In this edition:
* Registration Open for 41st Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
* AMSAT at Huntsville Hamfest August 19-20, 2023
* IARU Coordinates Two Digipeating Satellites
* VUCC Satellite Standing August 2023
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for August 4, 2023
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* 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-218 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2023 Aug 06
Registration Open for 41st Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
The 41st Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 20-21, 2023 at the Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel in Irving, Texas. Highlights of all scheduled events include:
– AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting, October 19-20
– 41st AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 20-21
– Friday Night Social and Auction, October 20
– AMSAT Banquet and Reception, October 21
– AMSAT Member Breakfast, October 22
Prices for the Symposium, the Banquet and the Member Breakfast remain the same as last year:
– Friday and Saturday Symposium and General Meeting $75
– Saturday Evening Banquet $55
– Sunday Morning Member Breakfast $15
EVENT REGISTRATION
You can register online for individual events or all events at: https://launch.amsat.org/event-5363188.
HOTEL ROOM RESERVATIONS
The Sheraton DFW Airport is located adjacent to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and provides complimentary, scheduled shuttle to and from the airport. Complimentary parking is available for those who drive to the Symposium. The hotel address and phone number is:
Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel
4440 W John Carpenter Fwy.
Irving, TX 75063
972-929-8400
Rooms are available for check-in on Wednesday, October 18 and check out Sunday, October 22.
– Standard room with single King bed is $137.00*
– Standard room with two Queen beds is $137.00*
* Rate does not include state and local taxes of 15%
For Phone Hotel Reservations:
Call 972-929-8400. Ask for rate RADIO AMATEUR SATELLITE.
For Online Hotel Reservations click on this link: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1689956666782&key=GRP&app=resvlink
Please send your Symposium questions or comments to info [at] amsat [dot] com.
We, at AMSAT, are excited to be able to host our 41st annual Symposium this year. We hope that you can join us in celebrating Amateur Radio in Space.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]
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The 2023 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch
on June 16, 1983, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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AMSAT at Huntsville Hamfest August 19-20, 2023
Planning to attend the Huntsville Hamfest later this month? Be sure to find the AMSAT folks and say “Hello!” Attending the Hamfest will be AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL. Robert will be pleased to share the latest news about the progress on major programs such as the Fox-Plus series of LEO satellites and the GOLF series of HEO satellites.
Robert should have an assortment of antennas and AMSAT bling available. Thinking of joining AMSAT or do you need to renew your membership? You can take care of that at Huntsville, too.
The Huntsville Hamvention will be held August 19-20, 2023 at the Von Braun Center South Hall, 700 Monroe St SW, Huntsville, AL 35801.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President for the above information.]
IARU Coordinates Two Digipeating Satellites
The IARU has recently coordinated frequencies for two European digipeating satellites scheduled for launch later in 2023.
+ Veronika
From the Technical University of Kosice, Veronika is a 1U CubeSat scheduled for launch on a Falcon 9 launcher on the Transporter 9 mission in October 2023. The satellite will be equipped with a 24/7 digipeater on two different bands, as well as experimental SSDV transmissions.
The satellite also has an education and outreach mission in that it is planned to involve Slovak grammar and high schools and to transmit special CW and AX.25 messages on several special occasions. From a platform perspective, the satellite will be equipped with a novel ADCS subsystem, including electromagnetic actuators and a GNSS receiver. This will also help to identify the satellite during the first days and weeks. The satellite will communicate o using Spacemanic’s well-known Murgas transceivers (BDSat-1, BDSat-2, Planetum-1).
Altogether, Veronika will provide: AX.25 telemetry; a CW beacon; a digipeater; AX.25 & CW messages on special occasions for community engagement; Experimental SSDV transmissions; and SATNOGS integration, decoder and dashboard. A downlink on 436.680 MHz has been coordinated and will use 9k6 G3RUH AX.25 and a CW beacon. Planning a SpaceX launch on Transporter 9 mission in Q4 2023 to a 500/600km polar orbit . More info at https://om3ksi.tuke.sk/en/home/.
+ ROM-3
From the Romanian Radioamateur Federation, ROM-3 is a 50 x 50 x100mm picosat with three missions and objectives. Its primary mission is to act as a digital amateur radio repeater. Its secondary mission is to transmit low-resolution SSDV images in a GFSK Mode. The tertiary mission is to transmit a CW beacon that will help amateur radio operators detect the presence of the satellite and measure basic properties of the signals such as its strength, fading due to spin, Doppler to measure speed, etc. A downlink on 436.235 MHz has been coordinated for 20 wpm CW, 500bps GFSK telemetry and 5kbps GFSK SSDV. Planning a SpaceX launch in October or November 2023 into a 500km polar orbit. More info at https://rom-space.ro/.
[ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
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VUCC Satellite Standing August 2023
VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for July 01, 2023 to August 01, 2023.
| Callsign | July | August |
|---|---|---|
| AA5PK | 1324 | 1350 |
| N8RO | 1317 | 1323 |
| N0JE | 950 | 975 |
| PS8ET | 726 | 925 |
| F4BKV | 800 | 900 |
| DF2ET | 752 | 862 |
| KN2K | 750 | 804 |
| EA2AA | 756 | 778 |
| KQ4DO | 710 | 750 |
| WD9EWK (DM43) | 727 | 734 |
| AF5CC | 644 | 646 |
| FG8OJ | 600 | 635 |
| XE1MYO | 525 | 575 |
| N8MR | 528 | 557 |
| VE4MM | 508 | 536 |
| A65BR | 436 | 455 |
| IK7FMQ | 304 | 426 |
| AB1OC | 371 | 400 |
| K8BL | 297 | 300 |
| PA7RA | 299 | 300 |
| N3CAL | 247 | 270 |
| N6PAZ | 241 | 247 |
| W7BMD | 100 | 208 |
| ZS2BK | 176 | 186 |
| JE2UFF | 158 | 185 |
| KB9DAK | 164 | 171 |
| AG4W | New | 161 |
| N9XG | New | 151 |
| JI1SIE | New | 107 |
Congratulations to the new VUCC holders.
AG4W is first VUCC Satellite holder from EM64
[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information.]
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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for August 4, 2023
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. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary 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/
The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
Shaonian Xing NORAD Cat ID 43199 decayed from orbit on 30 July 2023
FIREBIRD FU3 NORAD Cat ID 40377 decayed from orbit on 31 July 2023
FIREBIRD FU4 NORAD Cat ID 40378 decayed from orbit on 01 August 2023
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager 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.
+ Completed Contacts
Baltasi airfield school in the Baltasinsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, direct via RC4P.
The ISS callsign was RSØISS.
The crewmember was Andrei Fedyaev .
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR.
Contact was successful on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 14:02 UTC.
Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre, Dubai, UAE, direct via A68MBR.
The ISS callsign was OR4ISS.
The crewmember was Al Neyadi, KI5VTV.
The ARISS mentor was ON6TI.
Contact was successful on Monday, July 31, 2023 at 08:16 UTC.
Karasuyama Residents Center, Setagaya, Japan, direct via JA1ZSH.
The ISS callsign was OR4ISS.
The crewmember was Sultan Al Neyadi, KI5VTV.
The ARISS mentor was 7M3TJZ.
Contact was successful on Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 09:26 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 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
EN67 & EN56; August 4-12, 2023
N8MR will be in EN57 roving to EN67 and EN56 August 4–12. Mike says to listening for DX. He prefers linear satellites. Skeds posted via
@GridMasterHeat Sked depends on wx, etc. All QSOs to LoTW using N8MR (no /p, /r).
FK87 & FK88; August 6, 2023
FG8OJ, Burt will begin his Caribbean rove of FJ/PJ6/FS and PJ7 on August 6. Additional info will be available on hams.at.
[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information.]
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
+ Small Satellite Conference
August 5-10, 2023
Utah State University, Logan, UT
More information at: https://smallsat.org/
+ Huntsville Hamfest
August 19 & 20, 2023
Von Braun Center South Hall
700 Monroe St SW, Huntsville, AL 35801
More information at: https://hamfest.org/
+ Northeast HamXposition and ARRL New England Division Convention
August 25-27, 2023
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel
Marlboro, MA
More information at: https://hamxposition.org/
+ 41st AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
October 20-21, 2023
Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel
4440 W John Carpenter Fwy, Irving, TX 75063
More information at: https://launch.amsat.org/event-5363188
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, is tracking Chandrayan 3, India’s lunar lander in its highly eccentric orbit. Follow him live at https://www.youtube.com/live/UYJ1x9NUYTU?feature=share [ANS thanks Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE, for the above information.]
+ SpaceX launched the world’s heaviest commercial communications satellite atop a Falcon Heavy rocket on Friday. The triple-core rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A with the Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 satellite at 11:04 p.m. EDT. The booster carried EchoStar’s Jupiter-3 (EchoStar-24) communications satellite, which weighs in at over 9,000 kg (198,416 lb.). It is the largest communication satellite ever launched to geostationary orbit. Jupiter-3, which was built by Maxar Technologies, will support Internet connectivity across North and South America, in-flight Wi-Fi, community Wi-Fi services, maritime connections, enterprise networks, and backhaul for mobile network operators. [ANS thanks parabolicarc.com for the above information.]
+ Voyager 2 has reestablished communication with Earth and is operating normally. NASA’s long-running Voyager 2 mission, which launched from Earth in 1977 and is currently about 12.4 billion miles from Earth, lost contact with our planet after a set of commands accidentally moved Voyager 2’s antenna two degrees away from Earth on July 28. A “heartbeat” signal was picked up on Tuesday, August 1. according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), letting mission controllers know the probe was still healthy despite being unable to communicate fully with it. Voyager 2 is programmed to automatically reset its orientation a few times a year in case of troubles like this, but the next window would have been in October. On Friday, August 4, JPL announced in a mission update that NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia was able to send a command into interstellar space that reoriented the spacecraft and pointed its antenna back towards Earth. Mission controllers had to wait 37 hours to learn if the command was successful. And it was. “The spacecraft began returning science and telemetry data, indicating it is operating normally and that it remains on its expected trajectory,” JPL said in the statement. [ANS thanks space.com for the above information.]
+ The ISS briefly lost communication with ground control due to a power outage at Johnson Space Center and had to use its backup control systems for the first time. A power outage at NASA’s building in Houston disrupted communication between mission control and the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, July 25. Space station program manager Joel Montalbano said neither the astronauts nor station were ever in any danger and that backup control systems took over to restore normal communications within 90 minutes. “It wasn’t an issue on board. That was purely a ground problem,” he said. “At no time was the crew or the vehicle in any danger.” [ANS thanks The Orbital Index and The Guardian for the above information.]
+ The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a satellite spectrum licensing reform bill after House Science Committee leadership did not want to grant the FCC authority to regulate space debris/traffic management, since, in their opinion, doing so would divert from its primary responsibility of spectrum allocation. [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.]
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
* Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw [at] amsat [dot] org