Mark Johns – Page 15

ANS-226 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Aug. 14

August 14, 2022 by Mark Johns

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/

In this edition:

40th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, Oct. 21-22
India’s New Rocket Fails To Put Satellites In Right Orbit In Debut Launch
Russia Successfully Launches KAI 1 Repeater Along With Iranian Satellite
Wireless Institute of Australia Supporting Binar Satellites
Simultaneous Operations of APRS and Voice Repeater Now a Reality on ISS
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for August 11
Press Coverage of Eight-Year-Old’s ISS Ham Radio Contact
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-226 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2022 Aug 14

40th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, Oct. 21-22

The 40th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will take place in Bloomington, Minn. on Oct. 21-22, 2022. Highlights of all scheduled events include:

– AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting, October 20-21
– 40th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 21-22
– Friday Night Social and Auction, October 21
– AMSAT Banquet and Reception, October 22
– AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast, October 23

A preliminary schedule is available on the AMSAT Member Portal, launch.amsat.org, under the Events tab.

Crowne Plaza is located adjacent to the Minneapolis / St. Paul International Airport and provides complimentary, scheduled shuttle to and from the airport. Nearby attractions include Mall of America with Nickelodeon Universe Theme park, Target Field, and the Minnesota Zoo.

You can make hotel reservations by calling the hotel directly at (952) 854-9000. The group code is ASG (Amateur Satellite Group). Hotel reservations can also be made online at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-219-Symposium-Rooms.

Symposium tickets and banquet reservations may be purchased on the AMSAT Member Portal. Log into https://launch.amsat.org/ and clock on the Events tab.

We at AMSAT, are excited to be able to host an in-person 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 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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India’s New Rocket Fails To Put Satellites In Right Orbit In Debut Launch

India’s new rocket launched for the first time on Saturday night (Aug. 6) but failed to deliver its satellite payloads into their intended orbit due to a sensor issue.

The 112-foot-tall (34 meters) Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s southeastern coast on Saturday at 11:48 p.m. EDT (0348 GMT and 9:18 a.m. India Standard Time on Sunday, Aug. 7) with two satellites onboard.

The main payload on Saturday’s test mission was EOS-02, a 300-pound (135 kilograms) experimental Earth-observation satellite.

The second satellite was an 18-pound (8 kg) cubesat called AzaadiSAT. This little spacecraft was loaded with 75 different payloads, which were built by female students across India to perform a variety of “femto-experiments.”

“The payloads include a UHF-VHF transponder working in ham radio frequency to enable voice and data transmission for amateur radio operators, a solid state PIN diode-based radiation counter to measure the ionizing radiation in its orbit, a long-range transponder and a selfie camera,” ISRO officials wrote in the mission description.

Instead of placing the satellites in a circular orbit 221 miles (356 kilometers) above Earth, the rocket left them in an orbit that ranged from 221 miles to as close as 47 miles (76 km). That orbit was not stable, and the satellites have “already come down, and they are not usable,” ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said in a video statement after the launch.

[ANS thanks Space.com for the above information]

Russia Successfully Launches KAI 1 Repeater Along With Iranian Satellite

A Russian rocket on Tuesday successfully launched an Iranian satellite into orbit, along with a Russian amateur cubesat.

The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled at 05:52 GMT Tuesday, Aug. 9 from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. About nine minutes after the launch, it placed the Iranian satellite called Khayyam into orbit. It’s named after Omar Khayyam, a Persian scientist who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Also aboard were 16 Russian cubesats, including the 3U cubesat KAI 1, aka KNITU-KAI, NILAKT DOSAAF LLC, ANO DPO “KIRO.” Its callsign will be RS26S. It carries a 145/435 MHz repeater, panoramic cameras and
a temperature meter based on a fiber Bragg grating. Currently no further details are available.

Among the other cubesats scheduled for this launch were ten Russian satellites in the SXC3 series, transmitting telemetry on amateur frequencies. A list of these satellites and their frequencies may be found at https://sputnix.ru/en/satellites-sputnix/for-radioamateurs

[ANS thanks N2YO.com, Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, and Nader Omer, HZ1NH, 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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Wireless Institute of Australia Supporting Binar Satellites

The Board of the Wireless Institute of Australia has supported the Binar-1 small satellite/CubeSat mission which was launched from the ISS by Curtin University.

Binar-1 is a 1U CubeSat currently in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and was a technical demonstrator of in-house developed hardware that aimed to become a repeatable platform for research and educational purposes.

This year the Board of the WIA agreed to support the upcoming mission 2 that will see satellites: Binar-2, Binar-3 and Binar-4 be deployed from the ISS in the same way as Binar-1 into LEO. A subsequent mission 3 will follow about a year later with three more CubeSats (Binar-5,6 and 7) to also be delivered into Low Earth Orbit.

Part of the Binar mission is to try to make it easier for young, enthusiastic students to learn more about and how to use amateur radio in a way which directly relates to STEM. We believe that this specific use of amateur radio is a fantastic crossover opportunity for education and encouragement of STEM. Previously young students were constrained by resources, and current progtam wants to provide a platform where students – both high-school and university – can learn about amateur radio, spacecraft, their operations, and science experiments flying onboard the spacecraft.

The satellites in Launch 2 will be Binar-2, 3, 4 will have a multiband radio, capable of operating in the amateur band. The radio frequencies are allocated in the 70cm Amateur Satellite Radio band and, as required by local and international regulatory bodies (ACMA, ITU, IARU), will be coordinated through the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union) with the support of the Wireless Institute of Australia as the national association for Amateur Radio in Australia .

The main purpose of the usage of the amateur-satellite band allocation onboard the Satellites in Launches 2 and 3 is to provide a platform to educate high school and university students on satellite technology.

[ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information]

Simultaneous Operations of APRS and Voice Repeater Now a Reality on ISS

ARISS is pleased to announce that starting yesterday, August 11, simultaneous operations of the ARISS Voice Repeater and digital APRS communications on the International Space Station (ISS) is now a reality. Current ARISS operations include voice repeater transmissions with the JVC Kenwood D710GA in the Columbus module and APRS packet operation from an identical radio in the Service Module (Zvezda). Packet operations are on 145.825 MHz.

The ARISS Russia and USA teams have been working for several weeks to prepare the Service Module radio for APRS operations. ARISS Russia team member Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, led the effort, working with Russian mission controllers and the on-board ISS cosmonauts to configure the Service Module radio for APRS ops. On August 11, final checkouts were completed and the APRS packet mode was switched on for amateur radio use.

ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO states, “Simultaneous operation of APRS and the voice repeater on ISS is transformative for ARISS and represents a key element of our ARISS 2.0 initiative, providing interactive capabilities 24/7 that inspire, engage and educate youth and lifelong learners—especially life-long learning in ham radio operations.” Bauer continues, “Our heartfelt thanks to Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, for making this crucial ARISS 2.0 initiative become a reality.”

The Columbus Module radio uses the callsign NA1SS and the new Service Module radio uses RS0ISS. Aside from the callsigns, the radios are identical and packet operations are the same as before. You can use RS0ISS, ARISS, or APRSAT as the packet path. Also, both radios are expected to be on full time, except during educational contacts, EVAs, and dockings or undockings.

You can find operational status and expected downtimes of the ISS radios at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.

[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, 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 11

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/

The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:

Maya-3 NORAD Cat ID 49273 (decayed form orbit on 8/3/2022 per Space-Track).
Maya-4 NORAD Cat ID 49274 (decayed form orbit on 8/8/2022 per Space-Track).

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

Press Coverage of Eight-Year-Old’s ISS Ham Radio Contact

Kent’s Isle of Thanet News reports on the amateur radio contact between 8-year-old Isabella Payne and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS on the International Space Station.

In the Isle of Thanet News, Kathy Bailes, writes:

A Broadstairs eight-year-old has chatted with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station and a recording of the conversation will feature on the NASA website.

Isabella Payne spoke to Astronaut Kjell Lindgren as the ISS flew overhead last week.

The youngster was with dad Matthew Payne, M0LMK, who is a license holding amateur radio enthusiast and tutor. He and Isabella are both members of Hilderstone Radio Society.

Matthew said: “Isabella has been a member of the radio club ever since she was born and has been playing with the radio since she was six. Because I have the full licence she can sit on my knee and use the radio to speak to people as long as I am controlling it. Everyone at the club can do that. She has been involved in a few radio events, Children On The Air events, and will hopefully go for her own licence soon.

Read full story by Kathy Bailes and listen to the recording on the Isle of Thanet News site at
https://bit.ly/3vVAFNG or at https://twitter.com/IsleThanetNews/status/1557404614076530688

Matthew Payne, M0LMK, tweeted:
“Isabella has been having an email exchange with the @NASA #ISS team, you know, as you do! She sent a photo for their publicity team and asked for it to be sent onto @astro_kjell. Here’s what she got in return…” https://twitter.com/m0lmk/status/1556976125359919105

ISS astronaut’s favourite ham radio contact
https://amsat-uk.org/2022/08/03/iss-astronauts-favorite-ham-radio-contact/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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.

Cambridge Public Library and Idea Exchange, Cambridge, ON, Canada, direct via VE3SWA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled crewmember is Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS. Contact is go for: Thursday, 2022-08-18 at 17:45:15 UTC 66 degrees elevation.

Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS continues to be making general contacts on the cross-band repeater. He is using NA1SS. 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.

Both the crossband FM voice repeater and the APRS digipeater are now in simultaneous operation. See article above.

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

N8MR will be in EN57 with frequent roves to EN56 and EN67 Aug 6-13. Listening for EU, Car, SA CA. Prefer linear sats, FM sats poss. Sked depends on wx, etc.

WY7AA is headed to DN53 and will be camping there from 8/10 – 8/15’ish. He will be in the bottom of a canyon, so Sats will be tough, but he will try when he can. Primarily K-4536 #POTA No cell service, send a Winlink note if you want. DN52 will be the week after.

AA6MU: CN81 August 9-31, Linears and FM.

W7BMD: will be vacationing in FN41/FN51 land, so intermittently available for FM birds QSOs August 8-12.

AD7DB: Activating DM24, DM25 and DM35, Aug 20,21,22, FM passes. Kingman and Mohave Valley AZ area. Holiday style but I’ll try to post ahead of them.

EA4NF, Phillippe. August 1-3th and 13-16th, EL94 & EL95, FM and Liners, will confirm in LOTW as KE4NF. Hit him up on Twitter @EA4NF_Sat for details.

KI7QEK: Will I’m taking a family vacation in British Columbia and Alberta from August 27-September 3, and planning to bring FM and linear gear. “Holiday style” so no promises on passes, but I will be passing through these grids: DN09, DO00, DO01, DO11, DO20 & DO21

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, 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.

2022 HamXposition, and ARRL New England and Hudson Division Convention (hamxposition.org)
Saturday and Sunday August 27 and 28, Marlborough, MA (Flea Market and some classes and workshops on Friday)
AMSAT will have a booth with info, demos, and items for sale.
Burns Fisher, WB1FJ will be presenting “What’s New At AMSAT”

41st ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC)
September 16–18, 2022
Hilton Charlotte Airport Hotel
Charlotte, North Carolina
https://tapr.org

2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
Friday, October 7th, 2022 to Sunday, October 9th, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site

2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium
October 8–9, 2022
Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes
https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/

40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting
October 21–22, 2022
The Crowne Plaza Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN
https://launch.amsat.org/event-4922878

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Filipino-made cube satellites Maya-3 and Maya-4 returned to Earth and ended their missions, the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) Program announced on Tuesday. Maya-3 and Maya-4 reentered the Earth’s atmosphere on Aug. 4 and Aug. 8, respectively. While in the orbit for 10 months, the two cube satellites carried a commercial off-the-shelf APRS-Digipeater Payload Demonstration, which employed packet radio technology to transmit information over amateur radio. (ANS thanks CNN Philippines for the above information)

+ For the first time, Veraval Light House, situated at the south coast of Gujarat State from India, will be activated with the Special Amateur Radio Callsign AT3VLH. The Lighthouse is activated by active Ham Radio Operator Rajesh Vagadia, VU2EXP, from Rajkot (Gujarat) India. It is SOLO operator activation to experiment learn & spread awareness with amateur radio spirit. The activation will take place 19 to 22 August, 2022 utilizing 40m, 20m, 15m & 10m and FM Satellites. (ANS thanks Rajesh Vagadia, VU2EXP, for the above information)

+ A NASA cubesat was removed from a recent rideshare launch opportunity on a U.S. Space Force mission because the spacecraft could not meet guidelines for deorbiting at the end of its life. The GTOSat mission, developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, was manifested to fly as a secondary payload on the Atlas 5 launch of the SBIRS GEO-6 missile-warning satellite. The SBIRS satellite was successfully launched Aug. 4. However, GTOSat and a second, unidentified rideshare payload were not included on the launch. Space Force officials said in a prelaunch briefing that the satellites were not compliant with orbital debris mitigation guidelines but did not elaborate. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information)

