[jamsat-news:3290] [ans] ANS-165 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

E.Mike McCardel mccardelm @ gmail.com
2015年 6月 14日 (日) 11:37:25 JST


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-165

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including 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.

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.

In this edition:

* Dave Jordan's (AA4KN) article about Fox-1 Featured in July QST
* Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Silent Key
* Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development
* AMSAT-NA BoD Nominations Notice - Last Chance for June 15 Deadline
* AMSAT 2015 Field Day Announcement – June 27-28
* Montserrat (FK86)  active on satellites June 10 – June 18, 2015 -
  Update
* ARISS Announces Challenge Coin for Donation
* Twin Cubesat Mars Flyby Will Support NASA InSight Landing
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-165
ANS-165 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 165
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE June 14, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-165



Dave Jordan's (AA4KN) article about Fox-1 Featured in July QST

Dave Jordan AA4KN, writing on behalf of the Fox Team, has published
an article, "Fox-1: The New Era of Amateur Satellites" which will
appear in the July 2015 issue of QST. The article introduces the
CubeSate program, describes the Fox-1 class of CubeSats, outlines the
the student experiments and briefd on using Fox-1. The article is
eligible for the cover plaque award. Look for it on pages 43-45 of
the Jult QST.

[ANS Thanks the ARRL and QST for the above information]


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Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Silent Key

The AMSAT News Service has received the sad news of the passing of
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. James Pastorfield,
KB7TBT, reported on Friday, June 12 on behalf of Amateur Radio
Newsline that Bill's key had gone silent.

Bill had been recently hospitalized; Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, reported
that, "Bill was in serious condition after being diagnosed with--as
he termed it--”a broken back.” I take this to mean he has fractured
at least one vertebrae. He is being treated for the pain associated
with such an injury, and thus is not able to write (type), nor can he
read for very long."

Nash continued, "Don Wilbanks, AE5DW and I discussed the long-term
future of the Amateur Radio Newsline, and what is needed to get it
back into production. The Newsline team is more committed than ever
to get production re-started as soon as possible.

Wilbanks wrote, "A dear friend has left us after a long struggle
with his health. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, as our mutual friend Beau
Weaver, W6KHJ so eloquently says, has taken his light into another
room. Bill touched lives all over the world through amateur radio. He
was like a big brother, an uncle to me. He was my mentor. He was my
friend. Rest my friend. I'll see you again one day."

Bill was a friend to all a strong advocate to the AMSAT News Service
(ANS). He will be missed.

[ANS thanks Amateur Radio Newsline for the above information]


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Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of
free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists
to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and
resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is
required to participate. Simply click on the provided link to
register.

Eyes on the Solar System: Pluto
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal
Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: June 16, 2015, at 5 p.m. EDT
"Eyes on the Solar System" is a 3-D environment full of real NASA
mission data. Explore the cosmos from your computer. Fly with NASA's
New Horizon spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and takes very first
close up pictures of the dwarf planet and its moons. Learn how to use
this free software and see the entire solar system moving in real
time.
Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/131330

ISS Across the Curriculum Series: Solar Energy for Space Exploration
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal
Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: June 17, 2015, at 3 p.m. EDT
Solar Energy for Space Exploration is a series of activities
designed to introduce your students to the basics of electrical
circuits while using the development of space habitats as a thematic
backdrop. Updated online resources and adaptation of classroom
activities will be discussed.
Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/130151

NASA Engineering Design Process 101: An Introduction to Classroom
Application
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal
Educators of Grades 4-8
Event Date: June 18, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDT
Learn more about the engineering design process and its application
to real-world problem solving. Explore NASA design challenges and
other NASA STEM classroom resources. Engineering design is a common
topic across each grade level in the Next Generation Science
Standards and an important concept in understanding the world around
us.
Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/130414

For a full schedule of upcoming NASA Educator Professional Development
webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve
Culivan at Stephen.p.culivan @ nasa.gov.

[ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- June 11, 2015 for the
above information]


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AMSAT-NA BoD Nominations Notice - Last Chance for June 15 Deadline

2015 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nomination petitions MUST ARRIVE no
later than JUNE 15th at the AMSAT-NA office.
If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other
action is required.

If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional
written petition MUST BE RECEIVED at the AMSAT-NA office at the above
address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June
15th.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE
NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS.

