ANS-231 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service

ANS-231
August 18, 2024

In this edition:

  • Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
  • Call for Papers
  • AMSAT Board of Directors Election Underway
  • AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 31, 2024
  • Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 16, 2024
  • ARISS News
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • 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 https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/


Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting

The 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 25-26, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida.

Highlights of all scheduled events include:

  • AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting, October 24-25
  • 42nd AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 25-26
  • Friday Night Social and Auction, October 25
  • AMSAT Banquet and Reception, October 26
  • AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast (all are welcome), October 27

Note – if you wish to register guests for the banquet and/or breakfast who are not attending the Symposium sessions, you must register for each event separately and include your guests with your banquet and breakfast tickets.

If you are interested in presenting or submitting a paper for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings, please see the Call for Papers.

IMPORTANT: The deadline for Symposium registrations if you want to include the Saturday evening banquet or Sunday breakfast is Friday, October 18th. Meals cannot be ordered after that date.

Click Here to Register Now

Hotel Reservations

The rate for a standard room with two Queen beds is $169.00 plus state and local taxes of 14.5%. Rooms may be available for check-in on Wednesday, October 23 and check out Sunday, October 27.

Rooms can be reserved at https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/radioamateursatellite/.

Reservations may also be made by phone at 813-888-8800. Reference AMSAT to receive the group rate.

Note: If you are planning on driving to the Symposium or renting a car, parking charges are $20 per night for overnight parking. 

We, at AMSAT, are excited to be able to host our 42nd annual Symposium this year. We hope that you can join us in celebrating Amateur Radio in Space.

Schedule

Thursday, October 24, 2024

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM AMSAT Board Meeting
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Pre-Registration Check-in

Friday, October 25, 2024

8:00 AM – 12:00 Noon AMSAT Board Meeting (Closed Session)
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Registration
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM AMSAT Symposium Kickoff, President’s Welcome
1:15 PM – 5:00 PM Paper Sessions
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Informal Dinner on your own
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM AMSAT Reception and Auction, Cash Bar Available

Saturday, October 26, 2024

8:00 AM – 11:45 AM Registration
8:00 AM – 8:15 AM AMSAT Symposium Welcome
8:15 AM – 12:00 Noon Paper Sessions
1:00 PM – 3:15 PM Paper Sessions
3:30 PM – 4:45 PM AMSAT Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Attitude Adjustment (Social), Cash Bar
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM AMSAT Banquet, Cash Bar

Sunday, October 27, 2024

7:30 AM – 9:00 AM AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast (All are welcome)

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above information]


Call for Papers

This is the first call for papers for the 42nd annual AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida.

Proposals for symposium papers and presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 18 for inclusion in the symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV at [email protected]

[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Editor for the above information]


AMSAT Board of Directors Election Underway

The nomination period for the 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended on June 15th. The following candidates have been duly nominated:

  • Mark Hammond, N8MH
  • Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
  • Bruce Paige, KK5DO
  • Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
  • Douglas Tabor, N6UA

As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the three candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected to the seats. The two candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be declared First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.

The voting process is now underway. AMSAT members can find candidate statements and electronic voting information on AMSAT’s Wild Apricot Membership Portal.

The voting period will conclude on September 15th and results will be announced no later than September 30th.

[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary for the above information]


AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 31, 2024

A long-standing member service, the AMSAT Mail Alias Service is scheduled to end on August 31, 2024. A mail alias on AMSAT.ORG permitted people to send an email to members without knowing their actual internet email address. They just needed to know their amateur radio callsign.

Unfortunately, the unchecked rise in domain name hacking and email account high-jacking has made it impossible to sustain this service at a cost-effective level. The number of [email protected] email accounts that had been hijacked and converted to zombie spam accounts over the years had led many internet service providers and gateway centers to ban all @amsat.org email addresses, including those business accounts of AMSAT officers and officials. The tireless efforts of AMSAT’s all volunteer IT staff has worked for years to repair much of the damage, but AMSAT still get complaints from members who are not getting their personal emails, ANS bulletins or AMSAT-BB posts because of persistent delivery problems.

