HuskySat-1 Transponder is Open

After a week of testing, the transponder on HuskySat-1 is enabled and open for use and testing. It’s fairly sensitive, and 5-10 watts is plenty most of the time. There are some fades due to satellite orientation, and some passes are definitely better than others. The operations and engineering teams are also watching a few anomalies. Please keep an eye on the beacon during transponder ops, for those with spectrum scopes. Strong signals may impact the beacon strength.

HuskySat-1 is the Husky Satellite Lab at University of Washington’s first cubesat, and the first mission with AMSAT’s linear transponder module (LTM-1), a V/u transponder and integrated telemetry beacon and command receiver. UW recently completed their Part 5 operations and have graciously let AMSAT’s Part 97 transponder operations commence. This transponder module is available for use in educational cubesat missions willing to enable the transponder for worldwide use. Contact myself or VP Engineering Jerry Buxton for additional details.

Reports and observations are welcome to the AMSAT-BB.

Congratulations to Husky Satellite Lab, and to the entire AMSAT Engineering team for keeping amateur radio in space. Thanks to Dr. Mark Hammond, N8MH for commissioning and operations support.

73, Drew KO4MA
AMSAT VP Operations

HuskySat-1 – V/u Inverting Analog SSB/CW
Uplink LSB 145.910 MHz through 145.940 MHz
Downlink USB 435.810 MHz through 435.840 MHz
1k2 BPSK telemetry 435.800 MHz. 1 mbps BPSK telemetry 24029.00 MHz.

[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President – Operations, for the above information]

ANS-131 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for May 10th

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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: [email protected]

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans

In this edition:

  • 2019 Back Issues of The AMSAT Journal on launch.amsat.org
  • Call for Nominations – 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
  • New Chinese Amateur Satellites Expected to Launch in September
  • Cubesat Developers Workshop Presentations Available
  • Visual Observations Of RS-44 Underway
  • Hack-a-Sat Call for Participation
  • NASA TV To Air Cygnus Departure From Space Station
  • Online Amateur Radio Satellite Talk on Zoom
  • Satellite Distance Records Set
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • ARISS News
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-131.01
ANS-131 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 131.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020-May-10
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-131.01

2019 Back Issues of The AMSAT Journal on launch.amsat.org

AMSAT’s new online member portal, launch.amsat.org, is up and running. All AMSAT members must log in and update their contact information to ensure continued, uninterrupted service. Full instructions for getting logged in are in the March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal, available for free download on amsat.org and launch.amsat.org. There is also separate instructions on each site.

Those interested in joining AMSAT can create an account, using the Join link on launch.amsat.org

IMPORTANT UPDATE: AMSAT’s Member Portal not only puts you in charge of your member account but gives you exclusive access to member-only content. Want to read back issues of The AMSAT Journal, in full color? We just posted all 2019 issues, plus the first two issues of 2020. We will continue to work on uploading prior years, so check back often.

Log in today!

(ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-Member Services for the above information)


Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/


Call for Nominations – 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election

AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2020 and will be filled by this year’s election: Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH; and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms.

A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators’ names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary:

Brennan Price, N4QX
300 Locust St SE, Unit E
Vienna VA 22180-4869
brennanprice at verizon.net

A copy should be sent to AMSAT Manager, Martha Saragovitz, at martha at amsat.org.

The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. In light of the ongoing pandemic and the resulting closure of the physical office, the Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted due to the closure of the office.

No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June.

[ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]


New Chinese Amateur Satellites Expected to Launch in September

Two new Chinese amateur radio satellites are now expected to launch on September 15, 2020. The first of these satellites, CAS-7A, is a 27 kg microsat (750 mm x 650 mm x 260 mm) with three-axis stabilization and several transponders. The transponders include a 15m to 10m linear transponder (H/t), a 15m to 70cm linear transponder (H/u), and a 2m to 70cm linear transponder(V/u). The satellite also includes a 2m to 70cm (V/u) FM transponder. Several beacons and data downlinks are also featured, CW beacons on 10m and 70cm, 4.8k or 9.6k GMSK telemetry on 70cm, and a 1 Mbps GMSK image data downlink on 3cm for the on board camera. IARU coordinated frequencies for the uplinks and downlinks are listed below.

This launch is also expected to carry CAS-7C, a 2U CubeSat with a V/u linear transponder and a CW beacon. Frequencies for CAS-7C have not been coordinated by the IARU at the time of this writing. CAS-7C will also deploy a 1 mm diameter 1080 meter long carbon fiber rope.

CAS-7A and CAS-7C will launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98 degrees.

