As a result of the 2019 Board of Directors Election, Jerry Buxton, N0JY; Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA; Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK; and Michelle
Thompson, W5NYV; will serve on the board for two years.
The First Alternate is Brennan Price, N4QX. The Second Alternate is Howard (Howie) Defelice, AB2S. Both will serve for a term of one year.
The results of the voting with 1,052 ballots cast (892 electronic + 160 paper) are as follows:
Name
Call
Votes
Michelle Thompson
W5NYV
675
Patrick Stoddard
WD9EWK
585
Jerry Buxton
N0JY
526
Drew Glasbrenner
KO4MA
515
Brennan Price
N4QX
480
Howard (Howie) Defelice
AB2S
435
Paul Stoetzer
N8HM
399
Jeff Johns
WE4B
366
These results submitted September 20, 2019 by
Clayton Coleman, W5PFG
AMSAT Secretary
[ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Secretary for the above information]
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 https://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. 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://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
Request for cooperation in receiving Fuji 3 (FO-29)
NO-104 Camera Will be ‘Live’ This Week
Chinese Taurus-1 Amateur Satellite Launched
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) Awards Grant to ARISS
IARU Region 3 Approves New 15m Satellite Allocation
Improvements to the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page
Volunteer Opportunity – AMSAT Looking for Graphics Designer
Nine US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium, October 12-13
Final Steps Taken Toward ELaNa 25 Amateur Satellite Launch
AMSAT Academy at the Albuquerque Duke City Hamfest
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
DM02 Satellite Expedition Sunday, September 22 – N6O/MM
Request for cooperation in receiving Fuji 3 (FO-29)
The amateur satellite “Fuji 3” has been unable to confirm the operation of CW telemetry and heterodyne repeaters after 21:45 (UTC) on July 9, 2019, but is more unstable than yesterday. However, while confirming the operation of CW telemetry and heterodyne repeaters, we continue to test for stable operation.
Therefore, those who can receive CW telemetry of Fuji No. 3 (FO-29) will try to start with a command during the next pass through Japan, so please report the reception report to the following address.
We ask for your cooperation in collecting information on Fuji 3 of many users.
[ANS thanks JARL Secretariat Member Section “Fuji 3” Telemetry]
NO-104 Camera Will be ‘Live’ This Week
Controllers for NO-104 (PSAT-2) announced on September 13 that they have commanded the camera to take a picture and store it into memory every 10 minutes. This mode should last for 7 days or at least to next commanding session on Monday.
The transmitting counter, which selects picture for downlink is not synchronized with the camera, so there is uncertain delay between acquiring a picture and its transmission up to a maximum of 64 minutes. Every picture will be downlinked just once so every reception counts. The downlink is not operating during eclipse. Further info on https://github.com/alpov/PSAT-2/blob/master/README.md
[ANS thanks Ales Povalac, OK2ALP, and Tomas Urbanec, OK2PNQ, for the above information]
Chinese Taurus-1 Amateur Satellite Launched
BG2BHC reported on Twitter that Taurus-1 launched on Thursday, Sept. 12 on the CZ-4B launch from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Taurus-1 carries an FM to Codec2 repeater that operates using the same protocol as LO-90 (LilacSat-1) and can use the same software (after frequencies are changed). According to BG2BHC the satellite FM uplink is on 145.820 MHz and is using 435.840 MHz for telemetry and codec audio with a separate downlink on 436 for backup.
Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, reports that Doppler measurements suggest that Taurus 1 is object 44530 (2019-059C), and the actual measured telemetry downlink frequency: 435.8387 MHz. TLEs can be found at https://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt
Multiple reports show the telemetry downlink active on 435.840 MHz, but the FM to Codec2 repeater does not appear to be active yet.
For more information about this unique analog uplink, digital downlink system, see the AMSAT Journal article / Symposium paper about LO-90 at https://tinyurl.com/y6jzoful
[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, and Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for the above information]
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) Awards Grant to ARISS
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has awarded a very generous grant to ARISS for the Next Generation radio system. ARDC is the owner and manager of the Internet network known as the AMPRNet. In June of 2019, ARDC initiated a philanthropic endeavor to provide monetary grants to organizations, groups, projects, and scholarships which have significant potential to advance the state of the art of Amateur Radio, and digital communications in general.
The ARISS Next Generation radio system (or Inter Operable Radio System – IORS) will support easier radio mode transition, to enable new, exciting capabilities for hams, students and the general public including:
New amateur radio communication and experimentation capabilities, including an enhanced voice repeater and updated digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities.
Slow Scan TV (picture up and downlinks) in both the US and Russian segments of ISS.
New multi-voltage power supply will support present and future radio capabilities and allow wireless experiments to be conducted.
In July, the Inter Operable Radio System successfully completed a battery of stressful tests required as part of the final certification of the hardware for launch to and operation on the International Space Station. Final assembly of the flight safety certification in preparation for launch is now underway and ARISS is working towards launch ready status by the end of the year.
ARISS and AMSAT thank ARDC for their generosity in supporting this important project.
[ANS thanks ARISS, the AMSAT office, and ARDC for the above information.]
Symposium Papers Due September 23rd!
