ANS-007 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for January 7, 2024

AMSAT News Service

ANS-007
January 7, 2024

In this edition:

  • Welcome to the New Look AMSAT News Service
  • 2024 President’s Club Coins Now Available
  • W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day Summary
  • VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of January 1, 2024
  • Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 5, 2024
  • ARISS and Amateur Radio Featured on the TODAY Show
  • Assistance Requested With CubeSat History Project
  • ARISS News
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • 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/


Welcome to the New Look AMSAT News Service

For over 30 years, the AMSAT News Service has been a text only service. Initially, ANS was distributed via dial-up modems and packet networks. As technology has moved on, the text only format has become a significant limitation. In particular, the text only format was often not responsive on mobile devices in many email clients. We hope this new format improves the readability for our users and makes the content more engaging. We do plan to continue tweaking this format as the year goes on.

We welcome feedback on this change at ans-editor [at] amsat.org

[ANS thanks the AMSAT News Service Team for the above information]


2024 President’s Club Coins Now Available

The 2024 President’s Club coins are now available! This year’s coin features an image of AMSAT’s next satellite – GOLF-TEE.

At all levels of membership – beginning with annual donations of $120 or more – President’s Club donors receive the following recognition:

  • Listing in the AMSAT News Service and The AMSAT Journal
  • Commemorative Coin – A unique 2” metal coin with a highly polished gold finish and four-color accents.  Each year’s coin will feature a different color scheme and different OSCAR satellite.
  • Membership Certificate – An 8.5” x 11” full-color personalized certificate.

Donors at the Silver or higher levels receive even more benefits such as a handsome personalized acrylic desk plaque, tickets to the annual AMSAT Symposium, luncheons and dinners.  See the table below for complete details. (Note that recognition items are provided by an anonymous donor and no member dues are used. 100% percent of your donation is used for AMSAT activities.)

For persons or clubs wanting to make a contribution by check or electronic transfer, please contact Frank Karnauskas, VP-Development at f.karnauskas [at] amsat.org.  Remember, AMSAT is a 501(c)3 corporation and your contribution may be tax deductible. Check with your tax advisor.

For more information and to donate today, visit the AMSAT President’s Club.

[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Vice President – Development, for the above information]


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


W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day Summary

N6UA operating during the 2024 W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day
The W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day occurred on January 1st. Reports of activity were received on the AMSAT-BB from several stations. Steve Nordahl, NS3L, in Nazareth, PA reported making 13 CW QSOs on RS-44 and JO-97:
RS-44: W3AVP, W0BZ, KD4O, N6UA, NU1U, KE8RJU/7, NM3B, VA3NNA, N8MR. NA1ME, KN2K
JO-97: WA8FXQ, WB2TQE
Steve Greene, KS1G, in northern Virginia, reported that he worked NM3B, N8MR, and WA3FIR on the 1350Z pass of RS-44. He did hear NS3L work NM3B, but didn’t find him later in the pass to work him too.
Scott Davis, K5TA, reported working N6UA and KA0WKQ on RS-44 and WA8FXQ on AO-7.
Doug Tabor, N6UA, operated portable with a key attached to his leg. He operated on two passes of RS-44 – one from the back deck and one from the driveway. He worked NS3L, K5TA, and NA1ME and heard both WB7VUF and KE8RJU/7.
Thanks to all for participating in this annual event!
In March 2022, the AMSAT community lost one of our pioneers when Ray Soifer, W2RS, became a silent key. In addition to his numerous contributions to AMSAT and the worldwide amateur satellite community, Ray was also the long time organizer of AMSAT’s CW Activity Day – previously AMSAT Straight Key Night – held in conjunction with the ARRL’s event on New Year’s Day. In recognition of Ray’s long time service to AMSAT and his keen interest in CW operating via satellite, AMSAT’s CW Activity Day is now known as the W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day.