Frequencies:

CAS-7A H/t Linear Transponder
Uplink – 21.245MHz through 21.275 MHz
Downlink – 29.435MHz through 29.465 MHz
CW Beacon 29.425 MHz

CAS-7A H/u Linear Transponder
Uplink – 21.3125 MHz through 21.3275 MHz
Downlink – 435.3575 MHz through 435.3725 MHz
CW Beacon 435.430MHz

CAS-7A V/u Linear Transponder
Uplink – 145.865 MHz through 145.895 MHz
Downlink – 435.385 MHz through 435.415 MHz
CW Beacon 435.430MHz

CAS-7A V/u FM Transponder
Uplink 145.950 MHz
Downlink 435.455 MHz

4.8k / 9.6k GMSK telemetry downlink – 435.480 MHz
1 Mbps GMSK image data downlink – 10460.00 MHz

[ANS thanks the IARU for the above information]


Cubesat Developers Workshop Presentations Available

Although we are not able to come together in San Luis Obispo for the CubeSat Developers Workshop today, we are excited to share some of the presentations that would have taken place with you online. Find the slide decks for these presentations on our archive <http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~workshop/archive/> as well as videos on our YouTube channel <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCENz0fNHsDR8Kz3jM6C_VWw/featured>.

You will also be able to find all of our previous Workshop presentations in NASA’s Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI) <https://www.nasa.gov/smallsat-institute>. We are excited to have our archives integrated into S3VI and hope you can use this tool to further your research and involvement with CubeSat.

If you were selected to present your abstract at this year’s Workshop and would still like your presentation to be included in our archive, email us at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.

We also want to share some of our CDW Zoom backgrounds with you. Feel free to download and use them in your next meeting!

We look forward to welcoming you all back to San Luis Obispo from *April 27-29, 2021* for the next CubeSat Developers Workshop. We will continue to announce new deadlines and registration information via email and on our website <https://www.cubesat.org/workshop-information> as we continue to plan for 2021. Be sure to join the CubeSat Workshop mailing list <http://www.cubesat.org/mailinglist/> for future announcements.

We hope you continue working together (from home) to advance CubeSats

[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information]


Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/


Visual Observations of RS-44 Underway

Visual observations of the payload and attached Briz-KM rocket body made whilst the object has been flying over the UK at night, indicated a rotation period of 19 seconds. Optically with binoculars, it appeared between magnitude +5 to invisible in hazy moonlit skies, on near zenithal transits. No flashes nor glints were observed, which could indicate the stack is in a slow roll along the longitudinal axis, rather than a tumbling motion.

On a radio aspect, it would appear the beacon signals are stronger as the payload approaches, declining thereafter upon passing TCA. Assuming RS-44 is mounted to the front and that some aerials have deployed, then this would account for the phenomenon, as receding away from the station would have the aerials blocked by the Briz rocket body – however, I have not seen any information released as to the physical condition of RS-44. It would be useful for the transmitters to remain on, to monitor over the long term if the nutation rate slows over time. The CW beacon was timed at 20 seconds between transmission, which fits with the optical work, but this may well just be coincidental as to how the beacon is programmed.

Later radio monitoring indicates the beacon repetition is 15-16 seconds on the callsign being transmitted. Whether this ties in with hopefully future optical work to see if the spin rate has slowed to the same, or we have a differential – we wait and see!

[ANS thanks Max White, M0VNG, for the above information]


Hack-a-Sat Call for Participation

I’ve put out the call for participation for the Hack-a-Sat competition in the past, and would like to bring you all up to date on the developments and opportunities that have developed since.

The website is here: https://www.hackasat.com/

Hack-a-Sat is an activity that was scheduled to happen at the in-person DEFCON event.

As of today, yes, it’s true. DEFCON has been cancelled.

Those of you that have volunteered at Ham Radio Village in the past are familiar with the event. For those of you that are not, it’s a long-running hacking and cybersecurity event that has enthusiastically adopted everything RF and amateur radio.

The United States Air Force, in conjunction with the Defense Digital Service, organized this year’s Space Security Challenge, called Hack-A-Sat. This challenge asks hackers from around the world to focus their skills and creativity on solving cybersecurity challenges on space systems. This competition is going to be held! It’s now a virtual event.

Security in the amateur radio sense of the word is fundamentally different from commercial and military applications. We have an advantage here, mainly due to the enormous leverage we have due to our context being completely different from what the Air Force and commercial interests assume. This is, essentially, a diversity advantage.

If you want to participate on an experienced Capture The Flag (CTF) team, then I am here to extend an invitation. Anyone that reads through the rules and can afford to spend some time during the event is invited to apply to join Vaporsec. This is a team that has a majority of information security professionals. There are some satellite industry people, some amateur involvement, and I’d like to make sure that anyone interested in competing from AMSAT gets a chance to join a competitive team.

The benefits to amateur radio are primarily technical, with policy and security a close second. The Air Force has some agendas here in terms of improving satellite security. Exposure to the challenges alone is a an excellent opportunity to learn more about modern satellite technology… and what a significant player in space wants to find out more about. Don’t assume that that the challenges in the competition are going to be “too hard.” What is trivial for one viewpoint is unsolvable for another.