Final copies of papers must be submitted by September 23rd
for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers
should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv(at)amsat.org
IARU Region 3 Approves New 15m Satellite Allocation
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) – Region 3 (Asia-Pacific Region) Directors meeting was held in Tokyo September 2-3. A modified interim Region 3 bandplan was approved which included an Amateur-Satellite Service allocation in the 15m band. The modified interim Region 3 bandplan proposed by the Region 3 Bandplan Committee was approved. A notable change was addition of a satellite portion in 15m Band as agreed at the last Region 3 Conference. The interim IARU Region 3 bandplan is available at: https://tinyurl.com/y637aw47 A complete report of the Region 3 Directors meeting may be found at: https://amsat-uk.org/2019/09/12/iaru-r3-bandplan/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign to raise
$150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS. The upgrades are
necessary to enable students to continue to talk to astronauts in space via
Amateur Radio. We have reached a great milestone with $33,250 raised or about
17% towards our goal. This would not have been possible without your
outstanding generosity!!
For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit: https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9
Improvements to the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page
OSCAR Status Page
Thanks to the efforts of new member Ed Little, KN6DBC, improvements have been made to https://www.amsat.org/status/ specifically, some filtering of the “Your Callsign” field has been added in an effort to reject the occasional nonsense report. The entry must look like a callsign, for example it must have at least one digit, it must not end with a digit etc.
As a bonus, the “Your Grid Square” field has been added. Separate entries are now preferred instead of workarounds like KM1P-FN42.
AMSAT maintains this page to give a single global reference point for all users in the Amateur Satellite Service to show the most up-to-date status of all satellites as actually reported in real time by users around the world. Please help others and keep it current every time you access a bird.
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, 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/
Volunteer Opportunity – AMSAT Looking for Graphics Designer
AMSAT has a need for a volunteer graphics designer to occasionally assist with page layout of our in-house advertising panels for the AMSAT Journal. The Journal uses Adobe InDesign software to publish but our software can import and place PDF and JPG formatted pages that you create with the graphics tools of your choice.
If you can fill this need contact Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services at ke4al (at) amsat.org.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
Nine US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has announced the schools/host organizations selected for amateur radio contacts with the ISS during the first half of 2020. A total of 9 of the submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward in the processes of planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities.
The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for the 9 US host organizations during the January to June 2020 time period. They are now at work completing an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the ARISS Technical Mentors, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities offered by NASA.
The schools and host organizations are:
Organization
Location
Celia Hays Elementary School
Rockwall, Texas
Golden Gate Middle School
Naples, Fla.
J.P. McConnell Middle School
Loganville, Ga.
Kittredge Magnet School
Atlanta, Ga.
Maple Dale Elementary School
Cincinnati, Ohio
Monroe Carrell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tenn.
Oakwood School
Morgan Hill, Calif.
Ramona Lutheran School
Ramona, Calif.
River Ridge High School
New Port Richey, Fla.
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio.
AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium, October 12-13
Kents Hill Park Conference Centre
The AMSAT-UK Colloquium, incorporated into the RSGB Convention, will take place October 12-13 at the Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Timbold Drive, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BZ.
The weekend event attracts an international audience that ranges from those involved in building and operating Amateur Radio satellites to beginners who wish to find out more about this fascinating branch of the hobby.
Included will be a roundup of a number of new live and potential spacecraft projects that are under investigation and/or development, plus all the usual networking opportunities, the gala dinner, auction and raffle.
Final Steps Taken Toward ELaNa 25 Amateur Satellite Launch
The Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Hawaii has applied to the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) for frequency coordination for the amateur radio payloads aboard its Neutron-1 spacecraft. This is a step toward launch of the satellite aboard the upcoming NASA Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) mission 25. This same launch is also scheduled to boost several other new satellites carrying amateur radio into space this fall.
A 3U CubeSat, the science experiment of Neutron-1 is a precursor mission for instrument validation for the ASU neutron detector flying on the later LunaH-Map mission to the moon in 2020. Following an initial checkout and startup period, Neutron-1 will operate a neutron detector counting neutrons escaping the earth’s atmosphere.
The amateur payload will provide a V/U FM voice repeater for amateur and educational purposes. Proposing 1k2-9k6 AX telemetry and FM voice UHF downlink and a VHF FM uplink. The access of functionality will be provided on the Neutron-1 website: https://www.hsfl.hawaii.edu/web/neutron1/
Neutron-1 is planned for deployment from the ISS as part of the ELaNa 25 mission now scheduled for this fall. Neutron-1 will fly with 14 other spacecraft, including two satellites of particular interest to amateurs:
HuskySat – University of Washington, Seattle will be boosted into a higher, 500km orbit via the Cygnus external deployment device, and will carry a V/U linear transponder provided in cooperation with AMSAT. The HuskySat web page is: https://sites.google.com/uw.edu/huskysatellitelab/huskysat-1
In addition to these, satellites scheduled for the ELaNa 25 launch that have already secured IARU coordination are:
Argus – St. Louis University, Mo. (437 MHz telemetry)
AzTechSat-1 – NASA Ames Research Center, Calif. (437 MHz telemetry)
CySat – Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (436 MHz telemetry)
RadSat-U – Montana State University, Bozeman (437 MHz telemetry)
SPOC – University of Georgia, Athens (437 & 2400 MHz telemetry)
SwampSat II – University of Florida, Gainesville (437 & 2400 MHz telemetry)
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
2019 marks AMSAT’s 50th Anniversary of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
To help celebrate, we are sponsoring the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program.
