AMSAT News Service

AMSAT News Service

ANS-249
September 6, 2026

In this edition:

* AMSAT Board Election Voting Deadline Approaches
* ARISS Announces New Leadership and Operations Appointments
* July/August 2026 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available
* SatNOGS Rolls Out Major Network and Database Updates
* Updated VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standings for September 2026
* Sean Borgerson, KK7OVF, Earns AMSAT Sexagesimal Award
* Eric Olson, KH6WI, Earns AMSAT Rover Award #96
* Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for September 4, 2026
* 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 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/

AMSAT Board Election Voting Deadline Approaches

Voting in the 2026 AMSAT Board of Directors Election will close on September 15, and AMSAT members who have not yet cast their ballots are encouraged to do so before the deadline. As of early September, fewer than 10% of eligible AMSAT members have voted in this year’s election.

Five candidates are seeking election to the Board:

• Rich Gopstein, KD2CQ
• Mark Hammond, N8MH
• Bruce Paige, KK5DO
• Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
• Douglas Tabor, N6UA

Three seats on the AMSAT Board of Directors are being filled this year. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the Board, while the candidates receiving the next highest vote totals will be named First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.

Current AMSAT members may review the official candidate statements and cast their ballots through the AMSAT 2026 Board of Directors Election website. Voting closes September 15, 2026, and election results will be announced no later than September 30.

https://launch.amsat.org/2026-BoD-Election

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

ARISS Announces New Leadership and Operations Appointments

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has announced several leadership and operational appointments aimed at strengthening the organization’s technical, educational, and administrative activities. Daryl Young, K4RGK, has been named ARISS-USA Director of Operations, while Ryan Krenzischek, Deborah Lebair, KC3YWM, and Megan Tucker, KQ4MAM, are taking on new or expanded roles within ARISS.

Young is a longtime ARISS-USA Technical Mentor who has supported numerous direct and telebridge amateur radio contacts between astronauts aboard the International Space Station and students on Earth. As Director of Operations, he will lead the ARISS Technical Mentors and oversee other operational activities associated with the organization’s STEM contacts.

Most recently, Young led the ARISS initiative that assembled a worldwide consortium of ground stations to track Artemis II during its journey around the Moon. The AREx Artemis ground station consortium successfully tracked the spacecraft and provided Doppler data to NASA during the mission. ARISS described the effort as an important first step toward expanding its operations beyond low Earth orbit and preparing for future amateur radio activities associated with lunar exploration.

Ryan Krenzischek, who previously served as ARISS-USA Director of Operations, has moved into the newly created position of Chief Information Officer. He and his team will oversee ARISS websites and other backend systems supporting the organization’s information infrastructure. Krenzischek has served as an ARISS-USA Technical Mentor since 2013 and has additional experience with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Navy-Marine Corps Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS), and Army MARS.

Deborah Lebair, KC3YWM, currently the ARISS-USA Metrics Lead, will join the ARISS International Board as its secretary while continuing her metrics responsibilities. Lebair began her professional career as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center before becoming a high school mathematics teacher. Megan Tucker, KQ4MAM, has been named ARISS-USA Logistics Manager and will coordinate the organization’s growing participation in educational conferences, hamfests, and other public events.

ARISS is an international cooperative effort involving amateur radio organizations and space agencies that uses amateur radio contacts with astronauts aboard the ISS to encourage student interest in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. AMSAT is among the U.S. sponsors of the ARISS program. Additional information about ARISS and its educational activities is available at www.ariss.org.

[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, and ARISS for the above information.]

July/August 2026 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available

The July/August 2026 issue of The AMSAT Journal (Volume 49, Number 4) is now available for members to download from the AMSAT member portal at https://launch.amsat.org/.

The Journal staff is always looking for articles, experiences, and photos to share with fellow members. Manuscripts, photos, and story ideas may be sent to journal [at] amsat.org.

The July/August 2026 issue includes the following features:

• Apogee View – AMSAT President Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, reports from a busy week on the road, including a day at the Huntsville Hamfest and two days spreading the AMSAT message at the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, where the conversations ranged from launch providers to high schools – and included an introduction to the new president of AMSAT-Canada.
• Educational Relations Update – Alan Johnston, KU2Y, on the CubeSatSim’s feature in the September issue of QST, a preview of the upcoming v2.3 software release, and the CubeSatSim loaner program for educators, along with a sidebar Quick Update on FoxPlus-A testing.
• AO-7’s 24-Hour Mode Timer: What the AMSAT Status Reports Reveal During Continuous Sunlight – Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, mines nearly 1,500 AMSAT Satellite Status API reports from this summer’s illumination season to ask a simple question of a 51-year-old spacecraft: how well is its onboard mode timer really behaving?
• Public STEM Events and AMSAT’s “BuzzSat” Resources – AMSAT Ambassador Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, shares his approach to engaging the non-ham public at Dallas’s Moon Day, from CubeSatSim demos and live SSTV to the new BuzzSat.com youth outreach materials, with ready-to-use handouts for other Ambassadors.
• AMSAT Field Day 2026 Results – Bruce Paige, KK5DO, delivers his annual roundup of AMSAT Field Day, complete with the final standings, station stories, and the traditional visits from Murphy, followed by a 20-photo Field Day Gallery with scenes from sites across North America.

The AMSAT Journal is published bi-monthly as a benefit of AMSAT membership. Not yet a member? Join today at https://launch.amsat.org/ – students join for free.

[ANS thanks Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK, Editor-in-Chief of The AMSAT Journal, for the above information]

Give Your Next Rove a Payload — Put Your Lunch into Orbit!

Pack the rover dogs and hit the grid line with an all-new
AMSAT Round Logo Metal Lunchbox.

Keep Amateur Radio in Space — and your lunch in the box!

https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_round_logo_metal_lunchbox-256761530568368967

SatNOGS Rolls Out Major Network and Database Updates

The SatNOGS project rolled out a series of software updates in late August, including SatNOGS Network versions 1.128, 1.129 and 1.130 along with SatNOGS DB version 1.76. Network 1.128, released August 27, introduced a substantial collection of changes affecting ground station operation, observation scheduling and the project’s application programming interfaces. The release was followed in quick succession by versions 1.129 and 1.130 as developers addressed issues discovered following deployment. SatNOGS is an open-source global network of satellite ground stations developed by the Libre Space Foundation and supported by amateur radio operators and satellite enthusiasts around the world.

One of the most significant changes in Network 1.128 is the first phase of a new multi-vetting system for observations. Previously, only one vetting result could be associated with an observation artifact such as a waterfall, while the new system allows individual users to independently evaluate the same artifact. Future development is expected to extend vetting to additional observation products and could eventually allow automated systems or bots to participate in the process. The change is intended to provide more useful information about the confidence and quality of observations collected by the network. The update also removes an older observation-status field from the API as part of the transition to the new vetting system.