It has come to the point where the AMSAT volunteer IT staff can no longer keep up with the maintenance requirements to keep the alias mail list clean and to work with email gateways to remove blocks. And, after considerable investigation into alternative paid email services, AMSAT leadership decided that the money required to keep an email alias system alive would be better spent on building and flying satellites for its members.

Persons using the Mail Alias Service should begin to migrate to different email accounts so they do not lose receipt of personal emails, AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins, AMSAT-BB posts, or official messages from AMSAT itself. Members are especially asked to make sure they are NOT using a [email protected] as their registered email address in the AMSAT membership portal. Members can easily change their registered member email address by logging into the portal and updating their profile.

[ANS thanks the AMSAT IT Team for the above information]


The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!


Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 16, 2024

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:

KASHIWA NORAD Cat ID 59508 Decayed from orbit on or about 10 August 2024
SPROUT NORAD Cat ID 39770 Decayed from orbit on or about 11 August 2024

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


Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the
AMSAT Store!

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.


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.

Bayou Academy, Cleveland, MS, direct via W5YD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams KD5PLB
The ARISS mentor is K4RGK

Contact is go for: Thu 2024-08-22 16:43:06 UTC 80 deg

Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/live/PzZuhb1bGiw  https://live.ariss.org/

Gymnasium der Stadt Meschede, Meschede, Germany, direct via DRØZ

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams KD5PLB
The ARISS mentor is IN3GHZ

Contact is go for: Fri 2024-08-23 08:05:04 UTC 45 deg

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

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.

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]


Upcoming Satellite Operations

A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location.

Philippe, EA4NF will be QRV (as KE4NF) from EL94 13-17 Aug, then EL95 25-27 Aug. Looks like this will be FM LEO only. Log as KE4NF.

In between these two activations, Philippe will activate Grenada (FK92) as J38NF on FM satellites, August 18-23. Log as J38NF.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager,  for the above information]


 Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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


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 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,

“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”

Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.

Scheduled Events

Northeast HamXpostion
August 22-25, 2024

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752

Greater Louisville Hamfest
September 7, 2024

Shepherdsville, KY
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
W4FCL

Central Kentucky Hamfest
October 5, 2024

Lexington, KY
AMSAT and Educational Satellites Forum and Information Table
AI4SR and W4FCL

North Star Radio Convention
October 5, 2024

Hennepin Technical College (North Campus)
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
KØJM and ADØHJ

Radio Society of Tucson
October 5, 2024

Calvary Tucson Church
7811 E. Speedway
Tucson, AZ
https://k7rst.club/2024/07/tucson-autumn-ham-fest-2024/
N1UW

Pacificon 2024, ARRL Pacific Division Conference
October 18-20, 2024

San Ramon, CA
WU0I

2024 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
October 25-27, 2024

Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront
3050 N Rocky Point Dr W
Tampa, FL 33607

Stone Mountain Hamfest, ARRL State Convention
November 2-3, 2024

Stone Mountain, GA
K4RGK

Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club
November 9, 2024

Marana Middle School
11285 West Grier Rd.
Marana, AZ 85653
https://www.tucsonhamradio.org/copy-of-hamfest-2022
N1UW

Yuma HAMCON
February 20-22, 2025

Yuma, AZ
N1UW

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


Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ A Chinese Long March 6A rocket launched 18 Qianfan broadband Internet satellites into polar orbit last week. Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST)’s new constellation, translated as “Thousand Sails,” may grow to as many as 14,000 satellites. It joins potentially two other under-development broadband Chinese megaconstellations, each proposing over 10,000 satellites, in competition with OneWeb, Kupier, and Starlink. Unfortunately, the LM-6A’s upper stage appears to have malfunctioned and scattered over 700 pieces of space debris in a fairly high 800 km orbit (again). The debris at this altitude will likely take about a century for orbital decay. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ Orbital Space has announced its Lunar Program to send a student-built experiment to the Moon, marking the Arab world’s first privately funded lunar mission. The experiment by students from AGH University of Science and Technology in Poland focuses on analyzing interactions between lunar regolith and various materials that could be used in making cables and connectors for future lunar missions. Astrobotic will carry the payload on its third lunar mission aboard a Griffin-class lunar lander, targeting launch no earlier than Q4 2026. (ANS thanks Spacewatch Global for the above information)

