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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/
In this edition:
- 2021 AMSAT Field Day
- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 1 2021
- WOUB Spotlight: Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds, N8KI
- NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on ISS
- Perseverance Rover Begins Steps To Deploy Mars Helicopter
- Launch Watch: Upcoming in April
- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 1, 2021
- ARISS News
- Upcoming Satellite Operations
- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
- Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 094.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2021 April 04
2021 AMSAT Field Day
It’s that time of year again; summer and 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 23-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2021 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 26, 2021 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 27, 2021. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 26 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.
This year should be as easy as last year since we have more than 10 transponders and repeaters available. Users should check the AMSAT status page at http://www.amsat.org/status/ and the pages at https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/ for what is available in the weeks leading up to field day. To reduce the amount of time to research each satellite, see the current FM satellite table at:
https://www.amsat.org/fm-satellite-frequency-summary/
and the current linear satellite table at:
https://www.amsat.org/linear-satellite-frequency-summary/
Additional information is found at: https://www.amsat.org/field-day/
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, ANS editor for the above information]
VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 1 2021
Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period March 1, 2021 through April 1, 2021. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!
VUCC April 2021
| CALL | March | April |
|---|---|---|
| N9EAT | 784 | 843 |
| NS3L | 650 | 681 |
| W7QL | 510 | 563 |
| KJ4EU | 471 | 506 |
| VA3NNA | 300 | 504 |
| K0JM | 403 | 500 |
| N1PEB (EL98) | 255 | 500 |
| MI6GTY | 460 | 461 |
| KB9STR | 353 | 431 |
| KC9UQR | 400 | 427 |
| KS1G | 360 | 413 |
| WA4HFN | 102 | 413 |
| K5TA | 302 | 400 |
| W8LR | 353 | 400 |
| VE4MM | 279 | 304 |
| WB7QXU | 252 | 303 |
| VU2LBW | 260 | 300 |
| W4ALF | 200 | 300 |
| K4RGK | 214 | 278 |
| NA1ME | 200 | 225 |
| KN2K | 155 | 200 |
| N7ZO | 116 | 200 |
| XE2YWH | 137 | 187 |
| LW2DAF | 166 | 182 |
| NK1K | New | 179 |
| DL6KBG | 125 | 150 |
| N8MR | New | 115 |
| N2CJ | 100 | 103 |
| AF5D | New | 102 |
| W7KRS | New | 101 |
| AC9DX | New | 100 |
| W3FGP | New | 100 |
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! – Ron W5RKN
[ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information]
Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!
WOUB Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds, N8KI, AMSAT-NA Member is Honored
ATHENS, Ohio – During Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds nearly 16 years working at WOUB Public Media, there have been many changes in regard to technology and how the station runs. But, Douds has rolled with the changes and couldn’t be more proud of the work he is doing.
“I was originally hired as a broadcast technician and was promoted to broadcast operations supervisor in 2008,” said Douds. “At that time, the Engineering Department oversaw Master Control. We worked 24/7 to insure that WOUB stayed on the air. Later that part of operations shifted to the Traffic Department, so now we’re doing ‘regular’ engineering tasks, such as design of systems, installation of new equipment, and overseeing what we call ‘In-House Engineering’; another team within Engineering handles field work and our transmitter sites.”
“A big part of the training for me for this job came from amateur radio. I became a ‘Ham Operator’ in November 1968, when I was in 7th grade,” said Douds. “I later became active in amateur satellite work, another part of amateur radio where we designed satellites and have them launched into space.” More at: https://bit.ly/3rKpBxI
[ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, AMSAT News Service Editor and WOUB.org for the above information]
NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on Space Station
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the upcoming delivery of new solar arrays this summer.
Live coverage will begin at 1000z on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, Victor Glover, KI5BKC, and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, will undock Crew Dragon Resilience from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at 1029z and dock to the space-facing port at 1115z.
The relocation will free Harmony’s forward port for the docking of Crew Dragon Endeavour, set to carry four crew members to the station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, are scheduled to launch to the station Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information.]
Perseverance Rover Begins Steps To Deploy Mars Helicopter
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance command sequence to safely release the $80 million rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars.
The slow, step-by-step deployment is projected to take around six days, assuming everything goes as planned. The first command uplinked from engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory was to release a launch lock that kept the Ingenuity helicopter firmly attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover during the journey to Mars. Additional information may be found at: https://bit.ly/3dv06vv
[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com 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/
Launch Watch: Upcoming in April
There will be several notable launches this month. Unfortunately there are no new amateur satellites in the immediate offing. A Falcon 9/Starlink #23 launch is scheduled for April 7 from Cape Canaveral. April 9, The new command crew for the ISS will be launched from Baikonur to start Mission 65. On April 22, SpaceX/NASA commercial Crew Flight #2 is scheduled for launch on the reused Falcon 9 from the Crew-1 mission and the Crew Dragon capsule from the Endeavor Demo-2 mission. The Crew-1 astronauts will return shortly thereafter.
[ANS thanks SpaceX, NASA, and ROSCOMOS for the above information]
AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 1, 2021
The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
Maya-2 – NORAD Cat ID 47929.
OPUSAT-II – NORAD Cat ID 47930.
CubeSX-Sirius-HSE – NORAD Cat ID 47951
Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for the identification of these satellites.
The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
OBJECT B – NORAD Cat ID 47310
OBJECT D – NORAD Cat ID 47312
OBJECT E – NORAD Cat ID 47313
OBJECT G – NORAD Cat ID 47315
OBJECT J – NORAD Cat ID 47317
OBJECT K – NORAD Cat ID 47318
OBJECT M – NORAD Cat ID 47320
OBJECT N – NORAD Cat ID 47345
The above objects are non-amateur radio satellites associated with a launch carrying amateur radio satellites. As the amateur radio satellites have been identified from that launch, these objects are no longer of interest.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]
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
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of April 4, 2021
The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB Contact is go for: Tue 2021-04-06 11:27:49 UTC 34 deg via IK1SLD. Watch for livestream at https://tinyurl.com/ISSLINKUP2021
Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, Russia direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Watch for Tue 2021-04-06 13:10 UTC
St. Petersburg, Russia direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov. Watch for Wed 2021-04-07 12:20 UTC
[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/
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
DN58 – look for #NO7G on SSB sats over the next week (3/25 – 4/4)
AA5PK: Thinking a trip to EM01 Saturday (4/3) is in order.
N3CRT: Activating ***Delaware*** via satellite -FM and Linear- at Fort Mott State Park FM29fo this Saturday April 3rd 12z-20z and possibly later.
WL7T: Had to cancel Maine. Too expensive to change flights this close to departure. EL58 is rescheduled for April 11. Will be driving from EM26 to EL59, so might be stopping along the way for a few contacts starting a day or two before April 11.
Major Roves:
CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before.
Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com
Updated 03/31/2021
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information]
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
From Larry Manaev, RN3AG: “We invite your members to take part in the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2021. Date: from 21.00 UTC on April 10 till 21.00 UTC on April 11, 2021. Modes: CW only.
Satellite categories:
SAT – Single operator – Satellite QSOs.
SAT-GS – Single operator – Geostationary Satellite QSOs (QO-100).
Contest rules: http://gc.qst.ru/en/section/32”
AMSAT Ambassador, Tom Zimmerman W9TTY, will be exhibiting at the DeKalb Hamfest, Sandwich, Illinois on May 2, 2021. This hamfest SW of Chicago will feature a presentation for hams curious about Amateur Radio in Space and how to work the easy sats. Info on Kishwaukee Amateur Radio Club Webpage http://www.kare-club.org
AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning a presentation on 06/15 to a club in East Massachusetts.
Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome. Send Clint an email or call!
Clint Bradford K6LCS, http://www.work-sat.com. Tel:909-999-SATS (7287)
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, Larry Manaev, RN3AG, and Clint Bradford, K6CLS AMSAT Ambassador for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, appeared on the April 1, 2021 episode of Ham Talk Live to discuss the latest status of AMSAT satellite development. A replay of the episode can be heard at:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-253-amsat-satellite-engineering-
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
+ Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV sends a thank you note to all who participated in the Last Man Standing special event. He says “I had the pleasure to work 111 contacts as W6S over the course of the week. If you made at least one contact you can download a certificate in around 4 weeks time. Just check the QRZ page for information. The official numbers are not yet in but there were approximately 60 thousand contacts made across all frequencies and modes.” He continues: “I was also very careful not to interfere with any rover operations during the event.”
[ANS thanks Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV for the above information]
+ SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion. SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.
[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]
+Biden administration renews mandate for National Space Council. President Biden will renew the National Space Council, a space policy group revived by the Trump White House after 25 years of dormancy, to assist in “generating national space policies, strategies, and synchronizing America’s space activities,” an administration spokesman said Monday. A spokesman for the National Security Council said the Biden administration is renewing the National Space Council “at a time of unprecedented activity and opportunity generated by America’s activities in space.”
[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]
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 Store.
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 info [at] amsat.org for additional student membership information.
73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org