ANS-306 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for November 1st

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-306

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

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

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

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

In this edition:

  • Neutron-1 Scheduled for Deployment on November 5th
  • Upcoming Amateur Satellite Launches
  • EO-88 Distance Record Set
  • ARISS News
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-306.01
ANS-306 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 306.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE November 1, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-306.01

Neutron-1 Scheduled for Deployment on November 5th

The Neutron-1 3U CubeSat is currently scheduled to be deployed from the ISS on November 5, 2020 at 10:40 UTC. For the first month and during the spacecraft commissioning phase, the beacon will transmit 1200bps BPSK every 60 seconds on the IARU coordinated frequency of 435.300MHz. We welcome the worldwide Amateur community to collect the beacons and forward them to n1-info at hsfl.hawaii.edu. The beacon format is now public and published at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-306-Neutron.

After the initial commissioning phase, Amateurs will be able to use the V/U FM repeater during available times and according to the available power budget. Stay tuned for more mission updates on our Twitter account @HSFLNeutron1 and our website https://www.hsfl.hawaii.edu/missions/neutron-1/.

[ANS thanks the Hawaii Space Flight Lab at the University of Hawaii for the above information]

Upcoming Amateur Satellite Launches

A number of amateur satellites are expected to launch in the next few months. AMSAT’s RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E is expected to launch by the end of this year on the ELaNa XX mission on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne vehicle. RadFxSat-2 carries a 30 kHz wide V/u linear transponder.

The Tevel Mission is a series of 8 Israeli 1U CubeSats carrying FM transponders expected to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in December.

Also from Herzliya Science Center is a 3U CubeSat called Tausat. This is scheduled to launch on a JAXA resupply mission to the ISS for deployment in February. Tausat carries an FM transponder.

Finally, AMSAT-EA reports that their PocketQubes EASAT-2 and HADES have been integrated for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in December, while GENESIS-L and GENESIS-N have been integrated into their dispenser for launch on Firefly’s Alpha rocket. More information can be found at https://www.amsat-ea.org/

[ANS thanks AMSAT, AMSAT-EA, AMSAT-UK, and the IARU for the above information]

Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

EO-88 Distance Record Set

Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, set yet another record this past week, this time via EO-88. On October 28, 2020 at 19:27 UTC, Jérôme worked R9LR at a distance of 4,560 km.

F4DXV is now one of the QSO partners for distance records on 10 LEO satellites: RS-44, AO-7(B), FO-29, AO-91, AO-27, SO-50, AO-92 (U/v), LilacSat-2 (FM), EO-88, TO-108.

R9LR is one of the QSO partners for records on 4 LEO satellites: PO-101, LilacSat-2 (FM), EO-88, and TO-108.

For a list of currently claimed distance records via amateur satellites, past and present, visit https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/.

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, 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

No ARISS contacts or events are currently scheduled.

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

The deadline for United States organizations to submit an ARISS contact proposal is November 24, 2020. For more information, visit http://www.ariss.org/.

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, 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.

Rick Tejera K7TEJ from the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club (TBARC) will be giving a presentation and demonstration of Satellite operations to the Northwest Christian School in Glendale, AZ on Nov. 11th 2020. The demo will be on SO-50 at 2323UT. I will be using our Club call WB7TBC and the church is in Grid DM33wp. I may try to get a student on the air. Please keep an ear out for us and respond to our call, the kids will appreciate it. I’ll send out a reminder as the date gets closer.

Clint Bradford K6LCS has booked his “Work the FM Voice Satellites With Minimal Equipment” presentation for the clubs.

TBD – Antelope Valley (CA) ARC

TBD – A private presentation for a Boy Scout troop in Danville, Pennsylvania

These will be Zoom presentations. Everyone is asked to update their copies of the Zoom application – by directly visiting Zoom.us.

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, 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/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Upcoming Roves:
Quick Hits:
KH67, 7Q7RU, AO-7, RS-44, QO-100, 11/11 thru 11/21.