Full details are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/
AMSAT Academy at the Albuquerque Duke City Hamfest
AMSAT® Academy 2.0, which builds on last year’s day-long course to include: guidance on how to set up a portable satellite ground station; guidance on how to join a growing network of stations that capture, record, and submit amateur-radio satellite telemetry to a central repository; and practical tips for breaking the ice with local schools in order to fold amateur-radio satellite and Amateur Radio in the International Space Station (ARISS) activities into STEM education efforts.
This year’s AMSAT® Academy instructors include Robert Bankston, KE4AL, vice-president, User Services, Amateur Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), Ron Bondy, AD0DX, an AMSAT® Ambassador, and long-time satellite enthusiasts Dan Eggert, AC9E, and Bill Ripley, KY5Q, an embedded-systems architect. The course fee is $30, and includes breakfast and a copy of the organization’s “Getting Started with Amateur Satellites.”
[ANS thanks Bill Ripley, KY5Q, for the above information]
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Templestowe College, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, telebridge via VK6MJ. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut is Nick Hague KG5TMV. Contact is go for: Wednesday, 18 September, 2019 at 08:06:32 UTC 42 deg
Boys and Girls Club, Ft. Meade, MD., telebridge via VK4KHZ. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut is Nick Hague KG5TMV. Contact is go for: Friday, 20 September, 2019 at 19:58:23 UTC 54 deg
School in Bulgaria, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The scheduled astronaut is TBD. Contact is go for Tuesday, 24 September at 16:10 UTC.
[ANS thanks ARISS team member Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, for the above information]
DM02 Satellite Expedition Sunday, September 22 – N6O/MM
Alex, N7AGF, and Ron, AD0DX, are planning to activate DM02 on Sunday, September 22, 2019 on FM and Linear satellites.
It’s a 5 or 6 hour boat trip to anchor off San Clemente Island. We will be on the water for 22 hours and operating around 10 hours beginning around 3:00 AM PDT (1000Z) on Sunday, September 22. The cost of the boat is $2500 and we would appreciate contributions to help offset this cost. In the 24 hours after posting to Twitter we have received around $1300 which Alex and I are very thankful for. The island has Verizon and AT&T and Alex has a Garmin InReach so we should be able to tweet passes. The plan is to make as many passes as possible once we start operating around 3:00 AM PDT. We may skip some of the low western passes.
If you need the grid please give us a call! Of course this is dependent on the weather, but the captain says it has been a good September so far. If you are able to contribute financially we really appreciate the help to offset some of our costs. Details to contribute are on the N6O QRZ.com webpage.
[ANS thanks Ron, AD0DX, and Alex, N7AGF, for the above information.]
Upcoming Satellite Operations
EN54/EN64 September 13-15
Brad Smith, KC9UQR, will be active on AO-91 and AO-92 while traveling this weekend in Wisconsin.
DN11/DN12 + DN03 September 17, 2019
Casey, KI7UNJ is heading to the DN11/DN12 line, September 17th. Look for him on SO-50, AO-92, and AO-91, between 1657z and 1812z. On the way back, Casey will make a quick stop in DN03 to catch te 2043z PO-101 pass. Watch Casey’s Twitter feed for further updates https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ
DM02/mm (need we say more) September 22, 2019
Ron, AD0DX, and Alex, N7AGF, are chartering a boat to the ultra-rare DM02 grid square. They will use the special event call sign November 6. Ocean/Maritime Mobile. Expected window of operation is from 1000z to 1900z, Sunday, September 22nd. More information is available on QRZ https://www.qrz.com/db/N6O to include how you can help support this monumental operation. Ron and Alex are expected to have cellular service out there, so keep an eye on their Twitter feeds https://twitter.com/ad0dx and https://twitter.com/N7AGF
FP, ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON (GN17) September 24 to October 8, 2019
Eric, KV1J, will once again be oper ating from the Island of Miquelon (NA-032, DIFO FP-002 WLOTA 1417, Grid GN17) as FP/KV1J between September 24th and October 8th. This is his 13th trip to the island. Activity will be on 160-6 meters (no 60M – not author ized) using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8 (but primarily SSB, RTTY and FT8) and the satellites. He will generally be on the highest frequency band that is open (favoring 12/10m). He will be active in the CQWW DX RTTY Contest (September 28-29th). ADDED NOTE: Eric will usually try to be on as many Satellite passes as he can when the WX is good, generally favoring the FO-29, XW-2x, AO-7, and possibly the FM birds. Eric states, “Equipment is two FT-817s and an Arrow dual band yagi. I’ll favor the SSB birds usually higher in the passband, but will also try FM if they do not get too busy. Satellite logging is by paper so may not get loaded to LoTW until the week after I return to the USA.” Weekends may be limited since he will be concentrating on the low(er) bands and contests. QSL via KV1J, direct or by the Bureau. Also eQSL, ClubLog and LoTW. For more details and updates, check out his Web page at: http://www.kv1j.com/fp/Sep19.html
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
The AMSAT-LU WSPR Picoballoon on 14.0956 USB released August 31 is about to complete its first circumnavigation of the globe after traveling 33,000 km in 12 days. AMSAT-LU appreciate any WSPR stations that help to receive it, AMSAT-LU will recognize with a certificate to stations that capture its 25 mW beacon. Also the APRS PicoBalloon (145.825 via Sat 1W) will be returning to South America. Full story with links at https://tinyurl.com/y5xkbrbr (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information)