I’ll be writing about the event and what we learned when it is over, so this sort of knowledge will not be secret. However, there is no replacement for participation, and you could very well have the practical knowledge, gained from operating real satellites, that wins the competition. As you can see from the website, there is some real money involved and opportunities for technical writing.

Let me know at [email protected] if you would like to talk more about joining a CTF team for this really neat and unique event. Know someone that you think should participate? Please forward to them.

[ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, AMSAT Board Member for the above information]


NASA TV To Air Cygnus Departure From Space Station

Nearly three months after delivering several tons of supplies and scientific experiments to the International Space Station, Northrup Grumman’s unpiloted Cygnus cargo craft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Monday, May 11.

Live coverage of the spacecraft’s release will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 11:45 a.m. EDT, with release scheduled for noon.

Dubbed the “SS Robert H. Lawrence,” Cygnus arrived at the station on February 18. Within 24 hours of its release, Cygnus will begin its secondary mission, hosting the Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment – IV (Saffire-IV), which provides an environment to safely study fire in microgravity. It also will deploy a series of payloads. Northrop Grumman flight controllers in Dulles, Virginia, will initiate Cygnus’ deorbit to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere Monday, May 25.

More information on Cygnus’ mission and the International Space Station can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/station

[ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information]


Online Amateur Radio Satellite Talk on Zoom

Robin Moseley, G1MHU, will give a talk on Zoom titled “Introduction to amateur satellites, meteor scatter, EME and ISS” on Wednesday, May 13, at 1830z

The presentation is being organized by the Denby Dales Amateur Radio Society and being on Zoom it’ll be viewable on any Tablet or Smartphone with the Zoom App or from a Windows PC or Laptop.

The Zoom meeting ID is 278 609 9353 https://zoom.us/j/2786099353

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]


Satellite Distance Records Set

The DX record on RS-44 has fallen once again! EA4CYQ reports a QSO with UA0STM at 19:00 UTC on 06-May-2020. The distance between the two stations is 7,894 km.

Another claimed DX record was also claimed on May 6. This time it was on PO-101 (Diwata2PH). EA4SG reports working R9LR at 23:03 UTC. The distance between the two stations is 5,128 km.

Distance records for all satellites are maintained at: https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/

Please email n8hm [at] amsat.org if you wish to claim a new record, longer distance QSO not yet documented, or records for any other satellite/transponder not yet listed. Please note that if a satellite carries multiple transponders or supports multiple frequency bands, records on each transponder/band may be claimed, such as Mode A and B on AO-7 or Mode U/S, L/S, U/K, etc, on AO-40. This includes the ISS and records may be claimed for the packet digipeater and crossband repeater, but does not include different operating modes on the same transponder (such as CW or SSB on AO-7 Mode B).

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP, for the above information]


Upcoming Satellite Operations

Mitch, AD0HJ, has decided to “go check on the tree” in North Dakota. He has also said he will be activating a bunch of grids:

  • 5/20 UTC DN96/97
  • 5/21 UTC DN78/88
  • 5/22 UTC DN76/77
  • 5/23 UTC DN86/87
  • 5/24 UTC EN06/16

Details on his Twitter page, @ad0hj

Ron, AD0DX, and Doug, N6UA, are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, Texas. They tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. The tentative date is Sunday May 31, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page.

Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr (at) gmail.com

[ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, the *NEW* AMSAT rover page manager(!) for the above information. Welcome aboard, Paul.]


Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear


ARISS News

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHZ worldwide.

Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada, Multi-point telebridge via ZS6JON. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact is go for Friday 2020-05-15 15:10:28 UTC with 55 degrees over South Africa.

ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, ARISS will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates at the ARISS webpage: https://www.ariss.org/

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]


AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/


Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been cancelled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon.

Current schedule: No scheduled events

The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED:
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX

A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download from: https://bit.ly/2ygVFmV This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout.

To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org.

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Virgin Orbit tweets that it is celebrating a big win this week after the successful completion of a wet dress rehearsal with LauncherOne just in time for #NationalSpaceDay! Wet dress rehearsals with all commodities loaded is one of the last major events before launch.
(ANS thanks @Virgin_Orbit for the above information)

+ A new version of the North American Overlay Mapper program: v4.0.0.0 has been released for Windows 7 and 10, with many new features. The ‘NAOMI’ program can import ADIF logs, Cabrillo logs, and a variety of lists, and then georeference them from the latest FCC and ISED databases, and then plot North American QSOs, Grid Locators, and Counties, onto 47 maps at 1:2,000,000 scale, 2 North American over view maps at 1:20,000,000 scale, a zoomable Online Map with a choice of map-providers, a full-screen World Map, and a Great Circle Map with a choice of 16 different backgrounds. You can edit logs, check for errors, parse for counties, export data in different formats, search and browse the databases, overlay a variety of lists, export the maps for use in other applications, or to share online. NAOMI is available at: https://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/naomi/index.php
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information)

