAR 2012 In Memory Of W1JSM
* FO-29 Satellite Recovery in Progress
* AMSAT-India Announces Linear Transponder
* UK Space Agency Ukube-2 CubeSat Mission Concept Studies
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* ARISS Status - 19 December 2011


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.01
Help AMSAT to Fly Fox-1: Solar Panel Campaign Begins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.01
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.01

As AMSAT embarks on the Fox-1 Project, here is an opportunity to
literally put your callsign on the Fox hardware. AMSAT is looking
for major donations to help underwrite the cost of solar cells/
panels, one of the more significant expenses of the project. These
solar cells are needed for the flight unit as well as for the a
flight spare. As Fox-1 will have solar cells on all six sides of
the spacecraft and given the relatively small surface area avail-
able on each side (at most 4" by 4" per side), AMSAT will invest in
high efficiency solar cells to gain as much power as possible to
operate the spacecraft.

To protect the installed solar panels prior to launch, a lexan cover
for each side will be fabricated and mounted to protect the cells.
Prior to placement of the flight spacecraft into the 'P-Pod' that
will house the cubesats on the launch vehicle, the lexan covers will
be removed.

"Friends of Fox" are encouraged to consider several levels of fund-
ing support:

1. Donate $1,000 to support purchase of one panel that will cover
   one side of the spacecraft.

2. Donate $6,500 to support the purchase of six sets of solar panels
   to cover the entire spacecraft.

Donors who contribute at these levels will have their callsign etched
on the lexan cover protecting solar panels of the flight unit and the
flight spare. Following the launch of Fox-1, donors will receive the
lexan solar panel cover with their callsign for 'their' solar panel
mounted on a plaque commemorating their contribution to the Fox-1
project and highlighting the purpose of the lexan cover. A letter of
authenticity will be provided attesting to the use of the lexan cover
to help protect the solar panels.

Other potential donor levels are also available:

1. Donate $500 for one solar cell (two cells make up a 'panel' on
   one side of the spacecraft).

2. Donate $250 for one-half of a solar cell (one-quarter of the
   solar panel for one side of the spacecraft.

Donors contributing at these levels will receive a letter affirming
their contribution, including specifying which side of the spacecraft
'their' cells are located.

If you're interested in supporting AMSAT's need to purchase solar
cells, please return the Fox-1 fundraisingform sent to members. We
expect significant interest so make your donation NOW to take full
advantage of this donation opportunity.

Additional donation opportunities may be found at:

+ Call Martha at the AMSAT Office +1-888-FB AMSAT (1-888-322-6728)
+ Paypal donation widget on the main page at: http://www.amsat.org
+ Paypal donation widget for Project Fox at:
   http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/
+ You can also go to the Paypal site and send your donation to
  martha@amsat.org.
+ The AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/categories.php

All donations over $40 will receive a Fox pin. Donations of $120 or
more qualify you for AMSAT President's Club

[ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above
 information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.02
SKN On OSCAR 2012 In Memory Of W1JSM

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.02
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.02

You are cordially invited to participate in Straight Key Night
on OSCAR 2012, conducted by AMSAT for all radio amateurs through-
out the world. This year's event is dedicated to the memory of Don
Brown, W1JSM, who passed away in 2011, aged 90. Don was a longtime,
enthusiastic VHF/UHF and satellite operator, and one of our most
frequent Best Fist winners.

As always, SKN on OSCAR is simple and informal. Just operate CW
through one or more satellites on 1 January 2012 (0000 to 2400
UTC), using a straight hand key.

There is no need to send in a log, but all participants are encour-
aged to nominate someone they worked for Best Fist. Your nominee
need not have the best fist of anyone you heard, only of those you
worked. Send your nomination to w2rs@amsat.org. A list of those
nominated will appear in ANS in early February.