+ Three 1 kg cubesats, TUMNanosat, FUTABA and HSU-SAT 1 were deployed from the J-SSOD No. 22 deployer on the ISS Japanese robot arm at 0945 UTC Aug 12. TUMNanosat has 9k6 GMSK AX25 downlink of beacons and telemetry on 436.680 MHz. FUTABA downlinks with 20 wpm CW beacon and 1k2 AFSK for FM telemetry and mission data on 437.375 MHz. More info from https://www.futaba.space/blank-3 HSU-SAT-1 has a downlink using CW, FM SSTV and 9k6 GMSK at 437.280 MHz. More information at https://bit.ly/3C3LFwa (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the IARU 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, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org

ANS-212 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 31

July 31, 2022 by Mark Johns

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/

In this edition:

New AMSAT Digital Radio Link* 2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
Call for Papers – 2022 AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
URESAT Project Receives Award From the Salvatore Association 009
Operating Tips for FM Satellites
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 28
NASA’s Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Retiring After 18 Years As An Astronaut
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-212 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2022 July 31

New AMSAT Digital Radio Links

There have been a couple very new updates to the AMSAT digital radio links.

First, while the AMSAT DMR talkgroup 98006 and the U.S. AMSAT Yaesu System Fusion (YSF) 11689 reflector have been linked together for years, making it quite simple to use either method to cross communicate with others, the AMSAT DSTAR reflectors have not been bridged into the system. So, it’s been isolated.

Walter Holmes, K5WH, with the help of Craig Jump, 2M0JUM, have been working to solve that problem. Craig has been able to link his XLX606 DSTAR reflector to the AMSAT reflector, and now also bridged the DSTAR reflector to the AMSAT DMR 98006 talkgroup.

What this means, is that you can now use either DMR, YSF-Fusion, or DSTAR, and communicate with anyone on either of these technologies, seamlessly.

As with ALL of this digital stuff, it’s probably worth mentioning that it’s necessary to give the system about 1 or 2 extra seconds when you key up, for all the linking to fully engage before you talk, just to ensure you don’t cut off the first of what you want to say. But that’s been the same even with the way we have had DMR and YSF linked for years now.

This system is still being tested, so it’s possible it could be temporarily disabled at times, but hopefully this will be as solid as the previous bridge, and you will be able to take advantage of it.

As always, let K5WH know if you experience anything that needs attention.

The second new development is for those that have a Windows or Android environment, there is now yet another way to get to the AMSAT DSTAR reflector, with NO RADIO necessary. (Of course you have to register for an ID, to prove that you’re a licensed ham, before you can use the system.)

You might be familiar with an application called BlueDV, that many of us have used for years, and requires you to have an ambe server to connect to, and use your PC or cell phone to access DMR, YSF-Fusion, or DSTAR. David Grootendorst, PA7LIM, created this years ago, and has been plenty helpful. Visit https://www.pa7lim.nl/bluedv/ for the Windows software, or the Google Play Store for Android.

David also created an application called Peanut, that does the same for a small but directed set of systems on DMR, YSF, and DSTAR, where you don’t need a radio or an AMBEserver to access these networks. Unfortunately, there is not an iOS solution for this at this time, but it works very well for the Windows and Android environments.

Now, since 2M0JUM has created a link from his XLX606 DSTAR reflector to the AMSAT DSTAR reflector, you can use the PEANUT app, and connect to XLX606, and you will be liked into the AMSAT network. Early testing looks like DMR and YSF are going to DSTAR fine, but DSTAR back is showing the callsign data, but the audio is not coming through. From the Peanut app, it’s working BOTH ways just fine.

I hope this adds some new functionality that others can use to help us all stay better in touch while chasing these great satellites across the skies.

[ANS thanks Walter Holmes, K5WH, for the above information]

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2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election

The nomination period for the 2022 Board of Directors Election ended on June 15, 2022. The following candidates have been duly nominated:

Mark Hammond, N8MH
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

In accordance with our Bylaws, we must hold an election, even though we have three nominations for three open Director positions. As such, we will host electronic voting on our Member Portal this year, at no cost to the organization. Voting is now open and will close on September 15, 2022.

When you click on the poll link, you will see your ballot (poll question). After choosing from the possible options, click the Submit button to cast your vote. Unlike many online polls, the results of all votes cast, up to the point of your vote, will not be displayed. AMSAT members can only vote once. If you click the poll link again after already voting, a vote submitted message will be displayed. As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, all three candidates will be seated on the Board when the voting period concludes on September 15, 2022.

If you need assistance logging into your membership account to vote, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/3ATZFrV

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President and Acting Secretary, for the above information]

Call for Papers – 2022 AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting

This is a repeat of the first call for papers for the 40th annual AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 21-22, 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Suites hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Proposals for symposium papers and presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 14 for inclusion in the symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV at n8fgv at amsat.org

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

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URESAT Project Receives Award From the Salvatore Association 009

URESAT, the URE satellite project managed by AMSAT EA in collaboration with university students, Vocational Training students and with financial and technological support from companies in the space sector, has been chosen by the Salvatore Association 009 to receive the award that said organization gives annually to projects and initiatives related, generally, to art and art in sport.

Although this space project is far from these activities, it has been the aspect of its social function, as it is an open public satellite for voice and data communications, and educational, of this activity, which has tipped the balance in its favour. URESAT and other previous AMSAT EA satellite projects, involve a large number of students, both from professional training centers and universities, from different branches: aerospace, computer science, electronics, mechanical engineering, etc.

The prize consists of an economic amount donated by the friends of the Association and that will be used to cover part of the costs of developing and launching the satellite, expected for January 2023.

The Association promotes under the name of Salvatore 009 a group of friends who with love and similar affinities help with their work, with their ideas and with their money to pay for art and sports in general; especially those that this family member and friend Salvador practiced for years.

Salvador has always participated with a great spirit of improvement and non-profit in many disciplines that essentially represent the values of sport in any part of the world. Another virtue that characterized him was his love for art and his ability to identify interesting projects in life, as well as his innate talent to create and his imagination to develop them with optimism, confidence and joy. Sport and art share those values that characterized him: they favor personal development and self-esteem. They also help to become more independent in life, create self-discipline, foster fighting spirit and teamwork.

AMSAT-EA and URE thank the Salvatore 009 Association for this award, of which we feel very proud.