For Flashback Friday, AMSAT released disk images of Bob McGwier, N4HY’s QUIKTRAK for both the Commodore 64 and Apple II to provide a fun look back at the state-of-the art in satellite tracking in the mid-1980s. Check them out at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-258-FBF
The Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Hawaii has applied to the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) for frequency coordination for the amateur radio payloads aboard its Neutron-1 spacecraft. The amateur payload will provide a V/U FM voice repeater for amateur and educational purposes. Proposed are 1k2-9k6 AX telemetry and FM voice UHF downlink and a VHF FM uplink. The Neutron-1 website is: https://www.hsfl.hawaii.edu/web/neutron1/ (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information)
Japan called off a planned cargo ship launch to the International Space Station on September 10 after a fire erupted on the launch platform for the mission’s rocket. (ANS thanks Space.com for the above information)
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has signed a 5-year agreement to keep Dayton Hamvention® at the Greene County Expo Center. The agreement was announced on September 9. (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information)
After years of construction, China’s new radio telescope is in action. The telescope, called FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope) has double the collecting power of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which has a 305 meter dish. Until now, Arecibo was the world’s largest radio dish of its type. (ANS thanks Universe Today for the above information)
The College of Engineering at Villanova University has published a very nice feature story about the University’s involvement with ham satellites. The article, titled, “They May be Building Nanosatellites, but there’s Nothing Small about Villanova’s CubeSat Club,” may be found at: https://tinyurl.com/yytj6vsj Dr.Alan Johnston,KU2Y, VP-Educational Relations is the faculty advisor.
An article by Karl-Heinz Krawczyk, DL1GKK, describes how to install amateur radio software on the Raspberry Pi to provide the popular data modes, SSTV, satellite tracking, SDR, rig control and logbook. The English language article is available on the site of Indonesia’s national amateur radio society ORARI: https://tinyurl.com/y4gb82hb (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information)
An interesting article on Satellite collisions has been published this week in SatNews Daily: https://tinyurl.com/yyk3f2q2 (ANS thanks Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, for the above information)
Help AMSAT return to Greater Orbits with Larger Footprints with exciting technologies like attitude control and determination and software-defined transponders utilizing microwave bands. Consider a one-time or recurring donation today: https://tinyurl.com/y5kupb55
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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information.
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 https://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. 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://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
2019 37th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
2019 AMSAT Symposium Early-Bird Registration Rate Until September 15
Second Call for AMSAT 2019 Symposium Papers
Mark Johns, KØJM, Appointed Editor-in-Chief AMSAT News Service
Emergency Traffic Relayed over AO-92 Satellite
University of Tsukuba YUI Satellite Project D-ATV User Survey
ARISS Activities
AMSAT SA Dual Band Yagi Now Available for Export
Upcoming Satellite Operations
German CEPT Response States Sharing of 144-146 MHz Not Realistic
Talks by Radio Amateurs at UKHAS Conference London Sept 7
CAMSAT Applies for IARU Coordination for Four V/U Transponder Satellites
Satellite Shorts From All Over
The AMSAT Office will be closed from Friday, August 30th – Tuesday, September 10th.
2019 37th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
Please join us for the 2019 AMSAT 50th Anniversary Symposium, to be held in the Washington, DC Metro Area on October 18, 19, and 20, 2019.
The Symposium venue will be the Hilton Arlington, located in the heart of the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, VA. The Hilton Arlington is located at 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, Virginia, 22203, USA TEL: +1-703-528-6000 and the reservation code is AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation).
Connected to the Ballston Metro Station, the hotel offers easy and effortless access to Washington DC’s top tourist destinations like the National Mall, Smithsonian Museums and historic monuments. The hotel is six miles from Reagan National Airport and the National Mall. There are plenty of restaurants nearby.
The Symposium will feature OSCAR Park – a display of satellites from throughout the history of amateur radio in space – paper presentations, and a banquet with speakers celebrating AMSAT’s long history, and other events. The AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting will be held on October 16th and 17th at the same hotel. Two guided tours are available. On Sunday, October 20th a bus tour to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum is available for $30 (max 35 people) and on Monday, October 21st, AMSAT President Joe Spier will lead a day tour to the National Mall via the Metro.
So please plan on attending the 50th Anniversary Symposium – you will be glad you did and keep checking the AMSAT website for further updates and information.
