ANS-150 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for May 30

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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

In this edition:

* FCC Considers UHF/Microwave Ham Bands for Commercial Space Launch Frequencies
* ASU student-built spacecraft to interact with the public
* Canadian Researchers Highlight Concerns About Overcrowded Orbits
* Andy MacAllister, W5ACM, SK
* PSAT2: DTMF *and* APRS-to-Voice enabled
* NASA Schedules Live Coverage of Russian Spacewalk
* No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 27, 2021
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-150 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 150.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 May 30

FCC Considers UHF/Microwave Ham Bands for Commercial Space Launch Frequencies

The FCC in April issued a Report and Order allocating spectrum in the 2200-2290 MHz range for private space travel and satellite launch companies to use for pre-launch testing and space launch operations. The order creates a non-federal secondary allocation for these uses in spectrum that is currently reserved exclusively for federal government use.

The action also includes a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which seeks comment on possible additional spectrum for private space launch purposes. Among the frequencies specifically mentioned are 420-430 MHz in the 70-centimeter amateur band and 5650-5925 MHz, which is the 5-centimeter ham band. Amateur radio has a secondary allocation in each of these bands, and the NPRM made no mention of the bands’ current occupants and/or whether they would be displaced. The 5.6-GHz band is already shared widely with home WiFi networks.

[ANS thanks CQ Newsroom for the above information]


ASU student-built spacecraft to interact with the public

NASA has selected an Arizona State University-designed spacecraft to fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket launching between 2022 and 2025. It is among 14 small research satellites, called CubeSats, that were chosen for this opportunity through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. The ASU CubeSat, named LightCube, is about the size of a toaster and will be deployed to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Its unique feature is that it can be commanded by anyone with an amateur radio license and a ham radio to set off a xenon flash from the spacecraft that will be visible from the ground.
Additional Details are available at https://bit.ly/3fF9v4B

[ANS thanks Karin Valentine, Media Relations & Marketing Manager, School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU 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!


Canadian Researchers Highlight Concerns About Overcrowded Orbits

A new report by two Canadian researchers is highlighting the growing hazard of space debris. It warns that the new mega-constellations of tens of thousands of communication satellites could pose a new kind of danger that could ultimately threaten other satellites, astronauts, our ability to use space and could even have an impact on the climate.

Recently, the uncontrolled fall from space of a large Chinese rocket booster gained worldwide attention as no one could predict where it would come crashing to Earth. Fortunately, it came down in the Indian Ocean and no one was injured. That was just one booster.

But the amount of stuff — satellites, discarded boosters and other debris in Earth orbit — is huge. And this new report warns that with projects like the SpaceX Starlink satellite constellation, the issue of space debris could approach a critical turning point.

Right now, Starlink has full approval within the current legal system to go ahead and launch 12,000 satellites, and they want to put up 30,000 more, so there will be 42,000 satellites. With Starlink alone, there will be more satellites in the sky than there are naked eye visible stars.

And that’s not all. Others have similar plans, including OneWeb, Amazon, Telesat, and GW, which is a Chinese state-owned company.

This astounding number of satellites will outnumber the total number of objects orbiting the Earth today and form shells around the planet in low Earth orbit up to about 750 km altitude.

The more objects placed in orbit, the greater the chance of collision between them, other working satellites, astronauts working in space, and people on the ground when the objects fall out of orbit.

The new satellites launched by SpaceX and other companies are not just thrown up willy-nilly. They’re placed in careful orbits meant to minimize risks of collision, and modern satellites are designed to be de-orbited when they die, not just abandoned as space junk. The commercial space companies must have plans to do this in an organized and safe way. This is all good and responsible.

The report highlights the possibility and implications of accidents. Random pieces of untracked space debris, or even meteors, could disable these satellites, disrupting their careful orbits and the deorbiting plans. The sheer number of these new satellites increases the risk.