The URESAT-1 satellite itself is based on the previous experience of the GENESIS, EASAT-2 and HADES missions, in which numerous students from Spanish universities participated, and will incorporate many improvements that have been identified thanks to the results of these projects. The design is estimated to be 90% new. Among the novelties, a new 32-bit on-board computer stands out, which allows the available functionalities to be increased, including the SDR processing carried out and which results in higher speeds of transmission and re-transmission of data, as well as an increase in the surface of solar panels, which translates into more energy and higher transmission power. The antenna deployment mechanism has also been improved, increasing its reliability.

URESAT-1 will incorporate a repeater for FM voice and FSK data, as well as CW beacons, pre-recorded voice, FSK telemetry and an SSTV camera that will transmit live images and pre-loaded photos in analog SSTV format.

The launch of URESAT-1 is scheduled for January 2023 aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9, from Cape Canaveral in the United States.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-EA for the above information, and apologizes for any errors in translation]

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SAVE THE DATE

The 40th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
is scheduled to be held in Bloomington, MN on Oct 21 – 23, 2022.

More information will follow in future editions of ANS.

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Operating Tips for FM Satellites

Recent abuses on AO-91, and continued bedlam on FM satellites generally, have raised a growing number of complaints among operators and control stations. Here are some tips to help everyone enjoy these satellites and avoid being labeled as a bad actor:

LISTEN! These satellites are almost always busy when over populated areas. If you aren’t hearing activity on the downlink, it is unwise to make a “blind” call on the uplink frequency. Getting into the satellite is often easier than hearing it. Make certain you copy the downlink before transmitting.
NO CQs. FM satellites have a single channel and many stations are attempting to use the channel in a limited time. There is no time for calling CQ, or for repeatedly announcing your own call. Instead, listen for stations already active on the pass, and when you have an opportunity, make a call to a specific station you wish to work.
BE COURTEOUS. If Station A calls Station B, give Station B at least a millisecond or two to answer, and let them complete their brief QSO. Avoid interrupting or jumping on top of a contact in progress. Give priority to rovers or other special stations that many are anxious to contact.
BE WELCOMING. Make an effort to make calls to unfamiliar callsigns you’ve not yet worked before. Let newcomers have a chance, rather than shutting them out to say hello to stations you greet everyday.
DON’T BE A LID! Do “testing,” whistling, or “hello” someplace else. Modes other than FM voice have no place on these satellites. If you wish to experiment with FT modes, please feel free to do so on AO-109, but definitely NOT on an FM satellite.

(ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AO-91 Control Operator, and Mark Johns, K0JM, for the above information)

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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 28

The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:

QIKCOM-1 NORAD Cat ID 42983 (decayed form orbit on 7/26/2022 per Space-Track).

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

NASA’s Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Retiring After 18 Years As An Astronaut

NASA has announced the retirement, on July 31, of Astronaut Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD. The retired U.S. Army colonel spent a total of 388 days in space, landing him fifth on the list of record holders for cumulative time in space for all NASA astronauts. He was the fourth person to fly on three different spacecraft – the space shuttle, Soyuz, and SpaceX Crew Dragon – and he performed nine spacewalks during his three spaceflights.

Kimbrough was recently the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station, the second long-duration mission for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the longest spaceflight for a U.S. human spacecraft. Throughout the mission, Kimbrough and the Expedition 65 crew performed more than 250 scientific investigations designed to benefit all of humanity and help future exploration.

Shane’s expertise and leadership has been a huge asset to me personally and the astronaut office for many years. He has been a mentor to many astronauts, and it has been an absolute pleasure and honor to serve with him,” said Chief Astronaut Reid Wiseman at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as a NASA astronaut for the past 18 years,” Kimbrough said. “I am honored to have been able to fly on three different spacecraft and to spend time at the International Space Station. I’ve worked with the best of the best in orbit and on the ground and am grateful for those that have supported me and my family. I’ve wanted to be an astronaut since I was a little kid watching NASA astronauts go to the Moon. To accomplish three spaceflights and nearly 400 days in space in my career is truly a dream come true.”

Kimbrough was born in Killeen, Texas, and graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta in 1985. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1989, and a Master of Science degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 1998. Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming contacts:

Swiss Guide and Scout Movement, Bern, Switzerland, direct via HB9JAM. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. The scheduled crewmember is Samantha Cristoforetti, IZØUDF. Contact is go for: Wed 2022-08-03 12:23:28 UTC 43 deg. Watch for Livestream at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq64C8qJD-okYt-b_nwKUjA Also available on their web radio at https://www.mova.ch/it/radio

Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS. The scheduled crewmember is Oleg Artemiev. Contact is go for Sat 2022-07-30 14:05 UTC.

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

Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, continues to be making general contacts on the cross-band repeater. He is using NA1SS. 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.

[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

VE3FU / VO2AC: July 25 to August 8 will be on vacation in VO1. I’m hoping to activate the following grids: GN07, GN08, GN09, GN18, GN19, GN29, GO10, GO11, & GO21. I’ll be VO1FUA. Holiday style. Linears and FM. I’ll do my best to post on Twitter before each pass.

W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!

N8MR: Will be in EN57 with frequent roves to EN56 and EN67 Aug 6-13. Listening for EU, Car, SA CA. Prefer linear sats, FM sats possible. Sked depends on wx, etc.

EA7TN: Will be operating FM sats from FK58sr as HI7/EA7TN from July 21st to 29th. Holiday style, just an FT-4X and an Arrow from the beach.

EA4NF, Philippe will be operating as 8P9NF on LEO Satellites from BARBADOS, in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. Philippe will operate using his portable LEO sat station (Yaesu FT818ND+Yaesu FT817ND) and Arrow antenna added to a Walkie Kenwood TH-d7 and a whip antenna to cover short, mid and long distances on both modes (FM & SSB)

AD0HJ is heading out again!: Will be attending a work training event during the week of August 1st in Hesston, KS. Look for me to activate several grid squares via satellite on my trip down there and back. Pass schedules posted on Twitter and on the http://hams.at website. Grids: EN11/21, EN10/20, EM18/19, EM16/17.

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, 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.

2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
Friday, October 7th, 2022 to Sunday, October 9th, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Mainstream news media have widely reported the recent statement by Yury Borisov, the new head of Roscosmos Space Corporation, that Russia plans to withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024. However, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher tweeted, “Not surprised to hear Borisov stating Russia would pull out of ISS *after* 2024 (nothing new) and that Russia will continue to meet current obligations (good news). I count on good common sense. The ISS is the only realistic (well-equipped) space laboratory – for years to come.” (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information)

+ Congress has passed the first NASA authorization bill in more than five years, formally extending operations of the International Space Station and backing NASA’s Artemis exploration effort. The House passed on a 243–187 vote July 28 the “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act,” a day after the Senate passed the bill on a 64–33 vote. President Biden has stated he supports the bill and will sign it into law. The bill was primarily a vehicle for supporting domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, but one portion of the bill included NASA authorization legislation. That portion, released last week, extends NASA’s authorization to operate the ISS from 2024 to 2030. It also formally authorizes a “Moon to Mars Program” that includes the Artemis campaign. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information)

+ SpaceX and NASA have delayed the launch of the next U.S. crew flight to the International Space Station from early September to no earlier than Sept. 29, allowing time for ground teams to replace an interstage on the mission’s new Falcon 9 booster after it was damaged during transport. The Falcon 9 booster stage, riding horizontally on a truck and trailer, struck a bridge during the trip from SpaceX’s factory in Hawthorne, California, to the company’s test facility in McGregor, Texas. (ANS thanks Spaceflight Now for the above information)

+ ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, IZØUDF, checked off a number of “firsts” when she completed her first ever spacewalk on Thursday, July 21, conducted alongside cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. Not only was it a first for her, but this spacewalk was also the first conducted by a European woman, and the first conducted by a European in a Russian Orlan spacesuit from the International Space Station. The pair of spacewalkers worked on a number of tasks over the course of their seven-hour EVA, including deploying ten amateur radio nanosatellites by hand, and installing the European Robotic Arm (ERA) on the newest Space Station’s laboratory module, Nauka. (ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information)

+ Just two weeks after the first release of imagery, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is reshaping astronomy, according to an article at https://bit.ly/3Sd5XZF. Meanwhile, the larger micrometeoroid that hit the JWST in May caused damage to one of the mirror sections and a very slight decrease in image quality. Alone, this isn’t an issue, but it was more damage than was expected by micrometeoroid models, and so is worrying if it means that either the telescope is more susceptible to damage than anticipated, or the debris environment is unexpectedly harsh. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ China launched their Wentian research lab module on Sunday, July 24, the second of three modules that will form the completed Tiangong space station. The first stage of the Long March 5B rocket which launched Wentian could reenter the atmosphere around July 31. Experts at the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) have been closely tracking the 53.6-meter-tall stage, which is thought to have a mass of around 23 metric tons. The most likely scenario is that the stage reenters over the oceans. There is however a “non-zero probability of the surviving debris landing in a populated area — over 88 percent of the world’s population lives under the reentry’s potential debris footprint,” CORDS reported. “A reentry of this size will not burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, and the general rule of thumb is that 20–40 percent of the mass of a large object will reach the ground, though it depends on the design of the object.” (ANS thanks Space News for the above information)

+ Think inflation is hard on *your* wallet? NASA just bought a Falcon Heavy launch for the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope in 2026 for $255 million. By comparison, the Europa Clipper Falcon Heavy launch only cost NASA $178 million almost exactly one year ago! (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:

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, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org

ANS-198 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 17

July 17, 2022 by Mark Johns

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/

In this edition:

2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election now on Member Portal
40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting Announced for October 21 – 22, 2022
AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium October 8-9, 2022
Call for Papers: 2022 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
Registration Now Open for NASA 2022 International Space Apps Challenge
ARISS Looking for Hams in Hawaii
CelesTrak Changing Domain Used
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 17, 2022
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-198 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

DATE 2022 July 17

2022 AMSAT Board of Directors Election

The nomination period for the 2022 Board of Directors Election ended on June 15, 2022. The following candidates have been duly nominated:
• Mark Hammond, N8MH
• Bruce Paige, KK5DO
• Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

If you need assistance logging into your membership account to vote, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/3ATZFrV

73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Executive Vice President & Acting Secretary AMSAT

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President and Acting Secretary, for the above information]

40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting Announced for October 21 – 22, 2022

AMSAT announces the 40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 21 – 22, 2022 in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The annual AMSAT Space Symposium features:
* Space Symposium with Amateur Satellite Presentations
* Operating Techniques, News, & Plans from the Amateur Satellite World
* Board of Directors Meeting open to AMSAT members
* Opportunities to Meet Board Members and Officers
* AMSAT Annual General Membership Meeting
* Auction, Annual Banquet, Keynote Speaker and Door Prizes !!

The Crowne Plaza Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN, is centrally located between the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, Mall of America, Minneapolis Zoo, and Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park. Crown Plaza Suites provides a complimentary scheduled shuttle to and from the airport.

Additional information about the 2022 AMSAT Symposium will be posted on the AMSAT web site, www.amsat.org as it becomes available.

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT President for the above information.]

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AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium October 8-9, Kents Hill Park Conference Centre Milton Keynes MK7 6BZ

AMSAT-UK is very happy to announce the 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on October 8-9 at the Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Timbold Drive, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BZ.

The weekend event attracts an international audience that ranges from those involved in building and operating amateur radio satellites to beginners who wish to find out more about this fascinating branch of the hobby.

Booking for the RSGB Convention is at https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/

Booking for the AMSAT-UK dinner on the Saturday evening at the nearby Hilton Hotel is here

Details of the event can be found at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

[ANS thanks Trevor Essex, M5AKA of AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Call for Papers: 2022 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference

The 41st ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) will be held September 16 – 18, 2022, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Last year’s conference was held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns, but this year’s 3-day event will be held at the Hilton Charlotte Airport Hotel.

Technical papers are solicited for the conference. Papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to present at the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. Submit papers via e-mail to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB ([email protected]) by September 1, 2022. Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights.

Conference papers will be distributed as pdf’s to DCC attendees. Printed copies of the papers will be available for sale at Lulu (www.lulu.com).

Paper and presentation topic areas include, but are not limited to software defined radio (SDR), digital voice, digital satellite communication, digital signal processing (DSP), HF digital modes, adapting IEEE 802.11 systems for Amateur Radio, Global Positioning System (GPS), Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS), Linux in Amateur Radio, AX.25 updates, Internet operability with Amateur Radio networks, TCP/IP networking over Amateur Radio, mesh and peer-to-peer wireless networking, emergency and homeland defense backup digital communications in Amateur Radio.

Hilton Charlotte Airport is hosting the 2022 ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) and is now offering special room rates for the DCC at $99 per night. The special room rate is good until August 15, so make your reservations ASAP online or calling 1-800-445-8667 and ask for the “Digital Communications 2022” rates.

More information about TAPR – Tomorrow’s Ham Radio Technology Today can be found that their website https://tapr.org/call-for-papers-2022-digital-communications-conference/.

[ANS thanks TAPR.org for the above information.]

