SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.01 Call for papers-2005 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.01 This is the third call for papers for the 2005 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting to be held October 7 - 9, 2005 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Proposals for papers and symposium presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite program. We request a one-page abstract by June 15, 2005. Camera ready copy on paper or in electronic form will be due by August 1, 2005 for inclusion in the printed symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to n8fgv@amsat.org [ANS thanks Dan, N8FGV for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.02 AMSAT Board of Directors Nominations Due AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.02 This is a note to remind everyone that the deadline for nominations for the open Board of Director positions is June 15th. Nominations must be submitted via regular mail; e-mail is not acceptable in this instance. Please mail your nominations to Martha Saragovitz in the Silver Spring, Maryland office. Regards, Stephen Diggs AMSAT Corporate Secretary [ANS thanks Steve, W4EPI for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.03 AO-51 Configuration for Field Day AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.03 AO-51 Field Day Announcement from the Echo Operations Group ----------------------------------------------------------- For the ARRL Field Day Event this year AO-51 will be configured in Mode V/S FM Repeater. The uplink will be 145.920 mHz. The 67 Hz tone will NOT be used. The downlink will be 2401.200 mHz. There will be a long duration operating session leading up to Field Day when AO-51 will be configured in Mode V/S to give users the opportunity to test their Field Day stations. In June, AO-51 will be in Mode V/S the weekend and entire week before Field Day. Take advantage of these operating sessions to setup and test your Field Day station before the actual day arrives. Working the Mode S downlink on AO-51 does not require a large investment in equipment for your Field Day station. A satellite dish is not required to operate this mode. Gould, WA4SXM, copied the S downlink using just his G3RUH patch feed during the early days of testing the S band transmitter on Echo. Drew, KO4MA, has operated portable with a Transystems downconverter using the dipole feed and a corner reflector on numerous occasions. Mike, KE4AZN, has operated portable with either a 3.5 turn helix feed (feed only, no dish) or a homebrew K5OE patch antenna, held out the window of the car. Mike has also operated mobile on Mode V/S by attaching the helix feed and downconverter to the trunk of the car. Clare, VE3NPC, has reported excellent receive signals using a 3.5 turn helix and a K5GNA downconverter. Any of these Amsat members can be contacted at their "@amsat.org" email address and would be happy to help Field Day users get setup for Mode V/S. If your IF is on VHF (which most are), an HT or other mobile FM rig will work fine as your downlink receiver. The large 5 kHz steps of these radios actually make tuning the fast moving Doppler on S band much easier. Use the scheduled Mode V/S sessions to practice before heading out for Field Day. If you have not worked the S band downlink on AO-51 previously, a few passes monitoring the downlink and practicing the Doppler correction will be very helpful. The Doppler shift on an AO-51 pass is approximately +/- 50 kHz. There will be lots of activity on Field Day, therefore getting your Receive capability working well before transmitting to the satellite, will keep your station from causing unnecessary QRM. The uplink for AO-51 does not require a large Yagi antenna to be successful. Any good mobile omni direction whip antenna or other omni directional antenna will work fine, especially if all stations work together during the passes and not try to dominate the satellite. Therefore, it should not be difficult to setup an antenna that will work for the uplink to AO-51. If you have a Field Day station with Mode V/U capability, you already have the uplink covered. A webpage will be setup with a few pictures and text on various AO-51 Mode V/S station options. This will not include every option available, but will hopefully assist a new Mode V/S user with some ideas to get started setting up their station, and show that is it not difficult to get setup and working the S downlink on AO-51. Web URL: http://www.graceba.net/~mkmk518/echofieldday.html With the V/S configuration of AO-51 and the other satellites available, we will have a nice compliment of modes to operate during Field Day. 73 KE4AZN for the Echo Operations Group [ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.04 OSCAR-11 Reception Reports Sought AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.04 There is a small chance that OSCAR-11 may have started transmitting again between 08 June to 10 June. The frequency is 145.826. Any reception reports would be