BRAZIL BAHIA. Sandro Ribeiro PY1SAN and Claudio MARCelo PY1CMT are QRV on the QO-100 satellite (some opportunities AO-07, FO-29 or RS-44) using CW and SSB as ZX6BA from Prado (HH02) 13 to 15 November 2020. The activity will be in several HF bands too, using CW and FT8, portable Alex Loop Antenna with 5 watts. QSL via LoTW.

BRAZIL, ESPIRITO SANTO. Sandro Ribeiro PY1SAN and Claudio MARCelo PY1CMT are QRV on Satellite QO-100 (maybe AO-07, FO-29, RS-44) using CW and SSB as PR1S from Nova Almeida (GG99) from 16 to 18 November 2020. A activity will be in several HF bands too, using CW and FT8, portable Alex Loop Antenna with 5 watts. QSL via LoTW.

Major Roves:
Maine!!!!!!

@KL7TN will be in FN53/54/55/56/57/64/65/66/67 Nov 13-18. Details to follow.

Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail.com

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, 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/

Satellite Shorts From All Over

  • Hackaday featured an article on tracking amateur satellites using a Commodore PET at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-305-Hackaday
  • If the Hackaday article inspired you to try some retro computer satellite tracking, AMSAT has disk images of QUIKTRAK for both the Commodore 64 and Apple II available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-306-QUIKTRAK
  • Virgin Orbit has published an October update regarding Launch Demo 2 at https://virginorbit.com/the-latest/launch-demo-2-october-update/
  • Minutes of the AMSAT Board of Directors Meetings of March 17th and March 31st are now available at https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/
  • 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
  • AMSAT Remove Before Flight keychains are again available on the AMSAT store. Purchases help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain/
  • 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

/EX

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://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.

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-299 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Oct. 25th

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: [email protected]

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

In this edition:

  • AMSAT Virtual Symposium Replay Available on YouTube
  • AMSAT Board of Directors Elects Robert Bankston, KE4AL, President
  • Satellite Acronyms Wiki Established
  • New Satellite Distance Records Claimed
  • Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 22
  • FO-29 operation schedule for Nov. 2020
  • ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-299.01
ANS-299 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 299.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 October 25
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-299.01

 

AMSAT Virtual Symposium Replay Available on YouTube

The 2020 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting was held via a Zoom Webinar on October 17, 2020 with over 200 AMSAT members in attendance. If you were not able to attend, a complete replay is available on the AMSAT YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/EHDgrI_w8hY

The YouTube video is divided into chapters to make it easy to find the specific presentation you are looking for:

0:00:00 Welcome
0:02:07 AMSAT GOLF-TEE System Overview and Development Status
0:43:02 GOLF IHU Coordination
1:19:10 GOLF Downlink Coordination
1:50:15 FUNcube Next
2:13:50 LunART – Luna Amateur Radio Transponder
2:45:35 CatSat HF Experiment Overview
3:13:30 Neutron-1 CubeSat
3:39:58 Progress and Development of Open Source Electric Propulsion for Nanosats and Picosats
4:15:00 AMSAT Education
5:14:00 ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) / AREx (Amateur Radio Exploration)
6:14:00 AMSAT Engineering
7:21:16 AMSAT Annual General Meeting

AMSAT members may download the 2020 Symposium Proceedings at https://launch.amsat.org/Proceedings.

The 2021 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting is expected to be held in the Minneapolis area in October 2021.

[ANS thanks the 2020 AMSAT Symposium Team for the above information]


Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed
until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/


AMSAT Board of Directors Elects Robert Bankston, KE4AL, President

At its annual meeting, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Robert Bankston, KE4AL, of Dothan, AL, President, succeeding Clayton Coleman, W5PFG. Bankston is a Life Member of AMSAT and has previously served as Treasurer and Vice-President User Services, as well as volunteering in several other capacities for AMSAT, including the development and launch of AMSAT’s online member portal and chairing the 2018 AMSAT Space Symposium held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. He also is an ARRL Life Member and holds an Extra Class license.