+ NASA will pay a staggering $146 million for each SLS rocket engine, with 4 needed per SLS flight. These Space Shuttle main engines were intended to be reused, but SLS will throw them away. Other things you could buy for $146 million: two basic Atlas V rocket launches, three Falcon 9 launches, or a fully expendable Falcon Heavy launch, with 2/3 the lift capacity at 1/20th the cost.
(ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ A study has found that all 1,078 commercially-launched smallsats in the last five years experienced delays, with a median delay of 128 days. The largest delay categories: 11% of delays were administrative, 13% were ISS manifest changes (for ISS-deployed sats), 20% were due to delays in launch vehicle development, and 40% were due to primary payload delays affecting their rideshares. Full report at https://bit.ly/3fuw1Mz
(ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ A satellite built by Air Force Academy cadets will launch into space May 16 aboard the X-37B, Orbital Test Vehicle sponsored by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and built by Boeing. This is the first time a satellite built and designed by cadets will catch a ride into space aboard the X-37B. Falcon sat-8 will carry five experimental payloads, and members of the Cadet Space Operations Squadron will operate it. There was no mention of amateur radio connected with this satellite, nor has there been a request for IARU frequency coordination in the amateur radio satellite service, although previous FalconSats have had amateur radio payloads.
(ANS thanks U.S. Air Force Academy for the above information)

+ When a new crew member arrives on the International Space Station, the population of humans living in space changes, of course. But so, too, does the population of microbes. As we have all learned in this time of Covid-19, countless types of microorganisms inhabit our bodies, inside and out, and when an astronaut arrives on the station, they bring their specific collection of microbial “hitch hikers” with them. A new study shows that the microorganisms living on surfaces inside the space station so closely resembled those on an astronaut’s skin that scientists could tell when this new crew member arrived and departed, just by looking at the microbes left behind. Many of the microorganisms living in and around us are harm less or even essential for good health, but some can cause disease or damage structures in built environments. https://bit.ly/3dlEobi
(ANS thanks spacedaily.com 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.

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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week’s ANS Editor, Mark D. Johns, K0JM

k0jm at amsat dot org

ANS-124 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for May 3rd

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-124

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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.

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans

In this edition:

  • New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available
  • AMSAT President Hails Launch of Wild Apricot Membership Portal
  • Call for Nominations – 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
  • RS-44 Transponder Now Active
  • Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 Takes Stunning Photos, Additional Passes Planned Tuesday, May 5th
  • Redesigned AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Launched
  • Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 30, 2020
  • FCC Adopts Updated Orbital Debris Mitigation Rules
  • VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020
  • Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge Virtual Hackathon, May 30-31
  • On-Line Student STEM: TI Codes Contest 2020
  • First Guatemalan Satellite Deployed from the ISS
  • Former AMSAT Area Coordinator, Prominent DXer Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, SK
  • During the COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstrations of School Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio Approach
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-124.01
ANS-124 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 124.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE May 3, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-124.01

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/

New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the AMSAT office, the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal will not be printed and mailed to members. Instead, a full-color PDF is being made available on the AMSAT website. The issue can be downloaded below:

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal

This issue includes detailed information about AMSAT’s new online membership portal, now active at https://launch.amsat.org. AMSAT members are encouraged to review this article, which includes detailed instructions on accessing your membership account. Stay tuned for more features, including members-only content coming soon.

Articles in the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal:

  • Apogee View – Clayton Coleman, W5PFG
  • Engineering Update – Jerry Buxton, N0JY
  • Treasurer’s Report – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • AMSAT’s New Member and Event Portal – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • amsatLink — Proposed Wireless Communications Network – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • Educational Relations Update – Alan Johnston, KU2Y
  •  A New Design for the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator – Alan Johnston, KU2Y; Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM; David White, WD6DRI; Pat Kilroy, N8PK
  • For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IV – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
  • PSAT 1U — A Low-Cost, EasyBuild 1U CubeSat – George Downey, Robert Bruninga, WB4APR
  • Gridmaster Heat Map – Paul Overn, KE0PBR

[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information]

AMSAT President Hails Launch of Wild Apricot Membership Portal

Friday, May 1, 2020 brings a significant change to AMSAT’s member experience. The launch of our Wild Apricot-based member portal on this date retires the dBase database system launched in the early 1980s by then-President Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO (then W3IWI) and is the result of a process authorized by the Board of Directors in 2016. Members now have control over the own profiles. Member communications will be handled via email, resulting in significant cost reduction.

Wild Apricot will not only serve AMSAT as our member management platform. Other capabilities will be released in the future such as event management, communications, and access to member-only content. Stay tuned for new capabilities being launched over the coming months.