Only one day left to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA
Board of Directors election. Four director’s terms expire this year:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Mark Hammond, N8MH, and
Jerry Buxton, N0JY. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected
for one year terms.

A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five
current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA
member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee’s
name and call, and the nominating individual’s names, calls and
individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord
St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526.

In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which
is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made
by electronic means. These include e-mail, Fax, or electronic image
of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to
MARTHA @ AMSAT.ORG or Faxed to
(301) 822-4371.

[ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, AMSAT-NA Corporate Secretary for
the above information]


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AMSAT 2015 Field Day Announcement – June 27-28

It’s that time of year again: Field Day! Each year the American
Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout,
practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!”

The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend
of June. For 2015, the event takes place during a 27-hour period from
1800 UTC on Saturday June 27, through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 28,
Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 27 can operate only 24
hours.

The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own
version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held
concurrently with the ARRL event.

If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellite SO-50 for your
AMSAT Field Day focus – don’t – unless you are simply hoping to make
one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points. The congestion on FM LEO
satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to
limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the
International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS
is operating voice.

You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other
digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational).
Many good contacts can be made on the linear transponder satellites
including AO-73, FO-29, and AO-7. During Field Day the transponders
come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The transponders on these
satellites will support multiple simultaneous SSB or CW contacts.

The 2015 AMSAT Field Day event is open to all Amateur Radio
operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL
rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of
all amateur satellites, both analog and digital.

AMSAT Field Day information is also posted on the web at:
http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=216

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and
Awards, for the above information]


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Montserrat (FK86)  active on satellites June 10 – June 18, 2015 -
Update

Jim White WD0E reports on the status of the Montserrat (FK86)
activation, "We finally got the crate of antennas out of customs
today and have the sat station set up...  We will transmit on 145.925
and tune the passband for callers."

Montserrat (FK86) – Jim White, WD0E, will be active on satellites
from Gingerbread Hill, St. Peters, Montserrat (FK86) as part of the
VP2MKV team June 10 – June 18, 2015. WD0E will attempt to post a list
of satellite QSOs daily on the AMSAT-BB. There will also be HF
activity and an entry in the ARRL June VHF Contest. QSL via N0KV and
LoTW. From WD0E: “VP2MKV will operate FO-29 only on selected passes.
We will attempt the long hops to the edges of coverage if the
equipment performs well at low elevations and obstructions allow. We
will attempt to post passes we plan to work 24 hours in advance on
amsat-bb. The uplink frequency will be 145.925 and we will tune our
downlink for stations calling. The location is 16.776924N 62.214474W
in grid FK86vs. Equipment is an ICOM 910H and Arrow antenna. Uplink
power will be about 20W. Stations are asked to work us only once on
the satellite. If we respond with your call you are in the log.”
Tentative pass plan, from WD0E: “We will attempt to be on the first
two FO-29 ascending node passes June 11 through 20.  If time allows
we may be on the third ascending node those days.  Those passes
happen in late morning to mid afternoon Montserrat time.  On those
passes we will look first for South America when the satellite is
South of us, then North America, then Europe during the short mutual
window.  If there are 2 meter or 6 meter terrestrial openings during
the VHF contest June 13 and 14 we will not be on satellite at those
times.”

[ANS thanks Jim WD0E for the above information]


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ARISS Announces Challenge Coin for Donation

Receive an ARISS Challenge Coin for a donation of  $100 or more

* ARISS is Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.

* Licensed hams contact the ISS via Amateur Radio voice,
  packet/APRS, SSTV, and digital TV.

* Students interview astronauts in space and learn about life in
  space, space research, and radio science.

* Hams on the ground experiment with space communications

* Amateur Radio supports NASA by providing ISS backup
  communications

* Your donations will help support continuing operations and Amateur
  Radio equipment upgrades on the ISS.

Go to www.amsat.org/ and click on “Donate ARISS” to help keep
Amateur Radio on the ISS in orbit!

[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]


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Twin Cubesat Mars Flyby Will Support NASA InSight Landing

When NASA launches its next mission on the journey to Mars - a
stationary lander in 2016 - the flight will include two CubeSats.
This will be the first time CubeSats have flown in deep space.  If
this flyby demonstration is successful, the technology will provide
NASA the ability to quickly transmit status information about the
main spacecraft after it lands on Mars.

