[jamsat-news:3266] [ans] ANS-060 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

2015年 3月 1日 (日) 14:59:53 JST

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-060

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:

* ISS SSTV in a Brazilian School
* Space Station SSTV and Packet Radio via SUWS WebSDR
* SSTV From the ISS Completed This Week
* CubeSats Offered Deep-space Ride on ESA Asteroid Probe
* Live Broadcast of Space Launch System Booster Test Firing
* ARISS SSTV Diploma Available
* AMSAT at the Yuma Hamfest Wrapup Report
* Central States VHF Society Call for Papers
* AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-060.01
ANS-060 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 060.01
 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE March 8, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-060.01

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ISS SSTV in a Brazilian School

One of the members of the newly formed Brazil's AMSAT-BR group, Paulo,
PV8DX, demonstrated amateur radio on Monday, February 23, 2015 at the
Gonçalves Dias school when he demonstrated receiving an ISS SSTV picture on
145.800 MHz FM.

The ISS pass he received did not produce a strong signal and only part of
the picture was captured but as can be seen from the video the students were
enthusiastic and excited to be receiving a signal from space.

Paulo expressed the hope that the ISS will send images on school days more
often.

AMSAT-BR
https://sites.google.com/site/amsatbr/

Information on receiving ISS SSTV
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/11/more-iss-slow-scan-tv/

[ANS thanks Paulo, PV8DX and AMSAT-BR for the above information]

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Space Station SSTV and Packet Radio via SUWS WebSDR

Martin Ehrenfried G8JNJ reports excellent SSTV and Packet Radio signals from
the International Space Station (ISS) using the online SUWS WebSDR.

The omni-direction helix antennas at the WebSDR were designed with high
elevation satellites in mind. Conventional antennas concentrate the 
radiation
pattern towards the horizon resulting in weaker signals when a satellite is
above 15 degrees elevation. Comparisons with other WebSDRs show the SUWS
antennas provide a 6 to 10dB better signal to noise ratio on similar passes.

Martin says: “I had been experimenting with single turn ‘twisted halo’ 
design,
and decided to try stacking them to see if I could achieve more gain. 
Modelling
suggested that a stretched 3 turn helix with a helix circumference of approx
1/2 wave length and an overall length of 1/2 wave at 70cm, and fed with 
a gamma
match at the centre would offer reasonable gain, an omni-directional pattern
and mixed polarisation.”

You can use the free online SUWS Web Software Defined Radio from your PC or
Laptop to receive the ISS and the many amateur radio satellites 
transmitting in
the 144-146 MHz or 435-438 MHz bands. It also provides reception of High
Altitude Balloons in the 434 MHz band and coverage of the microwave 
10368-10370
MHz band.

The SUWS WebSDR is located at Farnham not far from London, 51.3 N 1.15 W,
listen to it at
http://websdr.suws.org.uk/

Full details of the antennas are available at
http://g8jnj.webs.com/currentprojects.htm

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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SSTV From the ISS Completed This Week

Following a short delay in amateur radio operations aboard the ISS due to
schedule changes in EVA activity, the Slow Scan Television transmissions
were sent on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, February 22-24. The transmissions
originated from the Russian segment of the ISS using a modified Kenwood
radio and an external antenna on the ISS. The callsign of RS0ISS was used.

SSTV signals received on 145.800 MHz using the PD180 high resolution mode
featured 12 different photos of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Also
included was a photo of a commemorative diploma created by the National
Polish Amateur Radio Society celebrating the 80th anniversary of Gagarin's
birthday.

Images received by radio amateurs world-wide may be viewed on-line at:
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/

AMSAT-UK provides a good reference page to prepare amateur radio operators
to set up their stations for future SSTV events from the ISS:
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/11/more-iss-slow-scan-tv/

Enthusiastic comments posted on amsat-bb indicated world-wide success:

Fer, IW1DTU wrote, "ISS SSTV, strong signal."

Roland, PY4ZBZ wrote, "Picture received in Brazil 22 feb 2015:
http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite/Hist33.jpg

Ken, GW1FKY commented, "Received very strong and clear pictures using my
Kenwood THD-7 on a
pass 1416 hrs plus, at my QTH in Wales UK. This was despite very heavy rain
and severe flooding in the area.