[ANS thanks CBC radio host and blogger Bob McDonald for the above information]


Andy MacAllister, W5ACM, SK

From Marty Smith, WV5Y: “It’s with much sadness and deep regret I announce our buddy, Andy, W5ACM – Past AMSAT Board of Directors, King of the South Texas Balloon Launch Team, The Voice of The Houston AMSAT Net and KTRU Rice Radio Engineer and DJ, AndyMac – Passed away on the evening of Wednesday, 5/19/2021. Andy’s wife Heather said he was on his computer until a few minutes before…

His funeral service was held on Thursday, May 27th 2021 at 12:30 PM at the Pines Presbyterian Church (12751 Kimberley Ln, Houston, TX 77024-4097).

Andy will be missed very much by all of his family, friends and coworkers. He lived life to the fullest, and his lust for life was contagious. Our common interests in everything high tech, scientific & electronic, was shared by many, and he had great taste in food, drink, and music, especially loving classic rock & roll! He will forever be in our minds and hearts. 73, Marty Smith, WV5Y”

From AMSAT Director Bruce Paige, KK5DO: “Andy, W5ACM (ex WA5ZIB), became a Silent Key on May 19, 2021. He has been a close friend of mine since I became a ham in 1993. That was when I found satellites and AMSAT. Andy had been doing the Houston AMSAT Net and I became involved in the net. We have done over 1400 episodes of the net since then. Andy and I had a great time at many AMSAT Symposiums where we would work satellites from parking lots of restaurants or outside a hotel. During the AMSAT Symposium in 2016, we worked each other from the deck of the cruise ship when we were standing about 3 feet from each other.

Andy spent some time in the early 90’s on the AMSAT Board of Directors. Many of today’s hams would not remember the K2ZRO tests on AO-13. When the satellite was at apogee, Andy would transmit a string of CW characters. He would then reduce his power by 50% and transmit another string of characters. This would be done 8 times to a point where the signals were very weak. Hams around the world would participate and receive a certificate with an endorsement for the level you achieved.

Andy got into balloon launches. I do not remember when BLT-1 was launched but BLT-12 was launched in 1993 and they are into the 60’s now. The balloons have gone up with all types of experiments on them and have come down in many a strange place. One came down in the Gulf of Mexico, picked up by a fishing boat and they called the number on the package. Of course that one was not reusable as everything was a tad bit wet. The balloon came down in someone’s front yard once and they picked it up and took it inside. GPS told the tale and knocking on the door, the homeowner returned the package. A few recent balloon launches have traversed the globe one or two times.

Andy had worked at NASA and was a member of the Johnson Space Center ARC as well as the Brazos Valley ARC in Houston, the ARRL and AMSAT. More recently he was the Chief Engineer for the radio station, KTRU, at Rice University in Houston. Andy gave talks and demos at many Houston area hamfests.

It was only a few months ago in February that Andy went in for a quick procedure and they found something that should not be. He was sent home for hospice care. You will be missed my friend. … _._
73…Bruce”

Andy’s wife, Heather, has requested that donations in his name be made to AMSAT or the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 2997, Sugar Land, TX 77487-2997 (reference the Andy MacAllister BLT Memorial Fund). Donations to AMSAT in his name may be made at https://www.amsat.org/donations/w5acm-memorial/

[ANS thanks Marty Smith, WV5Y and Bruce Paige, KK5DO , AMSAT Director, 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/


PSAT2: DTMF *and* APRS-to-Voice enabled

A new feature has been enabled for the Voice Synthesizer on PSAT2
in addition to DTMF grid and DTMF messaging to voice. Now the voice
synthesizer is also listening for APRS-to-Voice messages as well.
Here is how to use it
1) Remain on the 145.980 uplink and 145.825 downlink for DTMF
2) Using an APRS radio, send an APRS message to PSAT-SAY
3) Begin the first 10 chars of the message with CCCCCC sez
4) Followed by the text to be spoken.
5) CCCCCC is your callsign right-padded with spaces.

The satellite should ACK the packet uplink and then speak the text. You can tell if APRS-to-Voice is enabled if this 1 bit is on: XXXX0010. Usually the DTMF bits are also enabled so the telemetry will usually show as 11010010.

