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:
- FCC Proposes ‘Five-Year Rule’ For Dead Satellite Disposal
- 40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting, Oct. 21 – 22
- Final Call for Papers for 2022 AMSAT Space Symposium
- 2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
- Everything Ready for the Launch of the New GENESIS – Updated
- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Sept. 15
- ARISS News
- Upcoming Satellite Operations
- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
- Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-261 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2022 Sept. 18
FCC Proposes ‘Five-Year Rule’ For Dead Satellite Disposal
The Federal Communications Commission wants to do something about space junk in low Earth orbit. On Sept. 8, the agency published a proposal that, if adopted, would put a deadline on how long non-geostationary satellites can stay in space.
As things stand, voluntary NASA guidelines published in the 1990s recommend that dead satellites should be deorbited within 25 years. The FCC wants to adopt a five-year rule that would require domestic satellite operators and companies that want access to the U.S. market to dispose of their non-functioning satellites as soon as they can. “We believe it is no longer sustainable to leave satellites in LEO [low Earth orbit] to deorbit over decades,” the FCC states in its proposal.
Satellites already in space would be exempt from the FCC’s guidelines. The Commission is also proposing there be a two-year grandfathering period that start on September 29th, the day it plans to vote on the regulation. That carveout would give organizations that previously obtained approval for a future satellite launch time to develop a disposal plan for their spacecraft. The FCC said it would also grant waivers case-by-case after NASA expressed concern that the five-year limit would impact its CubeSat missions.
The proposal comes as the number of satellites in low Earth orbit is expected to increase over the next few years dramatically. With contributions from companies like SpaceX, Amazon and OneWeb, as many as 18,000 new satellites could be floating above the planet by 2025. Those satellites will not only make it more challenging to observe the night sky, but the probability of a potential crash will increase too.
[ANS thanks Engadget 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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40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting, Oct. 21 – 22
The 40th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will take place in Bloomington, Minnesota on Oct. 21-22, 2022. Highlights of all scheduled events include:
– AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting, October 20-21
– 40th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 21-22
– Friday Night Social and Auction, October 21
– AMSAT Banquet and Reception, October 22
– AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast, October 23
A preliminary schedule is available on the AMSAT Member Portal, https://launch.amsat.org/, under the Events tab.
Crowne Plaza is located adjacent to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and provides complimentary, scheduled shuttle to and from the airport. Nearby attractions include Mall of America with Nickelodeon Universe Theme park, Target Field, and the Minnesota Zoo.
You can make hotel reservations by calling the hotel directly at (952) 854-9000. The group code is ASG (Amateur Satellite Group). Hotel reservations can also be made online at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-219-Symposium-Rooms
But don’t wait to reserve your room! The offer for specially reduced room rates for Symposium attendees ends on September 28. Make your reservation today to make sure you have a room and at the best possible price.
Symposium tickets and banquet reservations may be purchased on the AMSAT Member Portal. Log into https://launch.amsat.org/ and clock on the Events tab.
We at AMSAT, are excited to be able to host an in-person Symposium this year. We hope that you can join us in celebrating Amateur Radio in Space.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]
Final Call for Papers for 2022 AMSAT Space Symposium
This is the final call for papers for the 40th annual AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 21-22, 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Suites hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Proposals for symposium papers and presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 14 for inclusion in the symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV at [email protected]
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, Symposium Program Manager, 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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2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
The 2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election period ended on September 15, 2022.
As a result of the election, Mark Hammond, N8MH, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, have been duly elected to a two year term on the Board of Directors.
The results of the voting with 407 ballots cast are as follows:
Mark Hammond, N8MH 381
Bruce Paige, KK5DO 378
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM 378
The membership of the AMSAT Board of Directors for 2022-2023 is:
Joseph Armbruster, KJ4JIO
Robert Bankston, KE4AL
Jerry Buxton, N0JY
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
Thank you all for participating in this year’s election process.
[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP, for the above information]
Everything Ready for the Launch of the New GENESIS – Updated
Everything is ready at the Vanderberg air base in California (USA), for the takeoff of the second flight of the Firefly Alpha launcher that will put, among others, the GENESIS-G/ASTROLAND-1 and GENESIS-J/ASTROLAND-2 satellites into orbit of AMSAT-EA.
The scheduled time for takeoff is 07:00 UTC on Monday, September 19 (delayed from Sept. 11). The planned orbit is 300 km with an inclination of 137 degrees.
The frequencies coordinated with IARU are the following:
GENESIS-G/ASTROLAND-1
145.875 MHz uplink, Modes: FM voice (no subtone) and FSK 50 bps, AFSK, AX.25, APRS 1200 / 2400 bps
436.888 MHz downlink, Modes: FM voice, CW, FSK 50 bps, FM voice beacon with AM2SAT callsign
GENESIS-J/ASTROLAND-2
145.925 MHz uplink, Modes: FM voice (no subtone) and FSK 50 bps, AFSK, AX.25, APRS 1200 / 2400 bps
436.666 MHz downlink, Modes: FM voice, CW FSK 50 bps, SSTV Robot 36, FM voice beacon with AM3SAT callsign
Update – Launch scheduled for the 19th at 7:00 UTC.
More information on the Every Day Astronaut website: https://everydayastronaut.com/flta002-to-the-black-alpha/
The launch can be followed live at the following YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pics_iuBv9s
[ANS thanks AMSAT-EA 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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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Sept. 15
Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/
The NORAD Catalog ID for following satellite has been changed in this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
GREENCUBE is now identified as object NORAD Cat ID 53106 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for this identification).
The NORAD Cat ID for MTCube 2 is not clear at this time.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]
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.
Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS, and the scheduled crewmember is Sergey Prokopyev. Contact is go for Monday 2022-09-26 08:20 UTC.
Aznakaevo School TBD, Aznakaevo, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS and the scheduled crewmember is Dmitry Petlin. Contact is go for Saturday 2022-10-01 13:50 UTC.
Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, continues to be making general contacts on the cross-band repeater. He is using NA1SS. If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.
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
KJ7DZ: CN74 roving trip booked. Sept 22 – 24. More info will be posted as time gets closer
N4DCW: Four of the next six weekends (starting week of 9/7) look to be full of SOTA summits! Alerts are posted, and depending on timing should include some @Sats_and_SOTA when possible. Look for me this weekend in EM85. Details at https://twitter.com/MWimages/status/1567502526781575169
San Andrés Island (EK92) on FM satellites front 9/15 to 9/26. Details at https://twitter.com/RadioOSG/status/1567193764405411842
W8LR: EM68 and EM69, will try gridline, but if not accessible, then EM68. Watch Twitter for details. 9/18/22 11:00z
LA7XK / JW7XK: Starting in the evening on Oct. 5 ending in the morning on Oct. 10. I will be QRV on RS-44 from Longyearbyen on Svalbard. Locator is JQ78tf.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page 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:
Tom Zimmerman, W9TTY, will be exhibiting for AMSAT at the Chicago FM Club Radio Expo in Belvidere, Illinois on Saturday, September 25, 2022.
Clint Bradford, K6CLS: “How to Work the “Easy” Satellites” talks:
Part of the “job description” for volunteer AMSAT Ambassadors is to “spread the gospel” of working satellites to clubs and conventions.
In the next few weeks I have such Zoom presentations lined up for:
SOARA – South Orange County, CA
Boston ARC
Tristate Amateur Radio Society – Evansville,Indiana
Northern CA DX Club
San Gorgonio Pass ARC
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 included are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS. And pre-presentation questions are always welcome.
Send an email or call!
Clint Bradford K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador
909-999-SATS
http://www.work-sat.com
Scheduled Events with AMSAT involvement:
Hamfests and Conventions
+ 41st ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC)
September 16–18, 2022
Hilton Charlotte Airport Hotel
Charlotte, North Carolina
https://tapr.org
+ CFMC’S Radio Expo: Northern Illinois’ Largest Hamfest
Sunday, September 25th
Boone County Fairgrounds
8791 IL-76
Belvidere, IL
Flyer at: https://bit.ly/3RFtr8O
+ 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
+ 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium
October 8–9, 2022
Kents Hill Park Conference Centre
Milton Keynes
https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/
+ 40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting
October 21–22, 2022
The Crowne Plaza Suites
3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN
https://launch.amsat.org/event-4922878
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ A very nice interface application connecting SatPC32 to N3FJP’s ACLog logging software has been created by Carsten Groen, OZ9AAR. This program acts as a “gateway” between SatPC32 and ACLog and sends the relevant live data (ie. SAT_NAME and PROP_MODE) from SatPC32 to ACLog. Thus, you do not need to fill any data about the satellite and mode manually into ACLog, and everything is entered correctly for using ACLog’s automatic LoTW upload feature. Full details and download at https://bit.ly/3BdrM3L (ANS thanks Carsten Groen, OZ9AAR, for the above information)
+ A small spacecraft designed to test out key components of NASA’s Artemis program to the Moon has run into trouble in space. The CAPSTONE probe is expected to act as a pathfinder for NASA’s Gateway — a small space station designed to orbit the Moon and act as a jumping-off point for crewed missions to the surface. CAPSTONE’s mission centered around testing a never-before-used orbit to learn more about its stability before sending the Gateway to it. Advanced Space, which operates CAPSTONE, said in a statement Monday that the spacecraft is in “safe mode” after an engine burn last week and appears to be in a “stable orbit.” Mission managers are hoping to perform a “detumble” that will allow the spacecraft to orient itself in space again, pointing its solar panels to the Sun and charging its batteries. [The AMSAT Board of Directors has made a commitment to support amateur radio’s inclusion on NASA’s Gateway, a small spaceship in orbit around the Moon with living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research, ports for visiting spacecraft, and more.] (ANS thanks Axios Space for the above information)
+ As anticipated, last Wednesday, Sept. 7, Apple announced that the new iPhone 14 will be able to send SOS messages and current location coordinates to Apple, Emergency Services, and Emergency Contacts via Globalstar satellites. Apple is dedicating $450M toward satellite infrastructure, covering 95% of the system’s cost, and will use up to 85%(!) of Globalstar’s network capacity. Due to limited bandwidth and the characteristics of cell phone antennas, users will need to point their phone at a satellite using a new UI and will select from a set of pre-written messages instead of sending free-form texts. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)
+ Also related to satellites and cell phones, AST SpaceMobile’s Bluewalker-3 satellite launched on Saturday, Sept. 10. Bluewalker-3 is a test for an eventual 110-satellite constellation that would provide global cell phone coverage, “using 3GPP low-band cellular frequencies and Q/V-band frequencies” (it has an FCC experimental license). Concerns have been raised, however, about the satellite’s potentially- unprecedented brightness (> Venus), with a reflective and record-setting 64 m2 antenna. Even larger satellites are intended for the company’s final constellation! (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)
+ The AMSAT-UK Colloquium Committee has issued its final call for speakers for the AMSAT-UK Colloquium 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 https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ AMSAT-UK invite speakers, about amateur radio, space and associated activities, for this event. Submissions should be sent via e-mail: to dave at g4dpz.me.uk (ANS thanks David Johnson, G4DPZ, 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, Mark Johns, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org