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information]


VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of January 1, 2024

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary
December 01, 2023 to January 01, 2024

Call 1-Dec 1-Jan
K8DP      1581  1629
WC7V      1426  1451
AA5PK      1404  1426
N8RO      1384  1401
DL2GRC      1108  1166
N0JE      1057  1075
KC9ELU       254  1056
DG7RO       285  1005
AC9O       836  1001
XE1L       860   915
EA2AA       856   875
KG0D       700   801
JN2QCV       507   726
KJ7DZ       600   700
KK4YEL       589   674
N8MR       617   658
KB1HY       604   648
W8MTB       600   620
KC4CJ       126   602
JA1QJI       253   600
A65BR       532   554
EA3TA       400   503
JS1LQI       436   500
HP2VX       481   496
N3CAL       471   480
HB9GWJ       450   476
JA1GZK       350   435
KP3V       310   402
AG7NR       350   400
N9ZTS       302   400
DL8GAM       351   375
N6PAZ       342   350
N7ZO       304   350
AL7ID       261   320
K8BL       300   310
N7UJJ       250   308
ZS2BK       244   305
W6AER       201   302
HL1WP       New   300
KH6WI       252   300
K6VHF       250   276
K9AQ       200   250
WD9EWK (DM41)       225   229
WA8ZID       202   226
KG4AKV (FM14)       New   217
YV1DIG       200   213
JS2GGD       157   204
WD9EWK (DM23)       195   200
JL3OUW       123   187
AK2S       New   152
N6UTC (DM15)       126   150
K9MU       100   129
N6UTC (DM14)       110   128
KB4DSL       New   127
WD9EWK (DM13)       109   116
N8XHF       New   106
EA3HAH       New   100
WA1JAY       New   100

Congratulations to the new VUCC holders!
HL1WP is first VUCC Satellite holder from PM37
N8XHF is first VUCC Satellite holder from FM16

DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary
December 01, 2023 to January 01, 2024

Call 1-Dec 1-Jan
S57NML         125     175
OE6MDF         143     169
VU2LBW         152     162
YO3APJ         149     162
SV8CS         150     153
LA6OP         136     143
HB9RYZ         139     141
SP3AU         136     137
KB1HY         131     135
YO9HP         108     131
F6AOJ         125     129
IK6GZM         101     124
IK4DRY         107     122
IW7DOL         116     122
K8DP         112     122
A65BR         104     112
CT1EEB         111     112
KC9ELU         101     112
AA5PK         100     110
LA7XK         New     106
TF1A         102     103
LA0FA         100     102
UW8SM         New     102
EA5RM         100     101
W8LR         New     100

Congratulations to the new DXCC Satellite holders!
UW8SM is first DXCC Satellite holder from KN59

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


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 5, 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 satellite has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:

BeliefSat-0 NORAD Cat ID 58695 IARU coordinated downlink on 145.980 MHz

The following satellite has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:

VENTA 1 NORAD Cat ID 42791 Decayed from orbit on or about 03 January 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 and Amateur Radio Featured on the TODAY Show

On January 5, 2024, the TODAY Show featured Harry Smith of NBC News going behind the scenes of last month’s QSO between Harbor Creek School in Pennsylvania and the ISS. Video of the segment can be seen on YouTube.

ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said of the segment: “What a phenomenal story of a breathtaking ARISS educational experience. Our heartiest congratulations to the Harbor Creek School: the Advanced Technology Group students, educators, families and Leader/Assistant Principal/ARISS Educator Drew Mortensen. WOW!!”

[ANS thanks the TODAY Show and ARISS for the above information]


Assistance Requested With CubeSat History Project

A general announcement to the AMSAT community!

Prof. Robert “Bob” Twiggs KE6QMD and Dr. Aaron Zucherman KM6CHY (a former student of his) are working on gathering and publishing a series on the history of the creation and adoption of the CubeSat, including its direct SmallSat forebears (AMSAT, WeberSat, OPAL, etc.) and educational picosat successors (CanSats, PocketQubes and ThinSats). While outstanding technical accounts have been written on the subject, we plan on focusing on the underreported human stories and drama during this early history. 

You can see our announcement here: 

 
We specifically wanted to reach out to the AMSAT community to find those who worked on the early educational smallsat missions and AMSAT members who were mentors to many of the earliest (pre-2010) CubeSat mission teams. However, if you feel you have something else to contribute to CubeSat’s history, we want to hear about it!
 
A list of missions we are hoping to find AMSAT members from includes:
  • WeberSAT (Weber-OSCAR 18, WO-18, Microsat-3)
  • OPAL (OPAL-OSCAR 38, OO-38, StenSat,)
  • JAWSAT (Weber-OSCAR 39, WO-39)
  • SSETI-Express (XO-53, eXpress-OSCAR 53)
  • CUTE-1 (CO-55, CubeSat-OSCAR 55)
  • CUTE-1.7 (CO-56, CubeSat-OSCAR 56)
  • CUBESAT XI-IV (CO-57, CubeSat-OSCAR 57)
  • CUBESAT XI-V (CO-58, CubeSat-OSCAR 58)
  • Delfi-C3 (DO 64, Delfi-OSCAR 64)
Please feel free to contact azucherman [at] gmail.com if you are interested in contributing.