Immediate Past President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, said “It has been both a joy and privilege to serve as President of AMSAT in 2020. In what has been a rather difficult year for many individuals in amateur radio, AMSAT, through its many supportive members, volunteers, and donors, has continued course on our vision of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. With our initiatives such as modernizing the AMSAT office with a self-service member portal and the Linear Transponder Module, the organization has moved forward. With the talented and capable individuals sitting on AMSAT’s new Board and its Officers, I am confident in a bright future ahead for AMSAT and the amateur radio satellite service.“

Other officers elected by the Board were:

• Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, of Washington, DC, as Executive Vice President
• Jerry Buxton, N0JY, of Granbury, TX, as Vice-President – Engineering
• Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, of Brooksville, FL, as Vice President Operations
• Jeff Davis, KE9V, of Muncie, IN, as Secretary
• Steve Belter, N9IP, of West Lafayette, IN, as Treasurer
• Martha Saragovitz, of Silver Spring, MD, as Manager
• Alan Johnston, KU2Y, of Philadelphia, PA, as Vice President Educational Relations
• Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, of Burnsville, MN, as Vice President Development

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors 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/


Satellite Acronyms Wiki Established

As with any specialized or technical endeavor, the language of amateur satellites is filled with terms, abbreviations, shorthands, and acronyms that become second nature to those who use them daily, but can be obscure to newcomers — or even to old hands who begin to explore new aspects of satellite construction or operation. This became abundantly clear during the recent AMSAT Symposium, in which some of our hobby’s top experts presented projects to the general memebership.

In response to inquiries from Symposium participants, John Brier, KG4AKV, and Brad Brooks, WF7T, have initiated a wiki page for listing, and briefly explaining, the technical jargon of our field. When confused by an unfamiliar batch of “alphabet soup,” consult the wiki at: http://sats.wikidot.com/acronyms

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


New Satellite Distance Records Claimed

Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, and Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, have set a new record via RS-44. They completed an 8,402 km QSO between DN32 in Idaho and JN15 in France on October 19th at 07:15 UTC. This exceeds the prior record of 8,357 km set by W5CBF and DL4EA in late May.

F4DXV also set another record during his trip to JN15. Shortly after setting the record on RS-44, Jérôme worked Michael Styne, K2MTS, in FN22 via AO-27. This QSO covered a distance of 5,904 km, eclipsing the prior record of 5,682 km set by E21EJC and R9LR on June 9th.

In addition to these two new records, McKinley Henson, KE4AZZ, claimed the record for the NO-84 digipeater for a 3,439 km QSO with Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, on April 22, 2019.

For more distance records, see the AMSAT Satellite Distance Records page at https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/

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


Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 22

The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

EnduroSat One – Cat ID 43551 – decay epoch is 2020-10-15 per SpaceTrack.

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


FO-29 operation schedule for Nov. 2020

Time in UTC
Nov. 1 03:15-
Nov. 3 01:30- 03:10-
Nov. 7 01:15- 03:00-
Nov. 8 03:50-
Nov.14 01:50- 03:35-
Nov.15 02:40- 04:28-
Nov.21 02:25- 04:10-
Nov.22 03:15- 05:05-
Nov.23 02:20- 04:05-
Nov.28 01:15- 03:00-
Nov.29 02:05- 03:50-

https://www.jarl.org/Japanese/3_Fuji/fuji3-201907.htm

[ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU, for the above information]


ARISS NEWS

ARISS is seeking alumni from Luther Burbank School, Burbank, IL. Students, families or staff who participated in the hamradio contact with Bill Shepherd on Dec. 21 2000, are asked to contact Charlie Sufana, AJ9N (aj9n at aol.com). This was ARISS school contact #1, and this is the 20th year since that event. ARISS would like to celebrate!

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

No school contacts are scheduled in the coming week.

ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, there may be last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, ariss.org will try to provide near-real-time updates.

[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

Upcoming Roves: DL88: The K5Z DL88 expeditions is heading out!!!! @Ad0dx and @N6ua are heading out on 10/25. Weather looks great, and there is even a chance at some passes on the 26th. This is a daytime activation only because the Talley campground is closed currently. Head on over to QRZ.com and check out the K5Z page for all the details. Or, visit: https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/

Quick Hits:

KH67,: 7Q7RU, AO-7, RS-44, QO-100, 11/11 thru 11/21.

FN01: @K8BL will run over to PA tomorrow and I’ll have a chance to activate the EN91/FN01 Line. Not sure of the timing, but I’ll pop up on a few FM & Linear SATs. All Qs will be on LoTW a day or so afterward.

KP44: OH8FKS is in KP44 until Sunday 10/25.

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

Rick Tejera K7TEJ from the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club (TBARC) will be giving a presentation and demonstration of Satellite operations to the Northwest Christian School in Glendale, AZ on Nov. 11th 2020. The demo will be on SO-50 at 2323UT. I will be using our Club call WB7TBC and the church is in Grid DM33wp. I may try to get a student on the air. Please keep an ear out for us and respond to our call, the kids will appreciate it. I’ll send outa reminder as the date gets closer.

Clint Bradford K6LCS has booked his “Work the FM Voice Satellites With Minimal Equipment” presentation for the clubs:
10/27/2020 – Cherryland ARC / Traverse Bay ARC
TBD – Antelope Valley (CA) ARC
TBD – A private presentation for a Boy Scout troop in Danville, Penn.

These will be Zoom presentations. Everyone is asked to update their copies of the Zoom application – by directly visiting Zoom.us.

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


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ After 196 days living and working in Earth’s orbit aboard the Inter national Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, re turned from his third space mission Wednesday, Oct. 21, with cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Cassidy formally turned the station over to cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov on Tuesday, handing him a ceremonial “key” to the lab complex. Ryzhikov, Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, ar rived at the station last Wednesday aboard their own Soyuz ship. (ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information)

+ NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Tuesday, Oct. 20, and in a first for the agency, briefly touched an asteroid to collect dust and pebbles from the surface for delivery to Earth in 2023. This well-preserved, ancient asteroid, known as Bennu, is currently more than 200 million miles from Earth. Bennu offers scientists a window into the early solar system as it was first taking shape billions of years ago and flinging ingredients that could have helped seed life on Earth. If Tuesday’s sample col lection event, known as “Touch-And-Go” (TAG), provided enough of a sample, mission teams will command the spacecraft to begin stowing the precious primordial cargo to begin its journey back to Earth in March 2021. Otherwise, they will prepare for another attempt in January. (ANS thanks www.asteroidmission.org for the above information)

+ China is building a new rocket to fly its astronauts to the moon. Announced at the 2020 China Space Conference last month, the vehicle could deliver 25 metric tons into a trans-lunar injection. The rocket consists of three, 5-meter (16.4′) boosters and is 87 meters (285′) tall. Liftoff mass will be ~2,200 metric tons, which is about three times that of the Long March 5 (the current heavy lifter in China’s rocket lineup). (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ Most of the aerospace world watched the skies over Antarctica and New Zealand for portions of Thursday night/Friday morning. Earlier this week, LeoLabs Inc, a company that tracks objects in Low Earth Orbit, issued a statement regarding two large objects which posed a “high risk” of collision at 00:56:40 UTC on 16 October 2020. Roughly one hour after the time of possible collision, LeoLabs confirmed “No indication of collision” via a statement on Twitter. The two objects held a greater than 10% chance of colliding 991 km above Antarctica. (ANS thanks nasaspaceflight.com for the above information)

+ The website, Hackaday recently featured an article about David Prutchi, Ph.D., N2QG, and his home station that is capable of copying telemetry from deep-space satellites. Read the article at: https://bit.ly/2HqZMSb or read David’s paper directly at: https://bit.ly/2FRSXs9 (ANS thanks hackaday.com for the above information)

+ The University of Western Australia (UWA) is set to install an optical communications station capable of receiving high-speed data transmissions from space. The communications station will be able to receive data from spacecraft from anywhere between low-Earth orbit to as far away as the surface of the moon — about 384,000km away. Dr. Sascha Schediwy, Astrophotonics Group leader at UWA and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy (ICRAR), said optical communications are an emerging alternative to radio waves and are expected to drastically improve data transfer capabilities from space. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and IT News of Australia for the above information)

+ Nokia says it has been tapped by NASA to build the first cellular communications network on the moon. The Finnish telecommunications equipment maker said Monday, Oct. 19, that its Nokia Bell Labs division will build a 4G communications system to be deployed on a lunar lander to the moon’s surface in late 2022. Nokia’s network will provide critical communications capabilities for tasks astronauts will need to carry out, like remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and high-definition video streaming, the company said. (ANS thanks apnews.com for the above information)

 

———————————————————————

/EX

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 Office.

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. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week’s ANS Editor, Mark D. Johns, K0JM

k0jm at amsat dot org

AMSAT Board of Directors Elects Robert Bankston, KE4AL, President

AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL

At its annual meeting, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Robert Bankston, KE4AL, of Dothan, AL, President, succeeding Clayton Coleman, W5PFG.  Bankston is a Life Member of AMSAT and has previously served as Treasurer and Vice-President User Services, as well as volunteering in several other capacities for AMSAT, including the development and launch of AMSAT’s online member portal and chairing the 2018 AMSAT Space Symposium held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama.  He also is an ARRL Life Member and holds an Extra Class license.

Immediate Past President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, said “It has been both a joy and privilege to serve as President of AMSAT in 2020.  In what has been a rather difficult year for many individuals in amateur radio, AMSAT, through its many supportive members, volunteers, and donors, has continued course on our vision of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.  With our initiatives such as modernizing the AMSAT office with a self-service member portal and the Linear Transponder Module, the organization has moved forward.  With the talented and capable individuals sitting on AMSAT’s new Board and its Officers, I am confident in a bright future ahead for AMSAT and the amateur radio satellite service. “

Other officers elected by the Board were:

  • Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, of Washington, DC, as Executive Vice President
  • Jerry Buxton, N0JY, of Granbury, TX, as Vice-President – Engineering
  • Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, of Brooksville, FL, as Vice President – Operations
  • Jeff Davis, KE9V, of Muncie, IN, as Secretary
  • Steve Belter, N9IP, of West Lafayette, IN, as Treasurer
  • Martha Saragovitz, of Silver Spring, MD, as Manager
  • Alan Johnston, KU2Y, of Philadelphia, PA, as Vice President – Educational Relations
  • Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, of Burnsville, MN, as Vice President – Development

ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for October 18th

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: [email protected]

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

In this edition:

  • ARRL Comments in Orbital Debris Mitigation Proceeding
  • Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 15, 2020
  • PREDICT-2.2.7 for Linux, Unix, Android, and Raspberry Pi Platforms
  • ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over
  • Tips for the New Operator

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.01
ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 292.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 October 18
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.01

 

ARRL Comments in Orbital Debris Mitigation Proceeding 10/13/2020

In comments to the FCC, ARRL targeted two specific areas of concern regarding a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in IB Docket 18-313 — mitigation of orbital debris in the new space age. In an earlier phase of the proceeding, ARRL filed comments and met with FCC staff to discuss the proposed rules. In comments filed on October 9, ARRL focused on the areas of indemnification and maneuverability/propulsion. Indemnification places the liability for any possible damage from a satellite on an individual or entity. ARRL reiterated its assertion that, as a practical matter, an indemnification requirement “would seriously impair the ability of amateur and university experimenters to launch and operate satellites under US auspices” due to the potential liability and high insurance cost.

Additional information is available at the ARRL Web Site: https://bit.ly/3iZiGwj

[ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information]


Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed
until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/


Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 15, 2020

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

MO-106 Cat ID 44830 (decay epoch = 2020-10-09 per Space-Track).
TRSI-Sat Cat ID 44831 (decay epoch = 2020-10-11 per Space-Track).

The following satellite has an estimated decay epoch determined by SpaceTrack as follows:

EnduroSat One Cat ID 43551 estimated decay epoch = 2020-10-15 per Space-Track). (Still in orbit as of 2020-10-15 at 04:53 UTC.)

An updated set of Orbital Elements for October 15, 2020 have been distributed via the AMSAT /keps list and are available at the AMSAT website: https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, 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/


PREDICT-2.2.7 for Linux, Unix, Android, and Raspberry Pi Platforms

John Maglicane, KD2BD, has announced the release of PREDICT version 2.2.7, an Open Source satellite tracking / orbital prediction application for Linux and Unix computing environments, including PCs, laptops, and Raspberry PIs.

New in this release is a version of PREDICT that operates on Android platforms under a Termux environment. Now you can carry your smartphone in your shirt pocket while voice announcements made by PREDICT’s “vocalizer” tell you where to locate the ISS, Hubble, or other visible satellites in the night sky! There’s even an alarm to alert the observer when the spacecraft enters into eclipse or into sunlight.

Android screenshots are available here:
https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/SingleTrack-Android.jpg
https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/MultiTracking-Android.jpg

The Linux/Unix version of PREDICT-2.2.7 is available here: https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict-2.2.7.tar.gz

And the Android/Termux release is available here: https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict-2.2.7-termux.tar.gz

Both versions are source code releases. An included “configure” script will configure and compile PREDICT and its associated utilities for your specific platform while you wait.

Termux is an Android terminal emulator and Linux environment application that is available at no cost through Google Play. Further details are available at: https://termux.com/

Further details on PREDICT are available at: https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html
Stay safe, stay well, and Happy Tracking! 73 de John, KD2BD

[ANS thanks John Magliacane, KD2BD 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


ARISS NEWS (awaiting update from AJ9N)

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.

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-10-14 18:00 UTC

Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Ramona Lutheran School, Ramona, CA, direct via N6ROR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR

Contact was successful: Wed 2020-10-14 16:26:13 UTC

ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates.

The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools

The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also.

Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html

ARISS Contact Applications (United States) 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.

All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

[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:
Jerome, F4DXV, is plans to operate from a 1500 meter summit in JN15jo on Monday, 19 October. He will be on RS-44 beginning at 2000utc specifically for North America. The footprint covers much of eastern NA. This is a difficult operation after dark and Jerome hopes that many will take advantage of the opportunity to work this very rare grid. RS-44 will be around 1430km.

DN13/23 and DN22: @KI7UNJ, 10/16 – 10/19: No pass list, just follow Twitter, BEACON APRS KI7UNJ-9 KI7UNJ-IOS
16th DN13/23 Line
17th DN22
18th DN22
19th DN13/23 Line

KQ2RP is heading to FN44/54 again. Will be on FM birds from FN54 with occasional FN44/54 line. FN53 possible. Oct 11-16th. Logging as KQ2RP/1.

EL Grids, @N1PEB 10/10 -10-14: 10/10 EL95 Key Largo, 10/11 EL94 Key West, 10/12 EL84 Dry Tortuga, 10/13 EL94 Key West, 10/14 TBD

From TI2BSH: October 16, 2020 I will be working in EK71 and will go out on the satellites:
AO-91 at 04: 22z,05:57z, 16:38z
SO-50 at 04: 48z, 15:16z
If you hear me and want that grid call in international phonetic code. 73s

Major Roves: DL88: Ron (@AD0DX) and Doug (@N6UA) are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, TX. As we know they tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. Today the tentative date is Sunday, October 25, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page.

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

Clint Bradford, K6LCS will give his “Work the FM Voice Satellites With Minimal Equipment” Zoom presentation on the following dates for:
10/27/2020 – Cherryland ARC / Traverse Bay ARC
Additional presentations are in the planning stage:
TBD – Antelope Valley (CA) ARC and a private presentation for a Boy Scout troop in Danville, Pennsylvania

Club Groups are asked to update their copies of the Zoom application prior to the scheduled session by directly downloading it from https://zoom.us/

[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6CLS for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ NASA will provide live coverage of the return to Earth for agency astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, and two Russian cosmonauts Wednesday, Oct. 21, after six months aboard the International Space Station. Cassidy, the Expedition 63 commander, and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos, will close the hatch to their Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft at 20:10 UTC Wednesday. Their Soyuz will undock at 23:32z. A parachute-assisted landing is set for 02:55z on Oct. 22 on the steppe of Kazakhstan. Complete coverage of the return will be available on NASA TV and the agency’s website, https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ Joe Werth, KE9AJ Tweets about a new distance record set for AO-7 Mode A: “Amazing QSO with Olivier, @F5RRO on AO-7 MODE A. Breaking a 40 year old AMSAT distance record at 6,879 km. Olivier used a MA5B Yagi and I used my Moxon….. Thanks Olivier!” The path map may be seen at: https://bit.ly/2SUSeJM (ANS thanks Joe Werth, KE9AJ for passing along the above information)

+ GNU Radio Project (@gnuradio) tweeted at 3:52 PM on Tue, Oct 13, 2020: Wylie Standage-Beier’s @thewyliestcoyot workshop on Writing GNU Radio Blocks is up on YouTube! A hands on intro to blocks, flowgraphs, and systems from simple Python simulation of a phase shift keyed signal in white noise to a functioning communications system. Link to Twitter Feed and Youtube link: https://t.co/XldgMCJeLy (ANS thanks JoAnn Maenpaa, K9JKM for relaying the above information from Twitter)

+ OSIRIS-REx, which launched in 2016 and has been orbiting the asteroid Bennu in microgravity since 2018, is going to try its first Touch And Go (TAG) maneuver next week. This maneuver involves autonomously descending toward the asteroid with the craft’s sample arm extended, briefly making contact, using nitrogen gas to blow loose material in to a sample collection head, and returning to orbit. The pristine sample should arrive back on Earth in September 2023. Visualization at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjlGYHJ2560&feature=youtu.be (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital New Shepard flew on October 13 for the first time since December 2019, completing its 13th flight, and seventh reuse for this booster. The mission successfully carried several NASA experiments, including a “microgravity LilyPond”—-a hydroponic chamber for growing edible aquatic plants in space—-and a system for precise planetary landing that uses both terrain relative navigation (for high altitude use, soon to be used for landing by Mars 2020) and LiDAR (for final propulsive landing), with a planned application to upcoming lunar landing missions. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ Tweeted on October 13: Premier signers of Virgin Orbit’s payload wall, @AMSAT RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E is out of our hands and in the hands of @Virgin_Orbit to fly as part of Launcher One’s first payload. Great fun sharing in their new experience and first integration. And tours of their facilities to boot! https://twitter.com/n0jy/status/1315878009371422720?s=27 (ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT VP Engineering, for the above information)

+ Soyuz crew docks with International Space Station: In a mission marking the end of an era, NASA astronaut and former virus hunter Kate Rubins, using NASA’s last currently contracted seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, rocketed into orbit Wednesday with two cosmonaut crewmates on a record-setting flight to the International Space Station. Celebrating her 42nd birthday, Rubins’ launch came just two weeks before 20th anniversary of the arrival of the station’s first crew on Nov. 2, 2000. Since then, the lab complex has been continuously staffed by rotating crews, or expeditions, of American, Russian, Japanese, European and Canadian fliers along with a handful of space tourists. Additional information is available at: https://bit.ly/31brNUw (ANS thanks Spaceflight Now and CBS News for the above information)

+ Oxygen supply fails on Russian segment of ISS, crew not in danger (Oct 15, 2020) The oxygen supply system has failed in a module on the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) but the crew is in no danger, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Thursday. The oxygen supply system on the Zvezda module on the orbital lab failed late on Wednesday but a second system on the American segment is operating normally, a Roscosmos spokesperson told AFP. “Nothing threatens the security of the crew and the ISS,” said the spokesperson, adding this repair work to fix the issue would be carried out on Thursday. The issue arose after three new crew -two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut -reached the ISS on Wednesday to bring the number of current crew on board to six. Additional information at: https://bit.ly/31aO596 (ANS thanks Spacetravel and AFP for the above information)


Tips for the New Satellite Operator

This is the first of a what I hope to be a monthly New Satellite Operators Corner. I will offer AMSAT New Operator tips and links to AMSAT resources for new operators and posts from various interest groups where useful info is published. This weeks tip comes from Rick, WA6NDR via [email protected]. I hope you find this as useful as I have. Jack, KD4IZ, Editor, AMSAT News Service.

Tip of the month: TH-D74mailto:[email protected] A ISS APRS settings From: Rick WA6NDR “I was able to make an ISS APRS contact today with just the TH-D74A and an Arrow antenna (details at the end). I started with a video from Don W6GPS and documented what I ended up doing including minor changes. Change the call sign and email address to yours. “Personal preference” settings are optional. The reasoning behind most of the settings is given in Don’s video. I am using TH-D74A firmware v1.10 (with v1.11 released 8/26/2020 but not seeming worth the installation time).”
Tip of the month: TH-D74A ISS APRS settings
From: Rick – WA6NDR
“I was able to make an ISS APRS contact today with just the TH-D74A and an Arrow antenna (details at the end). I started with a video from Don W6GPS and documented what I ended up doing including minor changes. Change the call sign and email address to yours. “Personal preference” settings are optional. The reasoning behind most of the settings is given in Don’s video. I am using TH-D74A firmware v1.10 (with v1.11 released 8/26/2020 but not seeming worth the installation time).”
• Menu 800 = SD Card, Export, Config Data (FOR LATER IMPORT AND NORMAL OPERATION).
• Menu 999 = Config, System, Full Reset
• [F]DUAL to set A band only.
• Menu 900 = Config, Display, Backlight Control = On
• Menu 404 = GPS, Basic Settings, Battery Saver = Off
• Menu 500 = APRS, Basic Settings, My Callsign = WA6NDR-7
• Menu 503 = APRS, Basic Settings, Status Text = 1/1, “VIA ISS [email protected]
• Menu 504 = APRS, Basic Settings, Packet Path = Others1, “ARISS”
• Menu 507 = APRS, Basic Settings, DCD Sense = Detect Data
• Menu 511 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Initial Interval = 30 min.
• Menu 512 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Decay Algorithm = Off
• Menu 513 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Prop. Pathing = Off
• Menu 514 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Speed = Off
• Menu 903 = Config, Display, Power-on Message = “WA6NDR ISS”
• Menu 904 = Config, Display, Single Band Display = GPS(GS)
• Menu 920 = Config, Battery, Battery Saver = Off
• Menu 921 = Config, Battery, Auto Power Off = Off
• Menu 950 = Config, Date & Time, Setting = <local>, UTC -7:00
• VFO, set frequency to 145.825 MHz
• [F]APRS (see “APRS 12” on the top display, GPS info on bottom).
• Personal preference, for SD Card recording and save to PC.
o Menu 941 = Config, Auxiliary, PF2 = Recording (on/off)
o Menu 944 = Config, Auxiliary, PF3 (Mic) = Screen Capture
o Menu 980 = Config, Interface, USB Function = Mass Storage
• Menu 800 = SD Card, Export, Config Data (FOR ISS OPERATION).
• Operation
o Arrow 146/437-10WBP antenna: Use only the 2m 3-element part.
o Open squelch: [F]MONI, KNOB CCW, ENT. Listen, watch…
o BCON to send a beacon. BCON again (off). Repeat.

(ANS thanks Rick Nungester, WA6NDR for this information)


/EX

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 Office.

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. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.

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

kd4iz at amsat dot org