appreciated. Please reply direct to Clive G3CWV (g3cwv@amsat.org), or post reports to AMSAT-BB. [ANS thanks Clive, G3CWV for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.05 AMSAT Journal Needs Authors AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.05 The AMSAT Journal needs the services of writers who have the talents to interview AMSAT members who have done projects that need to be shared with all our members. Such reporters can interview these outstanding people via phone and develop outstanding articles. Respondents should have a back- ground in writing and/or reporting with good interview and writing skills. If you have such a background, and you are willing to help, please contact Gunther Meisse via e-mail: w8gsm@amsat.org. [ANS thanks Gunther, W8GSM for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.06 Field Day Pictures, Please AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.06 I would like pictures of kids operating satellites on Field Day 2005 for use in our AMSAT printed materials. Please e-mail to Gunther Meisse, W8GSM at w8gsm@amsat.org. Thanks in advance for your help. [ANS thanks Gunther, W8GSM for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.07 SETTI Express Launch Date AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.07 Via the weekly news from RSGB: Sunday 5 June 2005 The launch date for SSETI Express and three 'cubesats' has now been confirmed as 25 August, with the next day, the 26th, as a back-up. The satellite has now completed all its pre-launch tests and is presently back in the clean room where everything is having a final checkout and where the cubesats are being loaded into their launchers. Current plans show that the satellite will be packed and ready for despatch to the launch site during the last week of June. SSETI Express will automatically downlink general telemetry at 9K6 on 70cm and it will also be possible for amateurs to request specific downloads. It is planned that the 38K4 telemetry transmitter on 2.4GHz will also be available for amateur voice operation as a Mode U/S transponder after initial tests on the satellite have been completed. AMSAT-UK provided the 2.4GHz transmitter for the satellite and a presentation on SSETI Express will be given at the AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium to be held from 29 to 31 July at the University of Surrey in Guildford. All amateurs and SWLs are welcome to attend. [ANS thanks RSGB for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.08 AMSAT Awards Announcement AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.08 AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, reports congratulations go out to all of the following: Amanda Karr, KI4IWS, Satellite Communicators Club and also new member of AMSAT. Sebastiano Trovato, IW9HBY, 51 on 51 Award #26 Otfried Fuhrmann, DL2DRD, 51 on 51 Award #27 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.09 Keplerian Elements Now Available for PDA AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.09 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.09 For those of you using PocketSat or PocketSat+ satellite tracking program for PalmOS PDAs, the weekly Keplerian elements bulletins from AMSAT are now available in PDB format for direct import into the program. The PDB file will be updated automatically each week, shortly after the Keplerian elements bulletins go out to the KEPS mailing list. (This is permitted as a secondary redistribution of the AMSAT Keps bulletins.) You can get the weekly PDB file with a web browser from: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/amsat.pdb ... or you can use an FTP program to get them from host ftp.amsat.org, directory /amsat/keps/current, filename amsat.pdb. Username "anonymous", and use your email address for the password. Download in binary mode. For info on PocketSat and PocketSat+, including instructions on how to import elements from a PDB file, see the BigFatTail Productions web site at http://www.bigfattail.com (not affiliated with AMSAT). For other programs, the same directory contains the elements in three other formats: AMSAT verbose format and NASA two-line format, both formatted as packet BBS bulletins, and NASA two-line format stripped of all extraneous text. Here are the URLs for those formats: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/amsat.all http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasa.all http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasabare.txt One of these formats should satisfy most satellite tracking programs. For more about Keplerian elements in general, see http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/keps.php [ANS thanks Paul, KB5MU for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.10 ARISS Status - 06 June 2005 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.10 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 12, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.10 ARISS Status June 6, 2005 1. Australian School Contact Successful On Thursday, June 