[ANS thanks Aaron Zucherman, PhD, KM6CHY, 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.

No contacts have been scheduled from 2023-12-21 to 2024-01-14. The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2023-12-21 05:00 UTC.

The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed.

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

No scheduled operations are listed at this time.

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.

[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


Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

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

AMSAT Ambassador 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

ARISS 40th Anniversary Conference: Celebrating the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight

Center for Space Education, Adjacent to NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Center, Florida, USA
February 22-24, 2024

More information is available at https://www.ariss.org/overview.html

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


Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ The ARRL has published Logbook of the World configuration file version 11.27, adding support for QSOs made through SO-121.

+ The SaxaVord Spaceport on the Scottish island of Unst in the Shetland Islands was approved to launch rockets in 2024, the first fully licensed orbital spaceport in Western Europe. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ China launched 4 weather satellites and a pair of Beidou satellites… but again dropped a booster full of highly toxic hypergols on someone’s house. Video at https://bit.ly/3vo9mhu (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,

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

W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day to be Held January 1st

In March 2022, the AMSAT community lost one of our pioneers when Ray Soifer, W2RS, became a silent key. In addition to his numerous contributions to AMSAT and the worldwide amateur satellite community, Ray was also the long time organizer of AMSAT’s CW Activity Day – previously AMSAT Straight Key Night – held in conjunction with the ARRL’s event on New Year’s Day. In recognition of Ray’s long time service to AMSAT and his keen interest in CW operating via satellite, AMSAT’s CW Activity Day is now known as the W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day.

The rules are simple – operate CW through any amateur satellite between 0000 UTC and 2359 UTC on January 1, 2024. Straight keys and bugs are encouraged, but not required. Logs are not required, but operators are encouraged to submit a report of their activity to the AMSAT-BB. Photos and video clips of activity are also encouraged – post them on X or other social media networks and tag @AMSAT or #amsat

Remember to use the minimum power required for communication as constant carrier modes, including CW, can disrupt transponder operation for other users.

Ray Soifer, W2RS (SK)

HADES-D Designated Spain-OSCAR 121 (SO-121)

On November 11, 2023, the HADES-D satellite was launched on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Developed by AMSAT-EA, the satellite carries an FM and digital repeater payload to provide services to amateur radio enthusiasts around the world. The satellite has been commissioned and the repeater is currently active.

At the request of AMSAT-EA, AMSAT hereby designates HADES-D as Spain-OSCAR 121 (SO-121). We congratulate AMSAT-EA, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them continued success on this and future projects.

[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President – Operations and OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information]

SO-121 (Photo courtesy AMSAT-EA)

 

ANS-344 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

In this edition:
* Proposal Submitted to ESA for Geostationary Microwave Amateur Payload
* ARISS Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Owen Garriott’s STS-9 Operation
* AMSAT Publishes 2022 Financial Review and IRS Form 990
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December 7, 2023
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* 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
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/
ANS-344 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2023 December 10

Proposal Submitted to ESA for Geostationary Microwave Amateur Payload

A proposal has been submitted to the European Space Agency (ESA) by AMSAT-UK, the British Amateur Television Club (BATC), and AMSAT-NA, with input from members of the UK Microwave Group for a geostationary microwave amateur payload with planned coverage of at least part of North America. This proposal was submitted in response to a presentation at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium from Frank Zeppenfeldt, PD0AP, of ESA, who has secured €250,000 in funding to investigate the possibility of an amateur satellite or payload in geostationary orbit.
The proposal notes the desire for coverage of all ESA member and cooperating states, but that it is not possible for a satellite in geostationary orbit to cover the entirety of this territory, which ranges from Cyprus at approximately 34 degrees east to western Canada at approximately 141 degrees west and lays out example coverage from three slots: 5 degrees west, 30 degrees west, and 47 degrees west. In a later section, the proposal also discusses two non-geostationary orbit options that could provide the desired coverage: a tundra orbit and a high earth orbit just below the geostationary belt.
The amateur radio and educational payload proposed consists of two 5.6 GHz uplink and 10 GHz downlink transponders (Mode C/x) – one 250 kHz wide with 20 watts of output for narrowband modes such as SSB, CW, and narrowband digital mdoes and one 1 MHz wide with 20 watts of output for wideband modes, including amateur television. The transponder design would include an optional SDR block for signal regeneration. Additionally, a 24 GHz receiver would also function as a transponder uplink. The proposal also calls for a 47 or 74 GHz multimode beacon or additional downlink transmitter, an earth-pointing camera with a still image downlink as part of the telemetry or beacon for educational outreach, and a red or near-infrared laser experiment aimed towards Western Europe. All downlink signals would be phase coherent with timing by GPS reference or a chip-scale atomic clock.
More information about the ESA opportunity can be found in PD0AP’s AMSAT-UK Colloquium presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FTvlEyDa1Y 
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, the British Amateur Television Club (BATC), AMSAT-NA, and the UK Microwave Group for the above information]
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 LAST CALL!
           
        The 2023 AMSAT President’s Club coins are still available! 
    To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch 
on June 16, 1983, this year’s coin features 
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10. 
    Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help 
Keep Amateur Radio in Space! 
  
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ARISS Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Owen Garriott’s STS-9 Operation

ARISS has been celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first ham in space. On November 28, 1983, the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off with Owen Garriott, W5LFL. Onboard was a specially customized Motorola MX-340 two meter handheld radio and an antenna that attached to the shuttle’s window.
Shortly before crossing the west coast on December 1, 1983, Columbia executed a roll manuever that exposed the antenna toward earth and W5LFL began to call CQ. At 02:38 UTC, Lance Collister, WA1JXN, in Frenchtown, MT answered his CQ and made the first amateur radio QSO with a human in space. A rush of QSOs followed over the next several days before Columbia returned to Earth on December 8th. Among the amateur operators in the log were Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, and King Hussein of Jordan, JY1.
Videos including QSOs from orbit have been posted to the ARISS YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@ARISSlive/videos
On December 7th, ARISS hosted a webinar with Owen’s son, Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, who later operated the amateur radio station aboard the International Space Station. An archived video of the webinar can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys0Jjn40Y_A
During the webinar, ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, announced that Richard Garriott would be the keynote speaker at ARISS’s 40th anniversary celebration event in February 2024. Details for this event can be found at https://www.ariss.org/overview.html
Additionally, in celebration of the STS-9 mission, ARISS teams worldwide have come together to prepare an SSTV event.
SSTV from the ISS will be sent on 145.800 MHz using the PD120 format. Transmissions are scheduled to begin on December 16th at 10:15 UTC and end on December 19th at around 18:00 UTC.
Melissa Gaskill, a science author from Austin, Texas, has written a comprehensive review about the 40-year history of amateur radio in space. In her article, “Ham Radio in Space: Engaging with Students Worldwide for 40 Years,” Gaskill explores the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), which is now known as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). The article can be found at https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/ham-radio-in-space-engaging-with-students-worldwide-for-40-years/
Gaskill said that while she wrote the article, she is not an expert on thesubject but there are many who are including Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, International Space Station (ISS) Ham Project Coordinator since 2004.
Ransom said that amateur radio in space was a possibility even before 1983, when Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL (SK), made history during the STS-9 Space Shuttle Columbia mission with the first amateur radio contact from space. NASA had been looking for ways to bring amateur radio to Skylab (a space station designed as an orbiting workshop for scientific research) and even the moon.
[ANS thanks ARISS and the ARRL for the above information]

AMSAT Publishes 2022 Financial Review and IRS Form 990

AMSAT has posted its IRS Form 990 and 2022 Financial Review on the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/
AMSAT publishes its financial statements as reviewed by an independent accountant as part of its commitment to transparency regarding its financial status with its membership and donors.
In 2022, AMSAT had total revenue of $306,801 and total expenses of $129,261. As of December 31, 2022, AMSAT reported net assets totaling $1,494,470.
In the decade between 2012 and 2022, AMSAT’s reserves increased by nearly 250% while designing, constructing, and launching five Fox-1 satellites and working on several other projects, including GOLF, Fox Plus, the Linear Transponder Module, and the AMSAT CubeSatSim.
AMSAT thanks its membership and donors for their generous support over the years. Keeping amateur radio in space is an endeavor that requires significant financial resources. Despite the currently healthy status of AMSAT’s finances, spending on hardware acquisitions for construction of GOLF and Fox Plus is expected to ramp up over the coming year, so please consider a donation if you are able.
AMSAT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your contributions may be tax deductible. If you need to make a Required Minimum Distribution from a retirement account by the end of the year, please also consider making a donation to AMSAT from your RMD. Donations may be made at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
AMSAT also needs donations of time from interested volunteers with both technical and non-technical skills. Please visit https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/ and consider volunteering for AMSAT.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
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        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.
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December 7, 2023