Ground station status handling has also been redesigned. Instead of describing a station simply as online, offline or testing, SatNOGS now separately tracks whether a station is connected, whether it is available for scheduling, and whether it is undergoing testing. Station owners can therefore leave a station connected to the network while making it unavailable for observations, providing greater control over how stations participate in the network. Another new feature separates a station’s minimum horizon from its minimum culmination elevation, allowing operators to independently specify the elevation at which tracking begins and ends and the minimum elevation a pass must reach before it can be scheduled. These limits can also be configured as hard limits when dictated by antenna patterns, local obstructions or other station constraints.

SatNOGS DB 1.76 introduces complementary changes to the way satellites and their transmitters are described. Satellite status values have changed from future, alive, dead and re-entered to future, in-orbit, launch failed and re-entered, separating the orbital status of a spacecraft from whether its transmitters remain active. The database also gains experimental support for structured transmitter parameters, intended eventually to provide SatNOGS Network, Client and Radio with enough information to create dynamic processing flowgraphs. This could improve automatic decoding and support for a wider variety of satellite modes as the feature develops.

The database update also lays groundwork for a new Launches feature intended to organize information about satellites deployed on individual launches. SatNOGS currently relies heavily on community forum threads to coordinate reports following launches, but the new system is intended to provide a central view of deployment, reception and identification status. New reception classifications include Unknown, Unverified, Partially Verified and Verified, with supporting evidence links available for received signals. This could be particularly useful following rideshare missions when observers around the world are attempting to identify numerous newly deployed spacecraft. Network 1.128 also adds support for transmitter parameters supplied by SatNOGS DB, beginning the integration of these new database capabilities with observations.

Deployment of the new Network software was not entirely trouble-free, prompting the rapid release of versions 1.129 and 1.130 following 1.128. Developers worked through database migration and performance issues and made additional corrections as the updated software entered service. Beyond the major features, the releases include numerous user-interface improvements, bug fixes, performance improvements and enhancements for developers. Together, the Network and Database updates establish groundwork for improved observation verification, more flexible ground station operation and better handling of the growing number of satellites and transmitters tracked through SatNOGS.

### For More Information

SatNOGS Network 1.128 breaking and notable changes:
https://community.libre.space/t/upcoming-satnogs-network-release-1-128-breaking-and-notable-changes/15204

SatNOGS Network releases 1.128, 1.129 and 1.130:
https://community.libre.space/t/satnogs-network-release-1-128-1-129-1-130/15231

SatNOGS DB 1.76 breaking and notable changes:
https://community.libre.space/t/upcoming-satnogs-db-release-1-76-breaking-and-notable-changes/14956

[ANS thanks Fredy Damkalis and the Libre Space Community for the above information]

Updated VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standings for September 2026

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Changes for August 1, 2026 to September 1, 2026.

Congratulations to new VUCC Satellite award holders G4GIR, JK6DXD, DL1TJ, AD4ES, IK2TPX, and HJ6MR! G4GIR is the first VUCC Satellite award holder from Maidenhead grid IO92, JK6DXD is the first from PM53, and DL1TJ is the first from JN69. HJ6MR is the first VUCC Satellite award holder from Colombia and Maidenhead grid FJ23.

DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Changes for August 1, 2026 to September 1, 2026.

Congratulations to new DXCC Satellite award holders I1JQJ, IZ2AMW, and UN3G!

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

Sean Borgerson, KK7OVF, Earns AMSAT Sexagesimal Award

Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, has announced that Sean Borgerson, KK7OVF, has earned AMSAT Sexagesimal Award #204, recognizing confirmed satellite contacts with stations in 60 different U.S. states, Canadian call areas, or DXCC entities. In announcing the award, Paige observed that this is one of the AMSAT awards that is “not easy to earn” – and the numbers back him up: in the decades since the award was introduced, only 204 operators have completed the feat.

True to its name – sexagesimal meaning “relating to the number sixty” – the award is the middle rung of AMSAT’s classic operating award ladder. Operators begin with the Satellite Communicators Club for their first satellite QSO and the Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award for contacts with 20 different states, provinces, or countries; those same contacts then aggregate toward the 60 required for the Sexagesimal Award and, eventually, the 100 needed for the AMSAT Century Award.

Each contact must be with a station in a different entity – work six stations in British Columbia and only one of them counts – and all contacts must be made from locations within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of one another. For most operators, collecting 60 distinct entities through satellite footprints takes years of patience, with rare DX and hard-to-find states alike surrendering only when pass geometry, timing, and luck all line up.

Sean’s callsign may ring a bell for followers of the AMSAT Satellite Distance Records: operating from grid CN85 in the Pacific Northwest, he set AO-123’s first documented distance record in November 2024, a 1,622 miles (2,610 km) contact that remained the satellite’s listed record until this summer.

Operators chasing awards of their own will find complete rules for the Sexagesimal Award and all of AMSAT’s operating awards at https://www.amsat.org/awards/. Applications require only a report of contacts – no QSL cards needed – sent to KK5DO along with a small fee.

Congratulations, Sean!

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

Eric Olson, KH6WI, Earns AMSAT Rover Award #96

It was a busy day at the AMSAT awards desk. Alongside Sexagesimal Award #204 (see story elsewhere in this issue), Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, has announced that AMSAT Rover Award #96 has been earned by Eric Olson, KH6WI – the fourth Rover Award issued in roughly a month, following recent recipients in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Colombia.

Eric’s aloha-flavored callsign tells part of the story. A self-described adventurer and sailor, he completed Worked All States via satellite from Hawaii in 2023, crediting the IO-117 GreenCube digipeater, the rover community, and more than a few midnight passes for making it possible. His travels continue to provide plenty of opportunities for portable satellite operating and grid activations.

The Rover Award recognizes exactly that spirit. It is earned by accumulating 25 points from satellite activations in grid squares outside the rover’s home grid – one point per grid on FM transponders, two on linear transponders, and three on digital transponders – plus a bonus point for each grid activated in a state, province, or DX entity other than the rover’s own.

Publicizing an operation at least 24 hours in advance via a public social media post tagging @amsat or #amsat, the AMSAT-BB, or this bulletin adds five points, as does posting photos of the operation afterward. A grid activated maritime mobile is worth ten points and a /MM endorsement on the certificate – a bonus that would seem tailor-made for a sailor.

In announcing the award, Paige offered his congratulations along with his customary encouragement to rovers everywhere to keep on rovin’.

Complete rules and application details for the AMSAT Rover Award are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/, and upcoming rover operations may be found – and publicized – at https://hams.at.

Congratulations, Eric – and mahalo for the grids!

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

The 2026 Coins Are Here! Help Support GOLF-TEE and Fox-Plus.
Annual memberships start at only $120.

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for September 4, 2026

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/.