+ The 2024 Olympic Games officially began in Paris, France on July 26, with athletes coming from around the world to compete. Meanwhile, above the world — on our orbiting laboratory, the International Space Station — NASA’s astronauts got into the Olympic spirit. Check out their training montage from space, followed by a message to Earth from astronaut Matt Dominick at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycDoaIn6wuk (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and NASA for the above information)

+ From Dave, G4DPZ, regarding the FUNcube Data Warehouse: “Our hosting provider has told us that they will be migrating our services to a new virtual machine on the 1st of September. Unfortunately the versions of the MySQL database server and Java runtime available on the new instance are not compatible with the current application implementation. Therefore I have to rebuild the development tool chain and migrate the application to suit the new instance. The work is underway but may take us into early September. We do know that database table migration works as we have already done a test of migrating the several GB of database between machines. If we do have any outage, the dashboards will upload when they detect the new instance is alive.” (ANS thanks Dave Johnson, G4DPZ, Hon. Sec., AMSAT-UK, for the above information)

+ The SpaceX Transporter-11 rideshare mission launched 116 payloads from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on August 16th. Four of these payloads carry transmitters on amateur bands. NIGHTJAR and TORO carry amateur UHF transmitters, but are not IARU coordinated. QUBE carries an amateur UHF transmitter, but its IARU coordination was declined. ORESAT0.5 is the sole IARU coordinated amateur mission on this launch with downlinks of 436.500 MHz and 2422.0 MHz. More information about ORESAT can be found at https://www.oresat.org/satellites/oresat0-5. Discussion regarding this launch can be found on the LibreSpace forum at https://community.libre.space/t/spacex-f9-transporter-11-rideshare-vsfb-slc-4e-2024-08-16-18-19-utc/11973/1 (ANS thanks LibreSpace and the ORESAT team for the above information)

+ Three AMSAT GridMaster Awards were awarded over the past week: #67 was awarded to Endaf, N6UTC, #68 was awarded to Raymond, KN2K, and #69 was awarded to Steven, KC1MMC. Congratulations to both. Additionally, two Reverse VUCC Awards were issued. #15 was awarded to Sean, KX9X, with 103 grids and #16 was issued to Randy, ND0C, with 109 grids. Congratulations to all the new award recipients! More information about AMSAT’s awards program can be found at https://www.amsat.org/awards-2/ (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information)

+ IO-117’s digipeater has not been operational for the past week. No further information is available regarding its status or expected timeframe for a potential return to service.

+ AMSAT’s Operations team, in coordination with the University of Maine and AMSAT Engineering, continues to work to complete MESAT1’s science mission. More telemetry coverage is needed! If you have UHF receive capability, please download FoxTelem and help us capture more data. (ANS thanks AMSAT 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,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] arrl.net

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

Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting

AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

ANS-226
August 13, 2024

In this edition:

  • Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
  • Call for Papers

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 https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/


Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting

The 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 25-26, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida.

Highlights of all scheduled events include:

  • AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting, October 24-25
  • 42nd AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 25-26
  • Friday Night Social and Auction, October 25
  • AMSAT Banquet and Reception, October 26
  • AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast (all are welcome), October 27

Note – if you wish to register guests for the banquet and/or breakfast who are not attending the Symposium sessions, you must register for each event separately and include your guests with your banquet and breakfast tickets.

If you are interested in presenting or submitting a paper for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings, please see the Call for Papers.

IMPORTANT: The deadline for Symposium registrations if you want to include the Saturday evening banquet or Sunday breakfast is Friday, October 18th. Meals cannot be ordered after that date.

Click Here to Register Now

Hotel Reservations

The rate for a standard room with two Queen beds is $169.00 plus state and local taxes of 14.5%. Rooms may be available for check-in on Wednesday, October 23 and check out Sunday, October 27.

Rooms can be reserved at https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/radioamateursatellite/.

Reservations may also be made by phone at 813-888-8800. Reference AMSAT to receive the group rate.

Note: If you are planning on driving to the Symposium or renting a car, parking charges are $20 per night for overnight parking. 

