ANS-108 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for April 18, 2021

April 18, 2021 by Paul Stoetzer

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-108

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@amsat.org

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

In this edition:

AMSAT’s GOLF-TEE CubeSat Manifested for Launch on ELaNa-46
SMOG-1 Designated Magyar-OSCAR 110 (MO-110)
AMSAT FTP Site Retired
TO-108 Operational Update
CAMSAT Applies for Frequency Coordination for CAS-9 (XW-3)
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 15, 2021
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 Apr 18

Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish,
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
By donating today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!

AMSAT’s GOLF-TEE CubeSat Manifested for Launch on ELaNa-46

AMSAT’s GOLF-TEE CubeSat has been manifested for launch on NASA’s ELaNa-46 mission.

GOLF-TEE is the first satellite in AMSAT’s “Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint” or GOLF program. The goal of the GOLF program is to work by steps through a series of increasingly capable spacecraft to learn to develop systems and skills needed to achieve successful high orbit missions. Among these are active attitude control and the ability to command attitude changes, deployable/steerable solar panels, radiation tolerance for commercial off the shelf (COTS) components in higher orbits, and propulsion. The eventual goal of the GOLF program is a satellite in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) similar to AO-10, AO-13, and AO-40, but at a currently affordable cost combined with significantly enhanced capabilities, which in turn will allow the use of much less complex ground stations.

The -TEE designation in GOLF-TEE stands for “Technology Exploration Environment” reflecting GOLF-TEE’s mission testing two primary systems needed for higher orbits. First, an Attitude Determination and Control (ADAC) system will be tested to allow active pointing of the satellites antennas, which will have significant gain. The other primary goal of GOLF-TEE is to gain initial orbit and space radiation exposure for radiation event-induced fault tolerant systems designed using COTS components. GOLF-TEE will carry an Integrated Housekeeping Unit (IHU) / command transceiver designed using the Hercules line of ARM architecture-based microcontrollers.

GOLF-TEE will also evaluate a low-cost, deployable, fixed attitude, solar panel array design as part of AMSAT Engineering’s exploration of fixed panel arrays that allow for outfitting a variable number of “wings” in order to best match the power requirements of various CubeSat missions.

Additionally, GOLF-TEE will carry a modified commercial software-defined radio (SDR), the Ettus E310, as an experimental package to test high speed data downlink in the 10 GHz band.

GOLF-TEE will also be a fully-functional LEO VHF/UHF amateur satellite carrying conventional backup systems, including a linear transponder, similar to those flown on AO-109.

A significant amount of funding is necessary to complete the development and construction of the GOLF series of CubeSats. Please consider a donation today. Donations designated for the AMSAT GOLF program may be made at https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/

[ANS thanks AMSAT Engineering for the above information]

SMOG-1 Designated Magyar-OSCAR 110 (MO-110)

On March 22, 2021, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics SMOG-1 PocketQube was launched on a Soyuz-2-1a Fregat launch vehicle from the Baikonur, Kazakhstan. SMOG-1 carries RF spectrum monitoring and total ionizing radiation experiments. Further information is available at https://gnd.bme.hu/smog

At the request of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, AMSAT hereby designates SMOG-1 as Magyar-OSCAR 110 (MO-110). We congratulate the owners and operators, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them a long mission and continued success on this and future projects.

More information about OSCAR numbers can be found at https://www.amsat.org/oscar-numbers-policy/

[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information]

AMSAT FTP Site Retired

The AMSAT File Transport Protocol (FTP) server has been retired as of 15 April 2021. Content formerly hosted on that server is now available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/

The FTP server provided an important service for distributing software, bulletins and other information going back to at least the early 1990’s when internet access started to become available to the general public. Over time the overwhelming success of the web and ubiquitous use of the web browser have evolved to provide the same capability, and today even heavy internet users are unfamiliar with FTP. The decision was made to stop spending scarce volunteer resources maintaining this seldom used service.

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader, for the above information]

Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

TO-108 Operational Update

TO-108 (CAS-6) was launched in December 2019 and carries a 20 kHz wide UHF/VHF linear transponder. When originally made available for amateur radio use in June 2020, the transponder operated only intermittently, approximately 2 seconds on and 5 seconds off.

On April 12, 2021, EI2IP posted a video on Twitter where he calls CQ for a few minutes on the satellite. Later tests by European stations including SA2KNG and DO1AM showed that the transponder is still only operational intermittently, but now the transponder is on for minutes at a time instead of only a couple of seconds.

TO-108’s linear transponder’s uplink passband is 435.270 MHz – 435.290 MHz and the downlink passband is 145.915 MHz – 145.935 MHz. The CW beacon is at 145.910 MHz and 4.8k GMSK telemetry at 145.890 MHz. Observations indicate that the transponder is operational when the beacon is transmitting continuously.

[ANS thanks various sources for the above information]

CAMSAT Applies for Frequency Coordination for CAS-9 (XW-3)

CAMSAT has applied for frequency coordination for their CAS-9 satellite, also known as Hope-3 or XW-3. CAS-9 will be a 6U CubeSat carrying a 30 kHz VHF/UHF linear transponder.

In addition to the linear transponder, there will be a UHF CW beacon and UHF 4.8k/9.6k AX.25 GMSK telemetry downlink.

Launch is planned for December 15, 2021 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into a 770 km circular orbit with an inclination of 98.58 degrees.

Application details can be found at http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=804

[ANS thanks the IARU for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 15, 2021

The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

GRIFEX – NORAD Cat ID 40379 (Reported as active and returned to TLE list.)
Orbicraft-Zorkiy – NORAD Cat ID 47960 (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO)
STECCO – NORAD Cat ID 47962. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO)

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

ARISS News

Winmalee Public School, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover KI5BKC
Contact is go for: Tue 2021-04-20 08:28:39 UTC 81 deg

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 your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Upcoming Satellite Operations

ND9M: I’m doing another tour on my merchant marine ship. We’ll be leaving the States (EM90) in a few days to head for the western Pacific by way of the Panama Canal. I’ve got my FT857 / FT817 with an Elk although I don’t hear RS-44’s downlink all that well. (AO-27’s downlink on the same band is great though.) I’m planning to be active on as many satellite passes that I can fit in around job duties; since I’m a staff of 1, working all seven days and being on call 24/7 can get in the way. My internet connection on board is marginal at best and will become virtually nil for several days as we approach Panama and then hit the Pacific. I’ll post likely grids a day or two in advance to the AMSAT-BB and will hit Twitter (@ND9M) when I’ve got a web connection.

WY7AA: April 17th – May 2 EM86 vacation style FM and SSB. I will have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there.

Major Roves:

CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before.

I, Italy:
Loriano/IZ5RHU and the ARI section Grosseto commemorate the
Chernobyl disaster between April 18 and May 9 as II5RCH on 80-2m
(CW, SSB, digital modes) and via satellite. QSL via IZ5RHU (d/B).

(via DX Newsletter DXNL 2245 Apr 14, 2021)

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for …

04/26 – Livonia, Michigan
05/18 – Puget Sound
05/26 – South New Jersey
06/01 – University of Arizona
06/09 – San Jose
06/15 – East Massachusetts
10/21 – Conejo Valley CA

… and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up!

Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call!

Clint Bradford K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor
http://www.work-sat.com
k6lcs AT work-sat DOT info
(909) 999-SATS (7287)

[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, AMSAT Ambassador, and Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Congratulations Kell Bodholt, KI7UXT, on completing the AMSAT GridMaster Award by working all 488 maidenhead grid squares in the continental United States. Kell is the 29th recipient of this award. More information on the AMSAT GridMaster award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/

+ A new distance record has been claimed on the ISS VHF digipeater. 9G5AR completed a 4,032 km QSO with EA3BAX on 11-Apr-2021 at 09:07 UTC. More records can be found at https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records

+ FG8OJ has developed a quick script to display your VUCC credits on a world map.
1/ Connect to LoTW
2/ Go to your VUCC favorite award page and select “All credits”
3/ Copy the page with CTRL+A and CTRL+C
4/ Go to https://fg8oj.com/lotwgrid2map/
5/ Paste in the form’s text area CTRL+V
6/ Enjoy

+ The spring issue of OSCAR News is now available for download for AMSAT-UK members at https://amsat-uk.org/2021/04/13/spring-oscar-news-2/

+ Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store, including a set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT round logo, and more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase price goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

+ All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT’s new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT’s Symposium Proceedings are also available for members. If you’re a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/

+ The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted. The print edition is $30 plus shipping and is available at https://tinyurl.com/GS2020Print

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President’s Club donations may be made at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

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.

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,

This week’s ANS Editor,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org

ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for April 11

April 11, 2021 by Mark Johns

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@amsat.org

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

In this edition:

ARISS-USA Now a Non-profit Organization
Contests On QO-100 Allowed In Time For Yuri Gagarin Contest
Fun While It Lasted, Falcon 9 Telemetry Now Encrypted
AMSAT SA Call For Papers
NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 8, 2021
Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 April 11

ARISS-USA Now a Non-profit Organization

ARISS-USA, a Maryland not-for-profit corporation, is now recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scientific, and educational organization. ARISS-USA is the US segment of the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) international working group. With this IRS determination, donations to ARISS-USA become tax-deductible in the US, retroactive to the ARISS-USA incorporation on May 21, 2020. This change in status allows ARISS-USA to solicit donations and grants.

As a new entity, ARISS-USA will continue to promote student involvement with the astronauts on the International Space Station via amateur radio. Working with educational organizations, ARISS provides exciting opportunities to inspire, engage and educate our next generation of space explorers through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities and content. ARISS-USA Executive Director, Frank Bauer, commented, “The educational scope and reach of what ARISS accomplishes has grown significantly since our beginnings in 1996. We are actively working to extend student’s reach even further. This, through the pursuit of potential student opportunities on human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit, as part of our Amateur Radio Exploration (AREx) Program. First AREx destination: the Moon!”

ARISS-USA continues its collaborative work with ARISS International and US sponsors, partners, and interest groups. The ARISS-USA TEAM remains deeply indebted to its partners ARRL and AMSAT, who enabled the birth of ARISS, and to its steadfast sponsors, NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab (INL).

Gifts from those wishing to support ARISS-USA goals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and can be made by going to the ARISS website: http://www.ariss.org The ARISS-USA team thanks its sustaining donors for their continuing support!

(ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, of ARISS PR for the above information)

Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!

Contests On QO-100 Allowed In Time For Yuri Gagarin Contest

AMSAT-DL announced, on April 4, the opening of the QO-100 NB satellite transponder to general contest operation in the upper mixed-mode range.

QO-100 is a Qatari satellite, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 15, 2018. It operates at 26° East longitude along a geostationary orbit, which means that the satellite’s footprint covers Europe, Africa, and Asia, but excludes North America and most of South America.

This weekend (April 10-11) will see the Yuri Gagarin contest. The contest area on the QO-100 geostationary satellite NB transponder for both CW and SSB is:

Uplink area 2400.370 – 2400.490 MHz
Downlink area 10489.870 – 10489.990 MHz

Of course, the usual QO-100 NB transponder guidelines also apply here. Therefore, the bandwidth should still be limited to 2.7 kHz and the transmitting power should be reduced to the necessary level, i.e. only as much power as necessary should be used.

Read the AMSAT-DL announcement at https://amsat-dl.org/en/contests-on-qo-100-allowed/

The Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2021 is dedicated to the memory of Yuri Gagarin, who realized the first human flight to space, on April 12, 1961.

It runs from 2100 GMT on April 10 until 2100 GMT on April 11, 2021, and the categories include:
• SAT Single operator – Satellite QSOs
• SAT-GS Single operator – Geostationary Satellite QSOs

Contest rules are at http://gc.qst.ru/en/section/32

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

Fun While It Lasted, Falcon 9 Telemetry Now Encrypted

A few weeks back Hackaday reported that Reddit users [derekcz] and [Xerbot] had managed to receive the 2232.5 MHz telemetry downlink from a Falcon 9 upper stage and pull out some interesting plain-text strings. With further software fiddling, the vehicle’s video streams were decoded, resulting in some absolutely breathtaking shots of the rocket and its payload from low Earth orbit.

Unfortunately, it looks like those heady days are now over, as [derekcz] reports the downlink from the latest Falcon 9 mission was nothing but unintelligible noise. Since the hardware and software haven’t changed on his side, the only logical conclusion is that SpaceX wasn’t too happy about radio amateurs listening in on their rocket and decided to employ some form of encryption.

[ANS thanks Hackaday.com for the above information]

AMSAT SA Call For Papers

AMSAT SA has announced the date for the 2021 Space Symposium. In view of the continuing uncertainty about the Covid – 19 pandemic the conference will be a virtual event on the BlueJeans platform. The date is Saturday 10 July 2021 starting at 08:00 UTC. The theme of the symposium is “Unlocking Amateur Space Technology.” The symposium will focus on amateur satellites, weak signal communication, space weather and allied sciences.

SARL has issued a first call for paper proposals. Prospective authors are invited to submit proposals in the form of a brief description of the subject to be covered in their paper by no later than 15 May 2021. Submit proposals in word format to admin@amsatsa.org.za. Authors will be advised on 20 May of the acceptance of their paper. The final paper will be required by 30 June 2021.

[ANS thanks SARL and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information]

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

NASA is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 11, for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. To mark a month of Ingenuity flights, the agency will host several events to bring people along for the ride.

A livestream confirming Ingenuity’s first flight is targeted to begin around 3:30 a.m. EDT (07:30z) Monday, April 12, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, and will livestream on multiple agency social media platforms, including the JPL YouTube, and Facebook channels.

Ingenuity arrived at Mars’ Jezero Crater Feb. 18, attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover. The helicopter is a technology demonstration with a planned test flight duration of up to 31 days (30 Mars days, or sols). The rover will provide support during flight operations, taking images, collecting environmental data, and hosting the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth.

The flight date may shift as engineers work on the deployments, preflight checks, and vehicle positioning of both Perseverance and Ingenuity. Timing for events will be updated as needed, and the latest schedule will be available on the helicopter’s Watch Online webpage: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Watch-Online

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 8, 2021

The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

GuaraniSat-1 – NORAD Cat ID 47931 (per Celestrak)
KSU-CubeSat – NORAD Cat ID 47954 (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO)
DIY-1 – NORAD Cat ID 47963. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO)
SMOG – NORAD Cat ID 47964. (per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO)

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

TISAT – NORAD Cat ID 36799
JUGNU – NORAD Cat ID 37839
AO-71 – NORAD Cat ID 37854
HORYU-2 – NORAD Cat ID 38340
BEESAT-3 – NORAD Cat ID 39135
BEESAT-2 – NORAD Cat ID 39136
TRITON-1 – NORAD Cat ID 39427
DUCHIFAT-1 – NORAD Cat ID 40021
NANOSATCBR1 – NORAD Cat ID 40024
ANTELSAT – NORAD Cat ID 40034
VELOX-1 – NORAD Cat ID 40057
DAURIA DX 1 – NORAD Cat ID 40071
CHUBUSAT-1 – NORAD Cat ID 40300
QSAT-EOS – NORAD Cat ID 40301
GRIFEX – NORAD Cat ID 40379
DEORBITSAIL – NORAD Cat ID 40719
NUDT-PHONESAT – NORAD Cat ID 40900
LQSat – NORAD Cat ID 40958
OUFTI-1 – NORAD Cat ID 41458
Swayam – NORAD Cat ID 41607
AlSat 1N – NORAD Cat ID 41789
ScatSat – NORAD Cat ID 41790
Pegasus-1 – NORAD Cat ID 41846
UCLSat – NORAD Cat ID 42765
LituanicaSAT 2- NORAD Cat ID 42768

The above objects are inactive and have been removed. If you think a satellite is still active contact Ray Hoad, WA5QGD on AMSAT-BB.

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station

Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28.

The back-to-back crew rotations will make for a busy month on the orbiting research complex, and multiple instances when ARISS operation will be suspended during crew operations. Preparations for the arrival of the fresh crew members are already underway on the space station.

The first step was relocation of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship to a new docking port on the space station April 5. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, commander of the Crew Dragon “Resilience” spaceship, was joined by crewmates Victor Glover, KI5BKC, Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, for the fully automated 45-minute relocation maneuver.

The Dragon astronauts, who launched Nov. 15 as part of SpaceX’s “Crew-1” mission, were aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and suited up for re-entry, just in case the capsule had trouble linking up with the new docking port and needed to return to Earth.

Next was the launch of a Russian Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft with commander Oleg Novitskiy, cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP. The Soyuz crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, April 9 at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT).

The crew on the space station will temporarily swell to 10 people until the outgoing Soyuz MS-17 crew departs the research lab one week later.

Undocking of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with commander Sergey Ryzhikov, flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, is scheduled for 9:33 p.m. EDT on April 16 (0133z on April 17). The Soyuz capsule is scheduled to parachute to a landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 12:56 a.m. EDT (0456 GMT) on April 17. Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and Rubins launched Oct. 14 from Baikonur. Their return to Earth on April 17 will wrap up a 185-day mission.

With the Soyuz crew rotation complete, SpaceX and NASA will be cleared to launch the second operational Crew Dragon mission to the space station on April 22.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, pilot Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and French-born European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, will fly on the Crew-2 mission.

Assuming the Crew-2 mission takes off April 22, Kimbrough and his crewmates will reach the space station for an automated docking at 5:29 a.m. EDT (0929 GMT) on April 23.

Their arrival will start a five-day handover with the Crew-1 astronauts, when the space station will briefly host 11 crew members.

The Crew-1 astronauts are scheduled to board their Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and undock from the space station April 28 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT). The Crew Dragon capsule will fire its Draco thrusters to target a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida at 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT) the same day.

[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of Spacefilight Now 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.

Recent ARISS contacts:

The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, conducted a telebridge via IK1SLD on Tuesday, April 6. Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, was the astronaut. The contact was successful.

Gagarin From Space performed an amateur radio session with NILAK DOSAAF Llc in Kaluga, Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, Russia, direct contact via RK3X on April 6. Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov participated. The contact was successful.

Gagarin From Space conducted a radio amateur session with students of the St. Petersburg school, St. Petersburg, Russia, direct via R1AIT on April 7. The contact was successful.

Upcoming contacts: TBD

The latest information on the operation mode of the ARISS modules can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]

AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

WY7AA: April 17th – May 2 EM86 vacation style FM and SSB. I will have a day trip to EM85, but I will plan that and advertise when I get there.

Major Roves:

CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before.

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for …

04/26 – Livonia, Michigan
05/18 – Puget Sound
05/26 – South New Jersey
06/01 – University of Arizona
06/09 – San Jose
06/15 – East Massachusetts
10/21 – Conejo Valley CA

… and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up!

Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call!

Clint Bradford K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor
http://www.work-sat.com
k6lcs AT work-sat DOT info
(909) 999-SATS (7287)

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ LightCube, an educational mission by Arizona State University, Tempe, to allow a CubeSat in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to be easily operable by members of the general public, has been approved by NASA as one of the 12th CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) projects for 2022-2025. The LightCube CubeSat will provide a platform that increases the number of individuals who can participate in space activities. Specifically, anyone with appropriate amateur radio licensing within their jurisdiction and commercial radio equipment available for purchase for less than fifty dollars will be able to telecommand LightCube. The LightCube CubeSat will respond with a flash visible to the naked eye of the commander. In the process of operating LightCube, the user will inevitably learn important science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in areas such as telecommunications, spacecraft design, atmospheric and climate science, and orbital mechanics. (ANS thanks NASA, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, Harry Bloomberg, W3YJ, and Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, for the above information.)

+ Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU and an AMSAT Ambassador published an article in the Institution of Engineers Mauritius (IEM) Journal, March 2021, to promoted HAM radio satellite operation worldwide, as the paper was circulated in all affiliated Engineers association globally but the focus was on the regional operation. The link to obtain the document is https://bit.ly/3uHFFCv or go to https://www.iemauritius.com and register to download the March 21 edition of the Journal. (ANS thanks Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, for the above information.)

+ GOES-T, NOAA’s latest generation geosynchronous satellite, recently completed vibration, vacuum, and acoustic testing ahead of its December launch. GOES-T packs upgraded traditional weather observation instruments (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WQAwQ0SGkc for a video intro), including the 16 channel ABI imager (up from 5 channels on the previous generation) with 0.5km – 2km resolution (4x the previous gen). This generation also includes a Geostationary Lightning Mapper, the first lightning mapping system flown in geostationary orbit, which should increase lead time for severe storm warnings and decrease false positives. See https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/glm.html for an overview of the system. (ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information.)

+ SpaceX launched 60 more of the company’s Starlink Internet communications satellites into orbit from Florida on Wednesday, April 7. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the spacecraft lifted off as planned at 12:34 p.m. EDT (16:34z). SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster for the rocket by landing it on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellites deployed to their intended orbit a little more than an hour after launch. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information.)

+ A rather fascinating disassembly and analysis of the digital clock from a Soyuz spacecraft can be found at http://www.righto.com/2020/01/inside-digital-clock-from-soyuz.html The mid-1980s vintage clock was judged to be 8 to 10 years behind U.S. space technology of the time, with more that 100 integrated circuits on ten circuit boards. (ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information.)

+ Open Research Institute has posted several new YouTube videos updating their work. See https://www.openresearch.institute/ for links. (ANS thanks AMSAT Board Member Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, for the above information.)

+ AO-91 remains operational in COR or “repeater mode.” Reminder: Please use only in sunlight and do not use while in eclipse (which “generally” means, if it’s dark at your local QTH do not use!). Remember that the current status of most operational satellites can be found at https://www.amsat.org/status/ (ANS thanks AMSAT Board and Fox Command Team Member Mark Hammond, N8MH, for the above information.)

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM
k0jm at amsat dot org

ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for April 4

April 4, 2021 by Mark Johns

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

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

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

In this edition:

2021 AMSAT Field Day
VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 1 2021
WOUB Spotlight: Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds, N8KI
NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on ISS
Perseverance Rover Begins Steps To Deploy Mars Helicopter
Launch Watch: Upcoming in April
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 1, 2021
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 094.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 April 04

2021 AMSAT Field Day

It’s that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!” The event takes place during a 23-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2021 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 26, 2021 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 27, 2021. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 26 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event.

This year should be as easy as last year since we have more than 10 transponders and repeaters available. Users should check the AMSAT status page at http://www.amsat.org/status/ and the pages at https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/ for what is available in the weeks leading up to field day. To reduce the amount of time to research each satellite, see the current FM satellite table at:
https://www.amsat.org/fm-satellite-frequency-summary/
and the current linear satellite table at:
https://www.amsat.org/linear-satellite-frequency-summary/

Additional information is found at: https://www.amsat.org/field-day/

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, ANS editor for the above information]

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 1 2021

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period March 1, 2021 through April 1, 2021. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!

VUCC April 2021

CALL	March	April
N9EAT	784	843
NS3L	650	681
W7QL	510	563
KJ4EU	471	506
VA3NNA	300	504
K0JM	403	500
N1PEB (EL98)	255	500
MI6GTY	460	461
KB9STR	353	431
KC9UQR	400	427
KS1G	360	413
WA4HFN	102	413
K5TA	302	400
W8LR	353	400
VE4MM	279	304
WB7QXU	252	303
VU2LBW	260	300
W4ALF	200	300
K4RGK	214	278
NA1ME	200	225
KN2K	155	200
N7ZO	116	200
XE2YWH	137	187
LW2DAF	166	182
NK1K	New	179
DL6KBG	125	150
N8MR	New	115
N2CJ	100	103
AF5D	New	102
W7KRS	New	101
AC9DX	New	100
W3FGP	New	100

If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I’ll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It’s a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! – Ron W5RKN

[ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information]

WOUB Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds, N8KI, AMSAT-NA Member is Honored

ATHENS, Ohio – During Broadcast Operations Supervisor Terry Douds nearly 16 years working at WOUB Public Media, there have been many changes in regard to technology and how the station runs. But, Douds has rolled with the changes and couldn’t be more proud of the work he is doing.

“I was originally hired as a broadcast technician and was promoted to broadcast operations supervisor in 2008,” said Douds. “At that time, the Engineering Department oversaw Master Control. We worked 24/7 to insure that WOUB stayed on the air. Later that part of operations shifted to the Traffic Department, so now we’re doing ‘regular’ engineering tasks, such as design of systems, installation of new equipment, and overseeing what we call ‘In-House Engineering’; another team within Engineering handles field work and our transmitter sites.”

“A big part of the training for me for this job came from amateur radio. I became a ‘Ham Operator’ in November 1968, when I was in 7th grade,” said Douds. “I later became active in amateur satellite work, another part of amateur radio where we designed satellites and have them launched into space.” More at: https://bit.ly/3rKpBxI

[ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, AMSAT News Service Editor and WOUB.org for the above information]

NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the upcoming delivery of new solar arrays this summer.

Live coverage will begin at 1000z on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, Victor Glover, KI5BKC, and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, will undock Crew Dragon Resilience from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at 1029z and dock to the space-facing port at 1115z.

The relocation will free Harmony’s forward port for the docking of Crew Dragon Endeavour, set to carry four crew members to the station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, are scheduled to launch to the station Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information.]

Perseverance Rover Begins Steps To Deploy Mars Helicopter

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance command sequence to safely release the $80 million rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars.

The slow, step-by-step deployment is projected to take around six days, assuming everything goes as planned. The first command uplinked from engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory was to release a launch lock that kept the Ingenuity helicopter firmly attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover during the journey to Mars. Additional information may be found at: https://bit.ly/3dv06vv

[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]

Launch Watch: Upcoming in April

There will be several notable launches this month. Unfortunately there are no new amateur satellites in the immediate offing. A Falcon 9/Starlink #23 launch is scheduled for April 7 from Cape Canaveral. April 9, The new command crew for the ISS will be launched from Baikonur to start Mission 65. On April 22, SpaceX/NASA commercial Crew Flight #2 is scheduled for launch on the reused Falcon 9 from the Crew-1 mission and the Crew Dragon capsule from the Endeavor Demo-2 mission. The Crew-1 astronauts will return shortly thereafter.

[ANS thanks SpaceX, NASA, and ROSCOMOS for the above information]

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for April 1, 2021

The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

Maya-2 – NORAD Cat ID 47929.
OPUSAT-II – NORAD Cat ID 47930.
CubeSX-Sirius-HSE – NORAD Cat ID 47951
Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for the identification of these satellites.

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

OBJECT B – NORAD Cat ID 47310
OBJECT D – NORAD Cat ID 47312
OBJECT E – NORAD Cat ID 47313
OBJECT G – NORAD Cat ID 47315
OBJECT J – NORAD Cat ID 47317
OBJECT K – NORAD Cat ID 47318
OBJECT M – NORAD Cat ID 47320
OBJECT N – NORAD Cat ID 47345
The above objects are non-amateur radio satellites associated with a launch carrying amateur radio satellites. As the amateur radio satellites have been identified from that launch, these objects are no longer of interest.

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of April 4, 2021

The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB Contact is go for: Tue 2021-04-06 11:27:49 UTC 34 deg via IK1SLD. Watch for livestream at https://tinyurl.com/ISSLINKUP2021

Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Watch for Tue 2021-04-06 13:10 UTC

St. Petersburg, 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 latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov. Watch for Wed 2021-04-07 12:20 UTC

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]

AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:
DN58 – look for #NO7G on SSB sats over the next week (3/25 – 4/4)
AA5PK: Thinking a trip to EM01 Saturday (4/3) is in order.
N3CRT: Activating ***Delaware*** via satellite -FM and Linear- at Fort Mott State Park FM29fo this Saturday April 3rd 12z-20z and possibly later.
WL7T: Had to cancel Maine. Too expensive to change flights this close to departure. EL58 is rescheduled for April 11. Will be driving from EM26 to EL59, so might be stopping along the way for a few contacts starting a day or two before April 11.

Major Roves:

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com
Updated 03/31/2021

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

From Larry Manaev, RN3AG: “We invite your members to take part in the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2021. Date: from 21.00 UTC on April 10 till 21.00 UTC on April 11, 2021. Modes: CW only.
Satellite categories:
SAT – Single operator – Satellite QSOs.
SAT-GS – Single operator – Geostationary Satellite QSOs (QO-100).
Contest rules: http://gc.qst.ru/en/section/32”

AMSAT Ambassador, Tom Zimmerman W9TTY, will be exhibiting at the DeKalb Hamfest, Sandwich, Illinois on May 2, 2021. This hamfest SW of Chicago will feature a presentation for hams curious about Amateur Radio in Space and how to work the easy sats. Info on Kishwaukee Amateur Radio Club Webpage http://www.kare-club.org

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning a presentation on 06/15 to a club in East Massachusetts.

Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome. Send Clint an email or call!
Clint Bradford K6LCS, http://www.work-sat.com. Tel:909-999-SATS (7287)

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, Larry Manaev, RN3AG, and Clint Bradford, K6CLS AMSAT Ambassador for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, appeared on the April 1, 2021 episode of Ham Talk Live to discuss the latest status of AMSAT satellite development. A replay of the episode can be heard at:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-253-amsat-satellite-engineering-

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]

+ Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV sends a thank you note to all who participated in the Last Man Standing special event. He says “I had the pleasure to work 111 contacts as W6S over the course of the week. If you made at least one contact you can download a certificate in around 4 weeks time. Just check the QRZ page for information. The official numbers are not yet in but there were approximately 60 thousand contacts made across all frequencies and modes.” He continues: “I was also very careful not to interfere with any rover operations during the event.”

[ANS thanks Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV for the above information]

+ SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion. SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.

[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]

+Biden administration renews mandate for National Space Council. President Biden will renew the National Space Council, a space policy group revived by the Trump White House after 25 years of dormancy, to assist in “generating national space policies, strategies, and synchronizing America’s space activities,” an administration spokesman said Monday. A spokesman for the National Security Council said the Biden administration is renewing the National Space Council “at a time of unprecedented activity and opportunity generated by America’s activities in space.”

[ANS thanks Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org

ANS-087 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for March 28

March 28, 2021 by Mark Johns

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, 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://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 dot org.

In this edition:

Soyuz-2.1a Launch – Amateur Radio Satellites Deployed
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 25, 2021
FUNcube-1 Transponder Status
Amateur Radio Gets a Partial Reprieve on 3.5 GHz
FO-29 Operation Schedule for April 2021
DIY-1 Argentine Pocketqube Deployed
Last Man Standing Special Event Station W6S in Space
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Upcoming Satellite Operations
ARISS News
Satellite Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-087.01
ANS-087 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 087.01
From AMSAT HQ, 712 H Street NE, Ste 1653, Washington DC 20002
March 28, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS

Soyuz-2.1a Launch – Amateur Radio Satellites Deployed

The Soyuz-2.1a LV was launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on March 22, 2021. The following satellites, operating in frequency bands allocated to the amateur satellite service have been coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel:

• Beesat-5
• Beesat-6
• Beesat-7
• Beesat-8
• FEES
• SMOG
• GRBAlpha
• KSU_Cubesat
• DIY-1
• STECCO
• CubeSX-HSE
• CubeSX-Sirius-HSE
• Orbicraft-Zorkiy
• NanoSatC-BR2

Operating in frequency bands allocated to the Amateur Satellite Service without IARU frequency coordination is KMSL. Additional satellites may follow. Operating in frequency bands allocated to the amateur satellite service while the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel has declined coordination are UNISAT-7 and WildTrackCube-Simba.

Further information including the IARU coordinated frequencies at http://amsat.org.uk/iaru/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 25, 2021

The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

RSP-01 – NORAD Cat ID 47925 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO).
TAUSAT-1 – NORAD Cat ID 47926 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO).
Tsuru – NORAD Cat ID 47927 (Thanks to Celestrak).
STARS-EC – NORAD Cat ID 47928 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO).

The latest and complete set of AMSAT orbital elements for Amateur satellites in NASA format are always available at:
https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/keps@amsat.org

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.]

FUNcube-1 Transponder Status

Dave Johnson, G4DPZ, reports that the FUNcube team put FUNcube-1 (AO-73) into full time high power telemetry mode on March 9 2021. The move was made to test the response of the battery and power amplifier temperatures as the satellite starts to enter an eclipse period. This has thrown up some interesting thermal responses within the satellite, but nothing threatening. The battery temperatures have gone down in response to the power amplifier consuming and dissipating more energy.

The team will be reviewing the move back to transponder mode in the next few days and will publish the timeline here and on other social media channels. Dave adds, “As always we should like to express our thanks to all those who capture data packets and upload them to the data warehouse.” The data warehouse can be accessed at http://data.funcube.org.uk/ui/fc1-fm

[ANS thanks Dave Johnson, G4DPZ for the above information.]

Amateur Radio Gets a Partial Reprieve on 3.5 GHz

Pending future FCC action, amateur radio secondary use of the 3.3 – 3.45 GHz band segment may continue indefinitely. The FCC, as part of a lengthy Second Report and Order (R&O) for commercial licensing of 3.45 – 3.55 GHz adopted on March 17, agreed with ARRL that continued access by amateur radio to 3.3 – 3.45 GHz should be allowed until consideration of the 3.1-3.45 GHz spectrum in a later proceeding. The FCC action in WT Docket 19-348 represents a partial — and temporary — reprieve from the FCC’s December 2019 proposal to remove amateur radio from the entire band, and it makes available an additional 50 megahertz than an FCC proposal last fall to allow amateur temporary use of 3.3 – 3.4 GHz.

This allows “amateur operations to continue in the lower portion of the band while the [FCC and federal government users] continue to analyze whether that spectrum can be reallocated for flexible use,” the FCC said. The FCC had proposed splitting the band at 3.4 GHz, permitting amateur use in 100 megahertz of spectrum “while also providing a buffer to protect flexible-use operations at the lower edge of the 3.45 GHz band.”

Amateur secondary operation in the 3.45 – 3.50 GHz band must cease 90 days after public notice that the spectrum auction has closed and licensing has begun. That is expected to happen early in 2022. The FCC announced the opening of 3.45 – 3.55 GHz for auction to commercial 5G interests on March 17.

“There is no expectation that such operations will be accommodated in future planning for commercial wireless operations in this spectrum, or that amateur operators will receive more than a short period of notice before their operations must cease,” the FCC said.

Read the entire story at https://www.tinyurl.com/ANS-087-Reprieve

[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.]

FO-29 Operation Schedule for April 2021

The times shown in the table below are the start times. Due to its low battery, the transponder is activated by schedule in Japan. It remains active until the voltage drops to a safe level.

April 2021 (UTC)
3rd 01:20- 03:05-
4th 00:25- 02:10-
10th 00:10- 01:55-
11th 01:00- 02:45-
17th 00:45- 02:30-
18th 01:35- 03:20-
24th 01:20- 03:05-
25th 00:25- 02:10-

[ANS thanks Hideo-JH3XCU for the above information.]

DIY-1 Argentine Pocketqube Deployed

Gustavo Carpignano, LW2DTZ reports that the DIY-1 pocketqube satellite was deployed from the UNISAT-7 platform on the morning of March 24, 2021.

The UNISAT-7 platform was launched with a Soyuz-2 rocket on March 22,2021 from Baikonur in a rideshare mission.

Currently, DIY-1 is transmitting in 437.125 MHz in RTTY 100 baud at 7N2 with a shift of 450 Hz in USB.

TLE 2021-22F or 2021-22J can be used for track.

Once we see its status the robot mode will be activated shortly.

Telemetry reports are appreciated.

[ANS thanks Gustavo Carpignano, LW2DTZ for the above information.]

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

Last Man Standing Special Event Station W6S in Space

Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV, will be operating W6S from FN30 as one of many special event stations for the finale of the TV show Last Man Standing. This show’s main character portrayed an Amateur Radio operator and had an actual working station on the set. Amateur Radio was woven into several episodes in a positive light. The show’s Executive Producer is also a ham.

The event is across all bands and modes and ends on March 30, 2021 at 23:59 GMT. Certificates can be downloaded after he event concludes.

Frank will be operating on linear and FM satellites. On FM sats Frank reports that he will not transmit if there is a rover active on the pass and will not make more than 5 contacts a pass as to not monopolize an FM satellite.

For more info please see http://www.gsbarc.org/lms/

[ANS thanks Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV for the above information.]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? 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 and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS has the following presentation scheduled:

04/01 – Orem, Utah

For more information contact Clint Bradford, K6LCS
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS (7287)

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]

Upcoming Satellite Operations

EL58 – April 1, 2021
W7LT: EL58 on April 1 then more to come. Thinking Maine for the first weekend in April. Taking requests.

EM96 – March 29, 2021
K4DCA:If anyone needs EM96, he’ll be there the week of March 29 operating vacation style. Linear and FM with Twitter updates.

EN01 – April 3, 2021
KE0WPA and ND0C: There is a rumor going around that they (@kylee_ke0wpa and I) may do a quick rove down to EN01 on Saturday, April 3. Linears and FM. I know some of our friends need that one and it is sitting at 46%.

DN58 – March 25 – April 4, 2021
#NO7G will be on SSB sats over the next week

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.]

ARISS News

+ Upcoming Contacts

Republic of Tatarstan, 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 astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Contact is go for Sunday, March 28 at 15:30 UTC.

Ufa, 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 astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov.
Contact is go for Monday, March 29, 2021 at 14:40 UTC.

Lipetsk, 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 astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Contact is go for Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 15:25 UTC.

Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, 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 astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov.
Contact is go for Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 08:25 UTC.

High School in Kaluga, Kaluga, 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 astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Watch for Monday, April 5, 2021 at 12:20 UTC.

Kaluga Regional schools, Kaluga, 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 astronaut is Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Watch for Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 13:10 UTC.

St. Petersburg, 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 astronaut is Sergey Ryzhikov.
Watch for Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 12:20 UTC.

+ Previously Scheduled Contacts

Oakwood School, Morgan Hill, CA, Multi-point Telebridge via IK1SLD.
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The downlink frequency was scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut was Shannon Walker KD5DXB.
Contact was successful on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 18:27:49 UTC.

The School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2021, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia, telebridge via NA7V.
The ISS callsign scheduled was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut was Mike Hopkins KF5LJG.
Contact was unsuccessful on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 07:51:16 UTC.
This was due to unavailability of Mike at the last minute as he had to attend to operational matters.
The contact will be rescheduled.

A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at:
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]

Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ AMSAT-EA English Language Newsletter Available

Spain’s amateur satellite organization AMSAT-EA has released the English language PDF version of their newsletter for March 2021 for free download. It features:

UVSQ-SAT
EASAT-2 and HADES satellites
3D modeling of a satellite tracking system
First EA-SM contact on FT4 via RS-44 satellite

You can download the PDF from:
https://amsat-ea.org/app/download/12682823/AMSAT-EA-Newsletter_03-2021.pdf

[ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information.]

+ Ham Radio Live! Show 163 on Amateur Radio Satellite Service

Larry Deyoe, K7HN hosts a podcast on YouTube targeted at potential hams and new hams and his latest episode is focused on Amateur Radio satellites.

He includes a video of Larry Shaunce, WD0AKX working astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor on the ISS as well as a video of a hamfest demo in which John Brier, KG4AKV made 18 QSOs over AO-91. Watch the complete video at:
https://youtu.be/QF_HaMBEOLM?t=1318

[ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV for the above information.]

+ RSGB Radio Surfer Award Includes Space Challenges

The RSGB has announced its new Radio Surfer Award aimed at young people but open to everyone regardless of age, there’s no need to even be an RSGB member. The idea is to pick challenges from a list and gain sufficient points to match your age. Among the space related challenges are:
– Get a message from space (satellite, EME, ISS)
– Pull images off a satellite / ISS

Find out more about the Radio Surfer Award at:
https://rsgb.org/main/operating/amateur-radio-awards/youth-award/radio-surfer-award/

[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM and the RSGB for the above information.]

+ K0FFY Interactive QSL for FalconSAT-3

Adam Whitney, K0FFY, has posted an “Interactive QSL” to the FalconSAT-3 BBS in the form of a Commodore 64 binary suitable for running on emulators or real vintage hardware. For a screen shot of the program running see the following tweet from Scott Chapman, K4KDR:

(https://twitter.com/K0FFY_Radio/status/1375169922469396480)

Download your copy from the FalconSAT-3 BBS today!

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information.]

+ Astroscale Sends its First Space-Sweeper to Orbit

Astroscale, the Japanese startup that wants to remove dangerous clutter from an already congested space environment, reached a critical milestone with the successful launch of its ELSA-D debris removal spacecraft early Monday morning. Once in orbit and activated, the ELSA-D will conduct a six-month “End-of-Life” on-orbit servicing demonstration. Astroscale said the mission, which is licensed by the UK Space Agency, is the world’s first commercial mission to demonstrate the core technologies necessary for space debris docking and removal. Read the full story at:
https://www.tinyurl.com/ANS-087-Sweeper.

[ANS thanks SatteliteToday.com for the above information.]

Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/

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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at amsat dot org for additional student membership information.

73,
This week’s ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org