Registration Now Open for NASA 2022 International Space Apps Challenge

The NASA International Space Apps Challenge, the world’s largest annual hackathon, returns this year with the theme “Make Space,” which emphasizes NASA’s commitment to inclusivity. This year’s challenge will focus on Earth and space science, technology, and exploration. Participant registration for in-person and virtual events is now open through Oct. 2.

Space Apps provides a platform where everyone across the globe with a passion for creativity and innovation can use their unique perspectives to tackle challenges created by NASA experts. The challenges range in skill level, expertise, subject matter, and objective, and span a spectrum of disciplines and interests that range from artificial intelligence and software development to art and storytelling.

“Each year, Space Apps allows thousands to engage with NASA and its partners’ open data during the hackathon,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. “It has been rewarding to see the innovative projects created by Space Apps Challenge participants and observe their potential to generate meaningful contributions toward solving some of the most difficult challenges studied by NASA on Earth and in space.”

Space Apps provides a positive and safe environment that fosters collaboration and a growth mindset. Whether participants are exploring a challenge, learning to be creative, defining team roles, learning a technical skill, or learning to cope with hiccups that arise during challenge weekend, the innovative and flexible structure of this event allows participants to walk away enriched, motivated, and excited about learning.

“Talent is everywhere, but scarcity of opportunity leaves so much talent unused and potential untapped,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “There are so many positive stories resulting from this challenge that underscore the value of “making space” for everyone.”

Since its inception in 2012, Space Apps has created and steadily grown a global community held together by the common interest of solving problems and creating impact. The success stories directly resulting from these challenges range from the creation of new products and business ventures, innovative upgrades to existing products, and has helped connect people socially and professionally, giving them access to expertise and insight they otherwise would not have. By connecting teams to challenges and experts from space agencies across the world, participants have access to new opportunities and knowledge that can impact them for a lifetime.

This year NASA is excited to announce the addition of the Indian Space Research Organization and Mexican Space Agency to the roster of space agency partners supporting Space Apps. Valued partners returning from last year include Australian Space Agency, Brazilian Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, ESA (European Space Agency), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, National Space Activities Commission of Argentina, National Space Science Agency of Bahrain, Paraguayan Space Agency, and the South African National Space Agency. Space agency partnership encourages more extensive global collaboration and provides a broader platform for participants to contribute to the fields of Earth and space science and technology through Space Apps.

Space Apps is managed by NASA’s Earth Science Division in the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. It is organized in collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton, Mindgrub, SecondMuse, and the NASA Open Innovation Applied Sciences Program. Learn more about Space Apps and how to get involved on their website.

For more information about Space Apps and to register for an in-person or online event on Oct. 1-2, 2022, visit https://bit.ly/3IEItbL

[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM and NASA for the above information.]

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ARISS NEWS

Kitaogura Elementary School, Uji, Japan, direct via 8N35ØK
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS
Contact is go for: Thu 2022-07-21 08:38:43 UTC 51 deg

About Gagarin From Space. Performance of a session of radio amateur communication with the participants of the celebration of the frigate “Nadezhda”, Vladivostok, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is TBD
Contact is go for Sat 2022-07-23 08:45 UTC

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

Quick Hits:

+ W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!

+ N8MR: Will be in EN57 with frequent roves to EN56 and EN67 Aug 6-13. Listening for EU, Car, SA CA. Prefer linear sats, FM sats poss. Sked depends on wx, etc.

Major Roves:

KX9X & N9NCY Wild West Rove: Sean and Nancy’s Wild West Rove has been scaled back, but is still going forward. They will now be on the road from July 13-25 while hiking in National Parks. They will travel through seven states and 38 grids, planning activation on FM and linear satellites. Extensive operation in Montana and North Dakota in the Canadian border grids beginning July 20. There will also be 6 meter and occasional HF POTA activity as well.
Grids they will pass through, in order:

DN28 – 38 – July 16th to 20th.

Remaining Grids from July 20 to 24.

DN48 – 58 – 68 – 78 – 88 – 87 – 97 – 96 – 95

EN05 – 06 – 16 – 15 – 25 – 26 – 25 – 35

EN34 – 33 – 32 – 42 – 41 – 40 – 50

Complete info on their trip can be found on their website https://www.wildwestrove.com/

as of July 12, 2022
Columbus Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Configured. Default mode is for cross band repeater (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down).
Powered OFF for Russian EVA on July 21. OFF July 21 about 08:55 UTC and ON July 22 about 10:10 UTC.
Capable of supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops.

Service Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Not Active. Default mode is for packet operations (145.825 MHz up & down)
Powered OFF for Russian EVA on July 21. OFF July 21 about 08:55 UTC.
Capable of supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts, packet, SSTV and voice repeater ops.

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager and ARISS.org for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 17, 2022

The following satellite has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
CTIM NORAD Cat ID 52590 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for identification).

The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
Maya-2 NORAD Cat ID 47929 (decayed form orbit on 7/6/2022 per Space-Track).

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

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

AMSAT Ambassador Schedules:

Clint Bradford, K6CLS: “How to Work the “Easy” Satellites” talks:

Knee repair surgery isn’t stopping Clint Bradford K6LCS from continuing to perform AMSAT presentations!

The Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society in Carrollton, Texas is scheduled for Thursday, 07/14/2022. And SOARA – South Orange ARA (CA) in August.

Think a lively, informative session on “working the easy satellites with equipment most hams already own” would be appropriate for your event or meeting? Call or email!

Clint Bradford K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador
909-999-SATS
http://www.work-sat.com

Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ: SDR applications – “Using the RF “Swiss Army Knife”: An intro to the AMSAT Fox-In-A-Box Image” – Live presentation scheduled July 18, 2022 the Frederick Amateur Radio Club, Frederick, MD
For information on this presentation and availability, contact Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ, AMSAT Ambassador, (kd4iz at arrl dot org)

Scheduled Events with AMSAT involvement:

Hamfests and Conventions

+ Satellite Educators Association 35th Annual Convention
Friday, July 29, 2022 to Saturday, July 30, 2022
California State University, Los Angeles and on-line
http://www.sated.org

Fredric Raab, KK6NOW, will be presenting “Classroom Activities with the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator” showcasing the work by the CubeSatSim Educational Materials Team: Paul Graveline, K1YUB, Alan Johnston, KU2Y, Fredric Raab, KK6NOW, Mark Samis, KD2XS and David White, WD6DRI.

+ 2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
October 7, 2022 – October 9, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site.