We, at AMSAT, are excited to be able to host our 42nd annual Symposium this year. We hope that you can join us in celebrating Amateur Radio in Space.

Schedule

Thursday, October 24, 2024

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM AMSAT Board Meeting
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Pre-Registration Check-in

Friday, October 25, 2024

8:00 AM – 12:00 Noon AMSAT Board Meeting (Closed Session)
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Registration
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM AMSAT Symposium Kickoff, President’s Welcome
1:15 PM – 5:00 PM Paper Sessions
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Informal Dinner on your own
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM AMSAT Reception and Auction, Cash Bar Available

Saturday, October 26, 2024

8:00 AM – 11:45 AM Registration
8:00 AM – 8:15 AM AMSAT Symposium Welcome
8:15 AM – 12:00 Noon Paper Sessions
1:00 PM – 3:15 PM Paper Sessions
3:30 PM – 4:45 PM AMSAT Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Attitude Adjustment (Social), Cash Bar
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM AMSAT Banquet, Cash Bar

Sunday, October 27, 2024

7:30 AM – 9:00 AM AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast (All are welcome)

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above information]


Call for Papers

This is the first call for papers for the 42nd annual AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida.

Proposals for symposium papers and presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 18 for inclusion in the symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be
sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV at [email protected]

[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Editor 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 Contributing Editor,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] arrl.net

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

ANS-203 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service

ANS-203
July 18, 2024

In this edition:

  • AMSAT Board of Directors Election Underway
  • AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 31, 2024
  • Tevel Satellites Nearing Re-Entry
  • AMSAT-OSCAR 7 in Continuous Sunlight
  • Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for July 19, 2024
  • ARISS News
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • 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 https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/


Save the Date! Symposium 2024

Photo by Robert DuBois

Mark your calendar now for the 2024 AMSAT Symposium,

October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida!

Watch for announcements concerning further details as plans are formulated.

AMSAT Board of Directors Election Underway

The nomination period for the 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended on June 15th. The following candidates have been duly nominated:

  • Mark Hammond, N8MH
  • Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
  • Bruce Paige, KK5DO
  • Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
  • Douglas Tabor, N6UA

As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the three candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected to the seats. The two candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be declared First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.

The voting process is now underway. AMSAT members can find candidate statements and electronic voting information on AMSAT’s Wild Apricot Membership Portal.

The voting period will conclude on September 15th and results will be announced no later than September 30th.

[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary for the above information]


AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 31, 2024

A long-standing member service, the AMSAT Mail Alias Service is scheduled to end on August 31, 2024. A mail alias on AMSAT.ORG permitted people to send an email to members without knowing their actual internet email address. They just needed to know their amateur radio callsign.

Unfortunately, the unchecked rise in domain name hacking and email account high-jacking has made it impossible to sustain this service at a cost-effective level. The number of [email protected] email accounts that had been hijacked and converted to zombie spam accounts over the years had led many internet service providers and gateway centers to ban all @amsat.org email addresses, including those business accounts of AMSAT officers and officials. The tireless efforts of AMSAT’s all volunteer IT staff has worked for years to repair much of the damage, but AMSAT still get complaints from members who are not getting their personal emails, ANS bulletins or AMSAT-BB posts because of persistent delivery problems.

It has come to the point where the AMSAT volunteer IT staff can no longer keep up with the maintenance requirements to keep the alias mail list clean and to work with email gateways to remove blocks. And, after considerable investigation into alternative paid email services, AMSAT leadership decided that the money required to keep an email alias system alive would be better spent on building and flying satellites for its members.

Persons using the Mail Alias Service should begin to migrate to different email accounts so they do not lose receipt of personal emails, AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins, AMSAT-BB posts, or official messages from AMSAT itself. Members are especially asked to make sure they are NOT using a [email protected] as their registered email address in the AMSAT membership portal. Members can easily change their registered member email address by logging into the portal and updating their profile.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]


Tevel Satellites Nearing Re-Entry

The Tevel series of satellites is approaching re-entry, with Tevel-5 already re-entering on July 18th.