To do both DTMF and APRS-to-Voice at the same time, the Basic Stamp processor has to check both the DTMF decoder and the packet decoder and so there is a finite chance that a perfectly good uplink might be missed. So, just try again.

See http://aprs.org/psat2.html Tomorrow I will add this feature to the users manual and post it.

Enjoy, Bob, WB4APR

[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR for the above information]


NASA Schedules Live Coverage of Russian Spacewalk

Two Russian cosmonauts are scheduled to conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Wednesday, June 2, to continue preparing the Pirs docking compartment airlock for undocking and disposal later this year.

Live coverage will begin at 1 a.m. EDT (0500z), with the spacewalk beginning about 1:20 a.m. (0520z) on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.

Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos will emerge from the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Zvezda service module for a spacewalk expected to last about six and a half hours. The two cosmonauts will disconnect all external mechanical links between Pirs and the station, reposition spacewalk hardware and antennas, and relocate other gear previously used for spacecraft dockings to Pirs.

During the spacewalk, the cosmonauts will prepare Pirs for removal from its port by the uncrewed Progress 77 cargo ship on the Earth-facing side of Zvezda, clearing the way for the arrival of the new Russian Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module named “Nauka,” which is Russian for “science.” The undocking of Pirs is scheduled for this summer, about two days after Nauka launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The cosmonauts also will replace a fluid flow regulator on the nearby Zarya module and replace biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules.

Novitskiy, who is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear a Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Dubrov will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2). This will be the first spacewalk for both cosmonauts and the 238th spacewalk overall in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. It also marks the sixth spacewalk of 2021.

See the NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
Learn more about the International Space Station and its crew at: http://www.nasa.gov/station

[ANS thanks NASA 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!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF


No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 27, 2021

No changes are noted for the current week. However, TLE (KEPS) have been updated and are available on the AMSAT website at: https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

[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 May 30, 2021

College of Saint Pierre Marboz, Marboz, France, multi-point telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. 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 Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG. Contact is go for: Mon 2021-05-31 13:49:32 UTC 40 deg. Watch for livestream at https://youtu.be/HnPoFku7DXg

About Gagarin From Space. Conducting an amateur radio session with schoolchildren of Mordovia, 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 Oleg Novitskiy. Contact is go for Sun 2021-06-06 12:25 UTC.

The Father’s House Christian School (Home Education Provider: Roots), Morinville, Alberta, Canada, multi-point telebridge via VK4KHZ. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.  The scheduled astronaut is Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI. Contact is go for: Wed 2021-06-02 14:28:53 UTC 44 deg.

Lipetsk, 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 scheduled astronaut is Pyotr Dubrov. Contact is go for Fri 2021-06-11 11:40 UTC.

Velikiy Ustyug, 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 scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy. Contact is go for Sat 2021-06-12 09:15 UTC.

Lipetsk, 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 scheduled astronaut is Pyotr Dubrov. Contact is go for Sat 2021-06-12 10:55 UTC.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

[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:

EA4M: : Hi guys later in June I’ll be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules.

ND0C and KE0WPA: In June @kylee_ke0wpa and I, along with our resident photojournalist (Mom/Amy), will be taking a family excursion to the southwest and working some sats as time permits. Here are the less commonly worked grids from which we plan to operate. We will hit other grids too. DM67 6/15 – 6/17, DM56 6/18, DM45 6/19, DN63 7/2, DN64 7/2 & 7/3

Major Roves:

AD0DX (VA3IIR): Long Range Rover plans: VA3IIR in FN15/25 June 18 FM and SSB
DL98 WA5RR: I’m looking at doing a rove in DL98 with an overnight stay in Eagle Pass, TX around the last week in June. Details to follow.

N5LEX: CN98 last week of June.
DM62: K5TA, I’m tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip for me….

EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Sean’s birthday in the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well.

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com
Updated 05/19/2021

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information]


Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

On the Air event: AMSAT Italia: Members of AMSAT Italia commemorate Gagarin’s flight into space until the end of the year with the callsign II0SAT on HF and via satellite.