The twin communications-relay CubeSats, being built by NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California, constitute a
technology demonstration called Mars Cube One (MarCO).  CubeSats are
a class of spacecraft based on a standardized small size and modular
use of off-the-shelf technologies. Many have been made by university
students, and dozens have been launched into Earth orbit using extra
payload mass available on launches of larger spacecraft.

The basic CubeSat unit is a box roughly 4 inches (10 centimeters)
square. Larger CubeSats are multiples of that unit. MarCO's design is
a six-unit CubeSat - about the size of a briefcase -- with a stowed
size of about 14.4 inches (36.6 centimeters) by 9.5 inches (24.3
centimeters) by 4.6 inches (11.8 centimeters).

MarCO will launch in March 2016 from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
California on the same United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket as
NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and
Heat Transport (InSight) lander. Insight is NASA's first mission to
understand the interior structure of the Red Planet. MarCO will fly
by Mars while InSight is landing, in September 2016.

"MarCO is an experimental capability that has been added to the
InSight mission, but is not needed for mission success," said Jim
Green, director of NASA's planetary science division at the agency's
headquarters in Washington. "MarCO will fly independently to Mars."

During InSight's entry, descent and landing (EDL) operations on
Sept. 28, 2016, the lander will transmit information in the UHF radio
band to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) flying overhead. MRO
will forward EDL information to Earth using a radio frequency in the
X band, but cannot simultaneously receive information over one band
while transmitting on another. Confirmation of a successful landing
could be received by the orbiter more than an hour before it's
relayed to Earth.

MarCO's radio is about softball-size and provides both UHF (receive
only) and X-band (receive and transmit) functions capable of
immediately relaying information received over UHF.

The two CubeSats will separate from the Atlas V booster after launch
and travel along their own trajectories to the Red Planet. After
release from the launch vehicle, MarCO's first challenges are to
deploy two radio antennas and two solar panels. The high-gain, X-band
antenna is a flat panel engineered to direct radio waves the way a
parabolic dish antenna does. MarCO will be navigated to Mars
independently of the InSight spacecraft, with its own course
adjustments on the way.

Ultimately, if the MarCO demonstration mission succeeds, it could
allow for a "bring-your-own" communications relay option for use by
future Mars missions in the critical few minutes between Martian
atmospheric entry and touchdown.

By verifying CubeSats are a viable technology for interplanetary
missions, and feasible on a short development timeline, this
technology demonstration could lead to many other applications to
explore and study our solar system.

JPL manages MarCO, InSight and MRO for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. Technology suppliers for MarCO include:
Blue Canyon Technologies of Boulder, Colorado, for the attitude-
control system; VACCO Industries of South El Monte, California, for
the propulsion system; AstroDev of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for
electronics; MMA Design LLC, also of Boulder, for solar arrays; and
Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc., a Terran Orbital Company in San
Luis Obispo, California, for the CubeSat dispenser system.

For information about MarCO, visit:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php

For information about InSight, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/insight

Learn more about NASA's journey to Mars at:
http://www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-overview

[ANS thanks NASA Press Release 15-122, June 12, 2015 for the above
information]


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ARISS News

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-06-13  05:00 UTC

>From  2015-06-11 to 2015-07-24, there will be no US Operational
Segment (USOS) hams  on board ISS.  So any school contacts during
this period will be conducted  by the ARISS Russia  team.

Watch
http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html
for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled.

Exp. 42/43 has returned to earth. Congratulations for the job well
done!
Terry Virts
Anton  Shkaplerov
Samantha Cristoforetti  IZØUDF

[ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]


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Satellite Shorts From All Over

Panoramic Tour of ISS

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been cataloguing her home
of six months to create panoramic images you can rotate and explore.
Each section of the Space Station required around 14 fisheye photos
stitched together.

Areas of interest can be clicked on for more information in another
browser window.

Eventually, the entire Station will be available to explore right
here on this page – follow us to receive updates.
http://tinyurl.com/ANS165-ISSTour

Can you find the HAMTV transmitter on the floor?

[ANS Thanks European Space Agency for the above information]


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/EX

AMSAT User Services and the Editors of the AMSAT New Service pass on
our condolences to ANS Weekly Co-Editor Joe Spier K6WAO and his
family on the death of Joe's mother this week.

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 addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.

Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.

73,
This week's ANS Editor,
EMike McCardel, KC8YLD
kc8yld at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans




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