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 @ 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/
In this edition:
- Four CubeSats Deployed from ISS
- Notice of the AMSAT-UK 2021 Annual General Meeting
- CubeSat Offers Developers Training Course
- ARRL Continues Preservation Efforts for 3 GHz Band
- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 7, 2021
- ARISS News
- Upcoming Satellite Operations
- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
- Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-283 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2021 OCT 10
Four CubeSats Deployed from ISS
JAXA announced four CubeSats deploy from ISS on October 6 with J-SSOD. The satellites are Binar-1, Maya-3, Maya-4 and CUAVA-1. All four satellites operate in Amateur Radio bands.
The four CubeSats launched and their descriptions are as follows:
Binar-1
1U CubeSat
Country of Origin: Australia
Downlink: 437.292MHz, 435.810MHz 19k2 GMSK
Uplink: 435.810MHz
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=730
https://www.binarspace.com/
Maya-3, Maya-4
1U CubeSat
Country of Origin: Philippines (Part of the BIRDS Project)
Downlink: 145.825MHz APRS, 437.375MHz CW, 4k8 GMSK
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=711
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=712
https://stamina4space.upd.edu.ph/upcoming-satellites/maya-3and4/
CUAVA-1
3U CubeSat
Country of Origin: Australia
Downlink: 437.075MHz 9k6 GMSK, 2440.000MHz, 5840.000MHz, 76.750GHz high speed
Uplink: 145.875MHz, 2404.000MHz, 5660.000MHz, 76.750MHz
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=671
https://www.cuava.com.au/projects/cuava-1/
[ANS thanks Masahiro Asai, JN1GKZ for the above information.]
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Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!
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Notice of the AMSAT-UK 2021 Annual General Meeting
There will not be an in-person AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium this year. Instead they will be holding an Online Event on Sunday, October 24, 2021. The AMSAT-UK convention will run from 11am BST/10:00 GMT to approximately 5:00pm, with a break for lunch and several short breaks during the day. Persons do not have to be a member of AMSAT-UK to attend, and the event is free of charge. The event will be in the form of a Zoom Webinar. There is no special software to install – a browser plug-in issued by Zoom.
The event will be formally opened by AMSAT-UK Chairman, Martin Sweeting, G3YJO. The complete meeting agenda is as follows:
– Welcome by the Chairman of AMSAT-UK
– Apologies for Absence
– Minutes of the 2020 Annual General Meeting to be read and agreed as a true record
– Chairman’s Report
– Honorable Secretary’s Report
– Treasurer’s Report
– Election of the 2021/2022 Committee
– Any Other Business
Details of the Zoom link will be published on the colloquium web page: https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]
CubeSat Offers Developers Training Course
Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory offers a training course that is intended for new CubeSat developers primarily focused on providing participants with a general understanding of a CubeSat’s parts and functions, an introduction to CubeSat design trades, systems engineering processes and basic knowledge of CubeSat testing.
Participants learn about:
– Choosing the correct components for the mission
– Performing trade studies
– Reviewing, understanding, and creating requirements
– Project management
– Necessary licensing
– The different types of launch providers and opportunities
– Typical functional and space environment testing
In addition to advising students in technical engineering work, staff members work closely with the students to teach best practices with regard to project management, as well as general laboratory management. The staff provides continuity for laboratory operations, allowing for smooth transition of institutional knowledge in an environment that has high turnover in the student workforce. Over the course of their careers, CPCL staff members have integrated over 160 CubeSats on 25 missions and 12 different launch vehicles .
Interested parties should contact [email protected] for more information and to schedule a training session for their group.
[ANS thanks Cubesat.org 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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ARRL Continues Preservation Efforts for 3 GHz Band
ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, in a written statement on the newly filed H.R.5378 before the US House Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee on Wednesday, urged Congress to direct the FCC to preserve amateur radio’s secondary use of the 3-GHz band. Approximately 10 days ago, ARRL became aware of a provision in the $3.5 Billion Budget Reconciliation Bill that would have required that approximately 200 MHz of the 3.1 – 3.45-GHz band be reallocated to the use of 5G vendors.
President Roderick pointed out that in earlier proceedings, the FCC adopted methods to ensure unencumbered spectrum access by primary users while accommodating secondary users on a non-interference basis. “These methods work well and remain effective without complaint in other frequency bands, and also should be applied to the 3 GHz band,” he said.
Primary commercial users “would rarely use all of their licensed spectrum throughout their entire licensed service areas,” President Roderick said. In its recent 3 GHz proceeding, however, the FCC “went beyond merely prohibiting amateur operations in areas and at times when primary Commission licensees might use the spectrum,” ruling instead that all amateur operation in the subband being auctioned must terminate within 90 days of the auction’s close. President Roderick told the FCC that it is not logical for the Commission to leave spectrum unused before licensees start using it.
For the complete story go to tinyurl.com/ANS-283-3GHZ.
[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.]
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 7, 2021
Four new cubesats have been deployed from the ISS on October 6. CUAVA-1 has been identified as NORAD Cat ID 49275. The other three remain to be identified. Therefore, the following satellites have been added to this
week’s AMSAT TLE Distribution:
OBJECT SR – NORAD Cat ID 49272 (To be identified)
OBJECT SS – NORAD Cat ID 49273 (To be identified)
OBJECT ST – NORAD Cat ID 49274 (To be identified)
CUAVA-1 – NORAD Cat ID 49275
Thanks to Space-Track and Celestrak for the identifications.
Additionally, four additional cubesats are waiting suitable weather conditions to be placed in orbit by JAXA Epsilon rocket in Japan. The next opportunity will be Friday morning. The satellites are TeikyoSat-4, Z-Sat, KOSEN-1, and NanoDragon.
The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been removed from the AMSAT TLE Distribution:
Raavana-1 – NORAD Cat ID 44329 (Decay Epoch 10-03-2021)
Uguisu – NORAD Cat ID 44330 (Decay Epoch 10-07-2021)
NepliSat-1 – NORAD Cat ID 44331 (Decay Epoch 10-03-2021)
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information.]
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AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control, now manifested for launch on
NASA’s ELaNa 46 mission. Come along for the ride. The journey will be
worth it!
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ARISS NEWS
Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.
+ Upcoming Contacts
Mary Hare School, Newbury, UK, direct via GB4MHN
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP.
Contact is go for Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:12:33 UTC.
Watch for a livestream at: https://live.ariss.org
Ecole Louis Armand, Carquefou, France, Institut Universitaire de Technologie, Carquefou, France, Collège Les Sables D’Or, Thouare Sur Loire, France; direct via F5KEQ/P
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be FXØISS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG.
Contact is go for Wednesday, October 13 at 13:39:19 UTC.
+ Completed Contacts
Lycée Pierre Paul Riquet, St Orens De Gameville, France and CSUT University Space Center of Toulouse, Toulouse, France, Multi-point telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign was FXØISS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG
Contact was successful on Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 12:40:14 UTC.
Congratulations to the Lycée Pierre Paul Riquet and CSUT University Space Center of Toulouse students and Thomas!
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.]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
+ DM33; October 14-18, 2021
WA8ZID hopes to get some passes on FM birds for the 60th Anniversary of the West Valley ARC in DM33. Not a rare grid but it is a rare call with W7V callsign. A certificate is available for those who are interested.
+ Galapagos Islands; October 26-November 7, 2021
Members of the Tifariti Gang/DX Friends will be active as HD8R from Galapagos Islands (SA-004) between October 26 and November 7, 2021. Activity will include low orbit satellites. Check with K9JKM for details.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information.]
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
+ 2021 AMSAT Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO, Memorial Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
Due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, AMSAT has changed plans for its 39th Annual Symposium and General Meeting from an in-person event to a virtual event. Additionally, the 2021 AMSAT 39th Annual Space Symposium and General Meeting has been renamed in honor of Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO (SK), Director Emeritus and President Emeritus of AMSAT and Amateur Radio satellite pioneer. Clark died on September 28, 2021. He was 82.
This is a chance for “Amateur Radio in Space” enthusiasts from all corners of the globe to learn more about AMSAT’s Strategic Plan, GOLF program, CubeSat Simulator and other exciting developments taking place in the amateur satellite world.
AMSAT will host the 2021 AMSAT Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO, Memorial Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting on Zoom for its members on Saturday, October 30,2021 from 9:00am CDT – 5:00pm CDT (UTC-5). The event will be a combination of pre-recorded video segments along with live question and answer sessions.
Registration for members is required and is available on AMSAT’s Member Portal, launch.amsat.org. Registration is free and registered attendees will receive a digital copy of the AMSAT Symposium Proceedings, entered into the Symposium prize drawings, and be able to participate in discussions during each question and answer session.
The 2021 AMSAT Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO, Memorial Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be available to the general public on AMSAT’s YouTube channel, https://youtu.be/RTvcceM7Tz0 at no cost.
Final papers for the Symposium Proceedings must be submitted by October 18, 2021 to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, n8fgv at usa dot net. Symposium presentations should be limited to 15 minutes of pre- recorded video. Video presentations must be submitted by October 18, 2021 to Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, n8hm at arrl dot net. We ask that presenters be available to take questions via Zoom following the airing of their pre-recorded video.
Tentative Schedule
9:00am CDT – Opening Remarks
9:15am CDT – 2:00 pm CDT – General Presentations
2:00pm CDT – 3:00 pm CDT – AMSAT Education / CubeSat Simulator
3:00pm CDT – 4:00 pm CDT – AMSAT Engineering
4:00pm CDT – 5:00 pm CDT – 2020 AMSAT Annual General Meeting
Questions regarding the Symposium can be directed to info at amsat dot org.
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, 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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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ UoSAT-OSCAR-9 (UoSAT-1), developed at the University of Surrey by Martin Sweeting G3YJO and his team, was launched into orbit 40 years ago on October 6, 1981. UoSAT-1 was the first modern microsatellite with in-orbit re-programmable computers and its signals were decoded and analyzed by thousands of radio amateurs, schools & universities around the world. Find out about the audacious favors Sir Martin Sweeting G3YJO called in to get UoSAT-1 off the ground in 1981, and the ingenious hack he used to vibration test it using a car and Guildford High Street! Read the UoSAT-1 story at:
https://www.sstl.co.uk/media-hub/latest-news/2021/the-story-of-uosat-1-ingenuity-teamwork-and-lots-o
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]
+ In June this year (2021) the antenna control of the 20-meter antenna at the observatory Bochum was damaged by a heavy lightning strike and had to be repaired. The system was successfully recommissioned at the end of August, including a new fine calibration. On behalf of DLR, the Bochum Observatory and AMSAT-DL are now again supplying space weather data from the STEREO-A spacecraft to NASA and the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The successful repair is also due to the team of volunteers of AMSAT-DL and Observatory Bochum. Especially mentioned are Mario DL5MLO, James G3RUH, Thilo DJ5YM, Jens DH6BB, Ralf Höhinghaus and Peter DB2OS.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.]
+ Satellite swarms are threatening the night sky. Is low-Earth orbit the next great crucible of environmental conflict? Almost overnight, a new arena of environmental conflict has opened up. Astronomers aren’t the only ones who see an existential threat. Environmentalists, amateur stargazers, and Indigenous leaders are working to revive astronomical traditions and see an affront to the planet’s dwindling dark skies, an act as vandalistic as carving initials into a tree trunk—in front of the whole world. Read the entire article, The Fault in Our Stars in Science magazine at tinyurl.com/ANS-283-Stars
[ANS thanks Science.org for the above information.]
+ NOAA announced the appointment of 15 non-government members to the new Space Weather Advisory Group (SWAG). The SWAG was established by Public Law 116-181, the Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow Act of 2020, also known as the PROSWIFT Act. The members were chosen to provide a range of views that represent the span of the space weather community and end-user sectors. The SWAG will receive advice from the academic community, the commercial space weather sector, and nongovernmental space weather end-users to inform the National Science and Technology Council’s Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) Interagency Working Group (IWG). Read the entire article at tinyurl.com/ANS-283-Space-Weather.
[ANS thanks NASA and QRZ.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.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