AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-135
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: https://mailman.amsat.org/post
In this edition:
- AMSAT Hamvention Update
- AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium October 8-9
- Amateur Radio and AMSAT-UK at EMFcamp 2022
- Paper Published: Deep space reception of Tianwen-1 by AMSAT-DL using GNU radio
- Franklin Antonio, N6NKF, SK
- ARISS News
- Upcoming Satellite Operations
- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 12, 2022
- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
- Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-135 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2022 May 15
AMSAT Hamvention Update
The Dayton Hamvention is coming next weekend! AMSAT’s presence with several events throughout the weekend and in with eight adjoining booths in Building 1. Highlighting the exhibit will be:
– CubeSat Simulator hardware and software demonstrations
– SatPC software demonstrations
– AMSAT Engineering staff question and answer table
– AMSAT Youth Initiative (KidzSat) introduction
– OSCAR ground station for live satellite operations
– Annual Membership sign-up and renewals
– AMSAT President’s Club recognition
– AMSAT Board of Directors and Senior Officers Meet and Greet
– AMSAT Store offering AMSAT trinkets, books and Arrow Antennas
The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun. Meet or renew acquaintances, exchange operating tips, and find out what antennas, software and equipment other AMSAT members use. We currently expect the AMSAT senior officers and board members to be there too.
If you’ve never operated a satellite before, but want to learn more, this is the place.
Kick-Off Hamvention with Dinner at Tickets
The annual AMSAT “Dinner at Tickets” party will be held at Tickets Pub & Eatery on Thursday, May 19 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT. There is no program or speaker – just good conversation. Everyone is invited regardless of whether or not they helped with setup or plan to work in the booth. Tickets has a great selection of Greek and American food and great company! Food can be ordered from the menu; drinks (beer, wine, sodas and iced tea) are available at the bar. Come as you are; no reservations required. Bring some friends and have a great time the night before Hamvention. Tickets Pub & Eatery is located at 7 W. Main St, Fairborn, OH 45324. (Telephone (937) 878-9022)
AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will honor the life of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
The 13th annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center on Friday, May 20th at 18:30 EDT. This dinner is always a highlight of the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corp.) and TAPR (Tucson Amateur Packet Radio) activities during the Dayton Hamvention. This year’s banquet will honor the life and accomplishments of long time amateur satellite and amateur packet pioneer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who passed away in February.
The Kohler Presidential Banquet Center is located at 4548 Presidential Way, Kettering, Ohio. That is about 20 minutes away from the Greene County Fairgrounds.
Tickets ($57 each) purchase deadline was Friday, May 13th. Banquet tickets had to be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the AMSAT booth. There will be no tickets to pick up at the AMSAT booth. Tickets purchased on-line will be maintained on a list with check-in at the door at the banquet center. Seating is limited to the number of meals reserved with the Kohler caterers based on the number of tickets sold by the deadline.
AMSAT Forum Scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 2022
The AMSAT Forum will be in Room #2 on Saturday May 21, 2022 from 12:10 PM to 1:40 PM EDT. The forum may be live streamed on the DARA website at https://hamvention.org/media-n
– 2022 AMSAT Status Report: Robert Bankston KE4AL, AMSAT President, will highlight recent activities within AMSAT and discuss some of our challenges, accomplishments, projects, and any late breaking news.
– AMSAT Engineering Program: Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President – Engineering, will talk about current and upcoming satellite missions.
– AMSAT Education: Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President – Education Relations will talk about the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator.
– AMSAT Development: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Vice President – Development, will report on AMSAT Youth Initiative and its features.
So, arrive early, grab a seat, take in some air conditioning and catch up on the latest AMSAT happenings!
[ANS thanks Phil Smith, W1EME, AMSAT Hamvention Exhibit organizer, AMSAT News & TAPR for the above information]
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The 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the
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AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium October 8-9, Kents Hill Park Conference Centre Milton Keynes MK7 6BZ
AMSAT-UK is very happy to announce the 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on October 8-9 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.
Booking for the RSGB Convention is at https://rsgb.org/main/about-us
Booking for the AMSAT-UK dinner on the Saturday evening at the nearby Hilton Hotel is here
Details of the event can be found at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquiu
[ANS thanks Trevor Essex, M5AKA of AMSAT-UK for the above information]
Amateur Radio and AMSAT-UK at EMFcamp 2022
The popular Electromagnetic Field event takes place June 2-5, 2022 at the Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Herefordshire, UK.
Imagine a camping festival with a power grid and high-speed internet access; a temporary village of geeks, crafters, and technology enthusiasts that’s lit up by night, and buzzing with activity during the day. Thousands of curious people will descend on the friendly open space to learn, share, and talk about what they love.
AMSAT-UK Village at EMF Camp
EMF camp will feature a full program of talks and workshops and there will be both an Amateur Radio Village GX1EMF and an AMSAT-UK Village GB4EMF.
