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:
* AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2022 Board of Directors Election
* 40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting Announced for October 21 – 22, 2022
* AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium October 8-9
* AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites 2022
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 12, 2022
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-170 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
DATE 2022 June 19
AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2022 Board of Directors Election
The nomination period for the 2022 Board of Directors Election ended on June 15th. The following candidates have been nominated:
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, all three candidates will be seated on the Board when the voting period concludes on September 15th. To comply with AMSAT’s bylaws an election will be held via AMSAT’s Wild Apricot membership system. Instructions for voting will be emailed to all members in good standing as of July 1st by July 15th. Biographies of the candidates will be published in the next issue of The AMSAT Journal.
[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President and Acting Secretary, for the above information]
40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting Announced for October 21 – 22, 2022
AMSAT announces the 40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 21 – 22, 2022 in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The annual AMSAT Space Symposium features:
* Space Symposium with Amateur Satellite Presentations
* Operating Techniques, News, & Plans from the Amateur Satellite World
* Board of Directors Meeting open to AMSAT members
* Opportunities to Meet Board Members and Officers
* AMSAT Annual General Membership Meeting
* Auction, Annual Banquet, Keynote Speaker and Door Prizes !!
The Crowne Plaza Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN, is centrally located between the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, Mall of America, Minneapolis Zoo, and Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park. Crown Plaza Suites provides a complimentary scheduled shuttle to and from the airport.
Additional information about the 2022 AMSAT Symposium will be posted on the AMSAT web site, www.amsat.org as it becomes available.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President for the above information.]
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The 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium October 8-9, Kents Hill Park Conference Centre Milton Keynes MK7 6BZ
AMSAT-UK is very happy to announce the 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on October 8-9 at the Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Timbold Drive, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BZ.
The weekend event attracts an international audience that ranges from those involved in building and operating amateur radio satellites to beginners who wish to find out more about this fascinating branch of the hobby.
Booking for the RSGB Convention is at https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/
Booking for the AMSAT-UK dinner on the Saturday evening at the nearby Hilton Hotel is here
Details of the event can be found at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/
[ANS thanks Trevor Essex, M5AKA of AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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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/
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AMSAT Field Day 2022 on the Satellites
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 2022 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 25, 2022 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 26, 2022. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 25 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/
If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellites, there are ISS, SO-50, AO-91, PO-101 and possibly LilacSat. It might be easier this year to make that one FM contact for the ARRL bonus points with so many FM birds. The congestion on FM LEO satellites is always so intense that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice.
It was suggested during past field days that a control station be allowed to coordinate contacts on the FM satellites. There is nothing in the rules that would prohibit this. This is nothing more than a single station working multiple QSO’s. If a station were to act as a control station and give QSO’s to every other field day station, the control station would still only be allowed to turn in one QSO per FM satellite while the other station would be able to submit one QSO.
The format for the message exchange on the ISS or other digital packet satellite is an unproto packet to the other station (3-way exchange required) with all the same information as normally exchanged for ARRL Field Day,
e.g.:
W6NWG de KK5DO 2A STX
KK5DO de W6NWG QSL 5A SDG
W6NWG de KK5DO QSL
If you have worked the satellites on Field Day in recent years, you may have noticed a lot of good contacts can be made on some of the less-populated, low-earth-orbit satellites like FO-29, AO-7, EO-88 or the XW satellites. During Field Day the transponders come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The good news is that the transponders on these satellites will support multiple simultaneous contacts. The bad news is that you can’t use FM, just low duty-cycle modes like SSB and CW.
More information may be found at https://bit.ly/39nefgb. Rules in downloadable format: https://bit.ly/3QpJc44. The fillable scoresheet is included in the Rules download.
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests & Awards for the above information]
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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
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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.
Eaton Public Library, Eaton, CO., telebridge via AB1OC
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 crewmember is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS
Contact is go for: Wed 2022-06-22 16:27:15 UTC 61 deg
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]
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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/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
+ WL7T: EL84, June 24-27.
K4DCA: plans to be in CN74 on June 24-29 too Hopefully we can raise the number on the heat map
K4DCA: will be in FM08 and 09 from around 1400-1900z on Friday June 17 on linear and FM. Focusing on western passes. He will tweet updates.
WL7T: I locked EL58 in for June 29, 30, and July 1. I plan to work 6 meters for the majority of the time with sat passes as requested. I am going to operate from a boat from around ~9 AM – 5 PM each day.
+ W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!
+ ND9M/MM: I’m on my merchant marine ship anchored just off Saipan and expect to be here a few weeks. I’m on from the ship as ND9M/MM in QK25, but I’ll try to be QRV as ND9M/KHØ from the island itself over the next few weekends, probably Fridays in the afternoon and evening, possibly Saturday evenings as well. I’ll post my island activities on Twitter (@ND9M) as they firm up
+ N8MR: EN 57,67,56 8/6 through 8/13. More to come as date gets closer.
Major Roves:
KX9X & N9NCY Wild West Rove: Sean and Nancy’s Wild West Rove has been scaled back, but is still going forward. They will now be on the road from July 13-25 while hiking in National Parks. They will travel through seven states and 38 grids, planning activation on FM and linear satellites. Extensive operation in Montana and North Dakota in the Canadian border grids beginning July 20. There will also be 6 meter and occasional HF POTA activity as well.
Grids they will pass through, in order:
EN50 – 40 – 41 – 42 – 32 – 33 – 23 – 13 -03
DN93 – 83 – 84 – 74 – 64 – 65 – 55 – 56 – 57 – 47 – 48 – 38
DN28 – 38 – 48 – 58 – 68 – 78 – 88 – 87 – 97 – 96 – 95
EN05 – 06 – 16 – 15 – 25 – 26 – 25 – 35
EN34 – 33 – 32 – 42 – 41 – 40 – 50
Complete info on their trip can be found on their website https://www.wildwestrove.com/
ISS Status as of June 14, 2022
Columbus Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Configured. Default mode is for cross band repeater (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). Capable of supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops.
Service Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Not Active. Default mode is for packet operations (145.825 MHz up & down) Capable of supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts, packet, SSTV and voice repeater ops.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager and ARISS.org for the above information]
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jun 16, 2022
The following satellite has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE
distribution:
Planetum 1 NORAD Cat ID 52738 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for identification).
The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
RSP-01 NORAD Cat ID 47925 (decayed form orbit on 6/10/2022 per Space-Track).
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]
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.
AMSAT Ambassador Schedules:
Clint Bradford, K6CLS: “How to Work the “Easy” Satellites” talks:
That felt GOOD!
My first in-person satellite presentation since March 13, 2020 … the day California shut down.
The K6PIN club in Southern California maintains a great Yaesu System Fusion C4FM linked repeater system. Their meetings have been at the Sizzler restaurant in Fullerton, CA. As presenters usually do, I was the first to arrive, and got my system set up before the doors opened. Screen, projector, posters, banners, speakers …
Well-attended and it felt marvelous. We had a great time. I knew many members from my days with Motorola commercial and Ham Radio Outlet-Anaheim.
Think a lively, informative session on “working the easy satellites with equipment most hams already own” would be appropriate for your event or meeting? Call or email!
Clint Bradford K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador
909-999-SATS
http://www.work-sat.com
Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ: SDR applications – “Using the RF “Swiss Army Knife”: An intro to the AMSAT Fox-In-A-Box Image” – Live presentation scheduled July 18, 2022 the Frederick Amateur Radio Club, Frederick, MD
For information on this presentation and availability, contact Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ, AMSAT Ambassador, (kd4iz at arrl dot org)
Scheduled Events with AMSAT involvement:
Hamfests and Conventions
+ JAMSAT Symposium
June 25 from 9:50~17:15 JST (UTC +9 hours).
Anyone can participate. If you would like to participate, please email ja3nas at gmail.com to be informed of the opening URL. Please include your name, call sign and email address in your email.
+ QO-100 User Meeting HAM RADIO 2022 in Friedrichshafen, Germany
Saturday, June 25, 2022 starting at 7pm CEST
QO-100 users plan to meet at a restaurant near HAM RADIO on Saturday. Link to registration/reservation: https://nuudel.digitalcourage.de/gRajeEEUKrJLvXK9.
+ 2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
October 7, 2022 – October 9, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ An Astra rocket carrying two small hurricane-tracking satellites for NASA failed to reach orbit Sunday (June 12) after a major malfunction shortly after liftoff. Two NASA cubesats, the first of a six-satellite fleet to track hurricanes as part of a $30 million mission, were lost. (ANS thanks space.com for the above information)
+ SpaceX has launched more than 2,000 Starlink internet satellites since 2019, and the company plans to orbit thousands more in the near future. Astronomers are concerned that these megaconstellations of bright spacecraft will seriously interfere with celestial observations for professionals and amateurs alike. In order to address the problem, SpaceX voluntarily began installing sunshades on their Starlink satellites two years ago. But now, new technological requirements have resulted in visors being omitted from a new generation of Starlink satellites launched since late last year. The newest satellites use laser communication instead of radio links; while the sunshades were transparent to radio frequencies, they block laser light. (ANS thanks Sky and Telescope for the above information)
+ The first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope will be released during a televised broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 12, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Live coverage of the image release broadcast will air on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The public also can watch live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and Daily Motion. Webb, an international collaboration led by NASA with its partners the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, is the biggest telescope ever launched into space. It will probe the origins of our universe and our place in it. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)
+ Sierra Space announced Tuesday the company will open an astronaut training center at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center to build and operate a new commercial space station. The Sierra Space Human Spaceflight Center and Astronaut Training Academy will train astronauts to work on Orbital Reef, a private business park space station.(ANS thanks Sheri Walsh of spacedaily.com for the above information)
+ Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, has been active from the ISS this week. It is great to see the ISS radio active for individual contacts. W8LR, KG4AKV, W3ATN and others have tweeted or emailed their success in making the QSO. ARISS made note of the contacts on twitter.(ANS thanks ARISS for the above information)
+ The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined that SpaceX’s plans for the company’s massive Starbase launch site in South Texas will have some environmental impact on the surrounding land and area — but not enough to require a full environmental impact statement. Now, SpaceX will need to make more than 75 changes to its proposal for the Starbase facility if the company wants to avoid additional review and eventually receive a license from the FAA to launch its new Starship rocket to orbit from the site. More information at: https://bit.ly/3NXCEI1 (ANS thanks Loren Grush of theverge.com for the above information)
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* 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.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at arrl dot org