Satellites on Field Day: Seth Kutzko, KX9X, made an outstanding presentation to the RATPAC group on Satellites and Field Day. The session was held on Thursday May 27 during a weekly RATPAC meeting. Seth presented more than just a “how to”, his tips and tricks were very valuable for new entrants and his cautions were particularly well taken. This presentation is a must for any Field Day group that is contemplating chasing the 100-point bonus. Dan Marler, K7REX has made the presentation, documents, and the video available:
To View Video: https://vimeo.com/556034517
To Download Video: https://vimeo.com/user107547861/download/556034517/954b837d38
To Retrieve Documents: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cktvhfz1lhvv8hr/AADzoAi0HiGccLLG6IdnY24Aa?dl=0Radio

The Amateur Training Planning and Activities Committee (RATPAC) comprises ARRL section managers, appointed field leadership, and membership. Together, we host nationwide Amateur Radio Zoom presentations twice-a-week, Wednesdays on general radio topics and Thursdays on amateur radio emergency communications. The topics are selected from audience recommendations that the planning committee then seeks topic experts or discussion panel members. The presentation audience consists of thousands of amateur radio operators worldwide who participate directly in the Zoom sessions or with video links of the presentation and related documentation sent out after each session.

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning the following presentations:
University of Arizona – June 1
Conejo Valley (CA) – October 21
Wellesley ARC – June 15
White Mountain ARC – June 2
West Valley (CA) ARC – June 9

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, AMSAT Italia, Dan Marler, K7REX RATPAC Leader and Idaho Section Manager, and Clint Bradford, K6CLS AMSAT Ambassador for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ June 2021 Eclipse Festival Seeks Ham Participants
HamSCI is looking for ham radio operators to make recordings of time-standard stations during the June 2021 annular solar eclipse across the Arctic Circle as part of a citizen science experiment. Researchers will use the crowd-sourced data to investigate the superimposed effects of auroral particle precipitation and the eclipse on HF Doppler shift. For details, see: https://bit.ly/3ukP6ai [ANS thanks HamSci and ARRL News for the above information]

+ Hackaday Satellite Commnications Hack Chat scheduled for 2 June, 2021 – 19:00Z Paul Marsh from UHF-Satcom will join us for the 2 June Hack Chat. The number of satellites whizzing along above our heads is truly mindboggling, with the number growing daily. Each of these spacecraft is up there for a specific reason, and a lot of them are doing interesting things. Listening in on what they have to say can be a lot of fun, but learning the ropes and getting that first capture can be tricky. Paul Marsh will stop by the Hack Chat to share the ins and outs of monitoring satellite communications and give us some insight into what the satcom hobby is all about. [ANS thanks the hackaday.io Newsletter for the above information]

+ The possibility of a Europa Lander is under study. Intense radiation from Jupiter converts ice and dust on the surface of its icy moon Europa into energetic compounds, which may cycle through the ice and ultimately be food for microbes in the ocean below. NASA has been developing a potential Europa Lander mission to look for such chemistry since 2016 (and also previously in 2005 and 2012). This mission concept proposes a 575 kg battery-powered lander with a limited (but still impressive) lifespan of 1-3 months. Additional information is available at https://go.nature.com/3oRkVXf and https://bit.ly/3hWvsyE [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information]

+ The March/April 2021 edition of Apogee View has been posted to the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/

+ Congratulations to John Papay, K8YSE, for becoming the first amateur satellite operator to receive the GridMaster Award twice! John was the first recipient of the GridMaster Award, issued for completing QSOs with all 488 of the grid squares within the continental United States (analogous to the Fred Fish Memorial Award issued by the ARRL for completing the same feat on six meters) in May of 2014. John’s second award, the 30th issued, was for QSOs completed while operating as K8YSE/7 in Mesa, Arizona. More information about the GridMaster Award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/ (Thanks to AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO).

+ A couple of amateur satellite operators in Nova Scotia have been taking advantage of their favorable geographic location to set new distance records on various satellites. On May 5, 2021, John Langille, VE1CWJ, and Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, claimed the initial distance record on the newly activated satellite JO-97 with a QSO cover 4,889 km between FN85ii in Nova Scotia and JN04it in France. Dana Rushton, VE1CWJ, also in FN85ii, set the new record on XW-2C on May 18, 2021, completing a QSO with F4DXV in JN04jr covering 4,897 km. Finally VE1CWJ and F4DXV also set a new record on LilacSat-2 on May 27, 2021, completing a 4,888 km QSO between FN85jn and JN04jr. For a list of current satellite records and instructions for claiming new (or old) ones, visit https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/ [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information]

+ JAMSAT has posted the FO-99 operating schedule for June at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/?p=1438 (ANS thanks JAMSATfor the above information])
+
Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President – Educational Relations, made a presentation on the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator to the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club on May 21, 2021. A copy of his presentation can be found at https://www.cubesatsim.org/pres/AMSAT_HARC_Presentation.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information]

+ Last weekend, AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Founding President Perry Klein, W3PK, and Manager Martha Saragovitz spent three days cleaning out the AMSAT office in Kensington, Maryland, moving documents and other AMSAT items to a storage facility. This completes the transition of AMSAT from operating a physical office location to a fully virtual operation. The savings of nearly $150,000 per year from the closing of the physical office, transition to digital delivery of The AMSAT Journal, and Martha’s retirement ensures that AMSAT will remain financially healthy and able to Keep Amateur Radio in Space for many years to come. [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM 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 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

 

Andy MacAllister, W5ACM, SK

Andy, W5ACM (ex WA5ZIB), became a Silent Key on May 19, 2021. He has been a close friend of mine since I became a ham in 1993. That was when I found satellites and AMSAT. Andy had been doing the Houston AMSAT Net and I became involved in the net. We have done over 1400 episodes of the net since then. Andy and I had a great time at many AMSAT Symposiums where we would work satellites from parking lots of restaurants or outside a hotel. During the AMSAT Symposium in 2016, we worked each other from the deck of the cruise ship when we were standing about 3 feet from each other.

Andy spent some time in the early 90’s on the AMSAT Board of Directors. Many of today’s hams would not remember the K2ZRO tests on AO-13. When the satellite was at apogee, Andy would transmit a string of CW characters. He would then reduce his power by 50% and transmit another string of characters. This would be done 8 times to a point where the signals were very weak. Hams around the world would participate and receive a certificate with an endorsement for the level you achieved.

Andy got into balloon launches. I do not remember when BLT-1 was launched but BLT-12 was launched in 1993 and they are into the 60’s now. The balloons have gone up with all types of experiments on them and have come down in many a strange place. One came down in the Gulf of Mexico, picked up by a fishing boat and they called the number on the package. Of course that one was not reusable as everything was a tad bit wet. The balloon came down in someone’s front yard once and they picked it up and took it inside. GPS told the tale and knocking on the door, the homeowner returned the package. A few recent balloon launches have traversed the globe one or two times.

Andy had worked at NASA and was a member of the Johnson Space Center ARC as well as the Brazos Valley ARC in Houston, the ARRL and AMSAT. More recently he was the Chief Engineer for the radio station, KTRU, at Rice University in Houston. Andy gave talks and demos at many Houston area hamfests.

It was only a few months ago in February that Andy went in for a quick procedure and they found something that should not be. He was sent home for hospice care. You will be missed my friend. … _._

73…Bruce

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 27th 2021 at 12:30 PM at the Pines Presbyterian Church (12751 Kimberley Ln, Houston, TX 77024-4097). A graveside service will be held on Thursday, May 27th 2021 at 2:30 PM at the Memorial Oaks Cemetery (13001 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX 77079). Andy’s wife, Heather, has requested that donations in his name be made to AMSAT or the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club,  P.O. Box 2997, Sugar Land, TX 77487-2997 (reference the Andy MacAllister BLT Memorial Fund). Donations to AMSAT in his name may be made through the form below.