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/
HADES-D may not be correctly associated with its object number; use TLEs with caution.
The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
EIRSAT-1 NORAD Cat ID 58472 IARU coordinated downlink on 437.100 MHz
ENSO NORAD Cat ID 58470 IARU coordinated downlink on 436.500 MHz and beacon at 14.099 MHz
The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
CTIM NORAD Cat ID 52950 Decayed from orbit on or about 4 December 2023
Move-IIb NORAD Cat ID 44398 Decayed from orbit on or about 4 December 2023
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] 
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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.
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Harbor Creek School, Harborcreek, PA, direct via KC3SGV
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled crewmember is Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ
The ARISS mentor is KD8COJ
Contact is go for: Mon 2023-12-11 13:45:04 UTC 46 deg
Obninsk, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled crewmember is Konstantin Borisov
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Wed  2023-12-13 09:15 UTC
Primary School of Zipari Kos, Zipari, Greece, direct via SV5BYR
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled crewmember is Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ
The ARISS mentor is IKØWGF
Contact is go: Thu 2023-12-14 13:17:31 UTC 26 deg(
Comments on making general contacts 
I have been seeing a lot of traffic on Facebook and I suspect on other social media sites with people asking why they are not hearing the crew make general contacts.  First off the crew is very busy on the ISS and they simply may not have the time to just pick up the microphone and talk.  Also, one needs to be aware of their normal daily schedule.  I have listed below the constraints that we at ARISS have to follow in order to schedule the school contacts.  Hopefully this will help you better schedule your opportunities.
Typical daily schedule
Wakeup to Workday start= 1.5 hours
Workday start to Workday end=12 hours
Workday end to Sleep= 2 hours
Sleep to wakeup= 8.5 hours
The crew’s usual waking period is 0730 – 1930 UTC. The most common times to find a crew member making casual periods are about one hour after waking and before sleeping, when they have personal time. They’re usually free most of the weekend, as well.
SSTV events are not that often.  So please check out https://www.ariss.org/ for the latest information or watch for the ARISS announcements.
And don’t forget that the packet system is active.
As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.
ARISS Radio Status
Columbus Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Configured. Default mode is for cross band repeater (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down).
* Capable of supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops.
Service Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Temporarily stowed. Default mode is for packet operations (145.825 MHz up & down)
* Capable of supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts, packet, SSTV and voice repeater ops.
SSTV (Kenwood D710) – STATUS – OFF. Default mode is for scheduled SSTV operations (145.800 MHz down)
* Next planned operation date(s): 40th Anniversary of STS 9 (PD120 mode) – Schedule is Dec. 16 at 10:15 UTC | 5:15 AM ET through Dec. 19 around 1800 UTC | 1:00 PM ET.
* Specifically configured for SSTV ops.
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

No scheduled operations are listed at this time.
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.
[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
AMSAT Ambassador 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.
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ EB1AO reports the successful telecommand of AMSAT Spain’s HADES-D satellite. A test of the FM transponder is expected to follow.
+ The Russian resupply mission to the International Spacee Station, Progress MS-25, launched on Dec. 1 and then had to be manually docked due to issues with its automated rendezvous system. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and Nikolai Chub, monitoring the approach from the station’s Zvezda module, took over by remote control at the direction of Russian flight controllers and deftly guided the vehicle in for docking early on Dec. 3. (ANS thanks CBS News for the above information)
+ Hubble temporarily took a break from science operations while NASA investigates faulty readings from one of its gyroscopes, just as the telescope hit 30 years on from STS-61, the mission that corrected its optics and brought the iconic space telescope to full operation. On December 8th, Hubble returned to science operations with all three of its gyroscopes operational and the spacecraft healthy. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and NASA for the above information)
+ With moderate coronal mass ejections (CMEs) inbound and our Sun heading into its solar maximum faster than anticipated, it’s an excellent time to watch for auroras. However, the Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns that the geomagnetic storms pose risks of increased atmospheric drag and other risks for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and NOAA 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] amsat.org