ANS-279 AMSAT News Service Bulletins for October 6

by

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-279

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:

  • AO-7 to Enter Full Illumination Period October 9, 2019
  • 2019 AMSAT Symposium On-line Registration Open Until October 11
  • New ARISS Proposal Window is October 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019
  • VUCC Awards-Endorsements for September 2019
  • Amateur Radio Gets Temporary Use of 2400 MHz in Spain
  • AMSAT-SA Kletskous and AfriCUBE Cubesat Transponders on Balloon Flight
  • SSTV Event Planned for ARISS on October 9, 2019
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • ARISS Activities & Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

AO-7 to Enter Full Illumination Period October 9, 2019

On or about October 9th, AO-7 will enter a period of full illumination that will last until approximately December 2nd. During this time, the satellite’s onboard timer should switch it between Mode A (145 MHz uplink / 29 MHz downlink) and Mode B (432 MHz uplink / 145 MHz downlink) every 24 hours. To check or report the satellite’s current mode, please see the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page at https://www.amsat.org/status/.

Reporting observations during the first few days of the full illumination period will be helpful for determining the approximate time of the daily mode change.

Historical information on AO-7’s systems, including the functioning of the 24 hour timer, and operational plans can be found in the AMSAT-OSCAR 7 Technical Operations Plan And Experimenter’s Guide, available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-AO-7.

Mode V/A (A) Linear Transponder (Non-Inverting)
Uplink:  145.850 – 145.950 MHz SSB/CW
Downlink  29.400 –  29.500 MHz SSB/CW

Mode V/A (A) TLM Beacon
Downlink 29.5020 MHz CW

Mode U/V (B) Linear Transponder (Inverting)
Uplink:  432.125 – 432.175 MHz SSB/CW
Downlink 145.975 – 145.925 MHz SSB/CW

Mode U/V (B) TLM Beacon
Downlink 145.975 MHz CW

Mode U TLM Beacon 
Downlink 435.100 MHz CW

Additional frequency details are also posted at: https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/ao-7/

[ANS thanks AMSAT Operations for the above information.]

Don’t miss the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium
October 18-20 in Arlington, VA.
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/

2019 AMSAT Symposium On-line Registration Open Until October 11

An on-line 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 October 11, 2019 per the following schedule:

Registration September 16, 2019 – October 11, 2019 $65
Registration at the Door $70

You can complete your registration on-line via the AMSAT Store:
https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-symposium/

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]

New ARISS Proposal Window is October 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS.  ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.

The deadline to submit a proposal is November 30, 2019.  Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org.

The Opportunity 
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.

An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact.

Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe  present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio.

More Information 
For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org.

Please direct any questions to ariss dot us dot education at gmail dot com.

[ANS thanks the 2019 ARISS team 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

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for September 2019

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period September 1, 2019 through October 1, 2019. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!

CallVUCC as of September 1VUCC as of October 1
WC7V12001218
N9EAT550706
AA8CH584620
N3GS525597
WD9EWK (DM43)575585
VE7CEW428478
K9UO450475
KK4YEL300400
AD0HJ300325
PS8ET274303
WI4T101301
N7EGY250300
K7VNENew150
KS1G102134
N7AME125127
N4QX106120
KJ4MNew102
N4BAFNew100

If you find errors or omissions. please contact Ron Parsons, W5RKN off-list at <hiscall>@<hiscall>.com and he will revise the announcement.  Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work!

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

Amateur Radio Gets Temporary Use of 2400 MHz in Spain

Spain’s national amateur radio society URE reports that amateurs will be allowed to use 2,400.050 to 2,409.500 MHz for QO-100 (Es’hail-2)  geostationary satellite contacts until Dec 26, 2020. A translation of the URE post says: “At the request of the Spanish Amateur Radio Union (URE), last March the Secretary of State for Digital Advance authorized until September 26, 2019 under certain conditions and on a temporary and experimental basis the realization of emissions from the amateur service in the frequency band 2400,050 to 2409,500 MHz.

The URE has again requested the Secretary of State for Digital Advance the extension of the aforementioned administrative authorization for a period of one year.

On September 26, the Resolution of the Secretary of State for Digital Advance is approved by the resolution Authorize until December 26, 2020 to the holders of amateur radio authorizations, the realization of emissions from the amateur service in the frequency band 2,400,050 to 2,409,500 MHz., With a maximum eirp of 1500 watts and using directive antennas with a gain not less than 22.5 dBi, from authorized amateur radio stations located anywhere in the national territory to the QO-100 satellite located in the 25.9ºE orbital position of the geostationary orbit.

See the resolution of the Secretary of State for Digital Advance at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-Spain.

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

AMSAT-SA Kletskous and AfriCUBE Cubesat Transponders on Balloon Flight

The Secunda Amateur Radio Club in South Africa will be launching a high-altitude balloon on Saturday 12 October 2019. AMSAT SA will have two payloads, Kletskous and AfriCUBE. Both transponders are part of the AMSAT SA CubeSat programme and will be tested on the BACAR 7 balloon.

The Kletskous transponder which has been developed and built by Leon Lessing, ZS6LMG has an uplink on 435,155 MHz plus/minus 15 kHz and a downlink on 145,865 MHz plus/minus 15 kHz. It is a linear transponder supporting FM and SSB transmissions.

AfriCUBE, the brainchild of Anton Janovsky, ZR6AIC has an uplink on 435,100 MHz plus/minus 40 kHz and a downlink on 145,950 MHz plus/minus 40 kHz. AfriCUBE supports several modes including FM, SSB, SSTV and CW. Please consult the band plan and ground station requirements on www.amsatsa.org.za. A voice beacon will operate on 10,480 GHz with the call sign ZS6BZP.

Additional payloads will also transmit RTTY telemetry on 434,650 MHz and 1,296,600 MHz CW. The Hammies club has built a SSTV payload operating on 144.500 MHz. Standard APRS on 144.800 MHz is also available. The 10 GHz band is also active with a beacon. ZS6WBT will have a voice beacon on 145.550 MHz reading out flight information. ZS6IIX will be attempting an altitude and distance record for 868 MHz LORAWAN equipment.

Please send all the telemetry and SSTV info decoded to [email protected]. The BACAR team will send you a certificate of participation as well. For the final detail frequencies and latest flight predictions from Wednesday 9 October 2019 visit www.sarl.org.za and www.amsatsa.org.za frequently before the flight.

[ANS thanks the SARL weekly news in English 2019-10-5 for the above information]

Russian MAI-75 SSTV Event Planned for ARISS on October 9, 2019

An SSTV event employing the Russian MAI-75 experiment is planned for October 9 from 09:50 to 14:00 UTC and on Oct 10 from 08:55 to 15:15 UTC.  The frequency will be 145.800 MHz and the mode will be PD120 SSTV. For more details, visit the Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) Facebook page.

[ANS thanks ARISS 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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

  • MD (& DE?)   W3ZM/3 (N8HM),  Oct 6
  • DN05,DN06   KC7JPC & KI7UXT,   Oct 6, 1500z-2100z, FM & Linears
  • DN03 – KI7UNJ, October 7, 1700Z to 1910Z, FM only
  • EL99 – K4WPX, October 11-12 (evening) and possibly morning/afternoon on October 13; FM only
  • EM45,EM46 (possibile EM45/46/55/56) – N4DCW, Oct0ber 13, 1616Z to 1810Z; FM onlyEM25,EM35 – WI4T, October 15-16; holiday style
  • DN03 – KI7UNJ, October 7, 1700Z to 1910Z, FM only
  • EL99 – K4WPX, October 11-12 (evening) and possibly morning/afternoon on October 13; FM only
  • EM45,EM46 (possible EM45/46/55/56) – N4DCW, Oct0ber 13, 1616Z to 1810Z; FM only
  • EM25,EM35 – WI4T, October 15-16; holiday style
  • DN04 – KI7UNJ, October 21, 1653Z to 1910Z; FM only
  • CM79, do we need to say more? – October 7-9, 2019
    Super Rover Ron, AD0DX, has a little vacation time to burn, so he’s heading to CM79, October 7-9. Day 1 will be getting set up in camp and scouting out the CM79/CM89/CN70/CN80 corner, so there is a slight chance Ron will jump on a pass or two on October 7. Day 2 & 3 (October 8-9) are main days for operation. Steep terrain, lots of trees, and a formidable ridgeline will ultimately decide his operating position and pass availability, but the main objective is CM79. FM and Linears. Limited (if any) cell coverage, but Ron will Tweet when he can: https://twitter.com/ad0dx. In addition, Ron will be driving up to Seattle via the 101 on his way back home, with planned stops in CN70, CN71, CN72, CN73, and CN74.
  • Hungary (JN97) October 7-10, 2019
    Pedro, CU2ZG, will be in in Budapest on business, but he is bringing his sat gear as HA/CU2ZG. FM only and subject to availability. Follow Pedro on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/pdsousa.
  • Svalbard (JQ78) October 9-11, 2019
    Halvard (LA7XK), along with Just (LA9DL) and Erling (LA6VM), are going to Svalbard for the phone portion of the Scandinavian Activity Contest (SAC). They will arrive in JW mid-day on Wednesday October 9 and return mid-day on Monday October 14. They will be QRV via FO-29 from Wednesday October 9 to Friday October 11 during the local evenings between 1630Z and 0100Z. Call sign will be JW7XK and the locator is JQ78. Our best takeoff will be from 240 degrees via west and north to about 34 degrees. In that sector the elevation will be 1 to 2 degrees. We are renting a car up there and will drive west from the city out passed the airport for the best takeoff. We should be able to work most of USA and Canada and also Alaska.  They will alternate between SSB and CW, using an IC-9700 and an Arrow antenna.
  • #AMSATandAngling (DM15, DM06) October 11-13, 2019 
    Ed, KN6DBC, is going fishing (literally), but he is bring gear to work FM Satellites. October 11 he’ll be in DM15, and October 12 and 13 in DM06. Visit Ken’s Twitter feed for specific pass schedule and further updates: https://twitter.com/KN6DBC.
  • Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06) – October 19, 2019 
    David AD7DB will re-visit the four grids near Kettleman City CA. AO-91, AO-92, SO-50 will be used, with eastern passes a priority. Maybe PO-101 if it’s on, and AO-85 if it’s not too finicky.  Contacts will be put on LOTW following the trip. Updates on Twitter https://twitter.com/ad7db 
  • Hawaii (BK19, BK28, BK29, BL20) December 21-28, 2019
    Alex, N7AGF, is heading back to Hawaii over Christmas. This will be a holiday-style activation, with special emphasis on the grid that got away – BK28. Keep an eye on Alex’s Twitter feed for further announcements at https://twitter.com/N7AGF

[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/

ARISS Activities & Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule

Completed Contacts

  • The Southwest State University of Kursk, Kursk, Russia, direct via UB3WCL
    The ISS callsign was RSØISS. The astronaut was Aleksey Ovchinin.
    Contact was successful Saturday, September 28, 2019, 14:35 UTC.
  • UAE school #2 with Space Flight participant, direct via A68MBR
    The ISS callsign was RSØISS. The astronaut was Hazza Al Mansour.
    Contact was successful Saturday, September 28, 2019, 11:20 UTC.

Upcoming Contacts

  • School in Russia TBD direct via TBD
    The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
    The scheduled astronaut is TBD
    Contact is go for Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 06:05 UTC
  • Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD
    The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
    The scheduled astronaut is Aleksey Ovchinin
    Contact is go for Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 08:25 UTC
  • Bampton School, Bampton, United Kingdom, direct via G2LV
    The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
    The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA
    Contact is go for: Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 12:51:26 UTC
    Watch for live stream at https://live.ariss.org
  • Collège Robert Doisneau, Sarralbe, France, direct via F6KFT
    The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
    The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP
    Contact is go for: Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 14:29:21 UTC
  • [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N  for the above information.]

Satellite Shorts from All Over

  • FO-29 Update From JARL
    FO-29 control center as of October 3, 2019: FO-29 Transponder will be available until under voltage control activates in the CW telemetry. The current schedule is as follows (UTC date and time):
    October 6, 07:25-17:35
    October 12, 05:30-15:35
    October 13, 08:00-14:40
    October 19, 07:45-14:25
    October 20, 05:10-15:15
    [ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the above information.]
  • ESA Academy Hosts CubeSat Academy
    ESA Academy hosted the CubeSats Hands-On Training Week 2019. The training ran  from September 16 – 20, 2019.  It was held at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Centre, ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium.  The event was attended by twenty-six university students from fifteen different ESA Member States and Canada. The Training Week had a clear objective: transfer hands-on knowledge to university students who are keen to start their own educational CubeSat initiatives, or who are already at the conceptual or preliminary design stage of a CubeSat project at university. The full article posted at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-ESA-Academy. [ANS thanks ESA for the above information.]
  • Cubesat Developers 2020 Workshop Announced
    Cubesat has announced its 2020 Developers Workshop will be held May 4–6, 2020 at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Cal Poly Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo, CA.  Workshop details are available at [email protected].
  • Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering Professor and Computer Engineering Student Help Cambodian High School’s Quest to Launch Nation’s First CubeSat A two-person team from Cal Poly helped the Cambodian space program get off the ground in August.  The pair traveled to the capital city of Phnom Penh to assist a group of high school seniors, with the goal to install and test the students’ ground station for tracking satellites — not to launch a national program. But they were happy to play a role in the potentially history-making student project as well as the bigger picture of lifting the nation into orbit.  An excellent story can be read at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-Cal-Poly  [ANS thanks Cal Poly News for the above information.]
  • Santa Rosa Middle School ARISS Contact Gets Good Press
    The Santa Rosa Press Democrat gave the Middle School’s ARISS contact on October 1, 2019 excellent coverage.  Read the article at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-Santa-Rosa.
  • The Rise of the Smallsat Gaining Traction
    Satellites of less than 180 kilograms are becoming increasingly popular because of their ability to enable new technologies and achieve revolutionary results. No longer used exclusively by government agencies, satellites — and in particular — small  satellites (smallsats) are gaining in popularity with the private sector.  SatMag describes the current trend and why the use of smallsats is on the rise.  Read the full article at http://www.satmagazine.com/story.php?number=8941393.
  • World Space Week, 4-10 October
    The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week (WSW) will be held each year from October 4-10. The dates were in recognition of the October 4, 1957 launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, thus opening the way for space exploration and the October 10, 1967 signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial bodies.  The theme for World Space Week 2019 is “The Moon: Gateway to the Stars”. During World Space Week space education and outreach events are organized by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools, planetaria, museums, and astronomy clubs around the world. Find an event near you at http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/outreach/events/wsw/index.html
    [ANS thanks the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs or 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,
This week’s ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org