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Donation Total: $25.00 One Time

ANS-143 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for May 23

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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://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 dot org

In this edition:

  • Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
  • Reminder: AMSAT Server Maintenance Scheduled for Weekend of May 22
  • Are Your USPS Mail and E-Mail Addresses Up-to-Date at AMSAT?
  • CubeSatSim PCB’s Version 1.0 Available at AMSAT Store
  • March/April 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available
  • FO-29 operation schedule for June 2021
  • Astronaut/Ham Assigned to Next ISS Mission
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • ARISS News
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-143.01
ANS-143 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 143.01
From AMSAT HQ PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044-0027
May 23, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-143.01

Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election

AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following four incumbent Directors expire in 2021 and will be filled by this year’s election:

Jerry Buxton N0JY
Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA
Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK
Michelle Thompson W5NYV

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:

Jeff Davis, KE9V
1909 S. Batavia Avenue
Muncie, IN 47302-2044
ke9v at amsat.org

A copy should be sent to Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, at n8hm at amsat.org.

The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. The Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials via mail or in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted.

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 Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, 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

Join the AMSAT President’s Club!

You won’t want to miss it!


Reminder: AMSAT Server Maintenance Scheduled for Weekend of May 22

As part of its modernization efforts, AMSAT will be moving its web server to a new vendor over the weekend of May 22, 2021. This move will result in greater operational flexibility, ensure continued flow of security updates and may result in lower costs for server rental and backup services.

End users may see service outages for www.amsat.org and the central telemetry server associated with FoxTelem but otherwise no observable changes are expected. Outages are expected to be brief, perhaps an hour or two, and are presently planned during the USA overnight hours, and we have confidence that we will be complete by the end of the weekend. FoxTelem users will find that any telemetry collected during an outage will be uploaded once the central telemetry server is established in its new home. Mailing lists and mail forwarding will not be affected, and the membership and events portal at launch.amsat.org will remain fully operational throughout the migration.

(ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT services team for the above information)


Are Your USPS Mail and E-Mail Addresses Up-to-Date at AMSAT?

Recent attempts to deliver important announcements to AMSAT members shows that many AMSAT members are not keeping AMSAT headquarters up-to-date with their current U.S. Post Office mail address and/or email address. It is important that members update their membership accounts with their current contact information.

The mail servers that deliver AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins and AMSAT-Bulletin Board posts operate independently from the AMSAT membership roster. Just because a person receives emails from ANS or the AMSAT-BB does not mean that their contact information is current in the membership database. The same is true for any email address or mail address you may have on file in the AMSAT Store. The AMSAT Store operates independently from the AMSAT membership roster. (Remember, a person does not have to be an AMSAT member to receive news bulletins or posts or to shop at the store.)

AMSAT headquarters asks all members to ensure that their current contact information is up-to-date by taking a few minutes to complete the following steps:

– Log into the AMSAT Membership Portal at https://launch.amsat.org/.
– Click on the light-blue “person” icon near the upper right corner of the screen.
– Choose “View Profile”.
– Review your information, especially your e-mail and mailing addresses.
– If you need to update any information, click on the “EDIT PROFILE” box near the upper left corner of the screen.
– After updating your information, be sure to click on the “SAVE” box near the upper left corner of the screen.

By making sure your contact information is current, you can help ensure that you receive all official announcements and documents from AMSAT Headquarters.

(ANS thanks AMSAT 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/


CubeSatSim PCB’s Version 1.0 Available at AMSAT Store

The first release Version 1.0 of the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator printed circuit boards (PCBs) are now available for a donation at the AMSAT Store https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-cubesatsim-pcb/.

The CubeSatSim is a low cost satellite emulator that runs on solar panels and batteries, transmits UHF radio telemetry, has a 3D printed frame, and can be extended by additional sensors and modules. Instead of having to get one’s own circuit boards made, which often has minimum quantities, buyers can get one complete set of three boards – a Main board, Battery board, and STEM Payload board. The Main board comes with the SMD surface mount components for the Band Pass Filter (BPF) pre-installed. The remainder of the components are through-hole. Besides the printed circuit boards, builders will need the components listed on the Bill of Materials at https://CubeSatSim.org/bom.