Greg, KO6TH wrote, "I've never received a clearer SSTV picture from
anywhere, let alone outer space! Using a Yaesu FT-847 and MMSSTV software
running under Wine on my OpenSuSE Linux box."

Steve, AI9IN wrote, "Just got a nice download of picture 12/12 Series 1 from
ISS. Have a 5/8 wave vertical on the roof going to an old Yaesu 2 m
multi-mode used MMSSTV. My first SSTV from the ISS!"

[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]

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CubeSats Offered Deep-Space Ride on ESA Asteroid Probe

Think of it as the ultimate hitchhiking opportunity: ESA is offering 
CubeSats
a ride to a pair of asteroids in deep space. CubeSats are among the smallest
types of satellites: formed in standard cubic units of 10 cm per side, they
provide affordable access to space for small companies, research 
institutes and
universities. One-, two- or three-unit CubeSats are already being flown.

Teams of researchers and companies from any ESA Member State are free to
compete. The selected CubeSats will become Europe's first to travel beyond
Earth orbit once the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) is launched in 
October 2020.

"AIM has room for a total of six CubeSat units," explains Ian Carnelli,
managing the mission for ESA. "So potentially that might mean six 
different one-
unit CubeSats could fly, but in practice it might turn out that two 
three-unit
CubeSats will be needed to produce meaningful scientific return.

"We're looking for innovative ideas for CubeSat-hosted sensors that will 
boost
and complement AIM's own scientific return.

"We also intend to use these CubeSats, together with AIM itself and its
asteroid lander, to test out intersatellite communications networking.

"ESA's SysNova initiative will be applied to survey a comparatively large
number of alternative solutions, this competition framework giving 
industry and
universities the opportunity to work together on developing their scientific
investigations in a field that is the technological cutting edge."

Beginning its preliminary Phase-A/B design work next month, ESA's AIM
spacecraft will be humanity's first mission to a binary system - the paired
Didymos asteroids, which come a comparatively close 11 million km to 
Earth in
2022. The 800 m-diameter main body is orbited by a 170 m moon.

AIM will perform high-resolution visual, thermal and radar mapping of the
moon. It will also put down a lander - ESA's first touchdown on a small body
since Rosetta's Philae landed on a comet last November.

AIM also represents ESA's contribution to a larger international effort, the
Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission.

The NASA-led Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) probe will impact the
smaller body, while AIM will perform detailed before-and-after mapping,
including pinpointing any shift in the asteroid's orbit.

"While it will return invaluable science," adds Ian, "AIM is conceived as a
technology demonstration mission, testing out various technologies and
techniques needed for deep space expeditions in future.

"These include two-way high-bandwidth optical communications - with data 
being
returned via laser beam to ESA's station in Tenerife - as well as
intersatellite links in deep space and low-gravity lander operations.

"Once demonstrated, these capabilities will be available to future 
deep-space
endeavours, such as Lagrange-point observatories returning large amounts of
data and sample return missions to Phobos - and ultimately Mars - as well as
crewed missions far beyond Earth orbit."

The chance to put forward CubeSats is being organised as a SysNova
competition, an initiative by ESA's General Studies Programme - which is
running the AIM project - to compare innovative solutions to space mission
challenges.

Interested teams can get more information from the published announcement of
opportunity. As a next step, qualified teams can submit initial 'challenge
responses' describing their proposed mission concepts and how they 
address the
defined technical challenges associated with operating such small spacecraft
close to an asteroid.

The winning submissions will then be funded by ESA for further study 
over the
next seven months, following up with a final review at ESA's ESTEC technical
centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The victors will then work with ESA to
elaborate their designs, including sessions at ESTEC's Concurrent Design
Facility.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/CubeSats_offered_deep_space_ride_on_ESA_
asteroid_probe_999.html

[ANS thanks the Staff Writers at Spacedaily.com for the above information]

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Live Broadcast of Space Launch System Booster Test Firing

Did you know that NASA is building the largest solid propellant rocket
booster in the world? NASA will test this booster, designated Qualification
Motor-1, or QM-1, on March 11, 2015, at the Orbital ATK test facility in
Promontory, Utah. The test is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EDT.