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Webb’s first images. NASA, CSA, and ESA released the first images from JWST, showing stunning views of our Universe that clearly display the telescope’s scientific potential. The first images detail Stephen’s Quintet (four neighboring galaxies that are actively interacting—the fifth is just photobombing them), the Southern Ring Nebula (a binary system in the throes of mass ejection from a white dwarf), the Carina Nebula (see below, a cavity carved out in the nebula by young stars’ intense ultraviolet emissions), and a deep field of SMACS 0723, captured in just 12.5 hours, that looks back to a galaxy 4.6 billion years ago. The deep field represents a portion of the sky the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length—for comparison, Hubble’s deep field images took multiple weeks to capture (here’s a tool to compare available WWT imagery to JWST’s first images). The JWST team also released spectra for exoplanet WASP-96b, showing a signature of previously undetected water in its atmosphere. The future looks bright for the long-awaited successor to the great observatories! See the gallery at: https://bit.ly/3Ogpa9z [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.]

+ Following communications issues, mission teams for NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) have re-established contact with the spacecraft through NASA’s Deep Space Network. Data received from CAPSTONE shows that the spacecraft is in good health and operated safely on its own while it was out of contact with Earth. Teams are preparing to carry out CAPSTONE’s first trajectory correction maneuver – which will more precisely target CAPSTONE’s transfer orbit to the Moon – as early as 11:30 a.m. EDT on July 7. As originally planned, CAPSTONE will arrive to its lunar orbit on Nov. 13. [ANS thanks Sarah Frazier of NASA for the above information.]

+ NASA’s Starlings. NASA’s aptly named Starling satellite “swarm” mission consists of four 6U CubeSats which will practice formation flying, autonomous control, ad hoc inter-satellite networking, and autonomous collaboration by measuring the Earth’s ionosphere using GPS signals. The Starlings will launch on Firefly Aerospace’s first commercial launch, hopefully, this fall. NASA envisions future swarms of autonomously-operating CubeSats in deep space working together to collect distributed science data and perform observations. An example is the upcoming HelioSwarm, a 9-satellite, $250m mission planned for 2028 to study solar wind turbulence. HelioSwarm’s hub, built by Northrop Grumman, would coordinate with eight smallsats from Blue Canyon Technologies to provide simultaneous, multiscale observations of the solar wind. [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.]

+ AstroBio Cubesat is operational and working: Nader Omer ST2NH retweeted that Augusto Nascetti (@auo1971), from the ABCS team, reported on Twitter that he had “Just received live a message from US through #AstroBioCubeSat digipeater sent by WA7FWF!!!” Congratulations to the team for putting an Amateur Radio capable 3U CubeSat into MEO orbit. Nader added by email a link to the TLE and to information regarding the mission: https://bit.ly/3OaIkxU [ANS thanks Nader Omer, ST2NH for the above information]

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at arrl dot org

ANS-191 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 10

July 10, 2022 by Mark Johns

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/

In this edition:

Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Named Director, AMSAT Ambassador Program
Last Call: AMSAT Field Day Logs Due July 15, 2022
ARISS Looking for Hams in Hawaii
Call for Papers: 2022 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
NASA Podcast – Amateur Space Radio
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 7, 2022
CelesTrak Changing Domain Used
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-191 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2022 Jul 10

Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Named Director, AMSAT Ambassador Program

AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Bo Lowrey, W4FCL as Director, AMSAT Ambassador Program. Bankston adds, “Bo is eminently qualified to re-energize this important aspect of AMSAT’s presence in the Amateur Radio community. His seemingly endless credits include being a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, NASA OSIRIS-Rex Ambassador and NASA International Space Station Ambassador. We welcome Bo’s addition to the AMSAT leadership team and we encourage all previous AMSAT Ambassadors as well as those members interested in becoming ambassadors to reach out to Bo and offer their support.”

Before Lowrey’s retirement he most recently served as Director – Space Science and IT at the National Air and Space Education Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. He has 55 years experience in the electronics and IT fields and has advanced degrees from the University of Louisville in Occupational Training and Development, and Curriculum and Instruction.

Persons interested in learning more about the AMSAT Ambassador program or becoming a AMSAT Ambassador should email volunteer at amsat dot org.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]

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The 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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Last Call: AMSAT Field Day Logs Due July 15, 2022

Time is running out! Please be sure to obtain your entry form from https://www.amsat.org/field-day/ and submit your log along with any photos of your operation.

A satellite Summary Sheet should be used for submission of the AMSAT Field Day competition and be received by KK5DO (e-mail) by 11:59 P.M. CDT, Friday, July 15, 2022. This is earlier than the due date for the ARRL submissions. The only method for submitting your log is via e-mail to kk5do at amsat dot org or kk5do at arrl dot net.

You will receive an e-mail back within one or two days from Bruce when he receives your e-mail submission. If you do not receive a confirmation message, then he has not received your submission. Try sending it again or send it to his other e-mail address.

Certificates will be awarded for the first-place emergency power/portable station at the AMSAT General Meeting and Space Symposium in the fall of 2022. Certificates will also be awarded to the second and third place portable/emergency operation in addition to the first-place home station running on emergency power. A station submitting high, award-winning scores will be requested to send in dupe sheets for analog contacts and message listings for digital downloads.

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, for the above information]

ARISS Looking for Hams in Hawaii

Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS school mentors has put out a call for assistance:

“One of the ARISS schools I am mentoring is out on the island of Lana’i in Hawaii. The Lana’i High and Elementary School in Lana’i City is scheduled for a contact sometime in the first half of 2023. If there are any satellite operators in Hawaii that can provide some assistance, please get in touch with me. The school is currently debating between doing a direct contact at the school or maybe a local telebridge via a ground station on Oahu. The use of the regular ARISS telebridge system is also as possibility. They are looking for an additional radio, perhaps some antennas, and basic satellite expertise assistance. They might also need some help with a PA system. 73 and Aloha and thanks for your help!”

Please email Charlie directly via aj9n at amsat dot org if you can provide some assistance. Charlie can provide you with more details.

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS Mentor, for the above information.]

Call for Papers: 2022 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference

Conference papers will be distributed as pdf’s to DCC attendees. Printed copies of the papers will be available for sale at Lulu (www.lulu.com).

More information about TAPR – Tomorrow’s Ham Radio Technology Today can be found that their website https://tapr.org/call-for-papers-2022-digital-communications-conference/.

[ANS thanks TAPR.org for the above information.]

NASA Podcast – Amateur Space Radio

On Episode 251 of NASA’s “Houston We Have a Podcast”, Courtney Black describes the Amateur Radio program that connects astronauts in space to people and students around the globe. This episode was recorded on May 27, 2022.