[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.03
FO-29 Satellite Recovery in Progress

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.03
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.03

The FO-29 Command Team reports from Japan that they have recovered
the satellite after it had experienced a shutdown due to longer
eclipse periods causing an undervoltage condition.

Ground station operators have placed FO-29 in a temporary, but stable
configuration for further testing and recovery operations. They will
test FO-29 while it is over Japan between December 23-25.

If no problems occur the Command Team will announce an operating
schedule for the satellite for the remainder of 2011 and into the
early part of 2012. Please standby for further news and announce-
ments.

[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.04
AMSAT-India Announces Linear Transponder

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.04
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.04

AMSAT INDIA had a booth at Hamfest India held on December 10-11. An
estimated 900 amateur radio operators and SWLs attended the event.
A copy of their satellite presentation can be downloaded from:
http://amsatindia.org/presentations/HFI-2011/AI-HFI2011.pdf

AMSAT-India gave several presentations at the event, among them was
one by Ganesan Namachivayam KJ6LRR in which he described a satellite
435/145 MHz linear transponder with a bandwidth of 50 kHz and capable
of 1-3 watts PEP output. AMSAT-India plan to develop a smaller linear
transponder for Cubesats.

Ganesan also described a CubeSat communications system comprising a
435 MHz half-duplex narrow-band FM transceiver supporting a data rate
of 1200-9600 bps. The transmitter produces 1 watt output and can also
operate as a Morse Code beacon.

Other presentations included:
- Real Time Tracking by Mani VU2WMY
- Working with LEO Sats by Dr. Raveendranath VU2RVJ
- Telemetry Decoding by Nitin VU3TYG

[ANS thanks Secretary - AMSAT INDIA Nitin, VU3TYG for the above
 information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.05
UK Space Agency Ukube-2 CubeSat Mission Concept Studies

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.05
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.05

With the UK Space Agency Ukube-1 program currently in development
with a planned launch in the second half of 2012 an invitation for
participation in studies for future cubesat missions has been ann-
ounced.

The concept can address a scientific theme or be of an in-orbit tech-
nology demonstration nature (e.g. formation flying), providing a real
impact to the UK. All UK based communities (academic, industrial and
other) are invited to submit proposals. Applications can be made in-
dividually or in partnership with other organisations, however indus-
try and academia will be funded under the rules stipulated in the
scope of funding presented below.

Funding is available up to £35K per proposal; the size of award will
depend on the requirements of the proposed project and the applicants’
case for support. Proposals should not exceed a grant value of £35K.
Funding will be awarded in 2012 and the project cannot exceed 3 months
duration. Due to the short nature of these studies and the amount of
funding available, we intend funding successful applicants at the on-
set of the project. It is anticipated the scheme will fund a minimum
of 7 proposals; the facility to fund more will depend on the size of
awards and will be assessed on a competitive basis as detailed below.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 1st February 2012, 12pm.
Further information can be found by following the links posted on the
AMSAT-UK web: http://tinyurl.com/7glkm3f (www.uk.amsat.org)

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.06
Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.06
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.06

+ The 2012 SA AMSAT Space Symposium will be held at the University
  of KwaZulu-Natal on 12 May 2012. This is the second call for papers.
  Authors are invited to submit a brief synopsis of their proposed
  paper. The deadline is 31 January 2012. Send a synopsis as a word
  file attachment to saamsat@intekom.co.za. The theme of the confer-
  ence is "50 Years of Amateur Radio Satellites" celebrating the
  launch of OSCAR 1 on 12 December 1961.
  SA AMSAT: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/

+ YX6, VENEZUELA. Members of the Radio Club of Venezuela plan to be
  active as YX6AJ from Angel Falls waterfall (the world's tallest -
  979m) between January 3-6th, 2012. Operators mentioned are Lino/
  YY5FRD, Jesus/YY5CHJ, Marcel/YY5CAR, Wilmer/YY5CWM, Alfredo/YV5SSF,
  Edwin/YV5HUJ, Jose/YV5JF, William/YV5VE, Angel/YV5NEA and possibly
  one more. Activity will be on CW, SSB, Digital modes and the Satel-
  lites. QSL via YV5AJ, by the Bureau or direct. They have posted a
  promotional video at:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=57lufNJtftk
  (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1041 for December 19, 2011)