QM-1 is a five-segment solid propellant booster that will help power the
Space Launch System. The two-minute, full-duration static test is a huge
milestone for the SLS Program and will qualify the booster design for
high-temperature conditions. This type of test typically comes only after
multiple years of development and signifies major progress being made on the
rocket. Once this test and a second, low-temperature test planned for early
2016 are complete, the hardware is qualified and ready for the first flight
of SLS.

NASA's Space Launch System will be used to help send humans to deep space
destinations like an asteroid and Mars. SLS is an advanced, heavy-lift
launch vehicle that will provide an entirely new capability for science and
human exploration beyond Earth's orbit. The SLS will give the nation a means
to reach beyond our current limits and open new doors of discovery from the
unique vantage point of space.

The test will be streamed at
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
and broadcast on NASA TV.
Please make plans to watch with your students and colleagues.

To learn more about the Space Launch System, visit
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/

[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Feb. 26, 2015 for the
above information]

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ARISS SSTV Diploma Available

Radio amateurs from Poland created a diploma commemorating the SSTV activity
from the International Space Station on the occasion of the 80th 
anniversary of
Juri Gagarin's birthday. This homage to the first man in space coincides 
with
the 85th anniversary of the Polish Amateur Radio Union (PZK), established
February 24th, 1930. A photo of the diploma is included in the series of
pictures transmitted from the International Space Station.

If you wish to receive a printed version of the individual commemorative
diploma with your name, surname and call sign, we cordially invite you 
to share
your images received from the ISS. For this purpose please upload received
images to the website

http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php

and e-mail a report to the coordinator (address e-mail is below) with your
working conditions, equipment and antennas, used for reception of the 
signals
from, the ISS. Please mention your first and last names, your call sign and
your locator. Some published photos will possibly be used in the future 
for an
educational purpose.  If you publish pictures on the page above you 
agree with
this.

 From Polish stations we expect a complete audio record (containing the SSTV
signal and the background noise as well) of the whole ISS pass over the
station. It would be great to receive a similar report from all 
participants,
but this is not required. However, if you decide to share audio, please 
put a
time stamp at the end of the recording, with a precision up to 1 second, 
e g
23:51:54 UTC.

Reports are to be sent to koordynator.ariss ＠ gmail.com. As subject please
mention SSTV3ISS [YOUR CALLSIGN] [LOCATOR].

If you capture and post the picture of the Polish diploma, you can ask for a
special QSL card commemorating the 85th anniversary of PZK. For this 
purpose,
please send a separate request to koordynator.ariss ＠ gmail.com. As subject
please mention QSL1RS0ISS [YOUR CALLSIGN].

QSL cards and certificates will be sent via QSL bureau. If you wish to 
receive
them via traditional mail or if you are not served by a QSL bureau, 
please send
an empty self-addressed envelope and two IRC (international reply 
coupons) to:

Zespol Szkol Technicznych
ARISS
ul. Poznanska 43
63-400 Ostrow Wielkopolski
Poland

We are looking forward to your reports and requests until March 4th at 23:59
UTC.

[ANS thanks ARISS, and Jurek Jakubowski, SP7CBG, for the above information]

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AMSAT at the Yuma Hamfest Wrapup Report

AMSAT Vice President for Field Operations, Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK,
writes a little about the two-day Yuma Hamfest that he attended
with an AMSAT booth. "This hamfest has become (I think) the largest
in Arizona, and I heard that over 1000 hams attended. It draws hams
from all over Arizona, California, Nevada, and the "snowbirds" from
other parts of the US and Canada. And a few hams came up from
northern Mexico to join in the fun.

There was steady traffic past the AMSAT booth on both days. I had
Rick, K7TEJ helping me for much of the weekend, and his help was
appreciated very much. He left his homebrew dual-band Yagi (2
elements on 2m, 5 on 70cm) on a telescope mount and tripod at
the AMSAT booth during the two days, along with my Elk 2m/70cm
log periodic.  Between the two of us, we had demonstrations on two
AO-73 passes, two SO-50 passes, and one pass each on 3 other
satellites (AO-7, FO-29, NO-44), with a total of 34 QSOs. Lots of
flyers and the Getting Started with Amateur Satellites books were
flying off the table, and we had good crowds for the demonstrations
outside the main building on the Yuma County Fairgrounds. I posted
pictures from the hamfest over the two days on my @WD9EWK
Twitter feed. You are welcome to look through my feed and see those
photos and other comments at:

http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

if you are not a Twitter user.