The Tevel mission consists of 8 satellites developed by the Herzliya Science Center in Israel, each carrying an FM transponder. The satellites were built by 8 schools in different parts of Israel and launched in January 2022 on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-3 mission.

A number of other satellites with amateur radio payloads are also re-entering shortly. A list of satellites approaching re-entry can be found at http://lu7aa.org/decay.asp

[ANS thanks Herzliya Science Center, AMSAT Argentina, and LU7AA for the above information]


The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!


AMSAT-OSCAR 7 in Continuous Sunlight

AMSAT-OSCAR 7, soon to celebrate its 50th birthday on November 15, 2024, is now in a period of continuous sunlight through May 22, 2027.

While in continuous sunlight, the satellite’s internal timer is expected to switch between the two transponders – Mode A (29 MHz downlink and 145 MHz uplink) and Mode B (145 MHz downlink and 29 MHz uplink) every 24 hours.

Post reports and check current status on the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page. After a few days in continuous sunlight, it should be possible to determine the actual or approximate time the satellite switches.

[ANS thanks AMSAT and EA1PA for the above information]


Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for July 19, 2024

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:

MESAT1 remains on this distribution. No signals have been detected from any other amateur spacecraft launched as part of NASA’s ELaNa 43 mission.

ELaNa 43 OBJECT A NORAD Cat ID  60203  No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT B NORAD Cat ID  60204  No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT C NORAD Cat ID  60205  No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT D NORAD Cat ID  60206  No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT E NORAD Cat ID  60207  No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT F NORAD Cat ID  60208  No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT H NORAD Cat ID  60210  No amateur signal detected
Zhou Enlai  NORAD Cat ID 43156 Decayed from orbit on or about 17 July 2024
TEVEL-5 NORAD Cat ID 50998 Decayed from orbit on or about 18 July 2024

The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:

GRBBeta NORAD Cat ID 60236 IARU coordinated downlinks on 145.935 MHz, 436.785 MHz and 2405.000 MHz
ROBUSTA-3A NORAD Cat ID 60241 IARU coordinated 9k6 GMSK with AX.25 downlink on 436.750 MHz

Thanks to Nico PA0DLO for identifying the two new spacecraft.

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


Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the
AMSAT Store!

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.


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.

Aznakaevsky district schools of the Republic of Tatarstan, Tatarstan Russia, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksandr Grebyonkin RZ3DSE
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Sat 2024-07-27 13:45 UTC

Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ, telebridge via AB1OC

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Matthew Dominick KCØTOR
The ARISS mentor is K4RGK
Contact is go: Sat 2024-07-27 18:24:08 UTC 41 deg

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

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.

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]


Upcoming Satellite Operations

A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location.

N8MR will be in EN57, with roves to EN67 from Aug 2 thru Aug 10. Icom 9700, Arrow and Alaskan (IO-117) antennas. Listening for Europe on linear eastern passes, at least two of these on CW. Can operate CW for NA ops, if anyone wants it. I can rove to EN56, only if needed. Posting passes to hams.at a day in advance. All QSOs to LoTW as N8MR.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager,  for the above information]


 Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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


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 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,

“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”

Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.

Scheduled Events

2024 KARS / ARRL Idaho State Convention
August 3, 2024

Post Falls, ID
K7SYS

Huntsville Hamfest
August 17-18, 2024

Huntsville, AL
AMSAT Booth and Forum
N8DEU and W4FCL

Northeast HamXpostion
August 22-25, 2024

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752

Greater Louisville Hamfest
September 7, 2024

Shepherdsville, KY
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
W4FCL

Central Kentucky Hamfest
October 5, 2024

Lexington, KY
AMSAT and Educational Satellites Forum and Information Table
AI4SR and W4FCL

North Star Radio Convention
October 5, 2024

Hennepin Technical College (North Campus)
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
KØJM and ADØHJ

2024 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
October 25-27, 2024

Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront
3050 N Rocky Point Dr W
Tampa, FL 33607

Stone Mountain Hamfest, ARRL State Convention
November 2-3, 2024

Stone Mountain, GA
K4RGK

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


Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ XW-2B has recently returned to reliable service. XW-2B has an inverting linear transponder with an uplink of 435.090-435.110 MHz and a downlink of 145.730-145.750 MHz.