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

HYPERVIEW-1G (RS66S) NORAD Cat ID 61772 Decayed from orbit on or about 18 August 2026
Sparrow NORAD Cat ID 43881 Decayed from orbit on or about 18 August 2026

General Perturbations Data Support

AMSAT is pleased to announce that modern forms of what are called General Perturbations data are being disseminated via modern formats including JSON, XML and KVN at https://newark192.amsat.org/gpdata/current/. The reason this change is being made is that we are running out of 5-digit catalog numbers and the TLE format is not viable for satellites launched after July of this year. See https://celestrak.org/NORAD/documentation/gp-data-formats.php for details.

These data are presently considered in beta test for the next two months while hosted on the test server newark192.amsat.org, and we are very open to community feedback at webmaster [at] amsat.org. Testers may experience outages and errors while we make improvements. We intend to put this into production on our main web server in July as we expect that satellites launched after this summer will require one of the new formats to accommodate longer object numbers. AMSAT will continue to publish TLE bulletins for satellites launched before July 2026 indefinitely.

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

ARISS News

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

Scheduled Contacts

+ Recently Completed

No ARISS educational contacts were completed during the last week.

+ Upcoming Contacts

No school contacts are currently scheduled for the upcoming week.

Many times, a school makes a last-minute decision to do a Livestream or runs into a last-minute glitch requiring a change of the URL, but we at ARISS may not get the URL in time for publication. You can always check https://live.ariss.org/ to see if a school is Livestreaming.

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

+ Schedule of ISS radio power downs and power ups
Mon 2026-09-07 12:10 UTC Service module radio power down
Mon 2026-09-07 12:15 UTC Columbus module radio power down
Mon 2026-09-07 15:16 UTC Progress undocking
Mon 2026-09-07 19:05 UTC Columbus module radio power up
Mon 2026-09-07 19:10 UTC Service module radio power up

The crossband repeater remains configured in the Columbus Module (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If a crewmember decides to pick up the microphone and turn up the volume, you may hear them on the air—so keep listening, as you never know when activity might occur.

Kenwood D710GA in the Zvezda Service Module – Call sign RS0ISS. Please note we’re still in the process of troubleshooting and testing this radio. APRS is currently active on 437.825 MHz. Feel free to check out status reports at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_APRS/.

​HamTV in the Columbus Module (2395.00 MHz) is currently transmitting a test signal. For more information, visit the ARISS Ham TV Live site at https://live.ariss.org/hamtv/.

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 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

Greater Louisville Hamfest – September 12, 2026
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
395 Paroquet Springs Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165-6007
https://louisvillehamfest.wixsite.com/louisvillehamfest
W4FCL

Bored Net µExpo and ARRL Santa Barbara Section Convention – October 3, 2026
Cal State University Channel Islands
1 University Drive
Camarillo, CA 93010
https://www.theborednet.net/index.php/2026/06/22/2026-microexpo-is-on/
K6KH

Tucson Area Autumn Hamfest – October 3, 2026
Radio Society of Tucson
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
9252 East 22nd Street
Tucson, AZ
https://k7rst.club
N1UW

44th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Membership Meeting – October 8 thru 11, 2026
Wyndham Jacksonville Hotel and Conference Center
14670 Duval Road
Jacksonville, FL 32218
https://www.amsat.org/2026-amsat-symposium/

Southern Arizona Fall Hamfest – November 14, 2026
Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club
Marana Middle School
11285 W. Grier Rd.
Marana AZ
www.tucsonhamradio.org/hamfest
N1UW

For more information go to: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/

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

+ Europe’s second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite, MTG-I2, was launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from French Guiana on August 27. The satellite completes the first three-spacecraft family of Europe’s new Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite system. Once commissioned in geostationary orbit, MTG-I2 will provide rapid weather imagery over Europe and northern Africa, with new observations available every 2.5 minutes. Its instruments include the Flexible Combined Imager and Lightning Imager, allowing forecasters to follow rapidly developing storms and detect lightning during both day and night. Data from the satellite will also support wildfire monitoring, atmospheric pollution tracking, climate research, and improved early warnings for severe weather. MTG-I2 joins the first MTG Imager launched in 2022 and the MTG Sounder launched last year, allowing the new generation of Meteosat satellites to begin operating at full capacity. (ANS thanks ESA for the above information)

+ SpaceMD, a subsidiary of Redwire Corporation, has signed an agreement to fly a commercial pharmaceutical research mission aboard SpaceX’s new Starfall spacecraft in 2028. Starfall is an uncrewed reentry vehicle designed to provide routine access to microgravity for research, manufacturing, and testing, with experiments and other payloads returned to Earth after their time in orbit. SpaceX conducted the first demonstration flight of Starfall in June 2026, launching the spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and testing technology intended for future return missions. SpaceMD plans to fly as many as 32 of its Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory, or PIL-BOX, systems on the 2028 mission, which the company says would make it the largest dedicated commercial microgravity research mission to date. The PIL-BOX systems allow researchers to crystallize pharmaceutical compounds in microgravity, where conditions can produce crystals useful in developing improved drug formulations and new therapies. Since November 2023, 54 PIL-BOX systems have flown to the International Space Station and have been used to crystallize 45 compounds, including insulin and molecules targeting cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. (ANS thanks Redwire for the above information)

AMSAT News Service

ANS-214
August 23, 2026

In this edition:

• Menon, Adenot Complete Spacewalk to Remove Failed Station Antenna
• Dr. Carlos Miranda Appointed ARISS-USA Director of Education
• Student-Built JAMX01 and BY70-4 Set for August 25 Launch
• Recent IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Activity
• Petition Seeks Amateur Transponder Aboard Bangladesh Satellite-2
• Huntsville Hamfest Hosts ARRL National Convention This Weekend
• Radio Amateurs Support Earthquake Communications in Indonesia and Colombia
• AMSAT-UK Announces Colloquium and Gala Dinner Details
• OrbitDeck for iOS Enters Public Beta; Testers Sought
• Juan José Ruiz, HK4X, Earns AMSAT Rover Award #95
• Voting Still in Progress for Board of Directors
• Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 21, 2026
• 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 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/

Menon, Adenot Complete Spacewalk to Remove Failed Station Antenna

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, ventured outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, August 18, for U.S. Spacewalk 97, spending 6 hours and 23 minutes working to remove a failed Space-to-Ground antenna from the station’s Z1 truss segment. The excursion also carried a historic note: Adenot became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk.

The pair switched their suits to battery power at 8:29 a.m. EDT (1229 UTC) to begin the spacewalk. The Space-to-Ground antenna, a critical link used to transmit high-rate data between the station and Mission Control in Houston via NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, had been unable to track the relay satellites since November. Menon and Adenot completed the removal of the failed unit and performed a long-duration tie-down of the antenna on the station’s truss structure. Disconnecting electrical cables and loosening bolts took longer than expected, however, delaying installation of the replacement antenna, which is now expected to be completed on a future spacewalk. Near the end of the excursion, the crew performed cleanup tasks along with an inspection and swap of a portable foot restraint near the Quest airlock before re-entering the station at 2:52 p.m. EDT (1852 UTC). The station continues to operate with a fully functional Space-to-Ground antenna in the meantime.