As this is a totally new system for AMSAT, we may face challenges ahead. I ask for your patience as the User Services team works through these challenges to provide our members the best user experience possible. Ultimately, Wild Apricot is the right solution moving AMSAT forward both technologically and operationally.

This effort would not have been possible without the hard work and leadership of Robert Bankston, KE4AL, in his position as Vice President of User Services at AMSAT. Significant hours were put into this project. I applaud and congratulate Robert for a successful launch.

73,

Clayton
W5PFG
AMSAT President

[ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information]

Call for Nominations – 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election

AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2020 and will be filled by this year’s election: Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH; and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms.

A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators’ names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary:

Brennan Price, N4QX
300 Locust St SE, Unit E
Vienna VA 22180-4869
[email protected]

A copy should be sent to AMSAT Manager, Martha Saragovitz, at [email protected].

The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. In light of the ongoing pandemic and the resulting closure of the physical office, the Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted due to the closure of the office.

No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June.

[ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]

RS-44 Transponder Now Active

The amateur satellite world was surprised to wake up to the news on April 30th that a new transponder was activated for testing and open for use by amateurs worldwide

Constructed by specialists at Information Satellite Systems and Students at Siberian State Aerospace University, DOSAAF-85 was launched on a Rockot/Breeze-KM launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on December 26, 2019. The satellite apparently failed to separate from the upper stage of the launch vehicle and remains attached. The satellite’s name commemorates the 85th anniversary of the Voluntary Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy (DOSAAF), the organization responsible for the military training of Soviet youth.

Designated RS-44, or Radio Sputnik 44, the satellite carries a 60 kHz wide V/u linear transponder and a CW beacon. With an orbit of 1511 km x 1175 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees, this is the highest orbiting functioning amateur satellite available worldwide. Due to the 1511 km apogee, regular DX contacts should be easy to make. The first claimed DX record came from Joe Werth, KE9AJ, and Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, who reported a 6,993 km trans-Atlantic QSO between EN50gn09 in Illinois and JN04iu40 in France. This was quickly eclipsed less than 24 hours later when Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, and Tetsurou Satou, JA0CAW, reported the first trans-Pacific QSO between CN93jw (Oregon, USA) and PM97nw (Niigata, Japan), a distance of 7,859 km. The theoretical maximum range for QSOs via RS-44 is 7,942 km.

The NORAD ID is 44909, object 2019-096E.

Initial reports from the first days of operation suggest that the transponder is very sensitive and easily workable with low power and handheld antennas, however significant periodic fading is reported, likely due to the fact that the satellite remains attached to the upper stage of the launch vehicle and is unable to deploy its gravity gradient boom to stablize itself.

The satellite is planned to remain continuously available for testing purposes until May 11th at which time a decision on further operations will be made.

The Keplerian elements for RS-44 have been added to the AMSAT and CelesTrak distributions, as well as several popular tracking apps. The ARRL has released version 11.10 of the TQSL configuration file to add support for RS-44 to LoTW.

RS-44 – V/u Inverting Analog SSB/CW
Uplink LSB 145.935 MHz through 145.995 MHz
Downlink USB 435.610 MHz through 435.670 MHz
CW Beacon 435.605 MHz

[ANS thanks Dmitry Pashkov, R4UAB, Igor Blinov, RW3XL, Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, the ARRL, and others for the above information]

Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 Takes Stunning Photos, Additional Passes Planned Tuesday, May 5th

The Virginia Tech camera on board AO-92 was activated on two passes over North America on Tuesday, April 28th. Several great photos were taken, captured by amateur stations running FoxTelem, and uploaded to the AMSAT Central Scrutinizer. All of the photos taken by AO-92 can be viewed on the AMSAT website at the link below.

The Virginia Tech camera will be activated again on Tuesday, May 5th during morning passes over the United States. The camera remains active for 45 minutes after being enabled by a ground station.

Stations in the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and South America are encouraged to set their stations up to receive and upload high speed telemetry in FoxTelem. FoxTelem downloads and instructions can be found at https://www.g0kla.com/foxtelem/index.php

AO-92 Camera Image Archive:

https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4

[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President – Operations, for the above information]

Redesigned AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Launched

A new design for the CubeSatSim, the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator is now available on GitHub (http://cubesatsim.org/code). The CubeSatSim is a Raspberry Pi Zero W-based functional model of a “1U” CubeSat nanosatellite for demonstrations and educational outreach. It has a 3D-printed frame structure and is designed to act, as reasonably as possible, as one flying in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The simulator runs on rechargeable battery power and solar panels and transmits its authentic voltage, current, and temperature telemetry on the UHF Amateur Radio band. The CubeSatSim has been presented at the AMSAT Space Symposium the past two years and at Hamvention last year.