The SO-50 passes, as expected, were the busiest of the passes worked
from Yuma. Much of the time, those passes were great illustrations of
what can be heard on an FM satellite. Even some of the not-so-good
operating examples made for excellent teaching moments.

I don't have any videos of the demonstrations this year, but have some
videos of the aircraft flying into or out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma,
the airfield across the street from the hamfest site (the runways at that
airfield are shared with Yuma International Airport, with both civilian and
military aircraft coming and going throughout the day). Those videos,
and others I have uploaded over the years, can be viewed at:

http://www.youtube.com/va7ewk

Thanks to everyone who worked WD9EWK during the hamfest. And a
special thank-you for those who were standing by to work me, as I tried
to complete QSOs with other stations that may have been closer to their
LOS times than you. I have uploaded those QSOs to Logbook of the
World. Please e-mail me directly (with QSO details) if you'd like to
receive a WD9EWK QSL card to confirm those QSOs. You don't have
to send me a card or SASE first. The hamfest was in grid DM22.

73!"

[ANS thanks Patrick, WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information]

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Central States VHF Society Call for Papers

The Central States VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers,
presentations and posters for the upcoming 49th Annual Central States VHF
Society Conference slated for July 23rd through the 26th in Denver,
Colorado.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to antennas, propagation,
satellites, test equipment, digital modes, contesting and the like. Non-weak
signal topics, such as FM, Repeaters, packet radio and other utility
communications modes are generally not considered acceptable, however, there
are always exceptions. Please contact the Proceedings Chair John Maxwell if
you have any questions about the suitability of a topic. His e-mail is
w0vg ＠ arrl.net .

Registration is online now at
www.csvhfs.org.

[ANS thanks the Central States VHF Society for the above information]

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AMSAT Events

Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around
the country.  Examples of these events are radio club meetings where
AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working
amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with
AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations,
forums, and/or demonstrations).

*Saturday, 7 March 2015 – Irving Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in
Irving TX (west of Dallas)

*Friday and Saturday, 13-14 March 2015 – Green Country Hamfest in
Claremore OK (northeast of Tulsa)

*Saturday, 14 March 2015 – Science City 2015/Tucson Festival of Books
in Tucson AZ (on the University of Arizona Main Mall)

* Saturday, 14 March 2015 0900 – 1630 – 2015 Palm Springs Hamfest at the 
Palm
Springs Pavilion

*Friday and Saturday, 20-21 March 2015 – Acadiana Hamfest in Rayne LA
(west of Lafayette)

*Saturday, 21 March 2015 – Weatherford Hamfest in Weatherford TX (west
of Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex)

*Saturday, 21 March 2015 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in
Scottsdale AZ (northeast of Phoenix, near AZ-101/Princess Drive)

*Saturday, 28 March 2015 – Greater Houston Hamfest and 2015 ARRL Texas
State Convention in Rosenberg TX (southwest of Houston)

*Saturday, 28 March 2015 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ (22nd
Street, east of Columbus Blvd.)

*Friday, 3 April 2015 – presentation for the Associated Radio Amateurs
of Long Beach in Signal Hill CA (Signal Hill Community Center)

*Friday, 17 April 2015 – presentation for the Oro Valley Amateur Radio
Club in Tucson AZ

*Friday through Sunday, 1-3 May 2015 – ARRL Nevada State Convention in
Reno NV (Boomtown Casino Hotel)

*Saturday, 2 May 2015 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in
Sierra Vista AZ

*Thursday, 14 May 2015 – presentation for the Escondido Amateur Radio
Society in Escondido CA

*Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 15-17 2015, Dayton Hamvention in
Dayton OH (Hara Arena)

*Saturday, 6 June 2015 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ

*Friday and Saturday, 12-13 June 2015 – HAM-COM in Irving TX (west of
Dallas)

*Friday and Saturday, 7-8 August 2015 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX

*Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 2015, AMSAT Symposium in
Dayton OH (Dayton Crown Plaza)

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]

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ARISS News

* About Gagarin from space event school in Saint Petersburg, Russia, direct
via RA1AJN
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be  RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Anton Shkaplerov
Contact was  successful 2015-02-26 12:27 UTC

* Riversink Elementary School,  Crawfordville, FL, direct via K4WAK
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled  to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF
Contact was successful: Thu 2015-02-26  15:15:56 UTC 77 deg

A report entiled "Thanks" was posted on the AMSAT-BB
"Just wanting to give a big 'Thank You' to this group....
I was approached by a local elementary school to host an ARISS Contact 
about
16 months ago.
For more than a year I have been pestering many of you (mostly off the
reflector) for information to get a good grip on this facet of the hobby.
Yesterday I (with the assistance of a few from my radio club) conducted 
a great
contact.
As grateful as I am to the folks in the club for helping with the 
contact, many
of you here deserve just as much recognition.
Thank You!
..... Many of you dealt with '20 questions' about the smallest of details
sometimes, and those little things made for a great one. As a result I 
have a
grandson that's 'on top of the world' and several club members with 
permanent
smiles..... And a very happy school full of kids & staff.

Thank You!

Doug
K4GKJ"

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule

* Direct contacts with students at G. Salvemini – G. La Pira, Montemurlo,
Italy, direct via  IQ5VR and at  “Dante Alighieri” 1st Grade Secondary 
(Middle)
School, Casale  Monferrato, Italy, direct via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is
presently scheduled  to be IRØISS with astronaut is Samantha Cristoforetti
IZØUDF are scheduled for Sat 2015-03-07 10:51:41 UTC 30  deg.

G. Salvemini – G. La Pira
“Salvemini – La Pira” is a secondary middle schoo located in Montemurlo,
province of Prato, in the Tuscany region. The school has 21 classes with 
pupils
ages 11 to 14 with a total of 520 pupils. The name of the school derives 
from
the fusion of the two schools of the commune. This is the only secondary 
middle
school in the area.

   “Dante Alighieri”
The "Dante Alighieri" School is situated outside the town center of Casale
Monferrato, near the ancient Cittadella, province of Alessandria, in the
Piedmont region. It is a modern construction, developed on two main 
buildings:
one for the school's didactical and administrative activities, one for the
sport activities (gym and pool). It is surrounded by a wide playground, 
with a
little plantation of poplars, planted by the pupils of the school. There 
are 12
classrooms (4 on the main floor and 8 on the first floor) and several labs,
including a Science Lab, Informatics Lab, Techno Lab, Art Lab, Maths 
Lab, and a
Languages Lab, and a colorful  and expansive library. There also a lot of
afternoon activities, such as Latin courses, languages courses and sport
tournaments (soccer, basket, volleyball). The Dante Secondary I grade School
has a current roll of 230 students and a teaching staff of 29. In the 
last few
years the school has been enhanced by the richness of its diverse student
population..

[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above
information]

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

S-band Moonbounce Update

The frequency and schedule has changed slightly..
As before, we're going to aim at Tycho from DSS-24 (34m antenna)
We'll radiate at 2115 MHz (not 2401 MHz).. from 0630UTC to 0900 UTC

For the first hour (until 0730UTC) we'll just have a CW carrier, should
be easy to see.

For the next hour, we'll be transmitting a JPL ranging code with the
chip rate at 2115/2048 MHz (a bit more than 1 MHz)..
See the 810-005 handbook for details
http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsndocs/810-005/214/214-1.pdf

You can probably see not only the carrier but the +/-1 MHz ranging tones
(and probably at +/-2 MHz, too), and also the PN sequence if you've got
enough SNR (or post process.. the code period is about 1 second.. it's
about a million chips long)

Then, at 0830UTC we'll stop using the PN ranging, and go to Doppler
compensating the uplink so that the received signal at JPL will have
zero Doppler.

This is all "we hope".. it's experimental and a sort of procedural shake
out as well as giving me a chance to test my ground copy of a Software
Defined Radio that is flying on ISS.

[ANS thanks Jim Lux, W6RMK for the above information]

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/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 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,
Joe Spier, K6WAO
k6wao at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans