ANS-229 AMSAT News Service Bulletins

In this edition:

* MESAT1 Named a Finalist in Global Satellite Contest
* 2025 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Continues
* AMSAT Organizations Continue to Challenge AST SpaceMobile Use of Ham Radio Spectrum
* Registration Remains Open for AMSAT Symposium, Presentations Invited
* NASA Satellite May Be Destroyed On Purpose
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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/


MESAT1 Named a Finalist in Global Satellite Contest

MESAT1 (MO-122), Maine’s first research satellite developed by the University of Maine and with collaboration from AMSAT Engineering, was a finalist for the SmallSat “Rookie of the Year” Award, which is sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

The public was encouraged to cast their vote online to boost MESAT1 to victory as the top rookie small satellite mission. Voting was free and open to everyone through August 12. MESAT1 was among seven small satellites vying for the title.

MO-122 (Photo: University of Maine)

Launched into orbit on July 4, 2024, MESAT1 was developed to get students involved in space science. The cost-effective nanosatellite, which measures 11.8 inches, is outfitted with four multispectral cameras that were designed to capture climate-related Earth imagery for experiments designed by Maine K-12 students. An AMSAT-provided LTM-1 linear transponder provides services to amateur radio enthusiasts around the world. In October of 2024, at the request of University of Maine, AMSAT designated MESAT1 as MESAT1-OSCAR 122 (MO-122).

“Access to space data motivates and excites students to learn fundamental skills in mathematics and science and helps them see the importance of STEM careers,” said UMaine Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Kody Varahramyan, who led the establishment of UMaine’s Space Initiative. “Being selected as a finalist for SmallSat Rookie of the Year is a national recognition of what Maine students and their faculty researchers can accomplish together.”

Finalists for the SmallSat award included teams from the University of Arizona, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and international missions from Senegal and Croatia. MESAT1 stands out as a mission that empowered K–12 students from Falmouth High School, Fryeburg Academy and Saco Middle School to contribute to space exploration.

The winner, announced during the 39th Annual Small Satellite Conference from Aug. 10-13 in Salt Lake City, was CroCube the first Croatian satellite. CroCube also operates as an amateur radio satellite with a CW beacon and a GFSK9k6 – AX.25 G3RUH telemetry beacon at 436.775 MHz.

MESAT1 was designed, built and tested by students and faculty at UMaine in partnership with the University of Southern Maine, the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve and AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, with support from NASA and the Maine Space Grant Consortium. The satellite’s development and integration for launch was led by Ali Abedi, who formerly served as associate vice president for research and a professor at UMaine.

This effort is part of the broader UMaine Space Initiative, which is working to develop a skilled space workforce and grow Maine’s presence in the space economy, including plans for a future Maine SpacePort Complex.

“This recognition puts Maine on the map as a state that not only builds satellites, but also builds opportunities — for students, teachers, researchers and entrepreneurs,” Varahramyan said.

[ANS thanks The University of Maine and smallsat.org for the above information]


Your 2025 AMSAT President’s Club Coin Is Waiting!
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.

2025 PC Coin Set

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/


2025 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Continues

The nomination period for the 2025 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended on June 15, 2025. The following candidates have been duly nominated and their candidate statements can be found at link that follows:

Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Jerry Buxton, NØJY
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
Douglas Tabor, N6UA

As four seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the four candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected to the seats. The candidate receiving the next largest number of votes shall be declared the First Alternate. The voting period opened on July 15, 2025 and shall conclude on September 15, 2025. Results will be announced no later that September 30, 2025.

AMSAT members may review the candidate statements and cast their ballots at https://launch.amsat.org/2025-BoD-Election

[ANS thanks Douglas Tabor, N6UA, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]


Need new satellite antennas?

Purchase 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/


AMSAT Organizations Continue to Challenge AST SpaceMobile Use of Ham Radio Spectrum

Facing more than 2,500 complaints from amateurs, AST SpaceMobile has responded by telling the FCC that it has designed its satellites to “mitigate interference” with amateur radio bands.

On August 5, the company replied to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, defending its plan to use the 430 to 440MHz radio bands outside the U.S. to track and control its proposed fleet of 248 satellites. The company says it’s proposing “very limited, non-routine” use of the 430 to 440MHz bands and only for launch and early orbit phases for its satellites or “emergency operations when other frequency bands are unavailable.”

AST SpaceMobile’s attempt to justify its use of the amateur radio band for its satellites has done little to assuage concerns from the ham radio community.

“AST is again economical with the truth,” an amateur radio operator in Germany named Mario Lorenz wrote to the FCC on August 8.

The amateur radio community says AST is already using those bands. On August 8, AMSAT-Deutschland sent a letter to the FCC that says amateur radio users have detected signals from AST’s satellites over the radio bands.

“The claim is therefore either a misrepresentation or a deliberate falsehood,” AMSAT-Deutschland wrote. In particular, AST’s BlueWalker-3 satellite was spotted using the radio band up until July 23 as the amateur radio community began campaigning against the spectrum use.

“It also raises questions about AST’s technical maturity,” the group added. “Other large-scale satellite operators — such as SpaceX, with over 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit — appear to manage TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking, and Command) functions without resorting to use of the amateur UHF band.”

[ANS thanks PC Magazine for the above information. Read the full article at https://www.pcmag.com/news/ham-radio-users-explain-why-theyre-worried-about-ast-spacemobiles-satellite]



Registration Remains Open for AMSAT Symposium, Presentations Invited

Registrations & room reservations remain available for the 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting to be held Thursday, October 16 to Sunday, October 19 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North, 1515 North 44th Street Phoenix, AZ. Early Bird registration remains available until September 15 at https://launch.amsat.org/Events

Photo: Holiday Inn Suites Phoenix Airport North

Rooms for the 43rd AMSAT Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting have been going fast but more are now available. At an affordable price of $140 per night plus tax, these rooms will go fast. More information of room reservations can be found at: https://www.amsat.org/43rd-amsat-space-symposium-and-annual-general-meeting/

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 paper or presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 8 for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings. Proposals for presentations at the Symposium do not require a paper. Presentations will be recorded and made available on AMSAT’s YouTube Channel and transcribed and published with its slides in the Proceedings. Proposals should be sent to Frank Karnauskas, N1UW via f.karnauskas [at] amsat.org

Liam Cheney (Photo: Footstep Aerospace)

Keynote speaker at the Symposium will be Liam Cheney, an aerospace consultant and founder of Footstep Aerospace by AG3, LLC. Mr. Cheney supports mission integration, strategy, and business development for the space industry. He holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, is a certified Project Management Professional, and a member of AMSAT.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]


NASA Satellite That Scientists and Farmers Rely On May Be Destroyed On Purpose

The Trump administration has asked NASA employees to draw up plans to end at least two major satellite missions, according to current and former NASA staffers. If the plans are carried out, one of the missions would be permanently terminated, because the satellite would burn up in the atmosphere.

The data the two missions collect is widely used, including by scientists, oil and gas companies and farmers who need detailed information about carbon dioxide and crop health. They are the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor planet-warming greenhouse gases.

It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions. The equipment in space is state of the art and is expected to function for many more years, according to scientists who worked on the missions. An official review by NASA in 2023 found that “the data are of exceptionally high quality” and recommended continuing the mission for at least three years.

Both missions, known as the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, measure carbon dioxide and plant growth around the globe. They use identical measurement devices, but one device is attached to a stand-alone satellite while the other is attached to the International Space Station. The standalone satellite would burn up in the atmosphere if NASA pursued plans to terminate the mission.

Presidential budget proposals are wish lists that often bear little resemblance to final congressional budgets. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions have already received funding from Congress through the end of the 2025 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Draft budgets that Congress is currently considering for next year keep NASA funding basically flat. But it’s not clear whether these specific missions will receive funding again, or if Congress will pass a budget before current funding expires on Sept. 30.

Last week, NASA announced it will consider proposals from private companies and universities that are willing to take on the cost of maintaining the device that is attached to the International Space Station, as well as another device that measures ozone in the atmosphere.

The missions are called Orbiting Carbon Observatories because they were originally designed to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But soon after they launched, scientists realized that they were also accidentally measuring plant growth on Earth.

Basically, when plants are growing, photosynthesis is happening in their cells. And that photosynthesis gives off a very specific wavelength of light. The OCO instruments in space measure that light all over the planet.

“NASA and others have turned this happy accident into an incredibly valuable set of maps of plant photosynthesis around the world,” explains Scott Denning, a longtime climate scientist at Colorado State University who worked on the OCO missions and is now retired. “Lo and behold, we also get these lovely, high resolution maps of plant growth,” he says. “And that’s useful to farmers, useful to rangeland and grazing and drought monitoring and forest mapping and all kinds of things, in addition to the CO2 measurements.”

The cost of maintaining the two OCO satellite missions up in space is a small fraction of the amount of money taxpayers already spent to design and launch the instruments. The two missions cost about $750 million to design, build and launch, according to David Crisp, a retired NASA scientist.

By comparison, maintaining both OCO missions in orbit costs about $15 million per year, Crisp says. That money covers the cost of downloading the data, maintaining a network of calibration sensors on the ground and making sure the stand-alone satellite isn’t hit by space debris, according to Crisp.

“Just from an economic standpoint, it makes no economic sense to terminate NASA missions that are returning incredibly valuable data,” Crisp says.

[ANS thanks National Public Radio for the above information. Read the complete article at https://www.npr.org/2025/08/04/nx-s1-5453731/nasa-carbon-dioxide-satellite-mission-threatened]


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


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for August 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 daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

With HamTV becoming active on ISS, orbital elements are now updated twice daily in http://www.amsat.org/tle/ at 00:18 and 12:18 UTC. The intention is to have high quality TLE available to accurately calculate doppler shift for the 2.935 GHz downlink. Observations comparing these TLE to those that were caclulated based ephemerides and TLE produced by Johnson Space Center the last time HAMTV was active are desired, write jfitzgerald [at] amsat.org

Assignments to some of the Tevel2 satellites have been updated to match object numbers.

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s distribution:
CSIM NORAD Cat ID 43793 Decayed from orbit on or about 09 August 2025

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information]


AMSAT Remove Before Flight Key Tags Now Available


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Includes First Class Postage (Sorry – U.S. Addresses Only)
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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.

COMPLETED
N. Sultanov International Aerospace School, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, direct via RC4P
The ISS callsign was RSØISS
The crewmember was Sergey Ryzhikov
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR
Contact was successful for Mon 2025-08-11 07:51 UTC
Congratulations to the N. Sultanov International Aerospace School students, Sergey, mentor RV3DR, and ground station RC4P!

UPCOMING
Youngsters On The Air, Jambville, France, Direct via FX5YOTA
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Mike Fincke KE5AIT
The ARISS mentor is F6ICS
Contact is go for: Tue 2025-08-19 09:18:53 UTC 82 deg
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MARkTcR6Njo

NixderStelar (formerly Gemini-1), Lima, Peru, telebridge via VK4KHZ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Zena Cardman KJ5CMN
The ARISS mentor is VE6JBJ
Contact is go for: Wed 2025-08-20 14:08:05 UTC 81 deg

The crossband repeater continues to be ACTIVE (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). 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 packet system is also ACTIVE (145.825 MHz up & down).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Next expected outage: Ham TV (2395.00 MHz down) will power down on Monday 18 August at 14:15 UTC and power up on Wednesday 20 August at approximately 12:35 UTC.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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 Ambassador Activities

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 News Logo

August 16-17, 2025
Huntsville Hamfest 2025
Von Braun Center South Hall
700 Monroe St. SW
Huntsville, AL 35801
https://hamfest.org/
N8DEU, WD4ASW, KE4AL, W4FCL

August 21-24, 2025
Northeast HamXposition (HamX) & New England ARRL Convention
Best Western Royal Plaza & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
http://www.HamX.org
W1EME, WD4ASW, WB1FJ

September 6, 2025
Greater Louisville Hamfest
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
395 Paroquet Springs Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165
https://louisvillehamfest.wixsite.com/louisvillehamfest
W4FCL

October 11, 2025
North Star Radio Convention
Hennepin Technical College
9000 Brooklyn Boulevard
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
https://northstarradio.org/
ADØHJ

October 16, 17, 18, 19, 2025
AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting and 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North
1515 North 44th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
Details at https://www.amsat.org/2025-symposium/

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ AMSAT-Deutschland will host the Bochum Space Days event from September 19 to 21, 2025. In cooperation with the Bochum Observatory, AMSAT-Deutschland e.V. is offering a varied and informative program aimed at AMSAT members and all space enthusiasts. The focus is on current developments and future prospects for national and international amateur radio satellites and other space projects. Lectures, presentations and exciting discussions will provide participants with valuable insights into the latest technologies, missions and research projects in space travel. See https://amsat-dl.org/en/save-the-date-bochum-space-days-2025/ for details. (ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.)

+ If you happen to read Japanese, the latest JAMSAT Newsletter No.318 includes JAMSAT’s next Transponder Board Project “Blueberry JAM,” as well as an invitation to HamFair2025 in Tokyo next weekend. See it at https://bit.ly/43kOW7v (ANS thanks Mikio Mouri, JA3GEP, JAMSAT Newsletter Editor, for the above information.)

+ The September 2025 issue of QST Magazine contains a review of the Halibut Electronics EggNOGS Antenna. The reviewer recommends this low-cost “eggbeater” antenna array primarily for receiving in unattended operations, such as weather satellite and SatNOGS ground stations. However, the kit has options for low power uplink transmissions, as well. The detailed review appears on pages 45-49 of the magazine, or see https://electronics.halibut.com/ for the manufacturer’s website. (ANS thanks QST Magazine for the above information.)

+ NASA Astronaut James A. Lovell (Captain, USN, Ret.), veteran of the Gemini VII, Gemini XII, and Apollo 8 missions before becoming the Mission Commander for the nearly disastrous Apollo 13 mission to the Moon, died August 7 at the age of 97. Lovell joined NASA in 1962 as part of its second group of astronauts. He was selected as backup commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, and would have been the fifth human to walk on the moon, had it not been for the Apollo 13 “problem.” (ANS thanks NASA for the above information.)

+ SpaceX is now offering Starship flights to Mars, with Italy signing up as the first customer to send payloads. However, there is no announced start date for providing the service. (ANS thank The Orbital Index for the above information.)

+ Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have found strong evidence of a giant planet orbiting a star in the stellar system closest to our own Sun. At just four light-years away from Earth, the Alpha Centauri triple star system has long been a compelling target in the search for worlds beyond our solar system. If confirmed, the planet would be the closest to Earth that orbits in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. However, because the planet candidate is a gas giant, scientists say it would not support life as we know it. (ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information.)

+ A newly released report states that in 2023, LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory at CalTech, detected the most massive black hole merger yet, in which rapidly spinning black holes with masses of roughly 100 M☉ and 140 M☉ (M☉= 1 solar mass) merged to form a 225 M☉ black hole. Notice that 100 + 140 = 240 M☉, but the final object weighs a meager 225 Suns, meaning that 15 M☉ were converted directly into gravitational energy in this event, totaling 3 x 1048 Joules —- more energy than the combined stellar output of every star in the visible universe in that moment! (ANS thanks The Orbital Index 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, KØJM
mjohns [at] amsat.org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002

ANS-222 AMSAT News Service Bulletins

In this edition:

* NASA Curtails CSLI Program – GOLF Launches Cut
* 2025 AMSAT Symposium Keynote Speaker Announced
* AMSAT Symposium Call for Papers & Presentations
* Symposium Hotel Rooms Added
* NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Mission Ends in Disappointment
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* ISS Crew Expands to Eleven
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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/


NASA Curtails CSLI Program – GOLF Launches Cut

Jerry Buxton, NØJY, AMSAT VP-Engineering received letters from NASA dated July 12, 2025 announcing changes to the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) program.

The letters stated, in part, that as a result of the President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, the reduction and realignment of personnel, NASA has fewer resources available to maintain the program as it is currently operating.

Based on these program uncertainties, NASA said they have made the difficult decision to discontinue its cooperative work on those missions where launch services have not been manifested. AMSAT’s GOLF-TEE and the GOLF-1 missions are among those that have not been manifested, meaning they have not yet been scheduled for a particular launch.

As such, NASA said they will not be able to provide launch opportunities for either of the GOLF missions and there is no expectation that circumstances will change.

Upon receiving this news, Buxton brought the matter to the attention of the AMSAT Board of Directors and its Executive Committee who met on August 5th.

The Board of Directors and committee members unanimously supported continuation of the final development of the GOLF-TEE mission which is expected to be flight-ready in 2026.

Knowing that being accepted to the CSLI program does not actually guarantee a government funded launch, AMSAT engineering and operations officials have maintained long-standing relationships with private integrators and launch services. In past years it might have taken years to schedule a ride on a non-government launch. But, in today’s competitive market among commercial integrators and launch services, rides for CubeSats can be secured in a matter of months.

The Board of Directors and Executive Committee were emphatic that, despite the loss of a government funded launch, the GOLF-TEE mission should be completed on schedule and will be launched with the resources on hand.

Still, the final chapter on this development has not been written. NASA states that the CSLI Panel is planning to reconvene in the Spring of 2026 to reassess program challenges and opportunities.

In concluding his report, Buxton noted that changes in the CSLI program do not affect the timetable for the Fox-Plus satellites since they were never considered for the CSLI program.

The AMSAT Board of Directors will take further action to ensure the timely launch of its satellite projects at its annual Board of Directors meeting on October 16-17 immediately prior to the AMSAT 43rd Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting being held in Phoenix, Arizona.

[ANS thank Jerry Buxton, NØJY, AMSAT VP-Engineering, for the above information.]


Your 2025 AMSAT President’s Club Coin Is Waiting!
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.

2025 PC Coin Set

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/


2025 AMSAT Symposium Keynote Speaker Announced

AMSAT has announced that Liam Cheney, an aerospace consultant and founder of Footstep Aerospace by AG3, LLC will be the keynote speaker at the 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting to be held on October 16-19, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Liam Cheney (Photo: Footstep Aerospace)

In his capacity as an aerospace consultant Mr. Cheney supports mission integration, strategy, and business development for the space industry.

Over the past decade, he has contributed to the successful launch and deployment of numerous CubeSat missions, including many flown through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI), where he previously served as a Mission Manager. He has helped launch multiple AMSAT-supported missions during his time at NASA, Tyvak, and SRI International. Liam also served as the launch services Mission Manager for PREFIRE, which launched in 2024 on back-to-back Rocket Lab Electron flights to study polar heat loss and improve climate modeling.

He holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he authored a thesis on safety standards for CubeSat propulsion systems and contributed to the university’s CubeSat Program. Liam is a certified Project Management Professional and a member of AMSAT. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and two children and enjoys astrophotography and craft coffee.

Information on Symposium registration and hotel reservations can be found at:
https://www.amsat.org/43rd-amsat-space-symposium-and-annual-general-meeting/

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]


Need new satellite antennas?


Purchase 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/


AMSAT Symposium Call for Papers & Presentations

Registrations & room reservations are now available for the 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting to be held Thursday, October 16 to Sunday, October 19 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North, 1515 North 44th Street Phoenix, AZ.

Early Bird registration remains available until September 15 at https://launch.amsat.org/Events

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 paper or presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 8th for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings.

Proposals for presentations at the Symposium do not require a paper. Presentations will be recorded and made available on AMSAT’s YouTube Channel and transcribed and published with its slides in the Proceedings.

Proposals should be sent to Frank Karnauskas, N1UW via f.karnauskas [at] amsat.org

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]


Symposium Hotel Rooms Added

If you tried to make a hotel reservation for the 2025 AMSAT symposium and found yourself left out – Good news – More rooms have been added!

Rooms for the 43rd AMSAT Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting have been going fast but more are now available. At an affordable price of $140 per night plus tax, these rooms will go fast.

All rooms at the Holiday Inn and Suites Airport North are two-room suites with a choice of 1 King bed or 2 Queen beds.

 

Credit: Holiday Inn Suites Phoenix Airport North

In addition to a free airport shuttle and free parking, the hotel offers free Wi-Fi; a fitness area; an outdoor pool and hot tub in a large, lovely palm-shaded courtyard; and free hot breakfast for all guests! During the day, It’s a great setting for spouses to relax while you’re enjoying Symposium presentations. In the evening, it’s the perfect way to relax and enjoy a beverage or snack under the stars in Phoenix.

More information on room reservations can be found at:
https://www.amsat.org/43rd-amsat-space-symposium-and-annual-general-meeting/

[ANS thanks AMSAT 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


NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Mission Ends in Disappointment

The Lunar Trailblazer mission to the moon officially ended on July 31, but it wasn’t a complete journey. NASA said on August 4 that its teams lost contact with the satellite shortly after its launch on February 26.

(Photo credit: NASA)

The NASA satellite was part of the IM-2 mission by Intuitive Machines, which launched from Kennedy Space Center. The Lunar Trailblazer successfully separated from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as planned about 48 minutes after launch. Operators in Pasadena, CA established communication with the satellite, but two-way communication was lost the next day and the team was unable to recover the connection. From the limited data ground teams received before the satellite went dark, the craft’s solar arrays were not correctly positioned toward the sun, which caused its batteries to drain.

[ANS thanks Engadget for the above information. See the complete story at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-lunar-trailblazer-mission-ends-in-disappointment-201318932.html]


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for August 8

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 daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

With HamTV becoming active on ISS, orbital elements are now updated twice daily at 00:18 and 12:18 UTC.

Assignments to some of the Tevel2 satellites have been updated to match object numbers.

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s distribution:
Foresail-1 NORAD Cat ID 52766 Decayed from orbit on or about 25 June 2025

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information]


AMSAT Remove Before Flight Key Tags Now Available
Yes, These are the Real Thing!

Your $20 Donation Goes to Help Fly a Fox-Plus Satellite
Includes First Class Postage (Sorry – U.S. Addresses Only)
Order Today at https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain


ISS Crew Expands to Eleven

Four new crew members are adjusting to life on the International Space Station and gearing up for several months of microgravity research to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. Meanwhile, another quartet that has been orbiting Earth since March is packing up and handing over responsibilities to the new crew before returning to Earth this week.

Expedition 73 expanded to eleven individuals on Saturday, August 2, when NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission docked to the orbital outpost aboard the Dragon spacecraft after launching from Florida about 15 hours earlier. Crew 11’s Commander and Pilot, Zena Cardman, KJ5CMN, and Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, both from NASA, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH, from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos spent the weekend unpacking their Dragon spacecraft, reviewing safety procedures, and getting familiar with space station systems.


Expedition 73 welcomes NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission aboard the International Space Station. In the front from left are, Crew-11 members Oleg Platonov, Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, Zena Cardman, KJ5CMN, and Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH. In the back are, Expedition 73 members Takuya Onishi, KF5LKS, Kirill Peskov, Alexey Zubritsky, Sergey Ryzhikov, Jonny Kim, KJ5HKP, Nichole Ayers, KJ5GWI, and Anne McClain. (Photo credit: Nichole Ayers @Astro_Ayers and NASA)

The crew is well trained for its space research program and will soon begin investigating a wide variety of microgravity phenomena to gain insights only achievable in space. They will explore manufacturing high quality stem cells, alternatives to antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, cell division in plants to promote space agriculture, and more.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, KJ5GWI, along with JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, KF5LKS, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are helping their new crewmates get up to speed with living and working on the orbital lab. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 crewmates also will be going home this week aboard another Dragon spacecraft completing a five-month mission. During their stay in space, the crew studied space-caused mental and physical changes in astronauts, blood flow from the brain to the heart, future lunar navigation techniques, and more.

The homebound foursome has spent the last two weeks gathering personal items and cargo for loading inside Dragon. Over the next couple of days, Crew-10 will also pack critical research samples stowed in portable science freezers inside Dragon for retrieval and analysis back on Earth. During the final cargo-packing and scientific sample-stowing duties, the crew will also review departure procedures before entering Dragon and undocking.

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, KJ5HKP, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky will continue their mission aboard the station and conduct their complement of space research until December. The trio have been assisting with the crew swap activities as Kim helped Fincke learn to work out on the advanced resistive exercise device. Ryzhikov showed the Crew-11 foursome the location of emergency hardware and how to use NASA and Roscosmos station hardware. Zubritsky helped Peskov as he tested the lower body negative pressure suit that may counteract space-caused head and eye pressure and help crews adjust quicker to the return to Earth’s gravity.

[ANS thanks NASA 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.

N. Sultanov International Aerospace School, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Sergey Ryzhikov
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Monday 2025-08-11 07:45 UTC

The crossband repeater continues to be ACTIVE (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). 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 packet system is also ACTIVE (145.825 MHz up & down).

Ham TV is CONFIGURED for scheduled digital amateur television operations (2395.00 MHz down)

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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 Ambassador Activities

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 News Logo

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, writes: “There’s no salary. There’s no expense report to hand in to anyone. We just volunteer because we happen to really, REALLY like this aspect of this magnificent hobby. I gave my 183rd “Work the Easy Satellites” presentation last night to a great club in Minnesota. The Maple Grove Radio Club has been around almost FIFTY years – and have been an ARRL Affiliate Club almost as long. From the club president: ‘A big thanks to you Clint and Karen for the presentation tonight, it was wonderful and I appreciate you taking the time on your birthday to present to our club … I know we have a lot of members interested in satellite … I can’t wait to get more interested in working satellite, our club should probably fire up a tape measure antenna lab session to get a bunch of members making antennas and on the air.'”

August 16-17, 2025
Huntsville Hamfest 2025
Von Braun Center South Hall
700 Monroe St. SW
Huntsville, AL 35801

August 21-24, 2025
Northeast HamXposition (HamX) & New England ARRL Convention
Best Western Royal Plaza & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
http://www.HamX.org
W1EME, WD4ASW, WB1FJ

September 6, 2025
Greater Louisville Hamfest
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
395 Paroquet Springs Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165
W4FCL

October 11, 2025
North Star Radio Convention
Hennepin Technical College
9000 Brooklyn Boulevard
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
https://northstarradio.org/
ADØHJ

October 16, 17, 18, 19, 2025
AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting and 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North
1515 North 44th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
Details at https://www.amsat.org/2025-symposium/

Ambassador Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, writes: “We had a good time showing off Amateur radio satellites at the ‘Moon Day’ space themed STEM event at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field back on July 19th. They had 980 people through the doors that day. Although, I know we did not see all of them at our exhibit, those we did had a chance to see and understand who we are and what we do via the Cubesat simulator, Fox, model, visualization of satellite orbits and FM contacts.”

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Kees Van Oosbree, WØAAE and Nathan Wood, K4NHW and a variety of internet remote operators will be activating the Frying Pan Tower lighthouse (fptower.org), located 32 miles off the coast of North Carolina in gridsquare FM13fl, from August 7 to August 11. The special event callsign for this trip will be K4F/MM. The primary objective is to establish a permanent internet-connected remote station, equipped with a Flex 6400, an end-fed half-wave antenna, and an 80-meter vertical. This remote station will be used by youth operators and serve as a platform for propagation experiments in a saltwater-rich environment. K4F/MM will be active on all bands from 160 to 6 meters, as well as on satellite (both FM and linear) and terrestrial VHF (FM and SSB) throughout the duration of the trip. For information, email W0AAE at [email protected] or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fpthamradio (ANS thanks Kees Van Oosbree, WØAAE, for the above information.)

+ Ham Radio Prep is offering an online course, “Satellite and Space Operations” at an “Early Bird Special” price of $59 US if enrolled by August 15. See https://hamradioprep.com/satellite-and-space-operations/ for details. (ANS thanks Ham Radio Prep for the above information.)

+ NISAR, the $1.5B joint NASA-ISRO (the Indian Space Research Organisation) mission launched last week from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre on a GSLV rocket—becoming the first satellite collaboration for the agencies. Carrying a 12-meter-wide antenna on a 9-meter boom, NISAR will map the planet’s surface twice every 12 days with two different SAR bands: L-Band with an instrument from JPL, good at moisture, biomass, and land motion detection, and S-Band from ISRO, good at sensing changes to agriculture, grassland ecosystems, and infrastructure. Combined, these measurements will provide change detection at centimeter resolution and be invaluable for monitoring land motion (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity), ice shelves, erosion, as well as forest and wetland ecosystems. NISAR orbits in a 747 km SSO and is expected to generate 80 terabytes of data products per day. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information. See the complete article at https://orbitalindex.com/archive/2025-08-06-Issue-330/)

 


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, KØJM
mjohns [at] amsat.org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002

ANS-187 AMSAT News Service Bulletins

July 6, 2025

In this edition:

* AMSAT Field Day Submissions Now Due
* Seeking Additional Volunteers for Moon Day at Dallas Frontiers of Flight Museum
* GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers July 2025 Rankings
* VUCC Satellite Standing July 2025
* DXCC Satellite Standing July 2025
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* French Astronaut Will Take Food From Michelin-Starred Chef to ISS
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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/

 

AMSAT Field Day Submissions Now Due

Now that Field Day is over, there is one more thing you can do if you would like to participate in the scoring process for AMSAT Field Day. Email your submission sheet.

If you do not have the submission sheet, go to AMSAT.org and under EVENTS, select AMSAT Field Day. Download the rules. The Satellite Summary Sheet is at the end of the rules.

The Satellite Summary Sheet should be used for submission of the AMSAT Field Day competition and be received by KK5DO (e-mail) by 11:59 P.M. CDT, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. This year, we are using the same due date as the ARRL. The only method for submitting your log is via e-mail to kk5do [at] amsatnet.com or kk5do [at] arrl.net. No mail-in entries.

Add photographs or other interesting information that can be used in an article for The AMSAT Journal.

You will receive an e-mail back (within one or two days) your e-mail submission has been received. If you do not receive a confirmation message, then try sending it again or send it to the other e-mail address.

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, for the above information]


Your 2025 AMSAT President’s Club Coin Is Waiting!
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.

2025 PC Coin Set

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/


Seeking Additional Volunteers for Moon Day at Dallas Frontiers of Flight Museum

The 2025 Moon Day, a space-themed public STEM event, will take place on Saturday, July 19 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field in Dallas. Held each year close to the date of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the event features hands-on science exhibits and activities for all ages. Moon Day runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CDT, with setup beginning at 8:00 a.m. CDT.

AMSAT will once again be represented at the event by AMSAT Ambassador Thomas Schuessler, N5HYP, along with several North Texas satellite enthusiasts. They will engage with the public — including many young people — on topics such as satellite orbits, the International Space Station, and amateur radio in space. Exhibits will include the AMSAT Fox CubeSat engineering model and the CubeSat Simulator, and the team hopes to demonstrate a few live satellite passes during the day.

Tom is seeking additional AMSAT volunteers from the North Texas area to help staff the exhibit table. The AMSAT booth will be located next to the Dallas Amateur Radio Club exhibit, providing opportunities for great conversations with fellow hams as well as curious families. Volunteers receive free museum admission and lunch. Anyone interested in helping for part or the entire day is encouraged to email Tom at n5hyp [at] arrl [dot] net.

Col. Carl E. Walz (USAF, Ret.) ex-KC5TIE and former NASA Astronaut will be the keynote speaker for Moon Day 2025 (Photo credit: NASA)

More information about the event is available at: https://flightmuseum.com/events/moonday

[ANS thanks Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, AMSAT Ambassador, for the above information]


Need new satellite antennas?

Purchase 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/


GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers July 2025 Rankings

The July 2025 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr in order to provide more accurate data.

Updated: 2025-06-28

1 ND9M 26 KX9X 51 K7TAB 76 HB9GWJ
2 NJ7H 27 DJ8MS 52 PR8KW 77 N4UFO
3 JA9KRO 28 KG5CCI 53 XE1ET 78 PT2AP
4 UT1FG 29 ON4AUC 54 W7WGC 79 AA8CH
5 N5UC 30 N5BO 55 EB1AO 80 VE1VOX
6 DL6AP 31 K8BL 56 DF2ET 81 PT9BM
7 OE3SEU 32 KE4AL 57 N6DNM 82 FG8OJ
8 DP0POL 33 KB5FHK 58 EA4NF 83 YU0W
9 F5VMJ 34 PA3GAN 59 LU4JVE 84 N6UTC
10 WI7P 35 JO2ASQ 60 SM3NRY 85 AF5CC
11 K5ZM 36 F4BKV 61 KI7QEK 86 KI7UXT
12 LU5ILA 37 VE3HLS 62 AA5PK 87 JM1CAX
13 N6UA 38 KI0KB 63 W1AW 88 KJ7NDY
14 W5PFG 39 VA3VGR 64 F4DXV 89 PS8BR
15 N9IP 40 KI7UNJ 65 DL4EA 90 N4DCW
16 WY7AA 41 HJ5LVR 66 KE9AJ 91 WA9JBQ
17 HA3FOK 42 LA9XGA 67 AD7DB 92 KG4AKV
18 AK8CW 43 N7AGF 68 VE1CWJ 93 W8MTB
19 DL2GRC 44 VK5DG 69 BG7QIW 94 KB2YSI
20 AD0DX 45 JL3RNZ 70 W8LR 95 K0FFY
21 N4AKV 46 XE3DX 71 SP5XSD 96 VE3GOP
22 BA1PK 47 KE0WPA 72 M1DDD 97 N0TEL
23 AD0HJ 48 AC0RA 73 N8RO 98 DK9JC
24 WD9EWK 49 KE0PBR 74 VA7LM 99 K6VHF
25 ND0C 50 JK2XXK 75 KM4LAO 100 VE7PTN

[ANS thanks @GridMasterMap for the above information]


VUCC Satellite Standing July 2025

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for June 01, 2025 to July 01, 2025.

KO4MA 2000 2100
DL5GAC 1576 1745
DF2ET 1602 1700
W5CBF 1326 1554
AA5PK 1524 1525
K8TL 1016 1017
4J6D 150 1000
W8LR 905 910
VE7PTN 635 794
N8MR 775 783
W6ZQ 560 561
JG2TSL 157 516
K6VHF 376 401
N8HRZ 337 343
JE2UFF 280 334
SP7JS 253 300
YL2KF New 283
EA4DEI 150 200
OH3DP 150 176
NK0S 169 170
N9BX 125 163
KC7WXD New 133
XE2YWH(DL82-DL92) New 119
WB5TX 101 110
KB4YKC 100 108
K4XP 101 102
BI1OEU New 100
EA1FWI New 100

Congratulations to the new VUCC Satellite holders!

YL2KF is first VUCC Satellite holder from Latvia and KO27
EA1FWI is first VUCC Satellite holder from IN72

[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information]


DXCC Satellite Standing July 2025

DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for June 01, 2025 to July 01, 2025.

IW1FZR 154 184
YO2CMI 180 184
HB9RYZ 163 164
EA2AA 160 161
IK4DRY 144 150
W5CBF 130 143
DL2MIH 132 141
EA1N 114 139
DL2QB 120 136
IK0WMJ 128 131
IK7FMQ 128 130
LA0FA 117 128
W8LR 112 114
I4DOR New 101
KP3V New 100

KP3V is first DXCC Satellite holder from FK78

[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, 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


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 4

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 daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution.

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information]


French Astronaut Will Take Food From Michelin-Starred Chef to ISS

French cuisine has a reputation for being among the world’s best. So what’s a French astronaut do to when faced with the prospect of spending months aboard the International Space Station eating freeze-dried food straight from the packaging?

Recruit a Michelin-starred chef to reimagine French classics like foie gras and lobster bisque was the answer for Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, who is due to undertake her first space mission in 2026.


Chef Anne-Sophie Pic and astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, at a tasting in Paris. (Photo: Groupe Pic and ESA)

The meals designed by Anne-Sophie Pic will make up the “bonus food” taken to the ISS during Adenot’s εpsilon mission, the European Space Agency said in a statement Tuesday, July 1.

Food in space is typically freeze-dried and comes in plastic packaging from a list of preapproved items, the ESA said. Fruit and vegetables are a rare luxury that are available only when a spacecraft arrives with supplies.

Astronauts, however, are able to have specially catered “bonus food” that makes up about 10 percent of what they eat. This is usually developed in partnership with a chef, and astronauts say it boosts mental well-being, adds variety and helps them bond with fellow crew members when shared in orbit, according to the ESA.

See the full article at https://wapo.st/4lyxEKj

[ANS thanks The Washington Post 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.

ARISS News

RECENTLY COMPLETED
Axiom 4 group 1 telebridge via K6DUE
Hungarian Scout Association, Budapest, Hungary
Debrecen – Bánki Reformed Primary School, Technical College and Vocational Training School, Debrecen, Hungary
Mezőberényi Petőfi Sándor Evangélikus Gimnázium, Kollégium és Általános Iskola, Mezöberény, Hungary
Budapesti Műszaki Szakképzési Centrum Puskás Tivadar Távközlési és Informatikai Technikum, Puskás Radio Amateur Club – HA5KHC, HA5KBF, Budapest, Hungary
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS
The crewmember was Tibor Kapu, HA5TRO
The ARISS mentor is ON6TI
Contact was successful: Thu 2025-07-03 11:05:59 UTC 50 degrees elevation

Axiom 4 group 4 telebridge via K6DUE
University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS
The crewmember was Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, SQ7AS
The ARISS mentor is K4RGK
Contact was successful: Fri 2025-07-04 08:41:36 UTC 16 degrees elevation
Congratulations to the Axiom 4 group 4 school, Sławosz, mentor K4RGK, and telebridge station K6DUE!
Congratulations to Sławosz for his first ever ARISS contact!
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FATPwoNf_zg

Axiom 4 group 5 telebridge via K6DUE
UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Dept. of Space, Govt. of India, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS
The crewmember was Shubhanshu Shukla, VU2TNI
The ARISS mentor is AA6TB
Contact was successful: Fri 2025-07-04 10:17:10 UTC 86 degrees elevation
Congratulations to the Axiom 4 group 5 students, Shubhanshu, mentor AA6TB, and telebridge station K6DUE!
Congratulations to Shubhanshu for his first ever ARISS contact!

Axiom 4 group 3 telebridge via K6DUE
Rzeszow University of Technology, Rzeszow Poland
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS
The crewmember was Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, SQ7AS
The ARISS mentor is K4RGK
Contact was successful: Sat 2025-07-05 09:28:23 UTC 48 degrees elevation
Congratulations to the Axiom 4 group 3 students, Sławosz, mentor K4RGK, and telebridge station K6DUE!
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1I8YF1mGJc

UPCOMING
Axiom 4 group 6 telebridge via K6DUE
North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Dept. of Space, Govt. of India, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Shubhanshu Shukla, VU2TNI
The ARISS mentor is AA6TB
Contact is go for: Tue 2025-07-08 08:38:31 UTC 77 degrees elevation

Axiom 4 group 2 telebridge via K6DUE
MOBILIS Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft., Győr, Hungary
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Tibor Kapu, HA5TRO
The ARISS mentor is ON6TI
Contact is go for: Wed 2025-07-09 07:49:40 UTC 43 degrees elevation

The crossband repeater continues to be active [except for Progress Ops July 5 & 6](145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). 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 packet system is also active [except for Progress Ops July 5 & 6](145.825 MHz up & down).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. Powering off for Progress Ops on 7/5 OFF 15:50 UTC; ON 7/6 10:05 UTC. 