The new design was developed to reduce the cost to build and to improve functionality. Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM, and David White, WD6DRI, are prominent STEM advocates and school mentors in the San Diego area. They offered to help redesign the hardware and collaborated with Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP Educational Relations, and Pat Kilroy, N8PK, over the past nine months. The resulting design has reduced the cost to build in half (from around $400 to around $200) and added a new Fox-1 emulation mode. In addition to the AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift Keying) and 1200 bps APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) telemetry in AO-7 format of the original design, the new version supports DUV (Data Under Voice) FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) 200 bps telemetry compatible with Fox-1A through Fox-1D and BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) 1200 bps telemetry compatible with HuskySat-1 and the upcoming Fox-1E. Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ, the author of AMSAT’s FoxTelem satellite telemetry software, has put out a testing version 1.09 of the software that supports the CubeSatSim. Instructions on how to download and configure this test version are on the GitHub Wiki.

http://cubesatsim.org/wiki

Also new to the CubeSatSim is a STEM Payload board with a STM32F103C8T6 “Blue Pill” Arduino compatible microcontroller. The board also has a built-in BME-280 Temperature Humidity Barometric Pressure Sensor and an MPU-6050 (GY-521) 3-Axis Accelerometer and Gyro. Also new is a tape measure dipole or monopole or SMA antenna, an integrated Band Pass filter, and a sturdy new 3D printed frame and more powerful solar panels.

A new Twitter account @CubeSatSim has also been launched. Follow to get the latest updates on the CubeSatSim including videos and photos. Links to all CubeSatSim resources are at CubeSatSim.org.

More details on the redesigned CubeSatSim can be found in the March/ April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal, available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal

The CubeSatSim team wishes to thank the AMSAT board, President, and all AMSAT members for their ongoing support of this educational project.

[ANS thanks Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President – Educational Relations for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 30, 2020

The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been removed from this week’s AMSAT TLE Distribution:

ALMASAT-1 – NORAD Cat ID 38078 (Decayed from orbit April 25, 2020).
nSIGHT1 – NORAD Cat ID 42726 (Decayed from orbit April 25, 2020).

The following satellite has been activated and added to this week’s AMSAT TLE Distribution:

RS-44 – NORAD Cat ID 44909.

Per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO concerning RS-44:

“The new amateur payload DOSAAF 85 (RS-44) appears to work very well. Doppler measurements confirm that it is indeed object 44909, 2019-096E. The satellite identifies itself as “RS44″ (i.e. Radio Sputnik 44) on its CW beacon on 435.6043 kHz. The passband is about 63 kHz wide. It may also have a downlink between 2400 and 2485 MHz. The frequencies of RS44/DOSAAF 85 have not been IARU coordinated. The satellite is in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 1175 km, an apogee of 1511 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees.

The payload is apparently attached to the Breeze-KM upper stage of a Rokot launch vehicle that launched three Gonets satellites on December 26, 2019. It was originally expected to launch in 2015. It is based on the Yubileiniy platform.”

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

FCC Adopts Updated Orbital Debris Mitigation Rules

On April 23rd, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order (R&O) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) updating rules on orbital debris mitigation for the first time since 2004. The newly adopted regulations increase the disclosure requirements for pre-space notifications submitted for amateur space stations.

In the draft version of the R&O, released in early April, the FCC had included the adoption of additional requirements regarding indemnification and manuverability. AMSAT, ARRL, university researchers, and satellite industry groups opposed certain aspects of these rules. In response, the Commission moved those provisions to a FNPRM for further comment.

In addition to maneuverability and indemnification requirements for amateur space stations, the Commission also seeks comment on a disposal bond requirement for certain spacecraft. AMSAT is evaluating the FNPRM and will file comments expressing our views of the proposed regulations.

The adopted R&O / FNPRM can be found at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-54A1.pdf

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information]

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period April 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020.

Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!

CallAprMay
KO4MA17501753
K7TAB531600
AE5B442450
ND0C301346
N4DCW201300
KC9UQR252275
WA9JBQ225250
W4DTA217240
WI6KNew200
S57NML126179
DL4ZAB150172
KS1G134170
YO2CMI100168
KE0WPA108152
ZS5LEENew105
VE3CGANew100

If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I’ll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It’s a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work!

[ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information]

Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge Virtual Hackathon, May 30-31

NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to participate in a virtual hackathon May 30-31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from around the world will create virtual teams that – during a 48-hour period – will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID-19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May.

“There’s a tremendous need for our collective ingenuity right now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “I can?t imagine a more worthy focus than COVID-19 on which to direct the energy and enthusiasm from around the world with the Space Apps Challenge that always generates such amazing solutions.”

The unique capabilities of NASA and its partner space agencies in the areas of science and technology enable them to lend a hand during this global crisis. Since the start of the global outbreak, Earth science specialists from each agency have been exploring ways to use unique Earth observation data to aid understanding of the interplay of the Earth system — on global to local scales — with aspects of the COVID 19 outbreak, including, potentially, our ability to combat it. The hackathon will also examine the human and economic response to the virus.