The 2019 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting features:
Space Symposium with Amateur Satellite Presentations
Operating Techniques, News, & Plans from the Amateur Satellite World
Board of Directors Meeting open to AMSAT members (October 16-17)
[ANS thanks the 2019 AMSAT Symposium Team for the above information]
2019 AMSAT Symposium Early-Bird Registration Rate Until September 15
An early-bird registration rate for the 37th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting, Friday through Sunday, October 18-20, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia, is available through September 15, 2019 per the following schedule:
Registration September 16, 2019 – October 11, 2019
This year, all registrants will receive a digital copy of the Proceedings on a thumb drive. Attendees may purchase a hard copy for $25.00. Non-attendees may put their name on a waiting list for a hard copy, if there are any left over. The digital version of the Proceedings will be made available on the online store shortly after the Symposium concludes.
Student Registration is 50% off and does not include the Proceedings.
[ANS thanks the 2019 AMSAT Symposium Team for the above information]
Second Call for AMSAT 2019 Symposium Papers
This is the second call for papers for the 2019 AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on October 18-20 at the Hilton Arlington, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, Virginia.
Proposals for papers, symposium presentations, and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy to be submitted by September 23 for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv at amsat dot org.
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz N8FGV for the above information.]
Mark Johns, KØJM, Appointed Editor-in-Chief AMSAT News Service
Robert Bankston, KE4AL, VP-User Services announced the appointment of Mark D. Johns, KØJM, as Editor-in-Chief of the AMSAT News Service.
Johns, currently serving as a rotating ANS weekly editor, steps up to replace EMike McCardel, AA8EM, who is facing a long recovery following a serious injury while clearing storm damage at his home in early August.
Mark Johns is Professor Emeritus, Journalism and Communication Studies, of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, but now resides in the Minneapolis, Minn. area. He is a life member of ARRL and AMSAT, holds a DXCC Satelite certificate, and is a member of the Minnesota Wireless Association and the Twin Cities DX Association (TCDXA). Mark is also on the editorial staff of the Gray Line Report, the newsletter of the TCDXA.
Mark grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and was first licensed there in 1967 as WNØRGV. Through college, grad school, and early career he operated from various QTHs in Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa as WAØRGV, and later as KØMDJ. He began operating satellites in the early 1980s. After living in Cedar Falls, Iowa for 26 years, he took a one year work assignment in Nottingham, UK during 2011-12 and operated there as MØGZO. From fall of 2012 until spring of 2017 his QTH was Decorah, but he also operated in Malta as 9H3DJ for half of 2016 while on another work assignment. His current callsign was granted in 2018, and he is primarily active on the linear transponder satellites.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, VP-User Services for the above information]
Emergency Traffic Relayed over AO-92 Satellite
Terrain in Big Bend National Park & Ranger response. W5PFG photo.
On August 27, 2019, Clayton, W5PFG, and his father Jack, AC5DI, were traversing the Chihuahuan Desert in Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA, when their vehicle became stuck in mud from recent monsoon rains.
Being stuck up to the axles, they were unable to self-recover from the situation, requiring assistance from Park Rangers. August temperatures in this desert reach upwards of 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. There is no mobile phone coverage outside park headquarters.
Clayton made contact via AMSAT satellite AO-92 with Kevin, KK4YEL, in Florida. During the satellite pass, stations stood by while Clayton relayed emergency traffic to Kevin. This information included details about the situation including precise latitude and longitude, the phone number for Big Bend National Park, vehicle description, and welfare of the party.
Other stations listening to the pass including Brian, KG5GJT, contacted the park headquarters. Within two hours, Park Rangers arrived on scene and recovered the stuck vehicle. No person was injured, and no equipment was damaged.
Clayton and Jack were traveling to DL88jx, a maidenhead grid square highly sought after by many ARRL VUCC members. Clayton had previously made two successful trips to DL88jx. Both Clayton and Jack are very grateful to Kevin, KK4YEL, the responsiveness of the amateur radio community,
and to the Park Rangers and staff of Big Bend National Park.
Incident discussion via Twitter quickly provided recordings of the AO-92 satellite traffic:
[ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, 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
University of Tsukuba YUI Satellite Project D-ATV User Survey
Takehiro Okamoto, student leader of University of Tsukuba YUI project in Japan, reports his team is developing a 2U cubesat planned to feature real-time video transmission from space as the main mission. This project, wants the general public to view and use the images, and are soliciting user opinions.
They plan to downlink D-ATV from the 2U CubeSat, similar to HamTV from the ISS. Complete the survey posted at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-244-Tsukuba-Survey (use google translate)
The university YUI cubesat development web page can be accessed at: https://yui.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp/ (use google translate)
[ANS thanks Takehiro Okamoto, University of Tsukuba for the above information]
ARISS Activities
Tuesday, September 3, 2019 08:06 UTC
Kingston Community School, Kingston SE, South Australia, telebridge via K6DUE located in Maryland. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA. Listen on 145.800 for east coast North American
stations.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019 16:05 UTC
Galileo STEM Academy, Eagle, ID, direct via W7GSA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut is Nick Hague KG5TMV. Listen on 145.800 for western North American stations.
AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign to raise $150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS. These upgrades are necessary to enable students to continue to talk to astronauts in space via Amateur Radio. We have reached a great milestone with $24,130 raised or about 16% towards our goal. This would not have been possible without your outstanding generosity!! For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit: https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
AMSAT SA Dual Band Yagi Now Available for Export
AMSAT SA Dual Band Yagi. Tap or Click for more information
AMSAT South Africa (AMSAT SA) has developed a dual-band Yagi VHF/UHF antenna for satellite operation. The antenna has a 50-ohm designed driver. The Yagi has a unique element called a ‘Open Sleeve’ which is a director very close to the driven element. The driven element is sized for 2M. When operating on 70cm the ‘Open Sleeve’ acts as part of the driven element on 70cm (Third harmonic of 2M).
The original concept was developed in 1946 by Dr J T Bolljahn of the Stanford Research institute but was not introduced into amateur radio until the 1950s. The AMSAT SA version is based on a design by DK7ZB with modifications by WB5CXC.
Until recently this antenna was available only in South Africa. Following requests from many amateurs outside South Africa AMSAT SA can offer the Yagi for export if ordered in a batch of 6, at R950 each (approx US $65), total for a batch of 6 is R5700. (approx US $ 390) to countries in the European Union and the USA. For Australia and New Zealand R1000 per unit in a batch of 6 total RR6000. Pricing for other countries on request.
N7MJ Roving 11 State Tour – WY, NE, IA, IL, KY, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, August 25th – September 9th, 2019.
Jack N7MJ is heading out (in his Vette) on a 2 weeks road trip from Cheyenne, WY to the big 25th Anniversary Celebration of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY, (August 28-31). Then he will head through TN to AR (EM34) for a family gathering 9/3-4, the another family gathering 9/4-5 in Atoka, OK EM14/24). With the partying over, down through TX and NM and end up in Chandler, AZ. FM only.
Way Up in the Northeast (GN27, GN26, GN37) Aug 26 – Sept 7, 2019
Chris, VE3FU will be in GN27 August 26-30 and will try to make a trip to GN26, possibly on the GN26/27 line. He will be in GN37 again) August 30-September 7. Chris will be operating as VO2AC/1 and try to announce operating times on Twitter as far ahead as possible. https://twitter.com/ChrisVE3FU.
Peru – August 31 – September 7, 2019
Tony, KD8RTT will be in Peru Saturday night, August 31 and leave on Saturday, September 7. FM passes, mainly AO-91 and AO-92, vacation schedule permitting. Tony is not exactly sure what days/times he can operate yet, but he’ll try to tweet before he gets on any passes. https://twitter.com/kd8rtt
AM1SAT (All Grids in Spain) September 9-15, 2019
AMSAT-EA will be transmitting its special call AM1SAT via all active satellites from September 9th to September 15th as part of the V RadioHam Fair IberRadio 2019 activities. IberRadio is the biggest event for the ham community in SouthWest Europe and will open doors September 14th and 15th . Learn more about IberRadio at http://www.iberradio.es. The AM1SAT call sign will be active from a minimum of 14 different grids during that time to help satellite operators to collect as much EA locators as possible. As part of this activity and in order to promote the participation, AMSAT-EA is sponsoring the AM1SAT Special Award in two categories, Silver and Gold. More info available at https://www.amsat-ea.org/ and as a pdf at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-AM1SAT-Award.
D4, CAPE VERDE (Update/Satellite Op). September 29-October 13
Harald, DF2WO, will once again be active as D44TWO from Praia, Santiago Island (AF-005), between September 29th and October 13th. Activity will be holiday style on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and mostly the Digital modes. (FT8, PSK31, JT65 and RTTY) and slow CW. Harald has been working hard in the last few months getting his satellite station for QO-100 working and is now confident he will use it from Cabo Verde. He will be using an Icom 7300, 2 Transverters with 3 watts output on EsHail using the QO-100 Geostationary Satellite. He will also have a FT-450D into a homemade HEX BEAM and a dipole for 40 meters. Please DO NOT send your card via the Bureau it WILL NOT be received – To receive a bureau card you MUST request via M0OXO OQRS ONLY! (Via Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1428)
WW0, UNITED STATES (Special Event). September 28-October 2
Members of the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club (NCARC), WWV ARC, RMHam, and FCCW along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will activate special event station WW0WWV between September 28 and October 2 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of WWV, the world’s oldest continuously operating radio station. The WW0WWV station(s) will be set up adjacent to the WWV transmitter site in Fort Collins, Colorado. Operations will be on various HF bands following typical propagation, and will include 160 meters as well as satellites (SO-50, AO-91, and AO-92) and 6-meter meteor scatter. Modes will be CW, SSB and digital. QSL via ClubLog’s OQRS, LoTW, or direct to the WWV Amateur Radio Club, 1713 Ridgewood Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. For more details, visit the following URLs: http://wwv100.com https://tinyurl.com/ANS-244-NIST-WWV
(Via Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1428)
[ANS Thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information]
The Fox-In-A-Box Raspberry Pi SD card for setting up a Raspberry Pi-based telemetry station for the Fox-1 satellites now supports the Raspberry Pi4. Get yours today on the AMSAT Store! https://amsat.org/product/fox-in-a-box-raspberry-pi-sd-card/
German CEPT Response States Sharing of 144-146 MHz Not Realistic
Update: The ARRL reported on August 30, 2019 – 144 – 146 MHz Removed from French Proposal for Additional Aeronautical Applications: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-244-ARRL-2M-Removed
The latest development regarding the proposal to share 144-146 MHz comes from Germany.
They state, “Germany does not support the inclusion of the 144-146 MHz primary allocated to the amateur service/amateur satellite service in the proposed WRC-23 agenda item regarding a possible new allocation to the aeronautical mobile service (AMS) for non-safety applications.
Consequently, Germany cannot determine a single realistic sharing scenario, not leading to serious mutual interference on both sides and not
seriously degrading the use of the 144-146 MHz band.”
[ANS thanks CEPT/European Electronic Communications Committee for the above information]
Talks by Radio Amateurs at UKHAS Conference London Sept 7
The 2019 UK High Altitude Society Conference is taking place in White City, London on Saturday, September 7.
The conference takes place at The Invention Rooms, 68 Wood Lane, White City, London, W12 7TA, and attracts those interested in learning about
building and flying High Altitude Balloons or in tracking their 434 MHz signals.
Some of the radio amateurs giving talks on high altitude balloon communications are:
AutoRX by Mark Jessop VK5QI
Citizen space exploration & inflatable spacecraft by Michael Johnson M0MJJ
The Apollo Flight – model-making and tech behind the dashboard by Dave Akerman M0RPI
Insurance & UKHAS Server Support by Steve Randall G8KHW
Recovering, Reprogramming and Re-flying Radiosondes by Andrew Mulholland MI0BPB
Hwoyee NSL-45 Experiences by Dave Akerman M0RPI and Steve Randall G8KHW
There will be helium and foil balloons available for the pico launch at the end of the conference.
[ANS thanks UKHAS and AMSAT-UK for the above information]
The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started
CAMSAT Applies for IARU Coordination for Four V/U Transponder Satellites
The Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) has applied for frequency coordination for four small satellites – CAS-8A, CAS-8B, CAS-8C, and CAS-8D. The CAS-8 satellites are a Student Small Satellites project initiated by the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), which is headquartered in Beijing China. APSCO was inaugurated in 2008 as an inter-governmental organization. including Bangladesh, China, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, Turkey and Indonesia.
The project consists of four satellites, including a pilot microsatellite CAS-8A for technical verification and a primary microsatellite CAS-8B, two 3U cube satellites CAS-8C and CAS-8D. CAS-8A is scheduled to be launched by the end of 2020, and the CAS-8B, CAS-8C, CAS-8d satellites are scheduled to be launched at the end of 2021 ON the same launch.
The CAS-8 satellites project is supported by the Chinese government. The project is led by Beihang University, which is China’s most outstanding
university in aerospace. tHE Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) cooperates with Beihang University to bring amateur radio into the project.
the CAS-8 satellites will realize the synergy between the eight countries of APSCO to build an amateur radio alliance through space, adding new science popularization tools to young students in APSCO member countries for self-training, inter-communication and technical investigations, and
also providing a new satellite platform for amateur radio enthusiasts around the world.
CAMSAT 8A – 30kg Microsat. V/U transponder, UHF CW and AX25 4k8/9k6 GMSK telemetry beacons and S Band 192kbps GMSK Image and 4k8/9k6 GMSK telemetry downlinks. Planning a launch from Jiuquan in Oct 2020 into a 600km SSO.
CAMSAT 8B – 30kg Microsat. V/U transponder, UHF CW and AX25 4k8/9k6 GMSK telemetry beacons and S Band 192kbps GMSK Image and
4k8/9k6 GMSK telemetry downlinks. Planning a launch from Jiuquan in Oct 2021 into a 600km SSO.
CAMSAT 8C – 3U CubeSat. V/U linear transponder, UHF CW and AX25 4k8/9k6 GMSK telemetry downlinks and S Band AX25 4k8/9k6 GMSK inter satellite links. Planning a launch from Jiuqhan in Oct 20121 into a 600km SSO.
CAMSAT 8D – 3U CubeSat. V/U linear transponder, UHF CW and AX25 4k8/9k6 GMSK telemetry downlinks and S Band AX25 4k8/9k6 GMSK inter satellite links. Planning a launch from Jiuqhan in Oct 20121 into a 600km SSO.
Additional information is pending IARU frequency coordination activities.
[ANS thanks CAMSAT and the IARU for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
NASA will be tracking Hurricane Dorian throughout this Labor Day (USA) weekend. The agency will provide status updates on the storm as it nears Florida and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the state’s central east coast, as well as updated video and imagery. Status updates on Hurricane Dorian will be available at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/hurricanes/tag/dorian-2019/
Updated imagery and video of the storm, including any view of Dorian from the International Space Station, will be available as soon as possible the NASA Media Resources page at: https://www.nasa.gov/mediaresources
2019 marks AMSAT’s 50th Anniversary of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
To help celebrate, AMSAT is sponsoring the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program. Full details are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/
Bruce Paige, KK5DO, Director of Contests and Awards, reported this week that the awards are being printed and will be sent shortly to all those who have applied.