The spacewalk was the 282nd in support of station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades, the second for Menon, and the first for Adenot. Radio amateurs will recognize Adenot as a familiar voice on 145.800 MHz – just six days before stepping outside, she spoke with students at the Challenger Learning Center National Conference in Framingham, Massachusetts, via ARISS. In keeping with standard safety protocol, the ARISS radios aboard the station were powered down on August 17 in support of the spacewalk, with service scheduled to be restored on August 19 at 10:45 UTC.

[ANS thanks NASA and Space.com for the above information]

LIMITED TIME OFFER!!!

AMSAT is offering a limited-time promotion for new and renewing members that includes a free digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites. The promotion is being offered as AMSAT begins the 2026 membership year.

Anyone who joins or renews their AMSAT membership during the promotional period will receive a download link for the latest edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites in their membership confirmation email. JOIN TODAY at https://launch.amsat.org/ (Remember! Students join for FREE!)

It’s August! Time is running out for the 2026 President’s Club Coin!
Help Support GOLF and FoxPlus.

Annual memberships start at only $120

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

Radio Amateurs Support Earthquake Communications in Indonesia and Colombia

Radio amateurs have been supporting emergency communications following major earthquakes in Indonesia and Colombia, with International Amateur Radio Union officials asking operators to protect emergency frequencies from interference while relief work continues.

In Indonesia, the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Committee reported that a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the East Nusa Tenggara region early on August 15. Preliminary reports cited damage to buildings and disruption of normal communications infrastructure in several affected areas.

Ageng Aditya, YB1BTM, Chair of the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Committee, asked radio amateurs in Indonesia and throughout the region to keep 7.110 MHz clear for HF emergency communications. The frequency 145.100 MHz has been used for local VHF coordination in affected areas. Operators were asked to give absolute priority to emergency and disaster-relief traffic and to monitor without transmitting unless specifically requested to assist.

The IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Committee and regional emergency communications coordinators remained on standby to support additional requests for amateur radio assistance.

Radio amateurs have also been heavily involved in communications following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on August 10.

Reports relayed by ARRL and IARU Region 2 describe amateur radio clubs working to restore repeaters, maintain regional communications links, and support emergency organizations after cellular and Wi-Fi networks failed in affected areas. In one case, operators in the Coffee Axis region restored an emergency communications system within approximately 15 minutes after repeater power systems failed.

Volunteers from Liga Radio Quindio traveled to Cerro Campanario, a 3,600-meter peak in Colombia’s Central Cordillera, to work on strategically located repeaters serving both amateur radio and government risk-management communications. Solar panels and batteries were being used in efforts to restore service.

Other amateur groups made repeaters and equipment available to emergency agencies. Operators established communications at Red Cross facilities, fire departments, airports, and other locations. According to IARU Region 2 Emergency Coordinator Carlos Alberto Santamaria Gonzalez, CO2JC, amateur radio infrastructure was used when other digital systems became unavailable.

CO2JC asked amateurs to avoid transmitting on the IARU Region 2 emergency frequencies of 3985, 7060, 7240, 7275, 14300, and 21360 kHz. Stations within VHF range of Colombia were also asked to protect 146.520 MHz from unnecessary transmissions.

Because emergency communications requirements can change rapidly, operators should consult the latest IARU and national amateur radio organization reports before using frequencies identified for disaster traffic.

The IARU report on the Indonesian response is available at:
https://www.iaru-r1.org/2026/indonesia-earthquake-15th-august-2026/

ARRL’s reports on the Colombian response are available at:
https://www.arrl.org/news/colombian-emergency-network-activated-following-earthquake

and:

https://www.arrl.org/news/colombian-amateurs-help-in-earthquake-response-clear-frequencies-requested

[ANS thanks Ageng Aditya, YB1BTM, the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Committee, Carlos Alberto Santamaria Gonzalez, CO2JC, IARU Region 2, ARRL, and the radio amateurs supporting emergency communications in Indonesia and Colombia for the above information]

AMSAT-UK Announces Colloquium and Gala Dinner Details

The annual AMSAT-UK Colloquium is fast approaching. Once again, it will be held at the Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes alongside the RSGB Convention, on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, 2026, promising a weekend of all things satellite with lectures from both AMSAT-UK and the RSGB.

One change this year concerns lodging and the social calendar: the Delta by Marriott hotel near Kents Hill is not available for accommodation or for the Gala Dinner, so AMSAT-UK has booked the Woughton House Hotel, Newport Road, Woughton-on-the-Green, Milton Keynes, approximately a five-minute drive from Kents Hill. Details of the hotel and available accommodation may be found at https://hotelwoughtonhouse.co.uk/

The AMSAT-UK Gala Dinner will be held at the Woughton House Hotel on the evening of Saturday, October 10. The three-course meal with tea and coffee is priced at 39 pounds per person. Attendance is restricted this year, and a limited number of tickets are on sale at the AMSAT-UK shop at https://shop.amsat-uk.org/product/amsat-uk-gala-dinner-2026

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

OrbitDeck for iOS Enters Public Beta; Testers Sought

A new amateur-radio satellite tracking app for iPhone and iPad, OrbitDeck for iOS, is now available for public beta testing, and the developer is inviting AMSAT members to try it and share feedback.

Developed by Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, OrbitDeck is a port of the OrbitDeck desktop application which in turn was a desktop port of many features unique to the CardSat project. It computes passes, Doppler, look angles, footprints, and link budgets from live orbital elements, and adds orbital analysis, live space weather, and the classic OSCARLOCATOR tracking overlays.

Features include live look angles and a real-time polar sky plot; next-pass predictions and a day-by-day schedule of your favorite satellites; a ground-track map, all-sky radar, and an animated 3D globe; four-dial DX Doppler and a single-station Doppler playbook with per-satellite calibration; link budgets; a SatNOGS transponder database; mutual-visibility windows; VUCC grid-line and grid-corner recognition with a live “Grid Finder” to walk you onto a boundary; MUF/HF propagation and NOAA space-weather summaries; and more than 60 bench calculators. Orbital elements come from CelesTrak and AMSAT, and cached data keeps core tracking working offline. OrbitDeck contains no advertising, analytics, or tracking.

Testers can join the beta through Apple’s TestFlight at:

https://testflight.apple.com/join/VEqdpvGN

TestFlight (a free app from Apple) is required, along with an iPhone or iPad running a recent version of iOS or iPadOS. More information, documentation, and the privacy policy are available at https://orbitdeckios.n8hm.radio.

Feedback from operators on real passes — bug reports, feature requests, and usability notes — is especially welcome during the beta.

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

Juan José Ruiz, HK4X, Earns AMSAT Rover Award #95

Make it three weeks in a row – and three countries. Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, has announced that AMSAT Rover Award #95 has been earned by Juan José Ruiz, HK4X, of Colombia, completing an international hat trick that has seen consecutive Rover Awards go to Brazil, the United Kingdom, and now Colombia.

With two of the last three awards landing in South America, the region’s satellite roving scene is clearly picking up speed – welcome news for grid chasers across the hemisphere, for whom activations from Colombia’s grids, many of them draped over Andean terrain that makes portable operation an adventure in itself, are prized catches.

The Rover Award is granted upon accumulating 25 points from satellite operations in grid squares outside the rover’s home grid. Each grid activated earns one point when worked through a single-channel FM transponder, two points through a linear SSB/CW transponder, and three points through a digital transponder, and activating a grid in a state, province, or DX entity other than the rover’s own adds a bonus point. Rovers can add five points by publicizing an activation at least 24 hours in advance – with a public social media post tagging @amsat or #amsat, or via the AMSAT-BB or this bulletin – and five more by posting photos of the operation afterward, while an activation made maritime mobile earns ten points and a /MM endorsement on the certificate.

In announcing the award, Paige offered his congratulations along with his customary encouragement to rovers everywhere to keep on rovin’.

Complete rules and application details for the AMSAT Rover Award are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/, and upcoming rover operations may be found – and publicized – at https://hams.at.

Felicitaciones, Juan José!

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

Voting Still in Progress for Board of Directors

AMSAT members are reminded that voting remains open in the 2026 AMSAT Board of Directors election. Three seats on the Board are being filled this year. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the Board, while the candidates receiving the next highest vote totals will be named First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.

Voting opened on July 15, 2026, and will conclude on September 15, 2026. Election results will be announced no later than September 30, 2026.

Current AMSAT members may review the official candidate statements and cast their ballots on the AMSAT 2026 Board of Directors Election website at https://launch.amsat.org/2026-BoD-Election

Members are encouraged to take a few minutes to review the candidates’ statements and cast their ballots. Your participation helps shape the future of AMSAT and its mission to Keep Amateur Radio in Space.

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

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for July 31, 2026

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/.

CO-128 MARMOTSat was incorrectly identified last week, the correct NORAD designation is Cat ID 69912

General Perturbations Data Support

AMSAT is pleased to announce that modern forms of what are called General Perturbations data are being disseminated via modern formats including JSON, XML and KVN at https://newark192.amsat.org/gpdata/current/. The reason this change is being made is that we are running out of 5-digit catalog numbers and the TLE format is not viable for satellites launched after July of this year. See https://celestrak.org/NORAD/documentation/gp-data-formats.php for details.

These data are presently considered in beta test for the next two months while hosted on the test server newark192.amsat.org, and we are very open to community feedback at webmaster at amsat.org. Testers may experience outages and errors while we make improvements. We intend to put this into production on our main web server in July as we expect that satellites launched after this summer will require one of the new formats to accommodate longer object numbers. AMSAT will continue to publish TLE bulletins for satellites launched before July 2026 indefinitely.

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

Buying from DX Engineering?
Add AMSAT’s Getting Started With Amateur Satellites to your order.Available for $30 from DX Engineering (free shipping on most orders over $99)
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/amt-satellites

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.

Scheduled Contacts

Rockingham Scout Group, Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia, telebridge via ZS6JON

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Jack Hathaway KJ5NIV
The ARISS mentor is VK4ISS    

Contact is go for: Sat 2026-08-29 08:56:33 UTC 86 deg

Many times, a school makes a last-minute decision to do a Livestream or runs into a last-minute glitch requiring a change of the URL, but we at ARISS may not get the URL in time for publication. You can always check https://live.ariss.org/ to see if a school is Livestreaming.

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

Schedule of radio power downs and power ups

COL=Columbus module  SM=Service Module

Mon 2026-08-24 15:25 UTC      COL radio power down
Mon 2026-08-24 15:30 UTC      SM radio power down
Tue 2026-08-25                            USOS EVA
        Egress: 12:35-13:05 UTC
        Ingress 18:35-19:05 UTC
Wed 2026-08-26 13:20 UTC      COL radio power up
Wed 2026-08-26 13:25 UTC      SM radio power up

The crossband repeater remains configured in the Columbus Module (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If a crewmember decides to pick up the microphone and turn up the volume, you may hear them on the air—so keep listening, as you never know when activity might occur.

​Kenwood D710GA in the Zvezda Service Module – Call sign RSØISS. Please note we’re still in the process of troubleshooting and testing this radio. APRS is currently active on 437.825 MHz. Feel free to check out status reports at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_APRS/.

Ham TV is currently transmitting a test signal at 2395.00 MHz.

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]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!

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 28-30, 2026
Wyoming HamCon, ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
Best Western (Downtown)
123 W. E St.
Casper, WY 82601
http://wyohamcon.org/
K0NMR

October 8-11, 2026
44th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Membership Meeting
Crowne Plaza JAX Airport
14670 Duval Road
Jacksonville, FL 32218
Details to follow

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]

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

For the 44th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 8-11, 2026, in Jacksonville!

Register before September 8 and save $20 with early bird pricing.

https://launch.amsat.org/event-6789663

Satellite Shorts from All Over

Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

• Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
• Students are eligible for FREE membership up to age 25.
• 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. AMSAT is a registered trademark of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.

AMSAT News Service

ANS-228
August 16, 2026

In this edition:

* Call for Presentations: 44th AMSAT Space Symposium
* AMSAT CubeSatSim Featured in QST Magazine
* More AMSAT Contests and Awards
* Norwegian Amateurs Experiment with Satellite Voice Control
* ARISS Receives Challenger-7 Recognition
* Voting Still in Progress for Board of Directors
* Satellite DXpedition To The Bahamas This Week
* Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 14, 2026
* 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 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/

Call for Presentations: 44th AMSAT Space Symposium

Do you have a story to tell the amateur satellite community? AMSAT invites proposals for presentations at the 44th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, to be held October 8-11, 2026, at the Wyndham Jacksonville Hotel & Conference Center in Jacksonville, Florida.

Presentations are welcome on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. Suggested subjects include current and future satellite projects such as the GOLF program and the CubeSatSim; ARISS and human spaceflight activities; ground station, antenna, and portable station design; software-defined radio; telemetry collection and analysis; satellite operating techniques and achievements; educational programs and youth outreach; and reports from DXpeditions and roving operations. Whether you have built it, flown it, coded it, taught it, or worked it through a satellite, your fellow attendees want to hear about it.

Prospective presenters should email a tentative presentation title and a brief abstract to symposium [at] amsat.org as soon as possible. Presentation time slots are limited, so early submissions are encouraged, and information on submitting final papers and presentation materials for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings will be provided to presenters. A digital copy of the Proceedings is included with every Symposium registration.

Symposium presentations begin Friday afternoon, October 9, and continue through Saturday, October 10, leading into the Annual General Meeting. Live streaming will bring the sessions to members unable to attend in person – all the more reason to make sure your work is on the program.

Registration for the Symposium is now open at https://launch.amsat.org/event-6789663, with early bird pricing available through September 8. Hotel reservations at the Wyndham Jacksonville – the property formerly known as the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Airport/I-95 – may be made through the booking link at https://www.amsat.org/2026-amsat-symposium/ or by phone at 1-800-227-6963 using group code AMS.

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Symposium Team for the above information.]

Registration is Now Open!

AMSAT CubeSatSim Featured in QST Magazine

The AMSAT CubeSatSim, the CubeSat Simulator, is a small, low-cost, spacecraft simulator that serves as a tool for academic education, public demonstrations, and theory and design disciplines. It can be used in a classroom, lab or training setting to introduce the basics of satellite operations, or it can be used to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) exercises.

First page of the QST Magazine article by Mark Samis, KD2XS. (Image credit: QST Magazine)

The September issue of QST Magazine has an article about the project. The article “Meet the CubeSatSim” is written by Mark Samis, KD2XS. Mark is a long-time key contributor to the CubeSatSim Project and is the Project Manager for the ARISS STAR Project.

ARRL members will find the article beginning on page 54 of the September issue, available by logging in on the ARRL site, https://www.arrl.org/qst. By special permission from ARRL and QST, all may read a PDF version of the article on the CubeSatSim project website at: https://CubeSatSim.org/Meet-the-CubeSatSim.pdf.

The CubeSatSim and the low-cost CubeSatSim Lite are available on the AMSAT Store.

[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y,  AMSAT Vice President – Educational Relations, for the above information.]

Annual memberships start at only $120

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

Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, ARISS-USA Associate Director, and Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS-USA Executive Director and ARISS International Chair,
hold the Challenger-7 Recognition certificate. (Credit, ARISS)

Norwegian Amateurs Experiment with Satellite Voice Control

Amateur radio operators from the Oslo Group of the Norwegian Radio Relay League (NRRL), using an experimental satellite and homebrew ham equipment, successfully reprogrammed the satellite to respond to voice control.

On July 27, 2026, a verbal command, sent via a 23-centimeter signal from the roof of the Oslo Group’s club station, was received, transcribed, and executed on board the OPS-SAT PRETTY satellite. The satellite then activated the game DOOM in response, and downloaded images of the game as confirmation. Voice control of a satellite was a reality, performed by radio amateurs in the Oslo Group!

The satellite composed this postcard on board and downlinked it to the ground after launching DOOM on the evening pass, the one commanded by a live human voice. An operator spoke into the microphone: “LIMA ALFA FOUR OSCAR, PRETTY PLAY DOOM DOOM DOOM, PRETTY PLAY DOOM DOOM DOOM.” That is the club call sign for legal identification, then the command twice, with DOOM repeated each time. Printed across the postcard is what the onboard speech-to-text made of it. The model is small enough to fit the satellite’s limited computer, so the transcription is rough, but the repeated DOOM trigger word still got through. (Image credit: tanagraspace.com)

The spacecraft is operated by Graz University of Technology in Austria and the experimentation is coordinated by the European Space Agency’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.

The OPS-SAT PRETTY is a 3U CubeSat (10 x 10 x 34 cm) with a reconfigurable processing platform that allows a wide range of custom software and firmware experiments, and is tightly connected to an onboard software defined receiver (SDR).

Everyone involved in the experiment agreed that amateur radio infrastructure can support technically meaningful spacecraft experiments when RF design, signal processing, craft software, and disciplined operations are treated as one system.

“For this satellite, the Satellite Experimental Processing Platform (SEPP) where the experiments run, is connected to an SDR, receive only,” said team member Eskil Hadland, LB6AJ. “As far as I know, the TMTC (Telemetry and Telecommand) is outside of the SEPP. So I do not believe this satellite will be able to talk back to us. Unlike other satellite operations for amateurs, where you can listen when you are aiming directly, we have been shouting towards the stars, and gotten data back hours later.”

The Project Page at partner Tanagra Space tells the whole story from end to end, with the postcard the satellite composed on board and the gameplay sequence it captured as it flew: https://tanagraspace.com/opssat-pretty-doomed/.

Thanks to the Oslo Group of the Norwegian Radio Relay League for taking time to talk with the ARRL Letter about their accomplishments.

[ANS thanks the ARRL Letter for the above information.]

Voting Still in Progress for Board of Directors

AMSAT members are reminded that voting remains open in the 2026 AMSAT Board of Directors election. Three seats on the Board are being filled this year. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the Board, while the candidates receiving the next highest vote totals will be named First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.

Voting opened on July 15, 2026, and will conclude on September 15, 2026. Election results will be announced no later than September 30, 2026.

Current AMSAT members may review the official candidate statements and cast their ballots on the AMSAT 2026 Board of Directors Election website at https://launch.amsat.org/2026-BoD-Election

Members are encouraged to take a few minutes to review the candidates’ statements and cast their ballots. Your participation helps shape the future of AMSAT and its mission to Keep Amateur Radio in Space.

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

Satellite DXpedition To The Bahamas This Week

Philippe, EA4NF, will be active on FM LEO satellites from the BAHAMAS (Providence Island & Discovery Island) under the callsign C6AUB from August 19 to 23, 2026.
(DXCC : C6 BAHAMAS / GRID : FL15 / IOTA : NA-001)

He will be operating in full-duplex mode using a portable transceiver equipped with his standard Arrow antenna and his whip antenna.

August 19-23, 2026
FM LEO SATELLITES
QSL via LoTW as C6AUB

Keep an eye on Philippe’s Twitter feed for further updates : @EA4NF_SAT

[ANS thanks Philippe Chateau, EA4NF, for the above information.]

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 14, 2026

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/.

The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:
CO-128 (MARMOTSat) NORAD Cat ID 69872

General Perturbations Data Support

AMSAT is pleased to announce that modern forms of what are called General Perturbations data are being disseminated via modern formats including JSON, XML and KVN at https://newark192.amsat.org/gpdata/current/. The reason this change is being made is that we are running out of 5-digit catalog numbers and the TLE format is not viable for satellites launched after July of this year. See https://celestrak.org/NORAD/documentation/gp-data-formats.php for details.

These data are presently considered in beta test for the next two months while hosted on the test server newark192.amsat.org, and we are very open to community feedback at webmaster at amsat.org. Testers may experience outages and errors while we make improvements. We intend to put this into production on our main web server in July as we expect that satellites launched after this summer will require one of the new formats to accommodate longer object numbers. AMSAT will continue to publish TLE bulletins for satellites launched before July 2026 indefinitely.