Along with jam-packed days of science and maintenance, astronauts aboard the International Space Station dedicate some time to connect with people on Earth. It can be by an IP (internet protocol) phone to call a family member, a televised event to connect with media, or even amateur radio to connect with students.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, helps create education opportunities that inspire students to pursue careers in STEM-related fields – that’s engineering, math, science, or technology — by having the opportunity to talk to crew members on orbit. This podcast is the story of a former teacher who has seen first-hand how ARISS communication impacts students’ lives here on Earth, and how important this program is for future generations of space explorers.

Courtney Black is an education project manager with the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory. Before joining the National Lab, Black served as a formal educator for 14 years, educating elementary to high school students. Her passion for incorporating space education in lessons earned her recognition among her peers and allowed for students to participate in once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, such as ARISS contacts and a downlink with the International Space Station. Black is a Space Station Ambassador, a Solar System Ambassador, teacher liaison to the Space Foundation, Space Center Houston SEEC (Space Educator Expedition Crew) crew member, and an member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Civil Air Patrol.

Black has presented at multiple conferences and is excited to continue presenting on topics to help bring awareness and encourage utilization of a myriad of resources available which aim to improve life on Earth through the investigation and exploration of space. Listen to the podcast at https://nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/amateur-space-radio.

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

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 7, 2022

The following satellite has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
– SNUGLITE 2 NORAD Cat ID 52899 (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for identification).

The following satellites have decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
– Tsuru NORAD Cat ID 47927 (decayed form orbit on 7/5/2022 per Space-Track).
– GuaraniSat-1 NORAD Cat ID 47931 (decayed form orbit on 7/5/2022 per Space-Track).

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information.]

CelesTrak Changing Domain Used

If you use Celestrak for TLEs you might have noticed that your tracking application has stopped updating. This is due to Celestrak moving from .com to .org so you should change links in applications soon as possible. For further information see:
https://celestrak.org/NORAD/documentation/gp-data-formats.php.

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

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ARISS NEWS

* Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS continues to be making general contacts on the cross-band repeater. He is using NA1SS. 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.

* Il Cielo Itinerante c/o ASI Center for Space in Matera, Italy, telebridge via K6DUE.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled crewmember is Samantha Cristoforetti IZ0UDF
Contact is go for Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 09:11:01 UTC.

* 2nd Sayama Group Saitama Council Scouts Association of Japan, Saitama, Japan, direct via 8J1SBS.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled crewmember is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS.
Contact is go for: Wednesday July 13, 2022 at 11:57:20 UTC.

* About Gagarin From Space. Performance of a session of radio amateur communication with the participants of the celebration of the frigate “Nadezhda”, Vladivostok, Russia, direct via TBD.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS0ISS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled crewmember is Oleg Artemyev.
Contact is go for Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 11:10 UTC.

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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Save the Date!
40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting
October 21 – 22, 2022
The Crowne Plaza Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN
More information to follow.

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

* 6Y/WB9VPG will be on a few FM sat passes July 10-15 from grid FK18. Check twitter for details.

* W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for July 30 – August 6 will be on FM passes vacation style. He will be close to DM41 so he might be able to work a gridline. More updates to be posted closer to that week.

* N8MR: EN 57,67,56 August 6-13. More to come as the date gets closer.

* KX9X & N9NCY Wild West Rove: Sean and Nancy’s Wild West Rove has been scaled back, but is still going forward. They will now be on the road from July 13-25 while hiking in National Parks. They will travel through seven states and 38 grids, planning activation on FM and linear satellites. Extensive operation in Montana and North Dakota in the Canadian border grids beginning July 20. There will also be 6 meter and occasional HF POTA activity as well. Grids they will pass through in order are:

July 13: EN50 – 40 – 41 – 42 – 32 – 33 – 23 – 13 -03
July 14: DN93 – 83 – 84 – 74 – 64 – 65 – 55
July 15: DN 56 – 57 – 47 – 48 – 38
July 16-20: DN28 – 38

Remaining Grids from July 20-24:
DN48 – 58 – 68 – 78 – 88 – 87 – 97 – 96 – 95
EN05 – 06 – 16 – 15 – 25 – 26 – 25 – 35
EN34 – 33 – 32 – 42 – 41 – 40 – 50

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, 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.

+ 40th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting
October 21 – 22, 2022
The Crowne Plaza Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN
More information to follow.

+ HamXposition
August 27-28, 2022
Marlborough, MA
https://hamxposition.org/

+ 2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
Friday, October 7, 2022 to Sunday, October 9, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site

+ 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium
October 8 – 9th 2022
Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes
https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/

+ 41st ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC)
September 16 – 18, 2022
Hilton Charlotte Airport Hotel
Charlotte, North Carolina
https://tapr.org

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information.]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Your shopping dollar counts! The AmazonSmile Foundation issued AMSAT a $377.03 donation as a result of AmazonSmile program activity between January 1 and March 31, 2022. If you are not already signed up, do so today. Look for Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation as your charity of choice.

+ NASA is set to release its first images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope next week. Why it matters: This long-awaited milestone will set the stage for the rest of the $10 billion telescope’s mission to rework our understanding of how the universe evolved from the earliest galaxies to today. Driving the news: The first photos are set for release at about 10:30 AM EDT (14:30 UTC) next Tuesday. A press conference announcing the images can be viewed via NASA TV at that time (https://go.nasa.gov/3AvesJq). NASA has already released some early alignment images taken by JWST, but Tuesday’s photos will be the first full-color photos that will show what the telescope can really do.[ANS thanks Axios Space for the above information.]

+ A six-month mission to the International Space Station could cost astronauts years of bone health, according to a new study. Understanding how a person’s health is affected by time in space is crucial for space agencies hoping to send astronauts to destinations like the Moon and Mars in the future. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports (https://bit.ly/3yFKH7g), found that weight-bearing bones – like those in the legs – didn’t recover fully from their time in space even after a year on Earth. The study’s sample size – at 17 astronauts – is pretty small, so more research is still needed. Studies looking at the health effects of spaceflight tend to be relatively small in general – after all, fewer than 650 people have been to space, and even fewer still have stayed there for months on end. [ANS thanks Axios Space for the above information.]

+ NASA has reestablished contact with one of its satellites that stopped communicating on its way to the moon. Engineers were able to contact the tiny CubeSat on Wednesday after it ceased communication with the Deep Space Network on Tuesday. The DSN is NASA’s radio antenna network that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions as well as some orbiting Earth. The CubeSat is the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, also known as CAPSTONE. The satellite left Earth’s orbit Monday, marking an important milestone on its planned four-month journey to the moon. [ANS thanks CNN for the above information.]

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

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