ESA will contribute data from the Sentinel missions (Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-5P) in the context of the European Copernicus program, led by the European Commission, along with data from Third Party contributing Missions, with a focus on assessing the impact on climate change and greenhouse gases, as well as impacts on the economic sector. ESA also is contributing Earth observation experts for the selection of the competition winners and the artificial-intelligence-powered EuroDataCube.

“EuroDatacube will enable the best ideas to be scaled up to a global level,” said Josef Aschbacher, director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA. “The pandemic crisis has a worldwide impact, therefore international cooperation and sharing of data and expertise with partners like NASA and JAXA seems the most suitable approach.”

JAXA is making Earth observing data available from its satellite missions, including ALOS-2, GOSAT, GOSAT-2, GCOM-C, GCOM-W, and GPM/DPR.

“JAXA welcomes the opportunity to be part of the hackathon,” said JAXA Vice President Terada Koji. “I believe the trilateral cooperation among ESA, NASA and JAXA is important to demonstrate how Earth observation can support global efforts in combating this unprecedented challenge.”

Space Apps is an international hackathon that takes place in cities around the world. Since 2012, teams have engaged with NASA’s free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space. The COVID-19 Challenge will be the program’s first global virtual hackathon. Space Apps 2019 included more than 29,000 participants at 225 events in 71 countries, developing more than 2,000 hackathon solutions over the course of one weekend.

Space Apps is a NASA-led initiative organized in collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton, Mindgrub, and SecondMuse. The next annual Space Apps Challenge is scheduled for October 2-4.

For more information about NASA Space Apps Challenges, visit: https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

On-Line Student STEM: TI Codes Contest 2020

Texas Instruments and NASA have announced the “TI Codes Contest 2020”. This STEM activity invites student teams to connect and learn together remotely to let their imaginations reach new heights by solving this unique challenge during the 20th anniversary of humans on the International Space Station (ISS):

Propose a way to automate or optimize a process or product for living and working on the ISS. Then use coding and Texas Instruments (TI) technology to design and build a model of the solution.

Stage 1: Pitch your idea – is running now. Teams connect virtually with up to five students, ages 13–19, plus an adult sponsor. (A sponsor can be a teacher, parent or other adult who can mentor students remotely.) Then, determine which process or product your team wants to automate or optimize that would help the International Space Station. The deadline for submissions: May 21, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Central time.

Access full contest rules, prize lists, NASA STEM resources, and enter your team at: https://education.ti.com/en/promotion/codescontest

[ANS thanks Texas Instruments and NASA for the above information]

First Guatemalan Satellite Deployed from the ISS

Guatemala’s first satellite, a small CubeSat called QUETZAL-1, was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Its primary mission is to test a sensor for remote data acquisition for natural resource management, which could be used to monitor water quality in inland water bodies.

QUETZAL-1 LogoThe satellite is part of the Japanese Kibo cubesat program, a product of the cooperation between, among others, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), and more institutions. The operational frequencies were chosen through cooperation from Guatemalan radio amateurs and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).

Downlink 4800 bps GMSK on 437.200 MHz.

The Quetzal-1 project team director is Guatemalan engineer José Bagur, TG8JAV, a graduate from mechatronics engineering at Universidad Del Valle.

Source: IARU Region 2 https://iaru-r2.org/

IARU Quetzal-1
http://amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=653

Quetzal-1 Telemetry info https://uvg.edu.gt/cubesat-en/

Quetzal-1 Telemetry decoder http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=75524

Follow Quetzal-1 on Twitter https://twitter.com/quetzal1_uvg

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

Former AMSAT Area Coordinator, Prominent DXer Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, SK

Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, became a silent key on Wednesday, April 29th at his home in the U. S. Virgin Islands. A prominent contester and DXer, Herb served as an AMSAT Area Coordinator in the Caribbean in the 1970s and 1980s. Activating Anguilla as VP2EFZ, he gave Pat Gowen, G3IOR, the last country he needed on OSCAR 7 to complete the first DXCC via satellite.

[ANS thanks The Daily DX, QRZ.com, and former AMSAT Vice President – Operations Rich Zwirko, K1HTV, for the above information]

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstrations of School Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio Approach

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the first use of a concept called Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio, allowing school contacts for Stay-At-Home students and simultaneous reception by families, school faculty and the public.

During the last several weeks, efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus have resulted in massive school closures worldwide. In addition, the Stay-At-Home policies invoked by authorities, initially shut down opportunities for ARISS school contacts for the near future.

To circumvent these challenges and keep students and the public safe, ARISS is introducing the Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio concept. First operation of this experimental system occurred during a contact with a group of Northern Virginia Students located in Woodbridge, VA on Thursday, April 30 at 13:35 UTC (9:35EDT). During this event, an ARISS telebridge radio ground station linked to the astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) ham radio station and each Stay-At-Home student and their teacher was individually linked to the telebridge station. Under the teacher’s direction, each student, from their home, takes a turna sking their question of the astronaut.