Among the talks are:
• Hacking the Radio Spectrum with GNU Radio by Dave Rowntree M0IEG
• Receiving amateur radio satellite beacons by Damian Bevan G4WPO
• Launching a Rocket, Suspended by a Balloon by Dave Johnson G4DPZ
• Inside Datatrak: resurrecting a radio navigation network by Phil Pemberton M0OFX
• 2500 nerds, one pathetic robot by Chris Stubbs M6EDF
• Astro Pi Mark II – how to send a Raspberry Pi from a factory in Wales to the International Space Station by Richard Hayler
The talk schedule is at https://www.emfcamp.org/schedu
Amateur Radio Village https://wiki.emfcamp.org/wiki/
AMSAT-UK Village https://wiki.emfcamp.org/wiki/
Information on EMF Camp is at
https://www.emfcamp.org/
https://twitter.com/emfcamp
[ANS thanks Trevor Essex, M5AKA of AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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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-cat
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Paper Published: Deep space reception of Tianwen-1 by AMSAT-DL using GNU radio
This paper by Daniel Estévez EA4GPZ, Mario Lorenz DL5MLO and Peter Gülzow DB2OS describes the reception of the Tianwen-1 Chinese Mars mission carried out by AMSAT-DL with the 20 meter antenna at Bochum Observatory (Germany). A real-time GNU Radio decoder has been used to receive and store telemetry almost every day over the course of 10 months. Some of the telemetry variables, such as the trajectory information, have been successfully interpreted and used to track the progress of the mission.
A PDF-Download: Deep Space reception of Tianwen-1 by AMSAT-DL using GNU radio is available from AMSAT-DL. Link: https://bit.ly/3l392Mv
The paper was published in the proceedings for GNU Radio Conference 2021 and recently published together with other papers in the area of radar, signal detection/classification, high rate processing, and sensing.
[ANS thanks Peter Gülzow, DB2OS, President, AMSAT-DL for the above information]
Franklin Antonio, N6NKF, SK
Phil Karn, KA9Q writes: “Last night I got the sad news that Franklin Antonio, N6NKF, one of the founders of Qualcomm and my boss for most of my 20 years there, has passed away.
In recent years he’d turned to philanthropy, giving $30M to the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for a building named after him. The dedication was just two days ago, and he didn’t show up.
He’d also donated $3M to the Allen Telescope Array for a new broadband antenna feed, but more importantly he had provided them with a lot of engineering management and guidance that will be impossible to replace.
AMSAT members probably know him best as the author of the Instant Track orbital tracking software that AMSAT sold for many years.”
Bob McGwier, N4HY writes: Franklin and Mike Valentine donated money to AMSAT GEO P4B development that got us all the way to yes from the USAF and NASA. He was always after me to do more for SETI Institute and the Allen Telescope Array. He was instrumental in support of first four Microsats. When we got the flight computers, they arrived “some assembly required”. He ordered the Qualcomm microelectronics lab to help fix the assembly issues with the first ever 8 layer boards flown to orbit. When we had things to discuss, we would ride around in his big white Cadillac convertible. The back seat was loaded with empty soda cans. He was infamous at Qualcomm for occasionally dumping many of the cans near his parking spot. The grounds crew was prepared and cleaned them up quickly.
Whenever I visited in the newer building that contained his office, he encouraged me to ride his Segway around the floor, where all the C suite offices were located.
I will miss this brilliant eccentric engineer. RIP Franklin.
RIP to a friend of AMSAT.
[ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q, for the above information]
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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_g
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ARISS News
Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.
Forum Accademico Italiano e.V., Köln, Germany, telebridge via ZS6JON. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled crewmember is Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF. Contact is go for: Fri 2022-05-20 12:14:10 UTC 89 deg.
2nd All-Russian Festival “Russian Traveler”, Lipetsk, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz. The scheduled crewmember is Sergey Korsakov. Contact is go for 2022-05-21 18:10 UTC.
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-
The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]
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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/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
+ Hawaii!: K5ZM is heading to HI on May 16-26.
+ KC1MEB & NU1U: FN33. We have not come out with a Schedule or exact dates, somewhere between the 27th and 29th of May.
+ Adrian (AA5UK) is heading back to the Cayman Islands after several years now that COVID travel restrictions have been lifted. He will be operating as ZF2AE/ZF8 from Little Cayman May 29 – June 2 (EK99WP) and from Grand Cayman as ZF2AE from June 2-June 3 (EK99HI). These locations favor the west and any contacts with EU will be a challenge. Gear will be FT-1634 with Alaskan Arrow antenna. Notes: “I may be able to rent a car on Little Cayman (very $$$) for an afternoon and operate from FK09. This is TBD due to holiday style schedule and not guaranteed. Please follow me on Twitter @ZF2AE and @AA5UK for latest updates. QSL Direct (SASE for US, $2 for International QSL, and/or LOTW preferred. eQSL no longer accepted)”
+ WL7T: EL84, June 24-27.