+ The May/June 2024 issue of The AMSAT Journal is now available to members on AMSAT’s Member Portal at https://launch.amsat.org/The_AMSAT_Journal

+ SpaceX’s Falcon 9 suffered a rare failure on July 11th when the upper stage “experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn,” trapping 20 Starlink satellites in an unusably low orbit. More information at https://spacenews.com/starlink-satellites-lost-on-falcon-9-upper-stage-failure/ (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the 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,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] amsat.org

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

ANS-175 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service

ANS-175
June 23, 2024

In this edition:

  • ELaNa 43 Launch Carrying MESAT-1 Scheduled for June 27, 2024
  • AMSAT Board of Directors Nominees Announced
  • AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 1, 2024
  • Video of AMSAT Engineering Q&A Sessions Available
  • Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for June 21, 2024
  • ARISS News
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • 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 https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/


Save the Date! Symposium 2024

Photo by Robert DuBois

Mark your calendar now for the 2024 AMSAT Symposium,

October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida!

Watch for announcements concerning further details as plans are formulated.

ELaNa 43 Launch Carrying MESAT-1 Scheduled for June 27, 2024

The University of Maine’s MESAT-1 carrying a telemetry transmitter and linear transponder provided by AMSAT and experiments designed by schools in Maine will head into orbit as early as late this week as part of NASA’s ELaNa 43 launch.
The ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites 43) mission includes eight CubeSats flying on Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket for its “Noise of Summer” launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The 30-minute launch window will open at 9 p.m. PDT Wednesday, June 26 (12 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 27).
Telemetry can be received using the same FoxTelem program that was used for most of AMSAT’s recent payloads. We urge readers to download the latest FoxTelem (V1.12z3) from https://www.amsat.org/tlm/leaderboard.php?id=0&db=FOXDB. This program will decode telemetry from MESAT-1 (as well as AO-91) and forward the results to AMSAT’s central server for use by AMSAT engineering as well as by Maine engineers and students.
MESAT-1 will study local temperatures across city and rural areas to determine phytoplankton concentration in bodies of water to help predict algal blooms and also contains a linear transponder for amateurs to use.  Watch ANS and other media for information about when the transponder will be activated.
For more information on this satellite, visit https://www.mainesat.org/mesat1/
MESAT-1 – Launch June 27, 2024
Uplink LSB 145.910 MHz through 145.940 MHz
Downlink USB 435.810 MHz through 435.840 MHz
AMSAT LTM-1 Transponder – 1200 bps FoxTelem BPSK beacon 435.800 MHz

[ANS thanks NASA and AMSAT Engineering for the above information]


AMSAT Board of Directors Nominees Announced

The nomination period for the 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended on June 15th. The following candidates have been duly nominated:

  • Mark Hammond, N8MH
  • Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
  • Bruce Paige, KK5DO
  • Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
  • Douglas Tabor, N6UA

As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the three candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected to the seats. The two candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be declared First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively. The voting process will be conducted via AMSAT’s Wild Apricot membership system and will commence on July 15th. Instructions for voting will be emailed to all members in good standing as of July 1st by July 15th. The voting period shall conclude on September 15th and results will be announced not later than September 30th.

Biographies of the candidates will be available for review online and published in the next edition of The AMSAT Journal.

[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]


AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 1, 2024

A long-standing member service, the AMSAT Mail Alias Service is scheduled to end on August 1, 2024. A mail alias on AMSAT.ORG permitted people to send an email to members without knowing their actual internet email address. They just needed to know their amateur radio callsign.

Unfortunately, the unchecked rise in domain name hacking and email account high-jacking has made it impossible to sustain this service at a cost-effective level. The number of [email protected] email accounts that had been hijacked and converted to zombie spam accounts over the years had led many internet service providers and gateway centers to ban all @amsat.org email addresses, including those business accounts of AMSAT officers and officials. The tireless efforts of AMSAT’s all volunteer IT staff has worked for years to repair much of the damage, but AMSAT still get complaints from members who are not getting their personal emails, ANS bulletins or AMSAT-BB posts because of persistent delivery problems.

It has come to the point where the AMSAT volunteer IT staff can no longer keep up with the maintenance requirements to keep the alias mail list clean and to work with email gateways to remove blocks. And, after considerable investigation into alternative paid email services, AMSAT leadership decided that the money required to keep an email alias system alive would be better spent on building and flying satellites for its members.

Persons using the Mail Alias Service should begin to migrate to different email accounts so they do not lose receipt of personal emails, AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins, AMSAT-BB posts, or official messages from AMSAT itself. Members are especially asked to make sure they are NOT using a [email protected] as their registered email address in the AMSAT membership portal. Members can easily change their registered member email address by logging into the portal and updating their profile.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]


Video of AMSAT Engineering Q&A Sessions Available

AMSAT Vice President – Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY,  hosted Q&A “social gathering” live streams on YouTube and Twitch, as he mentioned in his Hamvention “They Cancelled All My Flights” video where he followed up and answered questions on developments with GOLF, Fox Plus, and other projects.

Archived videos of these sessions can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@n0jy/streams

Note: If you read this at the time of publication, the final session may be ongoing as it is scheduled to run from 00:01 UTC to 02:00 UTC on Sunday, June 23rd.

[ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President – Engineering, for the above information]


The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!


Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for June 21, 2024

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

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]


Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the
AMSAT Store!

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.


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.

Complejo Educativo Nuestra Señora de Fátima N° 1139 and N° 8119, Pérez, Argentina, Telebridge via VK6MJ

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Jeanette Epps KF5QNU
The ARISS mentor is VE6JBJ
Contact is go for: Thu 2024-06-27 13:38:07 UTC 56 deg

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

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.

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]


Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

From Randy, ND0C:

From 24 June thru 7 July, we will be on another family camping vacation, which means another satellite roving expedition! This time, thru WI to MI and back thru IL and IA. No super rare grids but several that may be needed by many. The grids and passes will depend on where/when we happen to be while on the road or camping. This will be all LEO sats: FM & SSB. As always, I will try for EU passes on RS-44 when possible. Looking forward to pushing past the 100 grids-roved milestone. More info to come.

********************************************************************

JA2QJI/8 will be QRV on GreenCube/IO-117 from QN05 on 25th June. See hams.at for any additional details.

********************************************************************

From Mike, N8MR:

I will be in EN57, with roves to EN67 from Friday, June 28 thru Saturday, July 6. Using an Icom 9700, Arrow and Alaskan antennas. Listening for Europe on linear eastern passes. I can rove to EN56, only if needed. Posting passes to hams.at a day in advance. All QSOs to LoTW as N8MR.

********************************************************************

HB0/DK9JC should be QRV from JN47 on GreenCube/IO-117 on 26th June. See  hams.at for any updates.

Major Roves:

VP5/AA5UK will be QRV from FL31 from 23rd June through 5th July. This operation will be holiday style but will cover HF/LEO/MEO. Head over to his VP5/AA5UK QRZ page for all the info you can shake a stick at.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, and Alex Ners, K6VHF, for the above information]


 Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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


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 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,

“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”

Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.

Scheduled Events

“Moon Day” Frontiers of Flight Museum

July 20, 2024
Love Field in Dallas, Texas
AMSAT volunteers needed! Contact tschuessler(at) amsat.org for more information.

Huntsville Hamfest
August 17-18, 2024

Huntsville, AL
AMSAT Booth and Forum
N8DEU and W4FCL

Northeast HamXpostion
August 22-25, 2024

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752

Greater Louisville Hamfest
September 7, 2024

Shepherdsville, KY
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
W4FCL

Central Kentucky Hamfest
October 5, 2024

Lexington, KY
AMSAT and Educational Satellites Forum and Information Table
AI4SR and W4FCL

North Star Radio Convention
October 5, 2024

Hennepin Technical College (North Campus)
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
KØJM and ADØHJ

2024 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
October 25-27, 2024

Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront
3050 N Rocky Point Dr W
Tampa, FL 33607

[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]


Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ If you participated in AMSAT Field Day, remember to submit your summary sheet and any photos or comments by July 23, 2024. Submission details can be found at https://www.amsat.org/field-day/


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,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] amsat.org

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