The Huntingdon, West Virginia Herald Dispatch newspaper published a feature,
“Ham radio event planned at South Point library” informing interested Tri-State residents will have an opportunity to find out what ham radio and Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) are all about during the event “HAM Radio — From Across the Street to Outer Space,” set to take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library’s Southern Branch. Presentations include a look at amateur radio’s role and capability of communicating with the space shuttle, satellites and moon bounce. Access the full article at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-244-Herald-Dispatch
The Mohammed bin Rashid space centre in Duibai
has just announced on its twitter account that Astronaut Hazza alMansoori, the first Emirati astronaut, with the support of the Emirati Amateur Radio Society, will link from the ISS to the MBR Space Centre, during his misison from September 25th to October 4th. Further details will probably be announced by the MBR space centre on its twitter account: @MBRSpaceCentre (AMSAT-UK via Twitter)
Wondering what Terran radio hits our friends on Proxima Centauri are listening to? www.lightyear.fm has you covered! Currently, they’re catching Pharrel’s Happy for the first time (and they really have no idea how many commercials they’ll be receiving shortly that use it as background music). (OrbitalIndex.com)
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab
offers teachers of advanced placement math classes a lesson plan to calculate a flight to Mars. The Hohmann transfer is an elliptical orbit with the sun at one focus of the ellipse that intersects the orbit of the target planet. Launch occurs when Earth is at Hohmann perihelion (the point of the Hohmann orbit that is closest to the sun). Arrival occurs when Mars is at Hohmann aphelion (the point of the Hohmann orbit that is farthest from the sun). See: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-244-JPL-Hohmann-Orbit (www.jpl.nasa.gov)
AMSAT congratulates Jeff Johns, WE4B
on his recognition of support of the Young Amateurs Communications Ham Team, K8KDZ (Y.A.C.H.T)
YACHT’s mission is to expand horizons in the field of communications along with general and advanced ham radio techniques, and to foster a greater appreciation of the role they play in the overall hobby of amateur radio, as well as giving kids a challenge and enjoyment. See http://yacht.younghams.org/ (via Twitter)
Motorola Special Event Station Celebrating “One Giant Leap For Mankind”.
The Motorola Special Event celebrating Apollo 11 went off without a hitch as we had a very good turn out of club members rotating the support of operations of one radio operator and one logger from 8am Saturday till noon Sunday. A little over 400 contacts were made including some that were engineers working for other contractors on the Apollo program, current and former Motorola employees, and customers of MSI. One of the highlights of the event was the re-transmission of the audio of the lunar landing exactly 50 years later. We asked for a pause in on-air traffic and the hundreds of people calling us went silent as we sent out the landing audio on a completely clear channel. Once again thank you to everyone that made this possible. It is very special to see
interest in science and engineering in our up and coming generation! Let’s hope we can continue to foster interest in them much as the 400,000+ Heros of Apollo in the astronauts, engineers and scientists that made it happen did it for our generation. Visit the photo album posted at: https://km0to.shutterfly.com/k9motspecialevent50yearslunarl/88
Starting September 3, 2019, K-12 students
in U.S. public, private and home schools can enter the Mars 2020 Name the Rover essay contest. One grand prize winner will name the rover and be invited to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Name the Rover contest is part of NASA’s efforts to engage students in the STEM enterprise behind Mars exploration and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2019. NASA posted all the info at: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/name-the-rover/
Registrations are now open for ESA’s Open Day in the Netherlands
on Sunday 6 October – your chance to meet astronauts, space experts and see behind the scenes of Europe’s space adventure at ESA’s largest establishment. The theme of this year’s event is ‘ESA to the Moon’. As well as celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo lunar landing, the Open Day will also be looking forward, highlighting ESA’s role in returning people to the Moon, including contributing the service module to NASA’s Orion spacecraft and participating in the Lunar Gateway. Event information and registration can be accessed at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-244-ESTEC-Open-Day (via ESA)
[ANS thanks everyone 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 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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information.
73 and remember to behave and to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
k9jkm at amsat dot org
Terrain in Big Bend National Park & Ranger response. W5PFG photo.
On August 27, 2019, Clayton, W5PFG, and his father Jack, AC5DI, were traversing the Chihuahuan Desert in Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA, when their vehicle became stuck in mud from recent monsoon rains.
Being stuck up to the axles, they were unable to self-recover from the situation, requiring assistance from Park Rangers. August temperatures in this desert reach upwards of 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. There is no mobile phone coverage outside park headquarters.
Clayton made contact via AMSAT satellite AO-92 with Kevin, KK4YEL, in Florida. During the satellite pass, stations stood by while Clayton relayed emergency traffic to Kevin. This information included details about the situation including precise latitude and longitude, the phone number for Big Bend National Park, vehicle description, and welfare of the party.
Other stations listening to the pass including Brian, KG5GJT, contacted the park headquarters. Within two hours, Park Rangers arrived on scene and recovered the stuck vehicle. No person was injured, and no equipment was damaged.
Clayton and Jack were traveling to DL88jx, a maidenhead grid square highly sought after by many ARRL VUCC members. Clayton had previously made two successful trips to DL88jx. Both Clayton and Jack are very grateful to Kevin, KK4YEL, the responsiveness of the amateur radio community, and to the Park Rangers and staff of Big Bend National Park.
Incident discussion via Twitter quickly provided recordings of the AO-92 satellite traffic:
