AMSAT

ANS-329 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

November 24, 2024November 24, 2024 by Mark Johns

In this edition:

* The Space Age, Morse Code and STEM Innovation
+ ASRTU-1 Designated ASRTU-OSCAR 123
* CubeSatSim Kits Available Once Again (Revised)
* New Chinese Satellite Completes Frequency Coordination
* Update on PARUS-T1A Satellite
* Air Leak on ISS Russian Module Is Getting Worse
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* Space Station Raises Orbit Avoiding Orbital Debris
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

ANS-329 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2024 Nov 24

AMSAT OSCAR-7 50th Anniversary — The Space Age, Morse Code and STEM Innovation

At first glance, there is something about Morse Code and the space age that don’t go together. But, think about Morse in its simple beauty.

In addition to building a few spacecraft and pursuing a global amateur radio allocation for satellites at the International Telecommunications Union World Radio Conference, AMSAT was also busy developing an educational curriculum. Before STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) was even a concept, AMSAT thought it would be quite exciting to allow grade-school to high-school students the opportunity to understand the basics of a spacecraft — not by reading about it in a book, rather by using a real spacecraft, in class.

Artist rendering of AO-7

One of AMSAT’s members, Dr. Martin Davidoff, K2UBC, decided to write a curriculum at the secondary education level and received a grant from the Department of Energy to write it. The Satellite Experimenters Handbook was distributed by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and AMSAT to anyone who might want to teach others about spacecraft technology. The book especially targeted secondary school educators. Key among the concepts was the idea of giving a teacher, who may or may not be a radio amateur, the information necessary to assemble a receiving system, which could act as a student demonstration tool in school. This receiver and antenna would allow a class to “receive and decode” telemetry. This process, then, required the students to think through some orbital mechanics, the technology of antennas and receivers, and finally, the principles of demodulation and decoding.

This is where Morse came in. For just the numbers, 0-9, in Morse can be learned in 10 minutes by just about anyone. And, so it is a perfect tool for any eighth grader!

The Morse Code Telemetry Encoder System (TLM) was designed and fabricated by John Goode, W5CAY. This unit was built in one of the small modules that comprised the AO-7 spaceframe. This little box used fixed logic comprised of 34 IC’s and one op-amp for the A/D converter. Using CMOS components was amazingly efficient; it required 2 mA of current at 10V DC from the power bus – a whopping 20 mW!

This TLM encoder had 24 analog input channels that were organized in 4 columns and 6 rows. They were divided, basically, into current, voltage and temperature channels. All were scaled to a 1.0 V full- scale input to the A/D converter. The encoder produced decimal values and was organized into two Morse characters between 0 and 99. The first number of each word is a digit giving the row number of the datum. This reduces the ambiguity of where in the frame the encoder was; in case the student got a bit lost.

AMSAT’s commitment to STEM education continues today with its CubeSat Simulator program and its developing Youth Initiative – all fueled by a fifty-year-old satellite that is still in operation today.

Persons wanting to read more about the life and history of AMSAT OSCAR-7 are invited to visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-ao-7-a-fifty-year-anniversary/.

[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT VP-Development, for the above information]

The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are still available!
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Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
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ASRTU-1 Designated ASRTU-OSCAR 123

At the request of Harbin Institute of Technology and Amur State University, AMSAT has designated ASRTU-1 as ASRTU-OSCAR 123 (AO-123).

Illustration of AO-123 [Credit: nanosats.eu]

ASRTU-1 was launched on November 4, 2024 at 23:18 UTC, on a Soyuz launch vehicle from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia. Built and operated by Harbin Institute of Technology and Amur State University, the satellite carries a V/U repeater, UHF SSDV digital image transmitter, and a 10.5 GHz QPSK image transmitter. All of these payloads have been successfully tested, and the repeater has been operational for QSOs.

The satellite contains an FM transponder, which is currently operational, with an uplink of 145.850 MHz (67 Hz CTCSS tone required) and a downlink of 435.400 MHz. After the repeater detects the end of uplink, it will wait for 0.5s. If no new uplink in 0.5s, telemetry will be sent. So make fast QSOs so the telemetry is less like to interrupt you.

The satellite also contains two cameras with an SSDV downlink for low resolution images on 436.210 MHz, and a high speed downlink on 10.460 GHz for high resolution images.

Windows software for decoding telemetry is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W8nm-P0_h0J1Bd1eif74mLo-EuRdWcjH
Two-Line Keplerian elements (TLEs) may be found at http://asrtu.mqsi.xyz/ASRTU_TLE.txt

AMSAT congratulates the Harbin Institute of Technology and Amur State University, thanks them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wishes them continued success on this and future projects.

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

CubeSatSim Kits Available Once Again (Revised)

Another batch of CubeSatSim Kits will be available on the AMSAT Store on Monday, November 25 starting at noon U.S. Eastern time (1700 UTC). Due to an error, previous announcements had included an earlier date.

The $400 kits include everything you need to assemble a CubeSat Simulator with no soldering. Only about an hour and half of assembly is required to stack the boards, assemble the frame, and mount the solar panels.

The CubeSatSim Kit includes:

Fully assembled and tested PCBs (Main, Solar, and Battery Boards)
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 with a Pi Camera and fully programmed micro-SD card, along with a fully programmed Raspberry Pi Pico WH
AMSAT logo Remove Before Flight tag switch
3D printed frame, nylon screws, and nuts, with a mini screwdriver included for assembly
Metal standoffs, stacking headers, and JST jumpers for stacking the PCBs and Pi Zero 2
10 solar panels with pre-soldered JST connectors and mounting tape
BME280 sensor (pressure, temperature, altitude, humidity) and MPU6050 IMU/gyro pre-soldered
Two 6″ SMA coax cables and two SMA antennas

The kit also comes with an instruction sheet, parts inventory, and links to online instructions. Assembly time is estimated to be under two hours, with scissors and the provided mini screwdriver.

Limited quantities of the CubeSatSim Kit will soon be available for purchase from the AMSAT Store. [Credit: Alan Johnston, KU2Y]

The v2.0 CubeSatSim features improvements over v1.2, such as an FM transceiver, Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller, and RF command and control using DTMF or APRS packets. It can also be modified to function as a 500mW high altitude balloon payload.

For those interested in creating their own CubeSatSim, v2.0 blank PCB sets are available at the AMSAT Store for $35. These require additional components, which can be purchased for approximately $300 using the provided Bill of Materials.

Additional resources include:

Kit Instructions https://cubesatsim.org/kit
Kit Videos https://cubesatsim.org/kit-videos
Discussion Forum https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/discussions
Quick Start Guide https://cubesatsim.org/qsg

For more information or to borrow a loaner CubeSat Simulator, contact Alan Johnston, AMSAT VP Educational Relations, at ku2y [at] arrl.net.

How to Order
Kits will be sold exclusively on the AMSAT Store website, https://www.amsat.org/product/cubesatsim-kit/. Only U.S. shipping addresses are eligible; orders with non-U.S. addresses will be refunded and closed.

About CubeSatSim
CubeSatSim is a low-cost satellite emulator powered by solar panels and batteries. It transmits UHF radio telemetry and can be expanded with additional sensors and modules, making it ideal for educational and public demonstrations.

[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President Educational Relations for the above information]

New Chinese Satellite Completes Frequency Coordination

The satellite frequency coordination committee of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) on November 15 completed approval of frequency requests from the Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) for a new amateur satellite to be launched next year.

CAS-11, a 6U CubeSat will include:

HF/UHF – H/U Mode Linear Transponder, with a bandwidth of 15kHz downlink centered at 435.505 MHz, EIRP 24 dBm
Uplink 21.320 MHz +/- 7.5 kHz.
VHF/UHF – V/U Mode Linear Transponder, with a bandwidth of 30kHz downlink centered at 435.540 MHz, EIRP 24 dBm.
Uplink 145.860 MHz +/- 15 kHz.
VHF/UHF – V/U Mode FM Transponder, downlink at 435.600 MHz, EIRP 24 dBm
Uplink at 145.925 MHz
VHF/UHF – V/U Mode digital store-and-forward Transponder, downlink at 435.700 MHz, EIRP 24 dBm
Uplink at 145.895 MHz
UHF – CW Telemetry Beacon and
UHF telemetry beacon using AX.25 4.8k/9.6kbps GMSK at 435.570 MHz, EIRP 23 dBm.

The above transponders and beacon will work 24/7 when the satellite power supply is sufficient. Amateur radio enthusiasts around the world can use it for two-way radio relay communication, data storage and forwarding communication, and receive satellite CW beacons.

The CAS-11 satellite will also be equipped with a 2.4 GHz multi-mode amateur radio satellite beacon transmitter, which is designed and built by university students, high school students and primary school students from Beijing Donggaodi Science and Technology Museum and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications under the guidance of CAMSAT. This is an unprecedented satellite project in China. It has brought opportunities for learning and practicing amateur radio and amateur satellites to students of all grades from elementary school to university, and promoted the application of amateur radio in space. This 2.4 GHz experimental beacon transmitter can switch to transmit five different modes of radio signals, and it will work continuously when the satellite is fully powered.

This project aims to cultivate students’ knowledge, skills and interests in amateur radio satellites. All transmission modes operate at 2.4 GHz, and the working modes are converted by the on-board computer program and ground remote control commands. It can work in the following modes: CW Telemetry Beacon, FT8 Telemetry Beacon, PPM Telemetry Beacon, or USB/SSTV Robot36, PD120 1. This beacon will transmit at 2405.500 MHz, EIRP 27 dBm.

CAS-11 carries three cameras, and the photos it takes are stored in the flash memory on the satellite. The builders have designed a simple remote control system based on DTMF commands. Amateur radio enthusiasts around the world can send DTMF commands to download the photo catalog and all photos taken by all cameras.

Anticipating a launch in September, 2025 into a 536 km polar orbit from Haiyang Sea Launch Platform, Shandong, China.

[ANS thanks IARU and Alan Kung, BA1DU, of CAMSAT for the above information.]

Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store.

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

Update on PARUS-T1A Satellite

The satellite frequency coordination committee of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) on November 20 updated information regarding the approved frequency requests from the National Formosa University for satellite PARUS-T1A. The satellite is tentatively scheduled for launch in January.

PARUS-T1A, a 3U CubeSat, is designed to continue the successful legacy of the PARUS- T1 mission. This satellite will provide essential services to the global amateur radio community.

The Primary Mission is an FM Voice Cross-Band Repeater to facilitate real-time voice communication between amateur radio operators on 145.980 MHz (Uplink tone 67Hz) and 435.250 MHz (Downlink).

The satellite will also carry an APRS Digipeater to enable the transmission of real-time position and status information from APRS-equipped devices on 145.825 MHz.

A telemetry beacon downlink on 437.850 MHz has also been coordinated, with unencrypted telemetry packets accessible to the public through online dashboards like SatNOGS, promoting transparency and community collaboration.

Anticipating a SpaceX launch from Florida in January, 2025 into a 590 x 510 km 98 degree orbit.

[ANS thanks IARU and Randson Huang, BV2DQ, for the above information.]

Air Leak on ISS Russian Module Is Getting Worse

For the past five years, air has been escaping through a Russian section of the International Space Station (ISS) at an increasing rate. NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, are still in disagreement over the root cause of the leak, as well as the severity of the consequences.

The leak was first discovered in 2019 in the vestibule (named PrK) that connects a docking port to the Russian Zvezda module, which Roscosmos had launched to low Earth orbit in July 2000. Earlier this year, NASA elevated the leak to the highest level of risk as the rate of air escaping from the module had doubled from one pound of air per day to a little over two pounds.

“While the Russian team continues to search for and seal the leaks, it does not believe catastrophic disintegration of the PrK is realistic,” Bob Cabana, a former NASA astronaut who now chairs the ISS Advisory Committee, said during a meeting on Wednesday, SpaceNews reported. “NASA has expressed concerns about the structural integrity of the PrK and the possibility of a catastrophic failure.”

“The Russians believe that continued operations are safe but they can’t prove to our satisfaction that they are, and the U.S. believes that it’s not safe but we can’t prove to the Russians’ satisfaction that that’s the case,” he added.

Russian teams believe the air leak was likely caused by high cyclic fatigue from micro vibrations, while teams at NASA think pressure and mechanical stress, residual stress, material properties of the module, and environmental exposure are all at play, according to SpaceNews.

The ISS is set for retirement by 2030. [NASA photo]

The air leak was addressed in a recent report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which highlighted its true severity and the risk it poses to the crew. The OIG report stated that the two space agencies can’t seem to agree on the point at which the leak should be considered unsustainable. NASA and Roscosmos met to discuss the ISS air leak, with NASA officials noting that Roscosmos “is confident they will be able to monitor and close the hatch to the Service Module prior to the leak rate reaching an untenable level,” according to the report.

“Although the teams continue to investigate the causal factors for the crack initiation and growth, the U.S. and Russian technical teams don’t have a common understanding of what the likely root cause is or the severity of the consequences of these leaks,” Cabana is quoted in SpaceNews as saying.

The rate of air leaking from the hole increased around a week before the February 14 launch of the Progress MS-26 cargo spacecraft, which docked to the aft end of Zvezda. The hatch that connects the module to the ISS remained open for five days as the crew offloaded the cargo from Progress MS-26 onto the space station, but was closed shut afterwards.

NASA and Roscosmos are currently monitoring the leak and preparing to close the hatch to the service module when access is not required in order to minimize the amount of air lost and isolate the leak itself from the rest of the space station. If required, the space agencies are prepared to permanently shut off the hatch should the leak rate became unmanageable. The ISS would function normally, but there would be one less docking port for spacecraft delivering cargo to the space station.

As the two space agencies continue to discuss the potential risk, the aging space station is inching closer to retirement within the next six years and its hardware may finally be giving in to the wear and tear of the harsh space environment.

[ANS thanks Gizmodo for the above information.]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!

25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Nov. 22

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

XW-2B NORAD Cat ID 40911 Decayed from orbit on 21 November 2024

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information]

Space Station Raises Orbit Avoiding Orbital Debris

The Progress 89 thrusters were fired at 20:09 UTC on Tuesday, November 19 for 5 minutes, 31 seconds, to raise the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) to provide an extra margin of distance from a piece of orbital debris from a defunct defense meteorological satellite that broke up in 2015. The Pre-determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) was conducted in coordination with NASA, Roscosmos and the other space station partners.

Without the maneuver, ballistics officials estimated that the fragment could have come within around 2.5 miles of the station.

The maneuver had no impact on station operations and did not affect Thursday’s launch of the Progress 90 cargo craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

[Operators attempting to utilize Amateur Radio aboard the ISS should make sure that the Keplerian orbital data in their tracking software has been updated since this change in orbit.]

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

ARISS NEWS

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

RECENTLY COMPLETED:
Center for the Development of Children and Youth Creativity in the City of Pugachev, Saratov Region, Russia, direct via R4DS
The ISS callsign was RSØISS
The crewmember was Aleksey Ovchinin
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR
Contact was successful Wed 2024-11-20 15:16 UTC
Congratulations to the Center for the Development of Children and Youth Creativity students, Aleksey, mentor RV3DR, and ground station R4DS

Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via RКØJ
The ISS callsign was RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember was Alex Gorbunov
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR
Contact was successful Thu 2024-11-21 11:24 UTC
Congratulations to the Amur State University students, Alex, mentor RV3DR, and ground station RКØJ!

Escola Secundária Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, direct via CS5SS
The ISS callsign was OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Don Pettit, KD5MDT
The ARISS mentor was IKØUSO
Contact was successful: Fri 2024-11-22 16:37:40 UTC 31 deg
Congratulations to the Escola Secundária Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro studnets, Don, mentor IKØUSO, and ground station CS5SS!
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/live/QzZOq7bhOas

UPCOMING:
Colégio do Castanheiro, Ponta Delgada, Azores, direct via CQ8CDC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit, KD5MDT
The ARISS mentor is IKØUSO
Contact is go for: Tue 2024-11-26 14:57:32 UTC 74 deg
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/live/ORRXzIPnjvg

Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Ivan Vagner
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for: Thu 2024-11-28 15:05 UTC

Scuola Media “Giovanni Verga”, Caltanissetta, Italy, direct via IT9AOI
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit, KD5MDT
The ARISS mentor is IKØWGF
Contact is go for: Fri 2024-11-29 11:01:30 UTC 59 deg
Watch for Livestream at https://meet.google.com/bdb-hoaf-iaf and also on https://www.youtube.com/@scuolamediafilippocordova

The crossband repeater continues to be ACTIVE (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

The packet system is also ACTIVE (145.825 MHz up & down). Ham TV (2395.00 MHz down) is currently STOWED.

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location.

+ N4AKV/R plans to operate linear and FM satellites from EM71/EM72 on Nov. 25.
+ ADØHJ is planning his last 2024 rove to the Missouri Ozarks area between December 5th-8th. Mitch has never been to that area so he is looking to do some sightseeing and activate eight new satellite grid squares. EM26-EM28, EM36-EM39, and EN30. He will be working RS-44 passes in the evenings.
See https://hams.at for details.

[ANS thanks hams.at for the above information]

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

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

February 14-15, 2025
Yuma HAMCON and Southwestern Division Convention
Yuma County Fairgrounds
Yuma, AZ
https://www.yumahamfest.com/
N1UW

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ The space news website Space Daily carried a full article on Nov. 12 about the 50th anniversary of the launch of amateur radio satellite AO-7. As noted in anniversary articles by Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Vice President – Development, that have been published here in the AMSAT News Service bulletins [see above for this week’s installment], AO-7 is the world’s oldest active satellite. The Space Daily article, by reporter Clarence Oxford, incorporated a good share of Frank’s text from ANS issue #308 published on Nov. 3. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information.)

+ The Space Force wants its next fleet of GPS satellites to be smaller, cheaper and more resilient — and it’s looking to a mix of commercial and defense firms to help design those spacecraft. The program, expected to cost $1 billion over the next five years, comes amid growing concern from Pentagon and other government leaders about GPS vulnerability. The system, which guides weapons and helps military units navigate, has been a target for Russia in its war with Ukraine, using electronic warfare to jam signals on a regular basis. Users have also reported increased spoofing incidents, a method of manipulating GPS data to confuse a receiver about its location. A larger number of small satellites should make it harder for enemies to target the fleet and will ensure there’s a backup capability when they do, the Space Force says. (ANS thanks Defense News for the above information.)

+ Earlier this month, three tiny Australian satellites from Curtin University’s Binar Space Program burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. That was always going to happen. In fact, Binar means “fireball” in the Noongar language of the First Nations people of Perth. But these CubeSats, known as Binar-2, 3, and 4, entered the atmosphere much sooner than originally planned. They only lasted for two months – a third of what was expected. Recent high solar activity has been causing an unexpected headache for satellite operators in the last few years, and it’s only increasing. (ANS thanks Science Alert for the above information.)

+ China has taken another step toward its crewed lunar goals by successfully testing fairing separation for its Long March 10 moon rocket series. The fairing separation test was conducted recently, according to a Nov. 20 statement from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). The separation test is one of a number of milestones needed in order to get the Long March 10 ready for flight, with a first launch to low earth orbit currently targeted for 2026. China has committed to the goal of getting a pair of its astronauts onto the lunar surface by 2030. (ANS thanks Space News 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, Mark Johns, KØJM
mjohns [at] amsat.org

ANS-322 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

November 17, 2024November 17, 2024 by Mitch Ahrenstorff

In this edition:

* AMSAT OSCAR-7 50th Anniversary – A Testbed for Saving Lives
* Another Batch of CubeSatSim Kits Available Soon in AMSAT Store
* SpaceX Dragon Fires Thrusters to Boost ISS Orbit for the First Time
* SEAQUE Quantum Tech Arrives at ISS for Groundbreaking Demo
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for November 15, 2024
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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

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

ANS-322 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2024 Nov 17

AMSAT OSCAR-7 50th Anniversary – A Testbed for Saving Lives

As we observe AMSAT OSCAR-7’s 50th anniversary as the oldest operating satellite, we should recall what may be its most noteworthy accomplishment.

OSCAR-7 was used to investigate the possibility of locating downed aircraft and disabled sea vessels by using Doppler analysis of signals from emergency location transmitters (ELT’s).

As envisioned by spacecraft engineers from the United States and Russia, the concept was to relay signals from beacon devices, ELT’s or emergency location transmitters, already installed on large and small aircraft and on ships and smaller vessels equipped with EPIRB’s or Emergency Position-Indicating Radiobeacon Stations. These one-way beacon transmitters, originally intended to be received by surface rescue parties, could also be received and transponded by a LEO spacecraft, greatly extending the rescue potential.

The signals could also be Doppler tracked, one-way, by processing the beacon uplink signal on-board the spacecraft. This would allow the spacecraft to find the source beacon’s location immediately. This would allow the emergency beacon to be identified and located and the position stored for immediate downlink at the next available ground station. We know it is hard to remember but this was in an era before the creation of GPS!

Scientists from the Russian COSPAS (Russian acronym for “Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress) and the U.S. SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite) teams simulated ELT’s on amateur radio stations and demonstrated how receiving and relaying ELT transmissions and analyzing Doppler shift as OSCAR-7 passed overhead could accurately locate the emergency beacons.

The tests were highly successful. The COSPAS/SARSAT program went ahead and has been operational since 1982. From that time until 2021, when the program merged with others providing similar capability via LEO, MEO and GEO spacecraft, the program had saved the lives of 57,413 persons in 17,663 separate rescue events, involving downed aircraft and ships at sea.

[ANS thanks Jan King, W3GEY, AMSAT AO-7 Project Manager for the above information]

Another Batch of CubeSatSim Kits Available Soon in AMSAT Store

A new batch of fifteen CubeSatSim Kits will be available for purchase in the AMSAT Store on Wednesday, November 20, at noon US Eastern time (1700 UTC). Priced at $400 with shipping included for U.S. addresses, the CubeSatSim Kit offers a hands-on learning experience with no soldering and some assembly, making it ideal for both educational use and public demonstrations.

The CubeSatSim Kit includes:

Fully assembled and tested PCBs (Main, Solar, and Battery Boards)
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 with a Pi Camera and fully programmed micro-SD card, along with a fully programmed Raspberry Pi Pico WH
AMSAT logo Remove Before Flight tag switch
3D printed frame, nylon screws, and nuts, with a mini screwdriver included for assembly
Metal standoffs, stacking headers, and JST jumpers for stacking the PCBs and Pi Zero 2
10 solar panels with pre-soldered JST connectors and mounting tape
BME280 sensor (pressure, temperature, altitude, humidity) and MPU6050 IMU/gyro pre-soldered
Two 6″ SMA coax cables and two SMA antennas

The kit also comes with an instruction sheet, parts inventory, and links to online instructions. Assembly time is estimated to be under two hours, with scissors and the provided mini screwdriver.

Limited quantities of the CubeSatSim Kit will soon be available for purchase from the AMSAT Store. [Credit: Alan Johnston, KU2Y]

Additional resources include:

Kit Instructions https://cubesatsim.org/kit
Kit Videos https://cubesatsim.org/kit-videos
Discussion Forum https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/discussions
Quick Start Guide https://cubesatsim.org/qsg

For more information or to borrow a loaner CubeSat Simulator, contact Alan Johnston, AMSAT VP Educational Relations, at ku2y [at] arrl.net.

How to Order
Kits will be sold exclusively on the AMSAT Store website.
Only U.S. shipping addresses are eligible; orders with non-U.S. addresses will be refunded and closed.

[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President Educational Relations for the above information]

The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

SpaceX Dragon Fires Thrusters to Boost ISS Orbit for the First Time

For the first time, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft successfully raised the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) by firing its thrusters. The orbital boost marks a significant milestone in Dragon’s capabilities and comes as part of SpaceX’s 31st commercial resupply mission to the ISS. The mission, which launched on November 4, delivered a Dragon cargo vehicle which docked with the station the following day. On November 8, the vehicle conducted an orbit-raising maneuver, stabilizing the ISS’s position in low-Earth orbit.

Orbit-raising maneuvers are routine for the ISS, which requires regular boosts to counteract orbital decay caused by Earth’s gravity. Until now, this task has been handled mainly by Russia’s Soyuz and Progress vehicles, alongside occasional boosts from other spacecraft. With Dragon now performing such maneuvers, the U.S. spacecraft has added a critical capability, especially significant as NASA prepares for the eventual decommissioning of the ISS. The data gathered from today’s maneuver will aid in the development of SpaceX’s future ISS deorbit vehicle, known as the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, which NASA has contracted to guide the station into the Pacific Ocean upon its retirement.

Crew-9 Dragon “Freedom” firing its thrusters as it arrived at the ISS on September 29, 2024 [Credit: NASA / Don Pettit]

The reboost began at approximately 12:50 p.m. ET (1750 UTC) and lasted around 12.5 minutes, elevating the station’s orbit slightly. NASA monitored the reboost closely and shared updates on social media platform X, noting that Dragon’s performance in its first orbit-raising task was “a good demonstration” of its growing capabilities. SpaceX intends to apply the maneuver’s data toward the design of the planned U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, scheduled to be used once the ISS reaches the end of its operational lifespan.

This recent success by Dragon is not the first instance of a U.S.-made spacecraft boosting the ISS. In 2022, NASA tested a similar maneuver using a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo vehicle. However, the data collected from Dragon’s maneuver holds unique importance, as it directly informs the planning of the ISS’s controlled deorbit mission. The spacecraft, which has been continuously occupied for nearly 25 years, is expected to remain operational until around 2030, when the costs and maintenance demands of the aging structure will likely lead to its retirement.

SpaceX’s design of the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle is based on its Dragon spacecraft with an enhanced trunk section. [Credit: SpaceX]

The ISS’s eventual decommissioning aligns with NASA’s shift towards commercial partnerships in low-Earth orbit. The agency envisions that new, privately operated space stations will replace the ISS as research outposts, enabling NASA to focus its budget on deeper space exploration, including the Artemis Program’s return to the Moon. With the ISS contract awarded to SpaceX, the agency has placed its trust in the private sector to develop the technology needed to safely conclude the station’s mission in a controlled manner.

The success of Dragon’s reboost maneuver also underscores the U.S.’s reduced reliance on Russian spacecraft to maintain ISS operations. Despite global political tensions, notably since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S.-Russian partnership on the ISS has persisted. However, Dragon’s demonstrated ability to perform reboosts offers NASA an alternative if needed. Since Dragon began launching U.S. astronauts in 2020, SpaceX has provided NASA with a reliable launch option from American soil, and now it has proven capable of supporting the station’s orbit, a role essential to the ISS’s long-term stability.

[ANS thanks Josh Dinner, Space.com for the above information]

SEAQUE Quantum Tech Arrives at ISS for Groundbreaking Demo

The Space Entanglement and Annealing QUantum Experiment (SEAQUE) has officially arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), delivered aboard NASA’s SpaceX CRS-31 mission. The SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with the ISS on November 4th, carrying over 6,000 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo, including SEAQUE. Planned for installation on the Nanoracks Bishop airlock, SEAQUE represents an important step forward in building a global quantum communications network.

Quantum computers promise computation speeds that are exponentially faster than conventional computers, and distributed quantum sensors may lead to new understandings of Earth and our place in the universe by measuring minute changes in gravity. However, to fully harness these abilities, a dedicated communication network must be established, capable of linking quantum computers and sensors regardless of their location. SEAQUE’s experiment aims to prove the viability of orbiting nodes that can securely transmit and receive quantum data to and from the ground via free-space optical communications.

SEAQUE is among 25 experiments integrated into the Aegis MISSE-20 mission to be installed on the ISS. [Credit: Aegis Aerospace]

A cornerstone of SEAQUE’s mission is to test an integrated source of entangled photons, a critical requirement for secure quantum data transmission. Entangled photons are uniquely interconnected, where measuring one instantly influences the other, regardless of distance. This property enables potential data transmission that is secure and extremely difficult to intercept. Unlike prior quantum experiments that used bulk optics, SEAQUE utilizes a waveguide-based photon source. This innovation is more compact, efficient, and resilient, eliminating the need for manual optical realignment post-launch.

“SEAQUE will demonstrate a new and never-before-flown entanglement source based on integrated optics,” said Paul Kwiat, principal investigator at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He emphasized that the technology is pivotal for scalable global networks, as manual adjustments would be impractical when managing hundreds of quantum nodes spread across continents. Makan Mohageg, SEAQUE co-investigator from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), reinforced that SEAQUE’s success would pave the way for future, widespread quantum networks.

SEAQUE will be hosted on the International Space Station by the Nanoracks Bishop airlock. [Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

An added element of SEAQUE’s demonstration involves testing its ability to self-heal from radiation damage, a persistent challenge in space. High-energy particles can impair the detectors that receive quantum signals, causing noise and, eventually, failure. SEAQUE will employ a bright laser to periodically repair such damage using a technique known as annealing. This process has shown success on the ground, “bubbling away” defects and reducing noise to extend detector life.

The SEAQUE mission reflects a truly international effort, including experts and students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, the National University of Singapore, and commercial partners such as AdvR, Inc., and Nanoracks. Funded by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division, SEAQUE is expected to drive breakthroughs in secure quantum communications, establishing a foundation for future advancements in long-distance data sharing.

[ANS thanks the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the above information]

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

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for November 15, 2024

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:
Binar 2 NORAD Cat ID 60956 Decayed from orbit on or about 09 November 2024

[ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information]

ARISS NEWS

+ Recently Completed Contacts

Bishop O’Connell HS, Arlington, VA, telebridge via VK4ISS
The ISS callsign was NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember was Nick Hague
The ARISS mentor was AA6TB
Contact was successful: Fri 2024-11-15 18:06:21 UTC
Watch the Livestream at https://youtube.com/live/qlIufW_FCBU

Cottam Scouts, Cottam, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign was OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Sunita Williams KD5PLB
The ARISS mentor was VE6JBJ
Contact was successful: Sat 2024-11-16 18:17:04 UTC

+ Upcoming Contacts

Erie Migration District School, Kingsville, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams KD5PLB
The ARISS mentor is VE6JBJ
Contact is go for: Mon 2024-11-18 16:41:47 UTC

Aznakaevsky district resp. Tatarstan, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Ivan Vagner
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Tue 2024-11-19 16:05 UTC

Center for the Development of Children and Youth Creativity in the City of Pugachev, Saratov Region, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksey Ovchinin
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Wed 2024-11-20 15:15 UTC

Escola Secundária Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, direct via CS5SS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit KD5MDT
The ARISS mentor is IKØUSO
Contact is go for: Fri 2024-11-22 16:37:40 UTC

Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Alex Gorbunov
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for: Thu 2024-11-21 11:25 UTC

The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

The ARISS SSTV Series 22 event is now underway from Mon 2024-11-11 11:50 UTC to Mon 2024-11-18 16:00 UTC (times are approximate).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Guyana: Aldir, PY1SAD (ZZ1M), operates from Georgetown as 8R1TM between Oct. 12 and Nov. 24 on 160-10m (CW, SSB, digital modes) and via satellites. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, qrz.com. (From DXNL 2427 – October 9, 2024

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

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 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,

“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”

Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.

Yuma HAMCON – February 20th thru 22nd, 2025
Yuma, AZ

N1UW

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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

Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ SpaceX is set for its sixth Starship test flight on November 18th, marking the first mission without regulatory delays following FAA approval for both Flights 5 and 6. Flight 6 will be similar to Flight 5, including a suborbital launch and splashdown of the upper stage in the Indian Ocean, with a key difference being an attempted relight of a Raptor engine during coast, revisiting a goal from Flight 3. This test also includes new experiments with the thermal protection system, including sections without heat shield tiles to gather data on ship-catching configurations. SpaceX aims to catch the Super Heavy booster again, making improvements to its propulsion and structural systems after facing near failures and unexpected damage in Flight 5. The launch will depart in the afternoon to achieve a daylight splashdown, while testing higher angles of descent to simulate future landing profiles. Flight 6 will conclude the Block 1 version of Starship, with upgraded features planned for Flight 7, as SpaceX targets a faster launch cadence to support future NASA missions and lunar landings. (ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information)

+ NASA’s Parker Solar Probe recently completed its seventh and final flyby of Venus, setting it on a course to approach within 3.8 million miles of the sun’s surface—closer than any human-made object in history. This maneuver, crucial for tightening the probe’s orbit, marks a significant step in its mission to study solar mysteries such as the sun’s extremely hot corona. Described by Nour Raouafi as “almost landing on a star” and compared to the 1969 moon landing, the achievement underscores its importance to humanity. The spacecraft’s gravity assists from Venus have not only propelled it closer to the sun but also provided unique data about Venus itself, revealing surface features through its WISPR camera and unexpected details like potential chemical differences. During the most recent flyby, Parker came within 233 miles of Venus’ surface to further study these surface properties. On December 24th, the probe will achieve its closest solar encounter, reaching a speed of 430,000 miles per hour, with mission control anticipating confirmation of its success by December 27th. (ANS thanks Space.com for the above information)

+ Arianespace has announced that the second flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, its first commercial mission, has been rescheduled from December 2024 to no earlier than mid-February 2025. This mission will carry the CSO 3 reconnaissance satellite for the French military and marks the first Ariane 6 launch to be overseen by Arianespace. Initially expected to launch in December following the Vega C rocket’s return to flight, the schedule changed after analysis of an issue during the Ariane 6’s debut in July. The delay stemmed from a temperature measurement anomaly that prevented the upper stage’s auxiliary power unit (APU) from starting, now corrected with a software update. Both the rocket’s core and upper stages are still in production and are set to be transported soon to French Guiana for launch preparation. Arianespace has assured that this delay will not impact future missions, with plans to conduct six Ariane 6 launches in 2025. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information)

+ AST SpaceMobile has recently deployed five massive BlueBird satellites in low Earth orbit, each with a record-breaking 693-square-foot communications array, marking the start of the company’s space-based cellular network. These satellites are brighter than most objects in the night sky, presenting significant challenges for astronomers by obstructing observations. AST aims to establish the first cellular broadband network directly accessible by cell phones, with plans to expand its constellation to over 100 satellites. The rapid increase in large satellites, like those of AST and competitors such as SpaceX and Amazon, has raised concerns about space debris and environmental impact. A group of experts has urged the FCC to reconsider satellite environmental exemptions, fearing an irreversible clutter of space. This surge in satellite launches is not only reshaping communications but also sparking debate on preserving the accessibility of space for scientific exploration. (ANS thanks Gizmodo 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, Mitch Ahrenstorff, ADØHJ
mahrenstorff [at] amsat.org

ANS-315 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

November 10, 2024 by Paul Stoetzer

AMSAT News Service

ANS-315
November 10, 2024

In this edition:

Celebrating AO-7: First Earth-Space-Space-Earth Relay Communications
September/October 2024 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Available
2024 AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Available to AMSAT Members
ASRTU-1 Satellite With FM Transponder Launched
MO-122 Telemetry Beacon Level and Update – November 9, 2024
ARISS SSTV Event
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 8, 2024
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
AMSAT Ambassador Activities
Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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

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

Celebrating AO-7: First Earth-Space-Space-Earth Relay Communications

As AO-7, launched on November 15, 1974, approaches is 50th Anniversary and setting a record as the longest operating satellite, we look back at a few of its noteworthy accomplishments.

The downlink spectrum of AO-7’s UHF/VHF transponder overlapped with AO-6’s VHF-to-HF transponder. The overlap of the two was approximately 50 kHz wide. The two orbits were the same – almost. AO-7’s mean motion was slightly higher than that of AO-6, which means, once every year of so, AO-6 will “lap” its younger sibling in space. During the time when the two spacecraft are in closer proximity, it was already known to be theoretically possible (if AO-7 has its UHF/VHF transponder on) for one user to communicate through two spacecraft in succession, with the downlink of AO-7’s transponder being relayed through AO-6’s VHF/HF transponder uplink, and then, with the doubly relayed signal arriving on 29.5 MHz to another user on the ground. This could be done, in certain geometries, in both directions, making a two-way double-hop communications possible.

The first successful Earth-Space-Space-Earth relay of this type took place on January 6, 1975. This happened early in AO-7’s “first” lifetime and during the first occasion when AO-6 approached AO-7, in their very similar orbits. The two stations were both located in the state of Texas – one in Dallas and one in Richardson. This method of communications was also conducted and reported by 55 other user stations from 12 countries during 1975. These events were documented in the IEEE Proceedings in October of 1975.

See another AO-7 50 Year Anniversary highlight in next week’s ANS Weekly Bulletin.

[ANS thanks Jan King, W3GEY, AMSAT AO-7 Project Manager for the above information]

September/October 2024 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Available

The September/October 2024 issue of The AMSAT Journal is now available to members on AMSAT’s Member Portal.

The AMSAT Journal is a bi-monthly digital magazine for amateur radio in space enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Each issue is your source for hardware and software projects, technical tips, STEM initiatives, operational activities, and news from around the world.

Inside the Current Issue:

Apogee View – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
AMSAT Awards – Bruce Paige, KK5DO
The History of AMSAT AO-7 – Jan King, W3GEY
Long Range Modulation (LoRa) in Low Earth Satellites – Omar Álvarez Cárdenas, XE1AO, et al.
A Visit to the Tokyo Ham Fair 2024 – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
2024 Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Photos

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]

2024 AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Available to AMSAT Members

The Proceedings of the AMSAT 42nd Space Symposium and Annual Meeting are now available for AMSAT members on the AMSAT Member Portal.

In this year’s edition:

Welcome – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
Silent Keys
The AMSAT CubeSatSim v2.0 Software Overview – Alan Johnston, KU2Y
AMSAT Education and CubeSat Simulator Project Update – Alan Johnston, KU2Y
Integration of the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator for Education and Research – Rachel Jones, KO4HLC
ARISS Prototype: Automation and Remote Control (ARC) of the IORS – Chris Thompson, G0KLA / AC2CZ / VE2TCP
FUNcube Lite on Jovian-1, A 6U University CubeSat with an AMSAT-UK Payload – David Bowman G0MRF
CARD-SAT® – A Step Forward for Satellite Miniaturization – Adrian Totu, YO3HOT
GOLF-TEE Flight Software and Bus Overview – Burns Fisher, WB1FJ
Determination of Spacecraft Orbital Elements from In-flight GNSS Measurement – Joseph DiVerdi, K0NMR

[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Editor, for the above information]

2024 Coins Are Still Available!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!

ASRTU-1 Satellite With FM Transponder Launched

On November 4, 2024 at 23:18 UTC, a Soyuz rocket launched from Vostochny with at least 17 satellites using amateur satellite service frequencies. Among those launched was ASRTU-1, a 12U CubeSat designed by Russian and Chinese students and developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin, China, for education and amateur radio.

The satellite also contains two cameras with an SSDV downlink for low resolution images on 436.210 MHz, and a high speed downlink on 10460.00 MHz for high resolution images.

On November 7, 2024, the camera system was tested for the first time. N6RFM uplinked the command and the image was downloaded by Chinese stations using the UHF SSDV downlink.

Windows software for decoding telemetry is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W8nm-P0_h0J1Bd1eif74mLo-EuRdWcjH

A Live ISO Linux image is also available for telemetry at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1T6GMNnDNEEavckoe4oPXPIU_SPFXLDd4

A Telegram group has been created for discussing the satellite: https://t.me/+I5NTtX7eAJA4ZDVl

Latest TLEs:

ASRTU-1_20241108D 1 99130U 24313.98869213 .00036395 00000-0 15511-2 0 00005 2 99130 097.3830 178.7387 0016365 224.8894 196.6964 15.22873038000014

ASRTU-1
	Uplink FM (67 Hz CTCSS)	Downlink FM	Comments
ASRTU-1	145.850 MHz	435.400 MHz	In orbit, commissioning
Also downlinks on 436.210 MHz, 10460.00 MHz. Download Live CD for telemetry decoding.

[ANS thanks BG2BHC, the IARU, and AMSAT-F for the above information]

MO-122 Telemetry Beacon Level and Update – November 9, 2024

Your continued collection of telemetry data for MO–122/MESAT1 is always appreciated. For the next couple of days the telemetry beacon on MO–122 will remain at its lowest power level. This puts the signal down a couple of dB, and it’s noticeable from the ground. The low signal is a great opportunity to work on improving the sensitivity of our receiving stations! The transponder power remains the same–it’s strong, thanks to AMSAT’s LTM (Linear Transponder Module)!

The satellite remains in good health. Since launch in early July, eclipse periods have increased a good deal, going from about 15 mins to nearly 29 mins. At the same time, the orbit has precessed so the bird appears over populated areas where the transponder gets more use while in eclipse. These conditions mean the battery is getting used more with less time to fully recharge.

We keep a watchful eye on the battery and its reported capacity, and when there is an apparent decline it seems prudent to turn off the transponder for a couple of days to allow recovery. The low beacon for the next couple of days will allow us to see how much “relief” that gives to the power budget; it won’t be much, but we can watch and learn. Managing a satellite’s power budget is a balancing act of sorts.

The good news is that by the end of February it looks like eclipse periods will drop back to around 17 mins. At the same time, the battery will be 4 months older–and have gone through a lot of orbits. Some fun math- from today until the end of February, there are 112 days. There are 1440 minutes per day, and MO–122 orbits about every 95 mins. 1440 min/day / 95 min/orbit is about 15 orbits per day. So, 15 orbits / day X 122 days means almost 1700 orbit and discharge/recharge cycles will occur before the end of February! Do that with your power drill battery pack 😉

Hopefully my update will help provide an answer to the logical question, “why is the transponder being turned off and on?” As the guest payload on UMaine’s satellite, we are doing our best to be good stewards of an important resource, while also learning about LTM, lithium batteries, and powerbudgets—all of which is helpful to our engineering teams as they work on new birds like Fox-Plus and the GOLF family.

Enjoy the bird!

[ANS thanks Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and Command Station, for the above information]

ARISS SSTV Event Scheduled for November 11-18

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) announces an SSTV event to be held next week. The event is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 11 at 11:50 UTC and to end Monday, November 18 at 13:40 UTC. SSTV transmissions will be paused during scheduled school contacts on November 15 and 16. Downlink transmissions will be at 145.800 MHz and the mode is expected to be PD 120.

The transmissions will consist of 12 images featuring activities from the 2024 40^th Anniversary Celebrating Amateur Radio in Human Spaceflight. If you are a past participant in our SSTV events, please note that we will be using our newly updated gallery at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/ .

ARISS has a new way to request a special certificate. When participants successfully receive at least one image and submit it at the new gallery, participants will be moved to a thank-you page. There, a person can read text about data protection, and press the button that says “I agree,” and receive an email in two weeks or sooner with a certificate. If a person submits additional images, the thank-you page tells them they have already asked for a certificate.

Thanks to our user community for participating in ARISS.

[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 8, 2024

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

SR-0 Demosat NORAD Cat ID 60455 Decayed from orbit on or about 02 November 2024
Binar 4 NORAD Cat ID 60952 Decayed from orbit on or about 04 November 2024
SO-121 NORAD Cat ID 58567 Decayed from orbit on or about 05 November 2024
Binar 3 NORAD Cat ID 60957 Decayed from orbit on or about 05 November 2024

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.

ARISS News

International Aerospace School named after U.N. Sultanov, Ufa, Russia, direct via RZ9WWB

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR

Contact is go for Fri 2024-11-01 21:08 UTC
If anyone heard this contact, please let ARISS know.

Scuola Primaria “Bandello”, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Italy, telebridge via VK6MJ

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams KD5PLB
The ARISS mentor is IZ2GOJ

Contact was successful: Thu 2024-11-07 07:56:25 UTC 25 deg
Congratulations to the Scuola Primaria “Bandello” students, Sunita, mentor IZ2GOJ, and telebridge VK6MJ!

Bishop O’Connell HS, Arlington, VA, telebridge via VK4ISS

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Nick Hague
The ARISS mentor is AA6TB

Contact is go for: Fri 2024-11-15 18:06:21 UTC 46 deg

SWSU, Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Alex Gorbunov
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR

Contact is go for Fri 2024-11-15 19:15 UTC

Cottam Scouts, Cottam, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams KD5PLB
The ARISS mentor is VE6JBJ

Contact is go for: Sat 2024-11-16 18:17:04 UTC 53 deg

Aznakaevsky district resp. Tatarstan, Russia, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Ivan Vagner
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR

Contact is go for Tue 2024-11-19 16:05 UTC

Center for the Development of Children and Youth Creativity in the City of Pugachev, Saratov Region, Russia, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksey Ovchinin
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR

Contact is go for Wed 2024-11-20 15:15 UTC

Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Alex Gorbunov
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR

Contact is go for Thu 2024-11-21 11:25 UTC

Many times a school may make a last minute decision to do a Livestream or run into a last minute glitch requiring a change of the URL but we at ARISS may not get the URL in time for publication. You can always check https://live.ariss.org/ to see if a school is Livestreaming.

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

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 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,

Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.

Scheduled Events

Yuma HAMCON
February 20-22, 2025

Yuma, AZ
N1UW

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts from All Over

+Hackaday featured a homebrew LNA suitable for satellite operation on November 4th. https://hackaday.com/2024/11/04/a-lesson-in-rf-design-thanks-to-this-homebrew-lna/ (Thanks to Hackaday for the informaiton)

+ AMSAT-EA released a statement on the decay of SO-121: “HADES-D (SO-121) satellite has re-entered the atmosphere, disintegrating as planned. Many thanks to the ham radio community for your support. We are glad that, even with its low power, many amateurs were able to make voice contacts and had fun receiving its telemetry.” (Thanks to AMSAT-EA for the information)

+ FO-29’s batteries are unable to support continuous operation of the analog transponder throughout its orbit after over 28 years. However, JARL continues to turn on the transponder at various times. Operation continues until the satellite’s UVC (under-voltage control) automatically turns off the transponder. Times for the remainder of November are:

Nov 10th 01:50 UTC
Nov 16th 01:35 UTC
Nov 17th 02:24 UTC
Nov 23rd 02:09 UTC
Nov 24th 01:15 UTC
Nov 30th 02:43 UTC

(Thanks to JARL for the 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,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] arrl.net

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002

ANS-308 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

November 3, 2024 by Frank Karnauskas

In this edition:

AMSAT AO-7 to Celebrate 50th Anniversary
AMSAT 42nd Space Symposium Presentations Now Available
Back to Basics: What is the CubeSat Launch Initiative?
VUCC Satellite Standing for November 2024
FO-29 November Operating Schedule
Telemetry Reports Wanted for Upcoming ASRTU-1 Satellite Launch
Voyager 1 Resorts to Transmitter that Hasn’t Been Used Since 1981
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 1, 2024
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
AMSAT Ambassador Activities
Satellite Shorts From All Over

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 [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://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

ANS-308 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2024 Nov 03

AMSAT AO-7 to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

It has often been reported that the oldest satellites still working in space are the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Voyagers were both launched in 1977 to take advantage of the planetary alignment called, back then, the “Grand Tour”. Their images changed the human vision of our solar system.

But, are they really the oldest, still functional spacecraft in outer space? What if we include spacecraft that remained behind in Earth Orbit? Is it even believable that the oldest still working satellite in space wasn’t even designed or operated by NASA, USAF, ESA or any other space agency? What if this satellite was designed by Radio Amateurs and the final assembly occurred in a basement laboratory not far from Goddard Space Flight Center?

Then all things considered, AO-7, a SmallSat launched on November 15, 1974 is the oldest working satellite and is still providing service to hundreds of Amateur Radio operators around the world. In its first life, AO-7 lived a very healthy lifetime of 6.5 years. Not to over-state the case, AO-7 outlived both its commercial and government co-passengers launched by Delta-104.

In late 1980, AO-7’s poor, abused, NiCad battery began to show serious signs of increased series resistance. This was a sure sign to AMSAT command stations that the end was in sight. The cells had been originally matched for capacity by NASA. And, indeed the cells all failed within a matter of weeks of one another.

AO-7 stayed asleep for 21 years, to the nearest month. Then one day AO-7 woke up again. This was only possible if something caused an open circuit in the battery.

A very active user of AO-7, Pat Gowain, G3IOR, from the UK, made a telephone call to Perry Klein, W3PK, (first AMSAT President and designer of the VHF/HF transponder). This was on June 21, 2002. Pat wondered if we had launched a new LEO spacecraft? He was hearing Morse Code Telemetry again on the old beacon frequency of AO-7. He played Perry a tape recording. It sure sounded like AO-7 telemetry!

Many radio amateurs who were satellite enthusiasts very quickly began to observe the signals from AO-7 and the second life of the “Sleeping Beauty” of satellites began.

Over the next three weeks in November AMSAT News Service will honor this historic achievement with a series of short articles highlighting the life of AMSAT OSCAR 7. In the meantime be sure to visit a special page on the AMSAT website where you will find a collection of AO-7 articles and links at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-ao-7-a-fifty-year-anniversary/.

[ANS thanks Jan King, W3GEY, AMSAT AO-7 Project Manager for the above information.]

The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

AMSAT 42nd Space Symposium Presentations Now Available

The fifteen live presentations given at the recent AMSAT 42nd Space Symposium are now available online for viewing. The URL’s for presentations on Day 1 and Day 2 are shown along with the approximate timeline for each presentation.

Also available is the Symposium Banquet keynote address by Brian Abbott, NA7D, and the AMSAT General Meeting conducted by AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL.

Day 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdhYXX9AXlI

AMSAT-UK Payload on Jovian-1 CubeSat
David Bowman, G0MRF
0:00:58

CARD-SAT®: A Step Forward for Satellite Miniaturization
Adrian Totu, YO3HOT
0:58:15

Working QO-100 from Beyond the Nominal Footprint
Graham Shirville, G3VZV
1:18:55

AMSAT & ARISS Over the Past 40 Years
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
2:01:20

MO-122 (MESAT1) Commissioning Recap
Mark Hammond, N8MH
2:35:05

AMSAT-HB Update
Michael Lipp, HB9WD
3:08:05

Fox Plus Update
Mike Moore, K4MVM
3:24:45

Day 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G64Zm7rEmi0

AMSAT CubeSatSim Education Update and Software Overview
Alan Johnston, KU2Y
0:00:48

Integration of the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator for Education and Research
Rachel Jones, KO4HLC
0:44:00

ARISS Engineering Update – ISS, Lunar, and Commercial Activities
Randy Berger, WA0D
1:47:00

Automation and Remote Control of the Inter-Operable Radio System (IORS) on the ISS
Chris Thompson, VE2TCP/G0KLA
2:51:56

Getting Ready to Receive HamTV from the ISS
Graham Shirville, G3VZV
3:36:00

GOLF-TEE Flight Software and Bus Overview
Burns Fisher, WB1FJ
4:22:55

Determination of Orbiting Spacecraft Space Vectors Solely from In-flight Position Measurements
Joseph DiVerdi, K0NMR
5:20:00

AMSAT Engineering Update
Jerry Buxton, N0JY
6:02:00

AMSAT Annual General Meeting & Awards Ceremony
Robert Bankston, KE4AK, AMSAT President
7:15:30

Banquet Keynote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb-pQmr97KA
Brent Abbott, NA7D, Chief Revenue Officer , Rogue Space
0:00:45

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]

Back to Basics: What is the CubeSat Launch Initiative?

(Editor’s note: In this avocation, we sometimes toss around acronyms or titles with scant understanding of what they stand for. From time to time, ANS will offer short articles that can help up better understand the vocabulary of amateur satellites.)

The CubeSat Launch Initiative, or CSLI, is a NASA initiative that provides opportunities for qualified CubeSats to fly as auxiliary payloads on future launches that have excess capacity or as deployments from the International Space Station (ISS). In very simple terms that means that NASA will cover the cost of providing a CubeSat a ride to space in exchange for a report on the results of that CubeSat’s investigation.

NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative provides opportunities for CubeSats built by U.S. educational institutions, and non-profit organizations, including informal educational institutions such as museums and science centers to fly on upcoming launches. Through innovative technology partnerships NASA provides these CubeSat developers a low cost pathway to conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations in space, thus enabling students, teachers, and faculty to obtain hands-on flight hardware design, development, and build experience.

CSLI provides a low-cost platform for NASA science missions, including planetary exploration, Earth observation, and fundamental Earth and space science. These efforts are a cornerstone in the development of cutting-edge NASA enabling technologies including laser communications, next generation avionics approaches, power generation, distributive sensor systems, satellite-to-satellite communications, and autonomous movement. Leveraging these missions for collaboration optimizes NASA’s technology investments, fosters open innovation, and facilitates technology infusion. CubeSat missions are enabling the acceleration of flight-qualified technology assistance in raising Technology Readiness Levels, which aligns to NASA’s objective of advancing the Nation’s capabilities by maturing cross-cutting innovative space technologies.

About half of all CSLI missions are conducting scientific investigations, most frequently Space Weather and Earth Science. Specific science investigation areas include: biological science, study of near Earth objects, climate change, snow/ice coverage, orbital debris, planetary science, space-based astronomy, and heliophysics. Sixty-six percent of all CSLI missions are conducting technology development or demonstrations. Communications, propulsion, navigation and control, and radiation testing lead the topics in this area. Other notable technologies are solar sails, additive manufacturing, femtosatellites, and smart phone satellites. The low cost of development for a CubeSat allows for conducting higher risk activities that would not be possible on large-scale NASA missions.

What is the difference between CSLI and ELaNa?

NASA’s Launch Services Program manifests CSLI payloads with a variety of launch providers. Each launch with manifested CSLI payloads is called an ELaNa mission (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) and is given an ELaNa mission number (e.g., ELaNa 49, ELaNa 50). Simply put, CSLI is the payload and ELaNa is the ride.

To be eligible for CSLI, a CubeSat investigation must be of clear benefit to NASA by supporting at least one goal or objective stated in the NASA Strategic Plan. This plan can be found on NASA’s Web site http://www.nasa.gov.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information.]

Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store.

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.

https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for October 1, 2024 to November 1, 2024.

DF2ET 1500 1602
KF7R 1154 1175
HB9AOF 743 907
W8LR 887 888
IK3ITB 604 800
N7ZO 650 669
N6UTC 600 651
F6GLJ 501 609
JA1GZK 500 575
HB9GWJ 514 553
DJ7NT 348 432
SP5ULN 156 404
JF3MKC 275 280
W6IA 246 278
WA3YDZ New 271
IC8TEM New 147
YB1RQX/P New 100

Congratulations to the new VUCC Satellite holders.
YB1RQX is first VUCC Satellite holder from OJ21

DXCC Satellite has still not been updated since May

[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ for the above information.]

FO-29 November Operating Schedule

FO-29 will be turned on at the following times in November and will remain active following each activation until the satellite’s under-voltage control (UVC) disables the transmitter. The estimated time (UTC) to turn on the analog transmitter are as follows:

2nd 02:10?
3rd 03:00?
4th 02:05?
9th 02:45?
10th 01:50?
16th 01:35?
17th 02:24?
23rd 02:09?
24th 01:15?
30th 02:43?

[ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information.]

Telemetry Reports Wanted for Upcoming ASRTU-1 Satellite Launch

The LilacSat team is seeking for first day telemetry reception stations all over the world, especially in Europe and Africa.

ASRTU-1 (BJ2CR / RS64S) satellite is planned for a Soyuz 2.1b launch from Vostochny Cosmodrome. Separation is expected on November 5, 2024 at approximately 03:36 UTC.

The satellite carries a V/U FM repeater, UHF SSDV and 10G hi-res image downlink.

The telemetry downlink frequency is 435.400 MHz, 9600bd BPSK. A SDR dongle or a rig that supports bandwidth > 12kHz IF output (e.g. IC-705 or IC-9700) is required.

LiveCD for decode can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-308-ASRTU-1.

The preliminary TLE is shown below:

ASRTU-1
1 00000U 24001A 24310.15069444 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00014
2 00000 097.3998 174.6627 0017604 130.9343 144.0104 15.26720093000011

A special QSL card is planned for first day telemetry reports.

Follow the project at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/530294498525868/?multi_permalinks=913084726913508&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen

[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP – Operations for the above information.]

Voyager 1 Resorts to Transmitter that Hasn’t Been Used Since 1981

Following recent communication issues, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft resorted to using a backup radio transmitter that has been inactive since 1981.

The interstellar explorer experienced a brief pause in communications after putting itself in a protective state to conserve power. This was triggered by a command sent on Oct. 16 instructing the spacecraft to turn on one of its heaters.

The mission’s flight team first realized there was an issue with Voyager 1 on Oct. 18, when the spacecraft failed to respond to that command. The team later discovered that the spacecraft had turned off its primary X-band radio transmitter and instead switched over to its secondary S-band radio transmitter, which uses less power, according to a statement from NASA. The transmitter shut-off seems to have been prompted by the spacecraft’s fault protection system, which autonomously responds to onboard issues.

The spacecraft’s fault protection system switched to the S-band radio transmitter, which, prior to that date, hadn’t been used since 1981. Given the spacecraft is located much farther away in interstellar space today than it was 43 years ago, the flight team was not sure a signal on the S-band frequency could be detected — especially because it transmits a significantly fainter signal while using less power.

A command was sent to the S-band transmitter on Oct. 22. Two days later, on Oct. 24, the team was finally able to reconnect with Voyager 1.

Voyager 1, which launched in 1977. Its time in deep space has taken a toll on its instruments and caused an increasing number of technical issues. Earlier this year, the team had to fix a separate communications glitch that was causing the spacecraft to transmit gibberish. Read the complete story at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-308-Voyager.

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

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!

25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space

https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 1, 2024

The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:

UVSQ-SAT NORAD Cat ID 43758 Decayed from orbit on or about 26 October 2024
TianYi 6 NORAD Cat ID 43158 Decayed from orbit on or about 18 October 2024

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information.]

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming Contacts

Instituto Privado Rivadavia, Alderetes, Tucuman, Argentina, direct via LU5KHF.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams, KD5PLB.
The ARISS mentor is Brian Jackson, VE6JBJ.
Contact is go for Monday, November 4, 2024 at 13:02 UTC.

Scuola Primaria “Bandello”, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Italy, telebridge via VK6MJ.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams, KD5PLB.
The ARISS mentor is Ferrario Gianpietro, IZ2GOJ.
Contact is go for Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 07:56 UTC.

Completed Contacts

Coastal Community School, Satellite Beach, FL, direct via KD4GPI.
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The crewmember ass Sunita Williams, KD5PLB.
The ARISS mentor was Charlie Sufana, AJ9N.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 13:42 UTC.

Colegio Parroquial el Salvador, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU5KHF.
The ISS callsignwas NA1SS.
The crewmember was Don Pettit, KD5MDT
The ARISS mentor was Brian Jackson, VE6JBJ.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 15:32 UTC.

The packet system is also active (145.825 MHz up & down).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

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

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

There are no operations listed.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, and Alex Ners, K6VHF, for the above information.]

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

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

November 9, 2024
Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club
Marana Middle School
11285 West Grier Rd.
Marana, AZ 85653
https://www.tucsonhamradio.org/copy-of-hamfest-2022
N1UW

February 14-15, 2005
Yuma Hamfest & ARRL Southwestern Division Convention
Yuma County Fairgrounds
https://www.yumahamfest.com/
N1UW

Interested in becoming an AMSAT Ambassador? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

For more information go to: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program for the above information.]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

As millions of people around the world celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams radioed home a message of festive cheer. “I want to extend my warmest wishes for a Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating the festival of lights today at the White House and around the world,” Williams said in a recent video message sent from the International Space Station. Speaking from the ISS’ window-filled cupola with Earth as her backdrop, Williams, who is an American with Indian heritage, spoke about her father’s efforts to keep Indian culture alive after he migrated to the United States in 1957. She also touched upon the symbolism of Diwali — the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and hope over despair. “Diwali is a time of joy as goodness in the world prevails,” she said. [ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.]
In a few years, as part of the Artemis Program, NASA will begin the creation of permanent infrastructure that will allow for regular missions to the surface (once a year) and a sustained program of lunar exploration and development. In a recent NASA-supported study, a team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investigated a new method of sending spacecraft to the Moon. It is known as “multimode propulsion,” a method that integrates a high-thrust chemical mode and a low-thrust electric mode – while using the same propellant. To break it down, a multimode thruster relies on a single chemical monopropellant – like hydrazine or Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic (ASCENT) propellant – to power chemical thrusters and an electrospray thruster (aka. colloid thruster). The latter element relies on a process known as electrospray ionization (ESI), where charged liquid droplets are produced and accelerated by a static electric field. Electrospray thrusters were first used in space aboard the ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission to demonstrate disturbance reduction. By developing a system that can switch as needed, satellites will be able to perform propulsive manuevers using less propellant, thus requiring fewer fuel transfers. Read the complete story at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-308-Propulsion. [ANS thanks UniverseToday.com for the above information.]
Has orbital debris gone out of control? In 1978, NASA scientists Donald J. Kessler and Burton G. Cour-Palais proposed a scenario where the density of objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) would be high enough that collisions between objects would cause a cascade effect. In short, these collisions would create debris that would result in more collisions, more debris, and so on. This came to be known as the Kessler Syndrome, something astronomers, scientists, and space environmentalists have feared for many decades. In recent years, and with the deployment of more satellites than ever, the warning signs have become undeniable. Currently, there is an estimated 13,000 metric tons (14,330 US tons) of “space junk” in LEO. With the breakup and another satellite in orbit – the Intelsat 33e satellite – the situation will only get worse. Read the full report at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-208-Debris. [ANS thanks UniverseToday.com 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 [dot] org for additional membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
f.karnauskas [at] amsat [dot] org

AMSAT OSCAR-7 50th Anniversary — The Space Age, Morse Code and STEM Innovation

ASRTU-1 Designated ASRTU-OSCAR 123

CubeSatSim Kits Available Once Again (Revised)

New Chinese Satellite Completes Frequency Coordination

Update on PARUS-T1A Satellite

Air Leak on ISS Russian Module Is Getting Worse

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Nov. 22

Space Station Raises Orbit Avoiding Orbital Debris

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming Satellite Operations

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT OSCAR-7 50th Anniversary – A Testbed for Saving Lives

Another Batch of CubeSatSim Kits Available Soon in AMSAT Store

The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now! Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

SpaceX Dragon Fires Thrusters to Boost ISS Orbit for the First Time

SEAQUE Quantum Tech Arrives at ISS for Groundbreaking Demo

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

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for November 15, 2024

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming Satellite Operations

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get an 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

Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service

ANS-315 November 10, 2024

Celebrating AO-7: First Earth-Space-Space-Earth Relay Communications

September/October 2024 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Available

2024 AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Available to AMSAT Members

2024 Coins Are Still Available! Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!

ASRTU-1 Satellite With FM Transponder Launched

MO-122 Telemetry Beacon Level and Update – November 9, 2024

ARISS SSTV Event Scheduled for November 11-18

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 8, 2024

Need new satellite antennas? Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.

ARISS News

International Aerospace School named after U.N. Sultanov, Ufa, Russia, direct via RZ9WWB

Scuola Primaria “Bandello”, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Italy, telebridge via VK6MJ

Bishop O’Connell HS, Arlington, VA, telebridge via VK4ISS

SWSU, Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD

Cottam Scouts, Cottam, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD

Aznakaevsky district resp. Tatarstan, Russia, direct via TBD

Center for the Development of Children and Youth Creativity in the City of Pugachev, Saratov Region, Russia, direct via TBD

Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get an 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

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

Scheduled Events

Satellite Shorts from All Over

AMSAT AO-7 to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

AMSAT 42nd Space Symposium Presentations Now Available

Back to Basics: What is the CubeSat Launch Initiative?

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for October 1, 2024 to November 1, 2024.

FO-29 November Operating Schedule

Telemetry Reports Wanted for Upcoming ASRTU-1 Satellite Launch

Voyager 1 Resorts to Transmitter that Hasn’t Been Used Since 1981

Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 1, 2024

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming Satellite Operations

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

The 2024 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus

Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

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

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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

Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

ANS-315
November 10, 2024

2024 Coins Are Still Available!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!

Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an 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