Quoting ARISS Chair Frank Bauer, “This approach is a huge pivot for ARISS, but we feel it is a great strategic move for ARISS. In these times of isolation due to the virus, these ARISS connections provide a fantastic psychological boost to students, families, educators and the public. And they continue our long-standing efforts to inspire, engage and educate students in STEAM subjects and encourage them to pursue STEAM careers.”

An archive of the April 30th contact can be viewed at https://youtu.be/Cu8I9ose4Vo.

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org

[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information]

Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been canceled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there  may be some that we missed.

We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon.

Current schedule:

June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX

The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED:

May 8-9, 2020, Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President – User Services, for the above information]

AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

AD0DX has announced a tentative activation of DL88 in Big Bend National Park for Sunday, May 31st. At this time, the park remains closed but the team hopes it will reopen soon. Doug Tabor, N6UA, will join him for this activation. Details about the plans can be found on the K5Z QRZ.com page: https://www.qrz.com/db/K5Z

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President – User Services, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

  • The May 2020 issue of Aerospace America, the monthly magazine of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) features an article entitled “Cosmic GPS” describing the emerging use of GPS on spacecraft flying beyond the GPS constellation altitude and, eventually, to the moon. Above-constellation use of GPS was first demonstrated on AMSAT-OSCAR 40. AMSAT Vice President – Human Spaceflight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, is extensively quoted in this article. Read it at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/cosmic-gps/
  • AMSAT’s Zazzle store has added a few new products, including a water bottle, car flag, and fanny pack. A wide variety of other products are also available, including the popular new OSCAR t-shirt. Check out the store at https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes to AMSAT to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space.
  • Scientists from NASA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lunar Planetary Institute have created a detailed new map of the lunar surface in stunning color. Called the Unified Geological Map of the Moon, it marries decades of surveys of the moon’s surface going as far back as Armstrong and Aldrin’s Apollo mission, with more recent data from NASA and JAXA. It doesn’t just look pretty — the map will greatly help NASA and other organizations plan future landing sites optimized for scientific missions. NASA’s Artemis project could take humans to the moon as early as 2024. AMSAT, along with ARISS, partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit as part of an Artemis precursor initiative. The digital map is available for the public at: https://on.doi.gov/2YnZGAO
  • Scott Chapman, K4KDR, is featured in Scott Manley’s new video about the Iranian Noor satellite.  https://youtu.be/SPTz7Ig9RQE
  • As another part of the RSGB “Get on the air to care” campaign, the May edition of RadCom is being made available to radio amateurs around the world to read online as a sample edition. A number of IARU national societies have taken a similar step and the RSGB is happy to join those societies in supporting the worldwide amateur radio community during these difficult times: https://www.rsgb.org/sampleradcom
  • In a Public Notice released on April 30th, the FCC confirmed that amateur license examinations may be conducted remotely. The full Public Notice can be found at the link below: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-467A1.pdf
  • The AMSAT Folding@home team continues to climb the rankings. Now in the top 2,500 of all teams at the time of this writing, the team has grown to 37 members with 70 active CPUs within the past 50 days and includes five members in the top 100,000 of all users. Alex Free, N7AGF, is our top contributor with over 21,000,000 points credited to AMSAT’s team. For more information about the Folding@home project and how you can contribute to scientific research, including the fight against COVID-19, see https://foldingathome.org/. AMSAT’s team number is 69710:  https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/69710
  • In advance of their move to a new headquarters location, the FCC has updated their offical seal. The new seal includes a satellite and ground station, reflecting the increasing importance of space communications. https://twitter.com/FCC/status/1255882365936775171

/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.

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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,

This week’s ANS Editor,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org

New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available

March/April 2020 AMSAT Journal Cover

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the AMSAT office, the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal will not be printed and mailed to members. Instead, a full-color PDF is being made available on the AMSAT website. The issue can be downloaded here.

This issue includes detailed information about AMSAT’s new online membership portal, now active at https://launch.amsat.org. AMSAT members are encouraged to review this article, which includes detailed instructions on accessing your membership account. Stay tuned for more features, including members-only content coming soon.

Articles in the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal:

  • Apogee View – Clayton Coleman, W5PFG
  • Engineering Update – Jerry Buxton, N0JY
  • Treasurer’s Report – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • AMSAT’s New Member and Event Portal – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • amsatLink — Proposed Wireless Communications Network – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • Educational Relations Update – Alan Johnston, KU2Y
  • A New Design for the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator – Alan Johnston, KU2Y; Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM; David White, WD6DRI; Pat Kilroy, N8PK
  • For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IV – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
  • PSAT 1U — A Low-Cost, EasyBuild 1U CubeSat – George Downey, Robert Bruninga, WB4APR
  • Gridmaster Heat Map – Paul Overn, KE0PBR

[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information]