2, students from Brigidine College in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia spoke directly with the ISS via amateur radio. Eighteen girls were able to ask their questions of John Phillips, KE5DRY, as an audience of two hundred gathered in the auditorium. Two Sydney television stations and other media covered the event. Matt Ryan, the teacher responsible for organizing the contact, remarked, "Students were tracking the space craft, controlling the directional antenna, operating the radio transmitter and talking to an astronaut. Science doesn't come into the classroom better than this." 2. Upcoming School Contacts Ecole De la Source, Mascouche, Quebec, Canada, has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, June 17 at 13:34 UTC. 3. SuitSat Status The SuitSat Educational Proposal has been translated into several languages, and distributed to many schools, worldwide. AMSAT has carried the proposal on its website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/SuitsatSchool/ The ARRL has also promoted the project in an article, entitled "ARISS Seeks School Involvement in 'SuitSat' Project." See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/03/100/?nc=1 Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS International Chairman, and AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs provided this late breaking update to the SuitSat project: I am proud to announce that on June 10 the ARISS-US team delivered their portion of the Suitsat hardware to the NASA Johnson Space Center. NASA is in the process of shipping this hardware to Energia in Russia where it is expected to be certified and integrated with the Russian team's Suitsat equipment for eventual launch on the 19P Progress launch vehicle in the August/September 2005 timeframe. The Suitsat amateur radio system, coupled with a school artwork DVD project that will be delivered later this month, is planned to be installed in an outdated Russian Orlon spacesuit in late September. It will then be deployed from the ISS during an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA, or spacewalk). The Suitsat amateur radio system will beam down special messages and an SSTV image from within the Orlon space suit as it floats in space. Suitsat radio system will allow hams and students to track the suit and decode special international messages, space suit telemetry, and a pre-programmed Slow Scan TV image through its specially-built digital voice messaging system and amateur radio transmitter. As built, Suitsat will be a transmit-only capability that will run on the space suit's battery power. The idea for Suitsat was first conceived by the ARISS-Russia team, led by Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, and was extensively discussed at the joint AMSAT Symposium/ARISS International Partner meeting in October 2004. The project, also called Radioskaf or Radio Sputnik in Russia, is being led by project manager A. P. Alexandrov and Deputy Project Manager A. Poleshuk from RSC Energia, located in Korolev (Moscow area) Russia. On the US side, the hardware project development was led by Lou McFadin, W5DID. Since October the Suitsat design concept matured and evolved due to the challenging development time constraints. A joint NASA letter, allowing the ARISS team to proceed forward with the Suitsat project was signed on May 10, 2005. In the four short weeks since that letter was signed, the US project team, has designed, built and tested a simple, yet fully featured system that we hope will inspire hams and students around the world. On behalf of the ARISS International team, I want to congratulate the Suitsat hardware development team for their "Can Do" spirit and ability to deliver the Suitsat hardware on such a very challenging schedule. Congratulations!!!!! 4. Astronaut Training Kenneth Ransom reports that ESA French astronaut Leopold Eyharts began training for his U.S. amateur radio license. Kenneth has also set up time to present an ARISS overview to John Grunsfeld, KC5ZTF, on June 22. Grunsfeld is a backup for Expedition 13. 5. Dayton Hamvention 2005 Presentations The presentations given at the AMSAT Forum during the Dayton Hamvention 2005 may be found on the AMSAT website. Inactive astronaut Tony England's presentation entitled, "Amateur Radio/AMSAT: A Motivator for a Career in Science & Engineering," is included. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/05DaytonPresentations/index.php 6. Field Day John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, have been invited to participate in ARRL's Field Day, to be held on June 25 - 26. Both Phillips and Krikalev expressed interest in this event and plan to participate on a limited basis. Kenneth Ransom has been working on a list of pass times when U.S. amateur radio operators will be able to contact the ISS crew during this event; however, there are few favorable passes and some will occur in the early morning hours. [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, and Frank KA3HDO for the above information] /EX