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

Buying from DX Engineering?
Add AMSAT’s Getting Started With Amateur Satellites to your order.

Available for $30 from DX Engineering (free shipping on most orders over $99)
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/amt-satellites

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.

Recently Completed

Challenger Learning Center National Conference, Framingham, MA, telebridge via VK4ISS
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember was Sophie Adenot KJ5LTN
The ARISS mentor was KA3HDO
Contact was successful: Wed 2026-08-12 16:31:39 UTC 58 degrees max. elevation
Congratulations to the Challenger Learning Center National Conference students, Sophie, mentor KA3HDO, and telebridge VK4ISS!

Australian Air League (AAL), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Jack Hathaway KJ5NIV
The ARISS mentor was VK4ISS
Contact was successful: Fri 2026-08-14 10:56:13 UTC 76 degrees max. elevation
Live Stream was at http://www.ariotti.com/ starting about 10-15 min before AOS
Congratulations to the Australian Air League, Jack, mentor VK4ISS, and telebridge IK1SLD!

Many times, a school makes a last-minute decision to do a Livestream or runs into a last-minute glitch requiring a change of the URL, but we at ARISS may not get the URL in time for publication. You can always check https://live.ariss.org/ to see if a school is Livestreaming.

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

Mon 2026-08-17 19:05 UTC radio power down
Tue 2026-08-18 U.S. Orbital Segment (USOS) EVA (spacewalk by flight engineers Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN)
Wed 2026-08-19 10:45 UTC radio power up

The crossband repeater remains configured in the Columbus Module (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If a crewmember decides to pick up the microphone and turn up the volume, you may hear them on the air—so keep listening, as you never know when activity might occur.

​Kenwood D710GA in the Zvezda Service Module – Call sign RSØISS. Please note we’re still in the process of troubleshooting and testing this radio. APRS is currently active on 437.825 MHz. Feel free to check out status reports at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_APRS/.

Ham TV is currently transmitting a test signal at 2395.00 MHz.

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]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!

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 28-30, 2026
Wyoming HamCon, ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
Best Western (Downtown)
123 W. E St.
Casper, WY 82601
http://wyohamcon.org/
K0NMR

October 8-11, 2026
44th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Membership Meeting
Wyndham Jacksonville Hotel & Conference Center
14670 Duval Road
Jacksonville, FL 32218
https://www.amsat.org/2026-amsat-symposium/
Registration is Now Open!

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

Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

• Societies (recognized groups, clubs or organization).
• Students are eligible for FREE membership up to age 25.
• 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. AMSAT is a registered trademark of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.

AMSAT News Service

ANS-221
August 9, 2026

In this edition:

* Registration Now Open for the 44th AMSAT Space Symposium
* Voting Still in Progress for Board of Directors
* Jackie Blumer KC9LEH Appointed as ARISS Associate Director
* AMSAT-CA Membership is Open
* AMSAT Contests and Awards
* Astronauts Complete Spacewalk for Solar Array Modifications
* SpaceX Rocket Impact: Lunar Orbiter Captures Aftermath
* VUCC Satellite Standings August 2026
* DXCC Satellite Standings August 2026
* Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 7, 2026
* 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 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 44th AMSAT Space Symposium

Voting Still in Progress for Board of Directors

AMSAT members are reminded that voting remains open in the 2026 AMSAT Board of Directors election. Three seats on the Board are being filled this year. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the Board, while the candidates receiving the next highest vote totals will be named First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.

Voting opened on July 15, 2026, and will conclude on September 15, 2026. Election results will be announced no later than September 30, 2026.

Current AMSAT members may review the official candidate statements and cast their ballots on the AMSAT 2026 Board of Directors Election website at https://launch.amsat.org/2026-BoD-Election

Members are encouraged to take a few minutes to review the candidates’ statements and cast their ballots. Your participation helps shape the future of AMSAT and its mission to Keep Amateur Radio in Space.

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

LIMITED TIME OFFER!!!

AMSAT is offering a limited-time promotion for new and renewing members that includes a free digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites. The promotion is being offered as AMSAT begins the 2026 membership year.

Anyone who joins or renews their AMSAT membership during the promotional period will receive a download link for the latest edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites in their membership confirmation email. JOIN TODAY at https://launch.amsat.org/ (Remember! Students join for FREE!)

Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, Appointed as ARISS Associate Director

Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, Earth/Space Educator, Associate Director,  ARISS-USA
[Credit: ARISS-USA]

ARISS-USA is pleased to announce that Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, has been appointed Associate Director of ARISS-USA (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station). Jackie is a nationally recognized science educator with an emphasis on space education.

In her work as an educator, she has often incorporated amateur radio into her curriculum as a teaching tool. In addition to her many responsibilities at ARISS-USA, Jackie has recently served as Business Development Coordinator and Logistics Manager for ARISS-USA.

In her new position as Associate Director, her focus will be on developing relations with other space-related organizations. She will also be seeking educational opportunities to collaborate on projects in conjunction with the commercial space industry.

Please join us in congratulating Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, on her appointment and wishing her continued success in her new role with ARISS-USA.

[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR and media contact for the above information.]

AMSAT-CA Membership is Open

AMSAT-CA Logo [Credit: amsat-ca.org]

The global amateur radio community has expanded with the official formation of AMSAT CANADA (AMSAT-CA), making it the 28th affiliate of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.

AMSAT Canada joins this global network to specifically serve Canadian amateur radio operators who share an interest in space communications. More information can be found at https://www.amsat-ca.org/about/.

Building on Canada’s rich history of innovation in space and radio science, AMSAT Canada stands ready to contribute to that legacy. The organization’s mandate is to promote, develop, and support amateur radio in space, reflecting a long tradition of experimentation, education, and international collaboration.

By uniting together, the organization aims to build a vibrant and enduring Canadian presence in space that:

• Inspires new generations

• Advances open science

• Upholds the spirit of exploration that has always defined amateur radio

Operators and enthusiasts interested in joining the initiative, tracking upcoming projects, or learning more about membership can visit the official website at www.amsat-ca.org.

[ANS thanks Levente Buzas, VA7QF, President of AMSAT Canada for the above information.]

Buying from Ham Radio Outlet?
Add AMSAT’s Getting Started With Amateur Satellites to your order.

Available for $29.95 from HRO (free shipping on most orders over $100)
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-019238

AMSAT Contests and Awards

Kleibe, PP2KR, Earns AMSAT Rover Award #93

Kleibe, PP2KR [Credit: QRZ.com]

Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, has announced that Kleibe, PP2KR, of Brazil has been awarded AMSAT Rover Award #93.

Introduced in 2018, the AMSAT Rover Award recognizes the operators who make grid chasing possible in the first place: the ones who pack up their stations and take them somewhere else. The award is granted to stations accumulating 25 points through roving activity, with each grid square activated outside the rover’s home grid earning one point via a single-channel FM transponder, two points via a linear SSB/CW transponder, or three points via a digital transponder such as the ISS packet system. An additional point is added for each grid activated in a state, province, or DX entity outside the rover’s own, and five-point bonuses are available both for publicizing an activation at least 24 hours in advance – via a public social media post tagging @amsat or #amsat, the AMSAT-BB, or this bulletin – and for posting photos of the operation afterward. Braver souls can earn 10 points for activating a grid while operating maritime mobile, which also adds a /MM endorsement to the certificate.

Every rare grid in a chaser’s log is there because someone made the trip, and rover activity from South America is an especially welcome treat for satellite operators throughout the Americas. In announcing the award, Paige offered his congratulations along with his customary encouragement to rovers everywhere to keep on rovin’.

Complete rules and application information for the AMSAT Rover Award are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/, and upcoming rover operations may be found – and publicized – at https://hams.at.

Congratulations, Kleibe, and thanks for putting Brazil on the air!

Adrian Mol, N8AJM, Earns GridMaster Award #79

Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, has announced that Adrian Mol, N8AJM, has been awarded GridMaster Award #79.

The GridMaster Award recognizes radio amateurs worldwide who achieve two-way communication via amateur satellite with operators in all 488 Maidenhead grid squares of the contiguous United States. Contacts must be confirmed in writing, in the form of QSL cards or Logbook of The World confirmations, and must be made from a single location or from locations no more than 200 kilometers apart. Originally created by the Star Comm Group in 2014 and now administered by AMSAT, the GridMaster is widely regarded as one of the most demanding achievements in amateur satellite operating. Unlike open-ended grid chasing, it has a finish line, and reaching it takes years of dedication: many of the 488 grids are sparsely populated or home to no satellite operators at all, meaning nearly every GridMaster owes a debt to the rovers who haul their stations into rare grids so others can complete the map.

That makes this award a particularly fitting one. Mol is no stranger to the other side of the microphone, having appeared on the AMSAT rover pages activating grids for fellow chasers. In announcing the award, Paige offered his congratulations along with his customary encouragement to the rover community to keep on rovin’.

Full details on the GridMaster Award, including rules and the application form, are available at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/. Those looking to chase, or activate, needed grids will find upcoming rover operations listed at https://hams.at.

Congratulations, N8AJM, on a truly hard-earned achievement!

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VUCC Satellite Standings August 2026

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for
July 01, 2026 to August 01, 2026.
------------------------------------------------------------
PY2PIM                    1310     1354
WI7P                      1104     1106
JS1LQI                     825      876
AC9DX                      725      730
N1AIA                      613      705
JA1GZK                     600      634
JO4JKL                     511      600
W9FF                       558      559
9V1EO                      133      553
HP2VX                      543      552
DL8GAM                     500      529
PY2HZ                      427      505
N6PAZ                      500      503
JI5RPT/1                   300      400
JE2UFF                     334      335
JH0BBE                     324      325
IC8TEM                     147      315
DH0GSU                     250      279
EA4DEI                     250      277
WA8ZID                     233      234
KT8O                       175      201
N9HF                       185      201
NK0S                       175      181
W4XP                       100      126

DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for
Jul 01, 2026 to Aug 01, 2026.
------------------------------------------------------------
YO2CMI                     193      195
HB9RYZ                     175      176
ON4AOI                     167      176
YO2KHK                     168      176
OE6MDF                     169      170
IK1IYU                     153      165
IK4CIE                     157      164
IK0WMJ                     131      159
YO2RR                      150      156
G4BWP                      138      150
DL6JZ                      101      118
CT4NH                      New      116
CT1EEB                     113      115
OH3DP                      110      114
ON4IQ                      107      108
------------------------------------------------------------

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for August 7, 2026

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/.

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

CroCube NORAD Cat ID 62394
LASARsat NORAD Cat ID 62391
MARINA NORAD Cat ID 69920

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

Cute  NORAD Cat ID 49263  Decayed from orbit on or about 17 July 2026.

General Perturbations Data Support

AMSAT is pleased to announce that modern forms of what are called General Perturbations data are being disseminated via modern formats including JSON, XML and KVN at https://newark192.amsat.org/gpdata/current/. The reason this change is being made is that we are running out of 5-digit catalog numbers and the TLE format is not viable for satellites launched after July of this year. See https://celestrak.org/NORAD/documentation/gp-data-formats.php for details.

These data are presently considered in beta test for the next two months while hosted on the test server newark192.amsat.org, and we are very open to community feedback at webmaster [at] amsat.org. Testers may experience outages and errors while we make improvements. We intend to put this into production on our main web server in July as we expect that satellites launched after this summer will require one of the new formats to accommodate longer object numbers. AMSAT will continue to publish TLE bulletins for satellites launched before July 2026 indefinitely.

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

ARISS News

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

Scheduled Contacts

+ Recently Completed

Geneva Christian College, Latrobe, Tasmania, Australia telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign was OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Sophie Adenot KJ5LTN
The ARISS mentor was VK4KHZ
Contact was successful: Mon 2026-08-03 10:00:37 UTC 55 deg

Kenya Space Agency (KSA), Nairobi, Kenya, telebridge via ON4ISS
The ISS callsign was OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Sophie Adenot KJ5LTN
The ARISS mentor was IZ2GOJ
Contact was successful: Wed 2026-08-05 11:38:38 UTC 89 deg

+ Upcoming

Challenger Learning Center National Conference, Framingham, MA, telebridge via VK4ISS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be  NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN
The ARISS mentor is KA3HDO
Contact is go for: Wed 2026-08-12 16:31:39 UTC 58 deg

Australian Air League (AAL), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, telebridge via IK1SLD 
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Jack Hathaway, KJ5NIV
The ARISS mentor is VK4ISS
Contact is go for: Fri 2026-08-14 10:56:13 UTC 76 deg

Many times, a school makes a last-minute decision to do a Livestream or runs into a last-minute glitch requiring a change of the URL, but we at ARISS may not get the URL in time for publication. You can always check https://live.ariss.org/ to see if a school is Livestreaming.

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 remains configured in the Columbus Module (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If a crewmember decides to pick up the microphone and turn up the volume, you may hear them on the air—so keep listening, as you never know when activity might occur.

​Kenwood D710GA in the Zvezda Service Module – Call sign RSØISS. Please note we’re still in the process of troubleshooting and testing this radio. APRS is currently active on 437.825 MHz. Feel free to check out status reports at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_APRS/.

Ham TV is currently transmitting a test signal at 2395.00 MHz.

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 operating 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 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 [email protected] 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

44th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Membership Meeting
October 8-11, 2026
Wyndham Jacksonville Hotel & Conference Center (rebranded from Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Airport/I-95 in July 2026)
14670 Duval Road
Jacksonville, FL 32218

For more information go to: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/

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