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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 Ambassador Activities

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

August 21-24, 2025
Northeast HamXposition (HamX) & New England ARRL Convention
Best Western Royal Plaza & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
http://www.HamX.org
W1EME, WD4ASW, WB1FJ

September 6, 2025
Greater Louisville Hamfest
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
395 Paroquet Springs Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165
W4FCL

October 16, 17, 18, 19, 2025
AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting and 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North
1515 North 44th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
Details at https://www.amsat.org/2025-symposium/

W4FCL is with WA4VOC at BARS Field Day (KC3WNX photo)

Interested in becoming an AMSAT Ambassador? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. For more information go to: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ ARRL’s Logbook of the World (LoTW) was returned to service at 1400z on Wednesday, July 2, with upgraded servers. LoTW is a web-accessed database and repository that enables radio amateurs to submit electronic logs for amateur radio contacts (QSOs) and for confirmation (QSLs). Users can view submitted QSOs and resulting QSLs online. Radio amateurs can use LoTW to track their progress toward achievements and awards, such as Worked All States, DXCC, VUCC. It is also used to verify AMSAT awards such as Gridmaster. It is used by the vast majority of satellite operators. ARRL is soliciting donations through the ARRL website to support the maintenance and expansion of LoTW. (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information.)

AMSAT South Africa (AMSAT SA) has announced that the 2025 Space Symposium will be held on Saturday 2 August 2025 from 08:00 UTC – 14:00 UTC and has issued a call for papers. The theme of the symposium is “Embracing 68 years of space science and innovation in Amateur Radio.” Papers are invited covering all aspects of space science and communication impacting and enhancing the Amateur Radio experience, from the technical to operational aspects. Presentations are typically 30 minutes a with a 10-minute Q&A. Send proposals in MS Word to admin [at] amsatsa.org.za by 7 July 2025. To enable as widest as possible audience to participate, this symposium will be held online on the Webex platform. Members of all AMSAT organisations and national societies may attend free upon registration, which open on 9 July 2025. Email admin [at] amsatsa.org.za for details. (ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information.)

+ SpaceX launched its 500th Falcon 9 rocket to date with an overnight Starlink flight on Wednesday, July 2. The first stage booster used on the mission also flew for a record-setting 29th time. The mission, dubbed Starlink 10-25, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 0628 UTC. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ completing the 472nd booster landing to date. (ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information.)

+ MethaneSAT, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) methane-tracking satellite backed by the Bezos Earth Fund, is lost in space. Its ground team lost contact with the spacecraft on June 20 but tried to reestablish a connection until it learned in the morning of July 1 that MethaneSAT had lost power altogether. The team believes that the satellite is likely not recoverable. MethaneSAT collected data on methane emissions that have previously been untrackable in an effort to combat climate change. Methane is the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, with agriculture, fossil fuels and waste decomposition being the largest sources. (ANS thanks Engadget for the above information.)

+ EUMETSAT’s Meteosat-12 satellite, formerly Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Imager 1, has now taken over from Meteosat-10 to deliver Europe’s prime weather data service from GEO. Meteosat-12 is the first imaging satellite in the MTG program and now moves into its key position above the equator at 0° longitude, directly over the Gulf of Guinea. Meteosat-12 is now the main source of near-real-time geostationary satellite data for Europe, Africa and the surrounding oceans. (ANS thanks satnews for the above information.)

+ A newly discovered interstellar object is only the third such interloper to be observed in our solar system. The object — provisionally known as A11pl3Z — is not expected to pose an impact risk to Earth, but gained attention on Tuesday, July 1, when it was spotted by telescopes for NASA’s early warning system for asteroid impacts. Speeding through our solar system at about 245,000 kilometers per hour relative to the sun, it is currently located just inside the orbit of Jupiter, 528 million kilometers from Earth. It’s uncertain at this time if the object — which will get a new name when it is approved and published by the Minor Planet Center — is a comet or asteroid, but the observations so far have helped track the object’s journey, indicating it likely came from outside of the solar system from a thin galactic disk. (ANS thanks The Washington Post 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, KØJM
mjohns [at] amsat.org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002

ANS-173 AMSAT News Service Bulletins

AMSAT News Service
ANS-173
June 22, 2025

In this edition:

* Hamsat to Test New Super-Black Paint That Could Fix Satellite Light Pollution
* AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites
* The Legacy of AMSAT Flight Software – Part 2
* NASA Science Missions Could Be Cut In 2026 Budget
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* SpaceX to Launch Fourth Commercial Axiom Mission to the Space Station
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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/

Hamsat to Test New Super-Black Paint That Could Fix Satellite Light Pollution

AMSAT-UK is delighted to have been able to accept an opportunity to provide a FUNcube Lite payload, with a mode U/V FM transponder, for the exciting Jovian-1 satellite. This 6U CubeSat is being designed and built by Space South Central which is the largest regional space cluster in the UK.

This is a partnership between industry and academia, designed to accelerate space business growth, grow the reputation of the south central region of the UK and foster an environment of innovation.

A collaboration between the universities of Surrey, Portsmouth and Southampton, JUPITER – the Joint Universities Programme for In-Orbit Training, Education and Research – will equip participants with invaluable hands-on space industry experience and training for their future careers.

The FUNcube Lite payload from AMSAT-UK will collect and send telemetry from Jovian-1 sub-systems for educational outreach to schools and colleges, using the tried and tested FUNcube data format. Telemetry will include data from the payload’s own radiation sensor, along with GPS information gathered from the satellite’s CAN bus.

These data can be used to map radiation throughout the orbit, identifying planetary radiation ‘hotspots’ such as the polar regions and the South Atlantic Anomaly. It will also give an accurate measure of how much radiation reaches the sensitive electronics within the satellite.

While Jovian-1 and its ground station at Surrey University will use commercial S and X band for primary communication, FUNcube Lite will use frequencies in the amateur UHF and VHF spectrum. When not sending telemetry, the payload can be configured as a mode U/V FM voice transponder for amateurs to use for international communications.

(Photo Credit: JUPITER)

In addition, Jovian-1 will be a testbed for a new technology to reduce the impact of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites on astronomy.

A new partnership between Surrey NanoSystems and the University of Surrey is aiming to tackle what has become a major concern for astronomers worldwide.

They are working on using Surrey NanoSystems’s newest product, Vantablack 310, which is a super-black coating. When Vantablack 310 is applied to a surface, it reflects only 2% of incoming light, meaning it absorbs the remaining 98%.

This high level of light absorption makes the coated surfaces appear extremely dark, helping to minimise the unwanted brightness from satellites that can disrupt the work of stargazers.

More than 8,000 LEO satellites already orbit Earth, and projections estimate a rise to 60,000 by 2030, partly driven by the development of mega-constellations.

Starlink satellites are featured in this file photo (Dec. 2024) taken by NASA astronaut Don Pettit from the International Space Station (ISS). (Photo credit: Don Pettit/NASA via SWNS and Talker.com)

To combat this problem, satellite operators have begun experimenting with mitigation strategies, including dark coatings and changes to satellite position, though the negative impact on ground-based measurement persists.

Surrey NanoSystems, with a heritage in ultra-black technologies, says their new solution, Vantablack 310, is a handleable, customer-applied coating, resistant to the challenging LEO environment.

The technology will have its first on-orbit trial on the Jovian-1 mission, scheduled to launch in 2026. One side of the cubesat will be coated with the material so that reflection and temperature measurements can be compared.

More information will be provided at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium taking place during the weekend of October 11-12, 2025 in Milton Keynes, UK. https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, Space South Central, and Talker.com for the above information]


Your 2025 AMSAT President’s Club Coin Is Waiting!
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.

2025 PC Coin Set

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/


AMSAT Field Day 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 27-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2025 the event takes place from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 28, 2025 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 29, 2025. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 28 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.

2025 ARRL Field Day logo (Credit: ARRL)

This year should be as much fun 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/amateur-satellite-index 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/live-fm-satellites/ 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, PO-101, SO-124, SONATE-2 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 AO-7, RS-44, AO-73, JO-97 and MO-122. 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.

THE 2025 AMSAT FIELD DAY RULES:

The AMSAT Field Day 2025 event is open to all Amateur Radio operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of all amateur satellites, both analog and digital. Note that no points will be credited for any contacts beyond the ONE allowed via each single-channel FM satellite. Operators are encouraged not to make any extra contacts via theses satellites (Ex: SO-50). CW contacts and digital contacts are worth three points as outlined below.

Analog Transponders:

ARRL rules apply, except:

  • Each phone, CW, and digital segment ON EACH SATELLITE TRANSPONDER is considered to be a separate band.
  • CW and digital (RTTY, PSK-31, etc.) contacts count THREE points each.
  • Stations may only count one (1) completed QSO on any single channel FM satellite. If a satellite has multiple modes such as V/u and L/s modes both turned on, one contact each is allowed. If the PBBS is on – see Pacsats below, ISS (1 phone and 1 digital), Contacts with the ISS crew will count for one contact if they are active. PCSat (I, II, etc.) (1 digital).
  • The use of more than one transmitter at the same time on a single satellite transponder is prohibited.

Digital Transponders:

We have only APRS digipeaters and 10m to 70cm PSK transponders (see Bob Bruninga’s article in the March/April, 2016 issue of The AMSAT Journal).

Satellite digipeat QSO’s and APRS short-message contacts are worth three points each, but must be complete verified two-way exchanges. The one contact per FM satellite rule is not applied to digital transponders.

The use of terrestrial gateway stations or internet gateways (i.e. EchoLink, IRLP, etc.) to uplink/downlink is not allowed.

For the Pacsats (FalconSat-3) or ‘Store and Forward’ hamsats, each satellite is considered a separate band. Do not post “CQ” messages. Simply upload ONE greeting message to each satellite and download as many greeting messages as possible from each satellite. The subject of the uploaded file should be posted as Field Day Greetings, addressed to ALL. The purpose of this portion of the competition is to demonstrate digital satellite communications to other Field Day participants and observers. Do not reply to the Field Day Greetings addressed to ALL.

The following uploads and downloads count as three-point digital contacts.

Upload of a satellite Field Day Greetings file (one per satellite).
Download of Satellite Field Day Greetings files posted by other stations. Downloads of non-Field Day files or messages not addressed to ALL are not to be counted for the event. Save DIR listings and message files for later “proof of contact.”

Please note AMSAT uploaded messages do not count for QSO points under the ARRL rules.

Sample Satellite Field Day Greetings File:

Greetings from W5MSQ Field Day Satellite station near Katy, Texas, EL-29, with 20 participants, operating class 2A, in the AMSAT-Houston group with the Houston Amateur Television Society and the Houston QRP club. All the best and 73!

Note that the message stated the call, name of the group, operating class, where they were located (the grid square would be helpful) and how many operators were in attendance.

Operating Class:

Stations operating portable and using emergency power (as per ARRL Field Day rules) are in a separate operating class from those at home connected to commercial power. On the report form simply list Emergency or Commercial for the Power Source and be sure to specify your ARRL operating class (2A, 1C, etc.) and ARRL section.

AND FINALLY…

The Satellite Summary Sheet should be used for submission of the AMSAT Field Day competition and be received by KK5DO (e-mail) by 11:59 P.M. CDT, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. This year, we are using the same due date as the ARRL. The only method for submitting your log is via e-mail to kk5do at amsatnet dot com or kk5do at arrl dot net. No mail-in entries.

Add photographs or other interesting information that can be used in an article for the Journal.

You will receive an e-mail back (within one or two days) from me when I receive your e-mail submission. If you do not receive a confirmation message, then I have not received your submission. Try sending it again or send it to my other e-mail address.

Certificates will be awarded for the first-place emergency power/portable station at the AMSAT General Meeting and Space Symposium in the fall of 2025. Certificates will also be awarded to the second and third place portable/emergency operation in addition to the first-place home station running on emergency power. A station submitting high, award-winning scores will be requested to send in dupe sheets for analog contacts and message listings for digital downloads.

You may have multiple rig difficulties, antenna failures, computer glitches, generator disasters, tropical storms, and there may even be satellite problems, but the goal is to test your ability to operate in an emergency situation. Try different gear. Demonstrate satellite operations to hams that don’t even know the HAMSATS exist. Test your equipment. Avoid making more than ONE contact via the FM-only voice HAMSATS or the ISS, and enjoy the event!

Full article and downloadables available at https://www.amsat.org/field-day/

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Contest and Awards Manager, for the above information]


The Legacy of AMSAT Flight Software – Part 2

Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Senior Software Engineer spoke at the 2025 Hamvention AMSAT Forum about his involvement in the development of flight software for AMSAT satellites. In Part 2, Fisher explains that while Fox satellites are in Low Earth Orbits between approximately 500 km and 800 km altitudes, he needs to test newly added functions required for navigation and propulsion, part of AMSAT’s strategic goals involving highly elliptical orbits for wide access satellite missions.

Burns explained, “Adding to complexity is the need for fail over capability. Fail over is a backup operational mode that automatically switches to a standby system if the primary system fails. We wanted to have multiple processors that could fail over in a higher altitude radiation exposure event using processor coordination. One of the newer circuit boards we are using is the Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit (RT-IHU). It includes Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) memory that performs self-tests while in use. We are using higher-quality Automotive grade components for that purpose.”

IHU Board  – [Credit: AMSAT]

Burns explained “Each processor has two redundant cores that cross check functionality. Each redundant board has these processor chips, non-volatile memory as well as separate receiver and transmitter. There are bus switches that disconnect one processor from the main satellite bus if there’s a failure.”

He said, “The RT-IHU hasn’t flown on an AMSAT satellite. So we wanted to have something that had flight heritage for more assurance of successful operation. In addition to the RT-IHU then, we are flying the latest revision of the legacy IHU – it’s essentially the same board that flew successfully seven times. The dual IHUs are connected together on the GOLF bus. Controlling the multiple IHUs is the job of the coordination software task mentioned above.

“The RT-IHU also has a telemetry transmitter and a command receiver. Whichever processor is ‘in control’ at a particular time is responsible for collecting and transmitting telemetry as well as control satellite subsystems. All the command receivers are active at all times.”

FlatSat Desktop – [Credit: Burns Fisher]

“In the photo above, you see my software development bench covered with a “flat sat”—the satellite boards all spread out for easy access. You can see a purple Breakout Board (BoB) that Leandra Mac Lennan, AF1R built, tested and documented. It has the IHUs, transmitter and receiver boards mounted on it. The gray ribbon cable connects the BoB to a prototype Central Interface Unit (CIU). The big green board in front is the GPS evaluation board system. The GPS system is used to find out where the satellite is and get our orbital elements out of it as well as getting the exact UTC time. Toward the back is the ADAC (Attitude Determination and Control System). In this flat-sat configuration, everything is connected by jumper wires,” Burns explained.

“The BoB is a vital element of the board-level testing of satellite components. A Hamvention 2025 AMSAT forum presentation by Leandra covered the BoB in detail and will be available shortly.”

Burns continued, “The photo also shows the test equipment I use. There are two different power supplies because the actual satellite power supply will provide multiple voltages. In addition, I use an oscilloscope to help me understand the electrical signals when a data bus does not operate the way I expect. Flat-sats like this show how we develop the flight software. Not in in the photo but to the right of what you see is my Linux computer where the software is edited and compiled. The software is loaded into the flat-sat IHUs and tested, often using the console task I mentioned above.”

Burns concluded, “AMSAT software development is a continuous and increasingly complex process We want to get started writing software even before we have all the correct boards. It requires additional hours of work and as well as following the development of all of the satellite’s subsystems in order to get an idea of the software that will be required.”

[ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Senior Software Engineer for the above information.]


Need new satellite antennas?

Purchase 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/


NASA Science Missions Could Be Cut In 2026 Budget

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request, if approved by Congress, would kill many of NASA’s plans for robotic exploration of the solar system. Gone, too, would be multiple space-based missions to study Earth, the sun and the rest of the universe.

Among the planets that would get less attention are Venus, Mars and Jupiter. But the planet facing the biggest drop in scrutiny from space is our own. The Trump budget proposal calls for reducing Earth science funding by 53 percent.

Also spiked: a mission that would take a close look at Apophis, a jumbo asteroid that will pass just 20,000 miles from Earth — closer than geosynchronous satellites — on April 13, 2029.

The White House Office of Management and Budget said in its request that NASA’s current spending of more than $7 billion a year on nearly 100 science missions is “unsustainable.”

The Planetary Society, a nonprofit advocacy group for space science, estimates that 41 current or planned missions, roughly a third of NASA’s portfolio, would be terminated if the Trump budget is approved as written. Trump’s proposals would hammer the NASA workforce, triggering the loss of thousands of civil service and contractor positions.

Congress has the power of the purse, however, and could save missions targeted for termination. The Senate Commerce, Space and Transportation Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is pushing to protect much of NASA’s funding but is primarily concerned with saving existing elements of the agency’s Artemis moon program. On Thursday, the committee proposed restoring billions of dollars to a variety of NASA projects.

The full article, with a descriptive list of projects that might be cut, may be found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/06/08/nasa-budget-voyager-space/ (possible pay wall).

[ANS thanks The Washington Post 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


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for June 20

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 daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution.

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information]



SpaceX to Launch Fourth Commercial Axiom Mission to the Space Station

Axiom Space is on verge of its fourth private astronaut mission to space in as many years. The flight, dubbed Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), will see the astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary reach the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time.

The four crew members, led by Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Peggy Whitson, will embark on a roughly two-week mission to the orbiting outpost. The quartet will launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, but the launch was delayed due to a variety of issues, including an air leak on the ISS, weather, and a possible issue with the Falcon 9 booster rocket.

SpaceX had also said on Sunday, June 15, it was reviewing data from a static test firing that took place that day, suggesting there was perhaps an undisclosed technical problem. The mission was previously delayed from late May because the mission’s brand new Crew Dragon spacecraft was not ready.

The mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 4 or Ax-4, features the debut of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, tail number C213. This has been billed by SpaceX as its fifth and final Dragon capsule. SpaceX’s long-term goals are to shift its human spaceflight missions from Dragon to its Starship rocket, which it said will be capable of ferrying dozens of people into space.

A number of amateur radio contacts are among the tasks that are to be performed by the Axiom crew during their time aboard the ISS.

[ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information]


ARISS NEWS

ARISS NewsAmateurs 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.

RECENTLY COMPLETED:
Youth On The Air 2025, Denver, Colorado, direct via WØY
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Nichole Ayers, KJ5GWI
The ARISS mentor is N7GZT
Contact was successful: Thu 2025-06-19 17:32:31 UTC 48 degrees maximum elevation
Congratulations to the YOTA 2025 students, Nichole, mentor N7GZT, and ground station WØY
Watch for Livestream at https://youtube.com/live/I7JFXlzjrKc?feature=share and https://www.youtube.com/@yotaregion2/streams

UPCOMING:
A number of previously announced contacts associated with the Axiom mission are being reschedule due to the launch delay.

The crossband repeater continues to be ACTIVE (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). 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 packet system is currently OFF (145.825 MHz up & down).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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 Ambassador Activities

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

June 21, 2025
Rochester Amateur Radio Association Hamfest 2025
Barnard Fire Field
410 Maiden Lane Rochester, NY 14616
KB2YSI

August 21-24, 2025
Northeast HamXposition (HamX) & New England ARRL Convention
Best Western Royal Plaza & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
http://www.HamX.org
W1EME, WD4ASW, WB1FJ

September 6, 2025
Greater Louisville Hamfest
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
395 Paroquet Springs Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165
W4FCL

October 16, 17, 18, 19, 2025
AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting and 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North
1515 North 44th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
Details at https://www.amsat.org/2025-symposium/

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ ARRL’s Logbook of the World (LoTW) is the primary means for providing confirmations for AMSAT awards such as GridMaster, Rover, and Reverse VUCC, as well as ARRL Awards, such as VUCC, DXCC, and Worked All States. Almost all satellite operators use it. As a part of the ongoing modernization of the ARRL systems infrastructure, LoTW will be receiving major upgrades to the operating system it is running on, the relational database system it uses to store and access logbook and awards data, and server hosting, where it will be fully migrated to the cloud. These changes will, among other improvements, ensure LoTW performance needs can be better met based on user demand. LoTW will be unavailable from June 27 to July 2, 2025, to complete these upgrades. (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information.)

+ A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded in a huge fireball on a test stand late Wednesday, June 18 during preparations for its next launch. The upper stage Starship vehicle experienced a “major anomaly” before starting a test fire at around 11 p.m. local time, SpaceX said on social media. All personnel were safe and there were no hazards to the residents of nearby communities, SpaceX, a commercial space launch company, said. (ANS thanks The New York Times for the above information.)

+ Astronomers have discovered that the largest comet from the Oort Cloud, a shell of icy bodies at the very edge of the solar system, is bursting with chemical activity. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, the team discovered that C/2014 UN271, an 85-mile-wide (137 km) body around 10 times the size of the average comet and also known as Bernardinelli-Bernstein, is erupting with complex and evolving jets of carbon monoxide gas. Now located halfway between the sun and the solar system’s furthest planet, Neptune (or 16.6 times the distance between the Earth and our star), C/2014 UN271 becomes the second-most distant comet originating from the Oort Cloud that has been seen to be chemically active. Full article at http://bit.ly/4nb7W0c (ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.)

+ China’s Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 satellites had been moving toward each other in geosynchronous orbit, around 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above the equator, Spacenews reported on June 6. And now the pair appear to have had a brief first encounter, according to observations from the ground. Optical tracking by the space situational awareness firm s2a systems shows a close approach between the two on June 14, with the pair, at times, virtually unresolvable from the other. This suggests that Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 made at least a test-run close approach and may have even performed a docking and undocking test. Full article at http://bit.ly/407WHLV (ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.)

+ Honda has successfully tested an experimental reusable rocket, the company said, as it seeks to expand into the space sector. The automaker, which hopes to develop the tech prowess for a suborbital launch by 2029, conducted a test flight of its rocket on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The prototype device, around six metres (20 feet) tall, landed only 37 centimetres from its designated landing spot after the one-minute flight. (ANS thanks AFP and spacedaily.com for the above information.)

+ Astronomers have discovered a huge filament of hot gas bridging four galaxy clusters. At 10 times as massive as our galaxy, the thread could contain some of the Universe’s ‘missing’ matter, addressing a decades-long mystery. The astronomers used the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton and JAXA’s Suzaku X-ray space telescopes to make the discovery. Over one-third of the ‘normal’ matter in the local Universe – the visible stuff making up stars, planets, galaxies, life – is “missing.” It hasn’t yet been seen, but it’s needed to make our models of the cosmos work properly. While we’ve spotted filaments before, they’re typically faint, making it difficult to isolate their light from that of any galaxies, black holes, and other objects lying nearby. (ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information.)


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73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM
mjohns [at] amsat.org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002