+ The Polish amateur radio satellite PW-SAT built by students at the
  Warsaw University of Technology was featured on the Internet TV
  channel, BRITE TV. PW-SAT carries a single channel transponder that
  will operate in a similar way to the amateur satellite AO-16. The
  uplink on 435.020 MHz will be FM and the downlink on 145.900 MHz
  will use the BPSK telemetry beacon transmitter to produce Double
  Sideband (DSB) that can be received on an SSB radio. Watch at:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=74u7Nqxpkk0

+ The Internet Archive and Textfiles has posted every issue of Wayne
  Green's 73 Magazine ever published, for free. Read 73 online, or
  download PDF files here: http://www.archive.org/details/73-magazine

+ A video of the presentation about Amateur Radio Space Communications
  given by Mario Lorenz DL5MLO to hackers at the Chaos Communication
  Camp 2011 is now available:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Lh_RvzceJo4

+ AMSAT area coordinator Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his
  'Working Amateur Satellites With Your HT' session at the Gwinnett
  Amateur Radio Society's TechFest 2012 in Lawrenceville, Georgia on
  January 14, 2012. ALL are welcome to attend!
  Event Web site: http://tinyurl.com/GARS-2012
  Clint's four-page tutorial and radio programming data can be found
  at: http://www.work-sat.com

+ Bobby, KF4GTA posted photos of his trip to KSC with access to both
  Atlantis and Endeavour. The links to his photo pages are:
  http://flic.kr/p/aVsWfM and http://flic.kr/s/aHsjxni8cR

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-359.07
ARISS Status - 19 December 2011

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.07
 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.07

1. Kobe, Japan Contact Successful

On Monday, December 12, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact was held between the Hirano Branch of Kobe Youth Nurturing
Council in Kobe-city, Hyogo-pref, Japan and 
Astronaut Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX on the
ISS. The contact highlighted lessons covering the ISS and the environment. An
audience of approximately 50 people attended the event. Media coverage included
two newspapers.


2. New Proposal Cycle for ARISS-US Contacts

NASA Teaching From Space (TFS) office recently announced a new proposal cycle
for ARISS-US contacts.  The deadline for submitting proposals is January 30,
2012 for contacts to be held in the July 15, 2012 
– January 15, 2013 time frame.
The next informational session will be held on 
Wednesday, January 11 at 2100 UTC
to answer any questions concerning the proposal process.  To attend the session
or to have questions answered, contact TFS at JSC-TFS-ARISS@mail.nasa.gov or
call 281-244-1919.

For more information, visit the TFS Web site:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/students/ariss.html


3. ARISS-U.S. Proposal Process Makes the News

A NASA Express message which included an item on 
ARISS contact opportunities for
U.S. schools using the proposal process was sent on December 8. The message may
be viewed on the NASA blog:
http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=educationexpress

The NASA Educators Online Network (NEON) posted a link to its ARISS article,
“Holiday Ham for NASA.” See:
http://nasatalk.com/blog/article/bylines/67-dynae-fullwood/1629-holiday-ham-for-
nasa.html

The Hartford Hobby Radio Examiner published the story, “Schools can apply for
space station radio chats.”
http://www.examiner.com/hobby-radio-in-hartford/school-applications-welcome-for-
space-station-contacts


4. ARISS Status on Social Media

This is a reminder that ARISS news is available on Twitter and Facebook. ARISS
has over 200 active users on Facebook and over 800 followers on Twitter. See:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amateur-Radio-on-the-International-Space-Station-
ARISS/153679794647788
and
http://twitter.com/#!/ARISS_status

[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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