+ W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!
+ ND9M/MM: I’m on my merchant marine ship anchored just off Saipan and expect to be here a few weeks. I’m on from the ship as ND9M/MM in QK25, but I’ll try to be QRV as ND9M/KHØ from the island itself over the next few weekends, probably Fridays in the afternoon and evening, possibly Saturday evenings as well. I’ll post my island activities on Twitter (@ND9M) as they firm up
+ N8MR: EN 57,67,56 8/6 through 8/13. More to come as date gets closer.
ISS Status:
+ ISS Status as of May 12, 2022
Columbus Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Configured. Current mode set to cross band repeater (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down).
Radio to be powered OFF to support Progress 79 undocking on June 01.
Capable of supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops.
Service Module radios:
Kenwood D710E – STATUS – Radio usually off.
Radio to be powered OFF to support Progress 79 undocking on June 01.
Capable of supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts and SSTV.
Kenwood D710GA for SM delivered on 80P. Installation TBD in early part of Increment 67. Planned to support packet operation (145.825 MHz up & down).
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager for the above information]
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 12, 2022
The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
TAUSAT-1 NORAD Cat ID 47926 (decayed form orbit on 5/3/2022 per Space-Track).
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements 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.
AMSAT Ambassador Schedules
Clint Bradford, K6CLS: Upcoming “How to Work the “Easy” Satellites” talks are scheduled:
Orange County ARA CA – May 20
Cal Poly Pomona – TBD
WARA – Orange County CA – June 11
Notes: “And it “feels” like lives are improving here in So California, as that meeting for WARA in June will be (hopefully) an IN-PERSON show! (Have to tune up my projector and dust off the DaLite projection screen!)
Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always included are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS. And pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome.”
Send an email or call!
Clint Bradford K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador; ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator, instructor
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS (7287)
Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ: SDR applications – Ways to use the RF “Swiss Army Knife” An intro to the AMSAT Fox-In-A-Box Image
Scheduled (tentatively live) July 18, 2022 the Frederick Amateur Radio Club, Frederick, MD
For information on this presentation and availability, contact Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ (kd4iz at arrl dot org)
Scheduled Events with AMSAT involvement:
Hamfests and Conventions
+ Hamvention 2022
May 20, 2022 to May 22, 2022
Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center
210 Fairground Road
Xenia, Ohio 45385
https://www.hamvention.org
+ 2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
October 7, 2022 – October 9, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Meet some of the oldest “undead” spacecraft that are still going strong. Not all the dead stuff in space is junk; some are true gems. Believe it or not, according to the Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space maintained by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, there were 7,389 individual satellites orbiting our little planet at the end of April 2021 (others place the number closer to 6,500). This number is only set to increase over time, with some estimates coming in at around 990 satellites being added to the mix every single year. More on this interesting read at https://bit.ly/3FEDNkm [ANS thanks Christopher McFadden and Interesting Engineering for the above information]
+ 18-year-old exploring the depths of space with radio: Interesting Engineering have published an article about 18-year-old radio amateur Dhruv Rebba KC9ZJX who hopes to develop a program that will enable youth to build and program microsatellites. When Rebba was nine, he received his ham radio technician license – becoming the youngest person of Indian origin, until then, to receive the same. That earned him a spot in the Limca Book of Records. The same year, he attained the General Class License. Now a senior specializing in Computer Science at Normal Community High School in Bloomington, Rebba firmly believes that getting into amateur radio was a stepping stone to various other fields. More information at https://bit.ly/3PePQcB [ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information]
+ Tianzhou-4. China successfully launched Tianzhou-4 on a Long March 7 to resupply the Tiangong space station (which is increasingly being referred to as the CSS) ahead of the crewed Shenzhou-14 next month (NET June 5). Tianzhou automated resupply spacecraft are built on a core module design derived from the Tiangong station itself. At 4.2 m in diameter and 18 m long, they can deliver up to 6.8 tons of cargo to the station and are also used to refuel the station’s electric propulsion system. Shenzhou-14’s crew will prepare the station for its second and third modules: Wentian and Mengtian. These modules are on-orbit labs hosting Chinese and international experiments—over 1,000(!) have already been approved. More at https://bit.ly/3PkTQbx [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information
+ Weird News in Space: Not to be outdone by Oxford University’s analysis of a planet made out of blueberries (cf. Issue 158), University of Sussex researchers have published a detailed paper answering the critical related question: could a planetoid consisting entirely of cows support a methane atmosphere? Yes, but at 1019 incompressible cows, “the cost, necessary rearing area, and required nutrition are impossible to meet at the current time.” Astrobites followed up with a critical analysis of this paper and other recent cow-culations. Links may be found in the news bite at bottom of page: https://bit.ly/3PkTQbx [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information]
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* 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.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor,
Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at arrl dot org