For information on building your own CubeSatSim, see the Wiki at https://CubeSatSim.org/wiki.

For more information about the AMSAT CubeSatSim Project or to borrow a loaner unit for your classroom or demonstration, contact Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP Educational Relations at ku2y at amsat dot org.

[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP, Education for the above information.]


March/April 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available

The March/April 2021 issue of The AMSAT Journal is now available to members on AMSAT’s Member Portal. Download your copy today at https://launch.amsat.org/The_AMSAT_Journal.

The AMSAT Journal is a bi-monthly digital magazine for amateur radio in space enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Each issue is your source for hardware and software projects, technical tips, STEM initiatives, operational activities, and news from around the world.

Inside the Current Issue:

  • Apogee View by Robert Bankston, KE4AL
  • Educational Relations Update by Alan Johnston, KU2Y
  • 2021 AMSAT Field Day by Bruce Paige, KK5DO
  • Report of the AMSAT Bylaws Committee and Amended Bylaws
  • Working FalconSAT-3 Packet Digipeater by Ramadhan Ibrahim, YD1RUH, Juliadi Satyo Pramudito, YD0AVI, and Creflo Teodoro Sebastian, YD2UUY
  • Arizona Roving in an Afternoon by Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK
  • Design and Flight Results of the VHF/UHF Communication System of Longjiang Lunar Microsatellites by Mingchuan Wei, Chaoran Hu, Daniel Estévez, Mier Tai, Yuhao Zhao, Jiahe Huang, Cees Bassa, Tammo Jan Dijkema, Xibin Cao, and Feng Wang.

[ANS thanks AMSAT 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!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF


FO-29 operation schedule for June 2021

The JARL has published the operation schedule for FO-29 for June 2021 is follows:

June (UTC)
4th 23:33-
5th 01:17-
6th 00:22- 14:10-
12th 00:07- 13:53-
13th 00:57- 13:00-
19th 00:42- 10:57-
20th 01:32- 11:48-
26th 01:16- 11:34-
27th 00:22- 12:23-

The UTC time represents the start time for each operating period. The satellite will remain in operation until the battery voltage falls to a preset level.

[ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU for the above information.]


Astronaut/Ham Assigned to Next ISS Mission

NASA has assigned Kayla Barron, KI5LAL, to serve as a mission specialist for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, which is targeted to launch as early as Oct. 23, 2021.

This will be the first spaceflight for Barron, who became a NASA astronaut in January 2020 after completing two years of training. She will join NASA astronauts Raja Chari, KI5LIU, and Tom Marshburn, KE5HOC, as the mission’s commander and pilot, respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, KI5KFH, who also will serve as a mission specialist.

Barron was born in Pocatello, Idaho, but considers Richland, Washington, her hometown. She earned a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2010. She earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge, in England, in 2011, as Gates Cambridge Scholar. Lt. Cmdr. Barron earned her submarine warfare officer qualification and deployed three times while serving aboard the USS Maine. At the time of her selection as an astronaut candidate in 2017, she was serving as the flag aide to the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.

NASA previously assigned Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer to the mission in December 2020. This will be the first spaceflight for Chari and Maurer. It will be the third spaceflight for Marshburn, who previously served as a crew member of the space shuttle STS-127 mission in 2009 and Expedition 34/35 aboard the space station, which concluded in 2013.

When Barron, Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer arrive at the orbiting laboratory, they will become expedition crew members for the duration of their six-month science mission. The crew will have a slight overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts, who arrived April 24. Crew-2 consists of Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG.

This will mark the second time commercial crew missions have overlapped on the station. The Crew-1 astronauts, who ended their mission with a splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, on Sunday, May 2, were aboard the station with the Crew-2 astronauts for a seven-day direct crew handover. Increasing the total number of astronauts aboard the station enables the agency to boost the number of science investigations conducted in the unique microgravity environment.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]


Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

No events scheduled.


Upcoming Satellite Operations

W8LR: May 27. EM99/98_EM89/88 TENTATIVE schedule. Subject to change depending on obligations. Will post to twitter as needed if I have cell coverage.

EA4M: : Hi guys later in June I’ll be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules.

ND0C and KE0WPA: In June @kylee_ke0wpa and I, along with our resident photojournalist (Mom/Amy), will be taking a family excursion to the southwest and working some sats as time permits. Here are the less commonly worked grids from which we plan to operate. We will hit other grids too. DM67 6/15 – 6/17, DM56 6/18, DM45 6/19, DN63 7/2, DN64 7/2 & 7/3

WA5RR: I’m looking at doing a rove in DL98 with an overnight stay in Eagle Pass, TX around the last week in June. Details to follow.

DM62: K5TA, I’m tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip for me….

EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Sean’s birthday in the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well.

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, Rover Page Manager for the above information.]


ARISS News

+ Upcoming Contacts

Ecole Elémentaire de Saint Leu Centre, Saint Leu, France, (Reunion Island), multi-point telebridge via ZS6JON.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG.
Contact is go for: Monday, Mary 24, 2021 at 11:06:02 UTC. 84 degrees.

Windsor School and Liceo Industrial de Valdivia High School, Valdivia, Chile, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP.
Contact is go for: Tuesday, May 26, 2021 at 18:33:34 UTC. 84 degrees.

Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Bashkortostan, 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 scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy.
Contact is go for Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 13:45 UTC.

About Gagarin From Space. Conducting an amateur radio session with schoolchildren of Mordovia, 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 scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy.
Contact is go for Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 12:25 UTC.

+ Successful Contacts

Monaro High School, Cooma, NSW, Australia, telebridge via NA7V.
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut was Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 09:25 UTC.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html.

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]


Shorts from All Over

+ No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 29, 2021

No changes are noted for the current week.

However, TLE’s have been updated and are always available on the AMSAT website at:

TLE/Keplerian Element Resources

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.

+ Arizona State University Student Satellite to Flash-Back from Ham Commands

NASA has selected an Arizona State University-designed spacecraft to fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket launching between 2022 and 2025. It is among 14 CubeSats, that were chosen for this opportunity through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. The ASU CubeSat, named LightCube, is a 1U CubeSat and will be deployed to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Its unique feature is that it can be commanded by anyone with an amateur radio license and a ham radio to set off a xenon flash from the spacecraft that will be visible from the ground. Read more at:
https://news.asu.edu/20210520-asu-student-built-spacecraft-interact-public

[ANS thanks ASU News for the above information.]

+ ESA Advances Its Plan for Satellites Around the Moon

The European Space Agency is devising detailed definitions of how to provide telecommunications and navigation services for missions to the Moon, under the agency’s Moonlight initiative. Such a lasting lunar link will enable sustainable space exploration.Using a shared telecommunications and navigation service would reduce the design complexity of future individual missions and make them lighter, freeing space for more scientific instruments or other cargo, making each individual mission more cost-efficient. Read the full story at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-143-ESA.

[ANS thanks SciTechDaily for the above information.]

+ What are NASA’s Technology Educational Satellites?

NASA’s TechEdSat series of technology demonstrations aims to bring small payloads back to Earth or to the surface of Mars – while pushing the state of the art in a variety of CubeSat technologies and experiments. TechEdSat is a series of collaborative projects and missions that pairs college and university students with NASA researchers to evaluate new technologies for use in small satellites, or CubeSats. Students do the hands-on work – designing, building, and testing CubeSat spacecraft systems and analyzing the results – for each flight mission, under mentorship of engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.; Read about the history and purpose of the program at: https://www.nasa.gov/ames/techedsat.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information.]


Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/

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. President’s Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.

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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at the amsat dot org for additional student membership information.

73,
This week’s ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org

Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election

AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following four incumbent Directors expire in 2021 and will be filled by this year’s election:

Jerry Buxton N0JY
Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA
Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK
Michelle Thompson W5NYV

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:

Jeff Davis, KE9V
1909 S. Batavia Avenue
Muncie, IN 47302-2044
ke9v at amsat.org

A copy should be sent to Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, at n8hm at amsat.org.

The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. The Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials via mail or in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted.

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.